Year 3
What a busy (and brilliant) week we’ve had in Year 3! We were in second place once again to win Bookster the Bear – please keep up the regular reading aloud at home.
In RE, the children explored a piece of art called Hands Across the Divide. They thought about what the hands might mean to each other and discussed a range of possible themes.
In French, we had fun practising our greetings. Role play and videos helped us step into the shoes of real French speakers - bonjour, comment ça va? Très bien!
In PE, football skills are getting sharper by the week. There’s been plenty of good (our termly focus) on show.
Science saw us zooming into the world of nutrition. We studied the five main food groups and discovered exactly how each one helps to keep our bodies strong and healthy.
Over in English, we checked and edited the spellings in our imitate text How to Brush Your Teeth. We tackled some grammar questions linked to George’s Marvellous Medicine, practised spellings and sounds, and explored word meanings. Our reading comprehension focused on healthy eating, with review time to dig deeper and sharpen our understanding and retrieval skills.
In Maths, we wrapped up our place value unit with a mini-assessment (the children did well!) and then launched into addition and subtraction. We used number bonds to ten to help solve bigger calculations and even added and subtracted ones from two- and three-digit numbers.
Computing saw the children using their trusty “paper laptops” we explored what ROM, RAM, CPU and GPU do, before trying out algorithms by following instructions to create a piece of group artwork.
And finally, in Geography, we opened our atlases (a nearly forgotten treasure!) to track down where our fruits and vegetables really come from. From bananas to broccoli, we mapped out a world of food.
Another week full of learning, laughter, and a few lightbulb moments - well done, Year 3!
The Year 3 team.
Year 4
Hi everyone, well another week completed we are near enough halfway through this half term already! Unfortunately Bookster Bear has moved on this week, but keep up the good work and we will have him again next week, at the time of writing this it is looking good. Though there is quite a competitive spirit around Bookster so we will have to have at least 95% or more to even see a chance, come on, you can do it.
With the weather being really changeable at the moment please make sure your child has a jumper and a coat. We do go out to play if it is a light rain so something waterproof is really important especially as we enter the 'coughs and colds' time of year.
May I again ask that if your child wears lace up shoes or trainers you make sure they are able to tie them, we are spending a lot of time sorting laces especially as the children change their shoes every time they go outside! Just to remind you about key rings. If your child really wants to have a keyring on their backpack or book bag then please ensure that there is only ONE and that it is small enough to fit in their tray, even if it is on their backpack, we don't have lots of space on or around their pegs for large keyrings. Please can you also make sure that they are not precious or expensive (labubu springs to mind!) it's not worth the tears when they get broken or lost.
In our learning this week;-
Maths - With Mrs Murray, shape and perimeter continues. With Mrs Chittock we have continued with place value and looking at numbers up to 10,000. We have ordered, estimated and compared. We also looked at Roman Numerals.
English - With Mrs Murray, the children carried out a reading comprehension about Anglo-Saxon Warriors. With Mrs Chittock we have completed the picture map and actions for our text and wrote up the text from memory.
Topic - We looked at the difficulties that faced the Anglo-Saxons when they arrived and the changes they made to Briton.
RE - we looked further at what a rescue looks like and what it might 'cost' for the rescue to happen.
PHSE - this week the children voted for the class representatives for the School Council, they voted for;-
Art - we looked further at the detail in Anglo-Saxon art and began to design our own Anglo-Saxon Brooch.
Have a great weekend
Mrs Chittock and the Year 4 team
Year 5
We have worked hard to finish our biographies unit this week. The children have planned 'Skelly's biography - take 2' to see how much better their biographical writing has got since their first attempt. Our reading lesson this week focused on Katherine Johnson, and her important contributions to the Space Race. Did you know Katherine was one of the brains behind Alan Shepard's first space flights, John Glenn's Earth orbit, Apollo 11 and the Apollo 13 rescue mission? She was the woman behind the maths!
In Maths, we have finished looking at decimal place value (for now....) and begun to look at negative numbers. We are still having lots of children making progress on Times Table Mountain and shaving seconds off their time on Times Table Rockstars. Our knowledge will be out of this world!
In science, we looked at the phases of the Moon. We learnt that the Moon's phases are all to do with which celestial bodies rotate, and which don't. We felt it was important to show the children that iconic Jaffa Cakes advert (even if the teacher in the advert has most of the science wrong). Sorry if you've been subjected to reenactments at home.
In RE, we analysed some quotes about Jesus from the Gospel of John. We had a great time interpreting what we think John was trying to say about Jesus (especially the "I am a door" quote").
In Computing, we looked at how the Mars Rovers send data back to Earth using binary code. Some children had a go at a binary code game (it is quite fun if you are into maths puzzle games - it can't just be me and Mrs Marsh!) and a game from NASA where you can drive a rover around Mars to collect an analyse rocks.
On the 13th October, Dr Matthew Bothwell, an astronomer at Cambridge University, is coming in to talk to Y5 about all things space! He has written two books for children (book 1, book 2) which you can purchase on Amazon should you wish to. If the children do have copies of his book/s, he will sign them for them on the day. I'm just off to buy the second one for the class library (Mrs Marsh got hers both signed last year). There is no requirement or expectation for families to buy them – but I know some people love merchandise and souvenirs!
Our star reader numbers improved slightly this week, but we were still 4th out of 6 classes. Additional rewards are being offered to those children who are a star reader each week, and we are feeling hopeful about our chances next week!
That feels like enough from me! Have a restful weekend,
Miss Rutter, Mrs Grosvenor and Mrs Marsh
Year 6
This week in maths, we have been revising our addition and subtraction methods, as well as completing some baseline assessments. These are for our internal tracking only and help us to see where pupils are starting the year.
In English, the children wrote diary entries from Charlie’s perspective, really getting into character and considering how he might have felt and responded to different events.
In history, we analysed sources about a conscientious objector during World War One, encouraging pupils to think critically about evidence and different viewpoints. Our reading focus has also linked to history, as we explored texts about the development of aviation during WW1.
In science, the children took part in a fascinating dissection activity with Mrs Offley, carefully examining pigs’ eyes to further understand how an eye works.
In PE, we have continued to develop our skills through invasion games – always a firm favourite!
Finally, in RE, we compared parables from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, reminding ourselves why the Gospel is seen as ‘good news’ for Christians.
Home Learning
This weekend, home learning is set on www.spag.com. All children have their login details recorded in their reading records. This should be completed independently – we can see online which areas the children are strong in and where they may need further support. The task should take no more than 45 minutes. If your child is unable to access this online, we can provide a paper copy.
Children should also continue practising the spellings they have been set, and a short maths task has been added to complete the one-hour home learning.
Looking Ahead
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We would love to welcome parents into class to talk about their jobs. This is an important part of our 'looking forward' work, and the children are always fascinated – they make a wonderful audience!
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On Tuesday morning, Year 6 will be at Newmarket Academy – pupils should meet there directly.
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A reminder that secondary school places must be applied for by 31st October. If you are applying to a faith school, please ensure you have your child’s baptism certificate (if relevant), as this is an important part of some schools’ admission requirements.
Wishing you all a super weekend!
The Year 6 Team
