Newsletters

The best new inventions to cool you down

Click here to read more about these inventions.

The Wrens have been surviving the heatwave this week by getting inventive with water play.  We have been creating undersea environments, fishing for gems and being engineers by creating a canal system for the boats.  The mud kitchen drinks cafe has been doing a roaring trade with all manner of smoothies and frappes being concocted with some weird and wonderful ingredients!

Alongside this the children have been showing great resilience and continuing their phonics learning despite the hot weather.  This week we have been exploring sounding out past tense words with the ending ed which can make different sounds in different words.  In maths we have been recapping comparing quantities using the language of more, less and fewer.  In PSHE we talked about worries and how the best thing to do with a worry is to talk about it with a trusted person.  We used the book "Ruby's worry" by Tom Percival during this lesson.

On Wednesday afternoon we welcomed our new cohort of Reception children for a short stay and play session.  The children were great role models and we are looking forward to their next transition morning. 

On Thursday we put on our best pants and held our own Mini Music Festival as the event at The Chantry had been cancelled due to the extreme weather.  We had an out of this world time and the children looked fantastic in their alien costumes, shaking their rocket shakers.  Please see the news article for more details.

Hopefully the slightly cooler temperatures next week should see a return to normality.

This week in English, we finished thoroughly planning our letter to the King, carefully considering the purpose, audience and the key points we wanted to include. We also had a focus on handwriting. At this stage of the year, children should now be joining their letters accurately and consistently, while ensuring that all letters are correctly formed and placed neatly on the lines.

In maths, we finished our unit on fractions. We explored how finding one half is equivalent to finding two quarters. Our Year 2 children also learned about unit and non-unit fractions and were able to identify and recognise three quarters of both pictures and quantities. We then began our new unit on time, where children have been practising the days of the week and months of the year.

In RE this week, the children explored the importance of taking care of others and learned about the Jewish practice of tzedakah, which encourages helping those in need. We also discussed the many ways we can support our community without simply giving money, such as volunteering our time, showing kindness, helping neighbours and caring for our local environment.

In Outdoor Learning this week, the children had a wonderful time working together to build dens to provide shelter from the sun. Unfortunately, a rainstorm arrived…which gave their dens an unexpected waterproof test! Despite the heat, the children showed fantastic teamwork, resilience and problem-solving skills.

In art, the children used acrylic paints to create beautiful paintings of a place they love, such as the seaside or a forest. We also began sketching fish in preparation for our next art unit. Please could every child bring in a carrier bag next week that you do not need back, as we will be using them to create our fish sculptures.

Timetable

Wednesday: Outdoor learning - please ensure your child brings appropriate clothing on this day

Wednesday: Swimming kits

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

In English, they have now completed both the planning and writing of their diary entries. They used emotive language, drawing readers into the feelings and experiences of the family at the heart of their writing. Many children also added vivid descriptive detail to show how events shaped the characters’ emotions and relationships.

In maths, we continued deepening our understanding of decimals, moving confidently into hundredths. Using place‑value columns, the children explored how each digit changes the value of a number and practised comparing numbers to two decimal places with increasing precision.

In DT, the class has been finalising their book‑cover designs, carefully considering layout, colour choices and those last creative touches that bring a design together.

In science, we made the most of our beautiful school grounds by carrying out an investigation into living things. The children collected observations, identified patterns in what they found and explored different ways to group and classify the organisms they discovered - an exciting hands‑on way to bring their learning to life.

This week, we began exploring our new class text, Father by Graham Baker Smith. This beautiful picture book tells the story of a young boy whose father dreams of flying before leaving to fight in the war. As the story unfolds, the boy takes on his father’s dream, leading to thoughtful discussions about courage, hope and family. We are looking forward to exploring the story in more depth over the coming weeks.

In maths, we have been learning all about angles. The children have practised using protractors to measure different angles accurately and many have challenged themselves by drawing angles of given sizes using a protractor.

In history, our learning has focused on the ancient city of Lahore in the Punjab and its importance as a centre for trade. We explored the different trade routes that passed through the region, what goods were traded and why these routes were so significant. The children then created presentations explaining the purpose and importance of specific trade routes.

We also had a fantastic rehearsal for our production this week and successfully made it all the way through the show! The children have worked incredibly hard and it is important that they continue to practise their lines at home so they feel confident and well prepared ahead of our dress rehearsal next week.

To finish the week, we explored composition by carefully arranging natural objects to create an interesting photograph. These compositions will be used as the basis for observational drawings in our upcoming art lessons.

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