Year 1

We finished off the week with a wonderful trip to London Zoo! We were incredibly lucky with the lovely weather, and we managed to see lots of animals, including baby gorillas! We also toured the minibeast section and went inside the rainforest habitats. Thank you to those who came and joined us!

In English, we have made plans, drafted, and are about to publish our letters! We are going to pretend to be Duncan by using the personal pronoun ‘I’ in our writing and persuading the crayons who ‘quit’ to come back. We wrote to a specific crayon, explored how they were feeling, identified what was upsetting them, and figured out a solution to tempt them to return. We have been doing a lot of work on letters, making sure to address them using ‘Dear.’ Over the Easter holidays, you could continue letter writing by writing a letter to your class about all the fun activities you have done during the holidays.

In maths, we have been learning all about mass and volume. We have compared the mass of objects around the classroom by measuring them on a balancing scale, using a non-standardized object (cubes), and comparing this with the mass of a different object. We have also been using the words ‘full’ and ‘empty’ and exploring the volume of different-sized and shaped containers. We examined how the shape of a container affects how much capacity it can hold.

We have finished off DT by designing and creating our own moving mechanism. Whether it was a wheel or a sliding mechanism, we are now experts at using a split pin or a pivot. We have also been learning about life in the 1950s, from shopping in the 1950s to changes in transport. In RE, we learned about the Quran and explored a story from the Quran called The Crying Camel. We hope those who celebrate Eid had a lovely time with family and friends!

             

  

             

w/b 31.03.25

Keywords: persuade, Dear…, personal pronoun, nouns, verbs, exclamation marks, mass, comparing, heavier, lighter, volume, full, empty, capacity, moving mechanism, transportation, Quran

Sounds: oa, ew, ire, ear, ure, tion, c/tious

 

w/b 22.04.25

Keywords: Andy Goldworthy, natural materials, e-safety, continents, seasonal changes, summer, deciduous, evergreen, 

habitat (desert, farm, marsh, beach, forest), journey, days of the week.

Sounds: ea, oi, a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, aw, are

 

Messages: 

• Please drop children off to their classrooms by 8.45am. If you are running late, do not go to the classrooms after 8.45 and instead go through the office as this can be disruptive. 
• Bring reading folders (reading records and spelling books) on Monday. 
• The reading record should be signed by an adult five times. 
• Your child will receive their reading folders back on Tuesday. 

 

Dates: 

Every Monday - homework club

28.04.25 - volunteer training 

06.05.25 - volunteer training

07.05.25 - open classrooms (8.45 - 9.15)

 

Year 2

As we reflect on the past half term, it’s clear it’s been one full of excitement and learning! Year 2 had an unforgettable adventure, travelling all the way to Hounslow on public transport and tackled sewing for the first time. Another highlight involved our trip back into 1666, where on the school field, we set up Pudding Lane, ready for the infamous fire to spread! This was enriched by the wonderful Trunk Theatre who came into school and delivered a highly effective workshop, where the children were taught dances from 1666 and took part in retelling the story. We’ve also seen incredible progress in the children’s writing, with many mastering capital letters and full stops. Plus, the excitement was high when we introduced multiplication and division – the children were so proud to be doing “KS2 maths!” As we head into the break, we’d like to share some highlights from the last fortnight.

Based on our text- ‘The Journey Home’, we’ve just finished writing letters to Keir Starmer in English. Our letters were written to highlight the issues faced by some species. The children learned about deforestation and city expansion, and thought about how these issues impact animals like the orangutan and the panda. Using emotive language, their letters were full of passion and persuasion. Miss Gabriel is hoping to send some off and see if we get a reply! In Maths, we’ve begun exploring measurement. The children measured the playground in metres and classroom objects in centimetres. They quickly realised why we don’t use centimetres to measure larger objects! It could be something fun to try at home too. Across the wider curriculum, we wrapped up our learning about the Great Fire of London by setting up a courtroom to debate whether Charles II should be held responsible for the fire's damage. The children have learnt that debating is a healthy thing to do when done appropriately. As classes, we made guidelines that ensured good listening, active thinking and kind responding. We also spent time rebuilding London, thinking about the challenges and coming up with plans to overcome them. For example, if the fire spread so quickly due to the flammable materials used to build houses (wood, straw, pitch), then what other materials could we use instead. In Science, the children tested the elasticity of materials to decide which material would be best for Elastagirl's supersuit. In PSHE, we had discussions about the uses of medicine and how to use it safely and correctly. Finally, in RE, we explored the festival of Vaisakhi and learned about its significance. The children really impressed Mrs Dempster and Mrs Bartlett this week when they were asked to share their RE learning. Our trip to the gurdwara made knowledge memorable and brought our curriculum to life! 

It’s been such a wonderful half term, so thanks for your continued support.  We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in the summer term. Can you believe it’s already the final third? 

Wishing you all a restful break!

 

        

                                    

w/b 31.03.25

Keywords: measurement, centimeter, meter, length, height, letter, Prime Minister, persuasive, command, facts, climate change, vaisakhi, festival, parade, religious texts, materials, elasticity, debate, Christopher Wren, architect. 

Sounds: The suffixes -ment, -ness and -full

Enjoyment, sadness, careful, playful, plainness, argument, merriment, happiness

 

w/b 21.04.25

Keywords: compare, order, height, length, centimetres, metres, operation, mass, kilograms, grams, capacity, temperature, measure, volume, millilitres, litres, compare, order, whole, part, half, quarter, third, o’clock, quarter past, quarter to, hours, minutes.

Sounds: The suffixes –less and –ly

Badly, hopeless, penniless, happily, lovely, joyless, slowly, quickly

 

Messages:

• Bring reading folders (reading records and spelling books) on Monday. 
• The reading record should be signed by an adult five times. 
• Your child will receive their reading folders back on Tuesday. 
• Once it starts to get warmer, please send your child to school with a sun hat and apply sunscreen before the school day.

 

Dates:

Friday 2nd May - Classical concert, Southbank

Tuesday 6th May - National Archives, Kew (Amethyst Class)

Wednesday 7th May - Open classrooms 8.45-9.15

Wednesday 7th May - Celebrating Diversity workshop for all families 9.15

Tuesday 13th May - National Archives, Kew (Pearl Class)

Tuesday 20th May - National Archives, Kew (Turquoise Class)