Term 1

Term 1 Week 6

The penultimate week of Term 1 has come to an end and it's been jam-packed! Our main focus this week has been creating some fantastic fact files based on "The Pebble in my Pocket". The children wrote introductions, conclusions, fun facts, illustrated volcanoes and vivid front colours... and then recounted the incredible journey that pebbles take from monstrous mountains to the tiny, misshapen pieces of rock we find on our beaches. 

In Maths, the children have been adding and subtracting 1- and 2-digit numbers from 3-digit numbers. They have continued to use base 10 and place value counters (from earlier in the term), and have now added partitioning and number lines to support adding/subtracting across 10s and 100s. Next week we will move on to using the column method!

We created our own islands in Geography and detailed what we know about Dover, using a Key, Atlas and our prior knowledge on features of a map from the previous week. In PE, we used our evasion skills with Mr. Gilder to dodge and move quickly for handball, and transferred these skills into rugby with Mr. Nurden. To end the week, the class got to "Meet the Brain" in a Coram Workshop and start designing Christmas Artwork, because October is never too early to think about Christmas!

For their role-model behaviours - listening, kindness, respect, resilience and effort (among other things) throughout the school day - this weeks ClassDojo stars were:

1. Bluebell - 72

1. Tilly - 72

1. Skylar - 72

A three-way tie!! Thank you for consistently making good choices and being role models for Oak Class.

In Week 7 we will have science experiments, narrative poetry, healthy eating workshops and more, to end the term on a high. Thank you again for your continued support with reading at home, such creative (and consistent) home learning and your positive communication with the teaching team.

There are wellbeing drop-ins on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The classroom will be open for you to come in and see the children's learning until 16:00, and you can speak to Mr. Gilder informally (or book in for a more formal chat if you would prefer). Please do come and see us on the door, or email oakclass@hadlow.kent.sch.uk if you would like to book a time.

Best wishes,

Mr Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Have a lovely weekend

Spellings for Week 7 (16-10-23 to 20-10-23):

forward, mention, arrive, decrease, pressure, promise

Term 1 Week 5

Week 5 was another full week of learning and enrichment activities for Oak Class. In English, the children have begun creating Fact Files linked to "The Pebble in my Pocket" - exploring volcanoes, the early Earth and later researching how pebbles are formed (on the laptops). In Maths we have started a new block on addition and subtraction, linking our knowledge of place value by adding and subtracting ones, tens and hundreds to/from three-digit numbers. Next week will extend our understanding with exchanging (crossing 10 and 100) and number patterns. 

The Dogs Trust joined us on Monday morning and delivered an engaging assembly, which was followed by a barking-mad-Workshop in the classroom! In RE, we discussed how Christian's show their faith at home, whilst in PSHE we focused on "Relationships" - our first School Value - and what makes a trusted friend. Music was quite the high note, with children creating a poster about "what music means to me", where we played (and sung along to) our favourite songs!

The children identified and compared the contrasting features of Scotland and the South-East using atlases in Geography; continued with creating incredible, detailed doors in Art; got active with some fancy French; then, rounded out the week with an a full afternoon of computing. We explored what makes a digital device, the difference between inputs, processes and outputs, then created PowerPoints all about how pebbles are formed. 

For their role-model behaviours - listening, kindness, respect, resilience and effort (among other things) throughout the school day - this weeks ClassDojo stars were:

1. Bluebell - 50

2. Jeffrey - 47

3. PJ - 46

Thank you for consistently making good choices and being role models for Oak Class. Some fancy stationary has been ordered, with all of the Dojo leaders from the term being able to top-up their pencil cases!

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the Disco!

Best wishes,

Mr Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Spellings for Week 6 (09-06-2023 to 13-06-2023):

appear, breathe, decide, increase, popular, history

Term 1 Week 4

This week in English we focused on using similes and alliteration to make powerful poetry! Together, the children created a wonderfully imaginative poem about the Harvest, which they so confidently performed in the Church on Friday! In Maths we finished our first block of learning on Place Value and recapped how to add and subtract in 1s, 10s and 100s, in addition to comparing and ordering three-digit numbers. 

Beyond our core subjects, we looked ahead to "A Pebble in my Pocket", watched Lava and drew our own volcanos! Next week we will start creating a Fact File about pebbles and the early earth, with our Words of the Day including Ancient, and powerful verbs like Colliding and Sculpting, which we hope to weave into our learning. 

We talked about what makes a great friend in PSHE, focused on attacking and shooting in Handball and enjoyed a mix of Art, French, Geography, Science, a Tennis Workshop and even some drumming!! 

The Teaching Team are so proud of the continued, consistent effort with Home Learning - for the third week in a row, nearly all Home Learning books have come into school with a mix of creative, English, Maths and PSHE learning. The engagement at home is appreciated and it's making a real impact on many of the children in the classroom!

For their role-model behaviours - listening, kindness, respect, resilience and effort (among other things) throughout the school day - this weeks ClassDojo stars were:

1. Sofia - 75

2. Jeffrey - 74

3. Bluebell - 73

Thank you for consistently making good choices and being role models for Oak Class. 

Have a lovely weekend,

Mr Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Spellings for Week 5 (02-06-2023 to 06-06-2023):

circle, laugh, friend, learn, people, really

The children will have a Letter Join resource in their Home Learning books for their spelling words to help them with their handwriting - transcription (how letters and words are formed) and cursive handwriting is a whole class focus this term! Even Mr. Gilder is practicing!

Term 1 Week 3

Another week has flown by in Oak Class! In English, we delved deeper into Voices in the Park, retelling the story with riveting recounts, using adverbials of time and verbs to connect events and show off interesting actions. In Maths, we moved onto adding and subtracting using place value, and used a range of methods - such as base 10, place value counters and number lines - to compare three-digit numbers.

In Geography, we became Atlas Detectives! We could tell the Northern and Southern Hemisphere's apart and describe the location of cities and countries across the globe using latitude, longitude and other features (like the equator, continents and oceans). Our week has also included handball in PE; recapping our understanding of routines and relationships in PSHE; and understanding a balanced diet and our nutritional needs in Science.

For their role-model behaviours - listening, kindness, respect, resilience and effort (among other things) throughout the school day - this weeks ClassDojo stars were:

1. Bluebell - 57

2. Ruby - 55

3. Skylar - 50

Thank you for consistently making good choices and being role models for Oak Class. 

Have a lovely weekend,

Mr Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Spellings for Week 4 (25-09-23 to 29-09-23):

actually, bridge, climb, improve, sugar, whole

Thank you for your continued support with home learning and spellings - over half of the class scored 6/6 and we received home learning from nearly everyone for the second week in a row! Thank you!

Term 1 Week 2

This week we continued exploring the Power of Pictures across all of our subjects! In English, the children created story maps, character profiles and gathered emotive language to help them create a vivid character description of Charlie, from Voices in the Park. In Maths, we continued to develop our understanding of place value, using a range of manipulatives and pictorial methods to represent hundreds, tens and ones. 

In Geography, we delved into atlases and discovered the countries, capital cities and interesting features of the UK and Ireland. Our Science learning included engaging posters about our favourite animals, together with all the things they need to survive (such as nutrition, water, air and shelter). We started overhand throwing and evasion throughout handball in our PE, discussed positive relationships and values in PSHE, and completed our first full week of daily Guided Reading. 

The Teaching Team were SO impressed by this week's Home Learning - 28 (out of 30) children completed a poem, created a door, described their favourite picture or practiced their times tables! What a fantastic start. Pictures will be uploaded of your fantastic work next week on the Home Learning page. 

Our in-class reward system is ClassDojo, with children earning points for their listening, kindness, respect, behaviour and effort (among other things) throughout the school day. This weeks Dojo stars were:

1. Violet - 35

2. Jack - 30

3. Jeffrey - 27

Thank you for making consistently making good choices and being role models for Oak Class. 

Lastly, congratulations to Oscar and Ruby, who will be our School Council representatives this year! They will have the first Council meeting with Mrs Wright in the coming weeks. 

Have a lovely weekend,

Mr Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Spellings for Week 3 (18-09-23 to 22-09-23):

please, million, house, pocket, bought, control

The Week 2 scores were excellent! So many of you are clearly practicing at home! Thank you parents for all of your support so far. 

Times Tables Rockstars logins have been sent out for each pupil in their Reading Diaries. Each pupil will have a sticker and parent letter, both of which have the username and password. 

Please log on by going to https://play.ttrockstars.com/login/37163, then enter the username and password. 

Spellings for Week 2 (from 11-09-23 to 15-09-23):

anyone, caught, know, passion, sword, thought

Term 1 Week 1

Where did the first week go?! It has been a whirlwind first week of Year 3 and Oak Class are already back into the swing of things. This week in English we gathered, discussed and used interesting adjectives to describe a setting. Using "Door" by JiHyeon Lee as inspiration, the children imagined what weird and wonderful scenery could be behind a door! In Weeks 2 & 3 we will move onto "Voices in the Park" by Anthony Browne, where we will create vivid character descriptions and develop engaging narratives. 

In Maths this week we have re-introduced place value, working on partitioning numbers into tens and ones by using manipulatives, the part-whole model and a range of pictorial methods; together with estimating numbers on a number line. Next week we will be moving onto hundreds! 

We have introduced our Science, French, PSHE and Geography topics this week, as well as creating computer art based on "Door" and doing our first weekly school library visit.

Home Learning books have been sent out today (Friday 08-09-23) and will due back for marking on Thursday 14-09-23. A polite reminder that reading diaries should be brought into school every day, and that PE takes place every Monday (with Mr. Gilder) and Thursday (with Pure Sports).

Please do stop by the door or email oakclass@hadlow.kent.sch.uk if you have any questions, updates or would like to arrange a time to chat during the day. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr. Gilder and the Oak Class Teaching Team

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Our first class book of the year is Matilda! Our class book will be read by one of the teaching team at the end of every day. 

Term 1 - The Power of Pictures