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"Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection." - Winston Churchill
As we prepare to celebrate the festive season, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve shared over the past term. This has been my first full term as Headteacher, and I have been so impressed by the dedication, warmth, and resilience of our school community, especially as we mourn the loss of our beloved Year 3 teacher, Miss Davey.
The children have worked tremendously hard, embracing every opportunity to grow and learn. It is clear that our school is built on a foundation of strong community spirit, where everyone supports one another to achieve their best. Our consistently good attendance speaks volumes about the children’s enthusiasm for school – they genuinely enjoy learning and strive to succeed.
We have much to celebrate. In keeping with the spirit of reflection we have challenges we need to work on together, and if we embrace them as one team we have a greater chance of achieving them quickly.
As we close the term, I want to thank you, the staff and governors of Grafton for your continued support and partnership. Together, we are building a school that nurtures every child academically and personally. I hope you have a joyful and restful holiday season filled with family, friendship, and festive cheer.
Warm wishes,
Mrs J. Bana
Nursery
Nursery
It has been an exciting half term in Nursery. The children have now settled into school life, got used to their daily routine, and are becoming more confident in their environment, exploring both inside and outside. It has been lovely to see the children getting to know each other better and forming friendships. Last half term the children learned to self register and find their own pegs and we are continuing to develop this independence. This half term the children have taken great pride in learning to put their coats on independently using the superhero method!
We have been busy preparing for Christmas and it was lovely to welcome so many families to join us at the Christmas workshops earlier this month. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the children, who have worked hard to learn the Christmas songs. Thank you to the families who came and took part in Christmas craft activities.
The children also got to experience a pantomime at the school which was a celebratory afternoon for all. We have been doing lots of practical counting activities focussing on numbers up to 5. The children have had fun finding numbers of objects and clapping and jumping as we count. We wish everyone a restful holiday and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
1 Hedgehog Class
1 Hedgehog Class
It has been a very exciting term for Hedgehog class! In literacy we have been reading The Magic Porridge Pot. The children in Year 1 were not happy when they found out that the Greedy Boy had stolen all of the porridge from Hannah's house! They decided to make their own porridge full of exciting toppers i.e. bananas, raisins, honey and jam. These toppers made the porridge taste delicious. Afterwards, they wrote instructions explaining the steps on how to make the porridge in their literacy books.
In DT, the children have been learning how to make their own puppets. First, they designed their puppet by drawing on/colouring its features i.e. eyes, nose, mouth, clothes etc. Then, they used a stencil to draw around the shape of their chosen puppet onto a piece of colored fabric of their choice. They then cut out 2 pieces of the fabric and stapled the two pieces of fabric together. Afterwards, they cut and shaped the rest of the fabric trimmings to add on their features.
2 Triangle Class
2 Triangle Class
This half term has been really busy for Triangle Class! A mysterious suitcase appeared in our classroom, to help us locate its owner we opened it and looked for clues—you could say we were behaving just like detectives! We decided it belonged to an older man because of the clothing and walking stick. This man was Grandad from our new book ‘Grandad’s Island’! The children have really enjoyed exploring the book and have made interesting predictions about what they think might happen next in the story. We had so much fun writing our own adventure stories!
In Maths, we have been learning how to add and subtract a 2-digit number from a 2-digit number. The children have really impressed us with their ability to use number lines to solve word problems.
In Science, we have been learning about the properties of different materials. We had a lot of fun investigating a range of materials to see whether they were waterproof or not.
In Geography lessons, we have been learning about some of the UK’s amazing features and landmarks. We found out that Ben Nevis is the largest mountain in The British Isles! We have also been about special holy books in RE. We have been learning how people can learn from holy books and why they are important to a believer.
In Music lessons, children have really enjoyed singing Christmas songs and preparing for our Christmas concert. In DT lessons, we designed and created a healthy wrap. We had so much fun tasting them!
We also had a special visit from an U17’s England women’s professional footballer. The children were inspired by this amazing young lioness’ talents!
3 Aspen Class
3 Aspen Class
This half term, the children in 3 Aspen have been working incredibly hard. We have really enjoyed reading our text 'The day the crayons quit'. It was lovely to see how engaged the children were and they loved the humour throughout the book- especially how one of the crayons had had its wrapper taken off! In our geography unit, the children have been learning all about the USA. They have compared the differences in the landscape across the country and have researched some famous landmarks. The children have also enjoyed a trip to Valence Library this half term. They were taught how to use the library and were shocked to find out that they could withdraw up to 16 books at a time! We have been very lucky to have a pantomime visit the school and the children were able to watch the show Aladdin. They really enjoyed themselves and it was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and has a great new year.
4 Hazel Class
4 Hazel Class
What an exciting start to the year it’s been in 4 Hazel. We have enjoyed reading the book ‘Escape from Pompeii’ in our writing lessons and are now planning and writing our own instructions on how to make our own emotion mask, after following instructions to make our own volcano erupt.
In Geography, we have been learning about ‘Why natural disasters happen?'. Using playdough, we have even found out what was beneath our feet. We recreated all the different layers of the earth, inner and outer core, mantle and crust. We have also looked at volcanoes, earthquakes, wildfires and droughts and found out all the effects they all have.
This half term in Computing, we have been planning and recording our own podcasts all about how to stay safe in our playground, relating to article 31 that everyone has the right to play.
In Music, we have been practicing our Christmas carols and we are looking forward to performing to our parents and careers at our Christmas Carol service in school. We have really enjoyed the start of year 4 and can't wait for the rest of the year. We would like to wish everyone a lovely Christmas break and a Happy New Year.
6 Holly Class
6 Holly Class
This half term, children in 6 Holly have learned a lot and shown good understanding across a wide range of subjects.
The main article we have been focusing on this half term is Article 12: Children have the right to give their opinions, and their views must be taken seriously.
In Literacy, we read the story of Rose Blanche, which links to our History topic of World War 2. Children have written diary entries of Rose’s experiences from the war and will soon be writing a flashback piece.
In History, children learned about the impact of WW2 in Barking and Dagenham. Children learnt about: where bombs were dropped in Dagenham, Sir Tasker Watkins, the Home for Heroes initiative and also made 3D Anderson Shelters.
Our Literacy and History lessons have made links to Article 27 - Every child has the right to have their basic needs met. That includes food, clothing and a safe place to sleep.
In Maths, children have been working hard learning about fractions. They have gotten better with converting mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa. Some children still need more practice with adding/subtracting mixed number fractions with exchanging.
This half term, we also carried out assessment papers in Reading, Grammar, Spellings and Maths. Children worked hard and did their best. They must now reflect on their targets and work on improving on questions they struggled with.
Science
Science
Autumn term 2 has been an interesting term for Science at Grafton Primary where year groups have explored, discovered and continued to develop their curiosity.
Year 1 has been having a brilliant time exploring a range of objects and looking at vocabulary to describe its properties. They then worked as a group and decided on what object should be made with that property and explained their reasoning to the group. The children discussed whether an object should be made with a particular property and explained their reasoning to the group. Pupils then were able to complete an experiment exploring how waterproof materials were. In year 3, they have been busy exploring forces this term with lots of experiments and investigations in how magnets work. They found out that magnets can attract one another, pull together, or repel one another. Through all their research this term they were able to apply their knowledge to create a game to share with everyone!
Year 6 has been exploring the circulatory system with experiments, enquiry questions and research. The children created their own blood using different ingredients to see what makes up the red fluid that runs through our body. This led them to research, on Chromebooks, what every person needs in their body and why.
Science at home:
Crystal Candy Canes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MntBHAx1jVg
Turn chemistry into a Christmas tree ornament when you learn about solutions, mixtures and growing crystals. These look beautiful hanging on the tree and are sturdy enough to last the whole festive season.
Equipment
• Borax (found in the laundry detergent aisle)
• Water
• Mason jars
• Pipe cleaners (red, green and white)
• Ribbon (to make into an ornament)
Method
Remember to always help as an adult to help!
1.Twist your pipe cleaners together to make a candy cane shape and hang it inside your mason jar.
2. Boil water, add borax and stir until it has completely dissolved.
3. Pour this into a jar. Wait patiently. In a few hours you will see crystals beginning to grow. By the next morning, your candy cane will be covered!
Giving this a go? Your teacher would love to see what happened!
Mathematics
Mathematics
This half term Mrs Bana and I spent a lovely morning visiting maths lessons across the school, it was such a delight to see children actively engaging in, and enjoying, their maths learning. The children are enjoying the challenges posed within our Power Maths scheme and becoming more proactive and consistent in their use of manipulatives and the target strategies learnt.
Support from home is still vital to help consolidate their recall of numbers, number bonds, both addition and subtraction, and multiplication facts. Remember we subscribe to Power Maths individual Practice Games, Numbots and Times Tables Rockstars so children can practice these skills through online games.
So, what maths learning has been taking place this term across the school:
Early Years
The children in nursery have been using the BBC Number blocks programme to introduce numbers to 5. There has been lots of singing of number rhymes and using objects to count out given number. Whilst reception have been exploring repeating patterns, as well as working practically they were able to describe their patterns in general terms.
KS 1
A key focus strategy this term has been on using number lines to solve addition and subtraction calculations with year 2 using their knowledge of number bonds and whole ten numbers to enhance their jumps on a number line. Understanding, and competently using, the relationships between numbers on a number line and hundred square are important skills and knowledge, supporting children in all their maths learning and beyond.
Upper KS2
Both year groups have revisited and developed their understanding of numbers and place values to read, write, compare and master both mental and formal column addition and subtractions, working with increasingly larger numbers. Year 6 continued to explore formal methods for multiplication and division and considered the order of operations within mixed calculations and the impact of brackets. Meanwhile, Year 5 have also been working hard to develop their knowledge and understanding of fractions, a tricky unit including understanding and converting improper and mixed fractions in order to compare and order fractions as well as adding and subtracting fractions.
Fancy a Christmas maths challenge? Please see the following online site with some challenges for you and your children to share.
https://www.iseemaths.com/christmas/
https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/news/free-family-maths-activity-christmas
According to the song The Twelve days of Christmas, how many gifts were given in total? How many rings in total? How many birds? How many gifts on each individual day? You may be surprised!
Have a Merry Christmaths!
Mrs McSheffrey
Maths Lead Teacher
New teachers joining us in January 2025
New teachers joining us in January 2025
1 Hedgehog class -Ms Mitchell
3 Aspen class - Mrs Khan
3 Cedar class - Mrs Ahmad
4 Ash class - Mrs Nassa
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