In year 3 this term we have been focusing on our number skills. This week, we have been focusing on our multiplication and division. We had an interhouse multiplication hunt competition where the children had to work as a team to solve multiplication problems. A big congratulations to Bath team who solved their problems in the fastest time.

Well, our final week of the first half term started with a science lesson in which we learnt what herbivores, carnivores and omnivores eat. Some of us were surprised to find out what different animals eat. This week we were all put to the test with remembering moves for our Royal Opera House dance. We are really enjoying this - we can’t wait to put the different parts of the dance together!
We have also been donating food to the local food shelter and learning about Harvest. We learnt the song ‘Harvest Samba’ with the rest of key stage one and performed this at the Harvest Festival celebration on Friday afternoon.
Finally this week we started to look at our new central idea for next half term’s Unit of Enquiry. We got to piece jigsaws back together and found that the images were of different celebrations, then we used these to think about our own questions and things we are curious about.
We are looking forward to continuing our learning next half term.

In Reception this term, we have been learning about people who help us at home, school and in the community. This week, we had a visit from a police officer, who told us all about his job in London, and we asked questions about his job. We found out he wears a tall helmet when walking around so everyone knows who he is and can go and ask for help. We also learnt that he drives his car slowly, watching to make sure everyone is safe – unless there is an emergency!
We got to look at some of his equipment, and even tried on his hat. When we came back to the classroom, we designed our own police badges, and pretended we were police officers!

In Year 4, we have been learning about imaginary worlds, using the story of Narnia. As part of our writing, we have created new characters for the story and written a letter to the Wicked White Witch persuading her to release Mr Tumnus.
During Roald Dahl Day, we drew inspiration from the outdoor environment to think about how nature can help us to travel and to do some creative writing. We have also been practising our written multiplication methods and using our skills in reasoning and problem solving.
As part of Unit of Enquiry, we have discussed the impact speeches have on us and how they inspire us. This has led on to talking about what’s important to us and what we are passionate about.  We have also had interesting debates related to this, ranging from the problems of healthy foods, to how much we love our family.
We designed our own experiments to test hypotheses about muffling sound and later visited the Science Museum in London. We had a great time, especially meeting Sir Isaac Newton and trying out all the experiments in Launchpad.

The extent to which children are comfortable with information technology is wonderful; the wide range of ways in which the iPads get used around school is fascinating.  Nevertheless, at the start of term within our classes, we took the opportunity to remind children of the importance of staying safe online.
 
Being aware of what children see is important.  Emma, in Year 2, explained how her parents won’t let her use a website unless they have checked it over first.  Other children agreed that similar arrangements have helped them to feel more relaxed when using the internet.
 
In school we also encourage children to think about the choices they make online and the real world consequences.  Cyber bullying and other online abuse is a very sinister prospect.   Knowing who to turn to if things go wrong is reassuring for children and those who care for them.  Roxanne and Rihanna in Year 6 said, “…don’t talk about personal stuff to people you don’t know and NEVER meet up with people you’ve met online without an adult going with you.”
 
Children love using technology to learn and relax.  A quick show of hands in class supports the claim made in a national newspaper a couple of years ago that most children know their parents’ passwords or device pin codes.  Reason enough to recommend discussing boundaries and adults to turn to, just in case.
 
Links for further advice:
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Primary/

1AA children had a fantastic visit to the local library. They enjoyed the opportunity to explore, choosing reading books from different genres and learning about people in our community. Children came back and said they liked the space and the wide variety of books.