Year 6 have been developing their instructional writing skills with a fun, festive twist! Inspired by The Grinch, pupils wrote step-by-step instructions on “How to Steal Christmas,” focusing on clear sequencing, precise language and engaging presentation. The creative outcomes showed excellent imagination and a strong understanding of instructional text features—no Christmases were harmed in the process! 🎄

Year 6 also met up with their Reception buddies this week and helped them to complete a craft activity. It was lovely to see the Year 6s being kind, supportive and such great role models for the younger children.

Year 5 had a busy and fun week! In Science, as part of their forces unit, each table designed and made four different shapes and tested them to see which one would sink the slowest. There were lots of great ideas, and after some careful testing, Michal’s shape was the winner.

The class also finished off their cam toys in D&T, putting the final pieces together and enjoying seeing their designs come to life. Everyone worked really hard and showed great creativity and teamwork.

This week, Year 1 has been exploring the theme of Christmas. In maths, the children have been looking at and naming 3D shapes by building towers and sorting presents. In English, they followed instructions to make cone-shaped Santas and continued to practise instructions through a listen-and-colour activity.

In phonics, the children consolidated their Phase 5 alternative graphemes by helping Santa get the presents ready, choosing the correct grapheme and helping an elf to spell words for labels. They have also been very creative, making 3D baubles and cards, and performing their Christmas play to an audience. To finish the week, the children explored winter through a sensory tuff tray using cotton wool, cream and sprinkles.

In the Sunshine LC, the children have been learning about the story Cookie’s Christmas Invention. They learned the story, sequenced it and retold it, before designing their own inventions to help. The children then created their designs and evaluated what they liked about them and what they would do better next time.

The class elf has not been very happy this week, as some of the children were blaming it for eating the chocolate calendar! The elf wrote a letter to the Sunshine Learning Community explaining that he had gone back to the North Pole and wouldn’t return until the truth was told. This led to the children learning how to write informal letters, which they posted in the school post box. Luckily, the elf has returned – although the truth still hasn’t been told!

Year 4 have had a busy and creative week! In RE, they made Christingles and explored the meaning behind each part, learning more about the Christmas story. In History, they put the finishing touches on their fantastic Roman shields, carefully designing and decorating them. They also completed their pencil cases in their D&T lesson, showing great skill and perseverance.

The class also had fun practising Roman army formations with their shields, including the famous tortoise formation – it was brilliant to see them working together to copy the formation, just like real Roman soldiers!

Nursery have been busy helping in Santa’s Workshop this term! The children enjoyed writing Christmas lists, letters to Santa, and posting them in the postbox. They also helped to wrap Santa’s presents and place them carefully under the Christmas tree.

To celebrate the end of term, Nursery enjoyed a festive Christmas party. The children took part in musical statues, musical bumps and chairs, and a fun balancing bauble race. They finished with a special Christmas party snack time, complete with some extra festive food treats, making it a lovely end to a very busy term.

Christmas Lunch

We had a fantastic time celebrating Christmas lunch together, with the hall full of festive cheer and some truly brilliant Christmas jumpers on display! The children loved wearing their jumpers and enjoying a special lunch with friends, making it a really fun and memorable part of the season. Thank you to our kitchen team for a delicious meal and to everyone who helped make the day feel so Christmassy.

Nativity Performances

Our EYFS and KS1 Nativity performances were a joy to watch! 🌟

EYFS shared a lovely traditional retelling of the Nativity story, while KS1 delighted the audience with a creative twist as aliens visited planet Earth to learn all about Christmas. The children worked incredibly hard and sang beautifully throughout. A huge thank you to all the staff for their dedication and support in making these performances so special.

Class Dojo

This year, we have introduced Class Dojo.  A way of celebrating individuals and classes that are following our school rules of: 

Be Kind. Show Respect. Aim High.

Children will be able to receive one or two points for these core values from any member of staff.  We will keep an eye on which individuals, classes and house groups are being the kindest, most respectful and ambitious over the year.