THANK YOU!

We would just like to say a massive thank you to all, for the lovely messages, cards and presents which we received. You have been an amazing class and should be so proud of your achievements this year. We hope you have a fantastic summer holidays and have lots fun.

Stay safe! 

Love Miss Jones & Miss Timms

xxxxx

For further information on the curriculum we teach, please speak with Miss Jones or Miss Timms.

Today we had our Celebration of Reading day at school. We dressed up as pirates or characters from our favourite book. In the morning, we had to guess which teachers' were behind the mask in Finchale's The Masked Reader. In the afternoon, we watched a play of Treasure Island. 

Websites

Below, you can find a list of helpful websites to support Home Learning:

Christmas Fun Run

Year 3 had great fun taking part in the fun run on Tuesday in the Christmas jumpers and hats. They especially enjoyed the snow machine at the end. 

Durham Christmas Big Sing

Year 3 and 4 took part in the Durham Christmas Big Sing. They spent the last couple of weeks learning all the songs before joining in with lots of other schools live across County Durham.

Captain Chemistry

Year 3 have had a fantastic day learning about Forces and Magnets with Captain Chemistry. They started the day on a sinking lifeboat with only a magnet, some string and a stick (meter ruler) to help them “fish” for metal (paper clips) to help them survive. They then made their own compass using a magnet and a sewing needle to help direct them home. After lunch, they made their own rocket so they could send an emergency message for help. The final activity was to make a new lifeboat out of tin foil and the winner would be the boat that could carry the most boxes of supplies. Lots of fun was had by all, as well as learning about magnetism, friction and air and water resistance. 

Take a look at the photos and videos to see the fun things we have been up to. 

Antibullying week - Friendship

This year, Year 3 have focussed on Friendship for Antibullying week and what it means to be a friend. We thought about all the qualities a good friend should have and then chose our top 5 to create our own friendship hands. 

Bollywood Dance to celebrate Diwali

Year 3 have been learning about Hinduism and Diwali in RE and thanks to GemArts were able to learn this Bollywood inspired dance to celebrate Diwali. Year 3 performed the dance for Mrs Morton and Reception were very impressed with the video of our dance. We are now looking forward to using these dance movements to inspire our own Indian dances in PE.

Remembrance Day

This year, Year 3 and 4 commemorated Remembrance Day together up in the Memorial Garden. Year 4 read the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon and Year 3 read the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrea. We also sang the song We Will Remember. 

Different types of soil

Year 3 have been studying different types of soil in science. By putting the soil into water and waiting 24 hours we were then able to see the different layers in the soil. 

Spelling

This week Year 3 have been practising their common exception words outside using chalks. 

What happens when you put a rock in water?

This week Year 3 have been investigating what happens when you put a rock in water. We found out that some rocks create bubbles because they have holes in-between the sediment - these are called permeable rocks. Other types of rocks didn't produce bubbles at all, which are called impermeable rocks. 

Cave Painting

Year 3 had great fun creating their own cave paintings this week. They had to make their paints, just like they would do in the Stone Age, using items found around school (mud, berries, leaves, grass). They then had a go at recreating their own cave paintings using their fingers, charcoal or paintbrushes they had made out of sticks.

The Rock Cycle with a difference...

This week in Science, Year 3 learnt about the rock cycle using chocolate. We explored the different ways rocks are formed using chocolate. First, we had to erode their rocks (chocolate) to get sediment. Then we used pressure to compact and cement the different layers together to create sedimentary rock. We then applied gradual heat to the sedimentary rock and let it cool to create metamorphic rock. Finally, we heated the metamorphic rock to create igneous rock.

Hunter-Gathering around school

This week Year 3 have been pretending to be hunter-gatherers at school. We learnt that in order for people to survive in the Stone Age, they had to identify what were threats and what could be used as assets just using what was around them. We went on a hunt around school to see what natural items could have helped us survive in the Stone Age. 

Athletics Tournament

Year 3 spent Friday afternoon practising their running, jumping and throwing skills at an in-school athletics tournament run by Sedgefield School’s Partnership. They had to run 50m and 200m (twice around the school track) and see how far they could jump and throw a howler. It was lovely to see the Finchale team spirit, with everyone cheering each other on. 

European Day of Languages - Russian

Year 3 had great fun celebrating European Day of Languages. We learnt how to say the Cyrillic alphabet and wrote our names in Russian. We can also now say simple phrases such as Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, Please, Yes and No. In the afternoon we listened and explored music by the Russian composer Shostakovich and we designed our own Russian Dolls.

The Stone Age is how long ago!! 

We had our first lesson about the Stone Age today where we found out how long ago the Stone Age period actually was. We used a roll of toilet roll to discover that if all of history (up to 0BC) was to fit on the first piece of paper, then you would have to unroll the entire toilet roll to reach the beginning of the Stone Age!! That's a very long time ago!