24th June

It's been a busy and exciting week. We had a great morning at Mangotsfield Secondary School. The children did 4 Science activities: water filtering, wind and solar power activities, testing the pH of water and using the Bunsen burners. They really enjoyed the activities and even wore googles!

Yesterday afternoon, we used the microscopes to look at specimens such as bugs and then they collected their own samples from outside to analyse. In English, we are aiming to write a narrative linked to Nowhere Emporium and create their own 'wonder'. In Maths, we have been looking at angles and have been practising long multiplication on a daily basis.

For History, they researched the Mayan Gods and in Computing, they were searching for facts about David Attenborough; did you know he hasn't passed his driving test. In PE, they have been busy practising the events for Sports Day and sorting out which events they are doing. Please contact me if you don't know which house your child is in. Sports Day is on the afternoon of Wednesday 6th July.

3 pupils joined the teams for MAD Olympiad Games on Thursday.

The spellings this week are more homophones:

desert

dessert

draft

draught

wary

weary

who's

whose

marvellous

occur

Next week, the children will be doing their assessments:

spelling test and SPaG

Maths and Reading tests

There is homework on My Maths that your child can do to help them practise angles and please continue to read together; don't forget to sign their books too.

Have a good weekend and don't forget the INSET day on Monday so I will see you on Tuesday.

Mrs Watts

!7th June,

What a hot day! The class did so well with the class assembly despite the heat. Thank you to all those who came to watch it and I hope you felt as proud as I did when they performed! I do hope you were able to hear what they were saying as we did remind them numerous times!

This week, we have continued with fractions and they do seem to be more confident with addition and subtraction of fractions. Today, they were on My Maths busy practising and applying their skills.

For English they wrote their setting descriptions using adjectives and expanded noun phrases and we have continued with the Mayans topic. They drew their Mayan animals and coloured them with bold colours - they look very effective and will be displayed on the classroom wall so please pop in for a look.

On Tuesday morning, we are walking to Mangotsfield Secondary School for Science workshops.

As we need to be there for 9:10am, we need the children to be at school by 8:30am. We will be back for lunch.

Spellings for this week:

aisle (in a church)

isle

ascent (plane climbing)

assent (permission given)

aloud (speak loudly)

allowed

altar (in a church)

alter (change)

bargain

accommodate

Please make sure they know which is which as they are homophones. I have explained what they mean and tried to give them tips.

Summer Fayre tomorrow and I hope to see some of you there.

Have a good weekend.

Mrs Watts

For Science next week (20/6/22) could you please send or let your child bring in a photo of when they were younger.
Thank you

10th June

I hope you had a good week off and enjoyed the Jubilee celebrations. The week has flown by and we will be spending next week focussing on our class assembly for Friday; you are invited to join us at 2:30pm on the 17th June.

This week, we were practising fractions, especially mixed numbers and improper fractions; we will continue next week with addition and subtraction of fractions. Our biggest focus in Arithmetic is long multiplication (2-digit number X 2-digit number) and we will continue with this in the calculation lesson next week. Please encourage your child to do these activities on My Maths.

We have been reading 'The Nowhere Emporium' and in English, the children have been writing expanded noun phrases in preparation for their setting descriptions.

In History, we were discussing who the Mayans were and how they lived and in PE, tennis and athletics. In RE, we discussed the 5 Pillars  of Islam and in Art, we are creating an animal in the style of Mayan art. The week ended with an interesting and informative assembly about Dementia.

The spellings are:

advice

advise

device

devise

licence

license

practice

practise

immediately

curiosity

Letters have been sent home about the Children's University Graduation and a reminder that the Cadbury World trip is Friday 8th July.

Have a great week.

Mrs Watts

28th May

Wow! What an end to a short term! We copied out our letters to the Queen, which will now be posted, and ended Friday with gardening and a small party. 

Monday, was our final swimming session so they had a slighter longer free play even though we will be swimming in Sports Week (more details to follow).

In Maths. we looked at imperial units of measurement such as pints, miles, inches, pounds and compared them to metric measurements. I wonder if they can find some examples of them in the house or shops! For the calculation lesson, we concentrated on percentages of numbers which many are still finding tricky. 

In English, we wrote some poetry linked to 'Coming to England' and I'm hoping a couple might be read aloud in our class assembly on 17th June.

In Science we talked about pollination and fertilisation of flowers and went out exploring the grounds for pollen!  For History, they started drawing an animal that the Mayans thought were sacred - jaguar, rattlesnake, howler monkey and bats. We will colour a neat copy and hopefully display them in the classroom. In Music, they played a 5 note tune on the glockenspiel and listened to some jazz music.

The spellings for the first week back are:

receive

deceive

perceive

conceive

ceiling

twelfth

suggest

language

sincere

soldier

Have a lovely week and enjoy the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations and the extra bank holiday.

See you all next term for the final weeks of Year 5.

Mrs Watts

20th May

We have had another busy week.

We have been creating portraits of the Queen which we painted this afternoon using water colours. It is for a competition that John Lewis have organised. We also wrote letters to the Queen which we need to copy out neatly.

In English, we wrote our informal letters and tried to use hyperbole and emotional language. We have been calculating area in Maths and continued to learn long multiplication - please encourage your child to do My Maths as it would really help them in these lessons.

In Science, I brought in some flowers so they could dissect them to find the different parts and discuss their purpose. Can your child show you these parts of a flower and explain their purpose? If your child has not brought home their broad bean plant yet, can you please remind them?

Next Monday, we have swimming and on Thursday it is the Jubilee picnic and your child can wear red, white and blue on that day.

The spellings are:

disinformation

disinfect

dissent

displease

distaste

dishonest

disgrace

disobey

bruise

symbol

It is the last week of term 5 so I will need to choose a Pupil of the Term; it is always difficult choosing just 1 child! I also need to choose a Reading Ambassador. Please make sure you are signing their books when they read to you. Thank you for your continued support.

Have a good week.

Mrs Watts

13th May,

It was a funny start to the week as we were expecting to go swimming but the heating wasn't working - typical, another session missed! We had a game of cricket instead.

In Maths, we have been calculating perimeter of shapes and next week the area of shapes.

In English, we have been talking about hyperbole and writing some examples. We are thinking about how it feels to travel and live in England from Trinidad just like Floella Benjamin and will be writing a letter home that describes this.

In Music, we created out own 3 note Bossa on the glockenspiels and looked at pictures of Mosques in RE. We also considered our own special place. On Thursday afternoon we had a visit from the Dogs Trust who told us about how to be safe around dogs; it was very interesting and I think we all learnt something new!.

Our broad bean seeds are really growing quickly now - I put them outside the door in the mornings so everyone can see them! I hope to send them home in 2 weeks time so you can plant them in your gardens. We looked at parts of the flower and their functions this afternoon, before moving on to pollination next week. Finally, we were able to do some My Maths and TTRS on Thursday. The spellings for this week are:

mistake

misstep

mismanaged

mistimed

misdeeds

misshaped

mislaid

mismatch

develop

signature

Have a great week.

Mrs Watts

6th May

It was great to have a 3 day weekend although I kept forgetting which day of the week it was. 

In Maths, we continued with decimals and solving word problems, the focus being 'showing your working'. In English, they created a holiday brochure for a favourite place such as: London, Weston, Cornwall and seemed to really enjoy writing them.

In Science, we looked at life cycles and picked dandelions that showed these stages. We also planted broad bean seeds and are hoping to take home a plant by the end of term!

They enjoyed reading about Tessa Sanderson and Muhammad Ali - I'm sure many of you remember them.

Yesterday, we explored different sketching pencils (H&B) and hope to use these skills when shading. In RE, we have started to discuss the Muslim religion and in History, we have started studying the Mayans.

It has been a busy 4 days. The spellings for this week are:

superlative

superimpose

supervisor

superfluous

superficial

supernatural

superior

attached

community

curious

Don't forget we are swimming on Monday.

There are 2 new Maths tasks on My Maths, a new session on TTRS and don't forget to sign their reading records when they read.

Have a good week.

Mrs Watts

1st May 2022

Welcome back and I hope you all had a great Easter break. I'm sure they have all grown again and they look so smart in their uniform.

Monday, we did our first swimming lesson. It was great to see and use the new pool and I know the children enjoyed it too. We are looking forward to the next lesson which will be next Monday as tomorrow is Bank Holiday Monday.

On Tuesday, we went to UWE for an Engineering Day. The children were able to design buildings or boats using Minecraft which they loved and in the afternoon, they played 'Engineering' Top Trumps and heard from people who work as an engineer. It was a great day and I hope more of them realise how diverse engineering is as a career.

In Maths, we have been looking at fractions, decimals and percentages and there are 2 tasks on My Maths for extra practise. For English, the children are going to make their own brochure to persuade people to visit Britain including adverbs of possibility and modal verbs.

In Science, we started classifying animals and we discussed the importance of online safety when using Apps. Finally, in Music, they played the 3 note Bossa on the glockenspiels. It has been a very busy week and next week we will start looking at the Mayans as part of our topic work.

This weeks spellings are:

replay

resign

return

remember

revenge

rebellion

redistribute

retrieve

definite

immediate

Have a lovely 3 day weekend and we hope to do a PE lesson on Tuesday afternoon so pleased come dressed in your kit.

Mrs Watts

13th April

We had a very busy final week at school before the Easter Holidays.

On the 7th April it was our Viking Day. It was great to see so many dressed up for this day and they did some cooking by cutting up vegetables or making bread; we then ate this in the afternoon.

They made shields, a longship or a Viking game and tried to write using Viking letters. I was impressed with how sensible they were. On Friday, we had a mini Easter Egg hunt and did some gardening which was digging a patch a grass and planting willow.

We said goodbye to our 2 students Miss Hayward and Miss Powell but they are joining us on the 26th April at UWE. 

Don't forget we will be swimming on the first Monday (25th April) and the spellings are:

probable

possible

miserably

invisible

predictably

compatible

audibly

comfortable

equipment

mischievous

and the test will be Friday 29th April.

There are 2 new activities on My Maths and they can continue with TTRS. Please encourage your child to read during the holidays, either aloud or to themselves.

Enjoy the Easter break whether you are at home or away. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 25th April.

Mrs Watts

1st April

I can't believe it is almost the Easter holidays; it has flown by.

This week, we have been looking at the last part of Viking Boy and focussing on sentence openers and vocabulary. They now have a book so they can record some interesting words and phrases they would like to use in their writing.

In Maths, we have been focussing on reflection and I have been impressed with the progress they have made. In Science, we looked at the solar system and they wrote some facts about the planets - I wonder if they can remember any to share with you.

We finally played some cricket and I hope the weather will be nice next week so we could go on the grass.

In computing, I have been showing them what the program Word can do, especially spelling and synonyms. They painted their Viking pots and we are looking forward to Viking day on Thursday. Could you please send in any spare cardboard so we can make Viking longships?

Spellings this week have silent letters:
knack
knight
knowledge
wrestle
castle
glisten
crumb
debt
available
vegetable

There are 2 new homeworks on My Maths and continue with TTRS and reading.

If they have completed their moon diaries, please send those in too.

Looking to Term 5. We will be swimming on a Monday morning starting on the 25th April, which is the first day of term 5.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Watts

25th March

What a lovely week! The weather has been gorgeous and the children have been hard at work.

Today, they wrote their stories based on Viking Boy; they were so enthusiastic! 

It has been assessment week and they have all tried really hard on their tests.

In Science, we discussed the phases of the moon and they made their own spinner to show the phases. It's been difficult to spot the moon at the moment as you need to be awake at 2am or even later!

 This afternoon, they made their Viking pots from clay and we also investigated some Viking place names - Selby being 1 example.

The spellings for this week are:

sensibly

responsibly

gullibly

possibly

forcibly

reversibly

defensibly

credibly

equip

Government

Just to give you the heads up - we are planning to have a Viking Day on Thursday 7th April. This will include some cooking, building a longboat, a Thing enactment, making a clay amulet, writing using Runes and having a feast in the afternoon.
Could you send in any cardboard please so they can make Viking longboats on that day.
Also, we thought it would be nice if they brought in a pebble or a stone or rock and then they could write their runes message on that. Don't worry if they don't want to do that as I haven't mentioned it to them yet!

Finally, we thought they could dress up as Vikings on that day. Please don't buy anything as it is quite easy.
More details to follow about that.

Have a great weekend and Mother's Day (don't forget the clocks move forward 1 hour).

Mrs Watts

18th March

Full moon tonight! It looks amazing!

What a lovely few days we have had - it feels very 'springlike'.

We've had a busy week and we were joined by 2 student teachers, Miss Hayward and Miss Powell, who will be here until the Easter holidays. The children have all been very welcoming and enjoyed working with them.

We are studying time in Maths and there is a great game the children can play to help them with this difficult concept:

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/116/telling-the-time

In English, we are writing our own story based on Viking Boy with a grammar focus of writing speech. We explored some clay techniques linked to making a pot ready for them to create their own Viking pot next week. We were able to practise some cricket skills this afternoon as the weather was so nice.

From next week, outdoor PE will be on a Tuesday afternoon as Friday is so busy with computing and assembly.

In Science, we used the Ipads to make some posters about the planets and explained how we get day and night. They also wrote a diary entry about what it would have been like to be a Viking child. 

The spellings this week are:

sensible
destructible
eligible
divisible
plausible
incredible
permissible
responsible
interrupt
environment
 

It was great to see so many of you at Parent's Evening and I hoped you liked looking at your child's books to see the progress they have made. Please let me know if you missed the evenings and would like a quick chat about your child's progress.

Continue with My Maths, TTRS and hearing them read as well as testing them on their spellings.

Looking forward to another fun week.

Mrs Watts

13th March

At long last we have seen the moon more than once. Let's hope it continues this week!

It has been another busy week. The children have completed their non-chronological reports about the Vikings and we have been finding percentages of amounts. 

In Science, we discussed the evidence that proves the earth is spherical and they wrote their own parables. We have been typing a piece of text using word and we will use the other tools to improve it. 

We actually had our first assembly together and it was lovely to sing together and have our first achievement assembly.

Next week, it is Comic Relief day on Friday so the children can wear red and 2 student teachers will be working with our class for 4 weeks.

The spellings for this week are:

reliably
tolerably
avoidably
believably
arguably
capably
adorably
formidably
according
temperature

Looking forward to another week of learning.

Mrs Watts

6th March

What a busy 4 days we've had!

World Book Day was great as so many brought in their books to share and it was relaxing to be in PJs and slippers. Don't forget to use the £1 book vouchers.

For Maths, we have been learning about percentages and I was impressed with their skills and we have started writing a non-chronological report about the Vikings.

In Science, we will be learning about Earth and Space and at home they have been keeping an eye on the moon to complete a diary for a month. 

We have also designed a Viking pot, which we will make from clay and will be learning cricket skills in PE.

The spellings for this week are:

adjustable

malleable

available

reliable

considerable

accountable

approachable

achievable

desperate

stomach

Please continue to read with your child and sign their reading records and there are 2 new homeworks on My Maths and TTRS.

Parent's Evenings are the 15th and 17th March so please sign up for a time. You will be able to see their books and hopefully see the progress they are making.

Have a great week.

Mrs Watts

28th February

I hope you had an enjoyable half-term and are ready for another term of learning.

It's St David's day and Shrove Tuesday tomorrow and we will be starting our new History study of the Vikings. For Science, we will be learning about earth and space and I hope your child will keep a diary of the moon phases, which will be sent home tomorrow.

On Thursday, it's World Book Day so your child can wear their onesies and pyjamas to school and bring a favourite book to share. For the moment, PE will continue to be on a Wednesday and Friday and the spellings will be the set from the last week of term as they haven't been tested yet.

Look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. 

Mrs Watts

17th February

What a surprise! I've never known schools to be closed due to wind, usually it's snow!

The children can still be busy online continuing with My Maths homework and TTRS.

We started using cubes to measure volume on Wednesday and the children can continue with this tomorrow. They can measure the volume of boxes, such as tea bags, by measuring the height, length and width and multiplying them together.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zjbg87h/articles/zcrxtyc

The spellings they were given last week will be tested on Friday 4th March so they can keep practising. They can read some pages of a book and then write some questions to ask a family member. See if they can ask some inference questions:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zs44jxs/articles/zqmyw6f

In the afternoon, we were going to do PE and Art so they can do a Joe Wickes workout and Art Hub for Kids or even 3-D art. 

It was lucky that we did our pedestrian training yesterday. They went out in small groups to practise what they had been taught in class, so I hope they can show you these new skills.

I do hope you have a good half-term and stay safe tomorrow.

See you back in school on the 1st March.

Mrs Watts

11th February,

It's been another busy week, especially in Maths as we have been doing lots of practical measuring. We have measured lengths using metre sticks and then started converting lengths, which was tricky. We have also been weighing and feeling the weight of 1kg and using water to find the capacity of containers, which made hands very cold! 

In English, we have started looking at discussion texts with some interesting questions such as

'Was Macduff a hero?' In RE, we found out about Mother Teresa and her work and in History, Anglo Saxon life and dwellings. In Music, we started learning a 1980s classic 'Livin' on a Prayer' by Bon Jovi - I wonder how many of you remember that song! We tried to keep in time with the beat or pulse.

We finished the week with a small group dances to 'Rock around the Clock', which they performed to the rest of the class.

I have noticed a real improvement in their spellings this week with most getting at least 8 correct. The new spellings are:

justify

definite

prejudice

nuisance

ancient

existence

marvellous

aggressive

lightning

disastrous

Finally, just a quick note about mobile phones. If your child needs to bring in their phone for whatever reason, could you please remind them to give it to the office or to the adults in the classroom to look after. It will always be returned to them at the end of the day. I'm sure you can understand the importance of this rather then leaving the phone in their bags in the cloakroom. Thank you for your continued support.

Next week is the last week before half-term so I need to tell you about World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. Your child can wear their pyjamas or onesie to school and bring in a favourite book to share.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Watts

4th February

We've finally seen the end of January and it feels like Spring is on it's way! The evenings are lighter and we've seen the sun on many occasions. It was great to see all the children back on Monday!

We have had another busy week and ended it with children dressing up as rock stars; it was great to see the variety of hairstyles! 

In Maths, we have been learning about decimals and being able to round them to the nearest whole number. In English, they were engrossed in the writing of an alternative ending to Macbeth; there were some very creative ideas but all ending in tragedy!

We were investigating levers in Science and made some dragons to celebrate Chinese New Year.

We did some online pedestrian training, this morning, and they have brought home a badge, certificate, letter and triangular sign. This afternoon, they had some fun on TTRS to celebrate NSPCC and they could continue this evening.

The spellings are:

ought

enough

cough

trough

although

through

bought

dough

vegetable

mischievous

Looking forward to another week of learning and in Maths we will be looking at measures so try and encourage them to look at weights on tins and the amount of liquid in a container.

Keep reading with your child and signing their reading records. 

Thank you.

Mrs Watts

29th January

I hope you have had a good week. 

We had a great Friday and I was so impressed with their partner dances, even though I couldn't seem to sort out the music! In RE, they collaborated to create a storyboard to retell the parable of the Prodigal Son.

The spellings are:

decency

independent

dependency

innocence

violence

absence

equivalency

competency

government

equipment

Next Friday, the children can dress up as Rock Stars so start raiding the cupboards for hats, sunglasses, black clothes, wigs and boots. We are also planning to celebrate Chinese New Year Tuesday afternoon.

I'm sorry if you were expecting our Class Assembly yesterday but due to the high number of children isolating, we were unable to arrange anything.  Let's hope you will be come into school to watch when Mrs Williams gives me a new date.

Have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing everybody back on Monday.

Mrs Watts

27th January

I hope you had a good day.

For those Home Learning:

Ask someone to test you on this weeks spellings.

Have a look at the BBC Bitesize about fronted adverbials:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmwgsk7

and try some of the activities.

For Maths we are continuing with fractions, so have a look at My Maths or continue with those you tried today. Don't forget TTRS!

In the afternoon, we will be discussing some of the parables Jesus told.

Do you know any?

Watch this one and think about the moral:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zsmpvcw

Why do you think he told this story? What did he want us to learn?

Can you find another to watch?

Its the best end to a week - dance! Rock 'n' Roll.

Create your own dance, practise the dance moves or just do your own physical activity.

Have a great day.

Mrs Watts

26th January

I hope you have had a good day.

For those home learning:

Write some sentences about Macbeth using subordinate clauses such as:

When he killed King Duncan, Macbeth felt sick.

Continue with adding and subtracting fractions from today. Look at the 2 links from yesterday and I have added 3 activities to My Maths.

For History, we are continuing Anglo Saxons and you can create a timeline using these facts and dates:

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/saxons/timeline.htm

Write a sentence using Anglo Saxon runes and bring it into school for the display.

Make a brooch from card and bring it in for the display.

Have a good Thursday.

Mrs Watts

25th January

Another great day at school practising grid multiplication and computing with Miss Coyne.

For those Home Learning:

Write a summary of the ending of Macbeth.

Practise your spellings and write sentences using these words.

Read your book.

For Maths we will be adding fractions. Have a look at this link

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/z9n4k7h

If you have time, try this or leave it for Thursday:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zmxwqp3/revision/2

In the afternoon it's PE - Joe Wickes workout, Cosmic Kids yoga or create your own physical activity.

Draw another picture using Art Hub for Kids - we drew penguins today.

Have a good evening.

Mrs Watts

24th January

Good to see so many of you back this morning.

For those home learning:

TTRS and My Maths

Read a chapter of a book and write some questions.

Write some questions about reading and interview a family member.

Multiplication - tomorrow we are starting long multiplication so have a look at this website:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z8fyhcw

For English - subordinating conjunctions have a look at this website

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrmdqp3

Science - investigating friction

Try testing toy cars on different surfaces or watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCJVe8adRUw

Look at Art Hub for kids and choose a picture to draw.

I will put the arithmetic for the week  on here tomorrow.

Mrs Watts

21st January

It has been cold today! 

The new spellings are:

hesitance

hesitancy

relevant

attendance

brilliance

significance

significant

available

according

desperate

The children have been busy writing their character descriptions of Macbeth and this afternoon, they painted the brooches they made yesterday using card and string patterns. They also wrote a message using Anglo Saxon runes - I hope to display this work in the classroom. 

I hope to see you all back on Monday, if you are well enough.

Have a good weekend.

Mrs Watts

20th January,

Hello Elephants. I hope you have had a good day.

Remember that these activities for Home Learning are for those who are feeling well and able to work; the most important thing is to rest and recover so you can return to school.

Friday tomorrow so here are a selection of activities you can do that links to what we will be doing:

• ask someone to test you on this weeks spellings, even if you haven't had the opportunity to learn them 
• write a character description of Macbeth at the end of the play, after Lady Macbeth has died, or choose a different character such as Lady Macbeth or a witch 
• write some calculations using Roman Numerals 

                     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49oWYxExWKE

• TTRS and My Maths activities
• find 3 new words you don't know and find their meaning
• dancing around the room- practise hand jive, electric slide and the twist
• Joe Wickes workout, Cosmic Kids yoga or your own idea
• write a 6 line poem about Love 
• Art hub for kids doughnut stack

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xVBD_lCygM

•  Create a wordsearch using words about your favourite subject or hobby

    Have a good weekend and hope to see you back in the classroom soon.

    Mrs Watts

19th January

Hello Elephants,

Here are some ideas for home learning on Thursday.

We are doing a calculation lesson tomorrow which is subtraction; we are going to be subtracting 6 digit numbers. Why not create some of your own numbers to subtract - you could use a dice or a pack of cards to generate numbers.

There is a quiz on this link for addition and subtraction:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z3gnm39

In English, we have been using relative clauses in our writing.

Have a look at this link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6g98xs

There are some activities to do.

Practise your handwriting by using a pen to copy this weeks spellings and write sentences using these words.

In the afternoon, we will be continuing the Anglo Saxons and finding out which countries they came from.

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/saxons/where.html

Write some facts from this page to answer the question about where they came from.

We will do some My Maths and TTRS on the Ipads too.

Do you want to create an origami snapper on Art hub for kids?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKPN9vNlHc

It's also singing but I'm sure you can sing a song of your choice!

Have a great day.

Mrs Watts

18th January

Hello Elephants.

I hope you have had a good day and been able to attempt some of the tasks I included yesterday.

You will see I have included arithmetic for this week so you can do those calculations too.

Challenge yourself for the last 2.

You will notice I have included Roman Numerals; can you find out which numbers the letters represent?

We have continued with fractions and are looking at mixed numbers and improper fractions tomorrow. Have a look at this link and have a go at the quiz:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/zxcfjty

Football fractions looks like fun with Gary Lineker.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhdwxnb/articles/zyrj7ty

We have watched all the Macbeth clips now and we will be comparing his character at the start of the book with his character at the end.

Can you find some facts about William Shakespeare and some of his other works (books, plays)?

Do you remember how to make a paper helicopter? We made them last Monday.

Can you investigate different sizes or even try to create your own design?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vk-gXwHDSM

We even thought about colour and pattern to see what happens when they spin.

It's PE tomorrow, so why not try a Joe Wickes workout or a Cosmic Kids yoga session.

I have chosen a Dalmatian puppy for you to draw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dsR7YrH84Q

Don't forget TTRS and My Maths and keep reading for fun!

Have a good Wednesday.

Mrs Watts

16th January

Here are some activities for you to do for home learning:

Watch the Macbeth clips and write a character description for Macbeth and another character.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks2-macbeth/zdt42sg

My Maths has some tasks for fractions which we are covering this week as well as shape from last week. There are other activities to do as well. Don't forget TTRS - we are focussing on the 4 times table this week.

Today, we made parachutes - you can try to make them from plastic bags.

https://babbledabbledo.com/how-to-make-a-paper-parachute-toy-based-on-nature/

You can find some facts about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings or a topic of your own choosing.

http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/

Try and draw a snowman snow globe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeYJAGqmNs4  

Take care.

Mrs Watts 

15th January 

It has been a busy week with a great dance lesson to end the week. We learnt the electric slide, which they can teach you, and why not show them one of your own Rock 'n' Roll moves.

In Maths, we have been looking at 2-D and 3-D shapes and I was impressed with the number of new words they have learnt this week. We are continuing to study the text of Macbeth and we have been watching the animation clips; I am also reading them the story. They seem to be enjoying the text and they thought of some interesting adjectives to describe Macbeth. 

In Science, we made some paper helicopters and then thought of our own question to investigate and then made some to test. Elephants are doing computing with Miss Coyne this term and they are busy making a model to program. 

The drama workshop was fun and they participated in several activities including parking a car, which was their partner!  In History, we continued the Anglo Saxons and discussed why the Romans left the UK and what they left us. Next week, we are going to design a brooch to make.

Please encourage your child to find out some facts about Anglo Saxons.

In RE, we have been discussing Jesus's mission and what that means in the modern world.

There are plenty of tasks for them to do on My Maths and TTRS. Please continue to hear them read and learn their spellings.

decode

deactivate

decontaminate

demystify

detoxify

deformed

dehydrate

deconstruct

environment

stomach

Looking forward to another busy week.

Mrs Watts

9th January 2022

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to a new year and a new term.

I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. It was a shock getting up in the dark again!

We have had a good first week and the children have been working hard and seemed focused on learning.

Last week, we did grammar work before starting Macbeth this week. In Maths, we did rounding and number sequences and we are going to start our Science topic of Forces.

Our new History topic is Anglo Saxons and Vikings and we already started researching some facts about them.

In PE, which will be Wednesday and Friday afternoons, we are doing Rock 'n' Roll so start practising your hand jive!

The spellings for this week are:

disagree

disobey

disable

disregard

disrupt

disappointing

disappear

disadvantage

temperature

interrupt

 and they will be tested on Friday.

Please continue to read with your child and record in their reading records. They then need to hand their reading records in on a Friday. 

Please encourage your child to do TTRS and My Maths.

This week, we will hopefully have a drama workshop which I am looking forward to.

Looking forward to a good term.

Mrs Watts

11th December,

Only 4 days left. The term seems to have flown by.

We have been learning about angles, and looking at newspaper reports. In Science we mixed vinegar with bicarbonate of soda - wow is all I can say! We then inflated a balloon by mixing the same 2 substances. We then investigated custard powder and water which became a solid and a liquid! There was a lot of enthusiasm for Science that afternoon!

Using publisher, the children created Christmas cards and I need to print a couple of them. We even had time to create a bouncy snowman and draw an elf on a shelf.

We had the last Health Squad session and we are looking forward to celebrating this at Ashton Gate next Tuesday morning. 

It's still spellings as normal but the test will be on Thursday.

innocent

decency

confidence

obedience

independent

independence

frequent

frequency

existence

excellent

Have a great Christmas and New Year.

Mrs Watts

4th December 2021

At last, it's December and time for advent. This week, we created our own advent window for the classroom and have opened the first 3 days. 

We had a Christmas Science Day on Thursday and the children needed to make a pulley system to raise Santa's toys. I was impressed with how hard they worked on their investigations and used Newton Meters to test their 'loads' (weights in the bottom of a plastic bottle). A group of children even planted trees in Windsor Park.

In Maths, we have learnt about square, cube and prime numbers. We completed our diaries in English and have been drawing 5 and 6 point stars. This week's spellings are:

observant

vacancy

tolerance

brilliance

finance

importance

hesitancy

elegant

nuisance

hindrance 

We have a very busy 2 weeks coming up with lots of fun Christmas activities and a visit to Ashton Gate on the 14th December. Next week, we will have our last sessions with Rosie and Phil as part of the Health Squad activities.

Don't forget to find those Christmas jumpers at the back of the wardrobe ready for the 10th December.

Have a great week.

Mrs Watts 

28th November

Wow! What a week! I was so impressed with their attitude towards the assessments this week and then we had the trip on Friday. 

On Thursday afternoon, we ate bugs! They tried flavoured crickets as part of our English work linked to the book 'The Explorer'. There was a mixed reaction at first but quite a few then wanted some more; this led to a great piece of diary writing! Thank you to Mrs Popel who found where to buy these interesting bugs.

For Science, we were separating materials using sieves and then tried to separate sand and water through the use of filter paper. This was then useful for Friday as we saw what happens at the treatment works. She explained how the water we drink is treated so it is safe for us to drink. We also went for a nature walk around the reservoir and my group saw a heron. We also visited the nearby stream where they measured the current, had a cork race and of course waded through the water. 

It was a brilliant day despite being stuck in traffic and it taking 2 hours on the return journey. Thank you to Mrs Popel for organising the trip and thank you to the parents and carers who waited patiently when we returned. 

This Thursday it is Science Day so we will be taking part in some Christmas investigations and of course Wednesday is the start of Advent so it's time to open those calendars.

The spellings are:

brought

bought

nought

ought

fought

sought

thought

wrought

Government

frequently

I look forward to another great week of learning.

Mrs Watts

19th November

It's Children in Need Day. It was great to see so many dressed up today!

It's been so busy this week. We went to the cinema on Tuesday to see Abominable, photos on Wednesday and the Old Vic came in to perform a Christmas show on Thursday afternoon.

In Maths, we have been learning about perimeter and area and in English we have started to write diaries. In Science, they carried out their own fair test to investigate the absorbency of some materials.

As we are going on a trip next Friday, the spelling test will be on Thursday instead.

These are the spellings:

through

borough

furlough

dough

thoroughly

doughy

sincerely

language

apparent

accommodate

Next Friday (26th November) we are going on a school trip to the Wessex Water site near Bridgewater as part of our Geography topic.

This will be a great opportunity to do some fieldwork skills as well as learning how we use water.
As we will be taking some river samples and going on a nature walk, it is really important that children wear appropriate clothing. They will get muddy and wet so they need to wear old clothes you don't mind getting wet and muddy!

Ashford Centre have sent the following equipment list:

• suitable outdoor clothing for wind, rain, sun, storm

• Wellington boots to wear in the river

• Spare pair of trainers/shoes to wear on the return coach trip - although these will probably be the ones they wear to school that day

• packed lunch

• drinks in cartons or containers (no glass bottles and preferably no single use plastic)

• No money – there is nothing to buy!!!

We are due to leave at 2:15 pm and hopefully we will be back in time for the end of school. If we are not, we will let the school know and you will be contacted.
Let me know if you have any questions.

We will be doing assessments in the mornings - reading, Maths, spelling, SPaG and arithmetic. The trip will be a great end to a busy week.

Mrs Watts

13th November

Great to see the sun is shining and it's quite warm. Lovely day for walking in a park and kicking the leaves!

This week, the children have been learning about fractions and seemed quite confident about the work. In English, they wrote their stories yesterday and included speech, fronted adverbials and adjectives; I was really impressed how focussed they were and Mrs Drake popped in to see their writing too and was pleased with their work.

For reading, we read and discussed the poem Flanders Fields and then observed the 2 minute silence at 11am on Thursday. We are continuing with investigating materials in Science and tested the absorbency of papers on Monday. They had PE with the coach and continued their basketball skills with Phil Friday afternoon.

Also, Rosie talked to them about how different parts of their brains work.

Spellings this week:

cough

rough

tough

enough

trough

plough

although

doughnut

develop

restaurant

Please continue to read with your child at least 5 times a week and encourage them to do My Maths and TTRS every week.

I still have some appointment times left for Parent's Evening next Tuesday and Thursday and it can be online or via a phone call if you prefer. Please let me know via Class Dojo or even at the classroom door. Thank you.

Off to the cinema Tuesday!

Mrs Watts

5th November

It's Bonfire Night!

I can't believe it is Friday already! The week has gone so quickly and it has been busy!

In English, we are writing dialogue linked to the book we are reading, The Explorer. They are already using different words for said and remembering how to use inverted commas. 

In Maths, we have been rounding numbers and using negative numbers.

We had a talk from Andy who explored, with the children, different ways to reduce air pollution and they are now busy creating posters for the competition. In Geography, we have been discussing river pollution. 

They also took part in a dance lesson Wednesday afternoon, which they enjoyed.

Friday afternoon, Rosie talked to them about the benefits of exercise and then Phil led the basketball coaching. A great way to end a busy week!   

Spellings for this week:

ridiculous

serious

marvellous

conscious

famous

jealous

cautious

spacious

classify

justify

Tuesday 16th November and Thursday 18th November are Parent's Evenings from

3:40pm-6pm.

This time, it will be online. The sessions will be 10 minutes long. Can you please contact me about the day and approximate time that is convenient for you and I will confirm a time for you nearer the time. Thank you. If you prefer, I can ring you instead.

If these dates are not convenient, let me know and we can arrange a different date and time.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mrs Watts

2nd November 2021

Welcome back to Term 2.

I hope you had an enjoyable half term break together.

It's back to work straight away with lots of fun activities this week too.

PE will now be a Thursday morning with the PE coach and on Friday afternoons, so your child can wear their PE clothes on those days - it's very likely to be outdoors.

Tomorrow afternoon, the children will be participating in a drumming workshop and they will have an Air, Land and Sea workshop in the morning. 

Please continue to read with your child at least 5 times a week and record this in their reading records which are handed in on a Friday.

Spellings will continue to be tested on a Friday so they need to bring their spelling books in on that day. This week they are Statutory words:

frequently

hindrance

nuisance

restaurant

occasionally

thorough

experiment

various

business

knowledge

TTRS and My Maths are activities that can be done online so they can keep those skills 'ticking over'.

Let's hope this term will be fun but also with lots of learning.

Mrs Watts

24th October 2021

It's half term and I hope the weather will be better than it was today!

We had a great last week and hopefully they enjoyed Friday afternoon with cakes, activities and time outside. Congratulations to all those who won the raffle or received a certificate.

The children wrote their reports on the River Amazon and drew a line graph to show temperature.

I was impressed with how quickly they could draw a line graph on their own. We used the sketch books for the first time and created a river picture using pastels and finally got all the apparatus out in the hall for gymnastics.

Times table rockstars has no time limit as it is the holidays and there are activities on My Maths to do. Please encourage your child to read over the holidays, including any books they have at home or from the library.

Have a fun week and a safe Halloween.

See you in Term 2.

Mrs Watts

17/10/21

Last week of term! It's still work as normal though!

They have 30 class points so we need to decide how we are going to celebrate this on Friday;

we can decide tomorrow. 

In English, they will be writing a non-chronological report for the River Amazon; they have enjoyed finding out facts about the Amazon and they wrote some great sentences using fronted adverbials.

In Maths, we will be drawing and reading line graphs. Last Tuesday, I put a thermometer in the bushes and read the temperature every hour so we could use this information for a line graph. I thought one of the children was going to remove as it was white!

I hope we can finish our pastel pictures of Monet's work which will look great on display.

Spellings:

treasure

measure

pressure

picture

mixture

structure

fixture

secure

In Science we will be dissolving liquids and completing our gymnastics unit by using the equipment in the hall.

Let's hope we have a great final week. Don't forget the school disco!

Mrs Watts

10/10/21

Only 2 weeks until the end of term; it's whizzed by.

We completed our setting descriptions linked to the River Nile on Friday and will be continuing multiplication and division this week. Don't forget there are some linked activities on My Maths - if your child has lost their login details, please let me know.

We have started investigating the properties of materials in Science and looked at the artist Claude Monet, especially his work that depicts river scenes. We had a great discussion about his paintings and then used pastels to create our own. I was very impressed with their first attempts, especially their blending of colours.

Here are their spellings for this week:

environment

government

parliament

development

science

conscience

convenience

existence

excellent

especially

Please continue to hear your child regularly and remind them to do TTRS and Reading Eggs regularly as it does make a real difference to their confidence in school.

Thank you.

1/10/21

I can't believe it's October already!

It was great to see so many of you on Wednesday for 'meet the teacher' and thank you to all those who keep in contact via Class Dojos.

This week we have been writing expanded noun phrases about the River Nile. The children enjoyed tracing the journey of the river from Rwanda to the Mediterranean Sea. We also had a great discussion about flooding and in Maths, we continued with addition and subtraction. 

It was great to see so many doing TTRS and Reading Eggs this week; I'm glad they are enjoying working online. I will now set some more My Maths homework for them to do.

Please continue to hear your child read and remind your child to bring their books in every day so we can hear them read too.

Can you please remind your child to bring in their spelling books every Friday so they can do their test and have the next weeks spellings stuck in?

Spellings:

obsession

persuasion

explosion

extension

discussion

permission

confession

profession

apparent

restaurant

Looking forward to another week of learning.

25/9/21

What a great week we have had. They wrote persuasive letters yesterday and I was really impressed with their concentration and quality of writing. They painted their river models on Thursday which show the journey of the river from source to mouth. 

They have now got their Reading Eggs logins so they can get cracking!

Continue with TTRS and My Maths homework.

Please make sure you sign their Reading records every time you hear them read; they can read to you whilst you are cooking or washing-up.

Congratulations to the 3 pupils who represented the school at Mad Olympiad on Thursday afternoon.

It's the Learning Detectives election on Tuesday afternoon so I hope they are busy preparing their speeches.

Don't forget it's Meet the Teacher on Wednesday after school so I'm looking forward to meeting you.

These are the spellings ready for Friday's test:

musician

magician

politician

technician

invention

detention

caption

creation

imagine

important

Looking forward to another great week of learning.

17/9/21

Another amazing week. They are now in a routine for morning work.

We have been learning about modal verbs and we read the book 'How to live forever' which made them question whether they would like to live forever.  

In the calculation lesson, we were multiplying 3 digit numbers by 1 digit and they worked hard on their presentation.

Thank you to all those who sent in boxes. The children have started creating their river models using papier mache; a messy activity!

I hope your child has been able to log on to TTRS and My Maths and I hope to send their Reading Eggs logins home next week.

Don't forget spelling tests are on Fridays and Reading Records are also collected in Fridays.

Looking forward to another week of learning.

Mrs Watts

Spellings for next week:

refresh

reignite

reunite

overdue

overjoy

overcrowded

detour

decode

build

guide

10.9.21

What a brilliant first week we have had!

We have done so much work and fun activities - you should see some of their work on display already!

The children have settled into a routine already and have started to present their work neatly in their new books.

Spellings will be given out Friday and tested the following Friday. 

Week 1

misbehave

mistype

mistaken

misplace

disappear

disappoint

disobey

discontinue

believe

breath

Homework. Children will be expected to do at least 25 minutes of TTRS a week and 2 activities on My Maths. They will also be expected to read at least 5 times a week.

Thank you for your support. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Watts

Hello Elephants.

My name is Mrs Watts and I taught Year 4 when Mrs Johnson was on maternity leave and Year 5 the previous year as a Job Share. I covered several classes as a supply teacher this year.

I am so excited about being back to teach Elephants. We are very lucky to have Mrs Woodward and Mrs Baker-Haynes still working with us too.

Attached is a curriculum map to show what we will be learning in Term1; I hope you find it useful to know what is being taught.

PE will be on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, starting this week, and most importantly, we will be swimming in Term 4 even though Rhinos will be swimming in Term 1.

Reading books will be chosen on Monday and log in details for TTRS, My Maths and Reading Eggs will be sent home soon. Spellings will be given out on Fridays.

I know we will have a wonderful and busy term 1 and I can't wait to start!

If there is anything you want to ask, feel free to have a chat with one of us at the start or end of the day.

Mrs Watts