Learning Updates
Year 1
We’ve had a lovely, busy week and a few days!
The children have really impressed us with their ability to engage with the learning, their fantastic year one carpet behaviour and their drawing skills.
Last week: We read ‘The huge bag of worries’ and talked about any worries we had about starting Year One. We designed our own colourful worry monsters. We talked about our holidays and drew a snapshot. We made birthday cards for the class. We read ‘Ruby’s Worry’ and thought about how people feel worried when they are not safe, happy and able to learn. We discussed our rights at school and agreed to and signed the ‘Class rules’. We discussed classroom expectations and 3 star colouring (Elmer)
Here’s what we’ve been learning this week:
Phonics-Review sounds: ai ee igh oa oo ar or ur oo ow oi ear
Tricky words: no go so my by to into out the
Write a sentence: It is good to look at a book.
English – We have read ‘The Tiger who came to tea’ by Judith Kerr. Then we wrote a book review “I liked it when…” before sequencing the story and learning, then re-telling a simple version (Talk for Writing).
Maths – We have learnt to sort objects by different criteria (size, shape, type). We have practiced counting objects to 10, counting objects from a larger group and using correct number formation (watch those reversals!)
Topic – We learnt about our bodies: Labelling our body parts (leg, knee, elbow, neck, chest, shoulder etc)
We read Charlie and Lola ‘I will not ever never eat a tomato’: Discussing our food preferences and using adjectives to describe different foods.
Art- Self-portraits in our sketchbook using sketching pencils.
Music- We explored pulse in our bodies and discovered how we can find the pulse in three different pieces of music. We developed our finger strength and coordination by using pegs to tap out the pulse along with the music.
PE was on Tuesday with Mrs Crook.
Homework: Optional: Write some things we can do with our feet. Return next week for a star stamp.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Brandon
Year 2
We have started Year 2 fantastically, working hard and getting used to routines!
English- We’ve spent time looking at ‘Meerkat Mail’ and learning our Postcard Talk for Writing text.
Maths- It has been really great to see how confident we are at knowing numbers within 20 including number sequences.
Science- This lesson made us a little hungry as we looked at different food groups in Science and why our body might need food.
Geography- We started our new topic looking at Where Bury St Edmunds gets its name from. We looked at the four countries in the United Kingdom and found Bury St Edmunds on a map.
Art- We explored the work of German artist Käthe Kollwitz and how she used art to depict difficult times and human suffering. We looked at how she used charcoal to create expressive marks and then had a go at our own charcoal mark-making. The children did particularly well at handling the delicate charcoal!
RE- We began our topic exploring Judaism and why Jewish people think about repentance and Yom Kippur.
Computing- In computing, we explored the different instructions that floor robots can follow to achieve different goals.
Other information
- We are currently getting set up with Maths Targets. If you have a maths targets sheet at home from last year, could we please have it so we know where your child is currently up to. If not, we will start from Sheet A again.
- Please could we ask children to bring their reading records in every day. Adults will check for daily reads. This needs to be recorded on the day to be counted towards the week’s total reads.
- Finally, we change books on a Monday and a Friday. If your child finishes their book, you can either reread it focusing on tricky vocabulary or read a home book.
Thank you for your support and the Year 2 team are looking forward to the rest of the year!
Mr Turner, Mrs Robbins and Miss Rice
Year 3
What a super start the children have made to the new term! We have been really impressed with how hard they are trying in the classroom and the positive start they have made to playing together at playtimes. They are quickly becoming familiar with our routines and the expectations in Key Stage 2.
Part of this transition is getting used to our home learning routines. You will have seen a note in your child’s reading record about home reading, as well as their first list of spellings to practise. Please ensure spelling sheets are returned each Wednesday, on the day of the spelling test.
We have hit the ground running with our learning…
English
We began with a ‘cold task’, writing instructions for brushing teeth, before starting to learn our new text map. The children also met an alien (a.k.a. me!) who had never prepared or eaten a bowl of cereal and had to instruct me through the process – a fun and thankfully not-too-messy way to discover how clear and precise instructions need to be! Our grammar focus has been imperative (‘bossy’) verbs, and we completed our first weekly grammar check. We also explored this week’s spellings so children understand the spelling rule and word meanings before practising at home.
Maths
In Place Value, we have been representing and partitioning numbers within 100, as well as looking at intervals and placing numbers accurately on number lines. The children have also made a fantastic start to times tables, with several moving up already! Please encourage regular practice on Times Tables Rock Stars at home.
Science – Healthy Me
We explored what it means to be healthy, with the children suggesting lots of thoughtful ideas, from getting enough sleep and eating well to exercising and keeping active.
Geography – Where Do Our Fruits and Vegetables Come From?
The children considered where our fruit and vegetables come from, with ideas ranging from supermarkets and farms to allotments and gardens – including families who ‘grow their own’!
Art
Using 2B pencils, the children experimented with lines and mark-making to represent different textures, from thin thread to fluffy snow. We looked briefly at how Van Gogh used expressive marks in his work before applying these techniques to a detailed study of a tree.
Computing
We began answering the question ‘What is a network?’, learning about inputs and outputs before taking a walking tour to investigate our school network.
French
Despite a slight technological setback, we enjoyed our first French lesson! We explored a map of France, shared what we already knew and discovered some of the things France is famous for.
Music, RE and PE
Miss Spinks led the children in exploring a mountain soundscape, while in RE, Mrs Chittock began our Christianity unit by considering what it means to be a saviour. In PE, Mrs Crook had the children focusing carefully on their arm and leg movements and how these affect the way and speed at which we run.
Wow – what a lot of learning already! It has been a busy and positive start to Year 3. We hope the children enjoy a well-deserved and much-needed rest over the weekend, ready to do it all again next week…!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Miss Murphy and Mrs Dobson
Year 4
Hello and welcome to Year 4. It has been a lovely start to the term. The children have returned with a lovely positive attitude to their learning. It was so hard to choose the certificates for this week. They have been really focused and have worked hard, so they deserve a restful weekend ready to work hard again next week.
BURWELL HOUSE
Just to let you know, in April we are doing our one-night residential. Please do not panic about it now. I will pass on more information nearer the time. I am only letting you know about it now because the parents/carers are required to deliver and collect their child from Burwell House. Being mindful that it is not always easy for working parents to organise time off, I thought I would give you notice now. The residential is booked for Monday 19th April 2027 – Tuesday 20th April 2027. You will need to drop off at 10:15 on the Monday and collect at 2:15 on the Tuesday. Some parents last year buddied up with another family and shared the journey, this is fine as long as I know that a child is being collected/delivered by another person. It would also be a good idea if your child has not experienced a sleep away from home with their main care giver that you try and organise something before the trip. It is always difficult for a child if their first time away is the school residential.
Our learning this week:
Maths – We have been working on Place Value looking at representing and understanding numbers to 10,000.
English – We have been busy sentence building to create interesting sentences and have started to look at our text which is based around the story of Beowulf.
Topic – Anglo-Saxons. We started our topic looking at what life was like with the Romans and how it changed after the romans left.
French – The children role played being a shopkeeper or customer and asking for different types of food.
RE - We started a Christianity unit about being a saviour where we thought about someone being rescued.
Music – The children started to compose and write a score for body percussion.
Art – We looked at some Anglo-Saxon art, looking closely at what they could see, identifying animals, plants, people etc. We talked about the jewellery that the men and women wore and how it was an expression of wealth and importance. We even had a go at drawing some ourselves.
Homework; –
Reading (at least 5 times a week, 6 or 7 gets star reader!), Times Tables, Maths Targets. Spellings will follow next week.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Chittock and the year 4 team
Year 5
We have had a great first week with your children. They have been so lovely! We've spent this week getting to know each other and getting settled into our new routines. There are so many things to learn and get used to, and they have done it all with smiles on their faces.
We had a wonderful time at Thorpe Woodlands on Tuesday (although I do agree with the member of my group who said it would have been much nicer if it wasn't raining!) The children took part in all the activities with gusto and enthusiasm and were so supportive of each other. There was so much cheering on and encouragement – particularly during the very wet, slippery and scary tree trekking! I really enjoyed kayaking, and it absolutely wasn't just that I took the opportunity to splash several members of my group!
In English, we started our unit on biographies by looking at a biography I wrote about Neil Armstrong. We learnt about how he had a very exciting life even before he went to the Moon! In Maths, we have been recapping and strengthening our place value knowledge up to 6 digits. We've also been remembering our times tables after 6 long weeks off! In Science, we learnt about the planets in our solar system. We thought about how we could learn the order using a mnemonic or with a song. In RE, we learnt about incarnation and why this is an important idea for Christians.
Homework books should have come home on Monday. Children's task this week relates to the 4 terrestrial planets. Children can present their learning in any way they like. I look forward to seeing it on Monday morning! We've also discussed spellings. Spellings for each week are set on EdShed. The new list will go live on Friday afternoons, and children will have a week to practice them before the test in school on the following Friday morning.
Have a great weekend - I'm hoping to sleep off this cold! Honestly, who gets a cold in the first few days of the school year?!?
Miss Rutter, Mrs Marsh and Mrs Nichols
Year 6
What a fantastic start to the academic year the children have made! The children have settled into their new routines brilliantly and have been working incredibly hard across all areas of the curriculum.
In maths, we have been developing our understanding of place value, including recognising the value of digits in numbers up to 10,000,000. We have also been practising multiplying and dividing by powers of 10 and ordering and comparing large numbers. The children have shown great perseverance when tackling these new concepts.
In History, we have begun exploring the outbreak of the First World War. We have considered some of the reasons why countries became involved in the conflict, including the role that alliances and allegiances played.
Our English lessons have focused on how contrasting opinions about the war can be conveyed through poetry. We have explored a poem written by someone who supported the war but was not directly involved in the fighting, and contrasted this with the experiences expressed by someone who had first-hand experience of life on the front line. The children enjoyed considering how the poets' different experiences influenced their writing.
In RE, we have been learning about the Incarnation and why this is such an important belief for Christians. We have explored what Christians believe about Jesus and why his coming to earth is central to the Christian faith.
During PSHE, we have been learning about children's rights and thinking carefully about the difference between a right and something that we simply want. We also explored what might happen if all the rules in a school were removed, encouraging the children to consider why rules are important for creating a safe and positive environment for everyone.
Home Learning
This week, the children have been revising the maths concepts we have been covering in class. There are three different levels of challenge available, allowing children to select the activity that they feel is appropriate for them. Remember, it is much more important that children try their best than that they complete the most challenging activity!
If children have tried their best but are still finding something tricky, we are always on hand to help during Monday lunchtime.
Friday's homework is due in on Wednesday.
Well done, Year 6, on such a positive and hardworking start to the year. We are incredibly proud of the effort you have shown so far.
Have a super weekend!
Nuala Gilmore
