Pengee has been off on his travels again and this week the Wrens received a postcard from Scotland.  Pengee told us about travelling to the top of Ben Nevis and searching for the Loch Ness monster.  We enjoyed finding out about the legend of Nessie in Drawing Club.  In the art area we used the inspiration of Scottish tartan to try our hand at weaving.  We also enjoyed creating some large collaborative drawings of the Scottish landscape including mountains and castles.

In maths, we have continued our work on number and started using our subtising skills to play dice games.  Playing dice games is a really good way of consolidating maths learning so why don't you try some at home.

In PSHE, our topic this term is Dreams and Goals.  This week we talked about setting ourselves a goal and how sometimes things can be hard at first and not very enjoyable. However, if we show perseverance and keep practising, we can learn new things and be proud of our achievements.   Each of the children set themselves a goal this week and we will be revisiting these in a few weeks to see how we have got on.

Your child is bringing home their final set of new phonics sounds this week.  Once we have learnt these we will then be using our phoneme knowledge to read longer and multisyllable words.  Please keep practising these skills at home with your child (as well as their tricky words) as it will benefit their learning in school.  Thank you!

Thank you also for all the lovely books the children have brought into school to share with the class at story time.  We are really enjoying sharing their favourite books.

This week in English, we've continued focusing on our book 'The Squash and the Squeeze.' The children have worked really hard on showing the lady's emotions without directly stating them. For example, instead of saying 'she was happy,' they came up with creative ideas to show the reader how she felt such as 'the little old lady jumped up and down with glee and sang a song.' At the end of the week we also looked at punctuating direct speech.

In maths this week, the children began by comparing numbers with the same number of tens before moving on to comparing any two 2-digit numbers. The children also ordered and compared objects and numbers. To end the week, we moved onto our next topic of 'Shape'. The children recapped their knowledge by identifying 2D and 3D shapes.

In geography, the children explored the school grounds in pairs using a map. They had to identify the features of the school grounds such as the classrooms, adventure playground and the field. The children then had to add any missing features to their maps.

In D.T. today, the children used their knowledge of the stability and strength of structures learnt in previous weeks to create their own chair for Baby Bear. They had to follow a design brief and could only use paper and masking tape. The children did so well with this and were proud of their structures.

Timetable

Monday: Wellies and a coat suitable for the weather

Tuesday and Thursday: PE kits

In maths, in both Y3 and Y4 our focus has been on division.

Y3 started the week by using partitioning to help them divide 2 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers. This meant the children were using their prior learning to support their new learning. Once the children were secure on the value of the digits they were dividing, we moved on to using formal short division. We will continue with formal division next week.

With Y4, we revisited their learning on division from last year giving them the opportunity to reinforce this prior learning. The children were working with 2 digit numbers and then moved onto dividing 3 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers using formal short division. We will also continue with this next week and, once the children are secure with this method, move on to calculations involving remainders.

This week in English, the children finished writing rhyming poetry all about a farm. These poems are wonderful and use some fantastic vocabulary which rhymes and include rhythm and pace which makes them great to listen to. The children wrote them up neatly and they will be displayed in the main school building alongside lots of colourful farm animals.

With Mrs Postlethwaite, the children worked on checking and editing the Winter's Day poem. They checked for repeated words, swapped out dull word choices for more interesting ones and ensured they had included at least three similes. Following this, the children wrote the poems with their very best handwriting so they could be displayed in the room. There are some great poems with fabulous vocabulary and imagery.

In science, we started our new topic of 'Animals, including Humans' this week. Our first lesson was how does our skeleton help us? The children learned about the names of some of the bones in the human body and that we need bones for support, protection and movement.

The children had their third PE lesson on dodgeball this week and are really starting to understand the skills needed to play the game. Our focus was on throwing accuracy and we looked at the correct throwing position and where on the body they should be aiming for. The children thoroughly enjoyed playing some games towards the end of the session.

In music this week, we focused on maintaining a steady beat while performing our group composition using Call and Response. We looked at different signals that could be used to start and end the performance confidently.

In art, we explored making 3D sculptures of human figures using different materials. See pictures below.

In English, the children have been immersing themselves in the fantastical world of Alice in Wonderland as they continue to develop their narrative writing skills. This week, they’ve been working on Chapter 2, vividly describing Wonderland in all its glory, from the mysterious gardens to the whimsical creatures. The children are now preparing to move on to Chapter 3, where they’ll craft an exciting, suspense-filled paragraph about the Bandersnatch chase, weaving tension and drama into their storytelling.

In Maths, the focus has been on building a solid understanding of fractions. The children have been learning how to multiply a fraction by an integer, developing their skills through a variety of activities. They’ve also been solving long division problems, applying their knowledge to real-world scenarios and honing their problem-solving strategies.

In Geography, the children have been exploring the critical issue of ocean conservation. Through focusing on plastic pollution, coral bleaching, climate change, and overfishing, they’ve learned about the various threats facing our oceans and how these problems contribute to their deterioration. It has been an eye-opening week for the children as they’ve discussed ways we can all play a part in protecting our planet's precious marine life.

Finally, in DT, the children have continued their work on spaghetti truss bridges, putting their designs to the test with weight measurements this week. After performing the weight test, they reflected on the strengths and weaknesses of each bridge, discussing what worked well and what could be improved for their next round of building. This hands-on project has been a great opportunity for the children to apply their problem-solving skills in a practical way.

In music this week, we looked at different rhythmic phrases and how they are notated using minims, crotchets and quavers. Using the glockenspiels, we began exploring different ideas that could be used as a short melodic phrase.

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