Year 5 – 16/02/24
Wishing you all a lovely half term! Here are some photos of us celebrating Mardi Gras with pancakes on Thursday, and tasting some of the components of the Passover Seder meal yesterday!
Passover food:
Spring 1 Week 6
This week in RE, the children have enjoyed learning about Shrove Tuesday and the Seder Plate, Passover meal.
They were also fantastic at reading, singing and responding to the prayers during our Ash Wednesday Service.
Today they made Lenten promises, which were added to the hall display in assembly.
The class have also enjoyed making group daffodil collages and planting flowers, which they will observe growing over the next few weeks.
In English, they have written adventure stories, which they will share with Y3 after half term.
Have a wonderful half term
Miss Pringle
Spring 1 week 6 w.b 12.2.24
It has been a very busy last week of term for the children in Year one! We finished our English unit on Poetry with the children writing their own squirrel poems.
In Maths, the children continued practising writing numbers to twenty and representing these in different ways.
In Science, the children were super excited to learn about changing materials through heat and cold. We looked at the properties of water and wax and how we could change their state of appearance through heating and cooling them. The children were introduced to the terms solids and liquids and we discussed other materials we knew that could be changed in a similar way. The children observed melting wax with a tealight and took part in freezing water into ice. There was lots of laughter when the children held the ice they had made and used words to describe how the ice felt in their hands!
On Tuesday we celebrated Mardi Gras and enjoyed sharing Pancakes with maple syrup together. The children found out about the History of Shrove Tuesday and how it is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
On Wednesday the children took part in the Ash Wednesday Service, representing the beginning of Lent. The children showed great respect and maturity during the service, they listened and sang beautifully and showed a great sense of pride when receiving their ashes. Well done Year 1, it was an absolute pleasure sharing that special time with you.
As part of our Seasons learning this week, we made the most of the dry weather and went outside to use our creative skills to complete some tree rubbings. We also used our maths skills to complete a number matching activity and we used our knowledge about February to have a go at a word search. We also took the time to plant some bulbs that the children are very eager to see bloom!
Home learning
We have sent home your children’s lines for them to learn for our assembly on Friday 1st March. Please practice these with them so they can learn them by heart. Thank you.
Phonics, tricky words and HFW
After parent consultations this week some parents requested copies of some or all of the sounds above. You will find a copy of all of these in your child’s blue folder. Please practice all of the sounds with them as and when you can, feel free to make it as fun and informal as you feel necessary. This is simply consolidating their learning to date and is a way of refreshing their memories on the sounds they already know.
Thank you for taking the time to come along to the consultations this week, it was lovely speaking with you all.
We wish you all a wonderful week with your families. See you on Monday 26th February.
Mrs Poyiadzis & Mrs Barnes
Friday 16th February 2024
Our final week has been a busy one, filled with some wonderful activities.
On Tuesday we celebrated Mardi Gras and made pancakes. The children showed fantastic cooking skills with the crepe maker.
On Wednesday, along with the rest of Key Stage 2, Year 3 attended the Ash Wednesday mass at OLSV. Thank you to Christian and Leonie who did the offertory so well. The children were reverent and sang beautifully throughout.
Today, the children shared their Lenten promises in class and attended house meetings about the fundraising we are planning.
It was wonderful to see you all at parents’ evenings this week to celebrate your children’s success and share their targets. We look forward to continuing to work together next half term.
Have a wonderful break
Mrs McNamara and Mrs Lines
The children have enjoyed learning a new song about The Stone Age Era. Here are the lyrics below if they wish to perform it to you. Unfortunately I cannot upload the music on here.
Now the weather’s warmer we don’t have to move around.
It’s the end of hunter gathering, it’s time to settle down.
We’re domesticating animals, we’re cultivating crops,
We’re producing more than we can store, we’re making lots of pots.
Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
No more chasing animals, we’re taming them instead.
We’re building sturdy houses for the living and the dead.
We’re learning how to stitch and weave, we’re wearing handmade clothes,
And we look as sharp as the tools we carve from stone and flint and bone.
Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
We’re learning how to get on with the neighbours. (Morning! Turned out nice again!)
We’re making rules to help to keep the peace. (Get off my menhir!)
We’re growing so much food we’ve got a surplus. (Mm, delicious einkorn, I’m stuffed!)
So some of us can choose a new career:
Potter! Weaver! Builder! Fighter! Leader! Artist! Priest!
Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
We’re harvesting and sowing,
The population’s growing,
We’re giving up to-ing and fro-ing,
We’re staying put instead.
Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
No, no, nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Living in the New Stone Age [x3]
Spring 1 Week 6
Our story this week has been The Elves and The Shoemaker. The children have been describing what they think the elves would look like, designed clothes for the elves and designed magic shoes for themselves to wear. Some children pretended to be the old man, the old woman or an elf and the others asked them questions. In our creative area, the children have been decorating shoes and making elves. Our outdoor shed has been turned into a shoes making workshop where the children have been making shoes and trying shoes on.
In Maths, we have been learning about pairs. The children have been matching pairs of socks and shoes, finding pairs in the class with their friends and talking about how sometimes there is someone left out.
The second group of children visited Seabrook Retirement Home. The children sang and spoke to the residents. Then they were treated to a drink and a biscuit. They were all amazing.
On Shrove Tuesday, we decorated pancakes and ate them. Outside the children made their own pancakes with flour and lemons.
On Wednesday, the children were fantastic at responding to the prayers and singing during our Lent Service. They made Lenton promises which we added to the hall display in Friday’s assembly.
This week we learnt the sounds ur and the short oo. Please practise the sounds we have previously learnt.
Have a wonderful half term!
Mrs Carey and the Early Years Team
Friday, 16th February 2024
The children in Year 4, had a very busy last week to their first Spring term.
On Monday, we solved a real life mathematical problem involving fractions of chocolate,
whilst on Tuesday, we celebrated Mardi Gras day by first researching the festival then decorating Mardi Gras masks and sampling some delicious pancakes with Golden syrup. We also solved a Pancake Maths mystery, whilst performing an impromptu ‘Pancake Dance’.
On Wednesday, the class attended the Ash Wednesday Mass and wrote Lenten promises as a reflection to the service thinking about the three practices of Lent: praying, fasting and alms giving.
On Thursday, we planted bulbs whilst also revisiting learning from Year 3 about the basic parts of plants and their function as well as the life cycle of a flowering plant.
Later that day, in Art, we looked at contemporary still life artists from around the world such as Hiroshi Sato or Hilary Pecis and after studying their themes and technique, the class made visual notes of their impressions in their art journals.
Thank you to all of you who came to see me during Parent Consultations this week; it has been a pleasure to celebrate the children’s achievements so far.
I wish you a restful, healthy half term,
Ms Varga
Spring 1 week 5 w.b 05.02.24
This week, in Year one the children have been learning a poem called ‘One Silver Speck’ by Laura Purdie Salas all about a little mouse. We practised performing the poem, focussing on projecting our voices and varying the intonation. We talked about what a mouse would like to eat and what would a mouse be afraid of. We are using this poem as a stimulus for writing our own free verse poem about a squirrel.
In Maths, we have been building on the children’s knowledge of numbers to twenty and how numbers ten to nineteen are made up by ten and some more. The children have played games matching digits, dienes and numbers in words to help develop their understanding. We have also been practising counting in 2s, 5s and 10’s which the children are getting very good at.
In Science we investigated which fabric would be good to use for an umbrella. We discussed what the word Waterproof means and what materials we knew may be waterproof. We looked at a variety of materials and predicted which ones we thought would be waterproof. We tested the materials with droplets of water to see what would happen to them if they became wet. Next week, we will be testing to see what happens to materials when they are heated and cooled.
In PE the children performed, reviewed and improved their finished performance pieces to music. They worked in pairs to choregraph a routine and perform it to the class. They then gave feedback to each other before going back to see if they could improve their performances.
In Art the children used their imaginations to identify the stories emerging in their paintings. They worked into their dry paintings using pastels, pencils and crayons to build upon their paintings and to see how the materials reacted on watercolour.
In Wellbeing this week the children looked at the different life stages. In small groups they worked together to collect photos from around the classroom that match the different life stages. They were very good at grouping the pictures correctly and explaining why they put them together.
Home Learning – due Friday
Mathletics – please complete the activities set.
Handwriting sheet – practice letters sent home. You do not need to send this back as they are also practised daily in school.
Spellings – please practice the spellings with your child for a spelling test next Friday. This also does not need to be sent back.
Reading – 5/10 minutes daily.
Reminder – KS1 Ash Wednesday Service is on Wednesday 14th February at 2.30pm. All parents are welcome to attend.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Poyiadzis & Mrs Barnes
Spring 1 Week 5
On Tuesday, it was Safer Internet Day. Year 2 knew lots of different ways to keep safe online and have learnt what to do if they felt unsafe. They also watched a live lesson streamed by the BBC about internet safety.
In English, the class have written descriptions of their imperfect pets and planned an adventure story, which they will begin next week. They also made clay models of their characters.
In RE, they learnt about Passover and how we should trust in God and help each other, even when things seem difficult.
On Wednesday Mr Nicola, the guitar teacher, came to our class to teach us about music and how to hold the guitar. He still has spaces if your child is interested in learning this instrument. Please read the newsletter for more details.
It was wonderful to see so many of you at our class assembly today. The class have enjoyed learning about Chinese New Year. I was very proud of them for learning their parts despite all the illnesses.
Have a lovely weekend
Miss Pringle
Home Learning
Spelling shed activities have been set.
key
donkey
monkey
chimney
valley
trolley
journey
turkey
jockey
kidney
Please read and complete the comprehension booklet in your child’s folder.
Friday 9th February 2024
On Tuesday, it was Safer Internet Day. Year 3 showed excellent knowledge about what they would do if they felt unsafe while online. Through a story about Digiduck, they explored the theme of being kind online and what they should and should not share. They also watched a live lesson streamed by the BBC which was viewed by hundreds of schools around the country.
Our Science learning about rocks developed this week by learning how fossils were formed. Year 3 drew the process in their books and also made their own cast fossils. They still need to dust away some of the playdough mould to gently excavate the fossil, much like real archaeologists.
In English, Year 3 have been writing up their final stories and showing off some beautiful handwriting.
In Maths the class have continued to explore division by grouping manipulatives and answering worded problems, They are working hard on understanding the correct vocabulary to apply the correct rule of number.
In RE, Year 3 have continued to learn more about what messages are given to us through the Exodus story and what the writer was trying to convey. They also learnt about what Passover was like in the time of Jesus.
In History the children have started to explore the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age Era) and have started to find out about Skara Brae. Their own research in this area has enhanced group discussion immensely. They have also learnt a new song about this era. In computing this afternoon the children explored Scratch, combining sound commands and ordering notes into a sequence…the classroom was noisy with many tunes this afternoon!
We look forward to seeing you all next week at parent consultations. If you have not had the opportunity to book, please log on and do so.
Have a wonderful weekend
Mrs Lines and Mrs McNamara
Home Learning
Please bring in a small plastic plant pot next week as we will be planting bulbs in them.
Spellingshed
Mathletics – complete the tasks set.
TTRs and continue to learn the 3 and 4 times tables.
Friday, 9th February 2024
The children in Year 4 had another busy week with lots of practical learning opportunities.
In English, the children published their final non-chronological reports showing off some beautiful handwriting and excellent drawings to accompany their scientific texts.
In Maths, the class moved onto calculating fractions of amounts using bar modelling before further advancing to exploring fractions beyond a whole.
In RE, the children used artificial intelligence technology to take a 3D virtual tour of The Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus’ time. By doing this, they gained an even better understanding of how Passover was celebrated in the past. They created travel brochures for families arriving into Jerusalem at the time, giving them practical advice on where to go and what to see. The class also spent time to plan their next set of Acts of Worship that the children will run themselves in their Liturgy groups on Friday mornings.
In Science, the class carried out practical enquiries about gases that they have planned last week, applying observation skills and drawing conclusions. They weighed gases using a simple balance scale; they heated gases using hot water to see how the particles move upwards and created gases by combining water as their liquid and effervescent tablets as their solids.
In Art, the children experimented with gestural drawing techniques and created a ‘layered colour’ still life, focusing on composition, lines, texture, light and shadow.
On Tuesday, we had a particular focus on how persuasive design technology and online content can influence users’ thought, feelings and behaviour as part of our Safer Internet Day learning. The children showed good understanding of how some built in features such as clickbaits or pop ups work and how they change our behaviour online in a negative way. The class also showed excellent knowledge of strategies to cope with upsetting or harmful content online.
Next week Wednesday, Year 4 (along with all ks2 classes) will walk down to the church to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass. Please ensure that the children have hooded coats for the walk as the weather is quite unpredictable at the moment.
Also: Please bring in a small plastic plant pot next week as we will be planting bulbs in them. Thank you for your support with this.
Have a lovely weekend,
Ms Varga
| Home Learning | Due back on Tuesday, 13th February 2024 |
| Spelling | Words where ‘au’ makes an /or/ sound
Next week’s words: invention, injection, action, hesitation, completion, stagnation nomination, migration, communication, selection |
| Reading | https://readtheory.org/auth/login
or alternatively download the comprehension materials attached: |
| Multiplication | https://ttrockstars.com/
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check |
| Mathletics | https://login.mathletics.com/
Log into your account and complete the assigned activities all consolidating equivalent fractions and moving onto adding and subtracting fractions. |
