We love reading! And what an incredible week we’ve had at Rockliffe Manor. We’ve loved celebrating World Book Day and immersing ourselves in a variety of book-related activities. The children’s enthusiasm has been truly infectious, making this a week to remember!  

Our children and staff eagerly took part in our ‘Drop Everything and Read’ sessions, pausing their learning activities to dive into the world of their favourite books. Listening carefully for the unexpected ring of the bell, the children embraced their reading responsibility with great excitement. Adding to the anticipation, each class waited eagerly to discover their ‘mystery teacher’, who would share a story with them. 

We also welcomed one of our favourite activities, our buddy reading sessions, children from different year groups came together to share their love of books. Paired up with their buddies, they explored a diverse range of stories, from whimsical adventures to heartfelt tales. These sessions not only created a wonderful sense of togetherness but also nurtured a passion for reading that we hope will stay with them for years to come.  

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our ‘Dad’s Breakfast’ event on Tuesday. It was truly heartwarming to see so many dads, uncles, brothers, and family friends enjoying books with the children. We know how important it is for children to have reading role models, and it was fantastic to see so many families sharing their love of stories together.  

The excitement reached its peak on ‘World Book Day’, with children arriving dressed as their favourite book characters, filling the playground with a vibrant display of creativity and imagination. From wizards to princesses, superheroes to astronauts, the school was alive with storytelling magic. Laughter and wonder filled the air as children embarked on imaginative adventures, bringing their favourite stories to life through role-playing and storytelling with friends. We truly believe this year we had the greatest array of designs, it was wonderful!  

This week has been a true celebration of the magic of books, fostering a love of reading and a strong sense of community. Thank you to everyone who helped make it so special! 

Next week, we are thrilled to kick off our Science Week for children from Nursery - Year 5, with a special focus on sustainable development. Each afternoon, the children will dive into exciting, hands-on science lessons designed to spark curiosity and deepen their understanding of how we can care for our planet. Through engaging experiments and investigations, they will explore innovative ways to create a more sustainable future. We can't wait to see their enthusiasm and discoveries unfold. We will be hosting an event to showcase this learning, more information will be shared about this soon. Year 6 will hold their Science week in the Summer term. 

As our World Book Day celebrations come to a close, we look back on a truly magical week. We hope the children have enjoyed every moment as much as we have! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend—we look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday.

With very best wishes, Mrs Cook and the Rockliffe Manor team.

Let’s take a look at the learning this week… 

Nursery has been captivated by their new core text, Zog and the Flying Doctors. They have been enthusiastically retelling the story during carpet sessions and bringing it to life using props and dressing up. Sofia, in particular, has taken her role as the doctor very seriously, helping to care for any classmates! The children have also continued developing their understanding of prepositional language through Rosie’s Walk.

Reception has been buzzing with excitement as they continue learning about bees, showing real curiosity and wonder. They also had a fantastic time celebrating Pancake Day, using their cooking skills to make delicious pancakes and exploring different toppings. Of course, World Book Day was another highlight, with plenty of engaging book-themed activities throughout the week!

Year 1 had a heartwarming experience revisiting the residents of Puddingstone Grange as part of their global outcome. The children played games with the residents and asked thoughtful questions about their childhoods, such as what their favourite toys were growing up. They have also been enjoying their new core text, Up!, where they have been applying suffixes like -er and -est to describe characters.

Year 2 has been busy exploring emotions in their core text, Starbird. The children thought carefully about how they could help Starbird gain freedom and discussed what actions the daughter in the story might take. They have started generating ideas for a persuasive letter to the Moon King. A big highlight of the week was their visit to the library on World Book Day, where they enjoyed listening to a story, singing a song, and making their own DIY bookmarks!

Year 3 has been working hard on their assessments this week, showing fantastic progress since the autumn term. Their daily arithmetic sessions and weekly practice have really boosted their confidence. They also had a brilliant time celebrating World Book Day—special mention to Henry’s incredible Beowulf costume!

Year 4 has been getting creative in art, exploring cubism and experimenting with pastel techniques. They applied their learning to self-portraits, incorporating a black-and-white photograph and adding cubist elements over the top. They also fully embraced World Book Day, with a wonderful array of costumes from across different book genres.

Year 5 had an inspiring Book Week! They attended a virtual session with author Mark Ballabon, where they worked on setting descriptions using creative stimuli. They also had a fantastic Zoom session with Michael Rosen, learning how to create and memorise poems—all without writing them down! These activities provided a great brain break during assessment week, where they showed perseverance and determination.

Year 6 has been deepening their understanding of angles in maths, using their prior knowledge to calculate vertically opposite angles and angles in triangles and quadrilaterals. In English, they have been working on diary entries, incorporating a range of writing techniques to bring their ideas to life.