Stanningley Primary School

To finish off our year of learning to play chess, Stephen, our coach, held a competition. Everyone played a set number of games and points were scored for winning and drawing matches. Congratulations to our winners!

We earned our big class treat this week. After a democratic vote we decided to have a split. Some children decided they wanted to watch a film and some wanted to bring wheels to play on. Despite the damp weather we still had fun wheeling around the specially designed track.

Another lovely day out for year three! We had a super day at Rodley Nature Reserve. The staff were really friendly and taught us lots and lots about plants and wildlife. We collected items for our sticky boards, went bird watching and pond dipping

A great day of fun competition for all. Everyone tried their very best. Some people were winners, some people came last but everyone was very supportive and cheered each other one showing great sportsmanship. Well done everyone!

Purely for educational reasons, year three went to visit North Landing, Flamborough and South Beach, Bridlington. We used our geography skills to observe and compare the two different beaches, made drawings to record what we saw and tie in with a forthcoming art project. We also got to play a bit too! We had a picnic with an ice cream surprise followed by a paddle and fun jumping over the waves. What a great day we all had!

We have been investigating plants this term. We grew broad beans in the classroom and observed them as they grew to flowering plants. We set up an experiment to see whether plants could survive without air, water, soil or sunlight. We also investigated how water is transported around plants by putting carnations and stocks in blue water with fascinating results. Finally we looked at how plants reproduce then we dissected flowers to locate the different parts.

We had great fun on our annual Race for Life raising lots of money for great causes. We ran at least 2 laps and some of us even managed 5! A great effort by all.

As part of our Egyptian learning we made Shabtis These are dolls the rich of Ancient Egypt took with them to the afterlife to help tend to their fields. First we made them out of clay. Then we looked at how to mix primary colours to make other colours. Finally, we painted out Shabtis.

We investigated what surface would be best for a toy car to drive across. We found out the table was best because it was the smoothest and so had less friction

Year 3 showed their green fingers recently by planting lots of seeds. Excitingly, they are now starting to sprout.

We were lucky to have the author Stephen Pass in our class today to tell us all about how he created the story of Madge the Mermaid. It is a wonderful story about a boy who goes to stay with his auntie by the seaside and meets a real mermaid. Stephen told us how he began with an idea and the long process to publishing his first book.

Today we looked at muscles and learned that muscles make our bones move. They work in pairs with one muscle pulling while the other relaxes. We made model arms to help our understanding.

Combining Health week and science, we looked at what a skeleton is and what it used for. We also thought about what it needs to stay strong and healthy. We tried to make our own skeletons using bones...well, dog biscuits!

The whole school went skipping today. Here are some pictures of year 3 showing their group skipping skills.

We had a visit from Warburton's today. They taught us about healthy eating habits and showed us how to make healthy sandwiches. They were very tasty and we looked wonderful in our red hair nets!

What a talented bunch of performers we have in our class. You were all very brave for for taking the stage and a big well done to you all.

We had a visit from the Dogs Trust today. They taught us how to be safe around dogs. We looked at how to spot the signs of danger, how and when to approach a dog[or not].

To help raise awareness, and cash, for the great work that the NSPCC do we had a Number Day. We wore numbers and had a fun day all about numbers. This was great because we all love maths anyway! We had some great discussions about our favourite numbers, the biggest numbers and we some numbers might be lucky. We made number art and then used rulers to see how we all measured up!

It's not all work work work! Sometimes, when we have earned enough jumps on our reward chart, we get to have a pyjama party and a film. Well deserved!

We investigated light today, finding out that when we have no light it is dark and we can not see. We went into a dark tent to block out all the light. We could not even see our hands in front of our faces... until we switched on our torch and with light, we could see. We also tried to create shadows and thought about what actually happened to create a shadow.

Guess who came to town! We had a great Christmas party today with games, food and a visit from the man in red himself.

We were lucky enough to be able to visit Leeds Art Gallery for a winter workshop. We were sent around the gallery looking for festive features hidden within the works of art. We then made decorations for a display inside the gallery. We ARE artists.

We had a special visitor in school today that caused much excitement!

Yr3 had an interesting trip to the United Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Shadwell. We learnt many facts about this Jewish place of worship and were also able to demonstrate how much we had already learnt too.

What a great job year three did with their assembly. It was both informative and entertaining. Well done.

Year Three have been investigating rocks. Here they are making careful observations of slate, marble, limestone and granite.

Our favourite poets Colin and Julie came and taught us all about the fascinating life of Rosa Parks. They helped us understand the difficulties she faced and her bravery in making a stand - by sitting down. Year three picked up the words and movement quickly and gave a performance at the end of the day. Well done Bethany and Christopher for your on the spot presentations!

Here are three videos from year three's performance.

The road Safety Team returned today to teach us how to scoot safely. We learnt how to use the Green Code with a scooter and went out into the local streets to practice.

We made balloon rockets today. We then discussed how we could make them faster. We had a choice of different variables to change and decided which one we would try. It was lots of fun!

We had the Road Safety Team in today. They taught all about bring safe when riding in the car. We know we MUST wear a seat belt and a booster seat if we are under 135 cm tall.

This is our first PE lesson. We have been working on our balance and coordination skills.

We have been writing our speeches this week and presenting them to our class mates. On Friday we all voted for our favourite. Congratulations to Evie and Riley - our new class councillors.

Year Three are learning how to play chess. Their enthusiasm is fantastic and they are picking up the moves well.