Key Stage 2 - Timestable Rockstar Battle
Huge congratulations to all of our Key Stage 2 children who competed in this month’s Times Tables Rock Stars Battle. We were incredibly impressed with the effort and enthusiasm shown by everyone involved. Our individual award winners are: • Year 3 – Charlie Duckworth • Year 4 – Bobby-Ray Catterall • Year 5 – Carter Corran • Year 6 – Charlie Shorrock A special well done also goes to Year 6, our overall winning class for this battle. As a reminder, in order to raise money for the NSPCC, we will be launching the KS2 Times Tables Rock Stars NSPCC Battle in school on Friday 6th February. Throughout the day, children will collectively build up their scores, which will contribute to a whole-school total. To celebrate Number Day, all children — including Reception and Key Stage 1 — are invited to come to school wearing their own clothes that depict a number (for example: numbers on clothing, badges, or Times Tables Rock Stars-themed outfits). Voluntary donations will be available via ParentPay to support this fantastic cause.
Reception: Muddy Monday
As part of the Ruby Robin Award, our Reception class participated in the "Craft and Care" challenge today. The children visited Whitehall Park to build bug houses using resources they collected themselves. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and creativity; we even saw some bugs starting to move into their new homes! Well done to our Reception class on a fabulous job.
Reception Maths - Composition using double dice frames
In today's Maths session, the children used double dice frames to explore the composition of numbers from 5 to 10. By filling one frame completely before starting the next, they practiced representing these values as "5 and a bit," such as seeing 7 as a full set of five plus two more. This approach helps children to move beyond simple counting, encouraging them to subitise and build a strong mental foundation for future addition and subtraction.
Reception - Floating and Sinking
Today, our mini-scientists explored floating and sinking through a hands-on water workshop. The children made "best guesses" (predictions) about which objects would stay on top and which would drop to the bottom using the vocabulary floating and sinking. We tested a range of objects from metal spoons to Lego pieces. This activity helps children to understand the world around them by observing how different materials behave, encouraging them to think critically about why some large items float while small ones sink.
Reception: English
Reception class revisited the story of "The Snail and the Whale" today, with a particular focus on the setting. The children practiced describing the sea and learned a new vocabulary word: "shimmering." They also drew the setting, labelled their work, and explained how the sun makes the water shimmer.
Reception: Snail and the Whale Book Launch
This morning, Reception class read 'The Snail and the Whale'. We listened carefully to the story. The children focussed on two words 'slimy' and 'ginormous'. We discussed the characters in the story and described how they moved and their size. We then drew the characters and had a special key to make them move. Our keys varied from tricky words to different sounds that we have learnt. What a super start to the week!
Doodle and Dance Club Session 3
This week, children in EYFS and key stage 1 focussed on mindfulness. We listening to some acoustic Disney music whilst completing some mindfulness colouring. It was lovely to hear all of the children chatting together. We finished with some wake and shake- fire and ice and the wiggle dance were a firm favourite!
Inter- House Sports with Reception
Our Sports Leaders did an Inter- House Indoor Athletics session with Reception class on Friday which went down a storm! Every single child was engaged, enthusiastic and had huge smiles on their faces. They completed various relays which focused on their fundamental skills and speed, agility and quickness. Well done Reception class and huge thanks to the Sports Leaders!
Reception - Let's Get Crafty Tissue Art
Our Reception artists have been making a splash this week, diving into a vibrant "Under the Sea" activity to develop their creative flair and fine motor skills. By carefully scrunching, twisting, and sticking colourful tissue paper onto aquatic templates, the children created wonderful pieces of Art work for our school display.
Reception- RE: Jonah and the Whale
During our RE lessons, we have been exploring the question, “Which stories did Jesus hear when he was a child?” This week, we focused on the story of Jonah and the Whale. While listening to the story, we discussed the word “sorry” and talked about how it can sometimes be difficult to say. The children shared with a partner a time when they had said sorry and explained why it was important. We then took turns to share some of these ideas together as a class.
Class Worship- Reception class, Year 3 and Year 4 -The Power of Kind Words
Mrs Gardner delivered a collective worship session focused on the power of our words, using the theme 'Kind Words.' The children reflected on how kind words can cheer us up and make others stronger, supported by verses from Proverbs and Ephesians. We watched a 'Douglas Talks' video that demonstrated how powerful our words can be, and we closed the worship with a prayer asking for help to use only words that bring a smile to the listener.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Today is known as Blue Monday, but our Reception class decided to rename it "Happy Monday" by participating in the five steps to wellbeing. The children focused on being active and taking notice of our special world. During their walk, they were mesmerised by the fog and gave thanks for the birds, insects, dogs, and trees. They returned to school excited to share what they had observed with their peers during "snack and chat." If you are feeling a bit low today, we encourage you to try going for a walk and taking a moment to appreciate the world around you.