This week, we have started to see the first signs of Christmas appearing in school. The children have started rehearsing their songs and lines for our upcoming Christmas productions and the office staff have jumped the gun and gone ‘all in’ with their decorations already. Hopefully, people saw the communications on Studybugs earlier in the week explaining ticketing arrangements for the key stage one and two productions.. More details for Reception and Nursery performances will follow in due course.
In Nursery, this week the children have been learning about the properties of a square.
https://www.pegasusacademytrust.org/news/eyfs/atw-nursery-news-21st-november
In Reception, the children have been writing their own books based on the picture book ‘Naughty Bus’.
https://www.pegasusacademytrust.org/news/eyfs/atw-reception-news-buses-feelings-and-book-writing
This week in English, Year 1 have been writing a recount of their adventure to the moon on Moon Day. They have been focussing on including time adverbs. In maths, the children have started to learn about subtraction by taking away. In Design and Technology, the children are designing a moon buggy that will have moving axles when they come to make it and in science the children have been thinking about their senses. They have been reflecting on how important their sense of sight is as they have tried many tasks, like writing their name, with their eyes closed.
This week, Year 2 have completed their unit on becoming experts at addition and subtraction in maths. During their English lessons, they planned a horrendous trick on Mrs Twit and have been writing about their plans. In Thematic the children continued with their learning on the Tudors by understanding the importance of a king and the difference Henry VIII made as a Tudor King.
Also, in Year 2 Over the last 4 weeks, Orange class have engaged in Art Enrichment, learning about the Artist; Andy Goldsworthy. He is an Artist who uses natural resources around him to create lines, circles, layers and sculptures. He creates these in outdoor environments including; hillsides, forests, rivers, lakes, by the sea, the beach and even in the snow! The class have been exploring these resources, creating circular designs and creating sculptures, designing indoors before taking their learning and knowledge into Forest School. Next week, the children conclude this topic and the class will be tasked with designing their own art piece, using one or multiple resources found in the outdoors.
In Year 3 the children have been focussing on subtraction in maths. They have been subtracting 3-digit numbers bridging 10 and 100s. In English the children are learning how to write speech and punctuate it correctly. They have been Creating dialogue for the characters in Fantastic Mr Fox. In RE, the children have been thinking about the different ways in which religions refer to God this week thinking about Sikhism and in science the children continued their work on forces. Finally, in thematic the children have been learning about changing land use in Britain as a result of the industrial revolution. They also learnt about the building of the railway station at Crystal Palace to serve the Crystal Palace Exhibition.
This week, the highlight for Year 4 was their Roman workshop. The children all turned up to school in costume with a good range of legionnaires and Iceni queens. The children have been busy making their Roman shields and were able to put them to good use learning and perfecting many Roman Army manoeuvres. The children also took part in quizzes, handle Roman artefacts and learnt about the various types of weaponry the Romans used. The whole school was also treated to a class assembly by Indigo class. The assembly contained some lovely singing and very powerful speeches with Boudicca calling on her people to drive the Romans from their lands!
In Year 5 the children have continued their writing based on Beowulf and have been describing the fight scene in the mead house. In their whole class reading, the children have been looking at the poems in ‘The Lost Words: A spell Book’ by Robert Macfarlane. This is a beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of lost words of the natural world that have slipped out of common usage as children spend less time outdoors. In their thematic work, the children have been identifying the push and pull factors that drove the Vikings to leave their homeland and seek new territories to conquer and in science the children have been thinking about how levers and a fulcrum can be used to increase a force and move an object.
In English, Year 6 have now learnt the mummification process. With the build-up, fluency, and immersion lessons, they have written their own set of technical mummification instructions, using the correct paragraphs and features. In maths, the children have been dividing decimals by integers and tackling some challenging word problems, applying their reasoning skills to real-life scenarios and showing great resilience. During whole-class reading, the children continue reading Once- a book about World War II. They have been inferring the characters’ feelings and thoughts and using evidence from the text to support their ideas as the Nazis invade. In our thematic lessons, the children have been putting their mummification knowledge to the test by mummifying a tomato. This hands-on activity has helped them replicate the stages of preserving a body. They carefully scooped out the seeds to represent removing the organs, then followed the rest of the steps just like an ancient embalmer. It was a lot of fun, and the class now consider themselves experts in the art of mummification. They will check on their tomato mummies in a couple of weeks to see how well they have been preserved.
Book Fair
Thank you to everyone who has supported our travelling book fair this week. The more books that people buy leads to funds for books in school as the school is able to claim a commission. The fair will be open on Friday after school so there is still time to pop along and get an early Christmas present.
Sporting news
Netball
On Wednesday, on what felt like the coldest day this year, the Year 6 netballers faced the Hayes Primary school in two matches at home.
The first match was very exciting to watch with both teams evenly matched. The first half ended 2-1 to the Hayes but thanks to our team’s determination, the match ended 4-4. There were so many positives to take away and all the girls worked so hard on all the skills they have learnt to date. Player of the match was awarded to Freya.
The second match started well and the girls worked hard together. However, the score ended on a 2-0 loss. Despite this, there was lots to celebrate as for some girls, this was their first competitive match. Player of the match was awarded to Penny.
Congratulations to the whole team … Amelie, Megan, Mia, Freya, Salihah, Grace, Annabel, Penny, Evie, Avni, Mary, Izzy, Jess and Zimi
Football
On Thursday the boys had a football match against Selsdon. Again, in bitterly cold conditions the boys played well and were unlucky to only come away with a 1-1 draw with Asher scoring the goal.
The Poppy Appeal
Thank you to everyone who supported our Poppy Appeal by making a donation for a poppy. We managed to raise £152 for the Royal British Legion and the important work they do.
Pumpkin Trail
Also, thank you to everyone who supported our Pumpkin Competition and Trail. This fun event raised a fantastic £220 which will go towards providing resources for our Early Years department.
And finally…
In response to some questions raised at the recent class resp meeting, please can I reiterate the information sent out at the beginning of the year. Children must not bring sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks to school. Also, children must not bring any nut products in to school as we have a number of children at risk of severe allergic reactions.
Many children like to bring in a snack for breaktimes. In key stage one and the early years children are provided with fruit as part of the Fruit for Schools scheme. In key stage two, children may bring a healthy snack, such as a piece of fruit, to keep them going until lunchtime. Again, this should be healthy rather than biscuits or sweet treats. The NHS has some helpful advice on suitable choices on their website here: https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/food-facts/healthier-snacks/
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Please note that the term dates for next year are now available on the school website.
Thursday 27th November: Year 5 Viking Workshop
Thursday 27th November: Year 1 Science Museum trip.
Friday 28th November: Amber Class assembly
Wednesday 3rd December: Rocksteady Christmas Concert.
Friday 5th December: FOAP Christmas Fair and uniform sale (after school)
Tuesday 9th December: Year 4 and 6 Christmas show (am and pm performances): Details to follow
Thursday 11th December: Year 3 and 5 Christmas Show (am and pm performances): Details to follow
Friday 12th December: Reception Christmas singing: Morning and afternoon performance: Details to follow
Tuesday 16th December KS1 Nativity Morning and afternoon performance: Details to follow
Thursday 18th December: Jack and The Beanstalk Panto (Funded by FOAP).
Friday 19th December: End of Term
Monday 5th January INSET day- School closed
