Reverse Advent Calendar

The CREW and Charity group have recently come up with the idea of a "Reverse Advent Calendar" for the month of December.  Instead of receiving a gift each day in the run up to Christmas they would like to collect something for charity.

Following some research we decided upon a "Reverse Sock Advent Calendar" as many homeless shelters are asking for donations of socks particularly now the colder weather is here.

We are therefore asking families to donate a pair of new adult (male or female) socks throughout December.

There will be a labelled box in Reception to receive the donations and they will be passed to the Maggs Day Centre Homeless Shelter in Worcester.

Thank you for your support.

The CREW and Charity Group.

The Wrens have really enjoyed learning about the Hindu Festival of Diwali over the last couple of weeks.  This week we used the festival as a basis for some art and DT projects.  We used salt dough to make our own pinch pot diva lamps and created bridges in DT, thinking carefully how to join the materials and make them stable.  Take a look at our "Brilliant Bridges" news article to find out more.

The children have also been working hard practising our nativity play.  We are very impressed how they have picked up the songs and dances.  They have also been doing a great job learning their lines.  Please could you help your child to practise speaking their lines in a loud clear voice. Thank you!

It was lovely to welcome those parents who were able to join us for our maths workshop on Wednesday.  We hope you enjoyed the session and found out a little bit more about how we teach maths in Reception.  As you will have seen, our maths lessons are very practical and we make the most of any opportunity to practise counting and number skills.  "Show me" is one of our favourite games in class. Why don't you see how many different ways the children can show you a particular number on their fingers?

Next week we will be starting to find out a bit more about the celebration of Christmas which may involve writing some very important letters!

This week in our Drawing Club, we explored the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This heartwarming story encourages children to believe in themselves and their abilities and it sparked a lot of creative discussions.

Meanwhile, in English, we began reading our new book, How to Catch Santa. The children found this story funny, with some even sharing their own tales of "catching" Father Christmas in their houses! Together, we compiled a list of all things Christmas and then worked our 'magic' (AI) to create a festive image that captured our collective vision.

In maths, we have been focusing on subtraction, practising it in various ways. The children started with practical resources to physically take away objects and solve calculations. From there, they moved on to using images and some began to tackle subtraction problems in more abstract forms. We also introduced the concept of subtracting by finding the difference.

In history this week, the children enjoyed sharing stories, photos and memories of their toys from when they were babies. This week they have brought home with them a sheet to ask you and fill in about your toys from when you were a child. I appreciate that this history unit requires a lot of collaboration from you at home and I appreciate your contributions of photos etc. Thank you!

In Skylarks this year, we thought it would be nice to do something a little different for the month of December by creating a Bookvent Calendar.  If your child could please bring in their favourite picture book wrapped up and named on the paper, then I will number them. The book doesn't have to be Christmas related but even better if it is! Everyday until we break up, we will pick and read the book that corresponds with the date as a class. We thought this would be a lovely way for the children to share their favourite stories with one another and get into the Christmas spirit!

Timetable

Tuesday: Wellies and a coat suitable for the weather

Thursday & Friday: PE kits

In maths this week, we have continued our work on times tables. Y3 have been focusing on the 4 times tables and Y4 have been looking at the 7 times tables. We have also been trying to investigate using our times tables knowledge and find the answers to different problems.

In science, we start our new topic of 'Light'. We discussed different sources of light and established that the moon is not a light source, but reflects light from the Sun.

In RE, we continued with our work on the Trinity and the children were looking for the symbols for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in different religious artworks. They were able to identify these and we discussed the different styles of artwork and how they were represented.

In PE, the children had a fantastic time at a dance festival at The Chantry. They took part in workshops on street dance, pompom and Bollywood styles of dance. The children learned the different routines very quickly and performed confidently in front of the other schools.

In computing we learnt how to link attachments, pictures and emojis to an email. Here is a link to a free touch typing site, so Kestrels can practise their typing skills using both hands Learn Touch Typing Free - TypingClub

This week in English, the children have been focusing on enhancing their writing skills by incorporating the five senses and figurative language into their stories. By engaging their senses and using metaphors, similes and vivid descriptions, students have been learning how to create strong imagery that brings their stories to life and helps readers experience what they’re writing about. It’s been wonderful to see their creativity and attention to detail grow.

In maths, we've been working on converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions, as well as comparing fractions based on their numerators and denominators. The students have shown great progress in understanding how to manipulate fractions and recognise equivalent values and they’ve been practicing these skills through various exercises and word problems.

In science, the focus has been on mammals, particularly their reproduction and gestation periods. The children have been learning about the different ways mammals reproduce and the varying lengths of gestation periods among different species.

In history, we’ve been studying the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. The children have been examining how the abandonment of Britannia by the Roman Emperor played a key role in the Empire's decline. Through discussions and activities, they’ve gained a deeper understanding of the political, social and military factors that led to the end of Roman rule in Britain.

Please see below information within the community but independent of the school