As we reach the end of this vibrant half term, we’re excited to share with you the amazing learning experiences the children have embraced over the past weeks. 

In English, we dived into two delightful stories: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch and The Disgusting Sandwich. The children really enjoyed these stories, which sparked their imagination and inspired them to craft their own tales. We focused on key writing techniques, including using commas in a list, similes, exciting sentence openers, and contractions. The children came up with fantastic ideas like The Jungle Ranger’s Lunch, The Fisherman’s Lunch, and The Desert Ranger’s Lunch, allowing them to show off their creativity. Plus, we explored instructional writing, using The Disgusting Sandwich as our inspiration. We even made our own disgusting sandwiches! The children learned how to use verbs, adverbs, time words, and conjunctions, culminating in detailed instructions for making peculiar pizzas, horrid hot dogs, and even a horrible hot cross bun! 

Maths has been just as engaging, with the children working hard on their multiplication and division skills. They've been busy mastering the 2s, 5s, and 10s times tables, building a solid foundation for their mathematical understanding. We also introduced the concept of using times tables to help solve division problems, giving our students the tools to make connections between these essential operations.

In religious education, we focused on Christianity and explored the question, "Why do Christians call Jesus saviour?" Through role-playing different scenarios, students examined the importance of helping and rescuing one another. We listened to meaningful Bible stories that illustrated Jesus as a saviour, including Jesus Calms the Storm, Jesus and the Lepers, and Jesus and Zacchaeus the Tax Collector. This journey led us to the Easter story, where we recognised themes of rescue and forgiveness, culminating in the children creating beautiful Easter gardens.

History has captured the children’s hearts this half term, as they learned about three pioneering figures in nursing: Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, and Edith Cavell. The pupils engaged in role-playing activities that provided insights into the Crimean War, understanding the challenges faced by soldiers and the bravery of Mary Seacole in tending to them on the battlefield. They were particularly moved by Edith Cavell's acts of courage in aiding soldiers, regardless of their nationality, and our discussions centred around the importance of remembering such remarkable individuals throughout history.

In art, we explored the versatility of clay, discovering how our hands can be powerful tools in shaping and forming. The children tried out different techniques like rolling, flattening, smoothing, pinching, and joining. They were inspired by artists such as Ranti Bam and Rachel Whiteread, using their skills to design a 3D clay tile shaped like a house.

This term in science, we focused on the properties of materials and how they can change shape. Students enjoyed hands-on investigations to find out which material was the bounciest, which fabric was the stretchiest, and which paper was the strongest. In celebration of Science Week, themed “Change and Adapt,” we looked at different liquids and what happens when we put them in a freezer. It was fascinating to discover that honey and oil don’t freeze, and we had fun predicting what would happen with other liquids like maple syrup and treacle.

Overall, this half term has been busy yet rewarding, filled with amazing learning opportunities. The children have shown fantastic dedication and truly deserve a well-earned break. We wish all our families a wonderful half term and can’t wait to welcome everyone back, refreshed and ready for more exciting learning adventures!