NEWS We hope everyone had an enjoyable half term.  It has been lovely to hear what the children have been up to over the holiday.  Mrs Smith’s tea party  Two children from every class in the school got to have tea with Mrs Smith on Friday afternoon.  All of the children made it a very special day for her.  Please enjoy any firework parties that you may be going to this weekend but remember to be careful and stay safe!

Literacy Maple Class have been creating firework poems to commemorate Bonfire Night and Diwali. Some of us did shape poems using onomatopoeia and calligrams while others wrote some fantastic acrostics.   Marysia                                                                   Tia Rosie                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Ellie                                                       Poplar class also did shape poems about fireworks Lime Class have been practising their Kung Fu punctuation! (Shi Ha)  HOMEWORK: Talk homework is about favourite seasons. Please remember to write the date and title in your green homework book and make plenty of notes to help with your writing next week! Please note the homework is due in on Monday.

Mathematics Mrs Prowle’s group have been exploring Tangrams and the way in which the shapes relate to each other in terms of their size. First we watched an animation about Tangrams (see the YouTube link below). Then, we had to place each shape on a number line according to its equivalent fractional value. For example if the square represented 1, the two small triangles would be ½ and the parallelogram would also be 1 as it can be made from the two small triangles.    We then moved on to more challenging examples and created more number lines. We had to think carefully about equivalent fractions and how to halve quarters and eighths. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5mc-dkYLfI Lots of shapes can be made from Tangrams. You could try making some at home! http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/tangrams http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/shapes/tangrams.html Mrs Williams and Mrs Gilder’s group have been exploring 3D shapes and the nets that are used to make them. Can you match the net and shape? http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/math/enrichment/gr4/EN0411b/EN0411b.htm As we were building our shapes, we discussed the name of the shape and the number of faces, vertices (corners) and edges. You could try printing your own shape at home and building it. What is the shapes name? What properties does it have? http://www.senteacher.org/worksheet/12/NetsPolyhedra.html Mrs Roche’s group have had fun constructing 3d shapes, firstly from playdough and straws and then out of card. We have discussed the number of faces and their shapes, vertices and edges. Homework: Mrs Prowle’s group: Solving further Tangram puzzles. Remember to write the date and WALT. Think carefully about how to construct your number line and make sure you use a ruler! Mrs Roche’s group: Test 4 in the exercise book

Lime’s Nurture Group Nurture group was brilliant! We got to take part in lots of activities. Sam We moved to different sections where we could play, act and eat a snack! Holly We were able to spend more time with our friends and we could play with different friends. Siobhan Nurture group was great because you were able to choose what we were able to do. Kiran The gloop was very gooey and amazing to feel. It kept getting stuck all over my hands when I touched it. Emily We had a good choice of activities and everyone was very well behaved and enthusiastic about it. Max

ART Maple Class used oil pastels and acrylic paint to create these effective firework scenes. First we covered a piece of paper with bright pastel colours and then we painted over the top with black acrylic. Once that had dried we scratched our designs into the paint to reveal the colour underneath using a paper clip, pencil or handle of a paintbrush.

SCIENCE Lime and Poplar classes each carried out an investigation into the quickest way to dry clothes.  We wet some material and then placed it in different places – outside, in front of a fan and near the radiator.  We found that the material in front of the fan dried the quickest.

Week ending 24.10.14

It was lovely to meet you all at our parents’ consultations this week. We’re sure you’ll agree that the children have made a brilliant start to the year in their LKS2 classes. We hope you enjoy a well-deserved rest over the coming half term week and look forward to seeing everyone back, refreshed, revitalised and ready for some more exciting learning! If anyone is going out ‘Trick or treating’ on Friday, please remember to stay with an adult and be careful while you’re enjoying yourself! There will be no formal homework over the half term but make sure you keep going with reading, tables practice and spellings. Perhaps you could do a diary of what you get up to during the week too! After half term, as the weather gets colder, please remember to put some jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt in your PE bags as we will still go outside for these lessons. You may also want to have a spare pair of trainers that you don’t mind getting muddy for games lessons on the field. These should be brought to school in a plastic carrier bag.

Literacy Maple Class: This week we have been doing some follow up work from our visit to Kew. We combined our literacy learning about description using the senses to write about the day. Here are some extracts from those pieces of work, can you spot which sense the authors were using?   “When I first went in the Palm House I felt the humidity striking me.”    Olivia   “I learnt that the fan shaped leaves are spread out so they can get more sunshine.”   Ben   “I couldn’t believe that Cacao pods were orange, I thought they would be brown!”   Iona   Lime Class: When did you last write a thank you letter ? In Lime Class we discussed why people write thank you letters and how receiving them makes you feel.  We wanted to write thank you letters to the people who lead our workshops at Kew.  We began planning and drafting our letters this week.   Poplar Class: We have also been writing thank you letters to the people at Kew Gardens. We told them how much we had enjoyed our visit, what had impressed us and asked questions about future plans for Kew gardens.   Useful Websites: http://www.kew.org/

Mathematics   In Mrs Prowle’s group, we have been learning about 2D shapes. We found out that shape names come from Ancient Greek and Latin and that polygons are straight-sided 2D shapes. Some of us found it a bit tricky to sort regular and irregular shapes but got there in the end with some practise.  We also spent some time learning about the different triangles and their properties. Can you identify these triangles from their descriptions: 1.     3 equal sides & angles 2.    2 equal sides & angles 3.    All sides and angles different Some of us challenged ourselves to label different properties of triangles as well.         In Mrs Williams and Mrs Gilder’s group, we have been continuing our work on 2D shapes.  We discussed when a shape is regular (equal length sides and angles) and when it is irregular, and also whether we were able to spot right angles. Ask your child the names of the different triangles (right angled, equilateral, scalene, and isosceles). http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-shape-and-weight.html#quad Crickweb | KS2 Numeracy Shape & Weight   We also began exploring 3D shapes. We used terms FACES, EDGES and VERTICES (corners) to discuss the properties of the shapes. http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/longshape3d.html http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/3d/index.htm   What 2D and 3D shapes can you spot at home ? or outside ? We would love to display some of your photos of your half term findings !    In Mrs Roche’s group we have revisited subtraction this week. The children have worked really hard to try and improve on this difficult area.

Topic In Maple and Poplar we completed some follow up work from our visit to Kew Gardens last week and learned more about the ‘deadly and disgusting’ plants we’d found. We were horrified by some of the effects of these plants and surprised that some of them could actually be used as medicines in small doses.

Art LKS2 used photographs from Kew to create rainforest pictures. We stuck the photograph in the middle of a piece of paper and used clues from it, as well as our memories and imagination to extend the picture. We are really pleased with the results !

We all enjoyed Lime Class’s Sharing Assembly this morning and I’m sure you’ll all agree that the children have learnt a lot since September.  For those of you who couldn’t be with us, here is a video clip :

Kew Trip   Thank you to the parents who joined us on our trip to Kew Gardens. We had a fantastic time and hope you enjoy looking at the photos with the children. The hands on workshops really informed us about what the rainforests provide.           Here is what some of the children learned from or thought about the trip:   Poplar class: ‘At Kew I enjoyed going into the Palm House where I was wacked in the face by a banana plant! The amount of spikes on the cacti in the Princess of Wales Greenhouse astonished me. It was such a lovely experience going to Kew and I think everyone else who came would agree.’   ‘Kew Gardens is full of fascination to giant standards. I couldn’t bear to close my eyes.’   ‘The whole place was super but the one thing which really stood out for me was the work shop. It was such fun and we were able to test our taste buds.’   ‘The most fascinating bit about Kew was the banana plant. It hung down on quite a hard looking vine. There were amazing carnivorous plants like the Pitcher Plant and Venus Fly Traps.’   ‘I enjoyed searching in the green house for the poisonous plants because it was fun searching for them.  What I found most interesting was that monkeys prefer papaya more than bananas!’

Literacy Maple Class wrote up their talk homework on the subject of which animal they would like to be. The children wrote about a wide range of animals from lions to snakes and even a sloth! Here are some extracts of their work; can you guess what animal they are writing about? ‘It would be amazing to see all the types of coral and fish. I could glide through the silky water and dodge the powerful currents as they sweep past me.’                                                                                          Hannah   ‘My straw-like tongue injects itself into the flower and sucks the sweet nectar into my mouth.’                                                                         Ellie   ‘The smell of bamboo to us is as special as diamonds and as rare as rubies. My muzzle would twitch at the smell.’                                            Isabella   ‘I would dive all day surrounded by glimmering ice-bergs.’                 Joshy   Poplar Class also wrote up their talk homework and here are some extracts from their work: ‘We would travel far and wide in our area, jumping logs, hiking mountains, walking through rivers.’                                                                   Skye ‘Catching juicy rabbits would be a walk in the park as I am so silent, quick and deadly, nothing has time to notice me’.                                       Enya ‘I would see a myriad of fish.’                                                           Isaac ‘I would see slimy shipwrecks or the colourful coral or the snapping sharks.’                                                                                           Jessica ‘I would be able to fly over snow-capped mountains and scorching barren desserts.’                                                                                        Dylan ‘I would move by swaying my black tail (called a fluke) back and forth as fast as you can imagine.’                                                                    Mia   Lime Class have written some recounts on our visit to Kew Gardens.  We have also been busy designing invitations for our Cookie Kingdom café.  Please look out for these invitations and remember to RSVP!   Homework: The children will be practising their use of clauses and phrases. They should do their homework in their green books with the usual high standards of presentation.

Mathematics   In Mrs Prowle’s group, we have been practising our multiplication skills and working on our targets again this week. Do you know your 2,3,4,5, and 10 times tables really thoroughly? Are you getting more confident with your 6 and 8 times tables? Can you recall the related division facts just as quickly?   In Mrs Williams and Mrs Gilder’s group we began working on 2D shapes. We look for them around the school and compared them using their properties. Have a look around your house or garden for some shapes. Can you name them? How many sides do they have? Are they regular? Useful Websites: http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/information/shape_facts/shape_facts.htm     http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/3d/index.htm   In Mrs Roche’s group we have been looking at halving and doubling numbers. We have asked the children to set out their work very neatly and show every step of the operation. When you double a number, will it be odd or even? Or does it depend what the number was first? When you halve an odd number will you have a whole number as your answer or will there be a fraction?   Homework: Mrs Prowle’s group: Due to my absence today, the children should complete another page in their Schofield & Sims book.   Mrs Williams and Mrs Gilder’s homework   Mrs Roche’s group: halving and doubling to be completed on the sheet. Complete as much as possible.

TOPIC Following our trip to Kew we have been doing some writing based on our trip.

RE We have continued to look at the life of Muhammed.

MUSIC This week we have been learning about Ostinato alongside the work on Pitch, Duration and Dynamics that we have already been practising.  Maple class used xylophones to play the ostinato in the Canoe Song that we learned earlier in the term. We also really enjoyed learning a great new ‘call and response’ song called ‘Kye Kye Kule’