Comparing decimals
In maths, the Year 5s have been learning about decimals. It’s tricky stuff so why not try comparing some decimals like we did at the end of today’s lesson.
Try scanning the QR code to take you to the game also: 
Where in the world am I?
Our topic this term is ‘Where in the world am I?’ – Geography. Today, Year 1 and 2 have been ‘Geographers’ whilst on a walk around the local area. 
Challenge! Ask your child the definition of any of the following key vocabulary words. Can they tell you the definition?
| atlas | a collection of maps, usually in a book |
| city | a large town |
| compass | a tool for finding direction |
| locality | an area or neighbourhood |
| landmark | an object |
| physical geography | physical geography looks at the natural things in our environment |
| human geography | human geography looks at the changes in the environment by humans |
| to survey | to find the opinions of a group of people by asking them questions |
| issue | an important topic or problem that needs discussion |
This week’s bible story
Our friendship with Jesus: John 15:12-15
Jesus calls us his friend and He wants to be in a relationship with us. In the Bible, we see the friendship of Jesus and his disciples develop. Although their intent was to serve and follow Jesus as Master, He calls them friends. Jesus’ love and sacrifice for those He walked with is the ultimate example of a relationship. Though we may show it differently, we show our friends how much we love them by the actions that we take.
Jesus calls us friend and He wants to live in a relationship with us. This means that He wants us to get to know Him and He wants us to share our lives with Him – every joy, every care, every hurt, every triumph.
Reflection:
We show our friends we care by the actions we do and how we behave towards our friends. Think about how you can show your friends you care this week and how you can share your week with them.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you that we will always have a friend in Jesus. Help us to be good friends to our friends and show them that we care about them.
Amen
Reception just love to learn!
This week, our classroom has been bursting with positivity! I’m super proud of all the children. At home time, the children are trying really hard to be independent and organise their own belongings. Independence is something we really encourage in Reception. When exploring the areas, new friendships are developing. Many children are wanting to challenge themselves and think of their own learning. Take a look at the learning that has been taking place in our classroom this week:
In literacy, the children changed the main character and some of the obstacles the family went through on their bear hunt. Before drawing our versions of the story, we worked together to come up with lots of different ideas. The children came up with some fabulous suggestions. Below are some examples:
We’re Going on a Spider Hunt by CW
We’re Going on a Unicorn Hunt by PB
We’re Going on a Butterfly Hunt by DA
In maths, we moved on to learning the number 2. The children have been great at pairing the socks on the washing line in the home corner. We’ve explored 2 in lots of different ways…
We drew around our friends to spot pairs of body parts.
Counting pairs of animals into the Ark.
Using the part-whole model to support addition. See if your child can remember the parts to make 2.
We played a game where we had to get into groups of 1 or 2. An adult called out 1 or 2 and the children had to either stand in a hoop alone or in a pair.
Number 2 number stories
“First there was one wet me. Then Mummy came along. Now there is me and Mummy.”
“First there was one bird. Then it had a baby. Now there are two birds.”
“First there was one tree. Then another tree started to grow. Now there are two trees.”
Phonics
We’ve finished learning the first set of phase 2 sounds: s,a,t,p,i,n.
The children are brilliant at saying the pure sounds. It’s great to see lots of children beginning to blend. This week, the children were really excited when they received their first reading book. Please make sure you read with your child as much as possible.
Word passports
Today, your child will have brought home their word passport. This book is to stay at home. Every two weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to stick in their passport. The new set of words will be in their book bag.
Important dates
Home-Link Challenge
Science
In Science we have been identifying materials. We have been investigating which materials would be the most suitable to make a tent. The tent needs to be strong and waterproof. We tested fabric, plastic, tin-foil and tissue and recorded the results.
We found out that plastic is the most suitable material as it is strong and waterproof.
Living and Learning: mental health – understanding our emotions
This week, we have been learning how to recognise and describe different feelings in ourselves and others. The children were able to name a range of emotions/feelings and talk about times they had felt them themselves or recognise a feeling in a friend.
“When I was in Reception and I was going to come into Year 1, I felt nervous,” said Alba.
“I was amazed when my mummy set up a surprise for me,” said Emily.
“At lunch time I noticed my friend was feeling sad so I gave them a hug and I played with them,” said Kiara.
Afterwards we acted out some of the emotions. We thought about where in our body we might experience the feeling. What might happen to our face when we experience the feeling. What might happen to our body when we experience the feeling.
When we are anxious we might bite our nails.
When we feel nervous we might feel funny in our tummy.
When we feel bored we might put our head in our hands.
When we are feeling happy we might have a big smile on our face.
If we feel angry we might cross our arms and scowl.
We all practised experiencing a range of emotions.
Nouns means names
We have been learning a song to help us remember what a noun is (sung to the tune of the Heinz Meanz Beanz advert).
Nouns
Every person, place or thing
Needs a name and so we sing
Nouns means names
Help at home by talking about nouns and how they are all around us! Don’t forget proper nouns (Monday, Christmas), abstract nouns (happiness, excitement) and pronouns, which replace a noun in a sentence (I, we, she).
We’ve had a very busy week!
This week has been a very busy one at Nursery! We have been reading ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen, we’ve been mixing some beautiful autumnal colours and we’ve also been investigating the properties of ice whilst making some wonderful marks.
Next week, we will continue talking about the weather and looking at hot and cold places around the world. If you would like to share any family photos of holidays which we can talk about, please email them to us at:
stjamesnursery@spherefederation.org
Please remember to bring named wellies into Nursery as we expect to be puddle jumping soon.
Here’s just a snapshot of our very busy week!
Living and Learning: I can talk about my feelings
This week we have been talking about the different emotions and feelings that we have.
Y34 made their own graffiti walls about all the different emotions that they feel.
We have also talked about how saying positive and nice things to others helps both them and us to feel happier, so we’re trying really hard to help us all to be happy!
Reading books
We are encouraging the children to be independent and choose their own reading book. This takes a little longer so we have started to change some books on a Monday and Tuesday. If your child has read their book and would like it to be changed before Wednesday then please put their reading book in their bag. If your child would like to keep their book until Wednesday that is also ok.