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

Nursery, this week, have been enjoying the festive spirit as they have been busy practising their songs and dances for their very first Christmas performance. The children are so excited for this and came down to reception on Tuesday to perform their songs to the children and adults. In class the children have been looking at capacity and thinking about the words empty, half full and full. The children then had a go themselves filling their cups. 

Reception has had an action-packed week filled with festive cheer and fantastic performance preparation! On Tuesday, the children transformed the hall into a winter wonderland for their very own Winter Disco. Dressed in their best, the children impressed everyone with their enthusiastic dance moves and singing voices! On Wednesday the class were lucky enough to be invited to the Slade church, the children had the opportunity to take part in a story and song session learning about the first Christmas. They finished off the session with a fun filled arts and craft session that the children really enjoyed. The Children and Adults would like to say a special thank you to Andrew Laws for providing such a lovely opportunity for our children.

The class has also been busy preparing for the Nativity, taking their important role as the choir very seriously. They joined Years 1 and 2 for a combined practice this week, and we were incredibly proud of how they listened attentively and demonstrated excellent performing skills.

Year 1 has been on an exciting learning journey this week, researching facts about the Dominican Republic. The class was very excited to explore Google Earth, which allowed them to see the distance from the UK and virtually explore the country. It was fantastic to witness the enthusiasm and wonder as they discovered the culture, climate, food, animals, and stunning beaches of the island. Arthur H. was amazed to learn there are over 200 beaches on the island, and Paul was especially excited by all the sea animals that call the Dominican Republic home!

Year 2 has had a fantastic and productive week, focusing on creative writing and Nativity practice. In English, the children have been busy generating rich, descriptive devices to use in their setting description of Paddington Station. They worked collaboratively to generate imaginative similes, with Violet offering a lovely example: "the suitcases rolled like a train on the tracks." The class has also been dazzling Miss Roper with their Nativity practice so far, working incredibly hard to learn their lines and songs for the performance.

In Year 3 this week, the children have been focusing intensely on the four times table in Maths, using their knowledge to practice both multiplication and division by four. They also welcomed several visitors to their reading lessons as they explored the story of 'Yasuke'. The children were prompted to have an insightful discussion using critical thinking to debate whether Yasuke’s life was better or worse now that he works for Lord Oda, successfully supporting their answers with thoughtful reasoning.

Year 4 had an absolutely brilliant time on their trip, ice skating in Greenwich, where they showed great character by demonstrating resilience and positive relationships by helping and encouraging one another on the ice. Ishy started the day telling Miss Emslie how nervous he felt but ended it by skating up to her, exclaiming he had changed his mind and that it was the best day! In English, they have enjoyed using fronted adverbials to skillfully recount chapters from their core text, showing a great understanding of the characters and the plot within their descriptions.

Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed their history lesson this week, where they began exploring when and why the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain. Through historical enquiry, the children discussed why Britain was a desirable place for the settlers and investigated how the Angles and Saxons lived. They also learned that Britain was divided into several kingdoms, including Wessex, Mercia, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Northumbria, and East Anglia. The children were highly engaged throughout the lesson and are clearly hooked into this fascinating period of history.

Year 6 excelled in their Maths lessons this week, focusing on telling the time and calculating duration. They showed a strong understanding when solving problems about how long activities took, asking thoughtful and direct questions and remaining fully engaged throughout the session. In English, pupils explored the importance of an author using ‘show, not tell’ and successfully applied this new descriptive skill in their own writing. Their enthusiasm and focus were clearly evident across both subjects.