Wow - what a busy term! Read on to find out what the children have been learning recently.
Dates for your diary:
- Mon 11th December - DRET Carol Service at Hull Minster
- Tue 12th December - F1 Christmas singing and crafts
- Wed 13th December - Hull's Festival of Carols
- Thu 14th December - Santa Run!
- Thu 14th December - F2 Christmas afternoon and library
- Mon 18th December - Violin performance to parents; instrumental concert
- Tue 19th December - Y1 performances
- Wed 20th December - Christmas Dinner Day & Christmas Movie Nights
- Fri 22nd December - Christmas singalong; break up for Christmas holidays
- Mon 8th January - Staff training day
- Tue 9th January - School re-opens
F1 and the Beehive
This term the children have loved the houses and space topic. We have made telescopes and created pictures of the Earth using the correct colours. We read the story ‘Whatever Next’ and the children were able to act out the story using the resources given - it was so lovely to see.
The children were so excited to see their houses on tapestry. They were able to look at their house and discuss its own unique features and then went into the provision and replicated their own houses using blocks. Well done children!
We have been getting ready for Christmas by practising our Christmas songs which will be shown on the craft days. They sound amazing. Thank you for all your support this half term and we look forward to the new year ahead.
F2
The children in Foundation 2 continue to work hard everyday. These are some of our recent highlights:
During Talk for Writing we have become experts in retelling the story 'Baby Bear Goes to the Moon'. We can tell this confidently and have also innovated the story and changed some of the characters and settings, we have had Elmer going to Mars and Mog going to the sun! Once we are confident with retelling the known story we like to innovate it, so that the children take ownership of it and become the author to their newly created story.
During maths we have been learning about the composition of 5 and the different amounts within 5. We play games that could also be played at home, using 5 little pebbles or 5 conkers. We drop them onto a tray and ask “What do you see?” “How do you see it?” The children are becoming skilled in recognising different amounts and will make comments such as “I can see two there and two there and one there. Two and two and one equals five.” We would love it if you could play this game at home too and tell us what your child notices and tells you. You could also encourage them to use their ‘fast eyes’ and spot different amounts without needing to count them. This is known as subitizing and is a key mathematical skill for young children to develop. The children are brilliant at spotting amounts up to 5 without having to count. Again, please let us know if you do this at home, we would love to celebrate it in class.
We are also becoming scientists and loved all the work on Space. Did you know the sun is our biggest star? The children enjoyed making papier mache planets and also using Google Earth to blast off around planet Earth and see different landmarks. We also enjoyed some music lessons with Space themed songs and enjoyed singing and dancing to Zoom zoom zoom were going to the moon, Twinkle Twinkle, Aiken Drum and 5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer.
During our D&T work we have been designing and creating some Winter decorations, using different skills to join creative materials and make simple structures.
During Forest Schools we have been exploring the forest area, digging in the mud, hunting for bugs, rolling on the hill and have been finding food for Peter Rabbit!
Thank you to everyone at home for support with our regular Home Learning challenges, regular phonics homework and also for supporting our Winter Wonderland.
Dates coming up for F2 - please note that we are not involved in the whole school singing on the last day.
- Thursday 14th December - Christmas craft and library 2:30pm - 3:30pm (parents invited)
- Thursday 14th December - Santa run (parents do not need to attend)
- Wednesday 20th December - Christmas dinner, Christmas jumper day and Christmas movie night (more details to come).
- Thursday 21st December - Nativity film and singing 2:30pm (parents invited, more details to follow).
- Friday 22nd - F2 party day (parents do not attend, more details to follow).
Year 1
What an exciting start to the second half of this term! The children have been very busy with their learning.
We were very lucky to welcome some visitors into school from St. Luke's church, to tell us all about a Christian baptism. Please see the photo below.
We have enjoyed learning the story of the Little Red Hen. Please ask your child to retell it for you. In history, we have looked at how Hull has changed over the years and found this very interesting! Our science topic is out of this world! The children have looked at our solar system and learned about the planets.
As part of Anti-Bullying week, we took part in a dance workshop to help raise awareness and express ourselves. Please see the photo below.
We are very much looking forward to inviting parents and carers into school on Tuesday 19th December 2023, to watch our Christmas production - The First Christmas! We know many of the children have already started to sing the songs at home.
Year 2
This half term we have enjoyed writing reports about mythical creatures in our T4W. Our model text was about Storm Unicorns and the children have really enjoyed designing their own mythical creatures and we are excited to begin writing our reports this week.
In maths, we have been introducing our 2s,5s and 10 times tables and a lot of the children have been asking about TT Rockstars which we will be launching in the New Year. We have also been looking at telling the time which we have found a bit tricky.
In geography, we have been looking at the continents of North and South America and we have linked this with our D&T where we have been looking at tropical fruit from Brazil. We are excited to design and make our fruit pots with a South American theme. In history, we have been learning about a pirate queen - Grace O'Malley and the children have especially enjoyed acting and retelling her story. In R.E, we have been comparing Sikhism and Christianity, exploring some of the festivals in both religions. We especially enjoyed taking our learning outside to create rangoli patterns when we explored the Sikh festival of Diwalli.
Year 3
As we move towards the Christmas holidays and a well earned break, Y3 can reflect on a fantastic second Autumn term full of successes, progress and learning.
In Talk for Writing, the children have been writing diaries in the character of a mad scientist. We have learned how to use sentences of three, powerful verbs and used these to produce a recount explaining how we created our wonderful (and mad, of course) inventions.
Our first Talk for Reading text this half term has been 'The Iron Man' by Ted Hughes. The children enjoyed the mysterious opening chapter, using retrieval skills to build their vocabulary and suggest possible reasons for the arrival of the Iron Man. As part of our class read, we have enjoyed the rest of the story too! Our second text is 'The Tin Forest', a wonderful tale by Helen Ward of a man who dreams of living in the jungle, but instead finds himself surrounded by scrap metal. The text encourages children to empathise with the lonely man and identify why he finds himself suddenly surrounded by strange, metal trees.
In computing, the children used the program Scratch to create mazes to guide their sprites through. The children learned how to create algorithms in order to make their sprite move and draw, while also changing the colour of the lines and assign keys to perform different functions.
In music the children have worked hard with Mr Wright in their violin practice in preparation for their performance, learning to not only use the traditional bow method, but to produce sounds through other means such as Col Legno (striking the wood of the bow against the string) and plucking the strings (Pizzicato). The children employ these methods across a range of pieces and from what we've heard so far we are in for a fantastic show!
The children in Year 3 enjoyed a trip to the Fred Moore library where they were taught how to check books in and out using their very own library cards and were given a tour of the library through an interactive session with Hull Libraries. It was fantastic to see the children engage with hands on reading tasks and be able to demonstrate their fantastic knowledge of literacy!
Our Winter Wonderland was a great success, 3H's Build-A-Snowman kits were snapped up in record time (even though we made double the amount!) and plenty of fun was had at the Snowman Bowling alley in 3CM too! A huge thank you to the PTFA for helping us put this wonderful event on and an equally huge thank you to the parents and guardians who gave up their time to bring the children along, it was a special evening for all involved!
As always, we are grateful to all the adults who continue to support our children and on behalf of Mr Haymes, Mrs Carter and Mrs McKie, we would like to thank you all for the contributions you have made to your child's learning in Year 3.
The Launch Pad
There has been lots happening in The Launch Pad this month!
The power of I Am. The children explored positive affirmations and how they can help build our self esteem, confidence and resilience. The children had great fun and worked really hard to create a new display, reflecting their positive mindsets. It looks amazing in the room!
Antibullying Week. To celebrate antibullying week the children explored what makes them unique and some of the children, who come to the peer art groups, made anti- bullying posters. We didn't just wear odd socks, we made some too, and have a washing line full of unique colours and patters adorning The Launch Pad. The children also shared with each other what makes them unique. These discussions are so important to the children's mental health as it encourages the children to love themselves and develop a positive self identity.
Winter Wishes. Three girls in year 4 created some lovely winter wishes with the younger children in the school, which we sold at the Winter Wonderland. The girls did really well at teaching their peers and great fun was had by all.
Believe in your Elf! All the children who visit The Launch Pad have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the annual December visitor, Claus Peppersticks! Claus always makes the children happy with his particular kind of festive fun. I have enjoyed the children getting excited during the build up to his arrival, I'm not so sure I shall enjoy cleaning up all the glitter!
Year 4
It has been an exciting half term in Year 4, having done lots of fun activities and with even more to come in the lead up to Christmas.
In Talk 4 Writing we have been reading 'Elf Road', a short portal story where a young boy gets transported through a mystery door to a new world. We have enjoyed writing our own versions and creating our own mystery world.
In Talk 4 Reading we have look at both 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Fantastic Beasts'. Both of these have continued our theme of mystery places and we have loved exploring this through the different texts.
History has been one of our favourites, learning about the Romans further as well as the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. We particularly enjoyed acting out some of the key battles and things he did in his lifetime.
We have learnt all about sound in science which has led to completing a sound walk around school and outside, as well as learning how sound travels through experiments such as creating our own paper cups.
The build up to Christmas is hugely exciting which was kick-started by the successful Winter Wonderland and we're looking forward to making decorations, as well as a trip to Hull Minster to sing Carols.
Year 5
It is hard to believe we have almost completed our first term together, and how much the children have matured since joining Year 5. The work ethic is certainly going from strength to strength. There have been some particular highlights over the last few weeks which must be mentioned.
In reading, we have been studying a book called, 'A Boy at the Back of the Class', which has captured the children's imagination. It is based on the true experiences of the author, Onjali Q. Rauf, who stayed in Dunkirk at a refugee camp and was so moved by some of the people she met, she was inspired to write the book. The children have developed great empathy for the main character Ahmet and his dear friend Alexa, who campaigned for him to be granted asylum.
In maths we have just started our topic on geometry and different types of angles whilst learning to use a protractor. The children appreciate that this is a real life skill which could be used in the real world in many roles including architecture, design and the building industry.
In science, the children have embraced our topic on rocks and soils and have been learning about the formation of rocks and the rock cycle. It was a joy to see so many children bring their rock collection to school to teach us more about the subject.
Finally, we must also mention the children's enthusiastic efforts for Winter Wonderland. It was a delight to see the smiles on their faces as they took charge of their own classroom creating a game, raising funds for the school and decorating the room.
Year 6
It is hard to believe that Year 6 have nearly completed their first term at the “top of the school”. They are continuing to be hard working and are exemplary role models for our younger children. This was demonstrated perfectly when the school hosted our Winter Wonderland event. Many parents and teachers commented upon the polite and helpful nature of our Year 6 pupils; the children were delighted to receive this positive feedback which was thoroughly deserved. Also, as part of the Winter Wonderland event, we sold Christmas biscuits. This had formed the final part of our DT project. The children carried out some research around the school, taste-tested, designed and made the biscuits before selling them at the Winter Wonderland with great success.
There have been some interesting links across our English, History and R.E curriculum this term which centre around the theme of modern migration. In our reading sessions, we have been studying the book 'No Ballet Shoes in Syria' which is about a young girl who has been forced to migrate from Aleppo to England. We read about the harrowing journey her family endured in a bid to rebuild their life, having left everything they loved behind. This week, we will look at a poem written by a Syrian migrant called, ‘Lament for Syria’. In history, we learnt about voluntary and forced migration. For example, children found it interesting to learn about the Windrush generation and how people were invited to the UK from the Caribbean to rebuild post-war Britain. They also found the Kindertransport lesson interesting which will link to our unit of WW2 later in the year. In R.E, we have learnt a great deal about Jewish migration and how many Jews were forced to migrate due to discrimination over many centuries. We also undertook a local study and followed the journey of a Jewish couple, Hans and Janice, from Russia to the port of Grimsby.
As part of our geography topic on Brazil, Year 6 have loved learning about Brazil and they will look at favelas and deepen their understanding of how these communities work. Children have also enjoyed their science topic on forces and found it interesting learning about scientists such as Isaac Newton and his theory of gravity.
We continue to be impressed with the attitudes and work-ethic shown by our Year 6 pupils. We would like to thank you for your continued support with encouraging your child to read three times a week and completing their weekly homework.