Each day, Reception learn a new sound in their phonics sessions. Together, we look at different objects which start with the sound we are learning, and then we practise forming it correctly. The children have been writing in their big phonics books and using chalk to help write our sound. Reception have also been sorting out objects into the correct initial sound group. They worked collaboratively and listened carefully to instructions, which helped them learn our new sound and correctly identify which object goes into which group.

Natasha Jacklin, Reception Class Teacher

Visits to the library are new to our Year 1 children and have proved really popular with our young bookworms. Tackling a new set of challenges, the children must find a book that they want to read and then use the ‘zapper’ to scan the book out and then find their name on the list. The best bit has been the opportunity for the children to take the books home, which has also given them the chance to test their memory skills as they must remember to change their books during their weekly library sessions.

Kathleen Salusbury, Year 1 Class Teacher

Year 2 have worked hard to extend their descriptive language this week. The children have been busy describing scenes from their class text, The Tin Forest. They have been working with care and attention to detail when creating and writing noun phrases that included exciting adjectives and interesting verbs. The final sentences were carefully edited to ensure the best vocabulary was used along with the correct punctuation. They were a joy to read.

Kerri Wilkes, Year 2 Class Teacher

Year 3 were this week challenged to consider what it means to be ‘confident’ and ‘creative’ in drama. They also looked at ways in which they could work together and use their imaginations to inject some real fun into their dramatic actions and performances; including body responses to a game of ‘whoosh, brrrr, clap’,  creating some extremely funny portraits of a family of zoo animals, aliens and superheroes, and creating a TV advert for a ridiculous product.

Sarah Baird, Head of Drama

This week in PE, Year 5 made a splash in the swimming pool. The children began by organising themselves into groups, with the quicker and more confident swimmers using the middle lanes while the slightly less confident swimmers, or children who felt more comfortable taking a little more time on their swims, taking their place in the outside lanes. Once in the pool, all the children showed great technique by tackling two lengths of all four disciplines – front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly – and displayed good levels of patience and encouragement to the less able swimmers.

Jess Oecken, Year 5 PE Teacher

Cyberbullying was the focus for Year 6 during digital literacy this week. The children increased their awareness and knowledge of the use of technology to threaten and harass people by using the presentation platform Sway, which is an application within their Office365 environment. With Sway, the children discovered that they could edit their work and lay out slides as they gathered information on cyberbullying. As well as gaining a greater understanding of the scourge of cyberbullying, Year 6 got a great insight into preparing and delivering a presentation to the class using a cloud-based, media-rich presentation application.

Richard Dunn, Head of Digital Literacy

Year 7 are looking at ‘environmental ethics’ in PRE this term – in other words, the view that all the moral duties we have towards the environment are derived from our direct duties to its human inhabitants. This week, the children had the chance to delve into both Judeo-Christian scripture and key Muslim teachings to consider how these religions view the plane we inhabit. Key ideas of stewardship and Khalifa were dissected and discussed while the children were tasked to consider how the key passages can translate into tangible action.

Zoe Thesiger-Pratt, Year 7 PRE Teacher

In DT, Year 8 have been digging a little deeper into the art of typography, specifically how to sew correctly a running embroidery stitch. Ahead of their cushion design project, the children were asked to consider what makes a pleasing typography design and what the purpose of the running stitch is. Once armed with needle and thread and given the opportunity to practice the technique, Year 8 had to demonstrate great perseverance to first achieve and then streamline a running stitch that will be central to their cushions. The end result was a greater subject knowledge of typography design and the impact of different designers who have helped shape the art.

Jamie Dew, Head of DT