Round the classes 

Reception class: Katie

In Katie's Reception class we have been very busy learning our sounds. So far, we have learnt the 's', 'a', 't' and 'n' sound and this week we have started writing and reading words which is a massive achievement for these students. In maths we have been learning about counting and different ways to ensure we count every object in a group. We have also been learning how to write our numbers correctly. In HASS we have been learning all about ourselves and getting to know each other. We have learnt about our different likes and dislikes and discovered things about ourselves that are the same and different. As part of our work with the Kimochis we have been learning about Lovey Dove and last week we learnt how 'take someone under our wing' just like Lovey Dove. Our class has also just started discovering more about the Zones of Regulation too and are learning how to use the tools to help us regulate in the classroom. 

Reception/ Year 1 class: Jaya

Our Reception/Year 1 class has had a great start to the term, settling into classroom routines and engaging in their learning. We’d like to warmly welcome Edith Davies, who has joined our class—it’s been wonderful getting to know her!

Our morning phonics lessons are in full swing, with Kelly and Jaya working together to teach our large combined classes. The students have been revisiting sounds learned last year, including digraphs, and practising reading words and sentences. They’ve especially enjoyed partner reading, helping each other identify sounds and words.

We’ve been focusing on slowing down, using expression, and re-reading sentences for fluency. This important repetition is helping to strengthen their reading, writing, and spelling skills. We’re excited to explore new sounds and words soon!

Year 1/2 class: Kelly

We have started phonics this week and have been reviewing sounds: ck, qu, ll, ss, zz, ff with the students. It is great seeing the children remember what's expected when they have the whiteboard in front of them. Ask your children what does listening mode, writing mode, hover, chin in and clear it mean when using the white board. We have started reading decodables, and it has been lovely seeing the students pair read. We discussed how we should sit (so the other person could see the book). 

Year 2/3 class: Samantha

We've had an exciting two weeks filled with rich learning experiences! In literacy, we explored Sunday Skating and Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe, engaging in shared reading and focusing on verbs. Students made strong connections between these stories, their own experiences, and other texts, deepening their comprehension skills.

A major highlight was bringing home our readers! Students were thrilled to receive their home reading journals, where they can track their daily reading. Remember, this includes both home readers and any other books they enjoy.

This newsletter, we are proud to share our self-portraits! Drawing a self-portrait is a valuable experience that:

• Improves observation skills – Encourages close attention to detail in facial features, expressions, and proportions.
• Boosts confidence and identity awareness – Helps children appreciate their uniqueness and develop a strong sense of self.
• Enhances fine motor and artistic skills – Supports hand-eye coordination, pencil control, and creative expression.

Here are some of our wonderful artworks!

Hosting the Week 3 assembly was a fantastic experience! Congratulations to Sebby, Freya, and Alfie for doing an incredible job leading the event. We were especially proud to share our Acknowledgement of Country using sign language with the whole school. As our assembly fell on Valentine’s Day, we celebrated by sharing why we love and appreciate our SSOs and teachers, presenting our creative collage artwork to the school community.

Enjoy your weekend, and happy reading!

Year 3/4 class: Stephen and Emma

This fortnight in numeracy we have been delving into the wonderful world of fractions. Our focus has been on using real-life examples such as sharing food or dividing toys in understanding the concept of fractions. Students have enjoyed fraction games as an interactive and engaging way to finish each lesson on. We have also discussed the importance of making our learning relevant to our lives which makes it more meaningful and inspiring.

We enjoyed the science incursion this week, learning about electricity through some basic circuits and also about magnetism.  We liked the idea of having hands-on tasks to complete, some of which were challenging.  We have started our Phonics learning too.  This week we have focused on phonemes (sounds) graphemes (how to actually write sounds) and we also looked at what etymology means - the origins of words. As part of our Phonics learning we looked at the 44 sounds in the English language and the different ways these sounds can be written. 

Year 4/5 class: Alex

In mathematics this fortnight students have been revising, consolidating and building upon their place value understandings. They have been investigating our ‘base ten’ system by making their own sets of base-ten tools using their choice of materials. For example, one straw, a bundle of ten, a cup of one hundred (with ten bundles of ten inside it). Students then represented different numbers using the system they created. Students have been using ‘place value houses’ to investigate the patterns of reading and writing large numbers. This fortnight students have also continued with their daily mental maths targeted at their ‘growth zone’ of learning, their Mathletics and their times tables practice and testing to build their number facts. 

Year 5/6 class: Sallie

We have been busy pulling apart a narrative's different writing and language features and had a lot of fun with hyperboles and personification this week. Our reading groups have started and it has been interesting listening to the students with the "discussion" topics about their novels. We have been continuing to investigate "place value" and "number" in maths. We are always trying to look at things from different perspectives to find a deeper meaning. Lego Spike is a great challenge for design and technology and getting over some of the technical issues has stretched our thinking. Life is good in the Year 5/6 class!