Friday 13th March 2020
A busy but successful week for Spain class as we have completed our Spring Term assessments. I have been very impressed with the progress the children have made in Reading and Maths. With regards to reading I have noticed that the children's next step is to learn to refer back to a text to help them if they have forgotten an answer. Within Maths, children now need to understand how to solve missing number problems or apply their knowledge of inverse operations.
On Thursday we had a lovely Science day carousal with the Year 1 and 2 children. We explored pretend fossils in the form of cookies and looked at how palaeontologists chip away at fossils to learn more about them. We copied this by using a cocktail stick to chip away the chocolate chips from the cookie. We also explored pretend dinosaur poo and worked out if the dinosaur was a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. We also wrote secret notes using a liquid, built huge towers, made water tornados and looked at how cornflour can often trick us and change from a liquid to a solid. With Mrs Ganguly we use bicarbonate soda and vinegar to see who's balloon would blow up the biggest and with Mrs Tomlinson we explored habitats outside.
Unfortunately you will already be aware that our class assembly on the 19th March 2020 has been cancelled. I appreciate that you are upset for both you and your child but we had to take into consideration everything that is currently going on. We have discussed as a class that if we are unable to introduce this at a later date then we will possibly film our class assembly in class and post this on dojo. We will assess this as new information comes to light.
Reports went out on Thursday. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss your child's report. A drop in parents evening is arranged for 18th March 2020 but I am happy to find an alternative time if this doesn't suit.
Have a lovely weekend!
Friday 6th March 2020
What a lovely week in and around school. The children have continued with their learning around poetry and explored how to find fractions of amounts and quantities. In the afternoons the children have loved learning a street dance routine in PE, learning how to find the pulse of a song in Music and how to log in to and use simple programmes on a computer.
This week we have also celebrated World Book day. Both children and staff around school looked fantastic as they dressed up as their favourite book day characters. Thank you for your support with this and for making the children look incredible.
We finished the week with a special science workshop to kick start our science week. The children were engaged, enthusiastic and curious throughout all of the experiments. They witnessed how to make fire, the force of gravity and loved testing what happened when placing a mint into a bottle of lemonade. Thank you to those of you who bought in your £2 donations to support with this and ensure we are able to provide additional and exciting experiences as part of our curriculum.
February interim reports will be coming home next week and we will be begin practising our class assembly. Any support with your child’s line will be appreciated. These will be coming home on Tuesday evening once we have had a whole class run through in school.
Enjoy your weekend and make the most of the sun whilst it lasts!
Friday 28th February 2020
Over half way through the academic year and I cannot believe how much the children in Spain class are progressing and maturing.
In English we have begun a unit around poetry through learning a poem by Ken Nesbitt called Wayne the Stegosaurus. The children find it hilarious and produced a beautiful imitation of this in their English books on Thursday. In Maths the children have been introduced to fractions by finding a half and a quarter of shapes and objects. We definitely found half much easier than quarters. As we have had a shorter week we haven't managed to complete all foundation subjects but a highlight was definitely our History lesson around the past. We looked at how we can find out about the past and used this to figure out how we know that dinosaurs existed. We also loved our striking and fielding PE session in the hall today and are excited to see what next week brings.
This week we have been busy updating reading levels so please bear with us. I know a few of you have requested your child moving up a level but please keep an eye on the target sheet in their diary as we will now be ticking these off to help you understand their next steps a little better. The children also need to read a range of fiction and non-fiction texts as often they struggle with the non-fiction texts which are the more challenging. We will keep monitoring their progress and we will move them when we feel is appropriate. Just a polite reminder that if you read at home with your child 3 times per week then your child will receive a merit towards their sticker cards.
Our class assembly is on Thursday 19th March and will begin in the main hall around 9.05am. All parents/siblings/grandparents etc. are welcome! I am busy finishing our class script so will ensure your child comes home with their lines to learn at some point next week.
Have a lovely weekend. Lets hope the weather picks up soon!