Year 3 Friday Blog 2nd February 2024

Date: 2nd Feb 2024 @ 8:13am

Welcome to your Friday Blog

Home Practice

Continue with all your brilliant home reading. Everyone has made excellent progress in their reading this year and this is down to your regular reading at home. Keep it up!

Your Sumdog challenges are on x8, shape and your home spellings. This week we have been learning about homophones and how to remember them in context.

Here are your spellings for this week.

This week in Year 3

This week we finished our novel 'The Butterfly Lion' by Michael Morpurgo. Next half term we have organised a live lesson with Michael Morpurgo who will talk about The Butterfly Lion and how he finds inspiration for his novels. We can't wait!!

In maths we learnt some new strategies to multiply. We also learnt how to use our x10 method to multiply 2digit numbers by 3,4,5,and 8. Super work Year 3!

On Tuesday we had a yoga session with Amy who showed us some great poses and how to breathe for relaxation.

We also retold some Roald Dahl scenes through the medium of clay in our art lesson.   Check out our gallery.

This Friday we were introduced to Keynote to create some presentations on the Stone Age. We have used Adobe express and Seesaw so far in this topic and now will use our skills to create a presentation in Keynote. 

Have a fantastic weekend

The Year 3 Team

Reception Blog - Friday 2nd February 2024

Date: 1st Feb 2024 @ 8:36am

Phonics

This week Mrs Stone's group learnt the qu, ch and sh sounds. Mrs Robinson's group learnt the ng and th sounds.

Maths

We learnt about 3D shapes, we found them in class and sorted them into groups.

Drawing Club

This week, we read the story; The Smeds and the Smoos.

We drew the setting of the story and designed our own adventure.

R.E.

We revisited the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. 

We had a discussion about people around the world not having food and drink and how they might feel.

Understanding the World

We learnt more about space. This week we focussed on rockets. We investigated our ideas through an experiment with paper mice and bottles, seeing how far they travel.

We continued our topic about China. We learnt about their schools and about the language they speak.

Expressive Arts and Design

In Art, we made our own planets using pipettes, watered down paint and food colouring. We watched how the colours mixed together and soaked into the paper.

In PE we practised throwing and catching in pairs.

Year 6 Blog Friday 2nd February 2024

Date: 31st Jan 2024 @ 5:40pm

Amazing effort this week, everyone has worked so hard!

Home Practice

Reading

Please read for up to 30 minutes every night, this will improve the speed at which you read and your understanding of the text. If you come across any new words that you don’t understand, ask an adult or look it up in the dictionary. Building up your vocabulary knowledge is really beneficial.

Spelling

Please practise these spellings (Y5/6 Word List) for your test on the first Friday back after half term. A sheet will go home every Thursday/Friday with the spelling list on. This is for home practice only and can be kept with you.

Spellings (02.02.24 – 23.02.24):

develop                      equip

dictionary                    equipped 

disastrous                   equipment

embarrass                   especially

environment                exaggerate

Maths

Counting

Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?

Which is quicker, counting up to 40 in ones or counting up to 4,000 in hundreds?

Which is quicker, counting up to 10 in ones or counting up to 1,000,000 in hundred-thousands?

Which is quicker, counting up to 20 in ones or counting up to 140 in sevens?

Which is quicker, counting up to 25 in French or in English?

Maybe you could work on this with a partner!

When you have timed yourselves and decided on the reasons for your results, you could invent some other examples for yourselves.

You can predict which you think will be quicker, then try them out to test your prediction.

Sumdog

You have a mixed times table/division facts challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Thursday 08.02.24.

Log in at www.sumdog.com

If you would like to do a bit more work on your times tables, Hit the Button is a great game to play.

Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Reminders

Remember to sign up for Parents' Evening on Tuesay 20th February or Tuesday 27th February.

World Book Day is on Thursday 7th March. Get your costumes ready!

In English, we planned and are in the process of writing our own 'outsider' stories, which we have been editing and improving in Word on the lap-tops. I am really looking forward to reading your finished versions. Another great session by Gareth from Literacy Kicks about opinion writing. We have strong opinions about whether sports personalities should get involved in politics.

In Maths, we learnt to understand and interpret data contained in more complex bar charts. Other maths work included: BODMAS, factors, multiples and prime numbers, mental maths, estimating and checking. 

In Science, we started our light topic. We thought about different light sources, categorised them and explained how light travels.

In PE, we worked on our hockey skills and enjoyed a much needed yoga session.

In French, we learnt the necessary vocabulary to give a physical description. 

Mrs Winter was very pleased in Music, we played the ukuleles very well and listened to Enigma Variations by Elgar.

Year 6 Team.

Year 1 Blog - Friday 2nd February 2024

Date: 30th Jan 2024 @ 11:13am

Home Practice

Phonics -  ey (ee sound) words OR c (s sound) words OR ar words

Maths - counting

Counting - Count in 10s starting at different numbers, 12,22,32 and so on.

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference!

English

We read the traditional tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. We drew some story maps and wrote expanded noun phrases to describe parts of the story.

We even had our own beanstalk growing in the outdoor area!

Then, we read our twisted version - Jack and the Baked Beanstalk. We couldn't believe that a beanstalk grew from a can of baked beans. We compared the twisted version to the traditional version and wrote about the moral of the story - don't judge a book by its cover!

Phonics

Some of us have been revising c as in coat and learning c as in race. We have also been revising o as in cot and learning o as in mother.

Some of us have been continuing to learn all of the spellings for the ee sound - ee, ea, ie, e_e, y, e and ey.

Maths

We have been learning to add 10 to a number. We have been using base 10 equipment to make the numbers.

We have been learning how to subtract 10 from a number.

We have also been learning all the number bonds which make 10, 0 + 10, 1 + 9 and so on.

R.E.

We talked about how Jesus announced His mission - to bring good news to the poor. We discussed how we could be like Jesus and wrote sentences to say how we can help those who are in need.

Science

We conducted our next experiment - testing to see if different objects were waterproof or not. We used our fine motor skills to squeeze water out of a pipette and observed what happened. If the water did not absorb, the object was waterproof! 

Forest School

We discussed the changes we have noticed as we reach the end of January. We looked at a birds nest and talked about the materials it was made from. We had a go at making a nest.

Year 3 Friday Blog 26th January 2024

Date: 26th Jan 2024 @ 3:32pm

Welcome to your Friday Blog

Home Practice

Continue to read every night and remember to change your books with Mrs Lancaster and Mrs Woof! We have loads of great books to read!

We have set 2 maths challenges on Sumdog. Addition and Subtraction and the 8 times table. A little practice every night does the trick!

Your Spellings this week are based on the double the consonant rule when adding suffixes.

begged   swimming    wrapping    snapped      splitting     grabbing      sitting

shopping    dripped    topped    skipped    skipping

Reminders

Online Safety

Year 2 Blog Friday 26th January

Date: 26th Jan 2024 @ 1:53pm

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference! 

Spellings – Please see spelling sheet taken home on MONDAY.              

Spelling quiz will be on MONDAY 29^th January.

table     apple     bottle     little     puddle    camel     tinsel    travel     towel    hazel

Times Tables –  A times tables sheet will be sent home every Wednesday. Please learn these like the spellings for a quiz on Wednesday 31^st January.

Counting - Practise counting in 3s from any given number.  Challenge – count in threes from 63 to 100. 

 Sumdog Challenges Maths – x3 times tables practice and Money Challenge

Sumdog Challenge Spellings –  le and el

This week in Year 2

English

This week we wrote about Flat Stanley – the boy who was flattened by a picture! We focused on using adjectives and similes to make our sentences more exciting.

Maths

In maths, we learnt about money. We made different amounts using different coins, and added two amounts together to make a total.

RE

In RE, we discussed how we should be thankful to God for all he does for us. We then wrote a beautiful prayer about thanking and praising God.

History

We learnt about explorers in history this week focusing on Charles Darwin and Neil Armstrong. We ‘hot seated’ different children and came up with super questions for these two explorers.

Forest School

All of have now boiled water in the Kelly Kettle to make noodles.

We have also participated in imaginative play showing great teamwork, resilience and perseverance.

We also practised our knotting skills when making a forest eye and other items using sticks, wool, pipe cleaners, wire and ribbon.

Have a lovely weekend.

Year 5 Blog Friday 26th January 2024

Date: 26th Jan 2024 @ 1:03pm

Happy Friday and welcome to your Friday blog. 

Home Practice

Reading

Read out loud every day for 20 minutes. Look out for speech, see if the books follow the rules that we came up with in class. 

1. Opening speech marks before the spoken words.
2. Capital letter for the first spoken word. 
3. Punctuation after the spoken words. 
4. Closing speech marks after punctuation. 
5. Use a comma to separate the speech and the rest of the sentence. 

Spelling

Here are your spellings this week. 

science          mischief          quiet          medieval          ancient          glacier          weigh          neither          height          restaurant          vegetable          cemetery          temperature 

Times Tables

Please practise cubed numbers or your own individual target. 

Counting

Count out loud in square numbers from 1 to 144 and back again. 

1, 4, 9, ...

144, 121, 100, ...

Sumdog

Spelling Challenge

Times Tables Challenge

Fractions Challenge

Reminders

Online Safety

Please try to find a cardboard box for art over the next couple of weeks. A shoe box would be perfect. 

Remember to bring in anything else you want for our model set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's chocolate room. 

Here are some ideas you came up with in class:

Plastic cup

Paper cup

Cellophane

Bottle caps

Fabric

Pom poms

Lollipop sticks

Maths

In maths we learnt how to find equivalent fractions. We also compared fractions by finding a common denominator. 

English

We revised the rules for speech and wrote our own conversations. 

We came up with some funny conversations between the teachers in the staff room. 

We also became sub-editors by reading sports reports and checking them carefully for spellling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. 

PE

We enjoyed learning some hockey skills and playing little matches to put our new skills into practice. Everybody played fairly and had a great time! 

Computing and Science

We made PowerPoint presentations all about Earth and Space. 

This week we recapped our skills and managed to:

Add new slides

Change the background

Insert wordart and textboxes

Change the font

Import, move, rotate and resize an image

We also learnt how to:

Add bullet points

Add outlines and fill colours to our text boxes

Have a very happy weekend! 

Year 6 Blog Friday 26th January 2024

Date: 26th Jan 2024 @ 9:02am

Super learning this week, well done to everyone!

Home Practice

Reading

Please read for up to 30 minutes every night, this will improve the speed at which you read and your understanding of the text. If you come across any new words that you don’t understand, ask an adult or look it up in the dictionary. Building up your vocabulary knowledge is really beneficial.

Spelling

Please practise these spellings (Y5/6 Word List) for your test next Friday. A sheet will go home every Thursday/Friday with the spelling list on. This is for home practice only and can be kept with you.

Spellings (26.01.24 – 02.02.24):

conscience                      criticise

conscious                        curiosity 

controversy                      definite

convenience                     desperate

correspond                       determined

Maths

Counting

In class, we worked on negative numbers and number lines. Have a go at the game below.

This game is for two players.
You will need to draw a number line from -13 to 13 on a piece of paper, and find a counter and two 1-6 dice to use. 

Decide who is Positive and who is Negative.
Positive moves the counter from left to right and Negative moves the counter from right to left. (Why do you think we have suggested this way round?)

Place the counter on 0.

Take it in turns to throw the two dice and add the scores then move the counter that number of places in your direction.
If the counter reaches -13, Negative has won. If the counter reaches 13, Positive has won.

Is it better to play a game where you have to reach the end exactly, or where you can go over the end? What do you think and why?

Now change the game. This time, when you throw the dice, you can decide whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide the numbers on the dice. You must reach -13 or 13 exactly to win.

Sumdog

You have a mixed times table/division facts challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday 02.02.24.

Log in at www.sumdog.com

If you would like to do a bit more work on your times tables, Hit the Button is a great game to play.

Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Reminders

Wednesday 31st January - Meeting for Year 6 parents regarding the End of Key Stage 2 Assessments and Tests, at 6.30 pm in school.

The athletics team are at a competition next Tuesday afternoon.

Online Safety

In English, we produced some great pieces of writing from the persepective of the character. We also wrote a summary of the book using adverbials to link paragraphs and help with cohesion. Focuses this week were; cohesion, joined handwriting, good vocab choices, relative clauses, adverbs/adverbials and suffixes. Another great session by Gareth from Literacy Kicks about editing. He was really impressed with the editing skills in Y6. 

In Maths, we needed to understand and interpret data contained within simple pie charts and use this to solve problems. Other maths work included: place value, rounding to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, 10 000, negative numbers, written multiplication/ division and problem solving.

In RE, we spent time exploring the Bible and finding references. This gave them a better understanding of the contents of the Bible so we could note down books within it, genres of those books and opening sentences.

During P.E,  we worked on our in-door athletic skills.

Year 6 Team.

Year 4 Blog Friday 26th January 2024

Date: 25th Jan 2024 @ 4:35pm

Welcome to your Friday blog

Home practice

Reading

Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home.  Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.

See if you can spot any verbs when you are reading (a verb is an action or a doing word). It can also show what something has or is.

eg The boy is tall. (is is the verb) 

The tree has green leaves. (has is the verb).

Spellings

The spellings this week all have the ending -ture.

mixture       capture        feature        moisture      adventure

nature         picture        vulture         future         torture

sculpture     creature      fracture      furniture     temperature

Counting

This week, please practise counting in 7’s. 

For example, start at 0 and count up to 84 and back again

0   7     14     21     etc                         84    77      70   etc

Times tables and Number facts

Please practise your individual tables target for your test next week. 

You can practise your tables on Hit the Button and timestables.co.uk

Please also practise your number facts. 

You can practise your number facts on Hit the Button

It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts and your number facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.

Sumdog challenges

• A spelling challenge
• A times tables challenge based on the 7 times tables
• A 3D shapes and their properties challenge

Reminders

Online Safety

In English, we wrote a formal letter to Mr Tregenza (grandfather in the novel) to persuade him to leave his home in Slapton Sands. We tried our best to use vocabulary which was both formal and persuasive, and enjoyed using our ‘posh’ voice to rehearse our sentences as we were writing as Lord Somethingorother.

In Maths, we started a new topic – shape. First, we identified, named and described 2D shapes according to their properties.

Following this, we identified and named prisms according to their properties. 

Prisms are 3D shapes, made up of two identical (congruent) polygons at opposite ends and joined up by parallel lines called edges.

This week, we also identified and named pyramids according to their properties.

Pyramids are 3D shapes with a polygon as a base and straight lines called edges that go from the vertex on the base and meet at one point called an apex.

In RE, we continued our topic, 'Community'. We discussed where our local parish is as well as members of the clergy. In addition, we thought about the links between the parish and the school, and the lay people who help in church. A lay person is someone who is not a member of the clergy, but helps as church eg a flower arranger or catechist.

In Art we continued making our boxes for our ‘pocket gallery’. We also cut out the pictures of ourselves and mounted them on to card. Next week, we will set up our gallery, including some pieces of art.  

In Science, we classified materials as solids, liquids and gases. We used a Venn diagram to help us sort these as some of them were quite tricky (eg jam, honey and hair spray).

We continued our new topic ‘photo editing’ in Computing. We learnt how to recolour pictures as well as clone and retouch them.

Enjoy your weekend

The Year 4 Team

Reception Blog - Friday 26th January 2024

Date: 25th Jan 2024 @ 3:59pm

Phonics

This week Mrs Stone's group learnt the x, y, z and zz sounds. Mrs Robinson's group learnt the qu, ch and sh sounds.

Maths

We learnt numbers from 11-20, specifically 11, 12 and 13. We then made these with numicon.

Drawing Club

This week, we read the story; Zog

We designed our own dragon and we drew what we would do to save the princess locked in the tower.

R.E.

We read the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. We then role played the story and made our own baskets of food.

Understanding the World

We learnt more about space. This week we focussed on astronauts. 

We continued our topic about China. We learnt what a map was and then explored different maps of China.

Expressive Arts and Design

In PE we practised balancing and rolling. We used large balls and attempted to roll them through a target.

Year 1 Blog-Friday 26th January 2024

Date: 23rd Jan 2024 @ 11:25am

Home Practice

Phonics -  ie (ee sound) OR e_e words OR tricky words

Maths - comparing numbers

Counting - Count in 10s starting at different numbers, 12,22,32 and so on.

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference!

English

We started the week by writing our own newspaper reports. We chose whether to argue that Alexander T Wolf was framed and is innocent or that he was guilty, meaning that he was the big, bad wolf.

Then we read our new twisted tale - The Three Wolves and the The Big, Bad Pig. We found that the characters had swapped roles! We described how the wolves were feeling, wrote speech bubbles for the story and chose our favourite 3 Little Pigs story out of the ones that we have read this half term.

Phonics

Some of us revised oo as in moon, ew as in chew and learnt the split u-e as in dude and also as in tune.

Some of us revised the different ee spellings - ea in bead, y in funny, ie in priest and ey in key.

Maths

We learnt about the tens and the ones in a number, 23 has 2 tens and 3 ones. We then represented these numbers using base 10 equipment.

We have been using correct mathematical vocabulary such as fewer, less, greater, more, equal.

R.E.

We read the story of Jesus at the Temple when he was 12 years old. We thought about how Mary and Joseph may have felt when they realised that Jesus was not with them, and then compared this to when He was found at the Temple. We also learnt how Jesus became obedient and thought about how we can be obedient too.

Art

We used our creativity this week and used the 'design through making' method for our artwork. This meant that rather than planning a piece of art, we could make any sculpture using the materials that were available. It was great to see a wide variety of scupltures.

Forest School

All of have now boiled water in the Kelly Kettle to make noodles.

We have also participated in imaginative play showing great teamwork, resilience and perseverance.

We also practised our knotting skills when making a forest eye and other items using sticks, wool, pipe cleaners, wire and ribbon.

Year 2 Friday blog 19th January 2024

Date: 20th Jan 2024 @ 8:45am

Home Practice

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference! 

Spellings – Please see spelling sheet taken home on Wednesday.              

Spelling quiz will be on Wednesday 24th January.

Know​ knight​  knee​  knock  gnaw  gnome  gnarl  would  could  should​    

Times Tables –  A times tables sheet will be sent home every Monday. Please learn these like the spellings for a quiz on Wednesday 24th January.

Counting - Practise counting in 2s from any given number.  Challenge – count in twos from 23 to 100. 

 Sumdog Challenges Maths – x2 times tables practice and Addition and Subtraction Challenge

Sumdog Challenge Spellings – Silent 'K'

This week in Year 2

English

In our learning this week we wrote about winter. We also used our ideas about winter to write some lovely poems. 

Maths

We have been learning about capacity and volume. We have begun to look at money and are trying to recognise the value of all the coins to £2.

Science and PSHE

In Science we are continuing to look at how to keep our bodies healthy: we have looked at the importance of eating a balanced diet, exercising and keeping clean, particularly when and how to wash our hands and clean our teeth.

Have a lovely weekend.

Reception Blog - Friday 19th January 2024

Date: 19th Jan 2024 @ 12:54pm

Phonics

This week Mrs Stone's group have been learning the j,v and w sounds. Mrs Robinson's group have been learning the x, y, z and zz sounds.

Maths

We have been learning about partitioning numbers and all the different ways a number can be made. For example, the number 7 can be made with 3+4, 6+1, 5+2.

Drawing Club

This week, we read the story; The Night Pirates.

We designed our own pirate ships and described the treasure found on the desert island.

R.E.

We learned about the story of Jesus blessing the children. We lit a candle and said a prayer.

Understanding the World

We had the surprise of snow this week, this has been brilliant to help us learn more about Winter!

We have continued learning about space. This week we have focussed on the diffferent planets.

We continued our topic about China. We compared buildings in China to buildings in England. We also learnt about the Great Wall of China, which the children found fascinating.

Expressive Arts and Design

In PE we continued to practise our under arm throwing, balancing and rolling. We used large balls to roll to our partner.

Year 3 Friday Blog 19th January 2024

Date: 19th Jan 2024 @ 12:45pm

We have had a great week in Year 3!

Home Practice

Continue with your regular reading. At least 15 minutes every night.

Your Sumdog maths challenges are on the 8 times table and Addition and Subtraction. Please complete both.

Practise counting forward and back in 8's or sing our 8's song.

Hit the Button is also a great way to improve fluency.

You spellings this week all have the ou letter pattern making the /u/ sound.

young   touch   double    trouble    couple     country   cousin    courage    encourage     flourish     nourish    southern

This week in Year 3

In our English learning this week we have been using descriptive vocabulary in our writing to describe the characters and settings from The Butterfly Lion. Everyone has improved their presentation this week, looking carefully at their handwriting! Well done Year 3!

In maths this week we have been revisiting our addition and Subtraction strategies and working on a number line. Everyone has worked hard on their explanations this week and used what they know to work out their problems. Number bonds to 10 have proved very useful!

In our History this week we learned all about how the Neolithic people began to mine for metal ores and created bronze. We explored the cause and consequence of this and how the discovery of bronze improved their lives.

In Art this week in our Telling Stories through Drawing and Making topic  we learned some new sketchings skills from Quentin Blake. We drew some one line and straight line sketches and explored exaggeration to convey a message. Check out our gallery.

In RE we have been exploring the liturgical year. This week we learned all about Ordinary time in the Church calendar and what we celebrate during this time. We learned a little bit about St Oswald and how his feast day is on the 5th of August.

In Science we started our new topic on Forces and Magnets. Have a look at our fact sheet below to see what we will be learning about this term.

Have a great weekend!

The Year 3 Team.

Year 4 Blog Friday 19th January 2024

Date: 19th Jan 2024 @ 8:45am

Welcome to your Friday blog

Home practice

Reading

Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home.  Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding. See if you can spot any nouns when you are reading (a noun is a word which represents a person, place or thing / object)

Spellings

The spellings this week all have the spelling gu.

guide           guitar          guard           guest           guardian

guess           guilt            guinea          guile            guarantee

guilty           guilty           guitarist      guaranteed  guillotine

Counting

This week, please practise counting in 12’s. 

For example, start at 0 and count up to 144 and back again

0   12   24    36     etc                         144   132   120   etc

For example, start at 1.2 and count up to 14.4 and back again

1.2   2.1   3.6   etc                               14.4   13.2   12.0   etc

Times tables and Number facts

Please practise your individual tables target for your test next week. 

You can practise your tables on Hit the Button and timestables.co.uk

Please also practise your number facts. 

You can practise your number facts on Hit the Button

It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts and your number facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.

Sumdog challenges

• A spelling challenge
• A times tables challenge based on the 6 and 12 times tables
• A telling the time to the nearest minute challenge

In English, we continued reading the novel and discovered that the whole of Lily’s village needs to move ‘lock, stock and barrel’ to alternative accommodation. We also ‘boxed up’ a formal letter and planned our own in preparation for writing our own formal letter next week.

In Maths, we learnt how to read the time and write it to the nearest minute. We also learnt how to tell, write and match analogue and digital times.

In RE, we started our new topic - Community. We discussed all the different communities we belong to and created a lovely piece of work in our books to show this.

In Geography, we learnt about the causes of flooding, its effect on people and how flooding can be prevented.  

In Science, we started our new topic – States of Matter. We considered different objects and decided whether they were solids, liquids or gases.

Enjoy your weekend

The Year 4 Team

Year 6 Blog Friday 19th January 2024

Date: 18th Jan 2024 @ 1:02pm

A great week of learning, well done to everyone!

Home Practice

Reading

Please read for up to 30 minutes every night, this will improve the speed at which you read and your understanding of the text. If you come across any new words that you don’t understand, ask an adult or look it up in the dictionary. Building up your vocabulary knowledge is really beneficial.

Spelling

Please practise these spellings (Y5/6 Word List) for your test next Friday. A sheet will go home every Thursday with the spelling list on. This is for home practice only and can be kept with you.

Spellings (19.01.24 – 26.01.24):

available                     category

average                       cemetery 

awkward                      committee

bargain                         communicate

bruise                           community

Maths

Counting

In class, we counted in tenths on a blank number line and found missing decimal numbers. At home, count in decimal steps. Start at 0.1 and continue this sequence…0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 etc. Next count back from 9.9 and continue counting…9.9, 9.8 etc. See how fast you can go, miss numbers out and work out what the missing decimal number is. Draw blank number lines, if it helps, and write the numbers down as you count.

Sumdog

You have a mixed times table/division facts challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday 26.01.24.

Log in at www.sumdog.com

If you would like to do a bit more work on your times tables, Hit the Button is a great game to play.

Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Reminders

Wednesday 31st January - Meeting for Year 6 parents regarding the End of Key Stage 2 Assessments and Tests, at 6.30 pm in school.

Year 6 have had a busy week of learning and worked so hard.

In English, we read the book The Island by Armin Greder. We wrote a short piece in the role of a refugee child describing our journey to safety. We also wrote a newspaper report describing a stranger arriving on our island and how it affected the islanders. Focuses this week were; cohesion, joined handwriting, good vocab choices, prepositions, using quotes in reports and comprehension. Another great session by Gareth from Literacy Kicks about Tatyana McFadden the paralympian. 

In Maths, the focus was Geometry this week. We calculated missing angles on a line and missing angles in shapes. We also accurately drew angles and shapes using protractors and rulers, and looked at the properties of 2-D and 3-D shapes so they could be sorted on venn and carroll diagrams.

In Science, we took notes and wrote a short piece to educate people on the health risks of either smoking, drinking too much alcohol or being overweight. We compared healthy and unhealthy lifestyles, but recognised that it is alright to have things in moderation.

P.E time was spent improving athletic skills.

In Art, we drew some fantastic portraits.

Year 6 Team.

Year 1 Blog - Friday 19th January 2024

Date: 18th Jan 2024 @ 12:43pm

Home Practice

Phonics -  i_e words OR ou (u sound) words OR er words.

Maths - Counting in fives.

Counting - Count in 10s starting at different numbers, 12,22,32 and so on.

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference!

English

We started our new twisted tale - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. We learnt what a twisted tale is, created a character description of this version of the wolf, became news reporters and then planned our own newspaper report. We chose whether to argue that the wolf is innocent or that he is guilty of blowing the houses down!

Phonics

Some of us have been learning about split digraphs, o-e as in stone, a-e as in cake, i-e as in time.

Some of us have been learning that the ou digraph makes various sounds, ow in loud, oo in you and u in young.

Click here to sing a phonics song.

Maths

We finished our learning about money. We started more learning about number and place value. We have been counting in 10s starting at different numbers, 12,22,32 and so on.

We have been representing numbers up to 100 using base 10, 10 frames and straws.

We have been taking great care to make sure our numbers are formed correctly.

R.E.

We continued to learn about Jesus being presented at the Temple. This week, we focused on Jesus being the light of the world. We coloured in candles ready for Candlemas and sang the song 'This Little Light of Mine' together.

Art

We used our science knowledge to describe different materials. We sketched them and decided whether they would be suitable to create art with.

Forest School

Two of the groups made noodles by boiling water in the Kelly Kettle, the other two groups will make noodles next week.

We also had a great time finding ice and investigating what we could do with it. Superb child initiated learning.

Year 5 Blog Friday 19th January 2024

Date: 16th Jan 2024 @ 2:55pm

Happy Friday and welcome to your Friday Blog

Home Practice

Reading

Read out loud every day for 20 minutes. Try to find one amazing word and bring it into class - we will add these to our English display. 

Spelling

Here are your spellings this week. They all contain the letters ei. Can you figure out what different sounds the ei makes and identify any patterns or rules?

ceiling          receive          receipt          deceit          perceive          vein          rein          reign          veil         

weigh          eight          neighbour          weird          their          height

Counting

Count out loud in:

Tenths from 0 to 1 and back again          one tenth, two tenths, three tenths, (ten tenths = one whole)

Thirds from 0 to 4 and back again          one third, two thirds, three thirds or one whole, one and one third, ... (three thirds = one whole)

Fifths from 0 to 2 and back again           one fifth, two fifths, three fifths, ... (five fifths = one whole)

Times Tables

Please learn cube numbers or your own individual target. 

Sumdog

Spelling Challenge

Times Tables Challenge

Maths Competition in teams

Reminders

Please remember to collect things for our art project this half term when we will be making a model set for the chocolate room in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

You might collect:

Fabric

Cardboard

Plastic

Chocolate and sweet wrappers

Cocktail sticks or lollipop sticks

Maths

In maths this week we have been using our new method to divide and interpet remainders. It is so important that we know our times tables!

Our new method includes looking at our times tables and using related facts 

2,600 ÷ 5 = 

We can partition 2,600 into 2,500 and 100

25÷ 5 = 5

So 2,500 ÷ 5 = 500

100 ÷ 5 = 20 

So 2,600 ÷ 5 = 520 

English

In English we read more of our class novel Street Child. We also wrote a non-chronological report all about the Victorians. 

A non-chronological report gives the reader facts about a topic and can be read in any order. 

RE

In RE we spoke about Jesus' mission to teach, preach and spread the Good News. We read Good News for the Poor from Isaiah which was one of the scriptures Jesus first read when he started his mission in Nazareth. We thought about how the words would have helped and comforted people. We then came up with ways we can comfort people when they need us. 

Geography

We thought about different ways humans have affected the landscape in Britain and had a really interesting discussion about: what if the government banned any more building in the United Kingdom?

Have this discussion at home, does everybody agree? 

Science

In science we carried out a fair test to find out the effect water resistance has on different shapes. 

We know that water resistance is a force which slows objects down as they move through water, it is a type of friction. 

We made different shapes out of playdough and timed how long they took to fall to the bottom of a cylinder of water. 

Have a happy weekend.

Online Safety January 2024

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 4:14pm

With your children returning to school, it is a great time to review Online Safety in your homes and make sure we are all up to date with developments in the online world. At St Oswald's, all classes will be continuing with their Online Saftety learning where they will learn all about safe practices online in the following areas. 

Self image and identitiy

Online relationships

Online bulllying

Health, Well-being and lifestyle

Online reputation

Managing online information

Copyright and ownership

To access a huge range of information on the National Online Safety website click the link below and join our school online safety hub.You will get access to videos, training and guides to keep you informed of the best practices in keeping your children safe online.

http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/st-oswald-s-catholic-primary-school-pr45eb

Year 2 Blog - Friday 12th January 2024

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 3:35pm

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break.

Home Practice

Spellings – Please see spelling sheet taken home on Wednesday. Spelling quiz will be on Wednesday 17^th January.

jog   join  huge    age    badge    edge    giant    gerbil     wild    climb    

Times Tables –  A times tables sheet will be sent home every Monday. Please learn these like the spellings for a quiz on Monday 15^th January.

 Sumdog Challenge Maths – finding ½ and ¼ fractions

Sumdog Challenge Spellings – adding –dge and -ge 

Counting - Practise counting in 1s from any given number. 

Challenge – count in ones from 123 to 150. 

Reading - Please try to read each night, it makes a big difference! 

English

In our learning this week we wrote about our Christmas holidays. We also explored text for adjectives, verbs and extended sentences. 

Maths

We have been learning how to find fractions of objects using different methods.

R.E.

In RE we started our new topic of Thanksgiving. We wrote a lovely prayer to God thanking him for all he has done for us. We listened to scripture about the ‘Last Supper’. We wrote about the last supper and explained what the bread and wine symbolises.

Art

In our Art learning we started our new topic about being an architect. We explored various buildings around the world and sketched the details of what we could see.

Forest School 

We went for a walk up to the pond to see what changes we could spot. 

We also made bubble wands out of willow and showed great perseverance when blowing bubbles.

Have a lovely weekend.

Reception Blog - Friday 12th January 2024

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 12:48pm

We have had a great start to the New Year, in Reception.

Phonics

This week we have been recapping our sounds from Autumn Term and we have learned the j,v and w sounds.

Maths

We have been counting out different amounts from 0-10, we then sorted these amounts into more and less.

Drawing Club

This week, we read the story; Charlie Cook's Favourite Book.

We created our own characters and used our imaginations to create adventures for them. We had a go at using our sounds to write words.

R.E.

We learned all about the Three Kings who visited Jesus after he was born. We learned their names, the gifts they brought and how long it took them to travel to Bethlehem. We read The Glory Be prayer together.

Understanding the World

We have been learning all about space and what it is. We learned about the size difference between the sun, earth and the moon.

We started our new topic, all about China. We looked at a globe to see where China is and looked at a map to see what is in China.

Expressive Arts and Design

 In music, with Mrs Winter, we have been learning about beat and rhythm.

In PE we focussed on our under arm throwing and balancing, using different parts of our bodies.

Forest School

We learned all about fire safety and collected dry materials to make a fire.  We then boiled water in the Kelly Kettle to make a delicious hot chocolate drink.

Year 6 Blog Friday 12th January 2024

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 11:25am

Welcome to the Year 6 Blog and Happy New Year

Home Practice

Reading

Please read for up to 30 minutes every night, this will improve the speed at which you read and your understanding of the text. If you come across any new words that you don’t understand, ask an adult or look it up in the dictionary. Building up your vocabulary knowledge is really beneficial.

Spelling

Please practise these spellings (Y5/6 Word List) for your test on Friday. A sheet will go home every Thursday with the spelling list on. This is for home practice only and can be kept with you.

It is useful to write the words down on the spelling sheet, but you could also ask someone to call the words out and spell them out loud. Other ideas include, breaking the words up and writing them down in different colours (accommodate). You could look for words within words (accompany) or think of your own ways to remember the word, for example, spell it aloud using a mnemonic or tune.

This week’s spellings are (12.01.24 – 19.01.24):

accommodate                     amateur

accompany                          ancient 

according                            apparent

achieve                               appreciate

aggressive                           attached

Maths

Counting

In class, we learnt how to add and subtract in 0.001's. At home, count in decimal steps. Start at 1.372 and continue this sequence… 1.373, 1.374, 1.375, 1.376 etc. Next count back from 4.749 and continue counting…4.748, 4.747 etc.

Sumdog

You have a times table challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday 19.01.24.

Log in at www.sumdog.com

If you would like to do a bit more work on your times tables, Hit the Button is a great game to play.

Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Reminders

Tuesday 16th January - Meeting for Year 6 parents regarding the End of Key Stage 2 Assessments and Tests, at 6.30 pm in school.

It was great to see everyone in school again after the Christmas holiday. Year 6 have settled back into the rules and routines very well and worked extremely hard this week.

In English, we read the book Eric by Shaun Tan. We wrote a few excellent pieces, including a letter from Eric, explaining why he left so suddenly. Focuses this week were; cohesion, joined handwriting, modal verbs, good vocab choices, conjunctions, pronouns and determiners. Gareth from Literacy Kicks will be working with the children for the next few weeks.

In Maths, we were introduced to Algebra and the concept of using letters or shapes to represent values. We calculated missing values by identifying similarities and differences and wrote simple rules using algebra. We also explored different algebra type questions. This linked nicely to finding missing angles on a line and the geometry work we will be doing next week.

In Science, we produced excellent posters explaining ways in which people can lead a healthy lifestyle.

In P.E, we took part in cross country running.

In Art, we used different techniques to create some fabulous charcoal art.

Have a great weekend.

Year 6 Team.

Year 4 Blog Friday 12th January 2024

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 8:15am

Happy New Year to you all and welcome to your Friday blog

Home practice

Reading

Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home.  Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.

Spellings

The spellings this week all end with -ing, -ed, -er or en.

forgetting             excelling      excelled       regretting   regretted

upsetting              beginning     beginner      recapping     recapped

travelling               travelled      traveller      forbidden    forbidding

Counting

This week, please practise counting in 11’s. 

For example, start at 0 and count up to 132 and back again

0   11   22   33     etc                          132   121   110   etc

For example, start at 59 and count up to

59   70   81   etc                                 158   147  136 etc

Times tables and Number facts

Please practise your individual tables target for your test next week. 

You can practise your tables on Hit the Button and timestables.co.uk

Please also practise your number facts. 

You can practise your number facts on Hit the Button

It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts and your number facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.

Sumdog challenges

• A spelling challenge
• A times tables challenge based on the 11 times tables
• A telling the time challenge

In English, we started our new novel – The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips. We used words to describe Lily’s character, and planned and wrote a diary extract.

In Maths, we learnt how to divide by 10, and described the effect of dividing a 2 digit number by 10. In addition, we revised reading and writing time on analogue clocks.

In RE, we read the story of the Wise Men from Matthew’s Gospel and talked about the symbolism of their gifts.

In Geography, we learnt about the different stages of rivers and their features.

We started our new topic ‘photo editing’ in Computing. We learnt how to rotate and crop pictures using the BeFunky app.

Have a lovely weekend

The Year 4 Team

Year 3 Blog - Friday 12th January

Date: 12th Jan 2024 @ 8:11am

Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring term.

We have had a lovely first week back with a mix of new topics, tricky learning and great playtimes with our friends again!

Home Practice

Make sure you keep reading regularly and changing your school books. Mrs Lancaster and Mrs Woof have been very impressed with the progress in everyone's reading. Keep asking your VIPER questions to improve understanding.

For your Sumdog practice we have set 2 maths challenges. These each have 100 questions and should only take 15 - 30 minutes to complete. There is also training for times tables, counting and number fluency that your child can access at any time. We advise the children to do a little every night to build up fluency in number. The challenges are on division and the 3 and 4 times tables.

Your spellings this week are on how we use an apostrophe to contract words. Next week we will be revisiting possessive apostrophes and trying to use these in our writing accurately.

can't       it's       don't        I'm         you've         didn't          you're          we'll           couldn't            wouldn't          haven't          aren't

This week in Year 3

In English this week we have been reading Michael Morpurgo's The Butterfly Lion. We met the main character Bertie and learnt how he befriended a little lion cub. We have written some great character descriptions and recounts of the story so far.

Our maths learning has been very tricky this week as we have been introduced to new strategies to help divide by grouping. Everyone has improved their understanding with this. Just keep practising your times tables - fluency in tables will benefit you when meeting more complex learning.

This week we started our gymnastics topic. We recapped our travels and balances from Year 2 and learnt how we can transition from travel to balance and back again. We also discussed the word trust and worked in pairs to evaluate our routines. Have a look in our gallery.

We also started our new Art learning this week. We will be exploring storytelling through drawing and making. We met the illustrator Inbal Leitner who talked to us about how she creates her own sketchbooks. We had a go at exploring our own ideas related to our new novel, The Butterfly Lion, drawing animals, the compound and the waterhole.

Have a lovely weekend

The Year 3 Team 

Year 5 Blog Friday 12th January 2024

Date: 9th Jan 2024 @ 2:33pm

Happy New Year.

Welcome to your Friday Blog. 

Home Practice

Reading

Read out loud every day for 20 minutes. Find the meaning of new words and try to use them in your own sentences. 

Spelling

Here are your spellings this week. Please use your favourite strategy and Sumdog to practise every day. 

centre          bicycle          calendar          peculiar          woman          women          suppose          quarter          century          unfinished          undone          unable          unlikely

Counting

Count out loud in:

0.3s from 0.3 to 3.6 and back again          0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, ...

0.4s from 0.4 to 4.8 and back again          0.4, 0.8, 1,2. ...

0.6s from 0.6 to 7.2 and back again          0.6, 1.2, 1.8, ...

Times Tables

Please practise the 12x tables or your own individual target. 

Sumdog

Spelling Challenge

Times Tables Challenge

Maths Competition - individual 

Reminders

Year 5 will have PE on a Friday for this Half Term. Children will need spare shoes and socks for cross country. 

Please start to collect materials for our art project this half term, we will be making a model set for the chocolate room in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You might want to start collecting:

Fabric

Cardboard

Plastic

Chocolate and sweet wrappers

Cocktail sticks or lollipop sticks

Maths

We have been learning different methods to multiply and divide. 

Partition to multiply:

64 x 4 

60 x 4 = 240

4 x 4 = 16

64 x 4 = 256

Known facts:

1,200 ÷ 4 

12 ÷ 4 = 3

120 ÷ 4 = 30

1,200 ÷ 4 = 300

English

We started our new class novel Street Child by Berlie Doherty.

We have been carrying out research about the Victorian times to help us understand the novel. 

RE

We started our new topic all about our mission and life choices. We started by learning about inspirational people. We watched this video all about Thomas Barnardo and spoke about what made him inspirational. 

Thomas Barnardo

History

We continued with our learning about Anglo-Saxons. We learnt that Britain used to be split into seven kingdoms each with its own king and government. We located these kingdoms on a map.