It has been lovely to see the children been back in school after their half term holiday.  This half term we are heading to warmer climates with our new topic "Life on the Savanna".  Pingy met an elephant called Ele over the half term holiday and was wondering if she would enjoy visiting Antarctica.  We have done some fantastic research using non-fiction texts this week to find out and write some facts about elephants.  Did you know that they use mud as sunscreen and can't walk down stairs because they are too heavy?  We have really enjoyed our new safari role play and imagining we are explorers visiting the savanna.  

We are hoping to restart our outdoor learning sessions on a Friday afternoon (weather) permitting from next week so please ensure your child has their wellingtons and a waterproof coat in school.  We did manage to dodge the showers to complete a spring nature walk this week and we are looking forward to seeing changes to our outdoor area as the weather improves.  In maths this week we have been looking at the numbers 9 and 10 and comparing quantities of objects using the language more, fewer and equal.  In PSHE we have taken a "flight to the future" to think about what careers we would like to do when we are grown up and what skills we would need for that job.  This half term in phonics we will be revisiting the Phase 3 sounds and tricky words that we learnt before half term and learning to apply this knowledge when reading longer and multisyllabic words.  Please continue to practise the sounds and words with your child at home.  

What a busy first week back!

In English, we began studying our new book 'Traction Man is Here'. The children spent some time talking with others and coming up with predictions about the characters using the pictures on the front and back cover of the book. In pairs, they then predicted the story line and shared these ideas with the class. 

We had a very exciting email this week with a video from a 'news' company, asking the children to help them write a newspaper report about Traction Man's super hero antics! The children were very excited. We began looking at different newspaper reports and the features that they include, such as a headline.

In maths, Year 2 have finished off their learning on money. They have been identifying the change they would receive when purchasing different items. Any 'real life' practise you can do with them surrounding money would be greatly appreciated. They then started their learning on our next topic, 'Multiplication and Division'. They have identified, made and added equal groups. 

Year 1s have had a bit more practise on identifying doubles up to double 10. They have used this knowledge to help them solve near doubles, for example using double 4 to solve 4+5 quicker. They have also been subtracting 1s using number bonds and using number lines to count backwards from larger numbers.

In science this week, the children learnt about how different animals can be grouped into mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish. They discovered what made animals specific to their group such as having fur and giving birth to live young. They used this knowledge to sort lots of animals into their correct group.

On Wednesday, Skylarks were lucky enough to take part in the Multi Skills Festival at The Chantry. Please see the news article for more details and photos.

In music this week, we started to look at Folksongs from the British Isles. We listened to and learnt 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean' before using the glockenspiels to add in a drone accompaniment.

In English this week, we are building exciting language and similes for our setting description, based on our new book Stich Head.

In maths, the children have delved into the intricacies of accurate measurement in metres, centimetres and millimetres. We have now looked at comparing different lengths and the children have begun tackling the complexities of adding and subtracting lengths as well.

The children looked at how the Great Pyramids of Giza were built by the Ancient Egyptians and looked at comparing the competing theories around this mystery. 

Our new science topic is plants this half of term and in our first lesson the children were introduced to the different needs of plants to grow healthily. We are conducting an experiment with sunflowers in which the children will monitor the growth of plants with and without certain needs being met.  

In RE, we are looking at the the traits of the people of God. Our learning will centre around the story of Noah and the different traits he demonstrated in the relationship he had with God.

In English, we have started our new class book, 'The 1000 year old boy'. This is a story about Alfie Monk, who is 1000 years old and can remember the last Viking invasion of England but no-one believes him! Our focus has been on diary writing and the children have been learning about the different features of this genre and identifying these in different diary entries.

In maths, we have continued our work on fractions. The children have been learning how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa as well as using their prior knowledge about equivalent fractions to help them compare and order fractions less than 1 and greater than 1.

This week in Merlins class, it has been a pleasure to welcome children back to school after a half term break. This half term, we will be reading the book 'The Boy in the Tower' by Polly Ho-Yen. This book tells the story of a young boy called Ade, who lives in Camberwell, a borough of South London. Ade lives in a tower block with his mum and has to overcome the challenges that arise when very strange plants start destroying the buildings around his tower. This week, the children have read 7 chapters of the story and we are starting to gain an understanding of the main characters. 

In maths, we have moved onto the topic of 'Decimals'. This week the children have been identifying the place value of numbers up to 3 decimal places and how the value of these digits change when they are in different positions within the number. Then, the children practiced rounding decimal numbers before adding and subtracting decimals. We ended the week with multiplying and dividing decimal numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.

In history, we are continuing our topic of crime and punishment. This week we have been exploring the Stuart and the Georgian period. The children have interpreted the evidence that was used in the Pendle witch trials on the Stuart period, where the witness testimony of a 9-year-old girl was used to prosecute and execute members of her own family and community. We then explored how highwaymen used threat and intimidation to steal valuables from the rich in remote areas under the cover of darkness during the Georgian period. The children showed great enthusiasm and interest throughout this lesson.

In DT this week, the children designed their very own playground structure. We began the lesson by identifying different types of playground structures and how they are used. They then worked collaboratively to design five different pieces of apparatus using three different structures before evaluating each others decision making and designs.

In science, we have started our new topic of 'Living Things and their Habitats'. The children recapped their prior learning and used this knowledge to group different animals, using criteria of their choice.

In PSHE, our topic this half term is 'Healthy Me'. We discussed different responsibilities that the children have and it was great to hear how aware they are that they are responsible for their mental and physical health as well as doing chores at home. The children were then given 'Agony Aunt' style problems and worked in groups to  discuss the advice they would give to help the person with the problem.

Please see below information from within the community and independent of the school

The Allen Cricket Coaching Team

During the Easter holidays a cricket coaching camp is being run in Worcester which is an excellent chance for children of all abilities to prepare for the fast approaching summer cricket season.  Cricket courses are run across Worcestershire for children of all abilities, age 7 to 15. The courses are run by England Cricket Board Level 3 and Level 2 Coaches. All staff are DBS certified and lead first aiders and safeguarding ratios are adhered to.

More details are available at: https://bookwhen.com/allencricketcoaching.

To register your interest in the Fun Show Jumping Show please send to outreach@ksw.org.uk.