1. Welcome to The Dancing Bears with Mrs Webster Teaching Assistants: Mrs Sisson Miss Etchells

2. Building Learning Power – The 4 R’s Resilience Absorption, managing distractions, noticing, perseverance Resourcefulness Questioning, making links, imagining, reasoning, capitalising Reflectiveness Planning, revising, distilling, meta learning Reciprocity Interdependence, collaboration, empathy and listening, imitation

3. Homework – My Choice + Extra Every fortnight children will be given the compulsory ‘My Choice’ creative homework. They have two weeks to complete it and return it to school A letter will be sent to ask parents if they wish for school to send extra literacy/maths homework to complete on the weeks in between. You can opt in or out at any time – please speak to me about it.

4. Homework – Reading It is vitally important that you continue to hear your child read every day at this age Use Reading Records as in KS1 Children begin to take responsibility for changing their own books Even fluent readers need time to talk about what they have been reading with adults I read with every child in a guided reading session each week – this is a comprehension discussion based session

5. Homework – Spellings The spelling pattern is taught in short sessions throughout the week. A list of spellings to practise will go home every Friday, and be tested on the following Monday/Tuesday. The short focussed daily practise is to ensure children learn the rules and patterns of spelling, not of specific words for a test. This means the dictation test will not include ALL words in the list and may include words not in the lists – this is to assess their understanding of the rules/patterns taught.

6. Homework – Times Tables Learning times tables helps with many areas of mathematics and needs to be regularly practised. We have a specific weekly session to test tables each week as well as learning about them in maths lessons throughout the year. Please spend time learning them with your child – there are a wealth of online games, apps to downloads and books to support this. See the information sheets in the front of homework books for the expectations for children in Year 3.

7. Swimming The contribution towards the cost is for the transport only. The school pays for the use of the pool and the cost of swimming teachers. The swimming teachers assess the children at the start of the year to determine groups. The children are continually assessed throughout the year and so groups may change as a result. Myself, Mrs Sisson, Miss Etchells and Mrs Smith accompany the children each week. Please ensure children arrive promptly at 8.50am to enable us to leave school on time. Children work towards grades and achieve certificates in school swimming.

8. Topics Autumn Term Scrumdiddlyumptious! Mighty Metals Spring Term Gods and Mortals Predator Summer Term Heroes and Villains Tremor

9. 16 th Day Books Every 16 th Day at school, children complete all work in this book to take home to share with parents/carers. This is an opportunity for you to discuss with your child what they have been learning at school and to see the progress they are making. Please do comment and sign the book in the front cover and send it back into school for the next 16 th Day.

10. Approximate costs for trips etc. Autumn Term Pantomime £11-£15 (coaches paid by FOSMS) Swimming £2.60 per week Children in need £1-£2 Baking activities £2-£3 Spring Term Swimming £2.60 per week Comic Relief £1-£2 Topic activity (tbc) £10-£15 Summer Term Swimming £2.60 per week Residential to PGL £170

11. Any problems… Please come and see me! I am around most mornings and after school. Alternatively, you can make an appointment to see me through the school office. Website – visit Dancing Bears class page Email – rjessop@st-maryscofe.leics.sch.uk

12. Thank you!