This week’s newsletter for Rossall Junior School and Nursery.
YEAR 6
This week, Year 6 has been finding out in quite some detail the causes of World War Two and how Hitler came to power.
This topic has raised lots of questions regarding the unfair persecution of people and why so many people were willing to conform to such a regime.
Fortunately, we have not had such enquiries into the Year 6 behaviour management system. The children have been taking action and have brought in a number of artifacts including medals, books and articles form a POW camp.
YEAR 5
Tribes, Daredevils and place Value have been the order of the week in Year 5. We have had a fascinating time researching different tribes for our topic. The children have all been put in a ‘tribe’ and have been learning all about their habitats, cultures and beliefs.
In Art, we have begun making giant totem poles using the knowledge that they have gained of their tribes spirit animals, gods and hobbies.
Annie continues to terrify us with her daredevil stunt! She is currently teetering on the edge of Niagara Falls in her oak barrel. We all hope she makes it!!
The children continue to enjoy their Spanish lessons and can now sing Happy Birthday!
Year 5 hope you have a super weekend!
YEAR 4
This week, the Year 4 scientists have have been learning about the digestive system!
We worked together on an experiment to see exactly what happens when you eat food – it really was rather gross!
A sandwich was bitten up with scissors acting as our incisors and was then crushed with our molars (a potato masher) with some saliva (a bit of water), down an imaginary oesophagus and into the stomach (a plastic bag), where it was mixed with stomach acid (coke) and squished up! Then it went into one of Miss Clapp’s tights – this was the small intestine where it was squeezed some more and all the nutrients were removed! Next it went into the large intestine (an upside down plastic bottle) where it was, you’ve guessed it… pushed out as poo!
In hindsight right before lunch wasn’t perhaps the best time to have done this!
YEAR 3
This week in Year 3 we have been confusing to deepen our understanding of place value with 3 digit numbers and we finished reading our focus book ‘Seal Surfer’ which we will continue to use as a prompt for writing.
We are also absolutely loving hockey with the expert guidance of Ms Santamera, the Year 3 pupils are definitely talented with a hockey stick!
YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2
In Year 2 this week, we have been concentrating on place value in our Maths lessons. We are now experts at comparing numbers and spotting how many tens and ones are in a two digit number.
In our Outdoor Learning this week, we revisited what a ‘habitat’ is and collaborated to create homes for animals that may be living in our playground.
This week, Year 1 have been helping the boy from Lost and Found to find out about penguins and the South Pole.
We have looked at information books all about penguins, started to learn about what it is like in Antarctica and what we would need to pack to go on an expedition to the South Pole to return the lost penguin.
Emma has given us lots of interesting information as she has actually visited Antarctica on her Dad’s boat. Brrrr….
RECEPTION
It is essential that young children get frequent and regular opportunities to explore and learn in the outdoor environment and this should not be seen as an optional extra.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, which covers children aged birth to the end of the Reception year, places strong emphasis on the importance and value of daily outdoor experiences for children’s learning and development.
In Reception, we have free flow to the outdoors, which supports the children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
Learning that flows seamlessly between indoors and outdoors makes the most efficient use of our resources and builds on the interests and enthusiasm of the class.
At other times, we explore the wider campus, which offers space and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. Young children learn predominantly through their sensory and physical experiences which supports brain development and the creation of neural networks. This week, we ventured to the beach, for one of our Maths lessons. It was clear to see the enjoyment, and sense of wonder and excitement that was generated when the children actively engaged with their environment. This also provided a great opportunity for them to play safely and freely while they learnt to assess risk and develop the skills to manage a new situation.
NURSERY
Tuesday marked National Heart Day and we used this to teach the children the importance of maintaining a healthy heart.
We painted hearts using our hand prints to create the shape. We noticed the effect that exercise has on our hearts by feeling to see if our hearts beat faster the more exercise we do.
During this activity we also used our maths skills to count 15 star jumps, 10 lunges, 5 high knees and 20 running on the spot. We also discussed how we need to feed our hearts healthy food to keep them healthy.
We asked the children to tell us if certain foods are healthy foods and whether or not we can eat lots of it and which foods have to be eaten in small amounts.
They are all very good at putting foods into the correct categories. The babies have enjoyed sensory play this week , using natural yogurt to paint with just in case they fancied eating it during the activity, cereal play, using the cars to make crunching sounds and building up their muscles with playdough.
AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to this week’s award winners:
Reception – Fox and Alicia for excellent counting skills.
Year 1 – Anthony and Larry for excellent effort in reading
Year 2 – Alfie and Anabella
Year 3 – Poppy for perseverance in maths and Reuben for enthusiastic participation.
Year 4 – Oskar and Lincoln for great inquiry skills, Joey and Jessica for being amazing communicators, and Molly for the kindness award for Year 4
Year 5 – Maya and Amiee for being knowledgeable, Aran for kindness,
Alicia for resilience and excellent work whilst remote learning, and Isabelle for being a super communicator.
Year 6 – This week’s certificate winners in 6S are Liberty Kirszanek and Rafa Farrell- Villalba for outstanding work and effort in all areas of the curriculum.
6R certificates go to Michael for being knowledgable, Woody for his Kindness and Joel for his progress in maths.
