After the excitement of last Friday's snow day we have been learning more about where Pengee might have come from this week with the aid of the story "Jonty Gentoo" by Julia Donaldson.  We used Google Earth to explore the landscape of the polar regions and compared these to Abberley.  We thought about what we would need to pack in our suitcase if we were a polar explorer. The children had some great ideas of what they might need to take with them.

In maths we have been practising our subitising skills and consolidating our knowledge of numbers to 5 before moving onto the concept of zero next week.

In gymnastics we had great fun exploring the large apparatus.  Next week we will be combining some of the work we have done on travelling and balancing to create some sequences using the apparatus.

In phonics the children are beginning to get to grips with the phase 3 vowel digraphs.  We should now be back on our weekly cycle of changing library and reading books and updating orange phonics books on a Friday.   Please speak to me if you are unsure.

In PSHE we have been thinking about resilience when learning new things and over the next few weeks we will be setting ourselves some challenges to complete over the course of the term.  Perhaps you could have a discussion with your child about the things that they find tricky and setting themselves a goal associated with this.

This week in English, we have been working on planning and writing up our 'Build up Bear' and 'Problem Penguin' parts of our story. The children have been working hard to ensure that they are writing accurate sentences with all the necessary punctuation and correct spellings.

In maths this week, the children have been using their knowledge of tens and ones to comparing numbers to 100. They have also been finding 1 more and 1 less from any number to 100. We then started a new topic of shape. Children have been identifying both 2D and 3D shapes and counting both the sides and vertices on 2D shapes.

In geography, we explored the North and South Pole. Children located these on their maps and added pictures to match. We also discussed polar climates.

In DT, the children practised joining fabrics together using different techniques. Children tried pinning, stapling and glueing. They then started to plan their design for their puppet which they will be making.

Timetable

Monday: Wellies and appropriate clothing for outdoor learning

Tuesday & Thursday: PE kits - please can those with longer hair have their hair tied up ready

In English, we continued using the book 'Leaf' as the basis for our writing. The children researched polar bears by first watching a short documentary clip, noting key facts about their habitat, diet and adaptations. They then created short voice-overs, which helped them rehearse sentences out loud before writing. This process supported them in organising their ideas and developing clear, factual sentences in preparation for writing their own non-fiction reports on polar bears.

In maths, we focused on multiplying by 10 and 100, using place value charts to help the children visually track how digits move across columns. This hands-on approach helped them develop a deeper understanding of place value and recognise that multiplying by 10 or 100 is about shifting digits, not simply adding zeros.

In geography, we continued our topic on the Amazon rainforest, learning about the four distinct layers: the emergent layer, canopy, understory and forest floor. The children produced informative posters, explaining each layer in more detail and describing the plants and animals found there.

In art, the children explored the work of Claes Oldenburg, an artist famous for his oversized pop art sculptures of everyday objects and created a fact page about him and his work.  They will use this as inspiration for designing their own creative “dropped ice cream” sculptures.

In English, we are in the final stages of writing our newspaper reports about the rescue of one of the refugees lost at sea. The children have been carefully applying their writer’s knowledge, ensuring their work includes formal vocabulary, a range of punctuation such as semi-colons, well-chosen hyphenated words and examples of informal speech where appropriate. Their attention to detail and commitment to improving their writing has been fantastic to see.

In maths, we have taken on a real challenge by learning how to use long division. I have been pleasantly surprised by how quickly many of the children have picked up this method and it has been lovely to see their confidence grow. This is a topic that some may have felt unsure about at first, but they are now approaching it with far more confidence than they ever expected.

In DT, we have begun constructing three structures from our playground. The children have been incredibly resourceful, using the materials available to them creatively to build their small-scale model playgrounds. They have also shown excellent teamwork, sharing ideas, solving problems together and supporting one another throughout the process.

In geography, we have been exploring different biomes from around the world, with a particular focus on deserts and the Mojave Desert in North America. The children have learned about both the physical and human features of this environment and have shown great curiosity when comparing it to places closer to home.

We have started our new science topic, Forces, focusing on gravity. We planned and carried out an investigation to find out if all objects fall at the same rate, thinking about how to make the investigation fair and which variable to change.

This half term in French we are looking at planning a holiday. We have recapped on the names of different countries of the world and how to create sentences explaining where we are going holiday.

Our new topic in computing is stop-motion animation. We have looked at the history of animation and discussed different types of animation (flipbook, thaumatrope and zoetrope) before creating our own.

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