Happy Easter!
On Wednesday, we went to church for our Easter service.
Reception and Key Stage 1 did a fantastic job of singing the Easter Chicken song we have been practising.
Some of Year 2 also read beautifully as well.
We hope everyone has a lovely Easter break.
Easter Church Service
Yesterday, the whole school attended church for our Easter service. Our Year 3 children performed Hot Cross Buns on the recorder. They did a fantastic job! A huge thank you must go to Mrs Bald who taught the children how to play.
Our Year 4 children talked about The Story of Easter and what each day means to them and how Christians remember. The children were able to talk about the things we have learnt in RE and used their oracy skills beautifully to relay this to the congregation.
Additionally, members of our class helped to tell the parable, ‘Road to Emmaus.’ Again, reading superbly well!
It was a wonderful service and all the children made the school proud. A big thank you to all the family and friends who attended too.
All of Year 3 and Year 4 would like to wish you a very Happy Easter.
Living and Learning
This half-term, years 5 and 6 have been learning lots around how we treat ourselves and other people. Here are the living and learning statements that we’ve used on a weekly basis this half-term:
- I recognise emotions in myself and others
- I know that we’re all the same and that we’re all different
- I recognise that friends and family are important
- I can find solutions to different problems
- I can give and receive compliments
- I know how to cope with change
I’d like to share a few reflections on some of our statements. The children have been absolutely fantastic in discussing, offering advice and putting some actions into place to keep our school a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.
I know that we’re all the same and all different
Each week, the children participate in our Philosophy Friday sessions. Here, we learn to think deeply about a particular aspect of life. The children have really excelled in: listening actively to others and responding appropriately; recognising that our opinions can be different and that’s ok; and building on others views, even if we don’t personally agree with them.
I can find solutions to different problems
Key stage 2 were fortunate to have a visit from our local PCSO, Louise. Louise spoke to the children in depth about potential problems and risks that we may come across in our lives, and how to deal with them appropriately. The children asked lots of fantastic, relevant questions and came away from the session with a better understanding of how to find solutions to tricky problems, both in person and online.
I know how to cope with change
It’s important to acknowledge that we all live very busy lives. For our year 6 pupils, there are lots of changes upcoming, such as preparing to move to high school. These changes can be accompanied with feelings of concern, upset, worry and anxiety. As a school, we make sure we have lots of ways that children can communicate any of these feelings. Here’s a list of a few:
- Tell a trusted adult
- Circle times
- Living and learning/worry boxes
- Through our Junior Leadership Team
- Talking to peers
- Childline (0800 11 11)
Through our yoga sessions, the children have had the opportunity to switch off their thoughts, even just for a moment. These sessions have given our pupils a chance to feel completely relaxed and to have an enjoyment of being in the moment. Years 5 and 6 will continue these sessions moving through the year.
Help at home:
Reflect with your child on our living and learning statements this half-term. Provide opportunity for your child to express their feelings and thoughts to you, and perhaps come up with some methods together on how to deal with these thoughts/problems that may arise. This way, all of our pupils will be better equipped to navigate through life successfully.
Oliver’s Fruit Salad
This week we have continued to learn about healthy eating and what we can do to keep our bodies healthy. Here’s what we have been up to …
We enjoyed making our own fruit salad. The children practised their cutting skills, chopping them up and popping it into the bowl. We added orange juice to mix it up and the children enjoyed eating it afterwards. We talked about how its important to brush our teeth twice a day to keep them clean. We also know that we need to visit the dentist to get them checked.
Help at Home: Can you make your own fruit salad? What fruits did you chop up?
This week sound/s was: ‘B’ Bear and ‘F’ for Flamingo
Rhyme of the week: 5 little ducks
Have a super weekend!
Miss Ward and Miss Harvey
PE
Dance
This week we listened to and performed dance routines to ‘Mas Que Nada’ by Sergio Mendes.
We talked about how the song makes us feel and how we could move to the music. We performed our routines to the class, focusing on pathways and how we could move around the hall.
Help at home – listen to song together and share your thoughts about the music. What emotions do you feel when you listen? Do you share the same emotions? Could you put together your own dance routine to the music?
RE
Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday
We have been learning about the significance of these three days in the Christian calendar. We have learnt about the crosses Christians use and what they represent. Yesterday our learning was supported by our whole school collective worship where Mrs Obbard handed each child a palm cross.
We have answered some difficult questions, such as – Would Mary call the day Jesus died Good Friday?
Here are some of the children’s responses:
No because it was her son that died not somebody else. And she was a kind mother to her son – Harper.
Yes she would because He gave his life for us – Leo S.
No as Mary will feel upset because Jesus was her son and he was badly treated people in Jerusalem – Madeleine.
Yes. She knows He did it for mankind and for taking away our sins – Tommy.
No. That would be a sad day for Mary because it was her son – Isla.
We have also made links to our own lives by thinking about the things that bring us joy, sadness and hope.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
The children have been enjoying The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.
Without seeing the book and using a few props, the class predicted what the story might be about.
I predict that…..
someone is having food
they will be drinking tea
a toy tiger will be the main character
this story takes place in a house
an animal has escaped from the zoo
the tablecloth means there will be a meal
After reading the book, the children answered some retrieval questions.
Retrieval is a reading skill where information is picked out from a text in order to answer questions about it.
Next week, the class will be writing their own narrative. Instead of a tiger that comes to tea, they can change the animal to one of their own choice (perhaps their favourite soft toy).
Finally, to celebrate all their hard work, we will be holding our own ‘mini’ tea party next Thursday morning. The children are invited to bring in their chosen soft toy and drinks and snacks will be provided.
Topic – Drop Down Morning
Last week in Year 2, we had a topic drop down morning. This is where we take some time away from our usual timetable to revisit some of our previous topic learning. We revisited history, geography and art.
We started the morning with our most recent topic;
Art
To refresh our memories, we transformed the classroom into an art gallery, adorning the walls with famous works by Leonarda da Vinci, Paul Klee and Barbara Hepworth. Children explored the ‘gallery’ in groups, discussing visual art elements including: colour, pattern, texture, shape, line and tone. There were some passionate opinions to be heard – future art critics, no doubt…
The children then played a game of Vocabulary Chase, practising their retrieval skills with a hint of competition.
Help at home by exploring art with your child. Can they use the visual elements of art to tell you what they like or dislike?
Geography
With art shrinking in the rear view mirror, we moved briskly to geography, starting with a matching task in groups. The children were challenged to match UK countries to their capital city and flag. Disagreements were navigated respectfully and compromises reached…
After a thrilling game of ‘Spot the Missing Sea’ (it will catch on in time, I’m sure), we revisited physical and human features. The children moved around the room, labelling physical and human features in a range of photographs. Super remembering skills were in endless supply!
Help at home by challenging your child to name the capital cities of the UK.
History
To round off our topic drown down morning, we returned to our topic; History – Heroes. We focused on the concept of inequality.
Inequality is being treated unfairly and not having the same chances in life as someone else.
The heroes in the spotlight were Leonora Cohen and Nelson Mandela. After revisiting some key information, the children were tasked with making connections between Cohen and Mandela. We focused on 4 main points:
- equal rights
- beliefs
- protest
- protected characteristics
Help at home by discussing protected characteristics. How many can your child remember?
If you’d like to know more about our current topic, Computing, we’d be delighted if you could join us today (Monday 18.03.24) at 14:30 for a topic review session. Please be prepared to join in!
Jack and the Beanstalk
This week our focus book has been Jack and the Beanstalk.
We talked about how it is is an old story and has lots of different version, the children really enjoyed the Jack and the Jelly Beanstalk version! During the week we have been busy planting our own magic beans. We have also completed some beautiful drawings of some tulips. In our PE lesson we mastered our balancing skills and even managed to move from one balance to another. Fantastic skills everyone!
Our word of the week was gigantic the children have really enjoyed using this during their learning.
‘My tower is gigantic, it is taller that me!’
‘I am going to pick the gigantic carrot at snack time!’
Help at home: find some things that are gigantic and tell your grown up about them.
Phonics
This week in our phonics we have focused on longer phase 3 words, words ending in -ing and compound words (words made up of two words i.e. rooftop) We have also been reviewing our tricky words.
Help at home: Please support your child with the tricky words sheet sent home. Please also keep accessing the ebooks.
Poetry Picnic
This week our poem was Spring Wind
When the spring wind blows,
In her gruff and growly way,
She’s saying keep your mittens on,
I’m blowing cold today.
But when the spring wind blows,
In her soft and gentle way,
She’s saying take your jumper off,
I’m blowing warm today.
The Classroom Challenges this week have been
- to make a ramp and push and pull a vehicle up and down it.
- to draw the spring tulips.
- to make a repeating pattern using the paint dabbers.
- to make a track outside and play a dice game with your friends.
- to make a map to the railway museum.
- to make an enclosure for the animals using the small blocks.
Forest School this week was another muddy one and included toasting marshmallows, these were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone!
Next week our week our focus book is The Tiny Seed by Eric Carl
Reminders and Notices
Forest School- Please send your child to school in their PE kits on Friday with waterproofs and wellies in a labelled plastic bag.
Waste Innovation- Please don’t forget to send in any donations for us to be creative.
Please can we also ask for any donations of children’s underwear, socks and old school uniform, we work hard and play hard in reception so things can get a little bit messy!!
Please don’t forget to email any pictures from home stjameseyfs@spherefederation.org thank you!
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs. Kendrew, Mrs. Rippon and Mrs. Feldman
PE
In dance this week, we listened to ‘Running up that Hill’ by Kate Bush.
We discussed how the song made us feel and what emotions we may want to include in a dance routine. The children, generally, enjoyed that music and some had even heard parents play the song before.
Afterwards, we worked in small groups and planned a dance routine to the piece of music. We had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed the lesson. We even learnt that Mr Roundtree likes the song too.