Well Hello! What a busy and enriching week we have had at Rockliffe Manor! It has been wonderful to see the school alive with so many fantastic learning opportunities, trips and visits across all year groups. As we approach our final week before the half-term break, it is incredible to look back at the immense growth, curiosity and confidence our children have shown since the start of the term.

We welcomed some visitors to Rockliffe this week, the London Fire Brigade, who ran engaging Fire Safety Workshops for Year 2 and Year 5. The children learned vital safety tips and asked brilliant questions such as “why do we say ‘fire, fire, fire’ instead of calling ‘help’?” To which they were explained that calling fire allows people around them to know which services are required and to keep others around the area also safe. The presentation allowed the children to identify the 5 main causes of fire - electrical, matches and lighters, cigarettes, ovens and candles being left unattended. 

Adding to a week full of active exploration, Year 4 also enjoyed a memorable trip out to Slade Church, taking their learning beyond the classroom and understanding the importance of its place within the community. The children explored the rich local history of the church, reflected on how places of worship bring people together and deepened their RE learning through thoughtful discussion. 

It was an absolute delight to welcome so many parents into school for our whole-school Reading Morning! Seeing families sharing books and enjoying reading alongside their children creates such a wonderful atmosphere and we truly appreciate your continued support in fostering a love for reading across our school community.

Looking ahead, next week is packed with exciting events as we prepare to wrap up the term! On Monday, we invite parents to join us for a Chartwells Coffee Morning—a great opportunity to connect and chat, this will be from 8.50 in the school hall. On Thursday, Year 1 and Year 2 will be taking part in interactive Healthy Eating Workshops led by Chartwells to learn all about nourishing their bodies. And next week will also be a wonderful chance to reflect on all our children's achievements during Parents’ Evening. Details for booking your slot have been shared and we look forward to sitting down with you to celebrate your child’s learning journey and progress over this first half term.

In our weekly Makaton signing, the children continue to build their communication skills with great enthusiasm! Our focus signs for next week will be 'eat' and 'drink'. We encourage you to practice these together at home! You can watch a quick video guide here: Makaton for 'Eat' and 'Drink'.

As we prepare to wrap up this first half term next week, thank you as always for your ongoing partnership and support. We wish you all a restful and enjoyable weekend, and we look forward to a fantastic final week together before the break!

With very best wishes,

Mrs. Cook and the Rockliffe Manor Team

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

In Nursery, the children have been exploring their different senses—sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste! They enjoyed tasting a variety of foods, from sour lemons and sweet strawberries to spicy chilli crisps and bitter Bournville chocolate. They also put their listening skills to the test with fun sound-identification games and challenged their working memory with missing-object games. Mrs. Budd couldn't catch them out—they spotted every missing item!

This week, in Reception the children were introduced to the Zones of Regulation. They discussed what each zone represents, how different emotions feel and acted them out using their bodies. As a class, they learned that all emotions are completely okay, but our actions need to be okay too. 1 child shared, "When I am angry, it is not okay to be unkind to someone," while another added, "I know that I need to tell a teacher if something is wrong."

Year 1 worked super hard to complete their very first double-page spread in maths, applying all of their previous learning. They recapped concepts of greater than, less than, and equal to, and practiced counting forwards and backwards while observing how numbers change. Raina proudly shared, "When I count forwards, my number gets bigger because I am adding another one!"

In English, Year 2 have been planning their final writing outcome—an alternative narrative based on Paddington. Looking ahead, the children are so excited for their trip to the London Eye next week, which will consolidate their learning on London transport! It’s been a remarkably busy and inspiring week of learning.

In art, the year 3 children created striking African patterns with incredible engagement and pride. They also shared thoughtful reflections on their core text, The Hunter, concluding that the story taught them "to be brave and kind." In computing, Year 3 continued to build resilience and independence, logging into Chromebooks more efficiently to access Google Classroom and Purple Mash.

Year 4 have been loving their core text, Hercules: Zero to Hero. Freya explained that Hercules shows true kindness: "When his mum lost her job, he wanted to work to make money for the family, and when his best friend’s mum became ill, he traded his powers to help her." The children also made great real-life connections in maths—Divine noted that "you need maths when you go to the shop," while Islam highlighted, "When you go to Year 6, you need to know all of your times tables.”

In Year 5, the children explored the key features of biographies in preparation for writing about Salva Dut. Jack explained that using headings and paragraphs helps organize their writing clearly. In RE, the children discussed how Jesus was both human and divine, with Myla explaining that "Jesus was divine because he performed miracles, such as helping a blind man." Outside the classroom, many children thoroughly enjoyed active team games in PE, especially benchball!

And in Year 6, the children showed great perseverance in maths while tackling long division. It was fantastic to see their confidence grow, with 1 child beaming: "I understand long division now!" A small group of children also worked hard to master their times tables, making fantastic progress. In geography, the year group explored both the negative impacts of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and positive human interventions, such as discovering medicinal plants and building infrastructure for Indigenous communities.