We have had a fantastic first full week in Wrens.  The children are well settled into their class routines and are continuing to impress us with their independent learning skills.  We have really enjoyed getting to know them and finding out about their interests.   We are quite sure we have some budding engineers as we have had some very creative construction.  You may have noticed the large den that the children built in the outside area!

Some of the children have earnt characteristic of effective learning stickers this week.  These stickers are designed to celebrate how the children learn, for example showing reasoning and problem solving skills, having their own ideas or persevering to master a new skill.  Please talk to your children about why they were awarded their sticker.  In RE today we talked about how we are all special and enjoy different things.  We enjoyed sharing the "proud peacock" sheets some of the children completed over the summer holiday.  Your child will have brought home a new "proud peacock" sheet today.  Please continue to send these in school if your child has something to celebrate and we can add them to our "Proud Peacocks" display.

The children will also have brought home an orange phonics book.  This book contains a sheet which details what the children will be learning in phonics next week. There is no expectation to complete any work in the phonics book but it would benefit your child's learning if you spend a bit of time with them looking at the sounds they are learning.  We will be holding a phonics workshop in school shortly if you would like to find out more about our Little Wandle phonics programme.

On Tuesdays we will be spending the afternoon in our Forest School area doing outdoor learning.  We have waterproof trousers in school and spare wellingtons.  However if your child would prefer to wear their own clothes please send them into school.

It has been a busy first full week back in Skylarks! Rainbow challenges have been completed, outdoor learning has been enjoyed and there has even been excitement over homework starting!

This week in phonics, all of the children have been recapping previously taught phonemes to ensure they have a solid base on which to build upon in the upcoming weeks. They have impressed me with their knowledge and it is fantastic to see them also enjoying reading.

In English, we read the book 'The Disgusting Sandwich'. The children made predictions before we read the book about the plot and characters. Our focus this week has been on adjectives and how they can improve our sentences.

In maths, we have been focusing on numbers starting the week with representing and understanding amounts to 10. We have also been looking at numbers 0-20 and starting to unpick these in more detail, including counting forwards and backwards fluently.

In PSHE this week, we looked at our Jigsaw charter and thought about what PSHE should look like in our classroom. For example, being compassionate and empathetic towards others and showing everyone respect.

In science, we began our unit on plants. The children have really good prior knowledge on this from last year which will help them as we progress. This week we focused on plants that we can eat. The children worked in groups to sort different images into fruit, vegetables, herbs and plants we don't eat. Linking with our science, we spent some time in our nature area on Monday afternoon. The children learnt about bulbs and how to plant them. Together the children planted daffodil bulbs ready for spring. They really enjoyed this and many of them even found 'treasure' when they were digging!

Important information: The library 'sharing' book should be enjoyed and read together with you as it will contain words with graphemes which have not been taught in school yet. Please record any reading that your child does in their yellow reading record so we can celebrate them!

In maths this week, Y3 have focussed on place value, dealing with 3-digit numbers and Y4 have focussed on 4-digit numbers. The children have been partitioning numbers as well as identifying the value of different digits in their respective 3/4-digit numbers. We have also looked at how to answer reasoning questions using their fluency knowledge and how to apply it.

In science, we have started our topic of Rocks and Soils. The children spent time looking at different types of rocks using magnifying glasses. They then chose different criteria to sort the rocks into two groups.

In PSHE, our topic is 'Being Me'. The children played a getting to know you bingo game, where they had to find children who gave the same answers to a variety of questions.

In geography, we started our topic of 'Who lives in Antarctica?' Our first lesson focussed on the children's understanding of the position and significance of lines of latitude. We also discussed why we have different seasons in each hemisphere.

In computing we have been talking about the topic of cyberbullying and the importance of using kind words online.  

We have started our new project 'In the Garden'. While singing, we played along with the beat and identified that the rhythm used in the melody contained crotchets and quavers. We have notated a selection of short rhythmic patterns before performing our chosen rhythm using a selection of percussion instruments.

This week in English, the children have been focusing on developing their writing skills by learning to write expanded noun phrases and use emotive language. These skills were practiced through our study of the book Wonder, which allowed the children to explore how to evoke empathy and create vivid descriptions in their writing.

In science, the children delved into the topic of animal adaptations, learning how different species have evolved features to survive in their specific environments. In geography, they explored the concepts of birth rate and death rate, discussing how these factors contribute to population growth or decline.

In PSHE, the focus was on child rights, where the children learned about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Additionally, in RE, they have continued to deepen their understanding of what it means to be a Muslim in Britain today, engaging in thoughtful discussions around culture and identity.

We started our new topic 'Animal Kingdom' by listening to the Cuckoo from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens. We looked at intervals (the distance between two pitches) and how they are notated on the stave. We listened to a selection of intervals and identified them as being either consonant (a pleasing sound) or dissonant (an unpleasant sound).

Please see below information within the community but independent of the school

Clee Hill RC - happy to receive any queries via austinmrrodriguez@hotmail.com - one of the under 7 coaches