This week in Year 3

The Year 3 have had another excellent week of learning. They are all trying really hard to remember to bring in their reading books and records every day, their spelling books or folders every Tuesday and their sports and PE kits on the relevant days. We would like to thank you for your continued support with this and for collaborating with us to make them increasingly independent children. We know this is a work in progress – they will get there! 

Our new English topic is investigating the big question ‘Was Tutankhamun Killed?’ We discussed the idea of considering different information sources and have really enjoyed exploring the wide variety of opinions and research gathered over the years by historians and scientists. 

With our reading, we are very excited to be starting to embrace the Accelerated Reading Scheme. As you will have seen in last week’s newsletter, the children have now been assessed and assigned their own ZPD range, which you will find on the back page of their Reading Records. The Accelerated Reader Information is now also in their Google Classrooms. As you can imagine, it will take a little while to label all of the books, but you should begin to see the new book bandings appear on the spines of their reading books. They will be able to complete the quiz after each book in school, in order to assess their understanding of the book. 

3O were lucky enough to go to Forest School last Friday. They looked at the variety of fungi and other vegetation that cover the forest floor. As always, it was a wonderful outdoor learning experience, which they thoroughly enjoyed. 

Next Thursday we will have our first sports matches against another school. Both the boys and the girls are playing “Away” against Edge Grove. We know that there may be a certain amount of trepidation about this. We will be talking to them but please do reassure them that they will have a fantastic time. As it is the very first match, all of the Year 3 teachers will be going to Edge Grove to support and cheer them on. We look forward to seeing many of you on the side-lines! More detailed information will be sent to you from the Sports Department. 

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 3 Team

Year 3 Lego Club – Cantilevers and Weights

This week, Lego Club looked at cantilevers and tried to build one strong enough to hold a series of weights.  Children careful considered methods to make the cantilever stronger and more stable and discovered adding balancing weights, additional support and strong bases all help.  Check out our designs!

Notices

Some Year 3 children are finding it difficult to login into their Google account or have forgotten their Google passwords.  Please can children be reminded of their password and practise logging in at home to help speed up the process at school.  If you need your child’s password reset, please do contact their Form Teacher. Here is a letter from Mr Buddie explaining the importance of this.

This week in Year 4

Anglo-Saxon Settlers

This week, Year 4 have been considering what challenges the Anglo- Saxons faced when settling in Britannia during the early Middle Ages.  To aid our learning we played a game where children were either tribe members of the Angles, South and East Saxons, Frisians or Jutes.  Competitive natures bubbled to surface as tribes fought for control of land!  With a bit of luck children fought of the Picts, avoided plagues of disease or defeated a Pagan king to claim land and become the dominant Anglo-Saxon tribe!

What’s Inside Your Body?

This week, Year 4 have started learning about the major organs of the human body.  Using the wonders of modern technology, children used augmented reality to ‘view’ inside each other’s bodies.  Children could locate, zoom in and even dissect various organs (virtually, of course!) through the use of specially coded t-shirts and an iPad.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 4 Team

 Year 4 Lego Club – Cantilevers and Weights

This week, Lego Club looked at cantilevers and tried to build one strong enough to hold a series of weights.  Children careful considered methods to make the cantilever stronger and more stable and discovered adding balancing weights, additional support and strong bases all help.  Check out our designs!

Notices

• Year 4 have school photos this coming Monday (3 Oct).  Please ensure your child is dressed neatly, brings their blazer into school and that their hair is looking neat and tidy.
• Some Year 4 children are finding it difficult to login into their Google account or have forgotten their Google passwords.  Please can children be reminded of their password and practise logging in at home to help speed up the process at school.  If you need your child’s password reset, please do contact their Form Teacher. Here is a letter from Mr Buddie explaining the importance of this.

This week in Year 5

It has been wonderful hearing the children in Year 5 share words and phrases in different languages this week as we have celebrated European Day of Languages (or is it week!). The children enjoyed discussions about how languages open up doors to many exciting opportunities, allow you to meet and get to know different people, and enable you to have a better understanding of a country’s culture and traditions. Particular thanks go to our Year 5 children who speak another language at home who took the time to create a video for our start of the week assembly.

The children have made a fantastic start to their Geography studies this term, showcasing and strengthening their global location knowledge by studying the countries of Europe. So far, we have looked at European countries, their locations, capital cities as well as recognising the shapes of the countries. Sam B has led the way with his incredible global location knowledge. He is inspiring us all to keep practising!. He was able to locate all 47 countries on the Seterra quiz in just 1 minute and 8 seconds without making a single mistake!

There is lots more to come this term; we will be learning and researching topics such as European climate, rivers, mountains and seas, flags and languages and even looking at microstates and overseas territories.

I hope you will hear all about the fantastic things that your children will have been studying in their Geography lessons and they may even come home with some future holiday destination suggestions!

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 5 Pastoral Team

Year 5 Art

Your talented children have been busy observational drawing based on Kate Malone pots, take a look at their masterpieces below:

Year 5 Drama

Year 5’s drama project this term is inspired by The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This week 5B explored ideas surrounding evacuees and how parents and children would have felt at hearing they were being sent to the country to keep them safe. What wonderful facial expressions and use of levels. Brilliant work!

Mrs Hegarty

From the Middle Department Library

Can You Feel the Noise? by Stewart Foster

Sophie has wonderfully supportive, loving parents, a great bunch of friends in her band-mates, and she’s thrilled to have made it to the semi-finals of the local Battle of the Bands contest. Life couldn’t be sunnier, until the morning she wakes up unable to hear – after a few months experiencing some auditory problems, the world has gone utterly silent. Unable to hear, Sophie herself grows quieter and quieter. Until she discovers the vibrations of sound through an old set of drums and wonders whether life onstage is actually still within reach.

Based on his personal experience of hearing impairment, the author’s evocation of Sophie’s frustration, bewilderment and fears is extraordinarily powerful.  An incredibly honest, moving, insightful exploration of hearing loss, family support, friendship, and the magic of music.

The Children’s Bookshow is a charity that inspires school children with a love of reading through an annual programme of in-theatre and digital performances and in-school workshops with the very best authors and illustrators from around the world.  Booking is now open for their autumn programme which you can see here.

Head’s Commendations

Congratulations to this week’s recipients of Mr Balfour’s Commendations: