11 June 2021
Year 1
This week’s spellings for Year 1 are words with the /f/, /l/, /z/, /s/ and /k/ sounds at the end. They are usually spelt with a double consonant at the end of words : ff, ll, zz, ss and ck.
- off
- huff
- well
- hill
- buzz
- whizz
- miss
- boss
- back
- duck
Year 2
This week’s spellings are more common exception words for Year 2. These are words that don’t follow the usual spelling rules.
- plant
- poor
- pretty
- prove
- should
- steak
- sugar
- sure
- told
- water
Reading and writing
This week, we have been learning about Aesop’s Fables. Our reading fluency text has been The Tortoise and the Hare.
We talked about the message in the story and looked at some key vocabulary. Next week, the children will read and retell the story, draw a story map to help them remember the sequence of events and do some independent writing.
Help at home by asking your child if they can tell you the story of The Tortoise and the Hare.
Design and Technology
This half term, we are starting our next topic which is all about Design and Technology.
During this topic, we will be exploring and evaluating a range of existing products, designing functional and appealing products based on given design criteria and then making the product by selecting from a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (eg cutting, shaping, joining and finishing).
Throughout the topic, we will look at key questions. What is a structure? Which design is the best? How can we make it stronger? Is it fit for purpose?
Here is a list of some of the vocabulary that will be taught in the coming weeks.
Design and Technology
Our new topic this half term is all about Design and Technology.
Staying safe in the sun
As the weather is getting warmer, we’d like to remind you about keeping your child safe in the sun.
NHS guidance makes it clear that most people do not apply enough sunscreen. If sunscreen is applied too thinly, the amount of protection is reduced. It should be applied to all exposed skin, including the face, neck and ears. The SPF should be at least 30.
It’s really important that children come to school wearing sunscreen and that this is applied just before leaving home.
If you choose an ‘all day sunscreen’, it’s important that it is used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For sunscreen that needs to be reapplied, children can bring a named bottle into school which they will be able to reapply at lunchtime. Please teach your child how to do this independently. Staff in school will help/guide if needed but as you can imagine a vast amount of teaching and learning time could be lost if staff are applying cream to a full class.
If your child has a sibling(s) in school, they will each need an individual bottle of suncream. Due to the current situation, we cannot be going into other bubbles.
A named hat and water bottle are essential. Please ensure that your child brings both to school every day. We will replenish water bottles throughout the day.
Science
Our Science learning this half term is all about scientific enquiry. The children will use their science and link it to an historical event in context; the sinking of the Titanic. This topic is based around applying working scientifically skills that they have learned so far in their Science lessons, to explore some of the scientific concepts behind the Titanic, e.g. floating and sinking. They will apply skills, such as asking questions, making observations and predicting. Below is a list of vocabulary the children will be learning over the next few weeks. Can you help your child learn these words? Could you play some games to help your child memorise the definitions? Maybe a game of Pictionary!
Butterflies and music
I can’t believe we are at the end of another half-term!
On Monday, the children were very excited when they saw five butterflies fluttering around in the butterfly net. Due to Foundation doing such a good job at caring for the caterpillars, all five were a success!
Click here to watch how we set them free.
On Wednesday, the F2 children wrote a sentence about releasing the butterflies. They used the writing process: think, say, count, segment, and check when writing.
On Tuesday, we listened to two contrasting pieces of piano music. When listening to the music, we thought about which colours would best represent each piece. The children took their paintbrushes for a walk and made different marks in time with the music.
Click here to watch the children painting.
You’ve all had a fantastic half-term and I hope you all have a lovely week off in the sunshine!
A visit to Wetherby High School
Year 5 visited Wetherby High School to experience a day in the life of a high school pupil.
“Art was really creative because we listened to music and used paints to make a picture to represent the sounds. It was my favourite lesson.” Jemima
“I really enjoyed DT because I like doing crafts. We lasered our name on a pen, we made badges and we were given a snake made with a 3D printer.” Scarlet
“In the morning, we played hockey and I liked it because it was fun and I used a lot of energy.” Joe
Class novel: Letters from the lighthouse
This term, our class novel has kept us all guessing! It is a story set during WW2 and the plot is full of mystery and suspense. We are now half way through the story and we did some freeze-framing to summarise and re-cap what has happened so far.
Olive and Cliff run out of the picture house to the air raid shelter. Sukie goes missing.
Olive and Cliff evacuate to Budmouth Point in Devon.
They find a note that belongs to Sukie; it has a secret code on it.
Esther Jenkins moves into the same house as Olive and Cliff. She finds the note and won’t give it back to Olive. They fall out.
A bomb is dropped near the school that Olive and Sukie go to. The community decide to get rid of the lighthouse.
What do we think will happen next?
Scarlet: “I think Olive and Cliff are going to try and stop the lighthouse from being knocked down. They will find somebody to help work out the code on the note.”
Callum: “I think the town will take down the lighthouse and a German plane will crash. I think Sukie will turn up and she will help the Germans escape.”
Erin “I think Olive and Cliff will follow Ephraim and find out that Queenie and Ephraim have something to do with Sukie’s disappearance.”
Living and Learning: I understand some drugs can be harmful
In Living and Learning, we’ve been exploring the topic of drugs. We know that there are different types of drugs including illegal and legal drugs. As a class, we discussed the risks of drugs and how they can affect the body in different ways.
We read different scenarios and discussed what was causing the risk and rated the situation a high, medium or low risk. We thought about the characters who may need support and how they could get help.
- Talk to a trusted adult
- www.childline.co.uk 0800 1111
- Contact the police using 101 or ring 999 if someone is seriously ill, unsafe or scared