It has been a busy first half term in year 1! The children have had lots of fun learning all about our local area. We have explored the area using Google Street View and, of course, on our walk! We have found out the different uses of maps and how we can make them easy to use! The children then combined all their knowledge of maps and the local area to draw their own maps.

In Science, we have been learning all about senses and explored these practically!  We have learned which part of the body links to each sense and taken part in experiments to test this.  The children have done smelling tests as well as taste tests.

In Literacy, we started the half term off by going on a hunt around the school to find a monster!  We followed clues which eventually led us to its lair! The children then worked really hard on ensuring they used their phonics to help them with their writing.  We have been looking at using adjectives in particular!  At the end of our writing unit the children created their own monsters' lair and wrote a setting description to go with this.

It has been a busy half term in Chestnut Class and the children are settling into Year 3 very nicely. We have been learning all about the rainforest and reading an exciting book called The ‘Tin Forest’. This is about an elderly man who lives in a metal junkyard and his dream is to live in a place where there are lots of animals and plants. The children have been writing an alternative ending for the book.

In maths, we have been looking at place value with children using counters and base 10 equipment to help solidify their knowledge of this. They have also been practising their additions and subtractions and have been doing extremely well with this. We have also been looking at who has put the most effort into Times Table Rock Stars each week as part of the children’s homework.

We have been doing lots of exciting experiments in science. The children’s favourite was when we placed a carnation in red dye and left it for a week. We checked it the following week and the petals had all turned red.

In geography, we have been learning about the different areas where rainforests exist, as well as the different types of products and people that are found within the Amazon. We have looked at the Yanomami Tribe and compared how their life is different to our own.

We have enjoyed playing football in PE, learning skills such as passing, shooting and dribbling. Furthermore, in our Music lessons, we have been using our Glockenspiels to play ‘Let your spirit fly’.

We’ve made a wonderful start to the year in 5 Maple. It’s been a busy term and, across the curriculum, we’re showing our love of learning. For Literacy, we started the year reading Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing. We really impressed Ms Prince when we learnt the story off by heart and performed it in class. You’ll be able to see some of our own Lost Thing stories on display in the school. For our Science topic studying life-cycles, we started the unit seeing what we could grow from seeds and beans. Some of us have been developing our gardening skills, looking after our class plants. In DT we’ve been improving how we work together and collaborate to build truss bridges using straws.  Finally, we’ve been developing our musical talents, learning to play the trumpet. To celebrate Black History Month, we learnt to play along to a jazz piece performed by Zara McFarlane. Next term, we’ll be able to bring home our trumpets to practise and, in the summer term, there will be a concert to showcase our talents.  If the rest of the year continues like this, it’s going to be amazing!

There is so much research that proves just how important reading is and here at Grafton, we are putting reading at the center of what we do. Perhaps one of the most important things that schools and families can do together is to help develop a love of reading - a joy in hearing books being read aloud, an interest in what happens next in a story, reading a book to find more interesting facts or to escape to another country, planet or fantasy world.  

With this in mind, we've started the year setting up inspiring reading spaces in our classrooms. Take a look at the photos to see where your child is developing their love of reading. In addition to timetabled reading lessons, all teachers take time to read aloud to classes, to share and enjoy a class book. This ensures that, over time, every child is exposed to a wide range of books - stories, non-fiction books and poems. At home, you can help to develop this love of reading by reading with your child every day. Sharing a book together really does matter. Take a look at our community library at the front of the school if you need a new book to share at home. You can also speak to your child's class teacher if you need any help with this.     

Over the year, your child will be visiting our school library (we're crossing our fingers that we'll see a new school library built this year too), some year groups will be visiting our local library, Valence, and we'll be planning author events. 

Polite request - please help us to improve reading at Grafton by signing your child's reading record whenever they read with you at home.

A massive thank you for supporting our Book Fair. The large number of books sold means we can purchase more books for our class reading corners .