Sea Otters – Year 3 – Blwyddyn 3
Welcome to the Sea Otters
Autumn Term 2026
Croeso! I hope you all had a wonderful Summer break and were able to relax with loved ones, on what was for once, a gloriously sunny Summer holiday!
We have had a brilliant start to the term and it has been lovely seeing everyone and getting to know new personalities. My greatest wish is for everyone to have a happy, settled, positive year, where we learn, have fun and leave feeling proud of our achievements. The mantra I want the children to live by this year is – Mistakes are proof you are trying! To try is all I can ask of anyone, and feeling the confidence to try new things, without worrying about being right or wrong, is how I hope all of the children learn to feel.
We’re excited to start our new topic; Wild Wales, and the children have already shared their ideas and questions about what they would like to learn. Their ideas and questions have been displayed on our ‘Planning together tree’ in class and will form the basis of our learning throughout the term.
Below are some of the things we will be looking at this half term:
Literacy:
We will be looking at lots of books linked to Wales including Cochyn the Welsh Dragon and Gelert, among others. There will be a specific focus on the story of Gelert next half term, to inspire our discussions and writing in the Pie Corbett style. We will be learning all about the features of Information texts and learning through a fact file about the legendary Big Foot, again through the Pie Corbett style.
Maths:
Our numeracy this term will focus on developing number and shape, data and measures skills. We aim to learn a skill and further develop this skill through our application in problem solving.
Humanities:
This term, we will be exploring Wales and discovering its WILD side! We will look at native animals and plants, landscape, the history of the Welsh dragon and the people who have helped shape our wonderful homeland. We will compare Wales to places of interest around the world to further develop our knowledge of the wider world.
Science:
In Science, we will be exploring living and non-living things, animals and their habitats, adaptation, interdependence and the impact humans have on the planet. We will then learn how we can make a positive impact as informed citizens.
Expressive Arts :
Our Art work will focus on the Welsh artist Mary Lloyd Jones, learning about line, tone, shape and colour to develop our own landscape art work.
In dance we will use movement to represent nature around us, learning to evaluate and improve performance. Our music will further add to this theme as we listen to and appreciate the different music genres and artists Wales has produced, and we will try creating our own music using percussion instruments. I hope to start the class learning the recorder, as this will be an easy way into them learning to read music and perform musically.
READING
Reading is such an important skill, and support at home is vital for continued success.
Please continue to:
- Listen to your child read regularly.
- Read to them as often as you can – this helps build their love of stories, language, and learning.
- Encourage them to ‘chunk up’ longer words independently.
- Ask them to make predictions about what might happen next in the story and summarise what they have read at the end of the session – to check understanding.
- Please talk about grammar and question their knowledge and understanding of any new or unfamiliar words.
Please return your child’s reading book and reading record every day, as we start each day of with a short reading session. We aim to listen to all readers individually once a fortnight and will listen to all children read within group reading sessions each Monday.
P.E.
P.E. will take place every Thursday this half term and will focus on dance.
Please can your child come to school wearing their PE kit which just needs to be loose, comfortable clothing such as jogging bottoms or leggings, a t-shirt and trainers.
Outdoor Learning
We aim to go outdoors to enhance our learning as often as possible, as we have an enclosed outdoor area that leads off our classroom. We will also schedule time outside using Coed Cadno, our wooded area. It is important therefor, that all children have a waterproof coat in school at all times to ensure they are suitable protected during wet weather. As the Winter months approach, gloves, a scarf, and hat will mean they are dry and cosy too.
Please could all items be clearly labelled with your child’s name. Thank you for your support!
Please provide your child with a labelled water bottle which they can keep in class and use as needed.
Children may also bring a healthy snack in a small container to enjoy during morning break. Snacks will be kept in class so please make sure any containers are clearly labelled with your child’s name.
Kind regards and here’s to a wonderful year!
Miss Thomas, Mrs Lloyd Williams & Miss Sullivan