Newsletters

Welcome!

Welcome to our new look newsletter which gives an insight into what we have been doing this term. The children have worked incredibly hard and have also coped very well with classroom changes as repair work was done to our roof. All children will be able to return to their original classrooms after the half term break.

This term we have had a few concerns about the inappropriate use of social media, in particular whats app. Please see the parent guide at the end of this newsletter which gives you more information about keeping children safe on this platform. 

I hope you all have a restful half term break and we look forward to seeing the children return on Monday 24th February

Mrs Richards 

 

EYFS

This term has been very busy for our reception children and we have fitted in lots of excited learning! Our reception children have shown a passion for music, dancing, art and role play and this has formed a big part of our school day. We have learnt lots of new skills including learning to mix different shades of colours and how to reflect the actions of our partners in PE. 

 

                  

 

This term our art learning has focussed on developing an understanding of abstract and figurative art. We have looked at lots of different artists and their work and are very keen to talk about our likes and dislikes. We have discovered that abstract art often uses shapes and colours and that figurative art shows objects that we can identify such as people or landscapes. In our inside and outside environments we have completed art activities which have accumulated in the two big art displays that we have created in the top corridor by the hall. Painting to music was especially enjoyed by all of us and we impressed each other with our dance moves! Towards the end of the term we have worked together to explore finger painting and despite us being a little unsure intially we had great fun. 

 

We are continually striving to develop our resources and areas of learning. Please think of us if you are having a clear out. We would be especially grateful for any donations of lego, duplo, playmobil or other small world type toys and use a lot of craft materials as part of our continuous provision. We are keen builders in reception and love any type of toy that allows us to build and construct.

 

Year 2

We are working very hard in year 2 at the moment and are learning lots as a result.

We have been writing the story of George and the Dragon in our writing lessons. We have been trying hard to use the skills we learn in lessons to help our independent writing too. We are really expanding our vocabulary and can be found using words like ‘mythical,’ ‘deadly’ and ‘horrifying’ in our independent writing. In our reading lessons we have been learning about the VIPERS skills (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieval, Sequence) to help us demonstrate that we understand what we are reading.

In Maths we are learning how to multiply and divide using arrays, grouping and sharing. We are getting very good at this with lots of practise. We have been excited to be given logins to the TT Rockstars site and be able to compete for VIP of the fortnight to wear the special lanyard. Jimmy has been our first VIP and is very proud of himself. We are learning that working hard on TT Rockstars helps us with our morning work and our multiplication and division work.

In the rest of the curriculum, we are learning how to show data using ICT and have been trying to get quicker at logging on and off the laptops. In history we are learning about the history of schools so your child may ask what your own school days were like to help them understand more. We have also enjoyed dancing to Thriller in our indoor PE lessons, I know lots of you probably saw this on our school’s social media pages.

We have talked a lot last term about our bodies and our boundaries. We learned about the best way to give a boundary to someone who is doing something we might not like. In the classroom and on the playground, we have been trying hard to use this knowledge. If someone upsets us or does something we don’t like, we give them a verbal boundary (“Please stop it, I don’t like it when you________”), if they continue, we try again. If it carries on we know our best has been done and we can ask the adults to help. Miss Willoughby has been really proud of us trying to use this as it is a tricky skill to master.

Year 3 and 4

ART

In art this term we have been working on making shades and tints to try to create three-dimensional paintings. We have also looked at different painting techniques and used these skills to paint some still life.

History has taken us back to Anglo-Saxon England where we have delved into the past and looked at where the Angles, Saxons and Jutes originated and why they came to England. Making wattle and daub walls was very messy but also lots of fun as we discovered a little about their houses. We are looking forward to our visit to Chester House after half-term to find out about the impact the Anglo-Saxons had on the local area.

In science, we have been looking at the digestive system. This has included a practical session where we recreated the large intestine and saw what happens to our food and water towards the end of the digestive process 

Year 5 and 6

We have hit the track running since our Christmas break and all the children are working hard in every subject. Since we came back together for Mathematics lessons we have covered decimals, fractions, percentages, area and volume. The Maths we are using goes from simple basics through to explaining and extending our Mathematical knowledge with ‘Think’ and ‘Problem’. This matches and pushes everyone's ability ensuring progress for all. In Writing we are working on character descriptions based on the World’s Worst Children by David Walliams. They are creating their own imaginary child where they write about their appearance character and the traits that make them ‘the worst’! 

 

In PE we have been practicing our skills in both badminton and handball. Serving and keeping the correct grip so that a variety of shots can be played in badminton. Different passing skills in handball and team tactics have been a priority as we go into game mode. 

 

In PSHE we have been working on our ‘No Outsiders’ scheme. We have read The Island and King of the Sky, which has led to some thoughtful discussions on our values both inside and outside the school.  

This week some of our children went to apply the skills learnt in PE at a dodgeball tournament. They were fantastically well behaved and demonstrated all our behaviors such as support, include, involve and respect. We entered two teams and they came joint first!!! Well done all and thank you Mrs Bryan and Mrs Robinson for giving up their own time to take them. 

Year 5 and 6 have been learning about staying safe on line and digital footprints as part of safer internet day 2025

Our timetable rockstars VIPs have enjoyed some treats this week for getting such high scores for their classes.