St Thomas More Catholic Primary School
Aspire and Flourish
Friday 9th October
Aspire and Flourish
Friday 9th October
Sunday's Gospel reminds us that God's Kingdom is for everyone - not just the rich or the powerful.
All of us are invited to join Him!
Value of the term: Forgiveness
I've had the pleasure this week of showing lots of guests around school. On Monday we welcomed parents who were looking at school for Reception places from September 2027. On Wednesday and Thursday we welcomed colleagues from St John the Baptist Catholic Multi-academy Trust. On each occasion visitors were wowed by the excellent learning behaviours, the focus of the children and the high levels of teaching and learning that was occurring in each classroom. Well done to our wonderful children!
There have been several incidents involving unsafe driving this week. It is of paramount importance that visitors to the school site drive in a safe and careful manner. This also extends to Park Lane, outside of the school - particularly at the crossing. Any driving deemed unsafe may be reported to the police. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.
Our whole school attendance (below) is creeping up - this is an amazing achievement. Remember to send your child to school every day and to contact us if there is a reason they are not in school. Every lesson counts!
14.10.26
Book Fair
16.10.26
Year 1 Hammerton Zoo Trip
EYFS 2027 Parent Tours (to book please visit our website)
23.10.26
Staff Inset Day
October half term begins
02.11.26
Flu Vaccine day all years (information to follow for online sign up)
02.11.26 & 05.11.26
Parents Evening (Appointments open on 12.10.26 at 12PM)
The children in the Zone are continuing to explore The Little Red Hen through fun, hands-on activities. The children have been practicing sequencing story events using objects, symbols and actions, while developing vocabulary such as stir, roll, bake, hot, eat and together.
In the Vine, we have been continuing our learning about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We have been exploring different ways to describe things that are big and small, learning new words such as large, huge, little, and tiny.
We also went for a walk to look for things that were big and small. We enjoyed finding and talking about the different sizes of things we could see around us.
In EYFS this week the children have been looking at the story of ‘The Colour Monster goes to School’, thinking about the different feelings and emotions that they feel when they start school. The children were very excited to start writing, using the sounds they know to label the colour monster! In RE we took the idea of our family and looked at being part of God’s family, exploring the Holy Sacrament of Baptism.
This week in Year 1, we have had a busy and exciting week! In English we started to read our new book ‘Funny Bones’. The children are very excited! We are becoming independent writers. In Maths, we have started learning a new topic, which is addition and subtraction with a focus of using a part, whole model. In Science, we have started to learn about the human body In RE, we have written our first prayer and this will be put in our prayer book.
This week in Year 2, we have been continuing to write our castle descriptions. The children have been using expanded noun phrases to add detail and bring their writing to life. In Science, we have been experimenting with different materials and investigating their properties to decide which materials are most suitable for different purposes. In RE, the children have been comparing different artworks that depict the Creation Story. They have also been thinking about how the Earth is a wonderful gift from God and how we can appreciate and care for it. In Maths, we have been learning to use the greater than (>), less than (<), and equal to (=) symbols to compare numbers and objects.
This week in Year 3, we have been busy building on our learning across the curriculum.
In English, we have moved from identifying direct speech to learning how to punctuate and include it effectively in our own writing.
In Maths, we have been estimating numbers on number lines up to 1,000, as well as comparing and ordering numbers within 1,000. We have finished our Place Value unit by counting in 50s and are now ready to begin our next Maths unit next week.
In Science, we have continued to observe the growth of our bean plants and have been learning about the process of photosynthesis and how plants make their own food.
In Computing, the children have been introduced to branching databases and have begun to explore how questions can be used to sort and organise information.
In RE, we have explored Pope Francis’ teaching in Laudato Si’ 66, thinking about how our relationships with God, other people and the Earth are connected and how these relationships can be restored when they are damaged. We have also explored the Psalms, identifying how they can be used as prayers to praise God for the wonder and beauty of Creation.
It has been a busy and enjoyable time in Year 4, with lots of exciting learning taking place across the curriculum. Our maths focus has been finishing our work on place value and will soon be moving on to addition and subtraction. The children will be applying their place value knowledge to help them solve calculations and explain their methods clearly. In English, we are using our trip as a stimulus to generate non-chronological reports. The children have been gathering ideas, organising information and developing their writing skills. We are now beginning to publish our reports, which will be ready to send to Cambridge Botanical Garden. During RE, we studied 1 Corinthians 13:13 and explored the virtues of hope, faith and love. We have also had a go at using our new prayer books, which the children enjoyed as they created their own prayers. This gave them an opportunity to reflect on their beliefs and express their thoughts in a personal way. We have also created bird houses to show good stewardship and the importance of looking after God’s creations. The children enjoyed designing and making their bird houses while thinking about how we can care for the natural world.
Year 5 have had another busy and exciting week of learning! In English, we have been finding and using precise vocabulary in our reading and extending our own vocabulary in writing, helping us to paint vivid pictures for our very own readers. In Maths, we have been working hard on adding and subtracting numbers up to 6 digits, while also strengthening our understanding of place value during our daily arithmetic sessions. In Science, we have been investigating day and night and developing our understanding of how the Earth’s movement creates this pattern. We have also continued to reflect on our mission to be good neighbours, thinking about how we can show love, kindness and care towards others in our everyday lives, inspired by Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22:34–40. We continue to exercise our bodies as we learn swimming skills every week.
We are well and truly in the swing of Year 6 now, and it has been another fantastic week of learning! In English, the children have worked hard to edit, revise and publish their London Blitz setting descriptions, carefully improving their vocabulary and sentence choices. Why not ask your child to share their favourite sentence from their finished piece with you? In Maths, we have moved on to our new unit, developing our understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Here’s a question to test them at home: Is 1 a prime number? Ask them to explain why! In RE, we are exploring the fascinating relationship between science and faith, considering how the two can work together to help us understand God’s creation. Finally, in Theme, we are continuing our World War Two learning and will be stepping into the shoes of an evacuee as we prepare to write our own evacuee letters, imagining the emotions and experiences of children leaving their homes during the war.
October winners were Singapore who earned time on the trim trail!
Remember Year 2 - Year 6 children should be playing for 10 minutes everyday!