What a busy start to a new calendar year and the spring term in Reception. Our children have embraced the icy weather, put on their outdoor gear and enjoyed every Wednesday outside learning about nature, riding bikes and exploring shape, space and measure in maths.

Our Reception children have enjoyed a fairy tale workshop to inspire their story writing and they learnt about using their imaginations. They have used their creative and curious minds to apply the skills they have learnt in a wide range of areas this half term. Some of our favourite pieces of writing and drawing were about dragons and overcoming obstacles.

In Year 1, the children have been working really hard. They have been learning about Winter and created some amazing artwork. They have also been learning investigating materials in Science. 

In Year 2, the children have been working hard to design and make their own chairs using paper. They have been doing practical science experiments and there has also been  some fantastic writing going on in Year 2 this week. 

In Year 3 we have been learning about Henri Matisse and his use of 'painting with scissors' to create collage.  We have also been looking at how we can use persuasive devices within our writing and the location of tropical rainforests.

In Year 4 we have been learning about the Water Cycle in Science and Geography and how to write limericks in Literacy.  In Art, we have been looking at the use of shadow and used Paul Cezanne as an inspiration to create our own masterpieces.

Our fabulous Year 5s have been learning all about the History and Geography of Weybridge by studying our famous local attraction 'Brooklands' (the world's first ever purpose built race track). They have learned about how and why it opened, the cars, planes and motorbikes that were designed, built, driven or raced there. They have investigated the key people in the history of Brooklands and how the coming of Brooklands changed our local area for ever.

In science our investigative Year 5s are learning about the forces of gravity, air resistance, water resistance and gravity. They have investigated the effect that these forces would have on the vehicles at Brooklands race track. In their science lessons, Year 5 have been carrying out practical investigations to test how parachutes work using air resistance, how cars are designed to be aerodynamic and how friction can effect how objects move. In this picture Year 5 are investigating how the friction on a particular road surface would effect how far a car will roll.

Our Year 5s produced this beautiful printing work in their art lessons. They studied the work of William Morris, a famous Victorian designer and used this as inspiration for sketching and designs based on nature and wildlife. This was developed into a printing tile and the children used inks to create a William Morris print of their own.

This term our inventive Year 6s have been learning skills of design and innovation to create a whole new design for a playground. They have learned to build a range of different structures, perfect these by adding detail and create a landscape to surround these. Here you can see just some examples of their imaginative and accurate work. Year 6 are studying electricity in their science lessons this term - learning about electrons, electrical components and advances in our understanding of electricity. They have been able to investigate and experiment with different circuits and components.  

Our wonderful Year 6s have been getting creative in their literacy lessons by using Harry Potter (and their visit to Harry Potter World) to develop their reading skills, and as inspiration for their wonderful writing. They have investigated the characters and identified a range of evidence from the text using their inferential skills. Then they have created and written their own characters using fabulous vocabulary. 

In history, Year 6 have started to learn about the Ancient Mayan civilisation. They have begun to delve into the world of the Ancient Maya by considering their beliefs and views about creation and the gods.  

See website for more dates. INSET Days have been set for the academic Year 2023/4. More information can be found on the website here: https://www.stjames-weybridge.surrey.sch.uk/term-dates-1/  

We are currently looking to recruit new Teaching Assistants at St James. If you are interested in one of these roles, please follow the links below to view the adverts and apply through the Eteach website. Applications close w/c 20th February. 

Full Time Teaching Assistant

Part Time Teaching Assistant

SEN Teaching Assistant