Lunch/break time music enrichment started two weeks ago and so far it has gone extremely well. The uptake on activities was far greater than forecast and extra time has been allocated to cover overspill classes.

Things are certainly looking up, with Phase 1 children expelling some energy in our Movement to Music break time sessions. Phase 2 and 3 have been enjoying activities such as Ukulele, Keyboard, African Drumming and Staff Wars. We have even restarted the higher ability performance groups, Cross Strings and Take Ten.

For National Day and as part of the Beautiful Oman IPC topic, a small selection of P7 children will be preparing a performance of the Oman national anthem, in a very well ventilated and socially distanced rehearsal environment.

Most lunch time enrichment classes are currently full, but please contact me if your child is interested, so that I can place them on the waiting list.

In Early Years we are so happy to have the children all settled into a daily routine. This year, rather than topics we are having a weekly story that we focus on.

Our current stories have included opportunities to learn and talk about colours and patterns.

Through Brown Bear, the children have been naming colours and retelling the story. They have had the chance to explore colours by mixing them together and talking about what they can see.

This week and next, we are exploring the story Socks and looking at different patterns. We will be naming patterns, drawing them and making our own repeating patterns.

Pupils in P2 have been learning about numbers from 1-20 and have been working on Number Sense and Place Value. We love comparing and ordering numbers from smallest to greatest and are looking forward to exploring the concept of parts and whole next.

Our featured text this term, 'Where the Wild Things Are' has been an enjoyable read and acts as a stimulus for other exciting activities in Art and IPC. Children have used this text to explore new vocabulary (through scavenger hunts in the Learning Souk) and sentence building.

Children have begun to take home books, so do make sure to ask what they're reading, they love to share -- it's also great for their reading comprehension.

Let's Get Writing!

Pupils in P4 have begun writing their Persuasive Letters to stop the destruction of the rainforest.

The letters are linked to the book, 'The Great Kapok Tree' which they have been reading in class. They have been using lots of persuasive devices in their letters, including using facts and explaining the consequences of deforestation upon the rainforest animals.

Perhaps they can practice their persuasive writing skills on you? Why not ask them to write a letter about something they would love to receive and see if they can convince you to grant their request!

P6 have been reading 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J K Rowling with great excitement. During Guided Reading sessions, they have demonstrated their understanding of the text by using VIPERS strategies to answer a range of questions.

Children have used the text as a stimulus for a variety of writing opportunities, for example an internal monologue, a diary entry, a descriptive paragraph and an informative leaflet.

They are currently learning how to write a persuasive speech. They are really improving their ability to write for different purposes and audiences.