This week in English the children have been reading some lovely stories together in their RWI groups. Some groups have been reading about Pirates, some about bath times and others about play days. They have all read ever so well and are more readily recognising that answers to comprehension questions can sometimes be retrieved from a text. The children have been assessed on their phonics and some children have been moved on to different stages of the RWI scheme. We have also done an independent write linked directly to our Victorian school experience we had at Blists Hill. The children have also been doing some work based on our class story ‘Beegu.’ They have been using adjectives to describe both feelings and appearances of the characters during different stages of the story. The children’s repertoire of vocabulary is flourishing more and more by the day.
In Maths the children have been learning more about adding and subtracting. By using partitioning they have been working systematically through their calculations. They have also tried to fully understand the concept of bar models. More work has been done on related facts and comparing number sentences involving addition and subtraction too. The children have also been assessed on their learning in certain areas through practical activities.
In Science the children have been looking at different parts of common animals. The children then used their knowledge of specific body parts to create their own creatures from a given criteria.
In Topic the children have talked about and written about their trip experiences at Blists Hill. They have also learned about the different jobs the children of their age (and younger) used to do in Victorian times. Not only has it been extremely thought provoking for them, it has made them realise that they may need to do a little more around the house to help you at home.
In PE the children have continued with both outdoor hockey with Embrace and games with Mr Sudlow. Please make sure that your children have the appropriate PE kit including outdoor trainers for a Monday and Friday.
Spelling lists have gone home today. Please see attached for our spelling list if your child has been off ill.
A big congratulations to Kyler for getting star trophy award for the week. He has worked incredibly well in all areas of the curriculum and has set a wonderful example in class.
Have a lovely weekend together and I look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Mr Mavin

In Class 2 we have loved listening to the children’s prior knowledge about the Victorians (or what they believed the Victorians and that era to be like) each day.
In English the children have continued to flourish in their RWI groups. In some cases they have been encouraged to use simple conjunctions to link their ideas when either writing or using talk for writing. They have moved onto the next part of the whole class story Beegu and have devised instructions on making sandwich.
In maths we have been using very practical means to add and subtract. We have used part whole models, number lines, apparatus and also using a bar model when subtracting. We have agreed ways of double checking our calculations to see if they make sense and have used reasoning well when explaining to our maths buddies. They children have also discovered that addition is commutative (done in any order) and some children have completed problems and explained their reasoning to give themselves an extra challenge.
Our art lesson has been linked to our History topic of The Victorians and the children have learned about the Victorian artist William Morris. They have now started to recreate strips of wallpaper with their own version of his designs. I can’t wait to see them all on display.
In Science the class have been learning about the grouping of animals. They have investigated sorting them based on certain features, characteristics or traits the animals may have. The prior knowledge and reasoning the children gave was very interesting to listen to indeed and it was something of real interest for this class.
In computing the children have been experimenting with the touch pad on the laptop. They have also been using an online learning platform to practise further their Maths and phonics work.
The children have been doing ever so well with their spellings and a new list is in their books. A special well done to both Dylan and Evie Webster who achieved Star of the Week status for lots of effort with their work in all lessons and tenacity even when they found something quite challenging. Well done to you both!
As a reminder, we have our class trip to Blists Hill on Wednesday. Please refer to the letter which went home for any additional details you may need to know.

Have a lovely weekend together and I look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Mr Mavin

The children in class 2 have been doing at least two nice things for each other every day this week. My favourite observation was one of the children sharpening his tables’ pencils with the exhaust hole of his new tractor sharpener.
In our English lessons the children have been using both adjectives and simple conjunctions in their RWI recording work. We are currently making sure that we are verbalising our words and sentences properly when we are both reading and writing in class. Our work buddies have been an essential part of this process offering support along the way. Our stories work has had lots of lovely discussions and ideas have been shared well when talking as a class. For our end of the week book study we have continued with the story Beegu where the children’s inference skills have really impressed us all. They have ordered the story up to a certain point and have made a prediction as to how they feel the story might end. The reason for their predictions was both well thought out and very imaginative.
In maths the children have continued with addition and subtraction. As a whole class warm up we have been focusing on number bonds to 10/20 and have used our rhymes to help along the way. 8 and 2-chicken poo (makes 10) seems to be their favourite for some reason. The children have been looking at adding on from certain numbers and solving problems involving this. They have worked practically and have tried their best to give as much reasoning as possible along the way. They have completed part whole models and have used equipment along the way to support them. They have also worked on finding number bonds. They have also used a mathematics platform on the iPads to co-inside with their work.
In music the children were reading simple music from the front of the class and playing their notes beautifully together with Mrs Tan, a real breakthrough for them all.
This week the children have got in role as the Time Team for our new history topic and I thought it would be a good idea to test out my new metal detector in the school grounds. Well we were in for a surprise! They set off together taking it in turns with the detector and trowel. After the odd bleep for can ring pulls the detector started to frantically bleep on a mound of soil and rubble by one of the hedges. After being unearthed we discovered an old, heavy, cold and dirty tin box. Nobody could believe their eyes as we carefully brought it back into the classroom. Upon opening it we discovered that it was a time capsule full of old possessions. To our surprise we also found a letter addressed from a girl called Mary aged 6 who was from Bicton Village in the year 1870. She wanted somebody from the future to find out about both her and her parents. We investigated the items she had placed in the box which sparked some ingenious ideas as to what they were and what they were used for. One of the children thought it would be a good idea to put the date on her letter into Google. We then found out that Mary was from The Victorian times and we can’t wait to find out more…
In PE the children now have Embrace teaching hockey on Fridays which they are all really enjoying. On Mondays they have also games with Mr Sudlow. Once again I would like to remind you that your child needs outdoor trainers for PE this term.
Spellings have gone home tonight and there will be homework next week for the new term. Homework will be sent a little more frequently with it being in our second term. If you require more activity materials for your child at home please do not hesitate to come and see me.
We have a Class 2 trip booked for Blists Hill linked to our new history topic. The letter has already been sent out, so please could you return them as soon as you can. If you require another you will be able to get one from the office.
Have a lovely weekend together and see you on Monday.
Mr Mavin

A big warm welcome back to you all after what was hopefully a lovely Christmas period for everybody.
The children have come back bright as buttons this week and have effortlessly slipped back into normal routine together for the new term. Apparently there wasn’t any coal or horse manure in their Xmas stockings this year which in my opinion just emphasises what well behaved and studious the children they were last year!
In our English lessons we have moved onto different story books in RWI. Some children have moved onto different stages regarding their story banding. They have been teaching each other very well in partnerships emphasising the right way to say their speed sounds and story words. They have also recalled their essential red story words on sight which has really impressed us. The fluency of their reading is improving and lolly pop sticks have been used very professionally for the direction of what is being read by our ‘budding’ teachers of the future. The children have had very fruitful discussions about what they are focussing on. They have related what they have read to their own experiences, some of which have tickled us, especially anecdotes about bus trips. In addition to RWI we have started our whole class novel study work with our new story book Beegu. The children have listened to the first section of it and have answered simple comprehension questions with their talk buddies. They have acted parts of it out using freeze framing and have made insightful predictions as to what may happen next in the story.
In maths, the children have been chanting and singing counting forwards and backwards in two’s and 10’s. They have consolidated work on place value both comparing amounts, two numbers, ordering up to three groups/numbers whilst using the language smallest to greatest.
In science the children have the new topic of Animals including Humans where we firstly investigated and asked questions of how we have changed since we were babies. We got out of our time machines and looked at photos of teachers as babies and discussed what things looked the same and what had changed. We then did some investigation work involving our bodies, locating the different parts and features, using their scientific names and then learnt what our main senses are and what part of the body drives them.
In RE the children have been talking about how Christians might look after God’s Earth. They devised and described their favourite thing they have seen in their world and made a set of rules which might be followed by others to preserve the Earths’ creation.
All of the children have had a very successful spelling test today. Well done to all, very proud of you! The new list is in their books for next week. Congratulations to Thea who got the classes 1st Star of the week trophy award for persevering with her English work and aiming to improve her sentence word building skills in writing. I wonder who will be going home with the trophy next week?
The children now have a PE session of a Monday and Friday afternoon. Please could you ensure that your child has a kit which includes outdoor trainers in school on those days.
Please come in to see me as usual for a chat if you need to discuss anything to do with your child.
Have a lovely weekend together.

Mr Mavin