St Oswald's Catholic Primary SchoolOur blogs
Date: 1st Apr 2022 @ 12:23pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
The end of another great term, how time flies!
This week in year 5
In Maths, we have been working on fractions. The children have been building up their skills on changing improper fractions into mixed numbers and vice versa. This can prove very tricky at times but they have worked well. They have also calculated equivalent fractions and finding the lowest possible term.
In English we have continued with The Amazing Adventures of Adolphus Tips by Michael Murpurgo. The children have written a persuasive letter using modal verbs and they have written another diary entry but this time from a different characters opinion. They worked really hard on using various types of sentences and different types of starters.
In RE, we continued with the story of Easter. The children read scripture about Jesus being condemned to death and the story of the Stations of the Cross. They reflected on the sacrifice that Jesus made for them and how that made them feel and how this may help Christians live in the way Jesus taught us.
In French, we learnt Easter vocabulary and used this to make a card. Joyeuses Paques!
In PE, the children took part in a timed orienteering challenge. They had to follow a map and find 25 different locations around our school grounds. They worked in pairs and all completed the course. We will revisit this on their return and see if they can beat their score on a different 25 stations.
In DT, the children learnt all about different types of cams and how they affect the followers in a mechanism. They then made a prototype cam and follower mechanism and evaluated the resources they used and how effective they were. This will then inform their design for their final product that will be made in the new term.
On Tuesday we had a visit from CAFOD where the children learned all about Catholic Social Teaching. They were very good during the sessions. They gave very carefully thought out answers and participated really well. Eileen, who led the workshop, was very impressed with all the work the children put into the session.
The children attended church on Thursday and made little packages for the church community. They decorated an envelope and then filled it with items for a cup of tea and a biscuit. This will be passed onto the catechists who will distribute them to members of our Parish. The children really enjoyed this and saw the good deed that they were doing and how this linked to teachings in RE.
The children have been working hard during the daily mile. We had our sponsored run for Barnardo’s and this has spurred us on to run further. We have challenged ourselves to run to Madrid before the summer; this is over 900 miles. So far this term we have run just over 550 miles, this takes just past Nantes in France. We still have a way to go but I think with the same hard work and dedication they have shown we will make it to Madrid by the summer!
We had a great day on World Book day. Please see the photo below of all our costumes. Thank you for your support.
Have a super Easter Holiday!
Date: 1st Apr 2022 @ 11:15am
We have had an amazing Spring term, all the children have made great progress and really grown up this term.
Our last week at school has been a busy one, writing all about how our caterpillars have changed. Learning about the life cycle of a frog and making some lovely Easter cards for our families.
Year 1 Blog-Friday 1st April 2022
Date: 31st Mar 2022 @ 10:03am
Welcome to the final blog of the Spring Term. We can't believe it's April already.
English
Everyone looked amazing in their costumes. We celebrated by reading our Scaredy Squirrel books to the children in Reception. We all worked really hard on our books and are really pleased with them. Ask your child to read their book to you.
In Phonics we have been looking at au as in haunt and or as in torn.
Maths
This week we have been learning about multiplication. We drew pictures to work out the answers e.g. There are four bags each with two apples in...how many apples are there altogether? We counted in 2s for this challenge. We also counted in 5s and 10s.
Science
We looked at our beans and did some scientific enquiries. We looked at how the beans have changed over time. We also looked at the difference between the beans which were growing outside and the ones which were growing inside.
P.E.
We developed our sending and receiving skills. We played a football match.
French
We learnt about the French tradition on April Fool's Day of sticking a poisson d'avril on unsuspecting people's backs. We enjoyed trying to stick our fish on without the person noticing! Sur le dos, c'est rigolo! We also looked at some new vocabulary related to Easter. Joyeuses Paques!
P.S.H.E
We have been learning about money again. We listened to a story called "I Want It". We discussed how people make decisions about what to do with their money. We also talked about needs and wants.
Art
We made Easter cards.
Computing
We learnt how to use Book Creator and we have started to make our own books.
Outdoor Learning
We had a great time outside making our shelters for Scaredy Squirrel. He was very well looked after with amazingly imaginative shelters. All the children showed great team working skills. We took great care to put everything back as we found it.
We had an Easter hunt in our Nature Area. We had to find clues to make a message.
Thank you for all your brilliant support. We wish you a happy and holy Easter. See you in Summer uniform on Tuesday 19th April.
P.S. Keep reading as much as possible!
Year 4 Home Practice Friday 25th March 2022
Date: 25th Mar 2022 @ 3:54pm
Year 4
Home Practice 25th March 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. This is what we’ve been learning this week …
We have continued reading our class novel and are nearly at the end of it now – we are eager to know whether Michael is rescued or remains with Kensuke on the island. We have written a ‘message in a bottle’ from Michael to his parents as well as our own ending to a chapter, which included a conversation between Michael and Kensuke.
In Maths, we learnt about sequences. Some of these were quite straightforward and others more tricky to solve. Knowing our times tables and using this knowledge really helped when there were quite a few missing numbers in the sequence. In addition, we have been practising our tables and counting in 12’s.
In French, we learned about French Easter traditions and learnt some prepositions. We used them to say where the Easter eggs were in relation to the Easter basket: in, on under, to the left or to the right. We wrote lots of great sentences - well done Y4!
In Music, we prepared 2 songs for our Reconciliation service next Monday. Then, we revised ‘Pat, click, clap, groove’ and ‘Boom, snap, clap’. We then layered both grooves together, swapping groups.
In PE, we practised some handball skills – bouncing the ball, passing to a team member and then scoring a goal. Following this, we took part in a Year 4 Handball Tournament. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone played well as a team – well done Year 4, it was a superb PE lesson!
In Art, we finished sketching different gerberas in a variety of pencil grades. We chose different parts of the flower to sketch, as well as making sure one of the pictures was a whole gerbera. Following this, we experimented with shades and tints – choosing one colour and investigating how to make it lighter. Eventually, we had lots of shades of the same colour. Next, we completed a wash in water colour and painted a gerbera. Finally, we put all our ideas together and will show you our finished project this weekend!
This week’s Home Practice ….
Reading
Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home. Make sure you discuss the story and the characters. Find the meaning of any new words too. Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.
Times tables
You have been given your own individual times table target. Please make sure you continue to practise your times tables in preparation for your test next week, on Thursday (24th March 2022). Ask someone at home to test you on your tables – can you recall them quickly and accurately?
Remember - you can also practise your tables playing ‘Hit the button’ and https://www.timestables.co.uk/
It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 11’s and hundredths – draw a line and some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers down as you count up. When you count down, cover the numbers up, say the number, then reveal what you have got written down to check you’ve said the correct number.
Count in 12’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 144 and back again (this will help with your 12 times table)
0 12 24 36 144 132 120 etc
Spellings
This week’s spellings are from the Year 3 / 4 spellings list. Please practise your spellings each evening at home as many of you are still not doing this. You will be tested on them next Thursday (31st March 2022).
group height particular potatoes separate
surprise through various though woman
possession different continue naughty favourite
Sumdog challenges
You have been set 3 challenges on Sumdog:
- A spelling challenge based on the spellings above
- A times table challenge based on the 6 and 12 times tables
- A grammar challenge based on speech marks
Please make sure you log on and have a go! Many of you are still not accessing Sumdog on a daily basis. Little and often is the key to success!
Number bonds
Number bonds are very important and help with many aspects of maths. The more confident you are with these, the easier you will find addition, subtraction, mental calculations etc. Therefore, please continue practising your number bonds / addition skills playing Hit the Button
The game you will play will help with your number bonds and quick addition skills. For example:
8 + 6 you could partition this into 8 + 2 + 4 = 14
This is because 8 + 2 is a pair to 10, then add the 4 to 10
Click on the link above, then on Play Game.
Click on Number bonds
On the left-hand side you will see the words ‘Up to 20’
Click on Addition within 20
See how many you can get correct in 1 minute. Then have another go and try and beat your score.
Maths and spelling training
Please continue to use the maths and spellings training sections as these are tailored for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult.
Year 2 Home Practice Friday 25th March 2022
Date: 25th Mar 2022 @ 3:49pm
Year 2 have thoroughly enjoyed the sunny, warm weather and it has been wonderful to be outside more. In English, the children have started the novel Mr Skip by Michael Morpurgo and looked at sentence structure and punctuation. We have continued our work on addition and subtraction in Maths. In RE, we read the story of Palm Sunday and the children retold it so well, with lovely illustrations. They have done a lot of Art this week in preparation for Mother’s Day. Forest School has started up again, much to the children’s delight, they made shelters and worked really well together. We are visiting the Library next Thursday, it will include a tour and book related activities. Year 2 are very excited about it because they love books so much. It will be St Oswald’s World Book Day next Friday and the children may dress up as their favourite book character.
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
You could write down these new words in a word book and find out what they mean. It is amazing to see the list grow, something to be very proud of, especially when children realise how many more words they understand and can use!
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Reading resources:
Oxford Owl – This resource has an exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read and really enjoy it.
If parents and children decide to use this resource, we ask they access phase 5 books. Go to https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ and select ‘my class login’. Scroll down to the ‘eBook Library for Letters & Sounds’. You could also explore the rest of the site and read books from the Oxford Owl eBook library or listen to audio books.
Username: sto2
Password: 1234
Resources for questioning your child while they are reading - https://www.literacyshedblog.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/ks1_reading_vipers.pdf
In addition to this, reading a good bed time story to your child is so worthwhile and really helps towards a lifelong love of reading.
Spelling
There will be no spelling quiz on Friday 1st April.
You will have a Sumdog challenge on tricky words to complete by next Friday.
Maths
At home, count forwards and backwards in 3s to 60. Start at different numbers each time. For example, start counting forwards from 12 or backwards from 30. What patterns do you see? What numbers do you say each time?
The children looked at number facts to 20 in class. Write down a number, for example, 8 put a circle around it and ask your child to write all the addition and subtraction number sentences they know that equal 8. They may even be able to have a go at some multiplication or division number sentences that equal 8. This can be repeated for other numbers.
Practise 2-, 5-, 10- and 3-times tables on a game called Hit the Button. Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
You will have a subtraction challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday.
Sumdog
Log in at www.sumdog.com
Happy Mother’s Day!
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 2 Team.
Date: 25th Mar 2022 @ 2:31pm
- Kayaking
- Canoeing
- Tree climbing
- Ghyll scrambling
- Long walks
- Jumping in a freezing cold lake
- Persevering when things became tricky
- Showing great trust in one another
- Being supportive to everyone
- Organising themselves
- Becoming independent
They should all be very proud of what they have achieved in their time there.
- In Maths, we learnt how to better use the formula of volume to solve problems. We then investigated how to present and interpret various bar charts.
- In English, our novel Skellig delved into the main character, Mina, in more detail so we wrote our impression of her using the text as evidence. We then wrote in role about the time when she first met the mysterious Skellig.
- In PE, we continued our unit of orienteering to read our unique map of the grounds to find different markers. We then played hide and seek with cones and mapping skills.
- In Art, we completed our Mother’s Day project by using the skill of pointillism to show the colours of an iris. The end result was brilliant. Please visit the Year 6 gallery to see a few.
Reading – Continue to read every night for 30 minutes. It is important to keep reading, right up until the end for the year.
NO SPELLING LIST THIS WEEK DUE TO TOWER WOOD (We will be recapping our knowledge of the spellings taught so far in lessons).
Maths challenges:
Counting:
- This week we have been counting in 250s and 750s
- Start with 2250 or 8500 or 5750
- Then count up in 25s ten times and back again
- 2250, 2500, 2750, 3000, 3250, 3500, 3750, 4000, etc
- Then count up and back in 750s
- 8500, 9250, 10000, 10750, 11500, 12250, 13000, etc
Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 17 – 9 = 6, 15 – 8 = 7.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (13 – 5, 18 – 9, 16 – 8, 15 - 9, etc)
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (1.3 – 0.5, 1.8 – 0.9, 1.6 – 0.8, 1.5 – 0.9, etc)
Sumdog has not been set due to Tower Wood. Have a good rest (and a nice book to read). There will be overnight home practice every day next week.
Date: 25th Mar 2022 @ 1:06pm
What a beautiful sunny week it has been :)
We loved our PE in the sunshine this week. In our PE lesson we practised some running skills in relays and we also practised different skills in games of hand ball including throwing and catching, defending, getting into space, and marking an oponent.
We have been getting creative this week in our art lesson. We have been observing, sketching, mixing colours and painting to make some sunflower pictures. We used these to make our Mother's Day cards.
In Science this week we looked at non-contact forces and magnetism. The children investigated materials that were magnetic and non-magnetic. We had some amazing questions.
"Why aren't cornflakes magnetic when they have iron in them?"
'How does it stick?'
'Why are some metals magnetic and some not?'
On Friday we explored kindness in some circle time and talked about what we can do to make people feel included and appreciated. We came up with some great ideas. These include:
Smile at somebody.
Ask somebody to play with you.
Ask somebody if they have had a nice day.
Say nice things about somebody.
We agreed that it is cool to be kind.
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud every night for 20 minutes. Talk about what you have read - this is very important!
Counting
Count out loud in:
20s from 0 to 240 and back again.
30s from 0 to 360 and back again.
40s from 0 to 480 and back again.
Times Tables
Practise the division facts for the 2x tables.
For example,
1 x 2 = 2 so 2 ÷ 1 = 2
2 x 2 = 4 so 4 ÷ 2 = 2
3 x 2 = 6 so 6 ÷ 2 = 3
Spellings
Here are your spellings for this week:
sadness illness tiredness emptiness happiness careful dreadful colourful hopeful powerful beautiful
Sumdog
Go on Sumdog to complete the challenges.
You will be tested on your spellings and divison facts on Tuesday 29th March.
Have a happy sunny weekend :)
Year 5 - Friday 25th March 2022
Date: 24th Mar 2022 @ 5:19pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
The children have worked hard this week shown great enthusiasm.
This week in year 5
In Maths, we have focused on angles. The children started the week measuring angles using a protractor and drawing their own angles on the desk, they loved this act of rebellion! We then moved onto drawing angles in our books, concentrating on being precise. We then looked at angles on a staright line and learnt how to work out the measurement of an angle without using a protractor. We finished the week with some reasoning questions relating to angles. A great week.
In English we started a new novel, The Amazing Adventures of Adolphus Tips by Michael Murpurgo. We started by comparing the different Michael Murpurgo books that we have read and examining the similarities between them, the children were able to recognise quite a number. We then used this knowledge to predict where this book may take us. Throughout the week we looked at main and subordinate clauses and relative clauses and used these to complete a diary entry in the character of Lily, describing the bombing at the village.
In Science, we investigated irreversible changes. We created our own volcano mixing vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and observed the irreversible change that occurred. Then using our knowledge from the past few weeks, the children had to classify changes into reversible and irreversible changes.
In RE, we read scripture relating to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. The children looked at religious artwork depicting the scripture and made links between the two. They then discussed the sacrifice that Jesus knew he was making and how that must have felt.
In French, we recapped how to conjugate an ER verb. This is quite tricky but once we got the hang of how to choose the right ending, we managed really well. Well done Y5.
In PE, we carried out the train run for a warm up and then we moved over to the forest area of the school. The children were given tarpaulins, ropes, pegs, mallets and given access to any wood and natural resources they could find, and asked to firstly build a den that their team could fit inside and then built a teepee for a toy figure. They worked together so well and made some great structures (see Den Building gallery).
The children have also worked very hard on a certain secret piece that you will see this weekend! They studied light and shade and experimented with a range of media to create a their special piece of art for a very special person in their lives.
The children also completed their common exception word spelling test this week. They have been marked and you will have received a copy of their results in your children’s bags. The words highlighted are the ones they spelled correctly and they should continue to practise the other words including the ones they spelled correctly for the final test at the end of the summer term.
Home Practice relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.
Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school. Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.
You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)
Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.
I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child. This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1. If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.
Spellings words with an ‘ant’ sound. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.
abundant, brilliant, constant, distant, dominant, elegant, fragrant, ignorant, tolerant, vacant, important, relevant, extravagant, restaurant, defiant.
Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further. You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child spelled correctly in the spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.
Sumdog challenges
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.
Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult. Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child. Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.
Times tables have been set to reflect class targets
Maths the children have been set activities relating to angles.
Spellings words ending -ant.
Date: 24th Mar 2022 @ 4:57pm
We had a fabulous time on our first school trip this week!
We went to 'Bring Yer Wellies'
When we first arrived we loved buliding sandcastles and playing on the beach. Then it was time to listen and learn all about plants and what they need to keep them alive. We then all planted our own herbs. Chives and Oregano.
After planting it was dinner time, we enjoyed our first picnic of the year in the sunshine.
In the afternoon we looked at a wormery and learnt all about what worms like to eat and how they make compost. We then walked down to river and raced our boats in teams of 4. (We had to shout really loud to make our boats win)
Finally we finished our day with some team games, we had to make dens big enough for our whole team to fit inside and we had a race to ring the bell and get inside the den.
All the children we amazing all day ad really enjoyed themselves!
Year 1 Blog-Friday 25th March 2022
Date: 24th Mar 2022 @ 9:58am
Welcome to your Friday blog! We are loving the sunny weather.
English
This week we met Scaredy Squirrel. He is scared of everything! We really enjoyed looking at the style of the books- they are really funny. We wrote about Scaredy Squirrel and we are making our own book about the birthday party. We are trying really hard to write in sentences and spell some more words correctly.
In Phonics we have been looking at ow as in snow and ow as in cow.
Play Alien Escape. Click here.
Maths
In Maths we have been learning about doubling. We have been using practical equipment to find doubles . We have also used our knowledge of the pattern of 2s to check our answers.
Play Archery Doubles. Click Here.
Science
Our French beans are starting to germinate. We looked at what is happening to them and described the changes. We gave them a bit of water too.
R.E.
This week we have learnt about how Holy Communion and the Last Supper relate to each other. We learnt that the bread is called a host and the wine is in a chalice.
P.E.
The class have been asking every week if we could play football in P.E. so this week, we did! We practiced dribbling with a ball and then passing to a partner. We are going to carry on with football for one more week to end the term.
D.T.
We carefully wrote our instructions for our smoothie and then on Friday, we made them! It was great to see how independent the class have become. Everyone chopped their own fruit and put them in the blender. Some of us liked our smoothies, some of us didn't!
Art
We loved being able to do art again this week. We sketched real roses and learnt to take our time, focus on the flower and sketch carefully. We then transferred these skills onto our Mother's Day card. We hope all of the mums love the finished product.
French
In French we learnt about the French Easter tradition of the bells flying to Rome to be blessed by the Pope before returning, bringing chocolate eggs to the French children. Then we made an Easter card with a message - Joyeuses Paques - Happy Easter!
Outdoor Learning
Scaredy Squirrel lives in his nut tree. He feels very safe there. Next week we are going to go outside to build him a shelter just in case he ever ventures down to ground level! Your child may bring in a toy squirrel next week if they have one.
Don't forget to get a costume ready for World Book Day next Friday.
Thank you to everyone who supported the pop-up shop. Enjoy your day!
Home Practice
Read for at least 10 minutes every night. This is so important. Please sign the diary so we can change the books. Keep practicing reading the Tricky Words on sight. Please just write a note in the diary if you need the next set.
We have been looking at our friends of 10. Ask your child for the ways to make 10 by adding 2 numbers, 0+10,1+9 and so on. Quick recall of these will really help your child. Keep practising counting in 1s,2s,5s and 10s. Say a sequence of numbers to your child and miss out a number. Can they tell you which number in the pattern you have missed out? How do they know?
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - oa and ow words
Maths - one step problems
Year 4 Sacramental Programme Session 3
Date: 21st Mar 2022 @ 4:50pm
Sacramental Programme – Session 3
Year 4 had another interesting and successful session in church on Monday.
This week, the children discussed their relationship with God through different types of prayer. The children considered how we can pray anywhere and at anytime, and that prayer is:
- talking to God and listening to Him
- words, silence and songs of praise
- actions, movement and stillness.
The children read through the words of The Lord’s Prayer and then examined more closely some of the words and phrases, and their meaning. Following this, the children discussed how Mass is the most perfect form of prayer and talked about the different parts of the service and the order in which they come.
Finally, the children were shown how to use each finger of their hand to pray for different people. They drew their hand on a sheet of paper and were given a prayer suggestion for each finger. The session finished with the children standing on the altar and saying prayers together.
Please have a look at the sheets your child has brought home and discuss The Lord’s Prayer with them. The children have also been asked to write their own prayer on the back page of the worksheet.
We appreciate your time and support in helping your children understand the significance of the work they are completing as part of their Faith Journey.
Please remember Y4 Reconciliation Day is on Monday 28th March. Y4 Parents are invited to come along to church at 2.15pm to join in with the Service.
Year 5 - Friday 18th March 2022
Date: 19th Mar 2022 @ 8:46am
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog
This week in year 5
In Maths, we have continued working really hard on coordinates, translations and position of shape. The children have worked really hard to remember to along the corridor and then up the stairs when using coordinates. They have all shown a great improvement in mathematical ability.
In English we have finished our book. The children have enjoyed this novel and have each produced a fantastic descriptive piece of work.
In Science, this week the children investigated reversible changes. We carried out an experiment using chocolate using the processes of melting, freezing, evaporation and condensing. They worked really hard and showed some great scientific skills.
In French, we learnt how to conjugate a regular ER verb in French this week. It's quite tricky but we will practise lots of times in y5 and y6. Bon effort, year 5!
In Geography, we began our topic on the UK. We looked at the different countries that make up the UK, the counties and cities within the countries, and located a variety of human and physical features. The children have shown good mapping skills, locating different counties within the UK.
Obviously the highlight of the week has been our trip to Borwick Hall. The children had the most amazing day, they really pushed themselves and tried things they never dreamed they could! The children did a range of activities during the day. These included indoor caving, an assault course, low ropes and zip lines, team building challenges, raft building and the leap of faith. They had their evening meal and then we all made our way down to the water and the children climbed on board the kayak rafts they had built and we paddled down the canal in the evening light. We then stopped to sit in silence for a while and listened to the nature and other sounds around us and observed the change in the light. We could see the sun was setting and the surroundings were changing in the dusky light, we even saw a couple of bats flying overhead! We then paddled back to the jetty, in the darkness and alighted the kayaks. It was just the most amazing end to a fantastic day! Once I have collected all the images taken on the day, I will add a gallery so you can see your children undertaking some of the great activities during the day.
Home Practice
Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. Remember the aim is for 20 pages a night. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.
You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left in the basket or on the desk in Mrs Mulgrew's room)
Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.
I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child. This week we are counting up in 0.4. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 0.4s, either forwards or backwards. It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it. Help them use bridging where appropriate to count on e.g. 4.8 + 0.2 = 5, then add the other 0.2 to get to 5.2.
This week I would like the children to concentrate on their common exception words. They were sent home around Christmas time. They will be assessed on these on Monday.
Sumdog challenges
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.
Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school. As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult. Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child. Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.
Times tables have been set to reflect class targets
Reception Friday 18th March 2022
Date: 18th Mar 2022 @ 3:51pm
This week we have continued with the story Jack and the Beanstalk. We have retold the story this week by using picture clues. We did some fantastic writing.
In maths we have been practising halving of items and numbers.
In French this week we have looked at the story La Petite Rouge (The Little Red Hen), we learnt the French words for some animals through a song.
In Art, we have been painting and drawing daffodils.
We also had another visit with the chicks from Year 3 and we got to hold them. They had changed a lot in a few days.
We have also had a visit from Freddie Fit and we have been doing den building.
Date: 18th Mar 2022 @ 3:44pm
Another great week for Year 2, Freddy Fit came to school and the children did exercises to upbeat/loud music. They learnt about team work and being healthy, there was a lot of fun and laughter. We also voted for our favourite books in the Lancashire Brilliant Book Awards. The winner was… Nappy The Pirate Baby. Well done to all the children who have been reading and enjoying these books, if you have not read one of the books yet, you will still get a chance to bring one home. In English, the children have completed/edited their newspaper reports and we will be ready to start our new novel very soon. They have also written some fantastic dragon stories and poems. We are learning about addition and subtraction in Maths, thinking about using lines and dots (tens and ones) and partitioning numbers to add/subtract them. For Science, we did a live lesson on minibeasts. The children enjoyed looking at the different habitats and learning new things about predatory beetles and pollinators. The tulips that the children drew and painted during our art lesson were extremely good. Keep up the great work year 2.
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
You could write down these new words in a word book and find out what they mean. It is amazing to see the list grow, something to be very proud of, especially when children realise how many more words they understand and can use!
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Reading resources:
Oxford Owl – This resource has an exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read and really enjoy it.
If parents and children decide to use this resource, we ask they access phase 5 books. Go to https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ and select ‘my class login’. Scroll down to the ‘eBook Library for Letters & Sounds’. You could also explore the rest of the site and read books from the Oxford Owl eBook library or listen to audio books.
Username: sto2
Password: 1234
Resources for questioning your child while they are reading - https://www.literacyshedblog.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/ks1_reading_vipers.pdf
In addition to this, reading a good bed time story to your child is so worthwhile and really helps towards a lifelong love of reading.
Spelling
Please practise these spellings for your quiz on Friday. A sheet will go home every Friday with the spelling list on. This is for home practice only and can be kept with you.
It is useful to write the words down on the spelling sheet, but also to call the words out and spell them out loud using the letter sounds or names. Learn them in a different order, not just how they appear on the list below.
You will have a Sumdog challenge on these words to complete by next Friday.
This week’s spellings: adding ‘ies’ to words ending in ‘y’.
flies carries
tries cries
replies dries
copies marries
babies families
Maths
At home, count forwards and backwards in halves. For example, 0, ½, 1, 1 ½, 2, 2 ½, 3 and so on. You can play the ‘follow me’ game that we played in class, taking turns to say each whole number and fraction.
Practise 2-, 5-, 10- and 3-times tables on a game called Hit the Button. Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
You will have a true or false addition challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday.
Sumdog
Log in at www.sumdog.com
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 2 Team.
YEAR 4 HOME PRACTICE 18th March 2022
Date: 18th Mar 2022 @ 3:37pm
Year 4
Home Practice 18th March 2022
Welcome to this week’s blog. We’ve had such a busy week in Year 4 - here’s what we have been learning ….
In English, we wrote a chapter from Kensuke’s point of view and explained his feelings about Michael. In addition, we chose words to describe Kensuke’s character. We then wrote a character description of Kensuke using evidence from the text to support our ideas.
In Maths, we learnt how to compare and order numbers with tens, ones, tenths and hundredths; place hundredths on a numberline and describe the effect of dividing a number by 100. We understood that when a number is divided by 100 it gets 100 times smaller and the digits move 2 places to the right hand side.
In RE, we discussed Ash Wednesday, how to live during Lent and Living in God’s way. We linked these discussions to our own lives and reminded ourselves of our Lenten Promises.
This week in French, we practised reading and writing sentences with shapes and colours. We are working towards creating a piece of art in the style of Matisse and being able to describe it in French.
In Music, we practised Roman Numerals to 100 with actions as we sang the ‘Roman Numerals Song’. Then, we played the rhythm / body percussion game from last week - ‘Pat, click, clap, groove’. Finally, we layered together ‘Boom, snap, clap’ with ‘Pat, click, clap, groove’ and were really impressed with what we had accomplished.
In Art, we experimented with different pencils to investigate their different tones (how dark or light they are). Following this, we sketched different gerberas in a variety of pencils. Next week, we will be experimenting with shades and tints, and then painting a gerbera.
We have also been very lucky this week as we had 2 visitors. The children in Year 3 have hatched some chicks from eggs and these came to visit us on Monday afternoon. We were fascinated with the chicks and asked some very thoughtful questions. In addition, Freddie Fit came into school and put us through our paces on Wednesday. This is the first time we have seen Freddie for over two years. We had a fabulous workout and talked about the benefits of exercise and eating healthily. Thank you Freddie – we’re looking forward to your next visit!
This week’s Home Practice ….
Reading
Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home. Make sure you discuss the story and the characters. Find the meaning of any new words too. Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.
Times tables
You have been given your own individual times table target. Please make sure you continue to practise your times tables in preparation for your test next week, on Thursday (24th March 2022). Ask someone at home to test you on your tables – can you recall them quickly and accurately?
Remember - you can also practise your tables playing ‘Hit the button’ and https://www.timestables.co.uk/
It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 11’s and hundredths – draw a line and some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers down as you count up. When you count down, cover the numbers up, say the number, then reveal what you have got written down to check you’ve said the correct number.
Count in 11’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 132 and back again (this will help with your 11 times table)
0 11 22 33 etc 132 121 110 etc
Start at 87 and count up to
87 98 109 etc 230 219 208 etc
Count in hundredths
For example, start at 0.65 and count up to 0.77 and back again
0.65 0.66 0.67 etc 0.77 0.76 0.75 etc
And start at 2.37 and count up to 2.49 and back again
2.37 2.38 2.39 etc 2.49 2.48 2.47 etc
Spellings
This week’s spellings all have the suffix -ous. Sometimes the root word is obvious (eg fame becomes famous) whereas others might not have an obvious root word (generous, obvious, jealous). Please practise your spellings each evening at home as many of you are still not doing this. You will be tested on them next Thursday (24th March 2022).
famous jealous enormous nervous dangerous
anxious generous obvious fabulous curious
glorious glamorous hazardous marvellous ridiculous
Sumdog challenges
You have been set 3 challenges on Sumdog:
- A spelling challenge based on the spellings above
- A times table challenge based on the 11 times tables
- A division challenge recognising the effect of dividing 1 and 2 digit numbers by 10 and 100
Please make sure you log on and have a go! Many of you are still not accessing Sumdog on a daily basis. Little and often is the key to success!
Number bonds
Number bonds are very important and help with many aspects of maths. The more confident you are with these, the easier you will find addition, subtraction, mental calculations etc. Therefore, please continue practising your number bonds / addition skills playing Hit the Button
The game you will play will help with your number bonds and quick addition skills. For example:
8 + 6 you could partition this into 8 + 2 + 4 = 14
This is because 8 + 2 is a pair to 10, then add the 4 to 10
Click on the link above, then on Play Game.
Click on Number bonds
On the left-hand side you will see the words ‘Up to 20’
Click on Addition within 20
See how many you can get correct in 1 minute. Then have another go and try and beat your score.
Maths and spelling training
Please continue to use the maths and spellings training sections as these are tailored for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult.
Date: 18th Mar 2022 @ 7:47am
Welcome to our Year 6 blog. This week the South Ribble Coaches organised a ‘Pass the Baton Relay’ event to celebrate the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As part of this, many primary schools in South Ribble took part in passing the baton from school to school. Please check our twitter account to see New Longton Primary School arriving to pass the baton to Year 6 and our two chosen baton runners heading off to pass the baton to Ashbridge Primary School.
Reminder:
With Tower Wood being next Wednesday, I have attached a more detailed kit list on to this blog.
Also, on Monday, we will be using our amazing school grounds to complete an orienteering course, so please bring any spare trainers or wellington boots that you do not mind getting a little dirty.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have been learning how to work out volume of cubes and cuboids. We now know that we must use the formula of length x width x depth.
- In English, we learnt that the main character, Mina, is home schooled and loves to read about William Blake. We then used one of his poems to inspire us to do the same.
- In RE, we used the topic of Unity to create our own dance to show our understanding of the topic.
- In PE, we developed our teamwork skills of orienteering to navigate around the two courses.
- In Art, we started our Mother’s Day project by looking closely at an iris and sketching what we saw. Then we used pastels and the skills of blending, edging and layering to create our artwork.
- In Music, we recapped the notes E and D from last lesson, then practised ‘Peace like a river’. Then we learnt about 4 beats in a bar and 2 beats in a bar with the songs, ‘Everybody loves Saturday night’ and ‘Lil’ Liza Jane’.
- In French, we practised conjugating a regular ER verb in French. It is quite tricky but we will practise lots of times before Year 7.
- In Science, we had a visit from Rachel, a hospital pharmacist, who works in a very busy Major Trauma department. She talked about her job and the path she followed to become a specialist pharmacist. She came to St Oswald's a few years ago so children can see they can go on to do anything they like from here! To celebrate National Science Week, we watched a live lesson to compare animal life cycles. We met a brand new born belted Galloway calf and even saw some live lambing!
Home Practice all relates to this week’s learning. These are the tasks needed to be completed:
- Reading – Continue to read every night for 30 minutes. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be used for the title of the book and any reading challenge chosen.
- NO SPELLING LIST THIS WEEK DUE TO TOWER WOOD (We will be recapping our knwoeldge of the spellings taught so far in lessons).
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in 25s and 75s
- Start with 225 or 850 or 575
- Then count up in 25s ten times and back again
- 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, etc
- Then count up and back in 75s
- 850, 925, 1000, 1075, 1150, 1225, 1300, etc
- Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 17 – 9 = 6, 15 – 8 = 7.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (13 – 5, 18 – 9, 16 – 8, 15 - 9, etc)
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (1.3 – 0.5, 1.8 – 0.9, 1.6 – 0.8, 1.5 – 0.9, etc)
- Counting:
- Sumdog (Multiplying Fractions)
- This will be great practice to use your times tables knowledge to apply them to multiplying fractions and mixed numbers.
- Sumdog (Volume of cubes)
- For this challenge, make sure you use the formula we have been using in class: length x width x height.
Maths and Spelling Training.
Spend some time training so the program can learn the skills your child needs to work on and practise.
This feature is great for anyone wanting to challenge themselves further.
Date: 17th Mar 2022 @ 4:44pm
We have had a wonderful week in Year 3.
Our highlights this week have included watching the chicks grow and become cheeky :) and enjoying a workout with Freddy Fit!
We have continued reading our class novel journey to Jo'burg. We are really loving the story and are learning some great new words to use in our writing. We have focused on using a range of conjunctions in our writing this week. Here are some:
before in case when as while but after although
In maths we have been using different methods of multiplying. We have been multiplying some tricky number together like 19 x 4, 31 x 5, 48 x 8. We have done so well! It really helps us if we know our times tables well.
In geography we did some work looking at the continents of the world, we ordered them by size and by how many countries they have. We were surprised that Africa has more countires than Asia even though Asia is bigger. We understood why when we spotted some of the big Asian countries like China and Russia.
We did some sketching in art using different pencils. We were looking carefully at sunflowers and using a variety of sketching pencils to draw what we saw. We are going to do some more of this next week and also add some paint.
On Friday we evaluated and improved our DT mechanisms and we had all had the chance to go outside and do some outdoor learning. We were building shelters, our focus was teamwork, resilience and problem solving. Please look at our photos on the galleries.
DT - Mechanisms Outdoor Learning
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every night for 20 minutes. Talk about new words.
Counting
Count in 3s from 0 to 36 and back again
Count in 4s from 0 to 48 and back again.
Count in 8s from 0 to 96 and back again.
Times Tables
Practise counting in 2, 5, 10, 3, 4 and 8.
Listen to the songs on YouTube.
Also complete the Sumdog challenges to practise the times tables.
Spellings
Your spellings this week all start with the prefix un-, mis- or dis-. A prefix goes at the beginning of a word changes its meaning.
mistake disapppear untrue misspell disagree untidy unwell disobey disbelieve mistreat
Complete the Sumdog challenges.
You will be tested on your spellings and times tables on Tuesday 22nd March.
HAVE AN AMAZING WEEKEND!!
Year 1 Blog-Friday 18th March 2022
Date: 17th Mar 2022 @ 9:58am
Welcome to your Friday blog! We have been noticing lots of signs of Spring.
English
This week we have been learning through the story of Farmer Duck. We looked at all the jobs the lazy farmer wanted the duck to do. We made puppets and props to re-tell the story. Ask your child to re-tell the story to you with their puppets. We dressed up as the farmer and the animals and then wrote a letter from the animals to the farmer. Some of the letters were quite angry!
In Phonics we are continuing to look at the split digraphs.
Maths
In Maths we have been counting in 10s. We have also been learning about money again. We looked at all the coins up to £2 and learnt that there are new and old versions of each coin. We also had a look at some notes. Please show your child some real money for them to look at, desribe and sort.
Play Helicopter Rescue. Click here.
Play coin sorting. Click here.
R.E.
This week, we learnt all of our school prayers off by heart and recorded ourselves on the iPad. If we were confident enough, we stood in front of the class and recited the Our Father to everyone. We all showed that we are great listeners and learners!
Science
We went outside to collect leaves. We looked for leaves of different shapes, sizes and colours. We also looked at the hedges which are starting to grow leaves and also buds on the trees.When we got back into class we chose our 3 best leaves and examined them closely. We compared them and described them to our partner. Our drawings of our leaves showed great detail.
French
We learnt the words for the parts of a plant in French and learnt and recited a poem with actions about how plants grow. We checked on our French beans to see if they had started to germinate.
P.E.
We had our final underarm throwing lesson this week. We have definitely improved since the beginning of the half term! We can now throw more accurately and can work as a team to throw a ball to each other. Some even chose to throw a bean bag!
History
In History, we learnt about the Wright Brothers and how they flew and invented the first successful aeroplane. We wrote some information down about them and then followed instructions to make our own paper planes.
P.S.H.E.
We talked about acts of kindness and how they cost nothing. We talked about the ways we can show kindness to other in our everyday lives.
D.T.
Our D.T. lesson was very fun! We have planned our fruit smoothies! We chose to have either 1, 2 or 3 ingredients and thought about what we will need to make the smoothie. Next week we will write the instructions and make the smoothies.
Freddy Fit
We were so excited to meet Freddy Fit. He put us all through our paces. We copied his movements and showed amazing teamwork skills when making a den out of hula hoops. We then did some hula hooping....who knew Miss Fisher is such an expert hula hooper? He was really impressed with how we listened as well.
The chicks visited us for the whole day on Wednesday. We were amazed how much they had grown in just a few days. We got them out of their box and held them. They have gone back to their farm now.
Don't forget the pop-up Mother's Day shop next Wednesday.If you want your child to visit the shop send their money in in a named envelope. Everything is priced at £2.50.
Home Practice
Read for at least 10 minutes every night. This is so important. please sign the diary so we can change the books. Keep practicing reading the Tricky Words on sight. Please just write a note in the diary if you need the next set.
We have been looking at our friends of 10. Ask your child for the ways to make 10 by adding 2 numbers, 0+10,1+9 and so on. Quick recall of these will really help your child. Keep practising counting in 1s,2s,5s and 10s. Say a sequence of numbers to your child and miss out a number. Can they tell you which number in the pattern you have missed out? How do they know?
Sumdog challenges
Phonics - Split digraph u_e
Maths - Recognising coins and notes
Date: 14th Mar 2022 @ 3:36pm
The children had another successful session in the church this week. Everyone was thoughtful and respectful and listened attentively to our learning.
This week we explored our names and why we were given them. We talked about how Jesus gave new names to some of his disciples and what that meant.
The children took part in a treasure hunt this week looking at all the statues, memorials and paintings and learning about their significance. They also created an acrostic poem using their name and features/traits that they have. Please have a look at the sheets that they brought home. There is an activity to complete together on the acrostic page and some discussions to have on the double page worksheet.
We appreciate your time and support in helping your children understand the significance of the work they are completing as part of their Faith Journey.
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 4:00pm
We have had a fantastic week of learning this week!
On Tuesday we visited Fr Michael for Mass, the first class mass for over two years. The children were very respectful and listened to all the readings and prayers.
We also have had some chicks in year 3 this week for our Science Week on Growth. The eggs arrived on Monday and each day we've watched them hatch and observed how they have changed as they have grown. The children have been very excited and interested in our new arrivals. See our gallery below.
In our Engligh learning this week we have started our new novel, Journey to Jo'burg by Beverly Naidoo. To provide the children with some context for the story, we researched Nelson Mandela and South Africa during apartheid. The children wrote some fantastic biographies and asked some very thoughtful questions. We are already enjoying the story!
In maths we have been learning to multiply by 10 using a number of strategies. The children have grasped these quickly and are applying their learning to solve problems.
In our geography learning this week we have been using digital maps to help identify the cities in the UK. The children enjoyed exploring our country and finding out the names of some new cities.
Home Practice
Reading
Read out loud to somebody every night for 20 minutes. Talk about your favourite parts and why you like them.
Spellings
Your spellings this week are words ending with -se and -ce.
Make sure you practise a little bit every day.
announce palace device advance silence evidence increase decrease pause disguise hoarse refuse
Times Tables
It is important that the children know their times tables fluently to access the learning over the next weeks so can you practise these at home. (x2, x5,x10, x3, x4 and x8)
Sumdog
Go onto Sumdog and complete the challenges and training.
You will be tested on your spellings and times tables on Tuesday 15th March.
Have an amazing and happy weekend!
From the Year 3 team
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 12:58pm
This week we have started our new story, Jack and the Beanstalk. At the beginning of the week we found a lot of items that had fallen from the sky, we were detectives finding out how they had arrived.
In maths we have been practising doubling of numbers.
In French this week we have practised our vegetable words again by building a pizza in time with the song Je suis une pizza! It's quite fast so we really had to listen to and understand the French words!
In Science we have observed dried and soaked pea seeds to see how they had changed. We left them sitting on plates of wet towels so we can observe when they start to germinate. We also made friends with a fruit tree in our school orchard so we can watch how it changes through the seasons.
In Art, we have beem drawing different fruits and vegetables focussing closely on what we could see and drawing the shapes.
We have also had the chicks come and visit, which was really special.
Year 2 Home Practice Friday 11th March 2022
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 12:54pm
This week’s highlight was our trip to ‘Bring Yer wellies’. The children had a fantastic time and learnt so much. The day was packed with activities like planting herbs, den building, playing on the sand beach and watching our model Tudor Houses burn, as though it was the real Great Fire of London! Year 2 had lovely manners and listened so well, a real credit to the school. In Maths, we have been focusing on arithmetic. In English, the children have written letters to Grandad about the pet dragon and looked at commas. They have also written a crime report about one of the villains in a traditional tale of their choice. Our D.T. day was busy but very productive. The Tudor Houses looked amazing, the children did so well designing and building them. What an exciting week!!
Reading
In Year 2, children should read for at least 15 minutes every night and discuss the book with an adult or older sibling. This will help with understanding the text and learning new words.
You could write down these new words in a word book and find out what they mean. It is amazing to see the list grow, something to be very proud of, especially when children realise how many more words they understand and can use!
Please sign and leave a small comment when you have read with your child and make it clear that you have finished a book, then we know we can change it.
Reading books are changed every Monday and sent home on Tuesday. However, if you need to change a book another time, we will change it as needed.
Reading resources:
Oxford Owl – This resource has an exciting range of carefully levelled books to help children learn to read and really enjoy it.
If parents and children decide to use this resource, we ask they access phase 5 books. Go to https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ and select ‘my class login’. Scroll down to the ‘eBook Library for Letters & Sounds’. You could also explore the rest of the site and read books from the Oxford Owl eBook library or listen to audio books.
Username: sto2
Password: 1234
Resources for questioning your child while they are reading - https://www.literacyshedblog.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/ks1_reading_vipers.pdf
In addition to this, reading a good bed time story to your child is so worthwhile and really helps towards a lifelong love of reading.
Spelling
Please practise these spellings for your quiz on Friday. A sheet will go home every Friday with the spelling list on. This is for home practise only and can be kept with you.
It is useful to write the words down on the spelling sheet, but also to call the words out and spell them out loud using the letter sounds or names. Other ideas include breaking the words up and writing them down in different colours (multiply) or think of your own ways to remember the word for example, spell it aloud using a tune or song.
You will have a Sumdog challenge on these words to complete by next Friday.
This week’s spellings are, the sound ‘igh’ spelt with a ‘-y’:
cry sly
fly shy
dry terrify
try sky
reply multiply
Maths
At home, count forwards and backwards in 10s. Start at different numbers each time. For example, start counting forwards from 24 or backwards from 39. See if you can count past 100!
Practise 2-, 5-, 10- and 3-times tables on a game called Hit the Button. Follow this link: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
You will have an addition challenge on Sumdog to complete by next Friday.
Sumdog
Log in at www.sumdog.com
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 2 Team.
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 12:42pm
Welcome to our Year 6 blog. This week, the Year 5/6 Indoor Athletics team completed another Athletics Finals in Blackpool. The competition was extremely tough as we were against the top 15 schools in Lancashire. Everyone did brilliantly and we are still awaiting the final results.
Our learning in Year 6 this week:
- In Maths, we have been learning how to work out the perimeter of different shapes, whilst improving our fractions knowledge (counting, adding and multiplying fractions).
- In English, we learnt that one of the main characters of Skellig, Mina, is home schooled. We discussed this in detail and learnt how to debate and write up a balanced argument of Home Schooling vs Public Schooling.
- In RE, we continued our new topic, ‘Unity’, by investigating the ‘Our Father’ and how it sums up everyone’s prayers and hopes. We then designed a bookmark with some of the words from the Our Father and how we apply the prayer to daily life.
- In PE, we completed our gymnastics topic using a range of travels, balances, jumps and rolls, whilst working in a group of up to 4. We then evaluated each other’s performance giving accurate praise and areas to work on next time.
- In Music, we learnt a song for Science week, ‘Everything starts with a seed’. We used recorder to practise ‘The boat song’, using a new note, E.
- In French, we practised conjugating and using regular ER verbs in the present tense. We wrote some super sentences by looking back at previous lessons and using vocabulary and connectives from other topics.
- In Science, we began by reading and discussing answers to our questions that Dr Ahna Skop sent from America. We then reflected on what we have learnt from our interaction with her. She has really made us realise that anybody at all can be a scientist and there are many different ways to communicate science so that it is accessible to all. Our learning this week was about medicines and drugs such as caffeine and alcohol. We looked at their effects on our bodies but also how they can affect behaviour and the other people around us. Next week, we have a visit from a hospital pharmacist who will talk about her job and answer questions about medicines.
- In PSHE, we continued the theme of ‘becoming independent’ with more games and scenarios to help with any worries, as we think about the challenges of Tower Wood.
Home Practice all relates to this week’s learning. These are the tasks needed to be completed:
- Reading – Continue to read every night for 30 minutes. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be used for the title of the book and any reading challenge chosen.
- The days when you can change your book:
- Monday – Roller Coasters
- Tuesday – Big Dippers
- Wednesday – The Waltzers
- The days when you can change your book:
- Spellings (challenge words)
- Sumdog (Year 6 Sp 2 wk 4 Prefix dis, un, im)
disadvantage, disappear, disappoint, discovered, dishonest, unacceptable, unachievable, unbelievable, uncomfortable, unforgivable, immature, impatient, impolite, impartial, impossible
- Maths challenges:
- Counting:
- This week we have been counting in fraction steps. Try to do the same out loud or with paper.
- Draw a line with some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers as you count up or down, then double check it to make sure you have said the correct numbers.
- Start with these numbers: 5 ¼, 7 1/5, 13 3/5 and count up 10 times then back again in 1/4s:
- Counting:
5 ¼, 5 2/4, 5 ¾, 6, 6 ¼, 6 2/4, 6 3/4
and in 2/5s :
7 1/5, 7 3/5, 8 8 2/5, 8 4/5, 9 1/5
- Number facts:
- To help your maths even more, please continue to learn your numbers facts, 6 + 8 = 14, 8 + 7 = 15.
- The best way to do this is to simply have someone in your home quiz you with questions like (8 + 6, 6 + 5, 3 + 8, 5 + 9, etc)
- Then get them to change the place value of these digits (0.8 + 0.6, 0.06 + 0.05, 0.3 + 0.8, etc)
- Sumdog (Perimeter)
- Throughout this week we have used strategies to find the perimeter (the length all the way around the outside of a 2D shape) of simple shapes like rectangles and triangles to complex rectilinear shapes. Make sure you count how many sides the shape has before you add the numbers together.
- Sumdog (Adding and Subtracting Fractions)
- For this challenge, make sure you check whether the question is an add or subtract. Try to see the relationship between the two denominators and change them if they are different, just like we do in class.
Maths and Spelling Training.
Spend some time training so the program can learn the skills your child needs to work on and practise.
This feature is great for anyone wanting to challenge themselves further.
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 12:38pm
Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog.
This week in Year 5:
In Maths, we have been learning how to plot coordinates with simple shapes and how to translate them (move them around the coordinate grid). The children have been remembering to to move along the corridor (x axis) and up the stairs (y axis).
In English we have completed our novel, ‘Why the Wales Came’. The children really enjoyed this book with the main characters learning about trust and friendship. The children have written superb book reviews, which will be sent to Sir Michael Morpurgo.
In Science this week, we have celebrated National Science Week (with the theme being on Growth). We carried out a pattern seeking investigation to test the hypothesis that people with longer legs can jump further. We though we knew the answer already but we had to provide the evidence to prove it. Our scatter graph showed that there is indeed no link between leg length and how far you can jump.
In RE, we have discussed the forty days of Lent and made a Lenten calendar to help us prepare for Easter.
In French, we learnt that there are 3 words for the –le, la or les, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine or plural. We practised choosing the correct form and giving our opinion of different things. We also read some short texts in French and tried to understand them. We realised that you can work out what unknown words mean from the sense of the sentence.
In PE, the children had a very successful hockey session, focusing on how to work as a team when attacking and defending.
DO NOT FORGET
Borwick Hall trip next Friday. A kit list has been explained in detail on the newsletter.
All children need to provide a disposable bag for their packed lunch.
Please meet at school at 7:45am for prompt leave at 8:00am.
We return to school at 9:00pm.
Home Practice
This week’s tasks:
- Read every night for 15-20 minutes
- Reading is the key to unlock all your learning potential
- Maths
- Every child knows their tables target so please practise this daily
- Counting – decimal numbers
- Start from the number 4, 7, 9 and count up and down in 0.2s, 0.02s and 0.002s. Write them out, just like we do in class.
- Sumdog
- Spelling challenge
- x6 and x12
- Shapes, translations and angles
YEAR 4 Home Practice 11th March 2022
Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 10:25am
Year 4
Home Practice 11th March 2022
Reminder - Sunday 13th March 2022
There is a Sacramental Preparation Mass on Sunday 13th March at 10.30am for the children in Year 4 who are taking part in the Sacramental Preparation Programme. We look forward to seeing you there.
Welcome to this week’s blog. Here’s what we have been learning in school this week ….
In English, we learnt more about inverted commas and practised using them in our own writing. We also discussed how Michael’s emotions changed throughout a chapter of the novel. In addition, we wrote a powerful description of a thunderstorm using our senses to help with our narrative.
In Maths, we continued to learn about hundredths, discovering how to write fraction and decimal equivalents of halves, quarters and three quarters. We also made links between decimal notation and money. Finally, we used our understanding of equivalences between tenths and hundredths to recognise that a number with 2 decimal places can be represented in different ways. Again, another tricky concept – well done for working so hard in maths Year 4!
In RE, we started our new topic ‘Self-discipline’. We shared a story and discussed whether or not the main character had shown self-discipline. We also considered times in our own lives when we needed to make choices which required self-discipline. In addition, on Monday, we attended church for the first session of our Sacramental Journey. Please see the blog posted on Monday for more information about this.
We learnt that in French, the adjective has to match its noun. So if the noun is feminine or plural, the adjective has to be feminine or plural too. We practised this by drawing shapes and adding a colour, making it agree. We are working towards doing a piece of artwork and describing it in French.
In Music, we learnt a new song ‘Everything starts with a seed’ for Science week. We will be singing this in Golden Assembly on Friday. Following this, we played the rhythm game from last week - ‘Pat, click, clap, groove’. Finally, we played a musical challenge which involved body percussion, reading symbols and counting in 4’s.
In Science, we carried out an investigation into the viscosity (thickness) of liquids. We poured equal volumes of different liquids into separate cups. We then chose 2 liquids to ‘race’. Before we began the race, we made a prediction, then we carried out the race and recorded our results. We tried racing different liquids and then attempted to order the liquids from thickest to least thick.
This week’s Home Practice ….
Reading
Please read for 20 minutes each evening to an adult at home. Make sure you discuss the story and the characters. Find the meaning of any new words too. Reading every night will help you read more fluently and with understanding.
Times tables
You have been given your own individual times table target. Please make sure you continue to practise your times tables in preparation for your test next week, on Thursday (17th March 2022). Ask someone at home to test you on your tables – can you recall them quickly and accurately?
Remember - you can also practise your tables playing ‘Hit the button’ and https://www.timestables.co.uk/
It is crucial that you learn all of your table facts as this will help you with many aspects of maths.
Counting
This week, please practise counting in 9’s and hundredths – draw a line and some marks on it like I do in class. You could write the numbers down as you count up. When you count down, cover the numbers up, say the number, then reveal what you have got written down to check you’ve said the correct number.
Count in 9’s
For example, start at 0 and count up to 108 and back again (this will help with your 9 times table)
0 9 18 27 etc 108 99 90 etc
Count in hundredths
For example, start at 0.05 and count up to 0.14 and back again
0.05 0.06 0.07 etc 0.14 0.13 0.12 etc
And start at 0.57 and count up to 0.72 and back again
0.57 0.58 0.59 etc 0.72 0.71 0.71 etc
Spellings
This week’s spellings are irregular plurals. Each time ‘ves’ needs to be added to the word ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, to spell the plural. Please practise your spellings each evening at home as many of you are still not doing this. You will be tested on them next Thursday (17th March 2022).
calf calves half halves knife knives
leaf leaves shelf shelves thief thieves
yourself yourselves themselves
Sumdog challenges
You have been set 3 challenges on Sumdog:
- A spelling challenge based on the spellings above
- A times table challenge based on the 3, 6 and 9 times tables
- A decimal equivalents challenge – recognising and writing decimal equivalents of any number of tenths or hundredths
Please make sure you log on and have a go! Many of you are still not accessing Sumdog on a daily basis. Little and often is the key to success!
Number bonds
Number bonds are very important and help with many aspects of maths. The more confident you are with these, the easier you will find addition, subtraction, mental calculations etc. Therefore, please continue practising your number bonds / addition skills playing Hit the Button
The game you will play will help with your number bonds and quick addition skills. For example:
8 + 6 you could partition this into 8 + 2 + 4 = 14
This is because 8 + 2 is a pair to 10, then add the 4 to 10
Click on the link above, then on Play Game.
Click on Number bonds
On the left-hand side you will see the words ‘Up to 20’
Click on Addition within 20
See how many you can get correct in 1 minute. Then have another go and try and beat your score.
Maths and spelling training
Please continue to use the maths and spellings training sections as these are tailored for your child to practise skills, facts and words that they find difficult.