This week in reception we have been learning all about bees to deepen the understanding for our new Talk for Writing text - The Sleepy Bumblebee. The children have been able to label parts of a bee and recall facts about bees and how they make honey. The children have been able to showcase their knowledge of bees through art and craft activities during child initiated learning. We have been working on orally retelling the story using our class story map and the children have done a great job of remembering each part of the story. They are buzzing about this half term's literacy focus. 

This week in History, the children have been learning about the Great Fire of London. They found out how the fire started in a bakery on Pudding Lane and explored why it spread so quickly. We talked about what houses were made from in the past, how close together they were and how the windy weather helped the fire grow. The children shared thoughtful ideas, asked brilliant questions and enjoyed comparing life in London then and now.

This week in Year 2/3, the children have been enjoying creative learning in Art and Music. In Art, they explored the work of L.S. Lowry, a famous artist known for his industrial scenes, focused on his painting 'Going to Work'. They carefully drew individual figures and groups, paying attention to shapes, forms, and details, and enjoyed bringing Lowry’s bustling scenes to life. In Music, Tokyo and Jakarta classes had a fantastic time with djembe drumming, learning bass and rim notes and experimenting with different rhythms together. The children showed great enthusiasm, creativity, and engagement throughout these lessons. 

It has been another great week in Year 4! In English, the children dived into the text "The Tunnel" and used their best persuasive techniques to write letters to Jack, urging him not to step into the darkness. Our Geography lessons took us around the world as we explored the features of various climate zones, while Science was a highlight of the week; the children worked in "expert" groups to master specific tasks before teaching their findings to their peers. To round it all off, we had a fantastic visit to the Synagogue, where the children showed great respect while seeing the traditions and features of a Jewish place of worship come to life. 

This week, our Year 5 classrooms were transformed into bustling research labs as the children embarked on a captivating scientific investigation. The children navigated a range of sources to discover how these two species undergo their transformations. They then took their information on to make comparisons between the two life cycles. 

This week Year 6 have showcased their skills as well as their resilience on their assessments. In Maths in particular they have been working hard to strengthen their fluency. Pupils have practised the four operations regularly, building confidence and accuracy in both written and mental methods. It has been fantastic to see their progress, resilience, and positive attitudes towards challenge. These skills will be vital as they continue to prepare for their end of KS2 SATs.

This week we deepened our understanding of generative learning techniques. Carefully designed tasks enable children to think deeply about new learning to make it more memorable. We reviewed to ways of delivering these tasks: generative drawing and generative summarising.