A new term!

Please join us on Thursday 5 September for our Open Evening. This will be a brilliant opportunity to meet the team and find out a little bit more about our pastoral and academic provision in Year 3 and the wider Prep school. Individual parent consultations will be taking place later in the term, on Tuesday 5 November.

This half-term our topic is:

‘Underground’

Followed by ‘Overground’ next half-term.

Highlights include our visit by Dr Digby Rocks from Hysterical Histories, our trip to the Winchester Planetarium and Year 3 Space Day. Letters will be sent nearer to the time letting you know the details.

A Learning Journey, giving you an overview of what the Year 3 children will be covering this term, will be in our Friday communication. Further detail of the curriculum coverage will also be send within the Topic Tree on Friday.

We are very excited to be introducing Woodland Learning on a half-termly rotation in Years 3 and 4. The first half term in Year 3, the children will have a weekly slot of Woodland Learning. Please ensure your child has the correct kit to be able to access the woods. If you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s form tutor.

Your child will be given a Prep Diary and reading record, which they must bring into school each day.  The Prep Diaries will be used for any homework due, key dates coming up and where housepoints will be logged. Parents should record the children’s home reading in their reading record, and it will be recorded at school by staff. Half-termly projects will be set as part of your children’s learning, linking to the half-term’s topic.

The children are expected to practice their reading, spellings and times tables at home, ideally every day. SpellingShed activities will be set weekly for the children to practice their spellings, in addition to DoodleMaths. Their login details will be sent home in the coming days.

Please assist your child with homework, but allow them to lead tasks as this will encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning.

This term we have 2 trips planned for our Year 3 children!

We’re so excited to be able to offer the children some real-world experience of what they are learning in school. Trips are a brilliant way of making learning more tangible and memorable, as they enable the children to engage with the material in a more active and immersive way than can often be possible in the classroom. They are a powerful tool for broadening the children’s horizons, and also a lot of fun; we cannot wait to enjoy these days out over the Autumn Term!

• Tuesday 12 November – Year 3 will visit Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium.
• Thursday 12 December – We will be taking the children to the theatre to see Robin Hood.

More information will follow nearer to the dates.

For all absences, please complete the absence request form via the Parent Portal. Please see the guide here on how to request an absence for your child.

Please ensure your child is well enough to attend school each day. If they’ve required Calpol in the morning, they aren’t well enough for school, so please don’t send them in. If in any doubt, please contact Matron to discuss your concerns.

If your child will need any prescribed or over-the-counter medication administered during the school day, please complete the following form here. No medication can be administered without this form.

Children are to bring their water bottles to school and take them home daily. It is very important that the children drink water throughout the day, and using bottles in the classrooms helps to prevent spillages! If you do forget a bottle, just let us know and we can ensure that children have a cup to drink out of.

Drop off is at 8:15am on the Terrace or in the Drop off zone, for registration at 8:20am. Children arriving earlier should be booked in for breakfast from 7:30am or join our Early Birds in the Sports Hall or Courts from 8:00am. Children shouldn’t enter the Clock Block earlier than 8:15am.

Pick Up is at 4:00pm at the front of school. Please ensure that your child blobs out with a teacher before they leave the school site.

If you’d like your child to join us for breakfast, or stay beyond 4:00pm for hobbies or after school supervision/supper club, please contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com to arrange this.

As well as your pocket-sized diary, parents can also view the Autumn Term calendar via the website and Parent Portal.

Please do have a look through and pop important dates in your diary.  Of course, sometimes plans need to be updated, and so any changes will be updated on our electronic calendar and communicated to you as soon as possible.

The key events for our Year 3 parents include:

• Parents are invited to our Prep Open Evening on Thursday 5 September between 7:00-8:30pm.
• We will be hosting a PSHEE & RSE Tea & Talk for Reception – Year 4 Parents on Thursday 19 September.
• Individual & Sibling Pupil Photographs are scheduled for Tuesday 24 September.
• Year 3’s Archaeology Workshop with Dr Digby Rocks is on Thursday 26 September.
• There will be a Pupil Wellbeing Tea & Talk for Parents on Thursday 10 October.
• Years 3 & 4 Class Teacher Parents’ Evening is scheduled for Tuesday 5 November between 4:30-7:00pm.
• Our Whole School Remembrance Service will be held on Monday 11 November at 10:30am.
• The Year 3 trip to Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium is on Tuesday 12 November.
• Save the date for the Years 3 & 4 Production on Thursday 21 November at 5:30pm.
• The Year 3 children will enjoy Space Day on Friday 29 November. Parents are invited to a ‘Go Out of this World’ Event at 2:30pm.
• Please join us on Wednesday 4 December at 9:30am for our Christingle Service for children in Beehive to Year 4.
• Our Carol Service in the Chapel @ Christ’s Hospital for Families of Pupils in Year 1 – 8 is on Tuesday 10 December.
• We will be taking the children to see Robin Hood at The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Thursday 12 December.
• Carols Around the Tree takes places on Thursday 12 December at 4:00pm.
• Friday 13 December is the end of term with school finishing for Year 3 children at 11:50am.

Children can wear either summer or winter uniform until half term, after which all children should switch to winter uniform.

Please make sure your child’s uniform is labelled with their name, as it does make it a lot easier to reunite lost items with their owners.

Children are expected to wear smart uniform each day:

• All children should wear their blazers coming to and from school.
• Clean black school shoes (if a child needs to wear trainers, for example where their school shoes have been misplaced, please make the form teacher aware)
• Shirts need to be long enough to tuck in.
• Earrings – one plain stud only. No hoops. The child needs to be able to take the earrings out independently for PE and Games lessons.
• No necklaces.
• Plain wristwatch, no smartwatches to be worn.
• All shoulder length hair tied up with a plain hairband or small school coloured scrunchie or headband.

Whilst the sun is shining, please apply sun cream to your child at home, before the beginning of their session as we will be outside as much as possible. We cannot provide sun cream in school so it is essential that children bring this in themselves.

From Year 3, all PE and Games kit should be brought in to school on a Monday morning and should be taken home for washing at the end of each week. All children require a mouthguard for hockey and rugby lessons, as well as competitive matches. They will not be allowed to participate in lessons or matches without one, as this poses significant risk to the children.

As mentioned above, we are very excited to be introducing Woodland Learning on a half-termly rotation in Years 3 and 4. The first half term in Year 3, the children will have a weekly slot of Woodland Learning. Please ensure your child has the correct kit to be able to access the woods. If you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s form tutor.

The Year 3 Team will be conducting a complete kit check at the beginning of term.  This will include wellies, waterproof trousers, school play coat, water bottle and sports kit. Do talk to your children about the importance of looking after and organising their own property, as we gently begin to encourage their independence and development of organisational skills.

If you have any uniform requirements, please place an order via our website here. You can also book an appointment at the Uniform Shop by contacting uniform@pennthorpe.com or drop in during the times below:

• Monday 8:30am – 9:30am
• Tuesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Wednesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Thursday CLOSED
• Friday 8:30am – 9:30am

For the first half of the Autumn Term the girls will be switching to hockey and boys will be switching to football. A full kit list is available here, and all branded items can be ordered through Blueblood

Girls:

• Games kit
• Shin Pads
• Gum shield

Boys:

• Games kit
• Shin pads
• Boots

Please do not park in the drop-off lanes at the front of school if you are coming past the gates to drop your child into school, or collect them from one of the school buildings. These lanes are intended for dropping-off only!

Instead, please park up in the car park, or find a safe place to park on the neighbouring roads (being considerate of our neighbours, especially with regards parking near to junctions or driveways).