It has been brilliant to see all of the children working so hard since we could all return to school and our classroom is most certainly a happier place when it is filled with our wonderful children. This was really clear during our Australia themed day this week. We had lots of fun bringing together the learning in our topic this term. A very big Appleton thank you goes to Rebekah who organised and resourced the activities for our day. Although it was not the same without having Rebekah on site with us, her awesome Aussie nature shone through in all that we did. It was great to see our children getting into the Aussie spirit, take a look at some of the awesome outfits:

We began our day by learning a song about Australian animals called 'Cuddly Koalas'. This was a song that Miss Leggett remembered singing from when she was a Rainbow and a Brownie! ​

We then did a collage activity where we used red, black and yellow/ gold paper to create an Aboriginal flag. We learnt that the colours represented different things: red=earth/ land, black=the people, yellow= the sun. It was great to see everyone being Steadfast Squirrels and really working hard to carefully put their flags together. We think that they look great!

We were very excited to be able to use our tapping sticks which we had decorated a couple of weeks ago. These are the links to the songs that we used so that you can have a try at home:
Tapping on my Sticks www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G6ax4AFKTY
Give me a Home Among the Gum Trees www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLWzPQmd5sc 

We had a big surprise when we listened to a story that Rebekah had written for us all about Evenlode Class Explorers Digging to Australia. We listened carefully and realised that the story included all of our names and had photos of us too. We were all super excited about this. Rebekah had very kindly printed a book for each of us to keep too, what a special memory of our bonza Australia Day!

Dear parents and carers,

Year 5 have had a very busy week! They've worked really hard in our English/Science lessons on carrying out an exciting science investigation and then planning and editing their writing about it. Next week we'll be presenting our writing as a double page spread.

In maths we've continued working on multiplication and division. The class need to continue working on their times tables- currently only around 60% of the class are accessing TTRS. We need this to be 100%! Please support your child in accessing TTRS to complete their homework. Your child needs to let me know if they can't manage the task at home, and I can help in school.

We've enjoyed sharing our finished work based on "What We'll Build" by Oliver Jeffers, and I'm currently in the process of getting the work onto a display. I'll upload photos once it's done, as their work is wonderful!

In PE this week the children started our interhouse competition. We all voted and chose to play a "capture the flag" style game. We've adapted the rules to make the game work better for us, and I'm really proud of how well the class played together in their house teams. Well done year 5!

Mrs B

Three things to ask your child this week:

1. Have you done your TTRS maths homework yet?
2. What did you find out about making the chemical reaction faster in your experiment?
3. What do you know about division?

We had another fantastic morning doing our outdoor learning at Forest School this week. Some of the highlights were measuring worms (linking nicely to our maths work in class) and discovering a tiger slug which was then named Blossom. 

In Maths this week we have been exploring measuring using standard and non-standard units including using cm. 

In RE this week, we have been continuing our work on the big question: why is Easter important to Christians? We focused on the symbols of Easter and the meaning behind them. We decorated our own egg and used a symbol of the cross to complete it. 

Dear parents and carers,

We've had a smashing week in year 5! In English, we've continued with our work based on "What We'll Build" by Oliver Jeffers and have been researching and writing about different inventions and developments. We learned to organise our texts using headings and subheadings. Next week we'll be using this in some writing about an exciting science experiment.

In maths we have continued with our work on multiplication. This is improving but does need some more time next week, before we move on to division. Please keep practising those times tables at home- more children used TTRS this week but it's still not all of them yet.

The children have really enjoyed our building projects and most are now finished. After our whole school celebration assembly on Monday to see what we've all been doing, I'll be sending the models home. Most are done but some of the more expansive ideas still need some finishing off!

Mrs B

Three things to ask your child this week:

1. ​What methods can you use for multiplication?
2. What did you build?
3. Have you done your TTRS yet?

We have continued our focus on the story 'What We'll Build' by Oliver Jeffers by thinking about places that feel like home. We discussed the differences between a house and a home and what it meant for somewhere to feel like home. We drew pictures and wrote about the places that we had chosen and it was great to see this learning extended into our continuous provision as children built models of the places that they had chosen. 

In PE, we have continued our Boing games for Interhouse and it was great to see excellent team work this week in our Treasure Chests game. The children had remembered their previous learning about how to throw and catch effectively and it has been great to see their independence in PE really come on. Well done Year 1!

In our Australia Topic work this week, we learnt more about Aboriginal symbols and dot painting. We then used our learning to choose how we were going to decorate our tapping sticks ready for our class Australia Day in a couple of weeks time. Take a look at our eye-catching designs:

We were very excited to have our first Forest School session of Year 1 this week. Take a look at what we got up to:

We have had a fantastic two weeks in Windrush Class; I have been really impressed with the children’s Must-do Mole attitudes and it has been lovely to have a full classroom again!

In our English work, we have been writing diary entries inspired by the book, Escape from Pompeii. The class have worked so hard on completing their first drafts and have all been Steadfast Squirrels! We will be writing our best copies next week.

In maths, we have been recapping some work on Multiplication and Division. We have practised using partitioning and groupings, as well as the written method for multiplication. 

In our PE lessons, we have had lots of fun trying out different Boing Games which focus on teamwork and problem solving. This week we played ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’; the children had to cross the space by stepping on the spots, and try to collect as many items to fill their ‘honey pots’. They all showed great team work skills!

In the afternoons, we have continued with our whole school project using the book, What We’ll Build. I have really enjoyed working on this project with the class; we have had some thoughtful discussions and produced lots of brilliant work. On Friday, we enjoyed having the afternoon to build the objects and inventions that we designed. 

It has been a brilliant week in Thames Class and so lovely to all be back together again! There has been a real buzz of energy on the classroom all week and lots of happy faces. 

We started the week by sharing our designs for our dream classrooms which was part of our remote learning, I loved seeing the range of creative ideas the children came up with. 

This week our main focus has been a book by Oliver Jeffers, I have have yet to reveal the title to the children but will be sharing this with them next week. We started off by thinking about a place we most feel at home in. We though about what
is in the place, how does it make us feel and what is it about the place that makes you feel this way. We then produced a drawing of the place we feel most at home. 

Next we used an illustration from the book as inspiration for some paired artwork. In pairs, we each chose a colour  that represents us. We then painted it onto paper using watercolours, our swooshes needed to converge with that of our partners. When the paint was dry, we overlayed this with pictures, letters, symbols and numbers drawn with oil pastels or pastels that tell a story of us with  some of the shared interests or dreams between the pairs at the convergence points. 

It has been absolutely fantastic to have everyone back together in school again. It was great to see so many happy, excited faces and we enjoyed being back with our friends. 

Our main focus this week was the book 'What We'll Build' by Oliver Jeffers. We began by sharing our perfect classroom designs which was part of our remote learning challenge. Take a look at some of the brilliant designs:

Then we worked in small groups to design and make our own models. We could design and make anything that we wanted to by using junk modelling, Lego, Duplo and other construction resources. We spent the whole day working on this activity and it was great to see everyone working well in their teams, sharing, supporting each other and creating some fantastic models. Take a look at what we made: 

Part of the story focuses on tools and what we can build using them. We were very excited to have been able to finally finish our moving vehicles which we started before the school closure. We used a saw to cut the dowel to make the axles then added wheels. Take a look at our finished vehicles: 

Dear parents and carers,

I am really looking forward to welcoming my superstars back into the classroom on Monday. They've worked hard with their remote learning and I am really proud of them. Thank you for all of the help and support you have been giving them.

It was lovely to speak to you all about your children this week in our parent/teacher meetings. Please don't hesitate to contact me (via the office) if you need me at any point or have any questions. 

Next week we will be starting our whole school project, and I am really looking forward to seeing where the children want to go with it. 

Mrs B

Three things to ask your child:

1. What are you looking forward to doing at school next week?
2. What positive things have come out of lockdown for you?
3. Do you know where your bag, PE kit and water bottle are? (Or that might just be in my house where we've lost everything!)

Here are a few of today's fabulous World Book Day costumes!