Living and Learning – Anti-bullying Week
We kicked off our Anti-Bullying Week with ODD SOCKS DAY . Lots of children chose to wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique in Anti-Bullying Week.
This week’s theme is One Kind Word. Being kind to one another and using kind words is a simple but effective way to make other people feel happier.
Our reading fluency this week talks about our school definition of bullying and how we start to tackle it.
During our Living and Learning session, we read the story Kind by Axel Scheffler. The book talked about lots of ways we could all be kind. Afterwards the children worked in pairs to think of ways they could spread the One Kind Word message.
“…smiling, hug, share.”
“Pay them a compliment, give them a hug.”
“Ask if they want to play with you.”
Scientists in the making
Our science topic this half term is ‘Working Scientifically’. The vocabulary we are learning is below. Help at home by using some of the words in conversation at home so your child becomes familiar with them. There are also lots of science experiments here you could try.
Last week, we observed closely. We looked at how coloured water is absorbed by tissue and can mix to make a new colour!
Odd Socks Day!
Today, we kicked off Anti-Bullying week by coming to school wearing odd socks. This morning, we had a long discussion about bullying and what is it.
I asked the children, “What is Bullying?”
We had some fantastic answers…
“When you hurt someone.”
“When you are unkind.”
“When you hit or kick someone.”
We then talked about kindness and what that is.
Many children said…
“Being helpful.”
“Sharing your toys.”
“Letting friends join in.”
For the rest of the week, we’ll be reflecting on how we can be kind and helpful to our friends.
Friday reading
The year 5 and 6 children came to read with the Reception children last Friday afternoon. It was a huge success and all the children were really engaged and listening to their year 5 or 6 reading partner. It was lovely to see some of the Reception children showing off their reading skills!
Remembrance Parade
Thank you to the Y5/6 pupils who represented our school in the Remembrance Parade in Wetherby. It was lovely to see some of our children representing other organisations such as the Scouts and Brownies too.
This week’s bible story
Persevering in life: Hebrews 12:1-2
Click the link and read the story all about Patrician St John.
Reflection:
Think about what you want to do this year, what you want to achieve. I’m not talking about impossible things, but maybe learning a new skill, or doing better at something, reaching the next level. What if it isn’t so easy, what if it doesn’t seem to be working out straight away – will you give up? Are you willing to fail before you succeed? If you believe in God, what difference will that make?
Just a moment of silence while we think about these things.
Bible Bits:
Listen to what the Bible says about persevering:
“Be determined and confident! Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
“Let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus….He did not give up…” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, that you have given me the ability to succeed, not in everything, but in many things. Help me to play my part by working hard and not giving up. And thank you that you will give me extra help if I ask for it and trust in you. May what I learn not just help me but others too.
Amen
Science
This half term, we are being physicists as we are studying physic. Our topic is all about light. On Thursday we were understanding about darkness being an absence of light. To do this, we created a darkness den in the classroom and all had a turn experiencing it.
Although not completely dark, it was pretty close!
If we did it again, we agreed that we might use a few more blankets to shut out the light.
Follow this link to see our science vocabulary for this topic.
Another great week of learning!
This week in Nursery, we have been continuing to learn about Autumn. Our artist in focus for this term is Andy Goldsworthy and the children have created some transient ‘land art’ based upon his ideas. After collecting lots of leaves, the children worked together to sort them into different sizes, shapes and colours to create wonderful works of art. We have also looked at the habitats of hedgehogs and tried to create a place for ‘Ned’, our class (cuddly toy) hedgehog, to live. The children have also been ‘fishing’ for conkers and leaves, planting bulbs, learning to handle clay and looking at the textures of natural objects like bark. For the past couple of weeks, we have been sorting groups of objects by colour, size or type and we have learned to use ‘fewer than’ and ‘more than’ when comparing groups of different amounts.
Dates for your diary:
- 19.11.21 – ‘Dress up as a character from a nursery rhyme’
- 24.11.21 – Nursery Class Parents’ Evening (details to follow)
Remembrance Day
This week across the school, the children have been learning about the meaning of Remembrance Day. From reading activities to art, we have covered an array of learning. The Year 6s have been collecting for the poppy appeal daily and the donations have been very generous. On Thursday 11th we had a minute’s silence in the playground in remembrance and the children were all really respectful.
Remembrance, Chilli Challenges and more
This week, the Chilli Challenges have been a big hit! Many children had a go at some of the challenges and many completed all of the challenges – a big well done to those children!
Here are some of the Chilli Challenges in action:
Using our cutting skills to make a paper plate Poppy.
Making the correct amount of playdough poppies. We enjoyed subitising and talking about how we arranged the poppies onto the playdough mats.
“Two poppies here and one over here… three poppies altogether”
“Four poppies and one more equals five poppies.”
“A group of two and another group of two… four poppies.”
“One and another one makes two.”
Using cubes and rulers to measure our feet. They particularly enjoyed comparing the size of each other’s feet.
Using a drawing app on the iPad to draw pictures of the poppies growing in Flanders Fields.
Phonics
We’re almost at the end of phase 2. Next week, the children will be taught the final 3 phonemes: l, ll, and ss. This week, we’ve noticed lots of children using their phonics skills when doing independent learning activities.
Using our segmenting skills when writing a sentence about Remembrance Day.
Using our blending skills to read captions.
Reading cvc words on a word hunt.
PE
On Wednesday, Mrs Palmer taught four animal gymnastic positions: cat, seal, frog, and butterfly. To end the lesson, the children moved across the mats like animals. Mrs Palmer told me about how fabulous they were at stretching their arms and pointing their toes.
Notices
- Please return your child’s yellow sound book on Monday 22 November so we can stick in the phase 3 sounds.
- It’s Anti-Bullying week next week. To kick off the week, we are taking part in Odd Socks Day. Children can come to school on Monday wearing odd socks!
- It’s also Nursery Rhyme week. All week we’ll be learning about different nursery rhymes. To finish the week, we ask children to come to school dressed as their favorite nursery rhyme character. (This is also a non-uniform day for Children in Need – they’ve clashed!)
- Please make sure your child’s Christmas production clothes are in a named carrier bag.
Home-Link Challenge
Finally…
Thank you to all the parents that came to the Reception drop-in session. It was lovely to see lots of proud children sharing their amazing learning with you.