Time is flying in year 2! 

In English we have finished our stories based on Vlad and the Great Fire of London and have started our new unit on poetry. We have read a poem which we have performed in groups and as a class. 

Maths has been tricky as we have been looking at money and the value of coins. A strange concept in the modern age of ‘tap and go’. If you get the chance, it would be great for the children to get more experience of ‘real money’. 

Music has been fun as we have learnt the meaning of tempo and dynamics - including fortissimo and pianissimo. The children used my magic pointer to control the volume of the class! (If only it worked all the time). 

The children have an opportunity to become part of one of the school councils - ask them about what they can be part of and please support them to prepare their application form/speech. 

Have a fantastic weekend! 

The Year 2 Team

Over the past fortnight, Year 3 have been diving into their rainforest learning in Geography, exploring the different layers and discovering the animals, plants and people who live there. They have been thinking carefully about why rainforests matter and how they help the world, including the food and medicines we get from them. In Science, the children have investigated what plants need to survive, testing ideas about soil, water, light and even whether plants really need leaves to grow. Maths has involved lots of practical problem‑solving using addition and subtraction, encouraging children to explain their thinking and choose efficient strategies. In English, the class have begun exploring new sentence structures to help them write a persuasive piece about protecting orangutans, using powerful vocabulary and clear reasons to support their ideas.

Over the last couple of weeks, year 4 have been busily completing their English journey based on the Night Gardener. I am so proud of how hard they have tried with the content of the writing as well as their presentation.

In Music, we have continued to learn the Toot and it has become a highlight of our week. We are keen to get more children learning Woodwind instruments in school and this is an excellent start for the children who might wish to do this in the future.

 In our Romans topic, we have learnt about what made the Romans so powerful by pretending to spy on a Roman legionary in battle. This was good fun. We have now designed our Roman mosaics and are ready to start making them. We look forward to sharing pictures of these in the weeks to come. 

Over the first few weeks of term, it has been fantastic to see the progress Year 5 have made in their learning behaviours and their growing ability to work collaboratively as a team. They are becoming increasingly independent, supportive of one another and focused on their learning, which is wonderful to see.

In Maths, the children have developed their mental strategies as well as more formal methods for addition and subtraction. They have worked on solving ‘Odd One Out’ questions, which have helped to develop their mathematical reasoning and oracy skills. They are now moving on to discussing ‘True or False’ questions, giving them further opportunities to explain and justify their thinking.

The children have been busily typing up their How to Train Your Dragon narratives, and we are looking forward to visiting Year 3 to share their finished pieces with them. We have also started a new text in English, Beowulf, which we are using as inspiration for developing a piece of persuasive writing.

PE has been energetic and fun! The children are working well together in teams while developing their netball skills and putting these into practice through small games.

In Music, the children have been listening to a piece of music inspired by a mythical beast. They have developed their own mysterious creatures and are now creating music to demonstrate how their beasts move. It has been wonderful to see their creativity and imagination come to life through music.

This week has been another busy and exciting one in Year 6! We rounded off our Theseus and the Minotaur topic with an impressive Big Write, bringing together all of the skills we have been developing over the past few weeks. From suspense-filled journeys through the labyrinth to dramatic encounters with the Minotaur, the children produced some fantastic pieces of writing. We were particularly impressed by their ambitious vocabulary, creative ideas and determination to edit and improve their work.

We also had the opportunity to meet our new Reception buddies and spent a lovely afternoon getting to know them. The Year 6 children were incredibly excited to bring along a favourite book and share a story with their new friends. It was wonderful to see them taking on their roles as positive role models, helping the younger children feel welcome and building the first steps of what we hope will be great friendships throughout the year.

In Computing, we stepped into the world of modern teamwork! The children worked collaboratively to create Google Slides presentations, with half of each group working from another room on separate laptops. They quickly discovered the importance of communication, organisation and cooperation when working remotely. Meanwhile, in PE, the class enjoyed learning some new sporting skills through games of Tchoukball. The fast-paced sport proved a big hit, with pupils showing excellent teamwork, determination and enthusiasm as they learned the rules and developed their tactics.