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Slideshow

Wagtail

      

Welcome to Wagtail Class

This class page will share the fantastic learning we do in class.
Our teacher is Mr Thomas.

We are supported by Mrs Gregorious, Mrs Lawson and Miss Reynolds.

 

Scroll down to see our amazing journey this year!

January - April 2025 - Notices

PE

Our PE Day is on Wednesday.
Please make sure your child has the correct P:E uniform on this day. This term will be both outside and inside P:E lessons.

Outdoor Learning

Please make sure your child has a raincoat and wellies in school everyday so they can participate in our outdoor learning sessions.

 

Expected Homework:

  • Reading - 10 Minutes a day of Reading from your AR/Phonic Book.
    Reading Records need to be in on Friday with five, 10-minute reads written in and signed
  • Maths - 30 games on TTRS weekly. (Paper copies are available for children who cannot access TTRS.

Optional 

  • Spellings - Children can use different activities from the spelling menu for the 15 new spelling words that are set fortnightly. 

 

 Maths will be set on Monday and checked on the following Monday. 

 

A Guide to Accelerated Reader, Please click the link: A Parent's Guide to Accelerated Reader (AR)

 

Writing suggestions (Optional):

  • Write your own Mr Penguin adventure story, just like 'Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure' by Alex T. Smith
  • Write your own version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears where it is the bears fault as they left the door open.
  • Write a set of instructions (computing algorithm) to make the most delicious, beautiful pancake. 
  • Write a non-chronological report about a made up creature that Arthur from Arthur and the Golden Rope, has defeated. You could include subheadings about the animals diet, habitat, features.
  • 100 Word Challenge
    Write a small piece of writing.
    It must be around 100 words, be about anything you want, be imaginative, be any type of text, a diary, letter, poem. BONUS - have the phrase …"Well I don't believe it, come on in"...

 

Our Learning This Term: 

  • English - We will be focusing our writing on the text 'Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure' by Alex T. Smith
  • Maths - Our focuses this term will be Multiplication and Division and Fractions. 
  • Science - Our units will be Rocks, Fossils and Soils, and Lights and Shadows. 
  • History - We will be learning about 'The Tudor Period', including the Monarchs, Henry VIII's Wives, the impact on religion and William Shakespeare. 
  • Geography - Our unit will be Fieldwork and conducting surveys and studies of the local area. 
  • French - We will be learning how to say 10 instruments and how to say 'I can play' and we will be learning how to say 10 'I can' phrases in French. 
  • PE - Our lessons will build on the fundamentals of PE with focuses on Football, Orienteering, Dance and Hockey.
  • Computing - We will be looking at Excel Spreadsheets and using this to make a card comparison database.
  • Art - We will be developing our shading and creating botanical drawings. 
  • Design and Technology - We will be developing our knowledge of 3D shapes to construct castles. 
  • Music - Our units on the Vikings will help us develop our singing techniques and we will be learning about pentatonic melodies while learning about Chinese New Year.
  • PSHE - Our units this term will focus on Dreams and Goals and Healthy Me.

Wagtail Reading Shelf

Follow the link to view all the books we have read this year! -->  Wagtail Class Book Shelf

 

The Weekly Wagtail - 12th February

This week, we have finished and consolidated our learning on The Tudors. We finished by learning about the life and work of William Shakespeare and we have now started writing our final unit essay on How did the Tudors impact Great Britain. In Maths, we have finished our multiplication and division unit, for now, by looking at multiplying 2 digits by 1 digit using group method. Now, we are looking at fractions of wholes and amounts. In Computing, we have celebrated E-Safety day by looking at Fake News and how we can identify misinformation and disinformation by checking reliable sources. Finally, on Number Day, we celebrated with lots of different activities such as puzzles, chip shop ordering, zoo planning and excitingly the crystal maze! 

The Weekly Wagtail - 5th February

This week, we have continued reading Mr Penguin and we have discovered that the O'Hoolihan Brothers, who really want the treasure, have escaped from jail and are on the way to steal it. The children have become news paper reporters and have written a detailed account of the events including what happened and how. They have also included key witness statements and what is going to happen next. In Maths we have learnt about our 3,4, and 8 times tables and have started to apply this to group method. In Science, we continued learning about fossils and how different fossils appear in different layers of sediment. In Computing, the children finished their database learning by finding Mr Thomas a cheap holiday and presenting the costs in a spreadsheet. Last week in outdoor learning and music, we learnt about Chinese New Year and linked it to creating pentatonic melodies for the 'entering of the dragon' music. The class learnt about what a pentatonic scale was and performed a pentatonic melody. 

The Weekly Wagtail - 29th January

This week in Wagtail, we have continued reading 'Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure'. We have written a diary entry in the role of Mr Penguin about us uncovering the 'X' and going down the stairs into the jungle. We have just read up to the part where Boudicca Bones informs Mr Penguin that Jewel Thieves are following the treasure hunters. In Science we have continued looking at our unit on rocks and soils by learning about the fossilisation process. Wagtails took on the role of palaeontologists and observed all the fossils that Mr Thomas has collected over the years. They have then created a small video on how a fossil is formed. In History, we have learnt about how Henry VIII changed the religion of England from Catholic to Protestant when he created the Church of England. 

The Weekly Wagtail - 22nd January

This week in Wagtail, we have continued reading 'Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure' We have written a narrative about the start of Mr Penguin's adventure in the museum where he is trying to find the 'X marks the spot' clue. We have tested and experimented different rocks and compared their physical properties. The children conducted experiments including acid test with vinegar, water test to check its permeability and hardness. In outdoor learning we have been learning and finding 4 figure grid references around our school grounds. The children were tasked to find the pegs that were hidden at a specific grid reference. In History, we have learnt about King Henry VIII's wives and how their fates were met. Finally, in Computing, we have been inputting data onto a spreadsheet and using the filtering and sorting feature to immediately find the answer to a question.

The Weekly Wagtail - 15th January

We have had a brilliant few weeks back in Wagtail Class. We have started our new English text, 'Mr Penguin and the lost treasure' by Alex T Smith. The class are really enjoying the text and are keen to find out what is going to happen in the story. We have written a setting description of Mr Penguin's office and character descriptions of Mr Penguin's friends, Edith, Boudicca and Montague. In Maths, we have started to look at multiplication and division by revisiting our 2,5 and 10 times tables. In Science we have learnt about the three different rock groups; igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic and are looking forward to conducting hardness, acidic and water tests on these rocks in our next lesson. We have been comparing top trump cards in computing and linking them to an online database. Our History unit on The Tudors has got of to a flying start with a reenactment of the Battle of Bosworth and the monarchs of the Tudor era. Finally we have returned back to outdoor learning by learning about the work of Louis Braille and how Braille is a global reading and writing system. 

The Weekly Wagtail - 11th & 18th December

We have had a busy few weeks in Wagtail Class. In Computing, we have continued learning about Networks and the Internet and have tracked our requests through the visual trace routes. The children tracked their requests across the globe and saw the route the packets of information took to get back to their computer. In Outdoor Learning, Wagtails have been getting into the spirit of Christmas by creating decorations using natural materials. In Science we have concluded our Forces and Magnets unit by looking at the uses of magnets. The class got to experiment with a magnet to make a compass and find where Magnetic North is. 

The Weekly Wagtail - 4th December

We have had an amazing few weeks in Wagtail. We have finally finished our story Arthur and the Golden Rope. We finished with a diary entry of Arthur’s adventures and a non-chronological report about wolves. In Maths, we have continued looking at column method and applying our knowledge of exchanging to the method. In History, we have learnt about why the pyramids were built and who was Tutankhamun? In Computing, we have learnt about how the internet works and how the request transfers through the network and under the sea in submarine cables. In Science, we have started to look at how magnets work and their properties.

The Weekly Wagtail: -20th November

This week in Wagtails, we have continued our Ancient Egyptian learning by learning about the importance of the River Nile for Ancient Egyptian Civilisation. The children sketched the river on a map of Egypt and annotated their sketch with the reasons why most settlements were by the river. In outdoor learning, the children have learnt about the longest earthworm ever recorded at 6.7m and went on a minibeast hunt to find worms and measure them. In Computing, we have been learning about computer networks and how the network works in our schools. The children roleplayed as files and different devices in the network and how the request transport to the printer, server and other devices. 

 

Wagtail Class have worked really hard this week with their different assessments in Maths, Reading and SPAG. They have impressed me so much with their amazing attitude and determination! Well done Wagtails! 

The Weekly Wagtail: -13th November

This week in Wagtails, we have continued to read Arthur and the Golden Rope and we have taken on the role of the narrator and wrote about Arthur's adventures out at sea to the land of the Viking Gods. The children used subordinating conjunctions and different sentence starters to link their ideas together. In Maths, we have been continuing our addition and subtraction by learning about exchange. The children have use dienes to understand how to exchange when crossing ten in both addition and subtraction. In History, we have learnt about how Ancient Egyptians believed in more than 2000 gods and goddess. In Outdoor Learning, we have been creating art using items from nature, inspired by the work of Richard Long. 

The Weekly Wagtail: - 23rd October. 

This week, we have been having fun learning about Diwali and Mummification. In Outdoor Learning, we learnt about the story of Rama and Sita and how this links to the celebration of Diwali. We used chalk to make Rangoli patterns inspired by the festival of Diwali.

In History, we have been learning about the mummification process. The children followed Ancient Egyptian instructions on how to prepare a body (orange) for the afterlife. The children learnt about the different steps to mummify a body and put this into practice. 

Last Thursday, we completed the Read-A-Thon and helped fundraise for our new reading space at school. 

In English, we have started our new book, Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd-Stanton. We have taken on the role of Arthur and have written a recount of our adventures to find the hand of time and return the egg to the Wind Weaver.

The Weekly Wagtail: - 16th October. 

 

Last week, in English, we have continued our narrative, with speech, from the characters the boy had met when he was walking into the forest. In Maths we compared 3-digit numbers to identify the biggest and smallest number. We took part in World Mental Health Day by playing tiddly winks in Maths to count up in 50s, and we learnt that practice makes progress when the children were tasked to create a picture from a video that had been sped up. In outdoor learning, we continued looking at signs of autumn by going on a leaf hunt and exploring the different types of leaves and trees we have at school. Finally in art, we took our final papyrus paper design and applied Ancient Egyptian art techniques to their scrolls. Most of the children are almost finished and an art gallery will form soon. 

Making Papyrus Paper

Continuing with our Ancient Egyptian learning, we have been learning how they made papyrus paper and made our own using similar techniques. 

Year 3 had an exciting day learning about the Ancient Egyptians with thanks to History Off the Page. The fully immersive experience had children creating and learning all things Ancient Egyptians. 

This week in Wagtail, we have been very busy learning and starting some new lessons and our topics. We have been orienteering in outdoor learning, where children with given picture clues to find pegs hidden around the school. We have started our French lessons by learning basic greetings and in Art, we have been making papyrus paper, and sketching artwork inspired by the Ancient Egyptians.

Well done on a fantastic week Wagtails!

September - December 2024 Notices

  • Our P:E Day is on Wednesday.
    Please make sure your child has the correct P:E uniform on this day. This term will be both outside and inside P:E lessons.

 

  • Please make sure your child has a raincoat in school everyday.
  • Please make sure  your child brings a water bottle in school each day. 
  • We will be doing outdoor learning this term, so all children will need wellies in school.

 

Expected Homework:

  • 10 Minutes a day of Reading from your AR/Phonic Book.
    Reading Records need to be in on Friday with five, 10-minute reads written in and signed.
  • 30 games on TTRS weekly. (Completed by Monday)
    (Paper copies are available for children who cannot access TTRS)

A Guide to Accelerated Reader, Please click the link: A Parent's Guide to Accelerated Reader (AR)

 

Writing suggestion homework:

  • Write your own version of the three little pigs where the wolf is innocent. 
  • Write a poem about the autumn months. You can write about the weather, autumn activities or the change in season.
  • Write a set of instructions (computing algorithm) to make the most disgusting smoothie. 
  • Write a non-chronological report about a sea animal of your choice. You could include subheadings about the animals diet, habitat, features.
  • 100 Word Challenge
    Write a small piece of writing.
    It must 
    be around 100 words, be about anything you want, be imaginative, be any type of text, a diary, letter, poem. BONUS - have the phrase …it wasn't that shape earlier…

2023-2024

This afternoon, Year 3 Wagtails became palaeontologists and learnt about how a fossil is formed. We investigated different types of fossils including ammonites and coprolites and learnt about the steps a fossil takes to form over thousands of years.

Geologists at Work

In Wagtail's science, we have been investigating the properties of different types of rocks. We have been identify the features of each rock looking at the layers and crystals and categorising them into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. This week, we have conducted an investigation to see which rock is the most permeable.

In Science, Wagtail class have been learning about the importance of the skeleton and the different bones in our body. Our investigation focused on the importance of the skull and the class were tasked to investigate suitable materials for a bicycle helmet. They designed, created and tested their bicycle helmets on an egg and dropped it from a height.

Year 3, had an amazing Roman Day yesterday. They enjoyed learning about the invasion of the rebel Boudicca and how the Roman army defeated the Celts. The children spent the day completing many activities such us mosaics, leather work and necklace making. We finished our afternoon by having a Roman feast with entertainment.

2022-2023

Year 3 had an amazing time visiting the Tower of London. The children caught the train from St Neots to London Bridge. Then, walked along the embankment, seeing HMS Belfast and walking across Tower Bridge, before arriving at the Tower for an action packed day. The children saw the Crown Jewels and explored the different towers and the armoury.

Water through plants investigation

Wagtail class have spent the day exploring and investigating with plants today. They have sketched their own plant from the sensory garden. Then, labelled their sketch with the parts of the plant and their function. They have also set up two investigations. One to test the requirements for growth and the other to see how water transports through a plant.

Wagtails had there pizza party this afternoon to celebrate their amazing effort in the Spring reading challenge!

Wagtail Class had an amazing time at the inter-school sport sports event at Winhills School. Year 3 took part in rounders, netball and athletics and finished 4th overall. Well Done Wagtail Class! 

Wagtail Win the Spring Reading Challenge

Congratulations Wagtail Class for winning the Spring Reading Challenge and getting a pizza party for your reward! 

Science - What is Light?

In Science, we have started our new topic 'Light and Shadow'. Wagtail have investigated this week what light is and if there is no light, there is darkness. The children had to guess what objects were in the box. But first had to look through one hole. Then they could gradually add more holes and a light source to discover that we need light to see. 

DT Sewing - Tudor Rose Cushion

In Design and Technology, Year 3 have been creating and sewing their own Tudor Rose cushion. The children practiced their sewing techniques and learnt how to sew a running stitch, blanket stitch and cross stitch. The children did extremely well developing their sewing skills and they all had amazing determination to see the task through. 

Shakespeare Rocks!

Wagtail Class have completed a brilliant performance this term. They have worked extremely learning all the songs and their dance. Super proud of you Wagtail!

On Tuesday 14th March, Wagtail and Goldfinch took a journey down to the local library. The children were introduced to the variety of books on offer and were allowed to borrow books to take home. Whilst in the town, the children conducted a transport survey for their geography fieldwork. The children observed the different uses of transport ready to present as a bar chart. Also, the children enjoyed taking part in a history tour of St Neots from Mrs Gregorious. Year 3 went around the area discovering hidden items of history and enjoyed learning the facts behind them. 

A fantastic day in Wagtail and Goldfinch class for World Book Day! We have had an amazing day celebrating reading, illustrating and theatre.

In Science, we have continued our new topic ‘Forces and Magnets’. Year 3 have looked at the Earth and its magnetic field. The have learnt that this magnetic field helps compasses work as the needle always points to North. The children conducted an experiment, with a magnet floating on water, to find out where North was in the school.

Magnetic and Non-Magnetic Investigation

In Science, Wagtail class have been investigating magnetic and non-magnetic materials. The children investigated everyday materials and came up with their own conclusions from their findings. The children concluded that not all metals are magnetic and that shiny objects are not always magnetic either.

On Friday 3rd February, it was NSPCC Number Day. Year 3 became entrepreneurs and opened their own pizza restaurant! They calculated seating plans, created tasty new pizza combinations using fractions, took orders, processed payments and analysed data!

They had fun outside on a number scavenger hunt for products of the 3,4 & 8 times tables and had to communicate carefully so that they could draw snowmen with their partners!

Forces - Investigating Bridge Designs.

The children investigated and experimented with new bridge designs and discuss the forces acting on a bridge and how to keep it a balanced force. 

Science: Testing Friction

In Science, the children have learnt about forces. They have learnt that a force can be identified as a push or a pull and the difference between balanced and unbalanced force. For their investigation, the children tested friction acting on a moving toy car on different surfaces.

Reward Day - Silent Disco

On Wednesday 7th December, Year 3 took part in an archaeology workshop from the Museum of London Archaeology Team, in partnership with Highways England. The children had an amazing experience looking at artefacts and designing one of their own. The children were given the opportunity to hold and view some of the finds that the archaeologists had found in the local area, including: pottery from the Roman period, arrow heads from the Stone Age, and a horses' bone from nearly 10,000 years ago. The archaeologist talked about the importance of their work and how it takes time to unearth the items, and discover what the item was potentially used for. Also, Year 3 learnt about the importance of brooches, to symbolise which tribe you belonged to, and then designed and created one of their own. 

Petrologists at Work

Wagtail class have become petrologists and have been investigating different types of rocks and their properties. We have been experimenting with rock hardness and if a rock is permeable or impermeable. We have also categorised the rocks into the three main rock groups: metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous.

A massive well done to both Goldfinch and Wagtail for their amazing efforts at the Year 3 sports morning at Winhills. They participated in football, netball and dodgeball and showed good sportsmanship throughout. 

Ancient Egyptian Day

Week Commencing 12th September

In PE, we are learning the rules and the game of Tag Rugby. Last week, Wagtails learnt how to tackle another opponent and what to do if they get tackled. This week, we have learnt how to travel with the ball and avoid the other team with quick movements and dodging skills. 

What an amazing first week in Wagtail class. The children have settled in very well and have completed lots of exciting activities. We have started our TTRS learning and using our times table knowledge to play numberlink games in class. In Design and Technology, we have been adapting a recipe for a biscuit. Wagtails taste tested biscuits to get an idea of texture and taste. Then, completed a first bake, adapted the recipe with more ingredients and completed a second bake with chocolate chips and sprinkles. In History, we have started to look at The Stone Age period. The children became archaeologists and discovered Stone Age artefacts. 

Wagtail Class 2021-2022

Pollination Animation

Still image for this video
Year 3 have been learning about the pollination process in Science. The children were tasked to create an animation explaining and showing the process of a plant seed being created. .

Victory for the Year 3 & 4 Dodgeball Team

Huge Congratulations to the Year 3 and 4 Dodgeball Team for winning the trust tournament today. Well Done to all players!

Platinum Jubilee Art Work

Year 3 have been working extremely hard creating picture collages of the Queen. They used cut outs of objects and things important to Britain and the Queen

Wagtail Ice Cream Party

Wagtail Class celebrated their home reading win with a scrumptious ice cream party.

National Outdoor Learning Day

Wagtail Class celebrated National Outdoor Learning Day by taking their Maths lesson outside. They learnt how to tell the time to 5 minutes, including quarter past and quarter to. 

Amazing Day at the Year 3 Commonwealth Games

Year 3 Goldfinch and Wagtail class had an amazing day at the Year 3 Commonwealth Sports Event. The pupils participated in rounders, athletics and netball. Well done to everyone for their hard work and team spirit. Well done to Wagtail Class who finished in 3rd place!. 

Year 3 WIN Bowling Event!

Congratulations to our Year 3 Bowling Team, who won the inter-sports competition today at Eat 'N' Bowl. Super teamwork and enthusiasm! Including the prize for the top individual score!

Wagtail WIN the Reading Challenge!!

Wagtail Class have won the spring term reading challenge. This was down to their hard working reading 5 reads a week and completing AR quizzes. Super work Wagtail Class!  

Year 3 & 4 Production

Wagtail Class have completed a brilliant performance this term. They have worked extremely learning all the songs and their dance. Super proud of you Wagtail!

Our Fishkeeper Fry Project: 

Goldfinch and Wagtail have been working hard this term being fish keepers. With special thanks to Maidenhead Aquatics, The Round House are now the owners of a beautiful aquarium which is home to many different types of fish. Year 3 followed an eight-week journey of fishkeeping learning about how to care for fish, how to clean the tank and what fish need to survive? Each week, a new variety of fish was added to the tank and the pupils learnt exciting facts about the fish. We are very happy to be keeping the tank in school and offering other year groups the chance to maintain the aquarium. 

 

29th March 

 

Year 3 and 4 had an amazing Minecraft session today from Highways England. The children were tasked in helping construct the new A428 road from the Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet in Minecraft. They learnt about how to safely build without disrupting local ecosystems and managing noise levels as well.

Well done Year 3 and 4.

Week Commencing: 3rd January 2022

 

Year 3 have had an amazing first week back after our Christmas holidays. In English, we have started our new book, Mr Penguin and the lost treasure' we have written and persuasive avert telling people to use Mr Penguin's investigative services. Also, we have written a setting description of the Mr Penguin's untidy office. Goldfinch and Wagtail have revisited their writing techniques such as subordinating conjunctions and expanded noun phrases in their writing. In Maths, we are starting to look at multiplication and division. We have used cubes and food items to understand multiplication is about equal groups, such as 5 groups with 6 eggs in each. We have also looked at how multiplication, is the same as repeated addition. In History, we have started our new topic on Anglo-Saxons and The Vikings. We have started our History lesson by learning about Who the Anglo-Saxons were and how they divided England into seven kingdoms. 

 

Well done Goldfinch and Wagtail. 

Week commencing 8th November. 

 

It has been another great week in Year 3. In English, we have been writing a non-chronological report about one of the three sea creatures Erin saw when she was in the water. The children wrote about jellyfish, koi carp and angler fish. In Maths, we have been continuing to develop our knowledge of addition and subtraction by adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers from 3-digit numbers. In Science, we have started our new topic Forces and Magnets. The children investigated this week the forces needed and acting upon a toy car travelling on different surfaces. 

 

In the Ice Zone this week, the children have been learning to annotate, and draw inference from different pictures of Art. The children wrote about their opinion and views on the art David Hockney: My Parents.

 

Well done Wagtails and Goldfinches! 

Week commencing 1st November. 

 

It has been lovely to welcome back Goldfinch and Wagtail class from their half term break. We started the week of by cooking our vegetable tarts. The children prepared and cooked their vegetable tart and enjoyed the most important bit of eating the vegetable tart. We learnt about what makes these foods healthy and the importance of kitchen safety and hygiene. 

 

We celebrated National Outdoor Learning Day by writing a poem about autumn, taking our maths outside and drawing place value grids on the playground, and in the afternoon we created nature faces and leaf rubbing pictures. 

 

Well done Wagtails and Goldfinches! 

Week Commencing - 11th October 

 

This week in Year 3, we have started our new English book, 'The Secret of Black Rock'. We have taken on the role of a fisherman or fisherwoman and we have described to Erin (the main character) our journey into the sea, and us seeing black rock. We have used descriptive language and expanded noun phrases to describe how horrible and gruesome black rock is and our journey through the rough waters. In Maths, we have continued to develop our knowledge of addition and subtraction. This week we have been looking at adding and subtracting ones and tens from a 3-digit number. We have looked at exchanging 10 ones for 1 ten and 10 tens for 1 hundred. 

In science we have started to prepare our experiment to test pulse rate. We have looked at the different variables when carrying out a fair test. In Design and Technology, we have finished, raced and evaluated our sling shot cars. 

 

Well done Goldfinch and Wagtail for another super week! 

Week Commencing - 4th October 

 

This week in Year 3, we have been learning about speech marks in English. Goldfinch and Wagtail took on the role of the author and have written two new sections of the book 'Into the Forest' by Anthony Browne. We pretended that the boy met the Big Bad Wolf and Sleeping Beauty. In Maths, we have started to develop our addition and subtraction knowledge from Year 2. We have been adding ones to 3-digit numbers and learning to exchange. In Design and Technology, we have continued to build our sling shot cars, ready for the testing of them next week. Year 3 have learnt how they can make their car more aerodynamic to make it go faster. 

 

Well done Goldfinch and Wagtail for an amazing week! 

Week Commencing - 4th October

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