Summer 2 2022

Homework support: We do not expect children to complete their homework fully independently. There will be times where they will need parental support as some mathematical concepts may not have been taught yet for example, and these will develop throughout the school year. If there is a section where you have had to support, can you please indicate this on their work. If you think something is too tricky and you feel you have had to give a higher level of support, please do not hesitate to come and speak to the class teacher, if you feel this is necessary.
Friday 15thJuly 2022
 
Apologies for a disruptive week for class Plym, Miss G has tonsillitis and needed a few rest days but the children were amazing and still got up to loads of exciting things.
 
This week class Plym have been learning o clock and half past times and I couldn't be prouder of how well everyone is doing. Ask them on an analogue clock and you'll be as wowed as I am! Reception children have also been thinking about 'before' and 'after'. For example, sequencing a photo of a full apple as 'before' and the eaten core as 'after'.
 
Children finished off their music unit this week and created their own celebratory songs in their band, with music to accompany. We had song's about Saint Piran's day, Halloween, Christmas and even the Queen's Jubilee.  
 
We also finished off our PE unit this by working in small teams to follow a map to find puzzle peices. It ended up creating a map of somewhere else and then we looked at the key and symbols to see what they represented. The team work skills acquired over the last few weeks were used and it was great to see some good communication and listening to each other. 
 
In PSHE we reflected on our time in class Plym and everyone said they have enjoyed their own independent learning time (choosing time) and learning to read. Lots said they loved making new friends too, which was lovely to hear.
 
It was wonderful to see so many children enjoying the school Summer Fayre this afternoon and I hope they weren't all too hyped from all of the sweeties and cakes. The classroom has had a little move around so I look forward to seeing all of the children's reactions on Monday morning.
 
Today was the final day of our cover TA, Mrs Ruben. She has made our garden area look fabulous with her wonderful gardening skills. The children worked collaboratively to create her a lovely leaving card.
 
Have a superb weekend and please read, read, read. Read in the garden, read on the sofa, read in the hallway. 
 
The final week is upon us, Miss G x
Friday 8th July 2022
 
I would like to start by saying how proud I am of class Plym and class Cremyll for their beach and church visit on Tuesday. We were stopped by members of the public who commented on how well behaved they were. They did an impeccable job of representing Fourlanesend School. We had so much fun in the church doing art activities and looking around the church to answer a quiz. We then went to the beach and took part in a scavenger hunt and built wonderful sculptures using natural beach materials. Everyone loved their picnic lunch.
 
In PSHE we reflected on our transition day in our new class and talked all about how it made us feel. Everyone seems to be feeling very positive and excited which is fantastic news. 
 
In Geography we have learned about the Maasai tribe and how this is a small group of people but doesn't mean everyone in Africa lives this way. The Maasai tribe traditionally wear red and enjoy taking part in lots of singing and dancing activities. We had a go at the jumping dance and jumped really high! 
 
In RE we reflected upon our trip to the church and talked about how we should behave in sacred places. We should be calm, respectful and make sure we don't break or climb on things. We also need to use a quiet voice like we would in a library or cinema. We matched parts of a church with the picture and word and then we looked on the internet at other sacred places in Cornwall such as the Hurlers in Liskeard.
 
In PE we focussed on using our communication and listening skills to undertake some tasks. We had to get into groups of a number called out, we had to find cones in order 1-4 and we had to try to get out of hoops without using our hands. 
 
On Friday afternoon we had the new Reception children come and join us and we played alongside them and helped them navigate what will be their new classroom. 
 
Please hang on in there for the last few weeks and please don't give up on your reading!
 
Lots of sun cream and water for the expected heatwave! 
 
Miss G x
Friday 1st July 2022
 
Another busy week in class Plym! This week we have been using imperative verbs and writing instructions on how to make a 'Woodland Sandwich'. We used words such as 'get', 'put', 'lay' and 'use'. It was fun to use mud and leaves to make a sandwich.. we didn't eat it afterwards!
 
In PSHE we talked about our fears and worries about moving to our new class. Some children shared they were worried about being in a new classroom and having homework. But lots of us were excited about getting to sit at tables and do more work independently.
 
In RE we looked at a map of Cornwall and looked for places that started with 'st' as this means they are named after a saint. We found so many! We then watched a video about parts of a church as we will be visiting our local church next week.
 
In Science we looked at garden and wild plants and went on a hunt around school to see what we could find. We found ivy, daisies, dandelions, mint, rosemary and all sorts of other exciting things. Our garlic bulbs still haven't started to sprout but the radish is doing very well and we can see all of the roots underneath.
 
In Math's we have started to look at money, starting with the coins and how even though some coins are smaller or larger, it doesn't always mean they are worth more or less money. We also looked at how a pound is made up of 100 pennies and that we would rather carry one coin instead of 100!
 
Friday saw us have a transition afternoon into out new class with Miss Mackie, we had lots of fun and it was lovely to hear the children sound very positive about moving up. 
 
Please continue to read, even though it is heading towards the end of the year. 
 
Have a wonderful weekend, 
 
Miss G x
Friday 24th June 2022
 
This week we have looked at THE BIG FIVE - the five main animals associated with Kenya. We did a little research project and had to find out lots of information about our chosen animals such as their average height, weight and lifespan. We also found out what they eat and chose an interesting fact to record too.
 
In PE we continued to work on our team work skills and this time we focussed on how we need to work on our skill of listening - we played lots of games that had multiple instructions and found that the more steps there were, the harder it was to follow and we needed them to be repeated. 
 
In Music we focussed on singing higher and lower and enjoyed feeling our throats when we sang lower because it vibrated. 
 
In RE we talked about the Patron Saint of Cornwall, Saint Piran and how 5th March is the special feast day associated with him. We remembered that we ate pasties and scones on that day at school. He was special because people thought he could cure illnesses. Inspired by this, we chose our own special date and designed an amazing feast plate of luxurious foods.
 
In Computing we reminded ourselves on how to save our work and then had a go at editing some incorrectly written sentences. Instead of deleting everything and writing again, we discovered we could use the directional arrows to move the cursor and amend it that way.
 
In DT we looked at fish and why it is important. It falls into the Protein category of the healthy food plate and oily fish in particular, is very good for our hearts. We discovered that tuna is mainly found in the Pacific ocean and we sang a song that showed us where all of the oceans were. Me made little paper fish and wrote interesting facts about fish on them. Next week we are hoping to create a fish salad using tuna, the chopping skills and root vegetables that we have been learning about. 
 
In English we looked at an alternative version of Little Red Riding Hood and it was from the wolf's point of view. We then had a go at putting this onto a storyboard and sequencing the story by ourselves. 
 
Math's has been a little trickier as we have been working with much larger numbers.. 50-100! We have had to count forwards and backwards and particularly found it tricky when we had to bridge the tens, but we never gave up and persevered. 
 
In PSHE we looked at how we have changed since we were babies, thank you so much for everyone who managed to bring in a photo, it made the lesson much more personal and enjoyable. We talked about how we have gotten taller, have more hair and are now able to run around and talk, which we couldn't do as a baby.
 
It's the final push of the year, just four weeks to go. Please don't forget to do regular reading, we had so many excited children moving up bands this week so it really does make a difference. 
 
Year ones please remember to do your spelling and number homework.
 
I hope we don't all have a soggy weekend!
 
Miss G x
 
Friday 17th June 2022
 
What an exciting week! We were lucky to have Mark's Ark come and visit and show us some very exciting creatures! We had a skunk, a barn owl, a scorpion, a snake and even a skink?! The owl feathers were so fluffy and everyone used their confidence value to hold them and also their respect and responsibility towards a visitor to our school. 
 
In PE we have been working on team building skills and problem solving - we discovered that communication is a large part of this and had to undertake some challenges to help us work better as a team. We were dragons and tortoises with shell son our backs. 
 
In DT we worked on learning some new cutting skills. We had a go at the bridge, the claw and the fork secure. We were so much better and improved from when we did chopping for our crumbles in the Autumn term.
 
In PSHE we looked at life cycles again and how we change from babies to toddlers, to a child etc. Next week could everyone please bring in a photograph of them as a baby so we can observe how we have changed? We will need this for Monday.
 
In Geography we looked at National Parks in Kenya ad how these are protected areas for animals, particularly endangered animals, to live and thrive safely. We saw some wonderful videos of people on Safari and then designed our own National Park maps with symbols and keys to make them easier to understand, we drew on our previous topics knowledge of map skills. 
 
We have been sequencing in English and discussing how are new book is very similar to Little Red Riding hood.
 
Maths has seen us finishing up our positional language and next week we will be moving on to number 50-100, eeek!
 
This week saw us sadly say goodbye to Mrs Miller, and as sad as we are to see her go, we truly wish her the very best and hope that she has a wonderful time at her new job. 
 
Please read, read and read some more.
 
Homework for year one due on Thursday.
 
Stay safe in the sun please, though we are expected to have rain over the weekend.
 
Miss G x
 
 
Friday 10th June 2022
 
Welcome back, can you believe this is our final half-term before a new academic year!?
 
We have had a very busy week this week. We started by writing our holiday news and it was fantastic to see all of the wonderful things that everyone had been up to. 
 
In Geography we started to look at the continent of Africa, and more closely at the country of Kenya. We found out it is much hotter there because it is so close to the Equator. 
 
In DT, we explored lots of different vegetables such as a courgette, an aubergine, onions, celery, cauliflower etc etc and we looked at them, tasted them and smelt them and talked about where they came from. We sorted vegetables into ones that grow above ground and ones that grow below ground, these are called root vegetables. We then evaluated some existing products made from the root vegetables. We tried potato salad, coleslaw and a carrot and raisin salad. There were some very interesting faces!
 
In Music we have had a go at singing higher and lower notes and we've also had a go at doing some body percussion, it was sounding super!
 
In Math's we have been looking at how to find a half and a quarter of shapes and amounts. We knew they needed to all have equal groups and for the halving, we could use our double facts to help us.
 
Please can PE kits be in on Tuesday's as usual and homework to be returned by Thursday's. Year one have a handwriting sheet and a word search as well as a Math's sheet to complete. 
Could all children please continue to read at least 5 times a week. 
 
This week we have also had the statutory year one phonics screening and I am really proud of how well we have worked. 
 
Have a superb weekend and remember to wear sun cream and stay hydrated if it is hot! (We learnt about sun safety before half-term!)
 
Miss G x