Design and Technology – stable structures
This half term, KS1 are taking part in some Design and Technology.
First, we looked at the design process.
PLAN – MAKE – EVALUATE
This week, we have been looking at what makes a stable structure.
A stable structure is strong, has as flat base and is free-standing.
We moulded playdough into different 3D shapes and made predictions about which would be the most stable and why.
In our classes, we placed each structure on a flat surface (a whiteboard) and tipped it. We measured how high we could lift the board until the structure started to roll off.
In 1A and 1/2B, the pyramid was the most stable. In 2C, the cuboid won!
After this, we made some structures using paper and masking tape. We balanced books on each structure to see which was the strongest and most stable.
The cylinder was the strongest because it does not have any corners or weak points. This meant the weight of the books was distributed more equally.
Year 3/4 Reading
This week in Year 3/4, we explored the poem “I Opened a Book” by Julia Donaldson. The children loved diving into the imaginative world the poem describes. We turned our classroom into a retrieval treasure hunt and searched for hidden questions around the room to test our understanding of the poem. To finish, everyone had a go at performing the poem to the class with great expression and enthusiasm. A fantastic week of reading and creativity!
Help at home: Read the poem aloud and try to use intonation, tone and actions.
I Opened a Book
by Julia Donaldson
I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.
What a Knight!
This week, children in Year 6 have started rehearsals for this year’s production – What a Knight! Thank you parents for helping your child learn their lines. It makes a big difference.
Our chorus, Year 5, have started rehearsals for the songs. Mr Welch assures me that they sound great!
Help at home: Continue to support your child in learning their lines.
Reading
This week in reading, the children have been exploring a non-fiction text linked to our current Design and Technology topic, with a focus on Women in Design. The text introduced them to several pioneering female designers, including Charlotte Perriand, Ray Eames, and Nanna Ditzel, who helped shape the world of modern design despite facing many challenges and barriers. The children really enjoyed learning about their achievements and the impact they’ve had on everyday objects we often take for granted!
Alongside developing their understanding of the content, we focused on key reading skills such as retrieving information, inference and thinking about the author’s language choices. The children were also encouraged to consider why the writer included particular details and how they should be critical users of online material. It was fantastic to see such thoughtful discussions and engaged reading throughout the week – well done, everyone!
English – Michael Recycle
We have been reading Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel. It is teaching us all about recycling and looking after our planet.
We have also used it to spot rhyming words and write rhyming sentences.
The sky and the river are smelly and brown.
Soon fifty-foot bugs will take over over your town.
Help at home by involving your child in recycling your household rubbish.
1A’s target treat
We have been working hard on following the target ‘standing smartly in the line with a silent voice’ and we have earned the last healthy pizza topping on our chart. Well done 1A! As a reward for all of our efforts we watched an episode of Bluey today.
Our next target is ‘to be ready at carpet time.’
Wetherby taster day
The Year 5’s had the opportunity to visit Wetherby High School and experience what it is like to be a high school pupil. They were thrown in at the deep end and completed a whole day of lessons just like a Year 7! The day began with PE. The children were able to use their basket ball skills that they had learnt earlier in the year. They had a go at different skills and even did some races!
Art was a great lesson in which the children learnt about a New York graffiti artist called Jean-Michel Basquiat. They looked at some of his artwork and discussed colour, shape, line and form. They then had a go of creating some art in the same style. They used pastels to add colour and shape to their own images.
The last lesson of the day was cooking. The children all made their own pizza rolls. They did a great job of following instructions and the recipe, although some of them looked like a ghost by the end of the lesson due to excessive use of flour! They also did a great job of tidying and washing up. It was spotless!
The children had a great day and behaved so well, remembering to use their manners at all times.
s! 
Reception to Year 1 information meeting
As the weather becomes brighter and we near the end of the academic year you may be thinking about your child’s next steps as they journey into Year 1. Moving to Year 1 is perhaps a less significant change for children, and that’s because we’re a happy and healthy place to learn where we all know each other.
A zoom meeting for parent’s starts our transition process, here you will meet the Key Stage 1 staff and find out about the Year 1 curriculum.
The zoom meeting is on Monday 16 June at 6pm please follow the link that will be emailed to you.
The next step is for your child to spend some time in the Year 1 classrooms. They’ll meet the teachers and join in with the learning, they’ll get a taste of what it’s like to be in Year 1. The whole-school transition, later in July, completes the process, by spending a morning with their new class teacher.
This is a really exciting time of year, moving on and taking those next steps whilst continuing to strengthen the effective learning behaviours they have established in Reception.
Off we go!
The children returned to Nursery happily on Monday with lots of chatter about their half term adventures. Some children had been on trains and some on long car rides to various destinations. This talk led us to think about lots of different types of transport – cars, trains, planes and boats.
We sorted and counted lots of different types of vehicles in the Maths area, counting some really high numbers as we lined up the vehicles.
During story time, we’ve enjoyed listening to The Train Ride. We noticed that the rhythm of the story makes us think about the train going along the track. We drew some maps of the journey, passing the sheep in the meadow and the lighthouse at the seaside.
Outside in the Nursery garden, we got a wonderful surprise to see that our strawberries, beans, peas and carrots were growing so well. We can’t wait to start harvesting them once they’re ready. How are your beanstalks growing at home? Don’t forget to let us know.
In group time, we talked about night and day and next week, we’ll move on to ordering key events in our daily routines .
Some more learning from this week.
Help at home: Talk to your child about day and night time. What activities do people do in the day and at night? What do they do in the morning/afternoon/evening?
Next week’s learning:
For the final half term, we’ll revisit all of the sounds we have learnt and we will focus on key phonics skills such as identifying initial sounds, spotting rhymes and segmenting and blending words.
Over the next few weeks, our focus will be on oral ‘segmenting and blending’ skills. This is when we segment words into sounds and learn how to blend them together. Segmenting and blending orally is an important skill for children to acquire before they begin the more formal teaching of phonics in Reception.
We practise segmenting and blending sounds that we can hear in words. This skill is quite tricky and can take children some time to grasp; it will continue to be taught throughout the Foundation Stage.
To segment ‘bus’, we would say ‘b – u – s’ . We always use pure sounds and try to avoid putting ‘uh’ on the end of a sound, for example ‘ssss’ not ‘suh’.
So for example, you may ask your child if they would like some ‘j – a – m ‘ on their toast at breakfast.
Please don’t hesitate to ask Nursery staff for any further information with how to support your child
Next week’s story of the week
Duck in the Truck
And finally…
The children watched a video this week of our butterflies being set free. They decided to arrive a little later than expected, during the half term holidays. We are sure that they will find their way to our Nursery garden, so we’re keeping a look out for them everyday.
Year 3, 4 – Writing and Maths
Well done, everyone! What a great start to this half term.
This week in Writing, we’ve been using our imaginations to explore an abandoned house! Our purpose is to describe the eerie setting in detail so that an illustrator can bring it to life through artwork.
We’ve been focusing on using Expanded Noun Phrases (ENPs) to add depth and detail to our writing. You need a determiner, adjective and noun for it to be an ENP.
Think “a crumbling, ivy-covered wall” or “a broken window with jagged glass.” Our goal is to paint a picture with words!
The classes have loved getting creative and spooky with their ideas. We can’t wait to see how our setting descriptions inspire some fantastic illustrations!
In Maths, we have been counting money and converting money from pence into pounds. At home, why not count up the change that you have? You could also explore how to make different amounts of money. For example, how many ways can you make 85p?