Year 4 - Linking Schools: Zoom Call
This week, the Year 4 class had the opportunity to meet their link class from St Matthew’s in Blackburn via a Zoom call. The call began with a brief introduction and a chance to share some Makaton/Sign Supported English they had learned. Together, the children from both classes laughed and played games. They also asked and answered curiosity questions, such as, ‘What after school clubs does your school offer?’ Or, ‘What’s your favourite book, and why?’ It was great to meet our link class and to see who we sent our identity maps to.
Year 4 - English: Recital
The children are definitely enjoying our current class novel, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter. In this lesson, the children had to practise reading and reciting a paragraph from the story. They used symbols and actions to help them remember the words in each sentence, and they rehearsed 4 or 5 times before the text was removed and only the symbols remained. The children then performed the paragraph with actions and using their symbols to help them remember the words. This will help them to develop the inner voice of an author, ready for writing their own paragraph based on this one.
Year 4 - World Book Day Hook
The children are really looking forward to World Book Day, especially following this survival kit activity based on our first class novel, The Explorer. We watched the news report of the plane crash from 2023, in which 4 children ended up stranded in the Colombian jungle. The children instantly recognised the similarities between the incident and the events of The Explorer. Following this the children spent time in groups, using their talk tokens and debating the four most important items to pack in their rucksack for their survival. Each group had a brilliant discussion about why some things are more essential than others and how important it is to meet basic needs first. The children are going to love the activities planned for Year 4 for World Book Day.
Year 3- Computing- Stop Motion Animation
In computing today, Year 3 put on their director hats and began filming their stop-motion sequences. They applied Mr Bradley's guidance on visual aesthetics to bring their chosen storylines to life through frame-by-frame animation.
Year 3- Music- Developing Ukulele Technique
In music today, the children explored the fundamentals of stave notation, learning how it functions as a visual map for reading music. They developed their ukulele technique by mastering both thumb and finger strumming, which they then applied to reading and playing rhythmic patterns. To finish, the children took on the role of composers, creating their own stave notation for the class to perform together as an ensemble.
Year 1: Pinocchio Dance Workshop
Year 1 absolutely loved their Pinocchio workshop delivered by West End in Schools. Their part of the story was Pinocchio becoming a donkey. We are so proud of all of the children for stepping out of their comfort zone and joining in. They all had so much fun and we loved watching the story come together.
Year 1 DT: Cutting Skills
Year 1 practiced two types of cutting skills: claw hold and bridge hold. These techniques allow us to cut fruit or vegetables in a safe way. We learnt to hold the knife in our hand and place our index finger on top for control. We also had to pull the knife back and forth to cut. This will be useful when we make our healthy breakfast pots.
Year 1 History: Sharing Our Living Memory Interviews
At home, Year 1 have been interviewing their family members about toys they had when they were little. Together, we shared our interviews to discover toys that we have never seen or played with, as well as some toys which we still play with today. We noticed that our parent’s favourite toys were made from plastic, but any grandparent’s favourite toys were typically metal, wood or fabric. This helped us to understand more about toys from the past and the materials they were made from.
Year 5 - Pinocchio Workshop
On Tuesday, we had the great fortune of having James from West End in Schools visit the school. He taught every class a dance based on the story of Pinocchio. In Year 5, we performed a group dance depicting a ship on stormy waters crashing onto rocks and Pinocchio meeting the fairy godmother. The children loved the opportunity to dance and I was very proud to watch their fantastic performance in front of the entire school.
Online Safety: Creative ways to encourage reading
Tomorrow is World Book Day, and it’s the perfect chance to spark a love of reading in every child. Stories don’t just build literacy skills, they inspire curiosity, boost confidence and open doors to new worlds. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday highlights simple, practical ways families can make reading part of everyday life. From creating cosy reading spaces to showing children that reading is fun, small habits can make a big impact. Download your FREE copy here >> https://vist.ly/4tnsk #WorldBookDay #WUW #EncouragingReading
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Reception - RE - The Lost Coin Parable
In our lesson today we read the Parable of The Lost Coin and discussed how it feels to lose something special and how happy we feel when we find it. We talked about celebrating together and how God feels when he finds someone who is lost. We then worked in groups to find lost coins outside and celebrated together when we found them.
Year 3-Class Worship: Exploring Rail Safety and Electricity
As part of our class worship, the children watched an impactful video from the Rail Safety Education Mapping Tool, which they found incredibly interesting. The session highlighted the tragic story of Harrison, who lost his life after being electrocuted by overhead wires while attempting to retrieve a football. This served as a vital reminder of the hidden dangers near tracks and the importance of staying "Rail Safe." Following this powerful introduction to the topic, we are now eagerly awaiting a visit from the rail industry partners, who are keen to support our school in further embedding these safety messages.