Mrs Belcher and Mrs Jones
Here you will find important information and all the lovely things we get up to in our class.
Important Information
PE - PE will take place on a Wednesday morning. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear.
Outdoor Learning - Outdoor learning will take place on a Monday morning. Please provide appropriate footwear and clothing.
Snack - Please bring £1 every Monday for snack for the week.
Reading books - Reading books will be given out every Friday and should be returned each Tuesday.
Communication - We use seesaw to communicate with parents, please let me know if you have any problems logging in.
This inquiry explores the vibrant culture of Brazil, immersing children in the sights, sounds, and traditions of the Rio Carnival. Through music, dance and storytelling, they will experience carnival celebrations and develop an appreciation for different cultures. Children will begin with Carnival Day, dressing in bright colors, creating decorations, making headdresses, and moving to samba rhythms while expanding their vocabulary through discussions about carnival footage. They will also explore Brazilian music, identifying instruments, experimenting with percussion, and retelling the legend of Vitória-Régia to develop storytelling skills.
As the inquiry unfolds, we will discover Brazilian mythology, describing mythical beings and creating their own to enhance descriptive language and imagination. They will explore Brazil’s passion for sports by creating fact files on their favorite sports and participating in a Mini Olympics. They will also reflect on national anthems, discussing their significance. Finally, children will engage with Brazilian food, following recipes and making celebratory dishes to understand its role in traditions. By the end of the term, they will have developed a deeper awareness of global cultures through hands-on experiences and creative expression.
We took part in a Samba drumming workshop with Stic2. He taught us all about the Brazilian carnival and what it takes to become a Samba drummer. He then helped us to create our samba song.
Children will have the opportunity to explore literature written by Welsh authors. We will read and become familiar with different stories from the author Sarah Phelps. Pupils will have the opportunity to meet Sarah and ask questions to demonstrate their understanding of her texts.
We will focus on the book Dilwyn the dragon by Samuel Langly Swain. We will use the story of Dilwyn the dragon to discuss the text and build our oracy skills. Providing the pupils with an understanding of Welsh culture and Cynefin.
Sarah Phelps a local author from Pontygwaith came to visit and read some of her books to us! Our favourite was Oodles and Noodles, we even got to dress up as the character!
This inquiry explores toys from the past and the present, bringing together generations through shared stories and play. Firstly, the children will have a teddy bears picnic with the Nanas which will give them the opportunity to ask questions about their childhoods and what they used to get up to. They will then explore old and new toys and how they are different, how do they look, sound, feel, different? We will focus on how schools and homes have changed over time. We will collect objects and memories during the inquiry to create a memory box that we can bury for someone to discover in the future.
The process of creating a memory box allows the children to foster a sense of connection across time. Through hands on activities and engaging play based learning the children can spark conversations that will connect the past with the present.
Here we learnt that in the olden days people had to hand wash their clothing with a scrubbing board and soap. The children had a go at washing the clothes by hand. They said it was really tiring!
Here we looked at Darran Park in the past compared to now. We looked learnt that boys and girls has separate entrances to the school and could not play together. We went to visit the old boys entrance at our school.
Here we prepared cakes for our teddy bear picnic. We showed each other baby pictures and shared our special memories.
Autumn Term inquiry - Who lives in the woods?
If you go down to the woods today you’re in for a BIG surprise. Foxes and badgers, voles and mice, beady-eyed owls in the swaying tree tops. Beneath the leaves are tiny footprints – animal or imp? You decide. Deciduous or evergreen? Can you match a leaf to its tree? Can you match a petal to its flower? Let’s build a den, stick by stick and branch by branch. Or we could make a teeny tiny home for a woodland fairy.
Enterprise inquiry - Turning Pennies into Pounds.