St Oswald's Catholic Primary SchoolOur blogs
Year 4 Home Practice Friday 4th February 2022
Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 1:24pm
Year 4
Home Practice 4th February 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning this week ...
We started a new class novel this week called Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. It is a story of adventure and excitement. Everyone created some fantastic character descriptions, wrote an amazing diary entry and looked at how to write a captain's log. We have worked hard with our handwriting this week - well done Year 4.
In Maths, we have learned how to solve complex division problems by using repeated subtraction and chunking. This was new and tricky, but everyone showed great resilience. We practised writing down what we already know as a 'cheat sheet' - this helped us to solve the calculations.
In PE, we learned some new orienteering skills and took part in a whole school competition. Everyone enjoyed this and hardly anyone got lost! We also practised our hockey skills with Mrs Cookson. She was very impressed with our team work and effort.
In Music, we learnt the song ‘Each and Every Day’ for Children’s Mental Health Week. Then, we played a rhythm game called ‘Give me One’ and started to read music with 4 beats. Finally, we learnt a new chord, G, on the ukuleles, and played along to ‘Lean on Me’ with the chords C, F and G. A fantastic music lesson with lots of new learning – well done Year 4!
This week in Science, we started a new topic - Solids, Liquids and Gases. We met some new vocabulary and looked at some features of the different states of matter. Some of the new words we learnt were:
solid, liquid, gas, particle, volume
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
Although you haven’t been given any tables targets this week, please make sure you continue to practise your times tables and division facts, especially those that you find tricky. 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 10’s and 100’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 10’s
For example, start at 57 and count up to 217 and back again
57 67 77 etc 217 207 197 etc
Count in 100’s
For example, start at 600 and count up to 2400 and back again
600 700 800 etc 2400 2300 2200 etc
Spellings
This week, the spellings are all homophones. Homophones are words which sound the same but are spelt differently. 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 (11th February 2022). Remember you need to know the meanings of the words, so that you know which spelling to write!
him hymn new knew no know
mist missed side sighed piece peace
rain rein reign to too two
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 3, 4 and 8 times tables (this involves missing numbers)
- Revision of place value in 4 digit numbers
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.
Thank you for your support - have a lovely weekend.
Year 6 Friday 4th February 2022
Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 12:40pm
Welcome to our Year 6 blog for 4th February 2022. This week we have been preparing for a new competition, named ‘Autumn/Winter Competition’ created by Cross Curricular Orienteering, who helped to set up our orienteering programme a few years ago.
This Friday, All Hallows’ visited Year 6 for the ‘NSPCC Number Day’ which was hosted by the Maths department. The children worked in groups and had a great time solving math questions together.
Also, we had a visit from Mr Ainsworth, who helped our class to plant trees to enhance the look of our pond area. Please see the pictures on our Year 6 gallery where the children did a super job choosing the best place to plant them.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we improved our shape knowledge by accurately naming the features of sides, vertices, angles and symmetry to help us group various quadrilaterals and polygons. We have also been improving our quick multiplication method for up to 4 digit by 2 digit.
- In English, we have been working on improving our use of punctuation through a written recount as the gardener, Abel, who witnessed Hatty’s fall.
- In RE, we learnt about Paul’s letter to the Corinthians which explains how love has many positive qualities. We used these qualities to imagine what life would be like in our school, community and the world if we all followed Paul’s words.
- In PE, we introduced our 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. The competition will take place during the PE lesson next week, where the pair with the quickest time will be put forward against other school in our area.
- In Music, we listened to Eska (a composer) talking about jobs in the music industry, composed raps to ‘Beat 2 Banger’ then performed them, and also practised the song, ‘Each and Every Day’ for Children’s Mental Health week.
- In French, we described a person from a Francophone country using the 3rd Person (il or elle). Lots of us chose to do a footballer from the AFCON tournament. The children’s writing is very impressive.
- In Science, we planned and carried out our own investigation into how different yoga poses affected our pulse rates, using what we already knew from last week’s investigation.
- In PSHE, we discussed how personal growth can be developed when we learn a new skill. We then created a mini comic strip to show how we have done this.
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 (-gue / -que Sp1 wk 6)
league, tongue, antique, grotesque, cheque, guess, guest, argue, queue, request, dialogue, technique, unique, sequence, consequence
- 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 4s:
- Counting:
1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, etc
and in 7s :
1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 36, 43, 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 of two and three digits by one)
- This challenge is to help push your learning with the quick multiplication method which we have practiced over the last few weeks. Try to take your time with each question by reasoning with yourself on why it has to be a certain answer.
- Sumdog (2D Shape)
- For this challenge, there will be questions on sides, corners and angles of the 2D shapes we have investigated this week. Most of the questions will hopefully seem simple but this practice will be important as we move our learning towards coordinates.
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.
Date: 3rd Feb 2022 @ 10:05am
Welcome to your Friday blog!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD HAS THEIR READING BOOKS IN SCHOOL ON THURSDAY SO THEY CAN BE CHANGED FOR HALF TERM.
English
In English, we have read the story of The Princess and the Pea. We listened very carefully to the story and talked about the new vocabulary, such as 'sensitive'. We had a lot of fun highlighting our phase 3 and phase 5 sounds in the story, drawing pictures of the story and writing adjectives to describe the Princess. We even created a poster to persuade people to eat peas. Miss Fisher found this tricky as she doesn't like peas!
In Phonics, we have continued our phase 5 learning. Mrs Corbett's group have compared oo as in zoo and ew in blew and Miss Fisher's group have recapped ph, wh and ew.
We have been singing these songs to help with our learning. Click here
Maths
This week we have continued to learn about money. We have been drawing the coins to make amounts and then taken our learning a step further by adding two amounts. For example - how can you make 15p? You could use a 10p coin and a 5p coin and add them together. Is there a different way to pay? Encourage your child to play with coins that you have at home, count them, sort them by colour or size. We also talked about paying for things when you don't actually see the money,paying by tapping a card or online shopping.
Play these games to help with your learning.
French
This week in French we learnt the names of some fruits by playing games. 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!
Music
We played the glocks again, we are getting really good!
Science
We planned and carried out a scientific enquiry. We tested which material would be the best to make a mat to protect Mrs Corbett's car seats when her dog has been swimming. We found out that plastic is the most waterproof.
Art
Following on from our Giuseppe Arcimboldo lesson last week, we have been printing with fruit and vegetables this week. We found that the harder fruit and vegetables created the better print. We love getting messy in year 1, even if it is by accident!
P.E.
We have nearly finished our gymnastics lessons in P.E. This week, we were given the freedom to make up our own sequences without any guidance or instruction. Miss Fisher put the mats and benches out to see what we could come up with. It has been great to see everyone grow in confidence and push themselves to attempt a trickier jump or roll.
R.E.
In R.E. we learnt about the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. We quickly noticed that there are a lot of special people mentioned in the Gospels, but we focused on Jesus being the main special person in this story. We answered some tricky questions about the story and drew our own candles to represent Candlemas.
Geography
In Geography, we learnt about human and physical features within the UK. We sorted pictures into the two categories and worked together as a team.
P.S.H.E
We have been learning about medicines. We also drew pictures of who helps us to stay healthy.
Chinese New Year
We learnt about Chinese New Year. We learnt about some of the customs, made a dragon and tasted some Chinese food.
Don't forget to dress to impress next Thursday!
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 counting in 5s up to 100.Please practise this at home. If you want a challenge, start from a different number that is not in the 5x table.We use a number square in class to help us with this, feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - Tricky words
Maths - Recognising coins
Year 3 Friday Blog 4th February 2022
Date: 2nd Feb 2022 @ 10:16am
Welcome to your Friday Blog.
We have had a wonderful week in Year 3.
One of the highlights has been starting our new class novel - The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo. We are loving the book so far and have been finding similarities with Toro Toro by Michael Morpurgo. The writing we have done has been amazing, we have used lots of great words from the book and have also been creating dialogue using inverted commas (speech marks). On Friday we read a poem about Africa, this is where our novel is set. We then wrote our own poem. Below is the poem we read.
In science we have continued with our learning about light. We carried out a fair test to find out which material or object would create the darkest shadow. We also looked for patterns in what happens to shadows when the light source moves or when the distance between the light source and the object changes.
In art, we have been looking at some art work by Antoni Guadi. We are going to use his work as inspiration for our own work. We loved the bright colours!
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every night for 20 minutes. Talk about the book.
Sumdog
Complete the Sumdog challenges.
Telling the time
In maths we are going to be looking at telling the time, it would really help if you could practise at home.
Counting
Count out loud in 3s from 0 to 36.
Count out loud in 30s from 0 to 360.
Count out loud in 8s from 0 to 96.
Times Tables
Practise the 8x tables ready for your test next week. You need to know them quickly and confidently.
Spellings
Your spellings this week all end in -ture.
Practise your spellings every day.
creature furniture picture nature adventure capture future sculpture mixture fracture
You will be tested on your spellings and 8x tables on Tuesday 8th February.
Have an amazing weekend :)
Year 4 HOME PRACTICE Friday 28th January 2022
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 5:07pm
Year 4
Home Practice 28th January 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week ….
In English, we wrote and published our own story based on The Iron Man. We tried to write in the style of Ted Hughes and enjoyed using Word to publish them. In addition, we learnt more about the apostrophe and how it is used in contractions (eg cannot becomes can’t).
In Maths, we used the grid method to solve problems with missing numbers. We also revised many of the mental strategies we have learnt over the past couple of weeks. We then used different multiplication strategies to solve word problems – although we found these tricky, it was a great feeling when we were successful. Additionally, we have been practising our tables, especially our 2 and 5 times tables.
In RE, we discussed what it meant to minister to the community and any sacrifices this may entail. We then considered what the parish would be like if no one offered to minister.
We talked last week about some of the Roman buildings in Nimes. This week, we had some postcards from Nimes from our partner school there. The children drew some of the places. There are some great artists in y4! Well done.
We practised the chords C and F on the ukuleles in Music this week. We also enjoyed exploring body percussion and were surprised by the sounds we could make!
In Science, we finished our evaluation of different switches. We needed to be able to make a switch as we needed to include this in our DT design.
We began our PE lesson running 4 times around both playgrounds without stopping. We then split into 2 groups. Inside, we learnt 2 different balances and then devised our own gymnastics routine which we performed for the rest of our group. Outside, we practised our hockey skills – passing the ball to a partner and then trying to score a goal. We then took part in mini games using the skills we had learnt.
Our week ended with a DT day making our own ‘Iron model’. This was inspired by The Iron Man novel. We planned our model carefully and labelled it with items we wanted to use for decoration. An electrical circuit, including a switch, was also incorporated into the design. We had great fun and produced some interesting and fantastic models. Well done Year 4!
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 February 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 20’s and 50’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 20’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 240 and back again
0 20 40 60 etc 240 220 200 etc
Then try counting from 150 to 390 and back again
150 170 190 etc 390 370 350 etc
Count in 50’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 600 and back again
0 50 100 150 etc 600 550 500 etc
Spellings
The spellings this week are contractions. This is when we shorten words and use an apostrophe to indicate the missing letter(s). 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 February 2022).
can’t didn’t doesn’t it’s couldn’t
won’t wasn’t hadn’t you’re you’ll
you’ve they’ve haven’t aren’t they’re
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 2, 5 and 10 times tables
- A problem solving challenge using knowledge of multiplication
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.
Year 6 Friday 28th January 2022
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 4:15pm
Year 6 have had another busy week, with lots of learning and some super leadership roles working hard throughout the school. All of our buddies have received glowing remarks from the lunchtime staff, the reading ambassadors are supporting reading every day with the Receptions and our Learning Times team has expanded with even more writers!
Next Tuesday, Year 6 have been given the incredibly fortunate job of planting trees, which were generously donated to school. Mr Ainsworth will be joining us so please do not forget your wellies or old shoes on Tuesday.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we learnt about angles, how to identify them, draw them and even find missing angles within them. We also learnt how to multiply using the compact multiplication method, so from now on try to use this instead of the grid method – it will help us to become even quicker mathematicians.
- In English, we have improved the way we write dialogue, by accurately using the punctuation in our speech and adding various verbs to blend action into our stories.
- In RE, we learnt about the Bible and how it is divided into 73 book with two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. We used references to find a range of genres within the Bible (drama, history, poetry, prayers, letters, etc).
- In PE, with having learnt the basics of Hockey, we divided ourselves into mini groups to play competitive matches in 4v4 or 5v5 games. In gymnastics, we explored ways of using apparatus to show various partner balances. We then applied them to a gymnastics sequence of 2 balances, 2 rolls, 2 travels and 2 jumps.
- In History, we introduced our main topic of the Mayans by investigating clues from a village found a few hundred years ago. We used these clues to predict what the Mayan civilisation was like.
- In Music, we started to learn ‘Each and Every Day’ for Children’s Mental Health week, listened to and discussed music composed by Shiva Feshareki and also played Denadon in 3 parts with the Djembi drums.
- In French, we learnt some facts about Cameroon (a Francophone country) and watched a video about a child’s daily life there.
- In Science, we have worked at improving the level of detail and scientific facts in our predictions and conclusions. We have planned a comparative test about how different yoga poses will affect our pulse rates, ready to start next week. It would be really beneficial if the children could bring their phones or Fitbits to help measure their heart rates accurately again (but do not worry if you don’t want to as we have shared before and it has worked out brilliantly these past few weeks).
- In PSHE, we explored what social media is and how it can affect us in positive and negative ways.
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 (Homophones Sp1 wk 5)
isle, aisle, aloud, allowed, past, passed, prey, pray, coarse, course, rain, reign, knight, night, stationary, stationery
- 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 6s:
- Counting:
1, 7, 13, 19, 26, 31, 27, etc
and in 8s :
1, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 49, 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 (Divisions mix of 7-12)
- Each child has their own tables target which they should know. The Sumdog challenge may relate to their target but if not, you can always use the ‘trainer’ section of Sumdog for extra Tables Practice. Every Tuesday there is a tables test.
- Sumdog (Angles challenge – 150 questions)
- For this challenge, there will be questions related to less or more than a right angle, identifying which are acute and which are obtuse. Then there will be questions to read protractors to the nearest 10 degrees and 5 degrees. I have increased the challenge to 150 as this practice will be incredibly beneficial to you in the coming weeks.
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 2 Blog Friday 28th January
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 3:58pm
This week in Year 2 our novels include ‘The Boy Who Grew Dragons’ and ‘The Fox, Tin Forest and Whale Song‘. The children have compared the stories and written which is their favourite ready to edit themselves next week. The children have also written a diary in first person, provided a list of positives and negatives for owning a dragon as a pet and taken part in reading the novel together as a class. Today we were lucky enough to explore dragon fruits which was very exciting! (Luckily no dragons were hiding inside!).
In maths, we have started our learning on fractions. This week we have looked at halves, quarters and fifths of numbers and shapes. We have learnt about all the important vocabulary we need to know about fractions.
In computing, the children have learnt a brilliant song all about how they can stay safe online at home. This week the children learnt about green, amber and red games on tablets and understanding why they can go on specific ones.
In geography this week the children recapped all about the oceans. We then looked at the continents and what they are. The children used maps and a digital atlas to find all the continents and the oceans which surrounds them.
In RE, the children have looked at Gospel readings and explored what happens in Church when the Priest reads these out.
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
gem
giant
magic
giraffe
energy
jacket
jar
jog
join
adjust
Maths
At home, spend some time counting in 3s and 4s. Can you count on from any number and see which number you can reach. You could time yourself to see how long it takes you to get to 100, then see if you can beat your time.
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 – Fractions
x4 x10 tables
Spellings – ‘j’ words.
Thank you for all your support. Have a lovely weekend.
The Year 2 team.
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 1:55pm
We had a special zoom call this week from a real author. Holly Ryan - She read us her story 'Don't Mess with a Pirate Princess' - we asked her lots of questions and really enjoyed listening to it.
In Maths, we have been learning how to take away. We played the numberline game to see who was the first one to get back down to 0. This was great fun.
In RE this week we have been learning about Jesus returning to the temple and looking at the story of Anna and Simeon. The children made finger puppets of the characters and enjoyed retelling the story.
Year 3 Friday Blog 28th January 2022
Date: 28th Jan 2022 @ 1:06pm
We have had an excellent week in Year 3.
A highlight for all of us was our school trip, we absolutely loved it!
We went to The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. We loved learning about forces and loved spending time experimenting and learning lots of new and exciting things! Everybody represented St Oswald's brilliantly and should feel proud of their impecible manners and behaviour.
On Friday we wrote about our school trip in English and used persuasive language to persuade people to visit the museum. In English we have also finished reading Toro Toro, we really enjoyed this book and learnt lots of new vocabulary. We will be starting our next class novel on Monday, but it is a secret for now.
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In maths we have been learning about division, we have been using counters and drawings to help us group and share. We have also started to practise counting in 8s. We have been listening to a song to help us do this.
In geography we did some map work. We used atlases to locate and talk about Scotland, the UK and Australia. We focused on these places to celebrate Burn's Night and Australia Day. We are getting really good at using an atlas.
We also continued our mechanisms learning in DT. We are very impressed with the great listening and perseverance everyone is showing with what is some very tricky new concepts.
Here is some of our new vocabulary we have met: fixed pivot, loose pivot, lever, mechanism, input, output.
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every night for 20 minutes. Talk about your favourite parts and why you like them.
Spellings
Your spellings this week are some of the words you need to know by the end of year 3.
Make sure you practise a little bit every day.
eight caught centre century heart breath busy early different favourite
Counting
Count out loud in 4s from 0 to 48 and back again.
Count out loud in 10s from 57 to 157.
Count back in 10s from 899 to 799.
Times Tables
Listen to the 8x tables song on YouTube and practise counting in 8s every day.
Sumdog
Go onto Sumdog and complete the challenges and training.
You will be tested on your spellings and times tables on Tuesday 1st February.
Have an amazing and happy weekend!
Year 5 Friday 28th January 2022
Date: 27th Jan 2022 @ 4:40pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
The Year 5 class have been working really hard this week to settle in quickly and moving around school in a calmer manner. They have done so well, they have had comments from numerous teachers on how well behaved they have been. Keep it up Year 5!
This week in year 5
In Maths we finished looking at digital clocks and converting between analogue and digital, then concentrated on the value of numbers and decimals places. We first looked at the value of numbers up to 3 decimal places; that the 4 in 35.746 has the value of 4 hundredths, the 5 has the value of 5 ones, the 6 has the value of 6 thousandths etc. They were very good that this. We moved onto comparing numbers with similar digits, to 3 decimal places e.g. 12.401 and 12.104 and placing them in order. We finished the week by rounding decimals to the nearest whole number. We managed to achieve this to 2 decimal places. Some children also worked on reasoning problems to push them further.
In English we have focused on different types of sentences, to help up with an extended writing piece. We have been practising expanded noun phrases, prepositional phrases and adverbial phrases. The children have used these to plan, write and edit a missing chapter of Street Child, which tells us what happens to Jim’s sisters. Incidentally, there is a second book in the Street Child series that tells the sisters story. Many children were keen to read this so I here is the information, should you wish to purchase it - Berlie Doherty Far From Home. The Sisters of the Street Child. There are second-hand copies online for less than £2.
In Science, the children had a busy lesson, undertaking a comparative test. We went to the outdoor classroom to investigate carrier bags. We had a letter from Booths asking us to investigate the best sort of carrier bags. They wanted a bag that could hold 5kg, didn’t dig into the hand and that was environmentally friendly. The children carried out investigations using bags, weights, hooks and clay to find these things out. Finally they made a conclusion and wrote this up, using their findings. Excellent work! (Photo Gallery on class page)
In RE, the children continued their topic on Mission. We looked at Jesus’ mission and how that is carried on today in many ways. We compared different parts of the scripture and how they are relevant to us today.
In French, we have started to write our own descriptions of the planets in French. The children have done really well so far. Next week, we'll finish and illustrate our work. Wait until you see it - you'll be impressed at how well they've done!
In PE, the children were again split into 2 groups’ one playing hockey and one practising gymnastic techniques. The children continued to improve their hockey techniques, passing, stopping, dribbling and shooting. In gymnastics we looked at counter balancing. The children tried different techniques to counter balance their partner and then made up a routine where they moved into a counter balanced position and out of it again. They really work hard in these sessions and take it very seriously. Their finished routines are always of a great quality.
In Art the children finished their final piece. Wow! They have done an amazing job! The children sketched out their cityscape and then used watercolours to add colour. They were able to use more or less water to create texture and shade to their work. Many of the children experimented with water washes in the background, where they didn’t want a lot of colour but didn’t want to leave them blank. Again, WOW! (Photos of the children working in gallery - I will post the artwork, once it is displayed)
In computing we continued with our nesting loops topic in coding. This is a really tricky undertaking and needs resilience. The children worked really hard on working out the algorithm to make different shapes on the screen in a repeating circle.
DON’T FORGET
Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
I told the children they could keep their Holy Communion folders at home but we are going to use them in the offertory in our class mass. So please could you send them back into 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 7s and 0.7s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 7s or 0.7s, either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 46 and we are adding 7 we would use 4 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 3. If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 6 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.
Spellings words ending ‘ably’ and ‘ibly’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
horribly, incredibly, possibly, forcibly, impossibly, responsibly, visibly, arguably, comfortably, considerably, miserably, probably, remarkably, dependably, believably
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 number.
Spellings words containing ‘ably’ and ‘ibly’.
The children have produced some outstanding work this week, I have been so impressed.
Year 1 Friday Blog 28th January 2022
Date: 27th Jan 2022 @ 10:06am
Welcome to your Friday blog.
English
In English, we have continued to learn about Tradtional Tales and we have read The Enormous Turnip. We learnt about how to work as a team, how the story contains lots of rhyming words, synonmys for 'enormous' and we have predicted what could happen next after the story has ended. We loved this story, especially as it is very similar to the story that we listen to at snack time - The Big Carrot!
In Phonics, we have continued our phase 5 learning. Mrs Corbett's group have compared 'ir' to 'er' and 'oo' and 'ue' and Miss Fisher's group have recapped ue and aw.
We have been singing these songs to help with our learning. Click here
Maths
This week we have continued to learn about parts of shapes (fractions) and we have been focusing on quarters.
We also started learning about money. We looked at coins up to 20p. We used real coins to make amounts using 1p pieces.Encourage your child to play with coins that you have at home, count them,sort them by colour or size. We also talked about paying for things when you don't actually see the money,paying by tapping a card or online shopping.
French
We recapped the animal words that we've learnt through songs and stories. We love the animals in the jungle song! Then we talked about the African Football Cup that is taking place at the moment in Cameroon. We found out that lots of the African countries speak French. We love the official song too - great dancing!
Music
We played the glocks. We loved it!
Science
We looked at the properties of materials. We learnt some new words to describe materials.
Art
We had so much fun in our art lesson this week! As we have been learning about keeping healthy, we have also learnt about an artist called Giuseppe Arcimboldo who uses fruit in his artwork. We recreated his 'Vertumnus' piece of art using our own fruit and vegetables. Have a look at the pictures below for our versions!
P.E
This week we have started to create our own sequence of gymnastic movements using both a mat and a bench. Over the last few weeks, we have learnt how to travel like a caterpillar, bear, crab, bunny and a frog. Also, how to effectively do an egg roll, pencil roll and rock and roll. We chose our own options and made up a routine by ourselves. They were very good!
R.E.
In R.E. we have continued to look at the special people that we can find in Church. We remembered that there were lots of helpers, such as - the priest, cleaners, flower arrangers, alter servers, organists and greeters. We labelled each picture and some of us even wrote a sentence about what they do to help.
Geography
In Geography, we looked at landmarks within the U. K. We learnt that the majority of them are in London. Here's a song we sung!
P.S.H.E
We have been learning about what we put in and on our bodies. We discussed what is harmful, helpful or both. We looked at some hazard labels on things we might have at home.
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 counting in 2s up to 100.Please practise this at home. If you want a challenge, start from a different number that is not in the 2x table (odd numbers).We use a number square in class to help us with this, feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - ar, er and ir words
Maths - Finding a quarter of a shape.
Year 6 Friday 21st January 2022
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 5:47pm
Year 6 have had a very exciting week. On Tuesday, we received a visit from Mr Pickles (who has trekked up to base camp of Mount Everest) and showed us many pictures and videos of the journey up there. Year 6 had a great time learning what it is really like up near the top of the world, so thank you Mr Pickles! On Thursday, our swimming team had a great time competing at Hutton Grammar against 10 other schools. The competition was very tough and we managed to come 4th overall out of 11 schools – a super achievement! Finally on Friday, we had a super taster day at All Hallows’ high school where we enjoyed meeting the teachers, went on a scavenger hunt around the whole grounds, took part in a PE lesson and even burnt crisps in Science!
Please remember to bring your wellies, boots, or really old trainers to school on Tuesday 25th January as our class will be planting some saplings around the school grounds.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we built on last week’s knowledge of equivalent fractions to help us add and subtract mixed numbers, improper fractions and proper fractions.
- In English, we have been introduced to new characters in our ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ novel: Hatty, Hubert, Edgar and James. We developed our reading skills with how to give impressions and evidence them, along with how to scan the text for clues.
- In RE, we learnt about World Religion Day, which was on Sunday 16th January and to celebrate, we split into groups to learn about four different religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism) and then presented them to the class.
- In PE, we improved our hockey skills and how to defend within different scenarios. In gymnastics, we progressed our partner sequences to include various apparatus throughout the hall whilst focusing on smoother transitions between moves.
- In Music, we have continued our learning of the djembe drums through creating rhythms in small groups and performing them for the class.
- In French, having learnt the verb ‘avoir’ = to have, we then learnt how to make it negative (e.g. You do not have any apples). We then learnt about the Francophone countries in Africa – those that have French as their official language – as The African Cup of Nations football tournament is taking place in Cameroon at the moment.
- In Science, we modelled how the circulatory system works (by carrying blue and red bands to represent oxygenated and deoxygenated blood). Then we planned and carried out a comparative test to see how different types of exercise affected our pulse rate. We realised it was important to repeat our readings in order to improve the accuracy of the results. Next week, we will be conducting a second pulse rate investigation so phones or Fitbits would be a welcome addition for Thursday 27th January, if you have one.
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 (fer Sp1 wk 4)
Differ, different, difference, differently, prefer, preference, preferred, preferring, referred, referring, reference, referral, transfer, transferred, transferring.
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in mixed number 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: 4/5, 4 1/5, 3 ½ , 8 ½ and count up 10 times then back again in 3 1/5 and 3 2/5:
- Counting:
4 1/5, 7 2/5, 10 3/5, 13 4/5, 17, 20 1/5, etc
and in 4 ½ :
8 ½, 13, 17 ½, 22, 26 1/2, etc
- Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 7 + 8 = 15, 9 + 7 = 16.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (7 + 8, 9 + 7, 3 + 8, 5 + 9, etc)
- Another great way is to use HIT THE BUTTON which you can access by clicking here
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (0.7 + 0.8, 0.09 + 0.07, 0.3 + 0.8, etc)
- Sumdog (Times tables (missing numbers))
- Each child has their own tables target which they should know. The Sumdog challenge may relate to their target but if not, you can always use the ‘trainer’ section of Sumdog for extra Tables Practice. Every Tuesday there is a tables test.
- Sumdog (Add and subtract fractions)
- For this challenge, there will be questions with similar denominators and some with denominators that have similar multiples, like halves added to quarters. Remember what we have learnt in class and try to answer them quickly. If you end up getting some wrong, do not worry as Sumdog will make the questions easier.
Keep working through 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 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.
Year 4 Home Practice Friday 21st January 2022
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 5:28pm
Year 4
Home Practice 21st January 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week ….
In English, we finished our class novel, The Iron Man, and discussed the ending and the moral to the story. In addition, we planned our own story based on the The Iron Man. We wrote the beginning of the story and edited this with a partner. Next week we will write the middle and the end, and hope to publish our story, so that we can share it with our classmates.
In Maths, we continued learning about multiplication. This involved multiplying larger numbers using partitioning (eg 36 x 7), doubling numbers up to 4 digits and refining the grid method of multiplication. Initially we used arrays to help with our understanding. Additionally, we have been practising our tables, and counting in 12’s to help with our times tables.
In RE, we learnt more about the parish community, such as the name of our parish, what the parish does to spread the Good News and how the school and parish links up. In addition, we discussed how people within the parish serve the community in church. For example, the priest guides the Christian community with the help of the deacon, and lay people also work with the priest to serve the parish.
This week in French we learnt about the Romans in Nimes. There are some amazing Roman buildings which have been beautifully restored and are central to life in Nimes to this day. We then listened to the official song of AFCON -The African Cup of Nations football tournament which is taking place in Cameroon at the moment. Many African countries speak French so we discussed this.
In Science, we started to make and evaluate different switches. We needed to have an understanding of which materials conducted electricity and how a switch worked.
We began our PE lesson by running around both playgrounds 4 times, without stopping. We then split into 2 groups. Inside, the children learnt 3 different techniques (the broad jump, the pencil roll and the teddy bear roll). These were then incorporated into a gymnastic sequence the children devised themselves. Outside, the children practised their hockey skills – passing, receiving and moving with the hockey ball. They then took part in mini games using the skills they had learnt.
This week we also went outside to plant some saplings near the footpath. We hope that the children will enjoy seeing the saplings grow and flourish.
NEXT WEEK IN DT we are hoping to make our own ‘Iron’ creature, based on the Iron Man. If you need anything for your design, such as a cardboard tube, box or tub, please bring these into school. In addition, you may wish to bring any ‘decorations’ into school too. School will provide cups, tin foil, some decorations, card and paper, along with the electrical circuit components.
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 (27th January 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 12’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 12’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 144 and back again (this will help with your 12 times tables)
0 12 24 36 etc 144 132 120 etc
Then try counting from 40 to 148 and back again
40 52 64 etc 148 136 124 etc
Spellings
The spellings this week all have the prefix ‘inter’. A prefix is a group of letters that change the meaning of a word when they are added to the start. ‘Inter’ means ‘among’ or ‘between’. 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 (27th January 2022).
interact intercity interview intermediate international
internet interface intercept intercom interchange
interfere intervene interrupt intermittent intergalactic
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 12 times tables
- Multiplying 2 and 3 digit numbers by 1 digit
(eg 32 x 8 30 x 8 = 240 2 x 8 = 16 240 + 16 = 256)
(Use the grid method which we have practised in class this week for 3 digit multiplications)
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.
Year 2 Blog Friday 21st January 2022
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 1:24pm
Year 2 have had a great week. We have read many different stories this week including; The Birthday Duck, The Selfish Giant and the Giraffe, Peli and Me. From this the children have worked on character descriptions, predictions, WANTED and advert posters.
In Maths, we have continued our learning on statistics – we have learnt about using and reading tally charts, pictograms and bar charts.
In French, the children have continued to learn about how to say types of pets alongside a song about pets.
In computing, the children have learnt about online safety and explored the different emotions and feelings we and others may feel when we are online.
In Science this week, the children have learnt lots of vocabulary for different types of materials and looked for materials in the outdoor environment.
The children have enjoyed taking part in outdoor learning this week and have each planted their own hedgerow on the field.
In RE, the children have loved learning all about different religions – Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. The children have looked at the similarities and differences between world religions and Christianity.
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
badge
edge
bridge
dodge
fudge
age
huge
change
charge
village
Maths
At home, spend some time counting in 5s and 10s. Can you count on from any number and see which number you can reach. You could time yourself to see how long it takes you to get to 100, then see if you can beat your time.
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 – Tally Charts
x2, x3, x4 tables
Spellings – ‘ge’ words.
Thank you for all your support. Have a lovely weekend.
The Year 2 team.
Year 5 - Friday 20th January 2022
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 1:14pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
This week in year 5
In Maths we been studying area. The children really impressed me with their grasp of the area of a rectangle but also estimating the area of an irregular shape. We also have been practising telling the time. This is a really tricky concept, they have done really well and many seem to understand it. However, it is a skill that needs to be practised over and over. If you type ‘topmarks clock’ into google you can access an interactive clock that you can set to various times and help your child tell the time. If you concentrate on analogue clock first this practise will really help your child.
In English poor Jim Jarvis has had a bad time in the workhouse but managed to escape. The children wrote a persuasive piece of writing, trying to persuade Jim to either stay at the workhouse or run away. They did a really good job. We also did a lot of work on mapping feelings and thinking about the level of feeling someone is having and words that are appropriate e.g. Is the character really terrified at the moment or is he just anxious? Finally we have started to plan a missing chapter of the book and we will concentrate on this extended piece next week.
In Science, the children had a great lesson with Mrs Quillam. She took them on a material hunt around the school, investigating the different materials objects were made from. She was extremely impressed with the level of work produced in a paragraph to explain their findings. This writing was really excellent, using lots of great science vocabulary. Well done - super scientists!
In RE, the children attended their final church session. This week we concentrated on the importance of the bread and wine and how it helps us remember the last supper. The children have been so respectful when visiting the church and have often asked insightful questions. I look forward to seeing everyone at the class mass on Sunday and the Communion practise session on Monday evening. You will learn more about what to expect on their Communion day and ask Father any questions you may have. We have also celebrated Wold Religion Day this week. The children learnt all about Hinduism, listened to the story of Rama and Sita, taking notes and made Rangoli patterns.
In French, the children read and understood some sentences in French about the planets. They will use these next week to help write their own sentences in French.
In PE, the children practised their hockey skills. They started in small groups of 8 - 4 attacking and 4 defending. They had to control the ball, pass to their partner, and try and aim effectively. They swapped over so they all had a chance to attack, score goals and defend. Then they made a team of 8 players and played matches against one another. They are concentrating on improving their technique. I am also proud that everyone can control the hockey sticks properly during the drills and games.
In history this week, we looked at the lives of children in the Victorian era. The children looked at photos of poor children and of Queen Victoria’s children and made decisions about the era based on them. We had some ideas that all children were poor, but realised that some were also wealthy. We then concentrated on the poor children and their lives. We looked at other sources, such as newspaper cuttings, interviews with mining children and more photographs. They made enquiries into these, then learnt some facts that help back up their enquiries. Finally they wrote paragraphs about the sources they used and what historical claims it can help us make about the era. Again, I was impressed with their level of ability.
In computing we had a coding lesson. The children had a go at developing code to create a shape and then further developing the code to repeat the shapes at different locations on the screen. Remember if the children want to revisit any of the code lessons, they can access this at home with their passwords (please remind them not to go further than we have in class).
We have also ‘Planted a tree for the Jubilee.’ The children have helped to plant a row of hedges in the school grounds that we hope will be a legacy in years to come.
DON’T FORGET
Class Mass 10.30am on Sunday
Communion Practice on Monday evening at 6.30pm.
Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
Please can the children bring in a carrier bag for science next week. We are looking for a range of types of bag e.g. bag for life, thin chip shop bag, bakery bag, paper bag etc.
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 8s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 8s, either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 46 and we are adding 10 we would use 4 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 4. If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 6 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 2.
Spellings words containing ‘ent’ and ‘ence’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
accident, announcement, centre, confident, different, equipment, independent, conscience, difference, excellence, intelligence, science, violence, silence, magnificence
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 area and time
Spellings words containing ‘ent’ and ‘ence’.
The children have worked hard this week and produced some great quality work.
Reception Friday 21st January 2022
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 10:35am
This week we have been learning about Pirates.
We have been learning facts about Pirates, making treasure maps and dressing up as them.
In Maths, we have been making teen numbers practically using 10 and some more.
Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 8:34am
We have had a wonderful week in Year 3, we have enjoyed spending some time outside in the sunshine and we have done lots of exciting learning.
In English, we have continued reading Toro Toro. There are some really fantastic words in the novel which we are all trying to use in our own writing. We are currently writing a story based on the novel, we are adding new bits to the story every day.
In maths we have learnt some new methods to multiply a teen number (like 16) by a 1-digit number (like 4). We have also been doing some problem solving - we love a challenge and never ever give up!
We enjoyed some time outside on Thursday as we put on our wellies and headed out onto the field to plant a row of saplings. Each class has done this along the edge of the school field, we can't wait to see the hedge start to grow.
In PE we have been learning new hockey skills, with a focus on how to hold the hockey stick correctly. We have also been learning different ways to travel and balance and using these to create gymnastics sequences.
We learnt about the African countries that speak French this week. The African Cup of Nations football tournament is taking place in Cameroon at the moment so we looked at the map and found all the countries who are taking part. We spotted some footballers we knew too! We loved the official song!
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every night for 20 minutes. Talk about the author's choice of words - can you find some good words to use in your writing?
Counting
Count out loud in 3s from 0 to 36 and back again.
Count out loud in 4s from 0 to 48 and back again.
Count out loud in 20s to 240.
Times Tables
Practise the 3 and 4 x tables.
Sumdog
Login to Sumdog and complete the challenges. Do a little bit every night.
Spellings
Your spellings this week all have the /i/ sound spelled with a y.
gym myth Egypt pyramid mystery symbol synonym
lyrics systems gymnastics
Have a wonderful weekend :)
Year 1 Blog- 21st January 2022
Date: 20th Jan 2022 @ 10:20am
Welcome to your Friday blog.
We have really enjoyed our learning again this week. We all planted a sapling for the Queen's Jubilee. Thank you for sending wellies in.
English
In English, we have been reading the story of The Elves and the Shoemaker. Many of us hadn't read it before and we really enjoyed it! We started off by finding the features within the story, then we wrote a thank you letter to the elves and even made up our own stories by changing the elves to another traditional tale animal/character. We couldn't believe how good the new stories were!
Phonics- We looked at 'ee' as in tree and 'ea' as in beach. We also looked at 'oy' as in toy and 'oi' as in coin.
Maths
This week we have been learning about parts of shapes. We can call these 'fractions'. We looked at halves and quarters. We have also been looking at the 'friends of 10'.These are all the ways to make 10 by adding 2 numbers together,0+10, 1 + 9, 9+1,2+8 and so on. Please encourage your child learn these number facts so that they can recall them quickly.
French
We continued to learn the words for pets in French and we really enjoyed the song about the animals who had escaped from the zoo! We also listened to the official song for AFCON - the African Cup of Nations football tournament which is taking place in Cameroon at the moment. Lots of African countries speak French!
Music
We played 'You are my Sunshine' on the boomwhackers. We are getting really good!
Science
We started a new topic looking at everyday materials. We discussed what materials are and what objects are made from different materials. We picked one material and drew all the objects we could see in class made from that material. We also discussed why certain materials are used for different objects. We investigated what we coud do with different materials. Could we stretch,twist,bend or squash them?
Art
We focused on mixing in art this week and how primary colours can mix together to make secondary colours. We conducted two experiments - one with skittles (which worked!) and one with food colouring (which took a long time to work!!) We then used the paint to have a go at mixing the colours. We will continue with this next week as not everyone got a chance to have a go today.
P.E
In our gymnastics lesson, we learnt how to bear walk and crab walk. It was tricky but fun! We then learnt a new roll - the rock and roll. We put all three into a sequence and took it in turns on the apparatus.
R.E.
On Monday, it was World Religion Day and we learnt about the Hindu festival of Holi. We used water, paints and straws to make our own Holi picture. Then we continued with our Special People topic and learnt about who can help us in church. We made our own churches out of Lego and worked as a team.
Geography
In Geography, we recapped the four countries that make up the UK and labelled them on the map. We then took our learning one step further and learnt the capital cities for each country. We will continue to recap this as it was new learning for a lot of us.
P.S.H.E
This week we have been discussing how to keep our teeth healthy. We drew pictures about how to brush our teeth correctly. We also investigated how much sugar is in different foods.
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 counting in 10s up to 100 (0, 5, 10, 15...) Please practise these at home. If you want a challenge, start from a different number that is not in the 5x table (e.g. 2, 6, 8...) We use a number square in class to help us with this, feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - ea and ee words
Maths - recognise half of an object
Year 4 HOME PRACTICE Friday 14th January 2022
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 5:12pm
Year 4
Home Practice 14th January 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week ….
In English, we dramatised an interview between a family and a reporter following the family’s encounter with the Iron Man during a picnic. In addition, we wrote a menu fit for the Iron Man which used alliteration and ambitious vocabulary – the descriptions really made our mouths water!
In Maths, we learnt more about multiplication this week. Initially we used arrays to help with our understanding. Then, we learnt how to use a multiplication square to find the product when 2 numbers are multiplied together, and how to find factors. Following this, we developed our understanding of the effect of multiplying a 1 and 2 digit number by 10 and 100, and used this to help with multiplication. Additionally, we have been practising our tables, and counting in 11’s and 25’s.
In RE, we hot seated different ‘apostles’ and asked them how they felt when Jesus chose them to help spread the Good News.
In History, we discussed some of the legacies the Romans left, such as roads, the sewage system and Roman Numerals. We then started to make a PowerPoint presentation to showcase our learning.
This week in French we revised colours in the masculine and feminine forms. Then we listened to the French alphabet and tried to spell out words using the French letters.
In Science, we discussed the 6 types of scientific enquiry and wrote questions for each one. Super scientific thinking - it wasn't easy but the children did really well.
We began our PE lesson running 4 times around both playgrounds without stopping – we are aiming to build up our running technique and our stamina. We then split into 2 groups. Inside, the children learnt how to perform the dish and arch shapes and explored how to use these in a sequence. Outside, the children continued learning how to control a ball using a hockey stick and played a mini game.
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 (20th January 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’.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 11’s and 25’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 11’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 132 and back again (this will help with your 11 times tables)
0 11 22 33 etc 132 121 110 etc
Then try counting from 40 to 139 and back again
40 51 62 etc 139 128 117
Count in 25’s
Start at 0 and count up to 250 and back again
0 25 50 75 etc 250 225 220 etc
Spellings
The spellings this week all have the prefix ‘super’. A prefix is a group of letters that change the meaning of a word when they are added to the start. Super means ‘above’ or ‘over’. 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 (20th January 2022). We have discussed different strategies you could use to help you learn them and you could also use ‘Look say cover write check’.
superstar supermarket supernova supermodel superhuman
superpower superhero supernatural superglue Superman
supersonic superintendent supersaturated superstore superheroes
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 11 times tables
- An ‘array’ challenge – lots of arrays and different questions to help with your understanding of 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.
Year 6 Friday 14th January 2022
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 3:07pm
Welcome to our second blog of 2022. Year 6 have been working incredibly hard this week, continuing their leadership roles throughout the school. The school council have been preparing the new Learning Times, which should be ready by the end of this month. Do not forget that next Friday 21st January, we are at All Hallows’ for a taster day. Please go straight to the high school where you can leave your child at the entrance gate between 8:40am and 8:50am. The children will have a fantastic day with school finishing at 2:30pm.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have been improving our mental and written addition strategies to become more efficient. We then looked in detail at what makes a fraction, finding fractions of shapes and amounts.
- In English, we have continued our novel, ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’, where Tom discovered a new garden at the back of his Aunt’s flat. We wrote as Tom about this discovery and improved our descriptive setting writing through our adjectives and verb choices.
- In RE, we learnt how the Bible is made up of 73 books (46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament) which took over a thousand years or more for all the books to be completed. We then learnt how to use the numbered code to find out what the piece of writing was in the Bible.
- In PE, we learnt how to apply the skill of hockey to attacking situations, and how to create a gymnastics sequence with travels, turns, jumps and a partner balance.
- In History, we placed the history of the world (from 0AD to present day) in chronological order, whilst working in groups.
- In Music, we have creating our own rhythms and copying them in groups using the djembe drums.
- In French, we started to learn the verb ‘avoir’ = to have. We practised with songs and a game.
- In Science, we interpreted bar charts of the class pulse rates and observed some lamb’s hearts to try to identify the structures we could see. Next week, we will be conducting a pulse rate investigation and it would be very helpful if those children with phones could download a free app that will measure their pulse, such as ‘Heart Rate Monitor’ or another app that is similar and bring them into school next Thursday 20th January (where their phone will be kept locked away until the lesson begins). This is not a requirement as we can share the devices we already have in school; your child will not miss out on any part of the lesson because of this (heart rate apps just provide us with more accurate results).
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 (-cial / -tial Sp1 wk 3)
Social, special, torrential, official, especially, artificial, potential, essential, substantial, financial, confidential, partial, impartial, initial, unofficial
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in fraction 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: 4/5, 4 1/5, 3 ½ , 8 ½ and count up 10 times then back again in one fifth and then two fifths:
- Counting:
4/5, 1 1/5, 1 3/5, 2, 2 1/5 , 2 3/5, etc
and in 2 ½ :
3 ½, 6, 8 ½, 11, 13 ½, 16, 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)
- Play 'Hit the Button via this link, Hit the Button
- Sumdog (Times tables x4, x5, x6, x11, x12)
- Each child has their own tables target which they should know. The Sumdog challenge may relate to their target but if not, you can always use the ‘trainer’ section of Sumdog for extra Tables Practice. Every Tuesday there is a tables test.
- Sumdog (Fractions of shapes and on a number line)
- For this challenge, there will be questions relating to fractions of shapes – make sure you count what the shape is divided into and then count how many are coloured in. There are also questions relating to fractions on a number line – check the gap between two numbers then divide that by how many jumps it is from one number to the next (we have practiced this in class).
Keep working through 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 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.
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 2:10pm
We have had another great week in Year 3!
In English, we have been reading Toro Toro. We are really enjoying this book and are learning lots of new exciting words, for example mesmerizing and entranced. We have been using these words in our writing. Our focus this week has been conjunctions and how to use them accurately. Conjunctions join two or more parts of a sentence together. They can go at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
Here are some examples of conjunctions:
after although as long as because before even though when whenever since unless so while
We have linked our English learning to our new topic in geography which is Andalucia in Spain. Toro Toro is set in Andalucia which is a region in Spain. We have been using atlases and maps to locate and learn about Andalucia and Spain.
Our new PSHE topic is 'What are families like?' We have been talking about our own families and have realised that there are lots of different types of families. Everybody has found it fascinating to learn about different types of families that exist in our class and around the world.
This week we also had a session on online safety, looking at online gaming platforms and online chat. We talked about how we shouldn't talk to people we don't know in real life and to speak to an adult if anything worries or upsets us. We know a lot of your children are accessing the chat features of Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox. Below we have attached 3 guides for the three mentioned platforms.
Home Practice
Read out loud to somebody for 20 minutes, tell them all about the different characters.
Spellings
Practise your spellings every night. This week, your spellings have the /u/ sound spelled ou.
Here are your spellings:
touch double country trouble young cousin enough encourage flourish couple
Counting
Count out loud in 10s from 81 to 181.
Count out loud in 4s from 0 to 48.
Count out loud in 2s from 40 to 20.
Times Tables
Practise your 3 and 4 times tables this week. Go on Hit the button, Sumdog and times tables videos we have added in past blogs.
Sumdog
Access the Sumdog challenges and training. These are essential to practise what we have been learning in school.
You will be tested on your spelling and times tables on Tuesday 18th January.
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 2 Blog Friday 14th January 2022
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 1:04pm
Year 2 have had a fantastic week and we continue to work hard to follow all of our golden rules every day. In English, we have continued with Leaf and Non-Fiction writing. The children wrote a brilliant diary in first person (as Leaf) all about how he was feeling. In Maths, we have learnt about statistics – we have learnt about bar charts and interpreting them. In PE this week the children have performed a sequence of travelling and balances. The children enjoyed using low levelled equipment to perform different ways of travelling. In French, the children have learnt how to say types of pets.
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
race
ice
cell
city
fancy
face
space
bicycle
circle
spicy
Maths
At home, spend some time counting in 3s and 4s. Can you count on from any number and see which number you can reach.
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 – Charts
X2 x5 x10 x3 tables
Spellings – ‘c’ words.
Please could your child bring in a pair of wellies for next week – we are taking part in some exciting planting out on the field.
Thank you for all your support. Have a lovely weekend.
The Year 2 team.
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 12:33pm
Welcome to your Friday blog!
We have had a super week of learning again and started to notice a bit more daylight.
English
In English we have finished our Hansel and Gretel story. We've been so busy with our learning! We have thought about how Hansel and Gretel were feeling, explored our senses whilst in the forest setting and compared the original story to a different version - Trust Me, Hansel and Gretel are Sweet!
In phonics, we are still learning phase 5 sounds. Miss Fisher's group have been recapping ou, ie and ea words. Mrs Corbett's group have recapped split digraphs u_e and e_e.
Maths
We have been counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. We have been looking at the patterns in the numbers on a 100 square.
We have also been looking at repeating patterns. We made our own repeating patterns. We are also trying really hard to write our numbers correctly.
Science
This week we carried out an investigation to answer a question. Our question was-do children always have bigger feet than their hands ?
We measured our hands and feet and then collected all our data together. We found a pattern and this gave us the conclusion that most children in Year 1 have bigger feet than their hands.
PSHE
We talked about all the different ways we can keep our body healthy with exercise. We talked about what we do at school and at home to exercise. We found out what happens to our bodies when we exercise.
P.E.
In P.E. we have continued with our gymnastics lessons. We learnt to egg roll, frog jump and how to move like a caterpillar. It was so much fun. Please see the pictures below!
Art
In Art, we finished experimenting with paint. We dabbed, splatted and mixed our paint to see what will happen. Next week, we will be looking at primary and secondary colours.
Geography
In Geography, we have started to learn about the countries that make up the UK. We seemed really confident when learning about England and learnt some new information about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We talked about the different places that we have been to in the UK such as the Lake District, Centre Parcs and London. We then drew pictures of our trips!
History
We learned some facts about Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We talked about and drew some of the things he designed and made.
WELLIES NEEDED NEXT WEEK
As part of our outdoor learning every child in the school will be planting a sapling in our school grounds next week. Please send in a pair of wellies with your child in a named carrier bag on Monday.Your child will bring them home next Friday.
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 counting in 10s up to 100 (0, 5, 10, 15...) Please practise these at home. If you want a challenge, start from a different number that is not in the 5x table (e.g. 2, 6, 8...) We use a number square in class to help us with this, feel free to search '100 square' in Google to find one online.
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - oi and oy words
Maths - counting in 10s to 100
Date: 14th Jan 2022 @ 10:37am
We have continued our learning all about Zog this week, writing instructions to teach people how to fly.
In Maths, we have been partitioning numbers in different ways and looking at the number sentences.
During our understanding of the world, we have been looking at pictures of our families and school uniforms from the past. We have loved discussing all the similarities and differences.
This week in French we learnt the words for some pets. We practised with them games, a story and a song.
Date: 13th Jan 2022 @ 5:17pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
The children have had a busy week working hard.
This week in year 5
In Maths we have learnt some new strategies to use when multiplying – the compensation strategy and grid method. The children enjoyed both and have been using them in their work. We have also done lots of mental arithmetic this week, deciding whether to work it out in our head, use jottings or a written method. We have also practised multiplication and division reasoning problems. These were really tricky and needed lots of concentration. The children have worked really hard.
In English we have continued to read the plight of Jim Jarvis in Street Child; poor Jim has ended up in the workhouse. The children have written notes (in character), they have written descriptive pieces of Jim’s time in the workhouse and they had to write a persuasive piece, whether Jim should run away from the workhouse or not.
In Science, the children looked at the different sorts of enquiry that we use in Science and came up with potential questions that related to each enquiry. This was particularly tricky but the children listened well and thought about each enquiry carefully.
In RE, the children attended church and learnt all about the preparations that have to be made for Mass by both the priest and community members that help him. The children were able to ask questions to Father Michael and Catechists and find out more about being a member of the Parish.
In French, we started a topic on Les planetes. Over the next couple of weeks, the children will build up their space vocabulary in French and learn to construct sentences about the planets. We will finish with a piece of writing about the planets and it will be amazing! Good start, year 5!
In PE, we split into 2 groups. One for learning how to hold the hockey stick safely and then learnt passing and stopping the ball. The other group were inside learning gymnastics. The children were fantastic. We were using mirroring and matching poses. They had to pair up and show poses that were first mirroring one another, then matching. They then paired with another pair and had to teach their pose to one another. These were then turned into a routine with moves in between the poses. I really was impressed with their teamwork and skills.
In Art, the children practised sketching cityscapes, using YouTube videos. They were able to carefully follow the lead of the artist on the screen. Then they looked back at their inspiration art, from Jo Quigley, and sketched out a plan for their final piece. They have all focused well and have great ideas to create a cityscape of London. I look forward to sharing their final pieces in a couple of weeks.
In PSHE we focused on money matters. We looked at the cost of various items a child needs throughout their life and the cost of this. We discussed budgets and why sometimes grown-ups have to be careful with their money. We discussed things that are essential that need to be budgeted for first and things that we would like that maybe we have to save up for.
DON’T FORGET
Sacramental folders need returning for church on Monday.
Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.
On Tuesday the children will be using the outside area and helping to plant saplings that will grow into a hedge. Please send in wellies, in a named plastic bag, to save their school shoes getting muddy. If you don’t have wellies, please send old pumps or trainers that you don’t mind getting muddy. Please send in a bag so the muddy wellies can be put in a bag and not on the carpet in 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 9s, 0.9 or 0.09. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 9s, 0.9 or 0.09 either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is adding 10 and then taking 1 away if counting up, or subtracting 10 and then adding 1 if subtracting.
Spellings words ending ‘ance’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
acceptance, appearance, assistance, balance, distance, ignorance, importance, performance, substance, vengeance, endurance, disappearance, circumstance, extravagance, attendance
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 multiplication and division strategies.
Spellings words ending ‘ance’.
The children have had a great week, working hard.
