Hi all,

Miss Devenny and I would just like to say how proud we are of how well the children settled back into school life this past half term. After Christmas, there were lots of staffing changes, as well as general topic changes and expectations and I would just like to say a huge thank you for welcoming me back with open arms. I have absolutely loved our first few weeks together and am excited for our journey to continue! 

Don't forget that our Victorian Workshop is on Thursday the 26th February! If you are able to support us in the hall as a volunteer, either for the whole day or a half day, we would be so appreciative! Please feel free to email in or catch one of us at the gate on Monday morning! 

Have a fantastic, well-deserved half term and we can't wait to see you on Monday the 23rd! 

Phonics

This week in Phonics, we have been completing our half termly assessments to see how much of the new learning the children have retained. They did absolutely amazingly and you should be so proud of them! Mrs Hargreaves has also been completing a Phonics Screening practise with the children, which we do a few times throughout the year, just to ensure we are all on track! The children are presented with a combination of 40 real and alien words to read. 

Maths

In Maths we continued our new learning about Addition, focusing on numbers to 20. We revisited our number bonds to 10 before increasing these to bonds to 20. We used our existing knowledge of bonds to 10 to help us recognise the bonds to 20. For example: 

  • If we know that 1 + 9 = 10, we also know that 1 + 19 = 20. 
  • If we know that 3 + 7 = 10, we also know that 3 + 17 = 20. 

We learnt how to work systematically as this is the most efficient way of remembering any number bonds! 

  • 1 + 19 = 20
  • 2 + 18 = 20
  • 3 + 17 = 20
  • 4 + 16 = 20
  • 5 + 15 = 20 

 

Topic Learning

RE:
We continued our learning about Islam and thought carefully about what the word 'tradition' means. The children listened and contributed brilliantly to discussions about what traditions Muslim families partake in and how this can look in some homes. The children designed the most beautiful prayer mats using bright colours and repeating patterns. 

History:
This week we learnt all about Sam Wilderspin, the inventor of the playground! Wilderspin believed that children should go to school to have fun and not be punished as so many were during the Victorian times. He invented the playground as he wanted to expand children's experiences of education and ensure that every child had the opportunity to play outside! 

PE

Our topic of Yoga has now come to an end - the children have improved so greatly at holding balances, using a wide variety of their muscles and practising breathing techniques to support their posture and overall well-being. After half term we will be starting Gymnastics on a Wednesday, with Forest School still on a Tuesday!