The Rise and Fall of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon Britain

In History, we have been studying the Anglo-Saxons, particularly looking at 'How did the Anglo-Saxons impact British life?'. In this lesson, we explored the rise and fall of Christianity after the Saxons arrived in Britain. We learned about how at first, there was a rise in paganism. We then learned about how St. Cuthbert, St. Augustine and St. Aidan converted many people to Christianity. Using our new knowledge, we plotted the events on a timeline to show the chronological order of the rise in Christianity. 

Fables!

In Literacy, we finished our 'fables' topic by becoming authors and writing our over own fable based on 'The Lion and The Mouse'. We used features such as inverted commas for direct speech, dialogue tags and interesting adverbs. 

Year 3 were so proud of their efforts and found it very rewarding to see their story come to life in the form of a book. Well done Year 3!

RISE Mental Health Workshop

Today Year 3 were so lucky and had a special visit from RISE whereby we learned that we all have mental health, how to recognise mental health and to explore the link between what we think, feel and do.

We then discussed what does 'good mental health' look like and what does negative mental health and wellbeing' look like?'. To finish the session, we then looked at a range of different emotions and had to describe them using facial expressions. 

Overall, we had a very informative and valuable session with RISE and learned how important it is to speak about mental health..

Our Final DT Project!

Year 3 made their very own cushions by using a variety of stitch techniques such as running stitch and cross stitch! They were able to share their cushions around the classroom so we could test it effectiveness before evaluating it. Year 3 were so proud of themselves for being able to complete such a tricky stitch technique as well as make it their own by using their design as a template. Well done Year 3!

Palm Sunday Class Liturgical Prayer

On Monday afternoon, we took part in our Class Liturgical Prayer to celebrate Palm Sunday. Our grown ups even came to watch us! 

In our Liturgical Prayer, we all played a part in telling the story of the very important role the donkey had when carrying Jesus into Jerusalem. We then all had a picture of ourselves where we wrote things that are special about us - linking this to the story of the donkey. 

Great job Year 3, you were all amazing!

Cross Stitch

In Year 3, our current DT topic is 'textiles'. To kick start this topic, we have been practising our sewing skills. We learned two new sewing techniques - Cross Stitch and Applique. We used coloured felt to practise the cross stitch method followed by adding a contrasting colour of felt on top for our applique. This made us very excited to make our cushions using these new sewing techniques, as well as ones we already know such as running stitch!

Dance like an Egyptian!

Our new PE topic is Dance and our theme is all about the Egyptians. We had our first lesson with Rachel yesterday where she taught us some specific Egyptian dance moves before putting them to some music. 

Once we came up with a sequence of 4 different moves, we then had to make up our own Egyptian themed move with our partner for the 5th part of the dance which was very interesting and fun! 

To finish the lesson off, in our partners we explored some hieroglyphics and had to create a dance move which matched the hieroglyphic of the first letter of our name. It was great seeing everyone's different moves and ideas! We then danced the whole routine to some Egyptian music which we loved. Well done Year 3 and thank you Rachel! We can't wait for our next session.

Trip to The Great North Museum!

Today, Year 3 and 3/4 had the privilege of attending the Great North Museum as part of out Egyptian History Topic. The day consisted of getting a gallery explorer kit, attending a workshop all about the 'Land of the Pharaohs' and a story bag which was filled with different activities. We started off our day by exploring the kit which included a map of Egypt, costumes, and dice with words on that we had to match with an artefact in the gallery. 

We then attended the workshop 'Land of the Pharaohs' whereby we explored many replica and real artefacts from Ancient Egypt to try and work out what job they would have been for such as a 'Hoe' for a farmer and a 'sarcophagus' for an embalmer. 

Finally, we finished our amazing day by reading 'Marcey and the Riddle of the Sphynx' and playing 'object eye spy' whereby we had to search high and low to find hidden artefacts around the gallery. 

Overall it was a brilliant day and we learned so much! Great job Year 3!

Reading Challenge Prize

As part of the final week for the reading challenge, Year 3 got partnered up with Reception class to enjoy some hot chocolate, biscuits and a story. Year 3 read lots of different stories to the children in Reception and loved it! They were very grateful to have a visit down to Reception and were excellent role models to our new friends. 

Children's Mental Health Week

In school this week, we have been celebrating 'Children's Mental Health Week' by participating in a range of activities. The theme of this whole week was 'Let's Connect' we each decorated a piece of card which demonstrated what we were connected to, we then linked these together by making a paper chain!

We ended the week today by coming in our own clothes to 'Dress to Express' and we did our own class fashion show. It has been a very important week with lots of thought provoking messages sent out to the children. 

Mirror Games

Today during science, we played some mirror games to deepen our knowledge of reflection.

We first learned that the surfaces that reflect light the best are smooth, shiny and flat, just like a mirror! We then learned that this is because the light rays bounce off these surfaces at the same angle, unlike a rough surface. 

One of the mirror games we played was 'Mirror Messages' whereby we wrote a simple sentence down. We then placed the mirror to the right hand side of it and noticed that it appeared reversed in the mirror! We tried our best to write it backwards to then notice it written the correct way from the left side. 

We then went outside and played 'Mirror Maze' where we used the mirror to look at our feet in an attempt to walk through a wiggly line. This was very difficult but we tried super hard. Well done Year 3. 

Making Pneumatic Toys!

Today, we finished out DT topic by creating our own pneumatic toy. We used our exploded diagrams to begin to assemble our pneumatic toys. We then used plastic tubing and balloons to create the pneumatic mechanism that we placed inside of the box. 

Once we had completed that, we then decorated our toy with whatever design we had created on our plan. They were brilliant!

Pedestrian Training

Today Year 3 had some very special visitors who came to tell them all about how to be safe on the roads. This was our first session of 6 and we thoroughly enjoyed learning lots of new facts and even doing some acting out!

We learned all about the crossing skills which are - Stop, Look, Listen and Think. We then explained what we need to look out for and listen for. Some of us gave some brilliant ideas like being extra vigilant now due to electric cars being quiet. 

We had a great session and can't wait for the next 5 weeks! 

Library Visit

This week, Year 3 went on their first Library trip this year. We were super sensible when we were there and carefully chose books that we were eager to read. Once we got back to school we then read for pleasure in silence then talked to each other about our books so far! We really enjoyed visiting the Library and of course, the reading!

Santa Dash!

On Wednesday afternoon, Year 3 took part in the Santa Dash, arranged by the PTA. We were sponsered by our friends and our families to run around the field, in the snow, wearing Santa hats all to raise money for our school. It was such great fun and the snow made it ever so festive. Once we had completed our dash, we were then awarded with a certificate and a selection box. 

What a fabulous time we had! Thank you to the PTA for arranging this fabulous activity. 

Three Little Birds

In Music this week, we have been focusing on the song Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. We have been using our bodies to find the pulse and the beat to the song then comparing it to other reggae songs such as Jammin, also by Bob Marley. We then discussed the two songs using the correct musical language. We talked about what was the same, what was different and which song we preferred and why.

To round all of our knowledge up about the two songs, we then delved deeper to notice any instruments we could hear in the songs such as a keyboard and drums. Year 3 were excellent and finding their musicality and engaging in a different musical style! Great job.

Advent Survival Afternoon

Year 3 were so lucky as they got to take part in an Advent Survival Afternoon where we discussed the meaning of Advent and what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. Kev and Heather were super impressed with our knowledge and key words we used in our answers!

We then competed in races to create the Christmas Story and even did a Prayer Walk for the first time where we each had a different part to play. We finished off this fantastic afternoon by lighting a fire and making s'mores which were very yummy! What a great afternoon Year 3!

Football's coming home!

Yesterday afternoon, we were super lucky and were able to watch England's first football match in the World Cup. To demonstrate our support, we all came in wearing the famous England colours, some of us even came in our football strips! 

We celebrated hugely every time England scored and were overjoyed with the end result, we even held up our trophy in hopes that we will go the whole way. 

During the match, we coloured in pictures of our favourite players, completed football crosswords and even designed our own football shirt! What a brilliant afternoon. 

Anti-Bullying Workshop

As part of Anti-Bullying week, Year 3 have had the pleasure of taking part in an Anti-Bullying workshop! We discussed different types of bullying such as physical, emotional and cyber. As the final task, we then got into groups and performed a role play whereby 'a child was being bullied'. The children were then asked how they can change their role play scenario to make it a positive experience. the workshop was amazing and all of Year 3 listened to the importance of this message and demonstrated great maturity in their answers. Well done Year 3!

Poppy Wreath 

In order to prepare for the whole school Liturgical Prayer on Friday, Year 3 created some of their very own poppies by using egg cartons!

They cut them very carefully then painted them to perfection ready to place on our wreath. We spoke about the importance of wearing a poppy this week and on Remembrance Sunday as we painted. The wreath looks amazing Year 3, great job.