Dosbarth Bryn Garth
Years 2 and 3 – English Stream
Croeso i’r Dosbarth Bryn Garth! Welcome to Dosbarth Bryn Garth’s class page.
This term will continue as the Autumn and Spring terms did, with Mrs. Jen Davies teaching the class Mondays to Wednesdays and Mrs. Rachel Jones teaching on Thursdays and Fridays. Mrs. Cheryl Meadows will be supporting Dosbarth Bryn Garth. Mr. Thompson will teach Cymraeg and Music to the class on Wednesday afternoons for Mrs. Davies to have PPA.
Our topic for this term is a science-based topic. The key concept of learning is interdependence and during the topic, we will be learning that the world around us is full of living things, that humans form part of the living world and our decisions and actions can have a significant impact on the diversity of life. Through learning about interdependence, learners will experience the wonder of the natural world and how it can contribute to their spiritual development and wellbeing and can help to cultivate a sense of place and belonging. It will develop an awareness of the interconnections between humans and their environment and an understanding of our interdependence. In Dosbarth Bryn Garth, we are starting the topic by recalling what we already know about living things and about animal life in different environments. Linking what we learned about the local area last term, we will go on exploring farming – how farmers look after their animals and what these animals provide for human. We will be learning about how food is produced before looking at fishing and how to look after and protect animals in the wild. Finally, we will be learning about endangered animals and their environments.
In language lessons, our focus will be on developing discussion and persuasion skills. We will be presenting arguments for and against when discussing and encouraging others to agree and sharing opinions with evidence when writing persuasive texts.
In maths lessons, we will be learning the skills of presenting information in graphs and using this information to interpret data. At the moment we are developing our are calculation skills further, using different methods to add and subtract.
The digital skills that we will be focusing on this term are using digital equipment to present information using oracy skills. We will be building on the skills we learnt last term when using iMovie and Stop Motion!
P.E. and Swimming
This term is our turn to go swimming, so we will not have PE lessons on Wednesdays. This means that children need to come to school in school uniform every day. Swimming will commence on Friday 24th April and will continue every Friday morning for ten weeks. It is essential that the children wear school uniform on Fridays and bring appropriate swimming kit (either swimsuit, no bikinis or swimming shorts, but not longer than the knees and a towel) with them in a bag which they can carry easily as we will be walking to and from the swimming pool. If you wish for your child to wear googles, please complete the online consent form, which has been emailed to you. We are looking for volunteers to walk us down and back. If you think you can help, please let the office know.
For swimming, long hair should be tied back. Stud earings are the only earings permitted in school, but these will need to be removed for swimming.
Reading
Reading at home with your child is an excellent way to support your child’s learning. Spending 10-15 minutes reading together can have a high impact on your child’s reading fluency, confidence and understanding. Your support in helping your child with their reading is greatly appreciated, and it makes a significant difference in all areas of learning, particularly with helping your children to become an independent learner. We will continue to work on key words reading and spelling with Y2 and Y3 this term. We aim to read with all children as often as possible. This can be reading independently, as a group or as a whole class. It is essential that reading books and reading records/communication diaries are brought into school daily.
Please remember that as a school, we still have a subscription to Oxford Reading Buddy as an alternative source of reading material. Usernames and passwords can be found on digital passports inside the back cover of your child’s reading record/communication diary.
SUMDOG / HWB / Nessy / Doodle Learning
All children in Dosbarth Bryn Garth have access to SUMDOG and Doodle learning. These are online apps that can be downloaded to a range of devices and can also be accessed via the SUMDOG and Doodle Learning websites. These are applications that allow children to practise numeracy and literacy skills.
The children’s SUMDOG and Doodle Learning logins can also be found on their digital passport. Please support your child to practise logging in with these details so that they can use their usernames and passwords independently.
An alternative for learning times tables is J2Blast that can be found in HWB. It is in the Just 2 Easy section and allows the children to practise one multiplication table at a time. In addition, there are English spelling games to practise the high frequency words.
This year, the school purchased licenses for all Year 3 children to have access to Nessy. Nessy is a reading and spelling platform that is personalized to your child’s individual level of reading and spelling. There are different activities to support your child’s learning and lots of fun games. Nessy can be accessed at home and login information can be found on the digital passport.
Independent project books (Y3)
Independent project books will continue to be used this term for Year 3. The contents of this project book should be linked to the topic for the term but allow the children the freedom to explore areas of interest. A selection of suggested tasks for the new topic will be added to the book once the children have completed their pupil voice activities. Please ensure that the project book comes to school each day as sometimes the children are given opportunities to work on these projects in class too.
Water Bottles/Fruit
Children are encouraged to bring a water bottle into school each day that will be readily available during lesson time to keep them hydrated. At breaktime, the children sit together in class and have a snack and take part in Welsh enrichment activities. We would like to encourage all children to bring a piece of fruit to eat daily during this time.
Wellies and waterproofs
To help us make the most of our outdoor environment—whether on the field or around the school grounds—please could your child bring a pair of wellies or an alternative change of footwear/dry socks to keep in school on their peg. This will ensure that all pupils can take part in outdoor activities, whatever the weather. Please note that we ask that children do not bring boots, as they are not waterproof and may not be suitable for wet conditions. The Friends of the School have kindly donated waterproofs which each class can use when undertaking outdoor learning activities.
If you have any queries or questions, please contact us using the school office email address.
Diolch