Central Idea: Families can support the local community.

This week in RM, the children have been continuing their inquiry into how families are involved in and can support the local community, focusing on the work that the Royal Family does through charities, particularly the Royal Foundation. We also discussed the crown jewels, and we even made our own necklaces just like the Queen wears!

Having read 'The Queen's Hat', we also worked in teams to create our own story maps of what happens in the book, and we have discussed and labelled the Royal Family tree.

In maths we have been looking at repeating patterns of objects, counting to 20 and beyond, and also adding numbers together to make 10. We have used resources such as numicon, cubes and counting beads to support this learning.

Good work, team RM!

Central Idea: Families can support the local community.

This week we have continued our inquiry into how families can help the community and how they are involved within Marden and beyond. The children have been learning about the Royal Family, using a family tree as a source to discover more information about Queen Elizabeth II and the wider family. We have also researched some of the fantastic charity work that they do, particularly within the Royal Foundation which holds a real desire to make a difference.

Ethan said: "The Royal Family do loads of good things because they want to help people."

Josie said: "I think the Royal Foundation is amazing. They help people who need it the most."

We have also been busy designing crowns and making the Queen's jewellery (pasta necklaces) which look absolutely brilliant!

In maths we have been working on counting to 20 and beyond, with the children ordering the numbers from smallest to biggest successfully, both as a team and independently. The children have also practised adding numbers to make 10, using numicon and other resources to represent these sums. Repeating patterns has also been on the agenda, and our team have been able to explain what should come next in a sequence which is fantastic work.

I'm very proud of you, team RMC!

Reminder: Please make sure that any jumpers/cardigans and coats etc are clearly named as this makes it easier to return any belongings.

Mr Roper

Central Idea: Communities have different jobs in order to help society function

This week has been full of learning! We have been reading the Jolly Postman in class. We have written letters, changed the character and we have acted out being the Jolly postman! Such fun has been had all while learning.

We have continued to read about Sunny's adventures in Meerkat Mail in Reading Rainbow, adding to our reading skills this week.

In maths this week we have been making equal groups, sharing and making arrays. We started off by making arrays using cones on the field which was such a fun way to do maths! We then moved on to using cubes in class to fully grasp the concept of arrays.

Central Idea: Communities function more effectively when there are rules and responsibilities

Our inquiry has led us to thinking about where the rules in our country come from and how they were made. We have really enjoyed researching King John and the Magna Carta. We were so interested to find out what sort of king he was and how the people stood up for their rights. We have been thinking about our own rights and the type of world we want to live in and so have written our own 'Magna Carta'. To finish an exciting week of inquiring about the past we have been acting out a scene where the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. We definitely have some budding actors in KS1.

In Y2 maths this week, we have been continuing with our focus on time, but particularly exploring the 5 minute intervals of time we have on our analogue clocks. We have learnt to identify and find 5 minutes past, 20 minutes to as well as all the others!

In Y1 maths our focus has been on recognising the value of coins. We have applied our knowledge of counting in 2s 5s and 10s to looking at the 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins and finding the value of a set.

This week we have read The Last Wolf by Mini Grey for our Reading Comprehension focus. We have been thinking about the deeper message within the story and begun to discuss deforestation.

Central Idea: Communities provide services designed to meet people's need.

Another exciting week of inquiry learning, but also a very eye-opening one. Having explored services that rural African communities have to survive without, we have turned our sole focus to how they survive without clean running water. We discovered that globally there are 771 million people (1 in 10 people) who do not have easy access to this necessity. We explored Lala, from Madagascar, who has an 8-mile round journey to collect the water she and her family needs on a daily basis, water which is dirty and unsafe. We were completely shocked and saddened by this! To be further caring and open-minded, we did our own walk to collect water. After 10 laps of our field (just over a mile), we filled up 2L bottles with water, to then retrace our steps. To say many of us were tired by the end is an understatement! It goes to show how amazing and brilliant people like Lala are, where they do this every day despite the energy sapping and monotonous nature of the task. We were so inspired that we then wrote our own narratives of a journey to collect water, really considering how our characters felt within the circumstances they find themselves in.

In maths this week, we have been continuing with our focus on time, but particularly exploring the 5 minute intervals of time we have on our analogue clocks. We have learnt to identify and find 5 minutes past, 20 minutes to as well as all the others!

In our reading, we have begun to use 'The Bear and the Piano' as our focus text, and are enjoying picking it apart, especially considering emotions and feelings within different scenarios.

Central Idea: Places change change as a result of human impact and organisations.

In inquiry we have continued looking at how invasion changes a place, specifically looking at the Battle of Hastings. The children drafted, edited and presented a biography on William I as they were fascinated by his life and achievements. We began looking at sewing skills and the children were amazing at practising a running stitch in preparation for creating our own Bayeux Tapestry.

In maths we have been looking at the perimeter of shapes and applying this to word problems as well as what a test question might look like.

In science over the last few weeks we have kept an eye on our comparative sunflower test and the children confirmed a plant needs all 3 factors in order to grow. This enabled them to plant their very own sunflower each and take part in the whole school's the sunflower growing contest.

Central Idea: Economic activities rely on systems of production, exchange and consumption of goods.

This week we have continued our PYP learning of local, national and global trade. We have been looking at the benefits of fairtrade and why it is that we should pay more. We researched how the fairtrade premium funds get invested into communities around the world. We have investigated where our foods comes from and what the collective food miles are for our school fruit and milk.

In our class book we have been looking at Sona and her project to protect our planet. We have discussed how the trade miles of the products we consume contribute towards climate change and have begun finding alternative methods of transport and production.

In maths we have been continuing our learning in money. We have been looking at comparing amounts, converting between pounds and pence and adding subtraction money.

Central Idea: Transportation systems can be developed to meet the needs of the community.

In maths this week, we have been focusing on estimating with money, converting between pounds and pence and adding and subtracting amounts of money.

We revisited how to demonstrate 'Ready, Respect, Safe' during our PSHE session this week and what these mean which linked really well to our RE session thinking about 'talking temptations' and how we are sometimes tempted to use unkind, hurtful or offensive words.

Inquiry saw us delving into Epic Railway Adventures and discovering some fantastic journeys such as the Trans-Siberian Railway.

We are continuing to practise our times tables in preparation for our multiplication check and realise just how much our speedy times table knowledge helps with our maths. Our scores continue to improve - remember to use Soundcheck at home too to keep getting better.

Central Idea: Roles and responsibilities lead to successful leadership.

During this week, Year 5 have been incredibly resilient and hardworking. During their maths sessions, they have moved to the dining hall to allow the Year 6 SATs to continue with minimal disruption but have continued to work hard. We have been learning about angles, applying this knowledge to learn about acute, obtuse and reflex angles. We have also looked at different turns (quarter, half and three-quarters) and thought about whether we are moving in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.

In inquiry, we have applied our learning of roles and responsibilities to think about how to be responsible in our environment. In order to do this, we have used our DT skills to start creating bird feeders. We have researched the products currently on the market, analysed these and then created our own designs. We have then begun to make these, using wood and natural resources and analysed different types of joins. We have also effectively started using saws and hammer and nails.

Year 5 have worked incredibly hard during their mock SATs tests and we are all very proud of them. Well done and keep up the hard work!

Central Idea: Roles and responsibilities lead to successful leadership.

The children in year 5 should be incredibly proud of themselves for their efforts over this week. They have had a slight change of scenery, undertaking the morning's lessons in the dining hall, followed by then sitting their own mock SATs tests. We have praised the children for their mature approach towards the tests and their superb behaviour over the week!

Whilst working together as a year group, we have enjoyed some practical angles lessons. We have learnt the properties of angles, calculating half a turn, quarter of a turn, three quarters of a turn and we have also thought about turning clockwise and anticlockwise. We have used various resources such as Knex, our bodies and the environment around us to make and identify angles.

As a part of our inquiry learning, we have been thinking about the decisions made by leaders and the roles and responsibilities of everyone towards the environment. This has led us into our DT project of creating bird feeders as a way of protecting our species and preserving the environment around us. The children have carried out their own research into bird feeders on the current market, thought about the effectiveness of different designs and then drawn their own designs. We have started to make the feeders, using wood and natural resources and we have also effectively started using saws and hammer and nails. A busy week!

Central Idea: Conflict shapes society.

SATs - Year 6 have pulled together all of their knowledge and exam skills to work through the SATs papers; they have encouraged one another and maintained such a sensible decorum during each of the test days and demonstrated great resilience when faced with some really tricky questions. A hearty breakfast with a relaxed time to chill with friends to start each day has really helped! Well done, everyone.

DT/science - Children have thoroughly enjoyed designing and making a moving vehicle which uses electrical components to make it work. We began by considering the design elements of what the car would look like and what would be needed in an electrical circuit for the 'engine' to work. Children then had to design their chassis with consideration for their design features. The real problem solving began as we started to construct our vehicles: how to work well as a team; accurately measuring so that our materials were securely and precisely joined; which order to fix together the working parts and what to do when things didn't quite go as planned! We will be finishing our designs next week... watch this space!

Safety in Action - Monday 6th June - £5 - Please see your letter from the office with all the details on, make sure you have returned your permission. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office.