Autumn 1 Week 2

In English this week we have started looking at our exploration narrative. We explored Neil Armstrong’s mission to the moon and discussed the ambitions the astronauts needed to have. We had fun looking at and exploring their equipment and working on their thoughts and feelings. Children looked at a WAGOLL (what a good one looks like) in an exploration narrative and all agreed that by the end of the unit they would have ‘What an even better one looks like’. Whilst working on this, children have also learnt new grammar which they have inputted into their work.

Maths this week involved continuing working on place value. Children enjoyed working with the resources and further developing their understanding. We compared numbers and found numbers on a number line, looking at numbers up to 1,000,000. Children look forward to completing challenges and helping others.

Living things and their habitats is our unit this term in Science. We had a lengthy discussion about ‘what is science?’ and children were able to share their thoughts and ideas. Children enjoy their science lessons as they can research and complete experiments. We learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly this week and found similarities and differences between the two types of birds.

We started our Geography topic this week by looking at what trade is. Children were fascinated by finding out where their uniforms and food came from. We looked at the countries of Brazil and India to see what they exported and imported. We learnt that trade is very important because there are things that we require that are not available in our country.

Junior Jams had their first session on Monday with the children. Children enjoyed all subjects and were so enthusiastic. Computing involved playing music through an app called iJam. In French, children learnt how to say what activities they like and P.E. they took part in athletic games. Wednesday was also our P.E. session and children took part in a carousel of athletic games.

“We did art on Friday and started looking at Typography. We researched two famous artists that have made their artwork known. I liked that we were able to get laptops out and work with a partner. I am excited about doing some typography work and getting creative.”

“I liked that I was given the opportunity to speak in front of the class and vote to become a values representative. We role-played like it was a voting station and posted our votes onto a tray. Our assemblies this week have been fun to take part in. In our base assembly, we looked at inspirational people and then, the class assembly looked at how we can become ambitious.”

Autumn 1 Week 1

In English this week, we worked on a recount of a story. This involved writing a diary entry in first person and then further retelling the story. Children revisited their grammar skills and then made some fantastic sentences. Children retold the story and really enjoyed becoming the character and discussing his thoughts and feelings.

In Maths, we reintroduced place value. Children were able to recall their prior knowledge and use it to work on numbers that went into hundreds of thousands. They used place value counters and place value arrows to figure out the value of each number.

We started our Science topic this term by looking at living things and their habitats. We had lengthy discussions about life cycles and then went into detail about a life cycle of a bird.

Each afternoon in Base 5 we worked on our core values. This links to our PSHE. This involved looking deeply into British values and our new Meadowhead core values. We had a visitor that spoke to our base 5 children about respect and tolerance, within our school and the wider community. In class, we focused on values such as teamwork, friendship, respect, kindness and ambition. Our class and base assemblies also covered racism and how we can overcome adversity.

Pupils voice

"I really enjoyed our English lessons this week. It felt really amazing to be writing again after 6 weeks off. I really like becoming the character and thinking about his thoughts and feelings. I liked that we got to watch a video and then have discussions. We learnt that a good writer will help the reader to become part of the story."

" I really like that we are able to come to school and feel safe and secure. We are recognised for how we walk around school and our teachers are kind with the dojos. We are respectful of the play equipment, and we like that it is now being looked after."

Autumn 1 Week 2

In English this week, we have started our new topic, all about space. The book the children have been looking at is called When we walked on the Moon. Children wrote predictions about what they thought the text was going to be about from a sound clip and images that they might find there. Children have been writing a descriptive poem all about the moon and have been writing a character reaction as if they were landing on the moon. The pieces of work have been fantastic, with children using everything they have learnt during grammar to make their writing descriptive and engaging.

In Maths, we have continued to work on place value, in particular comparing and ordering numbers. Children have been using various resources such as place value counters and number lines to help with their learning. At the start of each lesson, we continue to work on our timetables, so children are confident and fluent when recalling these number facts ready for later parts of Maths.

As we continued Science, we wrote an explanation about the life cycle of a bird and then compared a Blue Jay to a Bald Eagle. Children used key vocabulary and used research to help them understand this process.

During P.E, children started their indoor lessons with indoor athletics and practiced a number of skills including chest throw, how to throw a javelin and demonstrated excellent stamina when working as a team in various running activities. In their outdoor lessons, we started invasion games, particularly Hockey. Children learnt how to hold a hockey stick correctly and performed key skills including dribbling and passing in a range of activities.

In our assemblies, we have been thinking about what the children’s ambitions are for the future looking at role models who have struggled in earlier life and have managed to overcome barriers to be where they are including JK Rowling and Sir Lewis Hamilton. We have also been focusing on Democracy ready for an exciting opportunity for our children to become part of our new ‘Values Committee’

In our RE, we have begun to look at why the Bible is important to Christians. The children shared what their previous knowledge of the Bible was and any questions that they would like to answer about the Bible. We then began to look at the structure of the Bible which we will continue next week.

In PSHE our new topic is all about ‘Being Me In My World’. We have started this topic by looking at what targets and achievements we would like to set ourselves for this academic year. We have set both class and individual targets, that we will revisit and assess at the end of the school year.

We have begun our Geography topic of ‘The Environment’, by looking at what trade is. The children gave some fantastic answers of what they understood trade to be, before we explained this. We also talked about how not all countries are able to make or provide all their own products and services and that sometimes they have to import or export goods. We then focused this week on Brazil, researching some of the imports and exports of the country.

Pupil Voice

“On Monday Afternoon Junior Jam came into school. What I really enjoyed the most was the music that we were taught. We used a program called ijam and was taught an introduction of how to play the keyboard. I can’t wait for Mondays”

“My favourite part of French was learning how to say ‘I like and I don’t like certain activities’ I also enjoyed Science when we looked at comparing a Blue Jay to a Bald Eagle and their life cycle. I enjoyed it because I learnt more about the birds.”

Autumn 1 Week 1

In English this week, we worked on a recount of a story. This involved writing a diary entry in first person and then further retelling the story. Children revisited their grammar skills and then made some fantastic sentences. Children retold the story and really enjoyed becoming the character and discussing his thoughts and feelings.

In Maths, we reintroduced place value. Children were able to recall their prior knowledge and use it to work on numbers that went into hundreds of thousands. We finished this week with a look at numbers that go beyond zero and into the decimal places up to thousandths. They used place value counters and place value arrows to figure out the value of each number.

We started our Science topic this term by looking at living things and their habitats. We had lengthy discussions about life cycles and then went into detail about a life cycle of a bird.

Each afternoon in base 5 we worked on our core values, this links to our PSHE. This involved looking deeply into British values and our new Meadowhead core values. We had a visitor that spoke to our base 5 children about respect and tolerance, within our school and wider community. In class we focused on values such as, teamwork, friendship, respect, kindness and ambition. Our class and base assemblies also covered racism and how we can overcome adversity.

Pupils voice

“It felt good to be back at school again after the summer holidays. I enjoy being in a routine and able to see my friends. The new rewards system is enjoyable. I love trying to outscore my friends after each day. It’s fun receiving dojos for different things.”

“Maths was my favourite part of the week. It took me a while to remember how to do certain things but when my teacher showed me, I quickly remembered and remembered why I love Maths so much. We have been looking at place value and using the place value counters has really helped me.”