News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 3rd November
Welcome back after a day hunkering down to keep safe from storm Ciaran and after half term. A busy first week back and please read the Around the Classes section to learn what has been happening in each class this week.
All next week year 6s will be going round the classrooms selling remembrance poppies and bracelets for a donation. Suggested donation £1.
Diary Dates:
- Wear Spots or stripes for Children in Need 17th November
- Christmas fair 3.30-5pm, Friday 8th December, bottom playground
- Christmas service for years 3-6 afternoon of Friday 15th December. Time tbc
Wishing you all a super weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staffAROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have been celebrating Bonfire Night. We read a story about why we celebrate it and looked at some pictures of Guy Fawkes and the Houses of Parliament. We have printed pictures of bonfires and fireworks using sponges. On Wednesday we made some sparklers to eat. Today we had a campfire and toasted marshmallows. We talked about the need to be safe around fireworks ready for our party tonight.
Year 1 have had a lovely week back to school after half term. We started our new topic- What happened during the Great fire of London? We’ve had lots of excitement for this topic and lots of amazing questions! In Writing we have started a new book: What do you do with a tail like this? We have been looking at questions and had a go at writing some of our own in the style of the book. In Maths we have been doing addition to 10 and even had a go at some addition word problems. Year 1 are looking for donations of new puzzles for our classroom, if you have any that you no longer use we would very much appreciate them!
Year 2 have settled back into the new term very quickly. They have already finished writing their final draft of ‘How to Wash a Wooly Mammoth’. In Maths we have been looking at subtraction, from and across 10. In Science we went to the field to collect ‘caterpillars’ and we made a bar chart to show which colour caterpillar was the most common. In Computing we learnt about the benefits of Information Technology, we were pretending to be tills and found out it was really difficult!
Year 3 began a unit where they will explore what Hindus believe God is like. They drew an Aum symbol and then meditated while chanting Aum. Year 4 looked at the properties of water and then looked at the baptism of Jesus so they could begin to think why water is used in baptism. Year 5 researches the life of Mohandas Gandhi so they could see how belief in Hinduism can lead a person to live a good life. Year 6 considered the 10 commandments and then drafted their own set which would ensure we had a happy school.
Year 3 have had a wonderful week. We have started a new book in English called ‘Escape from Pompeii’. We did some research to learn about ancient Pompeii and then we used noun phrases to describe the city. In Maths, we have learned how to use the column method to add and subtract without making an exchange, we then used the column method to answer addition and subtraction word problems. In Science, we have started learning all about rocks. We used our observation skills to look at a variety of rocks using magnifying glasses and then we compared two different rocks and thought about how the rock’s properties were similar and how they were different. In History, we have started a new topic on the Stone Age. We thought of some different questions that we had about the Stone Age and discussed some of the things that we would like to learn about prehistoric times
In HMS Echo (year 4) this week, we have started a new sequence in English where we are looking at the book ‘A Walk in London’, which will inspire us with our own non-fiction writing about ‘A Walk in Appledore’. We will be focusing on punctuating speech, using fronted adverbials and conjunctions to improve our writing. In Maths, we are coming to the end of addition and subtraction, where we have practised using the column method for four digit numbers, and this week we have been looking at using the most efficient method, and where we can solve a calculation mentally or whether we need to use a method. In History, we have begun a new topic about The Romans; it would be really helpful if the children have any spare time, to do their own research at home and share it in class! In PE, we have begun a new unit on Netball, where we have practised pivoting and chest passing.
Year 5 has been very busy this week, with the start of a new half term. In maths they have been finding common multiples and factors and in writing they have started looking at ‘overcoming the monster’ stories. Our science this half term is forces and some of the class have looked at the use of a Newton meter to measure force while the others have been at art. This will rotate next week. Outdoor learning will now take place on Thursday 23rd November. Missed parents evening times (Thursday 2nd Nov) will be rearranged for next week.
Year 6 have enjoyed their trip to Appledore Museum finding out about life during World War 2. It will certainly help with understanding how different life was and what was expected of people. They have also been calculating in maths using a variety of methods for multiplication and continuing with reading SKellig. Our Burrows trip was postponed until next Thursday when we hope the weather will have settled down. Homework will go out as usual on Friday and will be due on Wednesday.
