Head's Up!21 May 2026 (by headmarton) |
Weekly news from Mrs Deakin
As children finish today for the half term holidays, I would like to thank you all for your continued support throughout this term.
We say a fond farewell and thank you to Jess today as she leaves Mad House and had a little tea party with gifts and cake for her. We wish her every success and happiness for the future.
Thank you also to everyone who supported F&F at last Sunday’s Bubble Run. It was wonderful to see so many families involved and enjoying the event together.
This has been an incredibly quick half term and everyone is looking forward to the holidays. We have Staff First Aid INSET training tomorrow and then look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday 1st June. Please note that on Wednesday 3rd June will be having an ASM PE Day, and children should come to school dressed in their PE kits ready for a special PE fun day.
Please save the date of Thursday 16th July for the Year 6 Leaver's Party! More info to follow.
Weekly News from Staff:
In reception this week, the children have been busy developing into young researchers and explorers. They enjoyed writing fact files about different bugs, learning interesting information about where they live, what they eat and their special features. In our PSHE learning, the children explored how to brush their teeth correctly and discussed why keeping our teeth clean is important for staying healthy. We also investigated maps, looking closely at how different places and features can be represented using symbols, colours and simple keys. The children loved sharing their ideas and making connections between the world around them and the maps they explored.
Year 1 have written some super stories about Hansel and Gretel this week. They've thought carefully about their punctuation and spelling. We've started our maths place value unit on numbers to 100. Counting up to 100 is spot on but we've found counting backwards harder. In computing we've use the BeeBots - it's been fun seeing little yellow and black flashes running across the classroom floor! We've finished our leaf sculptures and talked about what we like about them and what we would change next time we use clay. We've been talking about families in RSHE and the children have talked about how loved and cared for they are. When asked what a family is most Year 1's said "it's a group of people who love us."
Year 2 have had a really good end to a lovely term. We have been using all our persuasive skills to write and create our posters to persuade other vegetables to join the Super Crew. We have started learning how to tell the time, so far we have done telling the time to the hour, half past and quarter to/past. The children have been brilliant and it’s lovely to see some of them with their own watches practicing. In RSHE, we have been learning about the scientific name for body parts and how we change as we get older. In geography, we have been looking at how we collect weather data, the consensus is there has been lots of rain this week but we are hoping for some sunshine soon. Hope you all have a great half term.
Year 3 has done such a lot in this short week! In English, we have been writing our science investigations up into our best books, taking great pride in our presentation and scientific language. In Art, we have been finishing our colourful cactus sculptures inspired by the warm, vibrant colours of Mexico. Meanwhile in DT, the children evaluated their final mechanical posters and gave thoughtful feedback to their classmates. To complete the week, we were delighted to welcome Imran from Muslim Learner Services into our classroom, who talked about prophets in Islam as part of our RE learning. As usual, Imran was so engaging and informative - a great friend to our school!
What a fantastic week we’ve had in Year 4! In English, we began an exciting poetry unit all about villains. We explored mysterious poems using mirrors and had great fun creating our own magical and gruesome potion poetry. The classroom was full of bubbling ideas and wonderfully wicked descriptions! In Maths, we have been focusing on telling the time. Please keep practising this important skill at home by reading clocks and talking about times during everyday routines. Our History lessons took us back to Ancient Greece, where we learnt about the downfall of the Minoans and explored what may have caused their civilisation to disappear. In French, we have been learning how to talk about the items “dans ma trousse” (in my pencil case). Ask your child if they can name some classroom objects in French! Over half term, please continue to keep up with TTRockstars practice in preparation for the Multiplication Tables Check after the break. Little and often really helps build speed and confidence! Have a wonderful half term break!
Year 5 have had another exciting and creative week of learning. In Maths, the children have continued exploring angles before moving on to regular and irregular polygons and beginning their work on 3D shapes. In Science, they investigated solutions by testing which materials dissolved best in warm water and finished their topic on reproduction by cloning geraniums. The children were also fascinated by the porcelain floral sculptures of Vanessa Hogge in Art, where they carefully sketched a range of flowers, and in French they began learning how to order food politely in a French café.
Year 6 have continued their learning about adaptation in science, exploring how plants and animals are suited to different environments and how they survive in challenging conditions. In RE, we began our new unit on Jesus, thinking carefully about who Jesus was and exploring the meaning behind his “I am” statements. The children then enjoyed writing thoughtful and imaginative “I am” statements of their own. We also created artwork for the Rotary competition, based on the theme of “spaces”. The children showed fantastic creativity by thinking outside the box with ideas such as worlds inside suitcases and teacups. On Thursday, we welcomed our visitor Imran, who helped us explore how faith influences the daily lives of Muslims, leading to some really mature and reflective discussions.
Gardening club & Eco Council: The grounds have really taken shape over the last couple of weeks and this would not have been possible without the year 6 crew, every spare minute they can be seen with barrows and spades. They have built up banks around the side of the pond so we can create planting areas that allow drainage. What an incredible bunch they are!
Elsa news: We have been focusing on movement breaks this week and learning how important it is to look after our bodies and minds. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with year 6 on their transition to high school booklets. They seemed so grown up all of a sudden.
Please see separate Jotter item with a reminder of all Summer 2 dates on for you.
I hope you all have a wonderful half term break and let’s hope the sunshine makes an appearance!
Nevin Deakin