Weekly Update 03rd February 2023
Year R
Well, our week started with a very strange assembly talking about all the odd socks that have been hanging around our class and school We thought about where they had come from and why there is always an odd sock. We received a letter from the ‘Sock Monster’ - a very friendly monster who likes socks. We had to write about a day in the life of a sock monster. On Tuesday we took part in our Reading Bear Naming Ceremony, we had to decide a name for our bear and sign the birth certificate to say we would look after the bear and read to them at least 3 times each week. In maths we enjoyed number day by cooking some damper bread, we had to weigh out all the ingredients and we talked about temperatures and time. We then ‘sold’ the bread in our shop using real money. In other maths lessons this week we subitised and made 6 in different ways. We have continued learning about the Great Fire of London this week and we have written our own diaries of what it would have been like to be in the fire. We have been replicating the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, he used lots of lines and shapes and colour to make some super artwork. What a busy week!
Year 1
Another busy week in Donaldson class!
In Maths we have been using our knowledge of number bonds to 10 and doubles to add not only 2 but 3 numbers! In English we have been looking at the structure of Katie’s diary and found that it was split into different sections: Where she went, what she did, and how she felt. We are going to use this structure when we write our own diaries next week. We have also explored how to write in the first person and know to use personal pronouns such as I and we.
This week in Science we became weather reporters. We described the weather using symbols and used our knowledge of the United Kingdom to say where that weather was predicted to happen.
We had a wonderful day becoming chefs on Friday as part of Numbers Day. We made our own fruit kebabs with repeating patterns and explored shape and fractions when we designed our own pizzas! It was exciting to see how Maths is used in lots of different jobs that we might want to do in the future!
Weather permitting, we will be going on a village walk next Tuesday to inspire our diary writing in English. Please ensure your child has a warm coat and suitable shoes.
I will upload homework shortly.
Have a great weekend!
Year 2
What an odd start to the week! Socks were being found all around the school and we soon discovered we had a ‘visitor’ who had a liking for socks. The children were excited to discover more about the sock monster, putting this to good use in English, when planning and writing a diary entry, using adjectives to describe the monster and its escapades around the school. The children then extended this writing using conjunctions and made further improvements using their editing skills.
In Maths, we have started to look at money, learning to recognise the different coins and notes and how to calculate using money. The children have worked exceptionally well on this and I have been very impressed. Our Geography topic has seen the children planning a route using clear directions and to be able to identify locations on a map or globe. We learnt about the Equator and identified countries above, below and on this ‘invisible’ line around the centre of our world.
Our LORIC topic in PSHE is Resilience, and the class have been discussing what it is to be resilient and how we need to keep trying and not give up too quickly.
Today has been Number Day, the class have been showcasing their multiplication skills and using measure in PE demonstrating how maths can be used across our curriculum. The children collected data and were able to present that using tally charts. Maths is in everything we do and it’s great to see the children developing their mathematical knowledge and skills with days like today, dedicated to numbers.
Please continue to promote reading at home; where will we be in the Reading Race this week? Please find next week’s spellings on Dojo and keep practising times tables, using Sum Dog or just a pencil and paper.
Have a great weekend, enjoy the rest – you've worked hard this week.
Year 3
It has been an absolute joy to be back in Year 3 this week. However, it has been incredibly busy! The week started with an assembly all about some strange goings on in school. Would you believe that we have had a sock monster living on the field! The children produced some marvellous writing describing this sock monster and explaining all the things that it has been getting up to. For the rest of the week the children have been seeking out and bringing me evidence to prove its existence! In English this week, after the excitement of Monday we have been learning about subordinate clauses and how we use them in our writing. In maths we have been comparing, adding and subtracting lengths. On Tuesday we had our second Healthy Body, Healthy Mind session with Sam, where we found out about fats and sugars, including the amount of sugar in different foods and drinks and how to understand food labelling. We have carried on with dance in our PE session. And to finish off the week we are going to completing some fun maths activities as part of Number Day today. I am sure the children will tell you all about what we have been up to when they get home.
Year 4
This week has been a rather different week! On Monday we found out why there were so many odd socks around the school. We had a sock monster! We discussed what we thought the sock monster looked like and why they take odd socks. We then wrote about a day in the life of the sock monster. On Wednesday we had a busy morning working independently on Maths and English. In the afternoon we did some craft activities, many of us working in small groups. Today we are having a number day. We enjoyed showing some of our adults how we learn times tables and then we have been using maths as meteorologists. We have been using the weather data to create drama sketches to show what we would need if we were going on holiday to Florida in August. We are going to be making temperature number lines to show the temperatures yesterday of places around the world – including some negative numbers. We have also been learning how to divide tens and ones with remainders. In computing we thought about what we could believe on line and why people might not always be telling the truth.
Year 5
What a busy week! We began the week with an assembly with Mrs Fisher where we discovered the reason behind the odd socks all around school. It was the Sock Monster! The Sock Monster asked us to write a story about a day if the life of a Sock Monster where we could be creative and write about the things he might do with the socks that he is stealing and leaving in bizarre locations! In maths, we had our first attempt at using long multiplication which was quite successful. There are a few extra steps that we need to remember which is why we will continue to practice regularly! In science, we learned about the parts of a flower and the way in which flowers reproduce. Miss Smith also dissected a flower so that we could see that parts more clearly. Today has also been an interesting day as we welcomed parents into our classroom for the Maths Subject Showcase. Following this, we completed a number of activities for the NSPCC Number Day. Our class took on the role of zoo keepers and designed our own zoos. We had to think about the size of enclosures as well as other items needed such as toilets, cafes, shops, etc. We then recorded the area and perimeter of each section. Our final task involved budgeting, thinking about how much it would cost to build our zoo.
Homework expectation for this week:
- Minimum 3 readings at home (recorded in reading records)
- Spelling practice (evidence uploaded to Dojo)
- Sumdog task
- Maths competition (shared by Miss Ellington)
There will be no after school homework club next week.
Have a lovely weekend!
Year 6
It has been lovely to be back in Year 6 full time this week. The children have been absolutely fantastic, very thoughtful, helpful and polite. Well done Year 6 and thank you! In English this week, we had a special assembly on Monday as the sock monster has been in school! He asked us to complete a piece of work to entertain him. We chose to write a story entitled: ‘A Day in the Life of the Sock Monster’. The children came up with some lovely imaginative ideas. In Maths, we have started our algebra unit, learning about one-step and two step function machines, what algebra is, expressions and answering some simple algebraic equations. We have worked hard this week to complete our geography unit on North America. We have compared Canada to France, identify and discussed the different human and physical features and written about how North America is considered a diverse continent. We are looking forward to starting our new history unit next week. To finish off our week, this morning we showcased our multiplication skills and became scientists learning about the planets in the solar systems, their temperatures and completing some number-based activities on this information.
Keep up the great home reading – we are currently winning the whole school reading race!
Have a lovely weekend everyone.