In Reception, we have been learning about the harvest festival. The children have learned what happens during the festival and why it is celebrated. We have looked at harvesting on the farm and how we can use ingredients collected from farms to make food. We have also looked at the season of autumn which is when the festival is celebrated. In maths, we have looked at repeating patterns and have created patterns of our own.

This week in Year 1 English, the children have begun to internalise the story Handa’s Surprise. To help us remember the sequence of events, we worked together to recall the story and put the pictures in the correct order. The children really enjoyed retelling the story and showed great memory and sequencing skills. 

This week in Year 2/3, we have been exploring the use of colour in Art. The children chose a favourite artwork from a selection of artists and recreated swatches of the colours used in their chosen piece. This activity gave them the chance to experiment with colour, observe how artists use different shades, and express their own creativity. 

Year 4 has had a fantastic week of learning! In English, children have been gathering ideas to innovate their model text and have come up with some wonderfully creative storylines and imaginative settings — we’re excited to see how their writing progresses. In Geography, Year 4 explored the path of the River Thames, tracing its journey from source to mouth. They labelled key features along the river’s course, including the major cities it flows through, and discussed how the river’s use and significance have changed over time.

This week, the whole Viking fleet sailed over to Rio and  Cusco! As part of our Vikings unit in History, children were challenged to create their own longboat models at home. The creativity, design, and careful execution blew us away — the Viking longboats were absolutely incredible and are now proudly on display in both classrooms. (Well... all except for one made of cake!)

Well done to all the children who put in such fantastic effort — and a big thank you to parents and carers for supporting this task at home. 

This week, Year 6 have been exploring how plants can be classified. They began by identifying similarities and differences between a range of plants and used this knowledge to ask thoughtful questions that helped them sort and group them effectively. The children were then introduced to the key features of flowering and non-flowering plants, and were fascinated by the variety found in each category. After collecting a few samples to examine closely, they worked hard to summarise their learning  in their books, using diagrams and key vocabulary to show what they’d discovered.

We reviewed the new history and geography curriculum content that we are implementing this year. We also explored a range of teaching strategies and task designs that can be used to ensure that learning is more memorable and interactive.