St Oswald's Catholic Primary SchoolOur blogs
Date: 4th Mar 2022 @ 3:57pm
Welcome to your Friday blog.
We have had a great week of learning in Year 3. We finished reading our novel, The Butterfly Lion. The children really enjoyed the story and we had lots of deep and thoughtful discussions about the book. The children created some lovley pieces of writing this week. We wrote a persuasive piece to welcome people to the Cirque Merlot, a character description of Bertie and a newspaper article abour how Bertie recieved the Victoria cross. The children remembered how we write for different purposees and what they had to include in their writing. Well done Year 3!
Next week we will begin our new story. We can't wait!
In our maths learning we have been learning new ways to add and subtract using three digit numbers. We explored our strategies, how we use our jottings to show our thinking and how we can find the most efficient way to solve problems. We have been very impressed with everyone's attitude in maths, especially when the learning gets tricky!
In our DT this week we have developed our ideas and created a prototype of our moving picture. The children showed great perseverance and creativity in their work.
Here is a snapshot of some of our learning.
As it was Mardi Gras this week, and the theme of the Carnaval de Nice this year is Roi des Animaux, we made some animal -inspired face masks. They're great! Next week, we'll try to describe them in French. Have a look below at our amazing display.
We also started our new topic in Science this week. We will be learning all about forces and motion. We investigated some of the new words we will meet. See what you can find out at home.
contact non-contact pull push friction air-resistance drag
On Thursday, the Year 3 Science ambassadors ran their own science breaktime investigation on the playground. They showed how light and colour mixed and what is happening when light passes through coloured plastic.
Have a look here at some of our light learning from the last half term.
Year 1 paid us a visit to share their own stories on Friday afternoon. Year 3 were a great audience and gave year 1 some super comments on their books. See below.
Home Practice
On Sumdog we have set three challenges. Well done to everyone who went on last week. We could see how all the practise is helping with understanding in our lessons.
The spellings this week are from the Year 3 common exception word list.
continue decide island minute difficult earth consider enough really February
You can practise these spellings and more on Sumdog.
Continue to read to someone every night for at least 20 minutes.
Remember - We will change the books whenever you need a new one.
Your maths challenges are on the 3 and 4 times table and adding using the column method.
10 minutes Sumdog practise every night will improve number fluency and understanding.
You will be tested on your spellings and times tables on Tuesday Make sure you practise every night.
You can also practise your number facts by playing Hit the button. Its a great game for improving speed and number fluency.
Have a fantastic weekend
The Year 3 Team
Year 4 HOME PRACTICE Friday 4th March 2022
Date: 4th Mar 2022 @ 3:45pm
Year 4
Home Practice 4th March 2022
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS TO THE TIPPY TOES UKRAINE APPEAL – YOU HAVE BEEN VERY GENEROUS
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week …
In English, we started to investigate inverted commas and how to punctuate speech correctly. In addition, we wrote a diary extract from Kensuke’s point of view and his feelings towards Michael, especially about the fire he had started.
In Maths, we continued to learn about hundredths, writing fraction and decimal equivalents. Year 4 have worked hard on their maths this week and shown a very good understanding of a tricky concept. Well done Year 4!
In RE, we learnt about different parts of the Mass, such as the Penitential Act, the Communion Rite and the Concluding Rite. In addition, we wrote Lenten Promises which we took to Golden Assembly, and we went to church on Ash Wednesday when Father Michael blessed us with ashes.
As it was Mardi Gras this week, we had a pancake themed French lesson. The children practised saying what kind of pancakes they liked and then they wrote some excellent sentences in French about this. Well done
We started learning a new song called ‘Boudicca’ from the musical ‘Rockin’ Romans’ in Music this week. We also played the rhythm game, ‘Gimme 1’, and continued with the cup game, ‘Mambo Cup Rhythm’ from last week. Finally, we began to learn ‘Pat, click, clap, groove’ – we needed lots of co-ordination for this!
In Science, we deepened our learning of ‘states of matter’. We were given a range of items, such as flour, rice, jam, toothpaste, a raw egg, milk etc which we needed to classify into the headings ‘solids, liquids and gases’. Some of these items were tricky to classify and overlapped 2 of the headings! In addition, we carried out some science experiments to find evidence of gases around us.
This week in PSHE, we talked about how feelings change over time, including throughout the day, and how everyday things can affect our feelings.
As part of Fairtrade Fortnight, we talked about the difference between needs and wants. We discussed what we need to survive and to live a happy and healthy life, as well as what we ‘want’, which isn’t necessary, but nice to have. We also listened to a story about a cocoa bean farmer who lives in West Africa and how joining Fairtrade means she is paid a better price for her cocoa beans.
This week’s Home Practice …
Reading
Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home. Make sure you discuss the story and the characters. Find the meaning of any new words too. Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.
Times tables
You have been given your own individual times table target. Please make sure you continue to practise your times tables in preparation for your test next week, on Thursday (10th March 2022). Ask someone at home to test you on your tables – can you recall them quickly and accurately?
Remember - you can also practise your tables playing ‘Hit the button’ and https://www.timestables.co.uk/
It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 4’s and 8’s – draw a line and some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers down as you count up. When you count down, cover the numbers up, say the number, then reveal what you have got written down to check you’ve said the correct number.
Count in 4’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 48 and back again (this will help with your 4 times table)
0 4 8 12 48 44 40 etc
Count in 8’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 96 and back again (this will help with your 8 times table)
0 8 16 24 etc 96 88 80 etc
Spellings
This week’s spellings all have the suffix -ation. A suffix is a letter or group of letters which is added to the end of a word which makes a new word. The suffix -ation is added to verbs to form nouns. For example educate becomes education. Please practise your spellings each evening at home as many of you are still not doing this. You will be tested on them next Thursday (10th March 2022).
education creation frustration conversation
celebration punctuation calculation hesitation
imagination invitation location investigation
sensation explanation determination
Sumdog challenges
You have been set 3 challenges on Sumdog:
- A spelling challenge based on the spellings above
- A times table challenge based on the 4 and 8 times tables
- A decimal equivalents challenge – recognising and writing decimal equivalents of any number of tenths or hundredths
Please make sure you log on and have a go! Many of you are still not accessing Sumdog on a daily basis. Little and often is the key to success!
Number bonds
Number bonds are very important and help with many aspects of maths. The more confident you are with these, the easier you will find addition, subtraction, mental calculations etc. Therefore, please continue practising your number bonds / addition skills playing Hit the Button
The game you will play will help with your number bonds and quick addition skills. For example:
8 + 6 you could partition this into 8 + 2 + 4 = 14
This is because 8 + 2 is a pair to 10, then add the 4 to 10
Click on the link above, then on Play Game.
Click on Number bonds
On the left-hand side you will see the words ‘Up to 20’
Click on Addition within 20
See how many you can get correct in 1 minute. Then have another go and try and beat your score.
Maths and spelling training
Please continue to use the maths and spellings training sections as these are tailored for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult.
Date: 4th Mar 2022 @ 12:31pm
This week we have continued our learning about Oliver's Vegetables. We have been learning the story and have enjoyed sharing our own versions with Year 2.
In maths we have been practising taking away within 10 and finding less than a number.
In French this week we have practised a few questions and answers about ourselves and looked at the names for vegetables in French too.
We made our own butterflies and caterpillars in art, using lots of different colours and materials.
We read the story of Handa's Suprise and talked about the similarities and differences between our country and Africa. We also discussed all the different fruit in the story.
Year 2 Home Practice Friday 4th March
Date: 4th Mar 2022 @ 10:44am
A busy week in Year 2, the children are enjoying their learning, listening well and asking lots of good questions. They enjoyed colouring Ukrainian flags for our window display. Thank you to everyone who brought in donations for the people of Ukraine, the children felt so happy to help. In English, we have read, The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs! By Jon Scieszka. The children had to decide if Mr. A. Wolf was innocent or guilty and justify their opinion in a character profile. They also wrote some great Wanted Posters, using interesting vocabulary.
We have continued our work on place value and number in Maths. The children placed numbers on partially filled number lines, worked on adding and taking 10 from two-digit numbers and rounded numbers to the nearest multiple of 10.
In RE we learnt all about Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and went to Church to receive the ashes. It was lovely for the whole school to spend time together in Church again. In PSHE the children have learnt about healthy eating, it generated a great class discussion.
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
You could write down these new words in a word book and find out what they mean. It is amazing to see the list grow, something to be very proud of, especially when children realise how many more words they understand and can use!
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Reading resources:
Oxford Owl – This resource has an exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read and really enjoy it.
If parents and children decide to use this resource, we ask they access phase 5 books. Go to https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ and select ‘my class login’. Scroll down to the ‘eBook Library for Letters & Sounds’. You could also explore the rest of the site and read books from the Oxford Owl eBook library or listen to audio books.
Username: sto2
Password: 1234
Resources for questioning your child while they are reading - https://www.literacyshedblog.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/ks1_reading_vipers.pdf
In addition to this, reading a good bed time story to your child is so worthwhile and really helps towards a lifelong love of reading.
Spelling
Please practise these spellings for your quiz on Friday. A sheet will go home every Friday with the spelling list on. This is for home practise only and can be kept with you.
It is useful to write the words down on the spelling sheet, but also to call the words out and spell them out loud using the letter sounds or names. Other ideas include breaking the words up and writing them down in different colours (pedal). You could look for words within words (metal)or think of your own ways to remember the word for example, spell it aloud using a tune or song.
You will have a Sumdog challenge on these words to complete by next Friday.
This week’s spellings are, the sound ‘l’ spelt ‘-il’ and ‘-al’:
pencil pedal
fossil capital
nostril hospital
pupil animal
metal oval
Maths
At home, count forwards and backwards in 3s to 36. Start at different numbers each time. For example, start counting forwards from 12 or backwards from 30. What patterns do you see? What numbers do you say each time?
Practise 2-, 5-, 10- and 3-times tables on a game called Hit the Button. Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
You will have a number challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday.
Sumdog
Log in at www.sumdog.com
We are looking forward to our class trip next week on Thursday 10th March.
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 2 Team.
Date: 4th Mar 2022 @ 8:35am
Welcome to another Year 6 blog. We cannot believe we have been in Year 6 for 6 months – how time has flown! This week, we prepared our Lenten promises and took part in the Ash Wednesday mass where Father blessed us with ashes. Year 6 did a brilliant job of supporting the Receptions on their first whole school mass.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have been learning how to describe the features of 3D shapes and create them using various nets. We then used our recent learning on area and volume to understand how to find square and cube numbers.
- In English, we created our own adventure story using various scenes as the stimulus. We focused on introducing the story by either describing the scene, the characters, using dialogue and starting with action.
- In RE, we continued our new topic, ‘Unity’, by creating images/symbols in a stained-glass window design to show that even though we are different, we may all be one with Jesus Christ through the gifts we have been given.
- In PE, during to the poor weather, we focused our learning on improving our skills in athletics: running, long jump, high jump, triple jump and speed bounce.
- In French, as it was Mardi Gras this week, we had a pancake-themed French lesson. The children practised using all parts of the verb 'aimer' with various pancake fillings orally, then they wrote some sentences using all the different subject pronouns and the correct verb endings.
- In Science, we learnt why each of the food groups are important to keep us healthy. We planned a healthy meal plan for a day, checking that over the day, there was a balanced diet, not forgetting plenty of water! Then we researched different deficiency diseases and worked out what you would have to do if you were suffering from any of them. We also read the information on some food packaging and weighed out the amount of sugar in each. The jam was shocking, but it was also surprising how much sugar is in some carton juices which are supposedly healthy.
- In Design and Technology, we began our project (Design and make a healthy Granola Bar) by tasting and evaluating a selection of shop-bought granola bars. We read the nutritional information on the box to see how much sugar each contained. We decided which was the healthiest bar, and which was our favourite. Next we'll make some, following a recipe. Finally, we'll adapt the recipe to make it our own.
- In PSHE, we discussed the themes of ‘responsibility’ and ‘becoming independent’ and how they interconnect with each other, especially as we approach our residential trip of Tower Wood. We looked at different scenarios and discussed the advice we would give if someone was worried about becoming independent and what they might do to overcome this feeling.
Home Practice all relates to this week’s learning. These are the tasks needed to be completed:
- Reading – Continue to read every night for 30 minutes. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be used for the title of the book and any reading challenge chosen.
- The days when you can change your book:
- Monday, Tuesday Wednesday. Anyone from any group can change their book on these days.
- The days when you can change your book:
- Spellings (challenge words)
- Sumdog (Year 6 Sp 2 wk 2 Short /y/ sound)
rhythm, system, physical, symbol, mystery, oxygen, symptom, hymn, myth, physics, syrup, cylinder, pyramid, syllable, symmetry
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in decimal steps. Try to do the same out loud or with paper.
- Draw a line with some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers as you count up or down, then double check it to make sure you have said the correct numbers.
- Start with these numbers: 1.4, 2.64 and 3.726 and count up 10 times then back again in 0.3s:
- Counting:
1.4, 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, 2.6, 2.9, 3.2, etc
and in 0.4s :
2.64, 3.04, 3.44, 3.84, 4.24, 4.64, etc
- Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 6 + 8 = 14, 8 + 7 = 15.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (8 + 6, 6 + 5, 3 + 8, 5 + 9, etc)
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (0.8 + 0.6, 0.06 + 0.05, 0.3 + 0.8, etc)
- Sumdog (Square and Cube numbers)
- Throughout this week we have investigated different square and cube numbers and the notation for both. This practice will help in you understanding them better and recalling which are square and cube numbers.
- Sumdog (Identifying 3D shapes from nets)
- For this challenge, look carefully at each net. You will eventually see a pattern. It will be the same pattern that we looked in detail at on Friday. Lots of this practice will help in you being able to recognise nets of 3D shapes quickly.
Maths and Spelling Training.
Do not forget to keep using this extra feature: the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult. Once your challenges have been completed, use this feature to challenge yourself in both spelling and maths.
Spend some time training so the program can learn the skills your child needs to work on and practise.
Year 5 - Friday 4th March 2022
Date: 3rd Mar 2022 @ 5:25pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
Is it really only week two; we have been so busy!
This week in year 5
In Maths this week we have completed lots of work on decimals. We have been multiplying and dividing decimals by 100 and 1000. We have also looked at number families and what happens to them if one or two of the numbers in the family are decreased by 10 or 100, how does this affect the other numbers? Really tricky work but they were able to understand and work out a number of calculations.
In English we have made amazing progress in our book, Why the Whales Came, and plan to complete it next week. We have completed a diary entry as Gracie and edited it. Then we have worked really hard on collecting words to help us write a descriptive piece about either the sudden arrival of the fog or the sighting and discovery of the fire beacon. They will be publishing these and displaying them in class next week.
In Science, we carried out another investigation. This time we practised our science skills through investigating reversible changes by separating materials. They had rice, flour and salt. We had different combinations to firstly mix together and then reverse the process. They did this by means of sieving, filtering and evaporation – we will conclude the experiment next week when the water in our salt solution has evaporated.
In RE, the children have begun their Sacrifice topic. This will take us throughout Lent and help us prepare for Easter. The children have each made a Lenten Promise and these were offered at Friday’s Golden Assembly. The children tried to think of something they could give up to show sacrifice or something they would commit to do more to help or affect others in a positive way.
In French, as it was Mardi Gras this week, we had a pancake-themed French lesson. We read a poem about Les Crepes, focussing on correct pronunciation of the sounds ou and oi. Then children practised using all parts of the verb 'aimer' with various pancake fillings. A final treat - we ate Crepes au chocolat!
In PE, we developed our athletics skills. This consisted of practising the relay including the difficult baton change, speed bounce, standing long jump, vertical jump and the triple jump. Mrs Cookson and I were extremely impressed with their developing skills. Some children were chosen to represent the school in an Athletics Final next week, however, next year I am certain there will be a huge cohort that will get the opportunity.
In PSHE we carried on our emergency situation sessions. This week we learnt about what to do if we had a casualty with burns and scalds and also a casualty that was bleeding. We also linked these to casualties developing shock. Once again the children were really good and learnt some great skills for life.
Please see the separate gallery from our trip to Judge’s Lodgings. What a great day out! The children (and staff) had an amazing experience. I have added all the photos in the gallery (check out the Victorian Mrs Mulgrew in the background in her fetching mop cap!)
DON’T FORGET
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
Please bring in a cardboard box for DT. (Many thanks to those who already have.)
All reply slips etc to be returned for Borwick Hall.
There is also an amendment to the Borwick trip, details can be found in the newsletter. The children must bring their own packed lunch on this day.
Common exception words will be being tested before the end of term.
Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.
Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school. Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.
You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)
Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.
I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child. This week they can count in 10s and 100s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 10s or 100s, this week concentrating on subtractions. To challenge them give numbers in the higher 1000s.
Spellings words with an ‘or’ sound spelt ‘au’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
pause, cause, sauce, fraud, launch, author, August, applaud, astronaut, restaurant, autograph, cautious, daughter, thesaurus, pauper
Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further. You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.
Sumdog challenges
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.
Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult. Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child. Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.
Times tables have been set to reflect class targets
Maths the children have been set activities relating to multiplication and division mentally using known facts. If 40 divided by 5 = 8 then 400 divided by 5 = 80 and 4000 divided by 5 is 8000.
Spellings words containing ‘or’ spelt ‘au’.
Date: 3rd Mar 2022 @ 10:05am
Welcome to your blog for this week.
This week we talked about how we are in the month of March. We have also been writing the short date on our work i.e. 2nd March is 02.03.22. We have been talking about what the numbers mean and how they change.
English
We continued learning through the story of Where The Wild Things Are. We watched and talked about different versions of the story and also looked at other books written by Maurice Sendak. We wrote and illustrated our own books and read them to the children in Year 3. They were very impressed!
Phonics
We have been looking at ee as in tree and ey as in monkey. Phonics songs. Click here.
Maths
We have been very busy this week in maths. We have been learning about adding and subtracting 10. We looked at the 100 square and talked about the patterns of numbers. We represented numbers with practical equipment, Base 10, 10 frames, bead strings, bundles of straws and Numicon.We had a go at representing numbers with lines and dots, a line for tens and a dot for ones.
We also looked at the pattern of 2s and 5s.
Shark numbers game. Click here. Choose numbers up to 99.
Science
We talked about what kinds of plants grow in our school grounds. Next week we will be going to have a look. Have a look at what's growing around where you live.
P.S.H.E.
We continued to talk about precious items and how they are of value to is in a sentimental rather than monetary way. We had a look at the story about the girl who took her mum's ring to school without permission and discussed what she should have done to make the right choices.
R.E.
We learnt about Shrove Tuesday and what Lent is. On Ash Wednesday we went to church and Father Michael blessed us with ashes. We made our Lenten promises and took them to Golden Assembly.
D.T.
We have started our food topic in D.T. The class are very excited as we are going to be making our own smoothie in a few weeks! This week, we learnt about how our food is made - where it starts and how it ends up on our plates. We made a simple flow diagram to show this.
P.E.
We continued to learn how to throw a beanbag using an underarm throw. We are quickly becoming experts! We were challenged to aim at a target (a stop sign and a hoop) and we were very successful. We loved playing the throwing games in our groups.
French
Read for at least 10 minutes every night. This is so important. please sign the diary so we can change the books. Keep practicing reading the Tricky Words on sight. Please just write a note in the diary if you need the next set.
We have also been doing lots of counting. We have mainly been focusing on counting in patterns of 2s and 5s so please practise counting in ones and tens at home. Don't always start from 1, we encourage starting from different numbers. We use a number square in class to help us with this, we have learnt to move left/right one place for counting in ones and up/down for counting in tens. Feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online. Highlight the patterns on the square.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - split digraph o_e
Maths - counting in multiples (2, 5, 10)
Year 4 Home Practice Friday 25th February 2022
Date: 25th Feb 2022 @ 4:01pm
Year 4
Home Practice 25th February 2022
Welcome back to school and this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week ….
In English, we continued reading Kensuke’s Kingdom. We are thoroughly enjoying the book so far and are keen to find out what will happen to Michael. This week we have written the continuation of a chapter and drawn and labelled a map of the island using description and vocabulary from the text.
In Maths, we learnt more about place value – we rounded numbers to the nearest thousand, labelled negative numbers on a numberline, and investigated hundredths. In addition, we practised our tables and counting in 3’s and 6’s.
In RE, we learnt about the joys and demands of giving and receiving as well as what happens at the beginning of the Eucharist and the reasons for these actions and symbols.
In French, we practised the phonic sound 'ou' with a song called Mon Petit Loup then we looked at the Carnaval de Nice which takes place every year at this time. The theme this year is Animaux. We admired the massive floats and the amazing costumes. Quelle spectacle!
We started learning the song “Rockin’ Romans" in Music this week. We also played the rhythm game, “Gimme 1”, and learnt a cup game, “Mambo Cup Rhythm”. Again, a busy and enjoyable Music Lesson – thank you Mrs Winter.
We began our PE lesson running 4 times around both playgrounds without stopping. We then practised baton changes when running in relays. Following this, we practised bouncing a ball whilst running and then passing it to our partner. Finally, we used these skills in a friendly game of handball.
This week’s Home Practice ….
Reading
Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home. Make sure you discuss the story and the characters. Find the meaning of any new words too. Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.
Times tables
You have been given your own individual times table target. Please make sure you continue to practise your times tables in preparation for your test next week, on Thursday (3rd March 2022). Ask someone at home to test you on your tables – can you recall them quickly and accurately?
Remember - you can also practise your tables playing ‘Hit the button’ and https://www.timestables.co.uk/
It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 3’s and 6’s – draw a line and some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers down as you count up. When you count down, cover the numbers up, say the number, then reveal what you have got written down to check you’ve said the correct number.
Count in 3’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 36 and back again
0 3 6 9 36 33 30 etc
Then try counting from 30 to 66 and back again
30 33 36 etc 66 63 60 etc
Count in 6’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 72 and back again
0 6 12 18 etc 72 66 60 etc
Spellings
The spellings all have the ‘k’ sound, which is spelt ‘ch’. These words are usually Greek in origin. Please practise your spellings each evening at home as many of you are still not doing this. You will be tested on them next Thursday (3rd March 2022).
scheme chorus ache echo chemist
stomach anchor monarch orchid school
chaos character technology mechanic chemistry
Sumdog challenges
You have been set 2 challenges on Sumdog:
- A spelling challenge based on the spellings above
- A times table challenge based on the 3 and 6 times tables
Please make sure you log on and have a go! Many of you are still not accessing Sumdog on a daily basis. Little and often is the key to success!
Number bonds
Number bonds are very important and help with many aspects of maths. The more confident you are with these, the easier you will find addition, subtraction, mental calculations etc. Therefore, please continue practising your number bonds / addition skills playing Hit the Button
The game you will play will help with your number bonds and quick addition skills. For example:
8 + 6 you could partition this into 8 + 2 + 4 = 14
This is because 8 + 2 is a pair to 10, then add the 4 to 10
Click on the link above, then on Play Game.
Click on Number bonds
On the left-hand side you will see the words ‘Up to 20’
Click on Addition within 20
See how many you can get correct in 1 minute. Then have another go and try and beat your score.
Maths and spelling training
Please continue to use the maths and spellings training sections as these are tailored for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult.
PLEASE REMEMBER
Year 4 will shortly begin their preparation for First Holy Communion. There is an Enrolment Mass on Sunday 27th February at 10.30am for the children who will be undertaking this journey, and their families. We look forward to seeing you there.
Year 6 Friday 25th February 2022
Date: 25th Feb 2022 @ 3:52pm
Welcome to our first Year 6 blog since the February half term. This week we have been busy improving our leaderships roles around school: our reading ambassadors have continued to support the Reception team with daily reads; the Sport Captains have planned the next term of sporting events and competitions; the Science ambassadors have continued their role with more play time experiments; the class have been going above and beyond with helping the infants during lunch times; and the Golden Team have completed their first whole school assembly, which was a super event welcoming all the school together for the first time in years! Well done Year 6 – keep it up.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have learnt how to calculate area of simple 2D shapes, rectilinear shapes and solved problems with them. We have also improved our strategy of how to find percentages of numbers.
- In English, we have begun a new novel, ‘Skellig’, and learnt how to use dashes when writing informally as the main characters.
- In RE, we started our new topic, ‘Unity’, and discussed and created an information text for ways to be a good friend to others.
- In PE, we continued our learning of gymnastics by creating a group routine of jumping, rolling, travelling and balancing using all the equipment, including the climbing frame.
- In Music, we listened to two versions of the same song, ‘You’ve got a friend’ by Carole King and James Taylor, and discussed the similarities and differences between them. We learnt a new song, ‘Everybody loves Saturday night’. We have also started learning recorders again, since Year 5, by recapping B, A and G to the song ‘Sailor, sailor on the sea’.
- In French, we researched the Carnaval de Nice which takes place every year at this time. The theme this year is Animaux. We admired the massive floats and the amazing costumes. Quelle spectacle!
- In Science, we were invited to ask Dr Ahna Skop, a cell biologist and science artist in Wisconsin, some questions about her background and research – which we did by learning about her work in genetics. We then videoed the children asking questions and sent it to her. Hopefully she will answer our questions soon. This was a brilliant opportunity to find out about a new aspect of Science, but also stress the importance of diversity and inclusion in science which Dr Skop feels very strongly about. Also, for our topic on ‘Healthy Lifestyles’, we discussed ways to make a balanced diet and the dangers of eating too much or too little of certain food groups.
- In PSHE, we continued our topic of online safety by learning about the age ratings system for films and other media. We can now recognise the different symbols related to the age ratings for films and can explain what each mean.
Home Practice all relates to this week’s learning. These are the tasks needed to be completed:
- Reading – Continue to read every night for 30 minutes. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be used for the title of the book and any reading challenge chosen.
- The days when you can change your book:
- Monday – Roller Coasters
- Tuesday – Big Dippers
- Wednesday – The Waltzers
- The days when you can change your book:
- Spellings (challenge words)
- Sumdog (Year 6 Sp 2 wk 2 -ture / -sure)
adventure, capture, creature, furniture, future, immature, mixture, measure, nature, signature, treasure, leisure, pressure, pleasure, enclosure
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in single digit steps to prepare us for future division learning. Try to do the same out loud or with paper.
- Draw a line with some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers as you count up or down, then double check it to make sure you have said the correct numbers.
- Start with these numbers: 1, 2 and 3 and count up 10 times then back again in 3s:
- Counting:
35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, etc
and in 6s :
365, 371, 377, 383, 389, 395, 401, etc
- Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 6 + 8 = 14, 8 + 7 = 15.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (8 + 6, 6 + 5, 3 + 8, 5 + 9, etc)
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (0.8 + 0.6, 0.06 + 0.05, 0.3 + 0.8, etc)
- Sumdog (Multiplication 2 and 3 digit numbers by 3)
- We have practiced a lot with these types of questions over the past month. Make sure you read the numbers in the question correctly and you should be able to work them out mentally.
- Sumdog (Area of 2D shapes)
- For this challenge, make sure you read the measurements in the questions. For example, if the measurements are cm x cm then the answer would equal cm squared (with the 2 next to the cm). The same goes for mm x mm.
Maths and Spelling Training.
Do not forget to keep using this extra feature: the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult. Once your challenges have been completed, use this feature to challenge yourself in both spelling and maths.
Spend some time training so the program can learn the skills your child needs to work on and practise.
Year 3 Blog Friday 25th February 2022
Date: 25th Feb 2022 @ 1:12pm
We have had a great first week back after Half Term and have done so much learning already.
In maths we have been learning to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes. We used an app on the iPads for extra practice called 'What's the time Mr Wolf?'.
We have also been placing numbers on a number line and using this to round to the nearest 100. Next week in maths we are going to be adding and subtracting.
In English we have read some more of The Butterfly Lion. We wrote a letter as one of the characters talking about our time in the trenches. The language we used by finding good words in the book was fantastic.
In geography we have been learning about different biomes in Africa. We defined a biome as:
A large region with its own distinct climate, plants and animals.
We have used maps and fact files to find out about the different biomes in Africa.
We have started our new topic in PSHE. It is called 'What makes a community?' So far. we have spoken about the different groups and communities that we belong to.
This week we have also started the design stage of our DT mechanisms project. We are choosing a picture from a story we know to bring 'to life'. Everyone showed great creativity and perserverance with their first designs.
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every day for 20 minutes. Talk about what you have read.
Counting
Count out loud in 5s from 0 to 60 and back again.
Count out loud in 1s from 98 to 108 and back again.
Count out loud in 1s from 109 to 120 and back again.
Sumdog
You will find 3 challenges on spellings, time and x8 this week. Remember to access the training feature as well to practise skills.
Times Tables
Continue to practise the 8x tables. You can listen to songs on YouTube. Make sure you know them without having to count.
You will be tested on your 8x tables on Tuesday 1st March.
Telling the time
Practise telling the time at home. Try to read the time to the nearest 5 minutes.
Spellings
Your spellings this week all in end -sure.
We have discussed the meaning of the words in class, try to discuss the different meanings with somebody at home.
measure treasure pleasure enclosure displeasure composure leisure exposure closure disclosure
Tests
You will be tested on your spellings and 8x tables on Tuesday 1st March.
Have an amazing weekend :)
Year 2 Friday 25th February 2022
Date: 25th Feb 2022 @ 8:35am
Year 2 have had a great first week back after half term. They have been working really hard and have produced some fantastic pieces of work, a big well done to everyone. The book award books have been a success and the children have enjoyed talking about them and taking them home to read. I wonder which one will be their favourite! In English, we have become journalists and done some interviewing, recount writing and learnt about the third person, past and present tense. We have continued reading the novel, The Boy Who Grew Dragons and done some great descriptipns using interesting adjectives. Our new topic in Maths is place value and the children also looked at time, please ask your children to tell the time now and then at home, especially o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. In RE we read the story about The Last Supper and thought about our Lenten promises. The children did a survey in Science and looked for different materials around their tables, in class and outside. In Geography, we have started our new topic all about Australia. We began to learn the words for some vegetables in French through games and a song. We practised our colour and number words too.
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
You could write down these new words in a word book and find out what they mean. It is amazing to see the list grow, something to be very proud of, especially when children realise how many more words they understand and can use!
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Reading resources:
Oxford Owl – This resource has an exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read and really enjoy it.
If parents and children decide to use this resource, we ask they access phase 5 books. Go to https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ and select ‘my class login’. Scroll down to the ‘eBook Library for Letters & Sounds’. You could also explore the rest of the site and read books from the Oxford Owl eBook library or listen to audio books.
Username: sto2
Password: 1234
Resources for questioning your child while they are reading - https://www.literacyshedblog.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/ks1_reading_vipers.pdf
In addition to this, reading a good bed time story to your child is so worthwhile and really helps towards a lifelong love of reading.
Spelling
Please practise these spellings for your quiz on Friday. A sheet will go home every Tuesday with the spelling list on. This is for home practise only and can be kept with you.
It is useful to write the words down on the spelling sheet, but also to call the words out and spell them out loud using the letter sounds or names. Other ideas include breaking the words up and writing them down in different colours (camel). You could look for words within words (tinsel)or think of your own ways to remember the word for example, spell it aloud using a tune or song.
You have a Sumdog challenge on these words to complete by next Friday.
This week’s spellings are:
camel tinsel
tunnel bagel
squirrel hazel
travel vowel
towel jewel
Maths
At home, count forwards and backwards in 5s to 60. Start at different numbers each time. For example, start counting forwards from 20 or backwards from 50. Look at how this relates to the clock and telling the time.
Practise 2, 5, 10 and 3-times tables on a game called Hit the Button.
Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
You have a time challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday.
Sumdog
Log in at www.sumdog.com
Thank you to all those who have brought in cardboard boxes for our D.T project. We will be making houses from 1666 and taking them with us on our trip (Thursday 10th March).
Have a great weekend.
Year 2 Team.
Year 5 - Friday 25th February 2022
Date: 24th Feb 2022 @ 5:57pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 Class Blog
The children have settled back into the school week and worked hard this week.
This week in year 5
We have learnt a lot of maths this week. We have recapped factors and factor pairs and investigated common factors of two numbers; this also helped us to recap work on prime numbers. We used a lot of our divisibility facts to help us with this. We have also managed to spend time working on the grid method. We have completed 2 digits by 2 digits and even worked on 2 digits by 3 digits. There are YouTube videos if you aren’t familiar with this method and want to help you child practise at home. The children also enjoyed 'Twosday' this week and had fun looking at the extraordinary date.
In English we started a new novel, Why the Whales Came by Michael Murpurgo. We have used reading skills to find characteristics of the Birdman so that we could draw and describe him, we have completed reading comprehensions and used evidence from the text. We have been given extracts of the book without punctuation and tried to correct it whilst our partner reads the book aloud emphasising the pauses and breaks. Finally, we have written a diary entry as Gracie from the story.
In Science, we investigated substances, whether they were soluble or insoluble. They carried out a series of experiments and recorded their results. They wrote fantastic conclusions relating to their findings.
In RE, we have finished our Mission topic. The children have looked in detail at the work of the diocese, the family, the school community and their own role in helping to share the mission of Jesus. They finished by writing a prayer for Christian Unity. They have been very respectful and thoughtful.
In French, we looked at the Carnaval de Nice which takes place every year at this time. The theme this year is Animaux. We admired the massive floats and the amazing costumes. Quelle spectacle! We researched some facts about it - we said we'd love to visit one day!
In PE, children worked on their relay skills. They had to think about how to hold out their hand when receiving the baton, how to place it in their partners hand when passing the baton and where they needed to be looking at all the different stages. The improvement in just one session was amazing; their speeds increased on each practise. They then worked on attacking strategies within the game of Handball. Everyone developed considerably during the games and showed their teamwork skills and competitiveness.
The children have started a new DT project where they will be learning about, planning and making a moving animal in its habitat, using cams and followers. They researched a number of vulnerable or endangered animals, looking at their appearance, habitat and movement. Then we went on to look at a cam and follower mechanism and how it works. They really listened carefully and were able to explain how the components work together using rotary and linear motion. I have asked if they can all try and bring in a box to make their model with. Any box around a shoe box, cereal box or large than a cube tissue box will suffice.
In computing we discussed positive and fun interactions online. We discussed how we interact with others online when gaming and how this can be kept safe, fun and positive. We designed our own interactive computer game and had to explain how people could interact in a positive and safe way.
In PSHE we carried on our emergency situation sessions. This week we learnt about what to do if we found someone choking. The children practised 5 back slaps in slow motion on one another and felt on their own bodies where they would give 5 tummy thrusts to someone who was choking.
DON’T FORGET
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
Please bring in a cardboard box for DT.
All reply slips etc to be returned for both Judges Lodgings and Borwick Hall.
Packed lunch required for Judges Lodgings next week.
There is also an amendment to the Borwick trip, details can be found in the newsletter. The children must bring their own packed lunch on this day.
Common exception words will be being tested before the end of term.
Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.
Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school. Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.
You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)
Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.
I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child. This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1. If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.
Spellings words with an ‘or’ sound. We will look at these in more detail in school next week. They should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
forty, scorch, absorbent, decorate, afford, enormous, category, tornado, accordingly, opportunity, abnormal, before, forgotten, performance, vigorous
Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn; these can be practised each week to push your child further. You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now. I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.
Sumdog challenges
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.
Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult. Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child. Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.
Times tables have been set to reflect class targets
Maths the children have been set activities relating to factors and prime numbers.
Spellings words containing ‘or’.
Date: 24th Feb 2022 @ 3:47pm
Welcome Back!
We have had a great first week back at school after half term. We have started our new topic, Growing.
We have been investigating this week. On Monday, a basket of vegetables arrived in our class, we had to explore what they felt like and what they looked like on the inside and learn all the different names.
In Science, we have been looking at different types of plants and talking about the similarities and differences betwen them. We also went outside to look for things that are alive/not alive and thought about how we know the difference. We had a great discussion about what things need to be able to grow.
In Maths, we have been finding one/two more than a given number and looking at the addition symbol. practising adding together two parts to find the whole amount.
We are beginning to spot the signs of Spring, we drew pictures of the thing we are most looking forward too.
Year 1 Blog Friday 25th February
Date: 24th Feb 2022 @ 10:06am
Welcome to your Friday blog!
We have been noticing signs of Spring.
This week we have got straight back into all of our busy learning. It has been so lovely to hear what the children have been up to during the break.
English
We started a new story called Where The Wild Things Are. We listened to and watched the story. We made our own wild thing masks and became a wild thing in our wild rumpus! We wrote about our wild things using great descriptive words. We are continuing with this story next week and we are writing our own books.
Where The Wild Things Are read by Maurice Sendak Click Here
In Phonics we have been looking at oe as in toe and oa as in goat. We have also looked at our split digraphs again in cake.
Maths
We have been learning to compare amounts using vocabulary such as fewer, equal to and more than. We have been looking at patterns of numbers on the 100 square. In particular, we have been focusing on 1 more/less and 10 more/less from any given number on the number square. The class have learnt that to count in ones, we move left or right by one on the number square and to count in tens we move up or down one.
Interactive 100 square. Click here.
R.E.
We have started our new topic in R.E. - Special Meals. We talked about how people, objects and meals could be classed as special and how they are special. We shared our own examples of special meals and drew pictures of them.
Science
This week we started a new topic all about plants and growing. We investigated different fruits to find the seeds. We talked about what was the same and what was different about the seeds.
P.E.
We have finished gymnastics and have moved onto our throwing and catching in P.E. We recapped how to throw a bean bag underarm and competed against each other to see how many bean bags we could get into a hoop from a distance. We had a lot of fun!
PSHE
We have been learning about things that are precious to us and how this is not about monetary value. We also had a discussion about being truthful.
Music
This Friday we had our very first whole school Golden Assembly and we got to play the boomwhackers for everyone. We put on a briliant performance of "You Are My Sunshine" and got a huge round of applause.
French
We began to learn the words for some vegetables in French through games, story and a song.
History
This week, we have learnt about Florence Nightingale and why she was so important to nursing. We quickly found out that hospitals were very dirty, overcrowded and full of diseases until Florence helped to change things. We compared the hospitals before and after Florence's work and learnt all about her life.
Fairtrade Fortnight
This week we talked about the difference between needs and wants. We sorted pictures and then had a discussion about what we really need for our lives to be happy and healthy and what we want. We listened to a story about a cocoa bean farmer who lives in West Africa and talked about her needs and wants and how her life compares to ours.
Home Practice
Read for at least 10 minutes every night. This is so important. please sign the diary so we can change the books. Keep practicing reading the Tricky Words on sight. Please just write a note in the diary if you need the next set.
We have also been doing lots of counting. We have mainly been focusing on 1 more/less and 10 more/less so please practise counting in ones and tens at home. Don't always start from 1, we encourage starting from different numbers. We use a number square in class to help us with this, we have learnt to move left/right one place for counting in ones and up/down for counting in tens. Feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - split digraph a_e words
Maths - one more/one less
Date: 10th Feb 2022 @ 4:03pm
Year 4
Home Practice 10th February 2022
Welcome to the last blog of this half term. These 6 weeks have flown by with all the learning Year 4 have been doing! Here’s what we have been learning this week ….
In English, we planned and wrote a letter. We revised the features of an informal letter and then wrote a letter from Michael to his best friend Eddie, which included details from the novel. Year 4 have worked hard to improve their writing this week – well done.
In Maths, we finished our division topic. We revisited the chunking method, learnt the effect of dividing a 2 digit number by 10, and solved division problems using strategies we had learnt. Super work Year 4 as division can be quite tricky – you have shown a much greater understanding this week.
In Music, we played a rhythm game called ‘Give me One’. Then, we practised the chords C, F and G on the ukuleles. We played along to ‘Lean on Me’ using these chords, and tried to improve our chord shapes and chord changes. Mrs Winter was so impressed with our playing that she asked us to perform in Golden Assembly! Fantastic Year 4, you should be very proud!
This week in French, we looked at the atlas to find the Francophone countries in Africa. Then we read an interview with Sadio Mane, the Senegalese football player, whose team have just won the African Cup of nations. We then asked and answered questions about ourselves.
This week was Children’s Mental Health week and the theme was ‘Growing Together’. We celebrated lots of things we are good at, things that we have achieved and how we have grown both physically and mentally. We also enjoyed seeing all the outfits you wore on ‘Dress to Express’ day! You all looked amazing!
As always, a very busy week in Year 4. Over half term, please continue to read every day, as well as practising any times tables you know you find especially tricky.
Have a lovely holiday – relax and recharge your batteries.
See you all on Monday 21st February
Mrs Tipping and Mrs Dexter
Year 6 Thursday 10th February 2022
Date: 10th Feb 2022 @ 3:52pm
Welcome to our Year 6 blog before the February half term. This week we have completed a new competition, named ‘Autumn/Winter Competition’ created by Cross Curricular Orienteering. After a tight competition, in which everyone did really well, the winning pair are … Adah and Kitty! Congratulations to them both – they have been put forward to the national event so fingers crossed their time was a quick one!
Today, your child has been given an envelope with Tower Wood documents in. Please complete the medical form and photo conset form and return them by Wednesday 23rd February.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have improved our learning on coordinates by plotting points, completing shapes and translating them in two quadrants.
- In English, we used Tom’s Midnight Garden novel on adventure to create our own adventure story. We learnt that stories use one of the following four strategies when introducing a story: describing a setting, describing a character, using action or speech. We then chose our favourite one to create our story.
- In PE, we completed the new orienteering competition (as mentioned above) by learning the skills of how to orientate a map and follow instructions for north, south, east, west and all the ones in between. We also worked on utilising teamwork when competing in a hockey game.
- In Music, we listened to another composer (Afrodeutshe) about how she started recording music. We then continued with our raps and each recorded a final performance for the class.
- In French, the children spent time recording themselves reading some of their best pieces of writing from this half term.
- In Science, we looked at the work of Dr Ahna Skop. She is an American cell biologist who is also an artist. She uses art to communicate her amazing scientific research into cell structure. We then produced a piece of scientific art based on blood cells. Our next topic is named, Keeping Healthy.
- In PSHE, for Children’s Mental Health week, we discussed how we can support others who are feeling down and ways we can improve our own mental health. Also, for internet safety day, we learnt ways of making and keeping positive online relationships and what to do when something feels uncomfortable.
Home Practice for this half term is slightly different. You have been given a sheet with the days of Monday to Friday. For every day, we would like you to complete as many of these activities (if it is possible) – all of which will help towards remembering the learning we have done and for any future learning we will do when you return. These are the tasks we would like you to complete:
- Reading
- Reading for 20 minutes a day will have a huge impact on your learning.
- Spellings (Year 5/6 spellings)
- You have been given the Year 5/6 spelling list to use for your half term home practice. There will be a test on a random 15 spellings from the list on Friday 25th
- Maths challenges:
- Sumdog (Half Term Spring Maths Challenge)
These questions are a mixture of coordinates, shapes, multiplication and division – most of the things we have learned about this half term. Try your best at answering them all by Friday 25th February.
If you would like any more practice, then Sumdog’s Maths and Spelling Training is for you.
Try to spend some time training so the program can learn the skills you need to work on and practise.
Have a super half term!
Year 2 Blog Thursday 10th February 2022
Date: 10th Feb 2022 @ 3:46pm
Well done Year 2. You have all had a brilliant half term of learning.
This week we have celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week with the theme of ‘Growing Together’. We have looked at keeping our bodies and mind healthy and how we can look after ourselves. The children have enjoyed coming into school today in their own clothes to ‘Express themselves’.
Over half term please read with your child.
Spellings – Please continue with this week’s spellings.
We will do our spelling quiz on the first Friday after half term.
table
apple
bottle
little
middle
able
wobble
multiple
dazzle
riddle
After half term we are doing our D.T (design and technology) unit. This year we are making houses for the ‘Great Fire of London’. For the first week back, please send your child into school with 2 different sized cardboard boxes. Below are some examples of the types of houses we will be attempting to make.
Please make sure you return your trip slip if you haven’t done already.
Thank you.
Have a lovely half term.
The Year 2 team.
Date: 10th Feb 2022 @ 3:45pm
HAPPY HALF TERM!!!
We have had a great half term in Year 3.
We have really enjoyed our class novels Toro Toro and the Butterfly Lion.
Our maths learning has been fun but tricky, we have learnt different methods to multiply and divide.
It has been fascinating learning about light and shadows, and we loved our science trip to The Museum of Science and Industry. Have a look at our gallery here:
Investigating light and shadows
In PE we have been mastering different travels, rolls and jumps and have put these together to make our own routines.
Our PSHE topic has been all about families, we have talked about the fact that all families are different. We have also spent this week celebrating Children's Mental Health Week. We have thought a lot about things we are grateful for and things that make us happy. Everybody looked amazing dressing to express.
Our geography learning has included lots of map work to learn about Lancashire, Andalucia and the countries participiating in the Six Nations.
We are extremely proud of you all for your excellent attitude to learning - you make us happy every single day! Well done :)
Date: 10th Feb 2022 @ 3:31pm
We have had a great last week in school.
We have enjoyed reading 'The Smeds and the Smoos' and learning all about Space.
Date: 9th Feb 2022 @ 4:58pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
Half term already! The children have completed lots of hard work and their concentration has improved so much. They are maturing and devloping skills for their next step of getting ready for year 6.
This week in year 5:
In Maths we have been looking at rules of divisibility. We have been learning rules so we can decide if a number is divisible by 20, 3, 4, 6, or 9. The children have loved learning the rules and trying them out with 7 digit numbers. They have also had another look at prime numbers up to 100 and are aiming to be able to remember all the prime numbers up to 19.
In English we finished the novel Street Child. The children have been so keen to read on and find out the plight of poor Jim Jarvis. We are now aware of Dr Barnardo and the work that his charity continues to do today. The children completed the week by writing a review of the novel, and I have been very impressed with their finished products.
In Science, we continued our work of using thermometers and recording results. We have managed to plot the results on a line graph and interpret these results, a really tricky skill.
In RE, the children had their celebration mass on Monday. The children really impressed Father Michael and the catechists with their reverence. The children that put themselves forward to be readers and offertory servers did a great job and were very brave to do something that we haven’t been able to do for a long time. Thank you to all the family members that came to support the children.
In PE, we practised athletics skills to get them ready for competitions that we will be invited to in the coming terms. They also got the opportunity to practise their orienteering skills and completed time challenges around the playground. These times will be sent off to a competition that has been set locally.
The children have taken part in a number of activities for Children’s Mental Health week. We looked at our feelings and emotions and how, as we get older we can manage them a little better and find ways of helping us cope with things that arise. The children were able to think back about things that used to worry them, but now seem funny.
The children also completed their sponsored run for Barnardo's. They managed an impressive 233 and a half miles! After half term I will be setting them the challenge to vitually run to Madrid Spain and we will track our progress on a map.
DON’T FORGET
Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
Reply slips and payment for Judges Lodgings.
Medical forms etc. for Extended Activity Day at Borwick Hall.
Home practice is not being officially set, however, the children will all know their times tables targets, they know things that they struggle with and need to practise and they all have the common exception words that will be being assessed again at Easter. With the children having a week off, we will be hoping that they will all be bringing their reading books back after half term, ready to swap for a new book.
Don’t forget the daily count. Choose a number and ask the children to count backwards and forwards from that number in any multiple you choose. Remember the children are capable of counting in tenths (0.1), hundredths (0.01) and thousandths (0.001).
Sumdog challenges
During half term, if your children are bored, why not get them to take the time to complete the Maths and Spelling training on Sumdog. Once the diagnostic questions are completed, the programme will then generate questions at their individual ability and help them progress and achieve.
The children have had an impressive half term and have lots of achievements to show for it.
Year 1 Blog- 10th February 2022
Date: 7th Feb 2022 @ 2:26pm
Welcome to the final blog of this half term.
This half term has just flown by with all the learning we have been doing.
This week we have been thinking about our mental health. The theme is 'Growing Together'. We have celebrated all the things we are good at and all the things we have achieved.
We listened to the story of The Ugly Duckling and discussed how it takes time for us to grow.
We planted cress to watch it grow and change over time. Look at your pot of cress every day.What's changed?
We have been talking about how to stay safe online.
We loved all the outfits you wore-you really did dress to impress!
Thank you for your great support and we wish you all a happy time next week.
Keep reading as much as you can.
Some more Maths games .
Shark Numbers (up to 99)
PLEASE CHECK THAT ALL YOUR CHILD'S UNIFORM IS LABELLED. WE ENCOURAGE THE CHILDREN TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN BELONGINGS BUT THIS IS DIFFICULT IF IT IS NOT LABELLED. THANKS.
We look forward to seeing you all on Monday 21st February.
Year 5 Friday 4th February 2022
Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 4:26pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
Year 5 have had a great week, concentrating and practising being a good learner.
This week in year 5
In Maths, we are back on number and place value. We have learnt many different addition and subtraction strategies. We have practised them as arithmetic number questions but also as word problems and reasoning. The children have been focusing on speed and stamina in their arithmetic quizzes and have managed to double the amount of questions they can get through in the past couple of weeks, with increased scores. This is a real achievement and a credit to them improving their concentration skills. I am really pleased with their progress. Ask them about their improvements in arithmetic as they are very proud of themselves.
In English we have finished our missing chapter. The children have worked really hard on their work and editing it. They were able to think about the different skills we have been practising and put them into their written pieces. We are almost at the end of Street Child, the children have really enjoyed the novel and remained keen to read it throughout.
In Science, we learnt when and how to draw a line graph to present our results, then practised reading the scale on a thermometer with different temperatures of water. We then drew a line graph of how the temperature of the water changed over time. Great science skills, year 5!
In RE, we have focused on the work of the Bishop’s within the diocese, or in our case the Archbishop within the Archdiocese. We have learnt what Archbishop Malcolm does and how this is all part of Jesus’ mission. We also continued to look at our role in helping this mission.
In French, we redrafted our final piece of writing about the planets onto a triorama (the children will explain!) and illustrated it. There are some amazing pieces of French writing and the children are super proud of their work! They are on display in the corridor for all to see.
In PE, half of the class started with hockey skills and played a match to see if they could apply them. The other half of the class had an orienteering experience. They learnt about points of the compass and followed compass directions to find different areas in the yard. A difficult task but they navigated it well.
In History, this week the children became historical detectives. We had a range of replica artefacts, loaned from the Lancashire Museums. The children spent the afternoon, examining the pieces, sometimes trying them on and reading about their uses in Victorian times. The children were amazed at the differences between clothing, equipment and expectations from the Victorian times to present day. (Please see the Victorian Artefacts Gallery on the class page) After the detective work they produced a written piece explaining what artefacts can tell us about the time period.
In PSHE, the children are learning about how to react to medical emergencies. This week we learnt about what to do if we are the first to a medical situation. The children learnt about checking the scene for any potential dangers to themselves, what to expect when they call 999 and what information they would need to provide to the operator. They also learnt about casualty care – keeping them calm and warm and not leaving them until the emergency services arrived. They were very sensible and listened carefully.
In Golden Assembly this week the children played the glockenspiels along to a jazz song. They were flawless; the staff and children were amazed!
The children were also presented with a little gift, from the school to celebrate their Holy Communion this weekend and to thank the children not taking part for their encouragement throughout the process.
DON’T FORGET
Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
First Holy Communions on Saturday. See separate letter from Father Michael regarding your time (10.30 or 12.30). Please try and arrive a little earlier so we can start promptly. I will take some group photos and post a gallery next week.
Celebration Mass for all Year 5 children and parents on Monday at 2.15pm. If you can’t make it but grandparents etc. want to come instead, this is fine. Some of the children have opted to read during the mass, it should be a lovely service and allow them to celebrate their Sacramental journey as a whole class.
Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.
Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school. Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.
You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)
Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.
I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child. This week we are counting up in 0.002s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 0.002s, either forwards or backwards. It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it.
Spellings words containing silent letters. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
knowledge, knuckle, wriggle, wrongly, knife, whistle, listened, autumn, gnome, whether, honesty, ghostly, fasten, rewrite, hourly
Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further. You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. Don’t worry if they don’t know many, they can practise them this term and will be assessed again near Easter.
Sumdog challenges
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.
Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult. Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child. Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.
Times tables have been set to reflect class targets
Maths the children have been set activities relating to a range of addition and subtraction problems. They will need to take their time with these and write some of the calculations down. These are not speed activities but a chance for them to practise the strategies we have been using this week.
Spellings words containing silent letters.
Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 3:39pm
We have had a super week this week!
In Maths, we have been investigating weight and capacity, seeing how much different objects weigh and how much rice and water containers can hold.
We have been climbing the castles in PE, some of us challenged ourselves to go up really high.
This week in French we learnt the names of four fruits - une pomme, une banane, une poire et une orange. We enjoyed doing the conga to the song J'aime les fruits!
You can find the song on YouTube by Alain le Lait if you'd like to hear it!
We learnt all about Chinese New Year too, we found China on the world map. we explored different Chinese food and we also made lots of different crafts. We also enjoyed doing some Chinese Dragon dancing!
Year 2 Blog Friday 4th February 2022
Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 1:30pm
Year 2 have had a brilliant week of learning. We have continued reading our novels of ‘The boy who grew dragons’ and ‘The Fox, Tin Forest and the Whale Song‘. The children have written a fantastic dragon description using great and interesting vocabulary, edited their work to make their sentences better and wrote facts about African animals.
In Maths, we have started learning about Capacity and Volume. This week we have looked at what capacity and volume is and measured liquid using a variety of containers to see the amount using millilitres and litres.
In French, the children have learnt the names of some fruits and began to understand that some nouns are masculine and some are feminine in French. We enjoyed doing the conga to the song J'aime les fruits! You can find the song on YouTube by Alain le Lait if you'd like to hear it!
In Geography, the children have learnt about the United Kingdom and the countries within it. We have looked at the Atlas and used it to find and label these countries on the map.
In RE, the children have continued their learning on the Gospels. The children have described how the Gospels are used by the parish family and written how they can do what Jesus wants them to do at school and at home.
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Spellings
table
apple
bottle
little
middle
able
wobble
multiple
dazzle
riddle
Maths
At home, spend some time counting in tens from these numbers – 3, 6, 8 and 11. Which number can you reach? Can you count backwards from this number?
Next week we are learning about money. Can you explore coins with an adult? Which coins have they got? What are the amounts of the coins?
Sumdog
Please have a go at the spelling and maths training if you haven’t already. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult. Once your challenges have been completed, use this feature for challenge in both spelling and maths.
Spend some time training so the program can learn the skills your child needs to work on and practise.
Log in at www.sumdog.com
Sumdog challenges:
Maths – Capacity
x3 x5 tables
Spellings – ‘le’ words.
Thank you for all your support. Have a lovely weekend.
The Year 2 team.