Free write Friday

In Rousseau we have been enjoying ‘Free Write Friday’ each week. We use a different picture as a stimulus for our creative writing and have half an hour to write in whatever style we like. Our class favourite seems to be writing murder and crime mysteries! We then read a few aloud to each other.

Viking boasting

After learning and using hyperbole, we wrote Viking boasts in the  style of Beowolf. We then performed them in the outdoor classroom as if we were in a Viking mead hall. We peer assessed our oracy skills including listening skills as we performed.

What would happen if we had no teeth?

What would happen if we had no teeth? We became dentists this morning and looked at each other’s teeth to see the types, sizes and to work out the functions of all our teeth. We bit into an apple and ripped a piece of bread with our teeth to see what teeth we used. 

We also talked about the importance of brushing our teeth twice a day and visiting the dentist regularly. 

Is new transport better than old transport?

In History we have been learning about new and old transport. We looked at lots of transport from the past, including the steam engine, penny farthing and horse and carriage. We then had a debate about whether new transport is better than old transport. Most of us preferred new transport but some of us argued that old transport is better!

"A horse and carriage would be slow and relaxing." - Poppy

"Transport in the past was really loud and noisy which would be exciting." - Max

"New transport is better because vehicles nowadays go faster." - Sofia

"Old cars made a rumbling noise but new cars are quiet." - Alfie

We sorted pictures of old transport and new transport.

Viking boasting at Mead Hall!

We are Vikings! We are vicious! We are brave! We spent the morning at Mead Hall boasting about our triumphs as brutal and fierce Vikings.

A class debate!

The Vikings were criminal invaders, True or False? In Rousseau class, we used all of our knowledge about the Vikings and their invasions to decide if the Vikings truly were criminal invaders. We used our oracy skills to have a reasoned debate across the whole class. We ALL contributed ideas and developed on other people’s ideas as we had a VERY heated debate (lasting 40 minutes before Miss Woodcock had no choice but to stop us!) 

Magistrate Visit in Year 6

 Today, the Year 6 children had a Magistrate visit.  It was fascinating and the children were totally hooked throughout the session.  They asked some really intelligent questions and lots of children have said they thought the workshop was inspiring!

"Stick man, Oh Stickman beware of the..."

This week Nursery are thinking about journeys. Yesterday in forest school we read "Stickman" by Julia Donaldson and made our own stickmen to take on forest adventures- some climbed trees and others went on the forest train to China!

Today Miss Woodhouse set the children 3
challenges to have a go at in their choosing time. 
These were to make their own stickman picture using natural resources, make a flag just like the story and to make a shape using sticks.

 

Later on the children had fun exploring the new "talking postcards" and recorded their voices on them to tell Miss W and Mrs McCormick what happened to Stickman in the story! It was so funny to hear own voices!

Noah and his Ark: Reception

Today Reception welcomed Reverend Sarah to school, who shared a very special story with us. She was visiting from a church to tell us a Christian story from their special book called The Bible. 

Reverend Sarah began with an Ark and a man called Noah... The children were incredibly respectful during this time, and showed understanding that people can believe different things. 

"Some people believe in God and some people don't, but that's okay you can still be friends"

- Margo

"Is this story real? Because I believe in God so I think it's real, but someone that doesn't believe in God might think it's not real... so we think different things"

- Oliver

The children enjoyed retelling the story of Noah's Ark after story time and were also inspired to create models and artwork. The children even lined up for assembly two by two!

Miro try a Hokey Pokey!

In Year 1 we have been travelling back in time to the Victorian era. After watching a video about the Victorian seaside we tried a 'hokey pokey' which is ice cream on a piece of paper. We had so much fun trying to eat them!

Money, money, money!

In Year 1 we have been learning about money. We visited the shop to choose an item to buy and both partners had a go at making the right amount using coins. The winner was the person who used the least coins!

Wood, Plastic or Metal?

In Science we have been learning about materials. We studied different objects made from wood, plastic and metal and sorted them into groups. We then described the materials using property words like hard, rough, smooth and soft.

Bowling technique with All Stars coach

Today in PE we learnt how to bowl at the stumps. We enjoyed working with a specialist cricket coach.

Which liquid will dissolve the marshmallow the quickest?

In science today we have been investigating which liquid will dissolve the marshmallow the quickest. We have used a range of liquids on the ph scale to find out which was the most efficient at dissolving the marshmallow.

Year 1 try a Hokey Pokey!

What are the children doing?  (I hear you ask) 

After watching Magic Grandad and finding out about seasides in the past the children ate a Hokey Pokey!

A Hokey Pokey is an ice-cream.  

In the Victorian times people ate ice-cream from a piece of paper.  They bought it from a cart which looked like a large bicycle.

The ice- cream tasted really good - even if it rolled a round the paper a bit!

Year 4 newsletter

Year 4 have had a busy week doing lots of Science, Topic and of course writing our hot tasks. The stimulus for our hot task was an amazing short clip called ‘The Dragon Slayer’. We rewrote the saga/myth and then choose our own endings. We faced a moral dilemma... after killing the dragon, a baby dragon appeared! Should we keep or kill?

In topic this week we have been trying to answer our key question, ‘Were the Vikings criminal invaders?’ We sorted through lots of reasons that the Vikings might have given to justify their actions and made conclusions based on them! 

Finally, in Year 4 we have recently welcomed Mrs Richardson, our new TA. She will be working predominantly in Rousseau class but will be a big support for all of Year 4. 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside....

Year one are feeling in the mood for summer after starting their topic about the seaside.  In geography they learnt how to label features of the seaside.  They are looking forward to visiting Frinton after half term.

Year 3 Newsletter

Bonjour!  Cette semaine, nous avons appris à faire de la mayonnaise en français!  

Hello!  This week we have been learning how to make mayonnaise in French! There were lots of giggles watching Mrs Moore and Mrs Millward's video which took us through the different ingredients, equipment and the procedure.  Now we are starting to learn the vocabulary so that we can make our own mayonnaise with them in June.  

Maths lessons have seen us using some new strategies to help us learn the times tables.  We've been doubling and halving with a focus on our 8 times tables and now know how to halve 3 digit numbers too.  We are still really enjoying race for recall and are making good progress! 

Our journey with fables continues as we have planned and started writing our own!  It's not an easy task but we are working incredibly hard and persevering as always.  Watch this space for some finished fables soon. 

We have also been creating our 'Network Hands' which show us the network of people we feel safe with and can talk to if we need to.

Our walk on the wild side has lead us to develop our map skills and compare human and physical features in the local area, using current maps and one from 1896.   It was amazing to see how much the school grounds and surrounding area have changed - our school didn't even exist in 1896 and there was a farm just at the top of Windhill near our carpark!

Mini works of art.

After learning how to make different shades of blue last week, Year 1 added to their work.  They looked again at Rachel Bennett's artwork and used fabric, paper and pastels to add to their shades.

Each piece of work is a mini master piece!