Thursday 5th March
World Book Day!
What a book-filled, costume-tastic day we had celebrating World Book Day! Everyone had a fabulous time and the classroom was full of excitement about books and reading.
We began the day by talking about our favourite books and explaining why we enjoy them. The children proudly showed off their wonderful costumes, sharing why they had chosen their character or telling their friends about what they like to read when they are cosy in their pyjamas. We also had a look through the special £1 World Book Day books that the children can buy using their book tokens.
One of our favourite activities was the Ultimate Character Battle. The children chose a book character and described their strengths, weaknesses and special characteristics. They then used their brilliant speaking and listening skills to debate which character would win!
Before lunch we took part in Choice and Voice. Each child chose from the 4 books being read by the phase teachers, and visited the classroom where it was being read. It was lovely to see children from both Year 3 classes and Year 4 enjoying stories together with others who had made the same choice.
In the afternoon, we completed a 10-minute creative challenge with author and illustrator Frann Preston-Gannon. After listening to her read one of her books, the children drew an animal that had found itself in a tricky situation, such as a snake tied up in a knot! This was a very fun and imaginative activity.
Later, we read poems from our Year 3 World Book Day book, The Dog Is Full of Love. Inspired by the poems, the children wrote their own haiku poems about dogs. A haiku has three lines with 5 syllables, 7 syllables and then 5 syllables again. The poems were creative, thoughtful and lots of fun to read.
We all had such a wonderful day and went home feeling inspired and full of enthusiasm for books!
Friday 6th February 2026
Visit to The Glasshouse
Today, Year 3 had a very exciting Friday! We got on the bus at 10 o’clock and made our way to The Glasshouse. We arrived at 10.50, and were met by our host Carol.
First, we were split into two groups, Northern Europe and Southern Europe. In Northern Europe, our first activity was the Barbour workshop. This was led by Callum and involved learning some musical vocabulary, listening to different types of orchestral instruments, learning about scales, playing some clapping games (which some of us had a go at leading), and composing a piece of music together by rolling a dice to decide which note would come next. A few of us had the chance to play the note on the piano.
Then, it was time for lunch. We all sat and had lunch with our friends in our common area.
Then it was our turn to get a tour of the building. We were able to see the performance spaces Sage Two, Sage One and some rehearsal spaces. We also got to stand on a very special line. It was a gap between the performance spaces which was filled with Neoprene; the stuff wet suits are made of! The line stops the sound travelling from one performance space to another. We even watched a choir rehearsing in a sound proof room. Even though we couldn’t hear them at all, we clapped when they finished. They thought this was really funny!
After a short break, we all got back together for a very special treat. We got to be in the audience for an open rehearsal by the Royal Northern Sinfonia. It was amazing to get to see these talented musicians perform live!
Sadly, that was all we had time for on this trip and we had to get back to school. This was such an amazing trip and we are so glad we were able to experience it!
Tuesday 3rd February
Prayer Space
The children had a fantastic time enjoying all the lovely activities during Prayer Space. The ideas are so varied and well considered and it is a pleasure to see how eagerly the children engage with them. At one station, the children were invited to imagine that they had two minutes to pack up their own ‘Refugee Rucksack’ and leave their homes. They had to choose just three items from a selection given to them. It provoked lots of interesting discussions and debate about the things are really important in any given situation. There were opportunities for the children to reflect on what it might be like for people living in less fortunate circumstances, as well as asking a ‘Big Question’ and having time for quiet reflection in the tent.
Thursday 29th January
Art – Sculpture – Andy Goldsworthy
We had a lovely afternoon exploring sculpture as part of our Art topic. The children have been learning about the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy, who creates sculptures using natural materials found in the environment.
This week, the children brought in a variety of natural objects, including twigs, stones, leaves and shells. Using these materials, they worked creatively to design and build their own environmental art sculptures inspired by Andy Goldsworthy’s style.
The children understood that their sculptures could not be kept, so we photographed them as a record of their work – just as Andy Goldsworthy does. He embraces the fact that nature, weather and wildlife can change or even remove his sculptures over time.
I’m sure you’ll agree that the children created some truly fantastic and imaginative sculptures. We were very proud of their creativity and enthusiasm!
Friday 22nd January
Music Workshop
We had a fantastic time on Wednesday morning when Gateshead Music Service visited our school to deliver an exciting music workshop. The children were introduced to African djembe drums and enjoyed learning a variety of traditional children’s songs from Africa.
One of the highlights was Che Che Kule, a lively song similar to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which everyone loved. It was wonderful to see both children and staff joining in with the words and actions, with smiles all around!
Some children were even invited to come to the front and have a go at playing the djembe drums themselves, which was a very special experience. We also learned songs using call-and-response and singing in a round, helping everyone to listen carefully and work together.
It was a fun, energetic and memorable morning that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
MFL – French – Les Fruits
This half term in French, we are learning all about les fruits. Last week, the children learned how to say the names of five different fruits, and this week we added five more to our vocabulary.
The children have really enjoyed practising their pronunciation and taking part in interactive games on the screen, which help to build confidence and support recall in a fun way.
Over the coming weeks, we will be learning how to use the plural forms of the fruits and how to form simple sentences such as “J’aime…” (I like…) and “Je n’aime pas…” (I do not like…).
Well done, Northern Europe — you were magnifique!
This week, our Computing focused on online safety and helping children understand how the internet can affect people’s feelings. As part of our computing curriculum, we begin every half term with an online safety lesson to reinforce the importance of using technology responsibly and respectfully. During this lesson, the children explored how messages, images and comments shared online can influence emotions, making people feel happy, included, worried or upset. They remembered that they should tell their parent or another trusted adult if they are upset or worried by anything they see or read online.
Through discussion and examples, the pupils learned that words typed online can have just as much impact as words spoken face to face. They learnt that permission needs to be sought from someone before sharing content that includes them. They talked about the importance of being kind, thoughtful and respectful when using the internet, and how to recognise when something online might not make them or others feel comfortable. This lesson helped children develop empathy and a better understanding of how their online behaviour can affect others.