Nursery to Year Six Highlights

Letter Hunt!

Our Nursery girls had great fun taking part in an exciting letter hunt around the Nursery and Kindergarten areas this week. They searched carefully to find the initial letters in their names, showing fantastic enthusiasm and curiosity. All the girls were able to identify the sound at the beginning of their name and did a wonderful job recognising the written letters as they worked to build their names. A fun an interactive way to develop their
early phonological awareness!

Mass Investigation!

Kindergarten pupils have greatly enjoyed investigating mass this week. They started with some teacher-led activities which introduced them to the mathematical language associated with mass, including words such as ‘lighter’ and ‘heaviest’, and the different types of scales used to measure mass. The pupils then had the opportunity to work one to one with a teacher to complete structured activities in which they could demonstrate and extend their understanding.  In one of the activities, the pupils were challenged to use Numicon to create equivalent masses, and the teachers were impressed by both the pupils’ mathematical reasoning and their dedication to completing the task.  Throughout the week the pupils have also had the opportunity to freely explore the resources and it has been a pleasure to observe their interest and listen to their mathematical conversations.  Brilliant work Kindergarten! 

Mother’s Day assembly

Reception girls were delighted to take part in their special Mother’s Day assembly. They performed beautifully, sharing songs, poems and kind messages to celebrate their mothers and the important people in their lives. 

Vegetable Spotting at the Allotments!

Reception girls enjoyed a walk to the school allotment where they explored what was growing. They spotted vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and radishes, along with other plants in the beds. The girls were very interested in looking at the neighbouring allotments and talked about what people do there, noticing some of the tools used for digging, planting and watering. In their science lesson, they discussed what they had seen and began thinking about how some foods grow above the ground while others grow below the soil. In their writing lesson, the girls also wrote an account of their visit to the allotment, describing what they saw and what they had learned about.

World Book Day

Year One had a wonderful time celebrating World Book Day. The children came to school dressed as their favourite book characters and loved sharing who they were and the stories they came from. They also designed their own potato book characters at home, and we enjoyed seeing everyone’s creations and voting for our favourites. Throughout the day, we shared stories together, talked about our favourite books and began planning our own stories, which we will be writing over the coming weeks. It was a lovely day celebrating reading and our love of books. 

Plant Identification!

Year Two have really enjoyed their Science lessons this week. First, they explored the different parts of a plant, identifying the roots, stem, leaves and petals before discussing the important role each part plays. Next week, the girls will continue their learning by exploring and identifying the different parts of a flower. The girls also planted broad beans in the classroom. The seeds were placed in transparent cups with cotton wool and then set in a small classroom greenhouse. The girls are very excited to observe how the beans grow and change over the coming weeks.

All About Adverbs!

This week, Year Three have been learning all about adverbs. They discovered what adverbs are, how to identify them and how to use them to make their writing more detailed and exciting. To put their new skills into practice, the girls became “Grammar Detectives” for the lesson! Their task was to help Detective Pad (a cheerful notepad) and Detective Stache (a sharp and logical pencil) solve the mystery of the missing parcel. Along the way, they practised defining, spotting and using adverbs to complete reports about the case. As part of the investigation, they didn’t just spot adverbs on paper but also listened carefully to a voice recording to identify them. It was a fun and engaging way for the girls to develop their grammar skills and build confidence in using adverbs in their writing.

Year Four's Fabulous Foil Sculptures!

Year Four pupils have been learning all about the human body and how it moves in different positions. Their studies were brought to life last week when the class enjoyed an inspiring trip to a ballet performance, where they observed dancers creating beautiful shapes and poses on stage. Back in the classroom, the children used foil to model their own human figures, carefully shaping them into a variety of poses inspired by what they had seen. The results were some truly fabulous sculptures that showed great creativity and attention to detail. Next, the pupils will continue developing their observation skills by using wooden figure models. They will choose a position and practise sketching the figures accurately, focusing on proportion and movement. It has been a fantastic way for the class to combine science, art and inspiration from the world of dance.

Sphero and the golf adventure!

Year Five pupils have begun an exciting coding project using Sphero robots. They are learning how to program the Spheros to move, turn and navigate using simple coding commands. As they develop their skills, the pupils will apply their learning to design and build a mini-golf hole, carefully planning obstacles and pathways. The final aim of the project is to successfully code their Sphero to travel through the mini-golf course they have created, combining creativity, problem-solving and computational thinking.

Power illustrations and Captivating Conversations!

Year Six have been exploring the multi-award-winning book Rose Blanche by the celebrated illustrator and author Roberto Innocenti. Set in Germany during World War II, the story is inspired by Innocenti’s childhood memories of war in his hometown of Bagno, a small Italian city near Florence. Using the powerful illustrations in the book, pupils imagined conversations between the characters and wrote their own dialogue, carefully thinking about the historical setting. Through class discussions, the children considered important themes such as the courage needed to stand up against injustice and the contrast between the cheering crowds as soldiers left home and the harsh realities of war. These discussions linked closely with their Humanities learning about life during WWII. To extend their cross-curricular learning, pupils also wrote vivid setting descriptions based on a wartime scene from another historical fiction text. In their writing, they focused on creating atmosphere using metaphors, onomatopoeia and personification, while also practising the use of varied conjunctions and different types of clauses.

We have been very impressed by the thoughtfulness, creativity and historical understanding shown in the children’s writing.