Year 3 Newsletter

 Year 3 Newsletter

Last week, we visited a Hindu temple that was established by the Beatle' s very own George Harrison! We were inspired by the religion and the culture of the trip and learnt many new, exciting things such as: 

• The importance of Brahman to Hindus
• Treating different religions with respect
• What it is like to live as a Hindu at the temple
• The importance of worship to Hindus

As our school year draws to a close and we write our final blog; we cannot help but reflect on all the hard work that our amazing year 3's have done this year. From understanding the process of mummification, exploring a range of ocean vertebrae, performing our changemaker speeches to writing expert stories; we couldn't be prouder. Well done year 3!

Year 4 Newsletter

 Last week, Year 4 began publishing their Viking myths in preparation for the book launches we have coming up this week. Many children were able to show off their fantastic computing skills and enjoyed reading back through the fantastic stories they had created.

In our History lessons, we discussed the different legacies that the Viking's had left behind. We discovered that some of the words we use today were actually invented by the Vikings! Who knew that the words 'egg' and 'Thursday' were so old?

Our science lessons have involved us recapping the digestive system and talking about the different functions each organ has.

Year 6 Newsletter

 Year 6 have had another wonderful fortnight - busy with everything from preparing for our end of year show, to learning Portuguese!

In our Amazing Places lessons, we have continued to explore South America, this time voyaging to the marvellous country that is Brazil. From the lush Amazonian rainforests to the might of the Amazon river - the children were fascinated to learn more about this truly amazing place. Not content with just learning about the geography of Brazil, we whole-heartedly embraced the culture - and have learned all about the Samba, even creating our own Samba beats! We also had a Portuguese lesson, as the children were interested to learn that Brazil is the only South American country where Spanish isn't the main language spoken.

We have also continued to expand on our geographical knowledge by creating some accurate 3D contour maps - and enjoying competitive geography quizzing...the children are becoming country, capital, and continent experts!

The children have also been working their absolute hardest in rehearsals for our show; we really cannot wait to showcase to everyone what we have created. A marvel of song, dance, comedy, and West End level acting!

Finally, we were delighted to welcome parents in for a 'Celebration of Work' - the children were immensely proud, and rightly so, of their beautifully published pieces of writing, creative artistry, and even excellent French role play skills...and who doesn't want to be served a delicious pain au chocolat on a warm Friday afternoon?!

Well done, Year 6, you have - as always - worked your hardest, shown your enthusiasm for learning and knocked our socks off with your acting abilities.

Reception Newsletter

Reception had such a wonderful time last week at their Ugly Bug Ball. The children were joined by their Nursery friends and we held a garden party for all their families. Lots of cake was eaten, many cups of tea were consumed and prizes were won at the raffle. The children sang their hearts out in their Minibeast performances and they loved every minute. It was wonderful to see so many people there and we were lucky to raise lots of money for our Early Years.  A big thank you to everyone who came.   

In Maths, the children have been looking at shape, space and measure. We started by looking at the properties of 2d shapes and last week we moved on to weight. The children loved using the scales to see which items were heavier and lighter and had the challenge of trying to make the scales balance. We also introduced the language of shorter, longer, taller and thicker to describe playdough worms and towers made of cubes. 

    

In our RAW lessons, we have been looking at the Christian faith and focusing on churches. We looked at what churches traditionally have inside them and spent a lot of time looking at stained glass windows. The children then attempted to make their own stained glass windows out of tissue paper and laminate plastic. 

Nursery Newsletter

Last week we held our Ugly Bug Ball.  This was a huge success, and we would like to thank all the parents for providing your child with an amazing costume.  It was a great turnout by parents, grandparents, younger siblings and family members.  The children had a wonderful time and loved being in their costumes and seeing their friends in their costumes.  It was lovely to hear the children sing their minibeast songs.  Thank you for all your donations of cakes and raffle prizes and for those who helped to set up the event.

In our SCARF lessons we have been looking at the differences between boys and girls and a lovey discussion was held about how boys and girls can play with each other and that anyone can play with any of the resources in the Nursery and that girls can play with boys and vice versa.  We also looked at families and how families can be very different and how we respect the different make up of families.  For example, does a family always have a mummy and a daddy?  We have also been thinking about the needs of babies and how we look after babies.  We used the role play baby dolls, baby bottles, baby clothes and nappies to help the children understand how babies need almost everything done for them.  We compared babies needs to their needs now and how they are different.

In our Religions and World views lessons awe have been looking at Special Places and the special places people of different faiths use for worship.  We looked at Mosques and how Muslims worship and pray in a mosque.  Sanober, one of our Year 6 pupils is a practising muslim and she was kind enough to come and talk to the Nursery children about her faith and her first hand experience of mosques.  We also looked at synagogues and why this is a a special place for Jewish people.

One of or more practical activities for our Phonics lesson was to make jammy toast for the letter ‘j’.  Yummy!

Year 1 Newsletter

 In Year 1 we have been very busy bees! In the last week we have enjoyed our new DT topic on moving pictures. We learnt about pivots and levers as well as sliders. We practised techniques for making moving pictures ready for our design and make this week.

In our topic lessons we have been continuing our seaside topic and learning about the RNLI. We learnt about the history of the RNLI and the different types of boats that have been used over the years to help rescue people who get into trouble at sea. We also learnt about safety at the beach and the flags that we might see and what they tell us.

The highlight of the week was definitely our trip to Frinton! We were finally able to put everything into practise and spot the key features of a coastal area. The children were so excited to spot the promenade, groynes, Walton pier in the distance and the sea wall. When we arrived at Frinton we enjoyed taking part in a scavenger hunt in groups to try and find some items on the beach such as seaweed, a feather, a shell and a pebble with a hole in it. The children then used these items to start their epic sandcastle creations! There were moats being dug, bridges constructed and feathers adorning the tops of many sandcastles. All of the creations were magnificent!

After lunch the classes took turns to paddle in the sea, all of the teachers ended up very wet much to the children's amusement! Mrs Watson-Clarke as splashed on more than one occasion but so much fun was being had. We then continued with our sandcastle creations until unfortunately it was time to go home! The day flew by because we had so much fun! Many children fell asleep on the coach ride home, definitely a sign of a brilliant day! What a fabulous end to our topic and to our year in Year 1. All of the children behaved impeccably and we are so very proud of every single one of them. Well done Seacole and Nightingale!

Year 2 Newsletter

 Whilst it might nearly be the end of term, year 2 have certainly not slowed down! 

In our art and geography lessons, we have been looking at Uluru (Ayer's Rock). We used our printing skills to print our own landscape picture of Uluru.  

In Science we have been testing materials for different properties. We have looked at absorbency, waterproofness and stretchiness. We've enjoyed being scientists and conducting fair tests.  

Year 5 Newsletter

 This week, Year 5 have been super busy, from preparing for the Year 5 and 6 show to finishing some fabulous writing - they have worked extremely hard and it has not gone unnoticed. We also loved welcoming you all to the Year 5 Celebration of Work, what a lovely afternoon!

Both classes have been working on their dance performances for the Year 5 and 6 production next week. The two dances are looking fantastic and we cannot wait to show everyone what we have been working on. 

In Writing, the children have just finished drafting a persuasive letter to a football team/ player of their choice, demanding them to use Fairtrade footballs only. The children were extremely shocked to find out that young children and adults were stitching footballs by hand for a small amount of money and this disgust was definitely portrayed in their writing. 

In Georgraphy, we have continued looking at Indonesia and have recently been joining the campaign to stop the production of palm oil ruining the beautiful archipelago of Indonesia. We are fighting to raise awareness of sustainable palm oil and convincing people to only buy products that are sustainable. 

Year 4 Newsletter

 Wow, what a busy week it has been in Year 4!

Writing

We have just started writing our own Viking myths in our Writing lessons. It has been fantastic to see so many children's creativity come to life as they imagine themselves as a fearless Viking God or Goddess. We have discussed our striking features and why we are Gods that should worshipped by the Viking society!

Topic

Finding out about the Vikings has really inspired so many children in Year 4 and it has been wonderful to see so many of them immersed in this topic. We spent last week looking at Alfred the Great, discovering what made him great and how he unified the country between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. Using freeze frames, we explored what Alfred's life might have been like and how he worked tirelessly to improve Britain. 

Science

Wow! This week Year 4 have been making poo! Yes.. Poo! We used everyday materials to create the digestive system and replicate the journey that food goes on when travelling through our bodies. We were amazed with how the children threw themselves into this experiment and many of them acted like true scientists. 

Year 3 Newsletter

 Year 3 Newsletter

Topic

In topic, we have explored the importance of the Amazon Rainforest and its role in helping to prevent climate change and help us to breather. Additionally, we explored what crops we import from all over the world and what we specifically import from these hot, humid and heavily rained in areas. To do this, we took a close look at the packaging of this fruit and found their locations on a map. We even got to try some of these exotic fruits!

Science

As we near the end of year 3 science unit "plants", we are still continuing to push and challenge our learning. 

This week we have become experts in pollination and the process that follows. We also investigated what types of creatures can be pollinators and the importance of the role they play in helping plant life to grow.

Some key words we have learnt this week are: 

• nectar
• pollen
• attract

Year 2 Newsletter

Last week year 2 were finally able to show off their well-rehearsed singing skills at the Bishop's Stortford's Year 2 Music Festival. 

The children have worked so hard, practicing their songs and wow, didn't it pay off!?! For those that were able to come and watch, we are sure that you'll agree that the children were absolutely amazing!

They performed 'water' themed songs as a choir with two other schools, which was no easy feat as they had to make sure that their actions were synchronised and that they kept in time to the music.  

They also performed their very own class song too. They had the audience bobbing along in their seats and no one left the auditorium without a huge smile on their face. 

All the teachers in Year 2 would like to say a massive well done to the children! You were so professional and did a brilliant job! 

Reception Newsletter

The Reception children loved taking part in Equality Week. They immersed themselves in a book called And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins who fell in love and had wrote their own versions of the story during their literacy lessons. The children then continued on with the penguin theme and learnt all about the life cycle of penguins. We looked at the features of penguins, labelled pictures and made their own collages and illustrations of the birds with oil pastels.

 

In maths we have been looking at doubling and relating it to odds and evens. The children did really well with this and were able to show us their own doubles and not-doubles with unifix cubes and Numicon. We were talking about the odd Numicon pieces looking 'odd' because they have a bit 'poking out'!

In our RAW lesson this week, we've been looking at homes. How homes are different all over the world and why. We then tried to make a home for Bertie the Owl and discussed what a good home would need. Some children then made their own homes out of junk modelling, drew their own homes and labelled them and went outside and made Bertie a different home choosing any resources they could find. And last but not least, we've been looking after all the beans that we planted and making sure they've got enough water in all this heat! Another busy, but fun, couple of weeks in Reception!