This week’s newsletter for Rossall Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.
YEAR 6
| Every Monday morning, Year 6 like to talk about the week ahead and events to look forward to. This week, I was happily talking about the circuits we would be doing later in the week; I couldn’t understand why there were so many groans and moans from the children. It was only after clarification we came to the realisation there had been a breakdown in communication. Where I was talking about the exciting prospect of visiting Mrs Cohen in the Science Department, the class were preparing for a Joe Wicks style workout! What a fabulous trip it was too, Mrs Cohen did not disappoint. We found out all about electric circuits, the scientific terminology for the various components, how they work and the difference between parallel and simple circuits. The children thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to get down to the Science Department and take part in the practical activities on offer. There has been plenty of work in the classroom too; we have been continuing our work on “Manfish” and are now coming to the end of our Mathematics unit on shape. The children have demonstrated a clear understanding of angles, and the correspondence between 2D nets and 3D shapes. Our topic work is now really gaining some momentum and the children have been creating their informative displays in preparation to share their knowledge with the younger children in the Prep School. It looks like there will be some fun games and interactive activities with the possibility of prizes too! |
YEAR 5
| Michelangelo said, “ Every block of stone has a statue inside and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Year 5 put this to the test this week, not with blocks of stone but with cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes. The task was simple: create a family out of recycled materials. We took our inspiration from Barbara Hepworth, the British born artist who is famous for her abstract sculptures. The children had great fun, faced many challenges and worked well in their teams. The classroom did represent the recycling centre during the lesson but making a mess and then tidying up is all part of the experience! We continue to enjoy our English lessons and the children have worked hard to write diary entries from the main character’s point of view. We had a fascinating discussion about what was really important to us and our well-being. We decided that as long as we have love and a family we are complete. Decimals are going very well. This week, we have investigated multiplying and dividing decimals with great success. We also had lots of fun taking part in mathematical inventions. Mr Turner took the children to the Astronomy Centre where Year 5 put Dr Lister’s knowledge to the test with some very impressive questions! Great fun was had by all and the children even received a fabulous poster of a Nebula. Do ask your child if you are curious about what happens in a Nebula! As another week comes to an end I cannot believe how much we fit in! The enthusiasm, energy and sheer joy the children have for their learning is incredible. Well done, Year 5 on yet another FABULOUS week! |
YEAR 4
| Down in the depths of the Year 4 Classroom you can observe the inhabitants in their natural environment. Listen carefully and you will hear the chatter of their excited voices… My attempt at a David Attenborough style narration is nowhere near as good as what Year 4 have created this week! The great man certainly has some budding prodigies in Year 4. As part of our English work this week, the children have written and then performed their own narration to a film clip in which a little tree shrew has his dinner snaffled by some angry looking bearded pigs. I was so impressed with the children’s clear reading voices as well as their wonderful expressions and use of the dramatic pause as they brought the film clip to life with their narration. We have almost finished planning our pioneer explorations into space and had the opportunity to gather some last-minute information as we visited the Astronomy Centre once again. I think everyone’s highlight had to be when we touched the moon. Yes – we actually touched the moon! Well… some rock that came from the moon. It was pretty awesome nevertheless! |
YEAR 3
| It’s been another fantastic week in Year 3! In English, we finished our adventure through the book Journey, continuing to practice writing descriptions of what has happened. The next step is to write our own stories to go with the illustrations. In Maths, we have started our new unit on Time, looking so far at months and years, and hours and minutes. In Topic, we have been exploring artefacts and fashion from the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, and we used images of ancient statues to inspire our own Indus costumes. Lastly in Science, we learnt all about the Life Cycle of plants, bringing together all the processes we have discovered into one complete cycle. We also acknowledged the end of Ramadan by wrapping up our learning about Islam in RS. Thank you Ahill for sharing so much about Islamic culture with us. Eid Mubarak! Well done a great week of learning Year 3. |
YEAR 2
| Year 2 have had a super week! In Maths, we have been learning about position and direction and now understand what clockwise and anti-clockwise mean. We have also been investigating why dinosaurs used to eat stones, and through our ‘lettuce and stones’ experiment, we came to the conclusion that it was because stones helped dinosaurs (especially herbivores) digest their food. In Topic, we became palaeontologists for the afternoon – we carefully dug to find dinosaur bones, extracted them from the soil, used tools to dust off the dirt from the fragile bones and then created our own dinosaur fossil! The children all collaborated and persevered together – they should be very proud of themselves. |
YEAR 1
| ‘All knowledge is connected to all other knowledge. The fun is in making connections.’ – Arthur Aufderheide This statement has been so true this week in Year 1. We have continued our class story ‘The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth’. We have followed Teddy, the baby mammoth, further through the museum, into the library and the flight floor. In the book, we found lots of portraits in the library and as part of our Topic work, we have been creating our own self-portraits too. In the flight floor part, we looked at a timeline of flight, which helped us in our History work to continue thinking about timelines. We have started to learn about extinct animals and some of the reasons why they have become extinct, and we were sad to learn that there are some animals in our world now that are on the brink of extinction. We will be looking at ways that we, as humans, might be able to stop this from happening. In Maths, we have completed our multiplication and division work and are now working on fractions. We have already shown a good understanding and made connections of how fractions are linked to the work we have just done on division and have been sharing what we already know about halves and quarters. |
RECEPTION
| There is no better satisfaction than that of putting the final piece of a puzzle into place. In Reception, we have recently received some new jigsaw puzzles that the children are working together to complete. But did you know, while children are playing with puzzles, there’s a range of skills that they’re developing – whether they’re aware of it or not! Playing with puzzles has significant impacts on a child’s physical skills, developing fine motor skills through the coordination of small muscles. Children who have developed fine motor skills tend to find it easier to write, draw and learn to play instruments. Through grasping pieces and matching jigsaw pieces together, children also improve their spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination. This is the ability to coordinate what the eyes see with what the hands do and what the brain pictures, and can be helpful in several situations such as playing sport. There are also lots of cognitive benefits that playing with puzzles can have for children too. One of those is that it allows children to develop their reasoning and decision making skills, both of which are valuable throughout their lives. The use of puzzles also helps children to become more confident and determined by seeing their persistence pay off, giving them a sense of achievement once the puzzle is complete. They encourage children to use their reasoning skills by weighing up which piece to put where and working out which piece to use next to help them get one step closer to completing their puzzle! Playing with jigsaw puzzles also helps with the acquisition of knowledge through subliminal learning. Themed puzzles allow teachers to make a selection of which puzzle will benefit the children the most in different areas for development. This week we have completed one puzzle linked to the story of ‘The Gruffalo’, a farm-themed jigsaw to encourage discussions about animal needs, an alphabet one and even one about skeletons in the human body. Studies have shown that hands-on, playful learning experiences not only build interest in the subject but set off experiences in learning as positive, joy-filled ones which they will want to continue for years to come, highlighting the importance of learning through play for young children. Puzzles not only encourage independent learning and decision making but can also be used to promote social interaction. We have used puzzles as a focal point for discussion, or as a means for encouraging children to ask questions or use their observation skills. Ultimately, the most important thing is the fun involved in playing with puzzles! Children enjoy learning the most when they are having fun, and playing with puzzles that are engaging is just one example of ‘learning made fun’! So, this weekend, why not find a jigsaw to complete together and send me a picture? |
NURSERY
| It’s been an exciting week for our Sanderlings, full of sensory exploration with sand, paint, foam and cereals. The children have also been developing their gross motor movements by practising the process of pulling to stand up and cruising around furniture. This will help to build their confidence and aid their exploration of the world around them. Their outings this week have seen them take in all the views of the School grounds. Sandpipers have continued their investigation of their book of the month ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’. The children created their own play dough adding lots of natural materials and experimenting to create new textures. Adding craft to their play, they created their own bear masks to act out their own bear hunt in the garden. Our ‘song box’ is proving to be very effective at developing the children’s early literacy skills. The children now know how to select their favourite song and are able to join in with some words and actions. In Preschool, there has been a big focus on our ‘school readiness’ as some of our older children have started going to the dining hall for their lunches. The children have done so well, walking to the hall in pairs and adjusting to the new routine. It’s been wonderful to see. Our investigation of ‘The Singing Mermaid’ has extended through our circus themed, ‘Move it Monday’ session, as well as lots of trips to the beach in search of materials to add to our tuff tray. The children have created their own interpretation of the story in the tuff tray, adding blue material, sand, shells and seaweed along with characters from the story, which has led to some lovely experiences of the children acting out the story together. |
AWARD WINNERS
| RECEPTION – This week’s certificate of achievement go to Fox and Beau Fox will independently get on with activities without being asked or reminded. He has also demonstrated superb Math’s skills with our challenges this week. Beau has challenged himself this week to read longer words. He has learnt about chunking to break down more complex words and was able to read a selection of words confidently.  YEAR 1 – Roman and Annaiya for fantastic Maths work this week.  YEAR 2 – Aaron for super Science work, and Lara for amazing collaboration in our Topic lesson.  YEAR 3 – This week the Year 3 certificates go to Nicholas for fantastic writing, and Reuben for dedication to his home learning.  YEAR 4 – Jacob and Joey for being risk-takers in their David Attenborough style narrations.  YEAR 5 – Joshua and Jasmine for their excellent teamwork in art activities.  YEAR 6 – Liberty for her outstanding ability with our play scripts. Theia for her outstanding ability in creative writing. Edward J for being a fabulous communicator. Kacey for her independent learning.   |
TOP TENNIS COACHING FOR PUPILS IN YEARS 3-6
| We are thrilled that Top Tennis Coaching will be hosting morning tennis sessions for our students in Years 3-6. Beginning on Tuesday 27th April we are running a 5 week coaching program for students at Rossall School Year 3 & 4 – Tuesdays, 7.45-8.30am Year 5 & 6 – Thursdays, 7.45-8.30am at the Rossall Sports Centre. Head towww.toptenniscoaching.co.ukto book your child’s spot! |
