Central Idea: Shelters, for humans and animals, is a basic need.

Following our hugely successful cafe organised by the youngest learners in our school, we decided to thank our families for contributing to the days success.

Erwin said: "We couldn't do it without the Mums and Dads because they gave us the money to give to the charity."

Team RM decided to make Thank you cards to show our appreciation of our loved ones. While writing, we have continued to apply the sounds that we learn in daily phonics sessions.

Central Idea: Shelters, for animals and humans, is a basic need.

This week, Team RMC have been looking at the different shelters we live in. We have talked about the similarities and differences in our homes before designing and making shelters for our friends - both indoors and outdoors.

Outside, Luke and Freddie have been busy using large loose parts to build a shelter big enough for a number of friends to fit it. Freddie spoke at length about what you need in a shelter.

"We need to sit on something and we need lights to see at the night time."

Central Idea: learning about the past helps me to understand the present.

It has been an incredibly busy week this week in 1M. We have learned so much about technology from the past. As a class we have been particularly interested in transport and how that has changed over the years. We have looked at the Wright Brothers but we have decided to go even further back in time to when the first hot air balloon was created. We have been making models every week of the technology we have been learning about. During assessments this week, the children in 1M were fantastic and tried their very best. They should all be very proud of their hard work.

Central Idea: Finding out about the past helps us understand our place in time.

Following our biscuit bonanza investigations for science week, we have been thinking about this year's Science Week theme of 'Growth' and so we are participating in the whole school sunflower growing competition. This week we investigated what a sunflower needs to grow; we then planted them in pots. We decided to keep them warm inside the classroom for now and we will pick the best spot around the school grounds so that we can grow the tallest sunflowers. We are looking forward to using the skill of observing over time to keep track of how well they are growing.

We are loving our science investigations so much that as part of our materials topic, we are trying to answer the big question 'What is the best surface to run on?' We took a walk through the village to Marden Sports Club and tested out our running skills on several different surfaces.

As part of our second line of inquiry, we have been comparing and contrasting urban and rural areas. We have been thinking about what is different and what is the same about Maidstone and Marden. We enjoyed looking at aerial view maps using the iPads. We noticed so many features such as the River Medway, train lines, fields and orchards. We could even spot our school and even our classroom!

Central Idea: Our lives and histories are journeys.

A reminder that if you have any cereal boxes, could we please have them before Wednesday for a special surprise: thank you!

This week we have carried on exploring the Gunpowder Plot and were excited to discover exactly what happened. To the disappointment of many, we found out that the plot failed as Guy Fawkes was caught before he could blow up the Houses of Parliament. However, as all our newspapers seemed to show, we were more than happy with the fact he was tortured and that we get bonfire night as a consequence of the failed attempt to kill King James I. You know what they say: "Remember, remember the 5th November, gunpowder, treason and plot!"

We've also continued our fraction learning in maths, where we are now applying all our fraction knowledge at the same time... and doing brilliantly with it! Also, we have continued to find out what it takes to be a Tudor within our reading- not many of us are happy that we have got to share our house with chickens, pigs and cows at night!

Central Idea: Evidence of past civilizations can be used to make connections to present day societies.

This week we have continued with our second line of inquiry: An inquiry into connections between past and present civilizations. The children have enjoyed looking at Ancient Egypt and have worked extremely hard on their own time travelling narrative. I have been super impressed with the children's writing and they are excited to publish these and create our very own book.

In maths we have started looking at money. The children can identify pence and pounds and have started investigating how to add different amounts of money together. We have had fun working with coins in the classroom and we will begin to convert pence to pounds.

The children also completed a reading and maths assessment this week. They were so focused and I am so proud of you all!

Lastly, if you have any cereal boxes or shoe boxes that are laying around at home, please could you send them in as we are going to be doing some modelling.

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

Friday 25th March: Class visit to The British Museum. Remember to be at school on time with packed lunch and water in a backpack, a waterproof coat and full school uniform with comfortable footwear. Later pick up, from school at 3.30pm.

Friday 1st April: Year 3 and 4 'Museum' showcase. We will be inviting you in to share the learning that has been going on in year 3 and 4 about Ancient Civilisations and to visit our very own museum.

Central Idea: Exploration can lead to discoverings, opportunities and new understandings.

This week we have continued our learning around fractions. We have been looking at adding and subtracting fraction, converting improper fractions into mixed numbers and simplifying fractions.

Our PYP journey along The Silk Road has led us to researching the famous explorer Marco Polo.

We have been exploring The British Museum China collecting and have begun to create some of these ancient artifacts in class.

In gymnastics we have moved onto controlled movements from a raised platform. Everyone enjoyed this very much and completed the various controlled movements with care.

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

Thursday 31st March: Class visit to The British Museum. Remember to be at school on time with packed lunch and water in a backpack, a waterproof coat and full school uniform with comfortable footwear. Later pick up, from school at 3.30pm.

Friday 1st April: Year 3 and 4 'Museum' showcase. We will be inviting you in to share the learning that has been going on in year 3 and 4 about Ancient Civilisations and to visit our very own museum.

Central Idea: The legacies of Ancient Civilisations may influence modern Britain.

We started the week off with assessments. The children worked incredibly hard and were really focused during this time. Well done everyone for all of your hard work. We are really proud of you.

The children finished writing their ancient Greek myths and created an inspired front cover for this using Adobe Spark. They spent time sharing their myths together and editing and critiquing each other's work. They were excited to display these in the classroom to use as our very own myth library.

In Spanish, the children practised saying different names for pets. In maths, we started looking at tenths as decimals. In science, we conducted a simple test to see whether gases have weight. The children designed their own test and enjoyed exploring this. We continued with cricket in PE. The children enjoyed working as a team to intercept balls moving over varying distances and stopping runs in game situations. They also did well to return balls working as a team.

Following on with our second line of inquiry, 'into different civilisations' , we focused on democracy in Ancient Greece. Great fun was had producing a newsround style report to present the main facts learnt about Ancient Greek democracy.

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

Wednesday 23rd March: Class visit to The British Museum. Remember to be at school on time with packed lunch and water in a backpack, a waterproof coat and full school uniform with comfortable footwear. Later pick up, from school at 3.30pm.

Friday 1st April: Year 3 and 4 'Museum' showcase. We will be inviting you in to share the learning that has been going on in year 3 and 4 about Ancient Civilisations and to visit our very own museum.

Central Idea: Migrants both influence, and are influenced by, the world around us.

On Thursday 31st March, 9-11am, parents are invited in to join in with our Viking longship making. Having spent some of this term looking at migration and the Vikings in particular, this will give us an opportunity to explore these magnificent ships further and create our own. We'll also combine this with a conversation around forces and floating and sinking in particular. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

In preparation for our longship making, please can you save / send in any junk modelling including cardboard, plastic bottles and anything else you would like to use to create your ships.

Maths - In maths we have continued our learning on fractions. We have identified how to mathematically solve adding and subtracting using fractions within 1. We have also looked at what we should do when the denominator is not the same amongst the fractions.

Inquiry - This week our inquiries have continued to focus on migration through history. Our 2nd line of inquiry looks on settlers in Britain and we have now identified the two kings, Guthrum and Alfred the Great (Viking and Anglo Saxon Kings). This knowledge is beneficial as we now know who was in charge at the time of the Viking raids on Britain and how land was split between the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings.

Science - In science we have looked at water resistance and children have experimented with measuring the weight of plasticine in Newtons and then identifying what shapes would be the best for floating. They created different shapes and experimented which shapes were the best and why.

Central Idea: Migrants both influence, and are influenced by, the world around us.

On Thursday 31st March, 9-11am, parents are invited in to join in with our Viking longship making. Having spent some of this term looking at migration and the Vikings in particular, this will give us an opportunity to explore these magnificent ships further and create our own. We'll also combine this with a conversation around forces and floating and sinking in particular. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

In preparation for our longship making, please can you save / send in any junk modelling including cardboard, plastic bottles and anything else you would like to use to create your ships.

Maths - In maths we have continued our learning on fractions. We have identified how to mathematically solve adding and subtracting using fractions within 1. We have also looked at what we should do when the denominator is not the same amongst the fractions.

Inquiry - This week our inquiries have continued to focus on migration through history. Our 2nd line of inquiry looks on settlers in Britain and we have now identified the two kings, Guthrum and Alfred the Great (Viking and Anglo Saxon Kings). This knowledge is beneficial as we now know who was in charge at the time of the Viking raids on Britain and how land was split between the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings.

Science - In science we have looked at water resistance and children have experimented with measuring the weight of plasticine in Newtons and then identifying what shapes would be the best for floating. They created different shapes and experimented which shapes were the best and why.

Central Idea: Exploration leads to discoveries, opportunities and new understandings.

Inquiry - This week, the children have created some really emotive pieces of writing as we have explored the shocking conditions which enslaved people had to endure during 'The Middle Passage' and how their fates were decided by the cruelty of the slave traders. It has also been fascinating to learn about slave rebellion and to consider the different viewpoints as well as the far-reaching impact this period in history still has today. Children have also created some really thoughtful and inspirational poetic artwork as a response to our understanding of the slave trade - we look forward to showing you the finished pieces!

Science - We have completed our evaluation of our practical investigation to determine the effect that exercise has on our heart rate. Children were challenged to draw an accurate line graph to show their results; this also helped us to understand the patterns and relationships we had discovered from our data.

We have begun our series of transition to secondary school lessons, where we have started to consider the nature of questions that we ask. Some of our questions are ones that we already know the answer to but we simply need to check with a friend. However, there are many questions that we have about moving on to secondary which could be causing us worry and so need an opportunity to be shared with an adult or someone who has more experience. We explored what some of those questions could be, how we can deal with them and who we can go to for help. We will be placing a 'Jamboard' on Google Classroom so that children can drop questions on there anonymously but we will be able to address them as they arise.