Today we were lucky enough to take part in Prayer Space Day. We completed five activities that were all based on the 'I am sayings' that Jesus said.

1) We tasted a variety of different breads and thought about what our spirits need.

2) We lit candles and thought about people in dark situations who might need Jesus to bring light back into their lives.

3) We thought about why Jesus considered himself to be a good shepherd and how we are all part of his precious flock. We brainstormed our best qualities, wrote these on a paper sheep and placed them in a pen.

4) We sat silently in a tent like Jesus might have done when he was in the wilderness and thought about how we could meet God.

5) We also had to follow a series of footsteps that led around the church, stopping at each set to think about who guides us and helps us to make the right decisions.

Thank you to all the volunteers who ran the stations and got us thinking so deeply first thing on a Monday morning! It was good to free our minds completely and concentrate on the questions we were posed.

Who knew there was such talent in Kingfisher Class?

The children excelled themselves today and made everyone here at St. Mary’s VERY proud. As their class teacher, I would love to say that I taught them everything they know, but alas… I haven’t got a musical bone in my body and my dance skills are certainly not to be shared in a public forum! The children’s hard work, endless enthusiasm and desire to please paid off as they treated the rest of the school to a wonderful assembly on WW2. I only had to watch the faces in the audience to see how impressed they all were so A HUGE WELL DONE to everyone in Kingfisher Class for making your final class assembly such a special one! Please enjoy the photos below.

Intrahouse Cross Country – Friday 9^th February 2018

The entire school ran a cross country course. It was certainly very muddy and the weather was a little unpredictable but the children ran extremely well despite this. We are extremely proud of the children’s efforts. The Junior Results are as follows: 1^st Ferguson, 2^nd Burrell, 3^rd Cole, 4^th Landon. The Overall Winner of the day was Ferguson. Well done to all who participated! J

HALF-TERM HOMEWORK

During the half-term break, children need to:-

1) Read the next two chapters of 'Goodnight Mr Tom' (Chapters 11 and 12) ready for their comprehension lesson on Thursday 22nd February.

2) Complete pages 44, 45, 46 and 47 from their white maths CPG books. (Please mark this with your child.)

3) Look again at the spelling words they have been tested on already from the Year 5 and 6 World List that is stuck in their purple books. It is important that children spend sufficient time learning their spellings each week so that their leaning is more than just superficial learning in order to score well a weekly test.

4) Learn any speaking and song words that they have been given for our forthcoming assembly on Friday 23rd February.

BIG FAVOURS:

Please work your magic to 'rustle up' some form of costume if your child has an acting part in our class assembly. They will know whether they are an evacuee, an evacuee's mother, an ARP Warden etc. PLEASE DO NOT SPEND A FORTUNE ON THIS! Let's endeavour to 'Make Do and Mend'. The school can provide gas mask boxes as props.

Thank you for your continued support. Have a lovely week.

For the last two weeks in literacy, the children have been looking at newspaper reports. They started by looking at the features of this genre of writing. Then they had a go at writing some headlines using rhyme, puns or alliteration.

Their task was to produce a report that was linked to their WW2 work. The children carried out some research about the civilian incident at Bethnal Green Underground Station in which 173 people died. They watched some clips of survivors talking about their ordeal – this made it more real for them. Then, they looked at some modelled versions before drafting their work. The children were constantly encouraged to edit and amend their work until it was as ‘powerful’ as they could make it.

Their finished newspaper articles are now up on display. I think you would agree – they look pretty impressive!

A GREAT START TO 2018

In Literacy we have just completed a two week unit on poetry, based on the BBC trailer used for the 2014 Winter Olympics. In the clip, Charles Dance recites a poem entitled ‘The Dreadful Menace’ (as only Charles Dance can). The poem uses figurative language including personification, similes and metaphors to describe winter and the challenge the contestants face. Our learning has focused on this plus exaggeration, hyperboles, alliteration and onomatopoeia.

The children’s written responses have blown Mrs Larner and me away! (Oh to be a creative person!) It’s only right we celebrate their efforts, so sit back and enjoy.....

School Games Event: Intrahouse Event