News
Newsletter for the week ending 26th February
As hoped, we were given the news that school will reopen for all pupils on Monday 8th March. Presently, there has been very little updated guidance from the Department of Education on how this will look so at this stage we must presume it will resemble how we planned to open in January after the Christmas break before we went into lockdown again.
We will confirm full reopening details next week when we are in a position to do so. At this stage we will continue to operate staggered starts for year groups.
The one change that is clear this time is that attendance returns to being compulsory for all but a very few pupils, the exception being those who have recently received a letter confirming they are clinically extremely vulnerable and those following existing isolating requirements based on contact.
Please read on to find out about World Book Day arrangements, a Food Bank appeal and what has been going on in and around the classes…
Wishing you a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
St Mary’s church is running a Lent Appeal to collect tins of food for the Food Bank in Bideford. They are opening the church porch on Saturday mornings for people to leave their gifts, but if it is easier for you to bring donations to school they will collect from school just before we break for the Easter holiday. For more information please click here.
World Book Day is Thursday 4th March. We are inviting all children at home and in school to wear their pyjamas and enjoy the planned in school and remote learning reading activities.
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have revisited our original topic of Superheroes. We have compared Spiderman and Superman, looking at how they are the same and how they are different. We have moved liked Spiderman using plungers – see the website for some photos. Today we have made Superhero biscuits.
It has been lovely to see the children returning to school after the half term break rested and refreshed. This week in Year 1 we have been learning about instructions. In our writing we have mapped out a set of instructions for how to make clouds. The children have been learning about imperative verbs and time words. In maths the children have been learning about ordering bigger numbers and objects. We have been building numbers using different resources and comparing the numbers to other numbers using our special symbols. On Thursday afternoon the children made little creatures out of clay in the outdoor learning area. They have hidden their creatures in a safe place and are hoping to rediscover them next week. Fingers crossed we will find them safe and sound.
Lundy Puffins have had a great week back after the half term break. They have started to look at a new book for their English work about the life of Amelia Earhart. Please ask them to tell you who she was! They have written some great questions about her and used their skills as ‘gatherers’ to sequence the events in her life. In school, the children have been learning the 2, 5 and 10x tables, whilst children at home have been learning about grouping and sharing for division. Everyone in school enjoyed using the Chromebooks to use Sketchpad. Some children at home also completed the activity and it was great to share their work with children in school. Children in school will be spending some time in the outdoor area on Monday afternoon, so please remember wellington boots.
Seahunter have had a great week practising the skills they need to be amazing poets. They have found out about and created collections of adjectives and similes to describe a character they would like to be so that they are ready to write their own ‘How to be a….’ poems next week. In reading, they have also been exploring poetry, creating their own excuses for not doing work based on the poem ‘Excuses’ by Allan Ahlberg. Some were very impressive. We shall be looking out for them when homework resumes! In maths, they have worked hard on measuring skills, working with metres, centimetres and millimetres. They worked particularly hard to learn how to find equivalent lengths using cm and mm. In science, they have discovered how shadows are formed and the children in school enjoyed using torches to demonstrate what they had learnt, giving great explanations.
HMS Echo have had a successful week back from half term. We have continued with our learning on fractions and have been learning how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator, and writing fractions greater than 1. In English, we have started a new unit on the text ‘Leon and the Place Between’. The class have learnt how to write comparative adjectives and expanded noun phrases. Before the holidays, the class got together on a Google Meet and really enjoyed getting to see their friends at home and in school, we took part in another live meet this week and it was great to see lots of the children. I look forward to seeing you all very soon!
Year 5 have completed their planet discoveries this week, ending with advertising a holiday that you will not want to miss. In maths, we have tackled subtracting fractions and continue to use those skills of finding a common denominator and converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers. In Science, we have found out about the order of the planets as well as some key facts about them.. We have created some Vector drawings, in Computing, using the skills of layering, resizing and using backgrounds – I’ve been amazed by the creations I’ve seen. We have also looked at what churches and cathedrals show us what Christians believe about God, in RE, and looked at the story ‘The Lion Inside’ for P4C. In preparation for some clay work, in art this half term, they have been designing a screaming mandrake. Another busy week!
Year 6 have been working hard in their first week after half-term, both in school and at home. In maths we have been doing algebra, making equations, formulae and substitutions. It’s been challenging but fun! In English we have been writing about inventions and writing about how they work in an explanation text. We have found out about a ‘teacher pleaser machine’, a ‘tidy your bedroom machine’ and a ‘feeding the cat machine’. We are looking forward to creating our own machines next. In art we have been creating sculptures by getting a piece of newspaper, scrunching it up in a worm shape, then taping loads of masking tape around it, and then we got wire and got pliers and cut it into the shape we wanted and shaped them into butterfly wings, and attached them to the newspaper worms. In topic we have started learning about Anglo-Saxons; where they came from and when they came. We have also been evaluating what village life would have been like. In science we have started looking at formidable scientists. We found out that Katherine Johnson was involved with space and flight trajectories, using her mathematical knowledge to allow safe flight paths for spacecraft. We have also found out what inspired Alexander Graham Bell to invent the telephone. Our Spanish this week has been learning to say the months of the year. Reporters: Maxim and Ernie
