​Teacher Blog 3.2.23
By Mr Rumble
I love our curriculum days! A chance to go into detail with a subject or two, get creative and access our learning in a different way. This half term’s did not disappoint; seeing year 6 dressed up as the God’s, year 3 hoarding materials to make box theatres for puppet shows and year 2 on the playground trying to make a bottle of cola explode using mints. As we reach the half-way point of the academic year, it serves as a reminder of why East Tilbury Primary School is such a rich and thriving environment that is a privilege to be part of. At times I do wonder who is having more fun between the adults and the children though! 

For superhero themed curriculum day, Reception have been completing lots of different superhero missions this week as part of their superhero training! In literacy, we have been busy turning ourselves into superheroes. We designed our costumes and labelled them using adjectives, thought of different superhero names and superpowers that we would have, and coming up with some catch phrases. Lots of us have said that it was easy using our phonics skills in our writing – we are writing CVC words without any help from a grown up!
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On curriculum day, we could teleport into the different Reception classrooms to complete the last part of our superhero training. There was maths training in one class, where we continued work on numbers 6, 7 and 8. We practised identifying pairs of the same numbers that were represented in different ways, for example the numeral 6 and 6 teddies. Later, we focussed on combining two groups together and then adding more.
In another class, there were lots of activities that worked on our explorative, investigative and reasoning skills. The third class challenged our literacy skills, focussing on reading and writing CVC words. In the final class, we had the chance to show off our creativity skills. Here, we had the opportunity to create different superhero accessories.
In the last part of our training, our physical fitness was put to the test. We were challenged to complete a superhero obstacle course set up in the outside area.
Most of us agreed that the creative class and physical training were our favourite parts of the superhero training.

​Year 1 Pupil Blog
This half term, year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed their new science topic ‘animals including humans’. They are confident in saying the different animal food groups (carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore), and which animal is associated to each group. In addition to this, year 1 have enjoyed learning about the different animal groups such as, mammals, amphibians, insects, birds, fish, and reptiles. They also found out that some animals do not have a backbone. These animals are called invertebrates. Common animals such as jellyfish, crabs, worms, and beetles are all invertebrates.
Furthermore, In English, year 1 have been looking at non-chronological reports. They have studied a range of non-chronological reports, identifying their features and answering questions based on the text they have read. This week, year 1 will be writing their own non-chronological reports about tigers. Ask your child if they can tell you a fact they have learnt about tigers, we bet they can!
Maths this week, year 1 have been focusing on counting on. First, they began by putting the greater number in their head and adding the next given number by counting on. They have done incredibly well learning this new skill and should be very proud of themselves.
Lastly, year 1 have enjoyed getting creative. They explored different plaiting, knotting, and threading techniques. Firstly, they began by taking three pieces of wool and tied a knot at the top, ensuring the wool was secure. Then they followed the plaiting rules they were taught at the beginning of the lesson leaving them with a secure plait. After this, year 1 experimented with knotting and threading. They threaded small beads onto a pipe cleaner, where it was clear they had to concentrate very hard to ensure beads were threaded onto the pipe cleaner securely.
“Tigers have orange fur and black stripes” – AB
“A tiger is a carnivore” – MA
“Tigers have big teeth and sharp claws” – SB
“Tigers live in Asia” - KW

A day in Year 3,

8:40 am Morning work – handwriting or mathematical challenges, getting Ready for learning – organising books and stationery. Our pupils have developed their Self-help and Self-responsibility values immensely, responding to instructions and rules Respectfully to keep each other Safe in our learning environment.

8:50 am registration – Silence! This is important, as we would not want to miss anyone.

9:00 am -10:00 am Maths - We are just rounding of our learning about different methods and strategies to solve multiplication and division calculations. We have used dienes, counters and other objects to multiply or share out amounts. The formal written method of multiplication, at first seemed a challenge but our perseverance and determination, enabled most of us to grasp the concept.

10:00 am – 10:20 am Phonics time – We get to go to different classes, meeting the different progression groups.

10:20 am – 10:35 am Time for a breather! (Breaktime)

10:35 am - 11:35 am English – This term our English lessons are inspired by Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where The Wild Thing Are.’ His brilliant imagination has encouraged us to create our own fantasy settings. To build our knowledge of vocabulary, we have used Thesauruses to find synonyms for simpler adjectives.

11:35 am – 12:00 pm (one more lesson to go!) Reading time – as a year group we are focusing on fluency and expression. The recently introduced strategy of ‘Echo reading’ has been a hit with the pupils.

12:00 pm – 12:50 pm LUNCH! Time to regenerate our minds, enjoying some football or just quiet time in the Hub with their friends.

12:50 pm registration – time to demonstrate their self-responsibility skills again, getting ready for learning, respectfully and safely.

In French, we have been learning to name body parts, and as we love a bit of a singsong, we have learned to sing Tête Épaules Genoux Pieds (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes).

On most days, our days end with a biscuit and a song! We really like singing Bob Marley’s Three Birds (Don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing will be alright....).
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This might read as if it has been a busy day, but time flies when you are having fun!

Since our return to school, pupil have been working hard and getting back into the swing of writing all the way across the school. This writing blog will check-in with our year groups and explore what our wonderful writers have been up to. 
Year One have been writing a diary based on the story ‘Katie in London’. The children have written a diary entry about the different places Katie and her brother Jack visited in London. I wonder what different places they visited on their day out? 
 
Year Two have also been focussing on diary entries since we returned to school. Pupils have been writing their diaries based on the story ‘Man on the Moon’. By using their knowledge of the appropriate features, they have successfully developed and enhanced their understanding of the genre. 
 
Year Three have been working on their setting descriptions, inspired by ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ - this week’s focus has been on broadening their knowledge of exciting adjectives, they used thesauruses to find adjectives that would uplevel their sentences. Pupils have been working hard and have been engaged with their learning as well as the tasks at hand. 
 
Year Four have been planning and writing a formal, persuasive letter to our local MP (Stephen Metcalf) about the global impact of single-use plastics on the environment and generating various suggestions to recycle in the community.  Some of these suggestions have been incredibly resourceful as well as sustainable for environment and local community. 
 
This week, Year Five have been planning and writing a formal, persuasive letter to various sources requesting a change to the working week or animal testing policies. Some of the discussions during these sessions have been very interesting and points have been raised and debated about changing various elements of these topics. 
 
Year Six pupils have been focussing on their mock SATs this week and during their English time have completed a Reading and SPaG test paper. After the tests, we have resumed our topic of formal letter writing. Pupils have been studying the Nazi persecution of Jewish people during WWII; their historical knowledge has been put into context to write a persuasive piece. They have been tasked with writing a letter (in role as a concerned citizen at the time) to a newspaper, requesting that they expose - to the rest of the world - what is really happening in Germany at that time. ​

Science blog – 18.01.23 
It is great to see all of the children back after a lovely Christmas break, ready to learn and excited for their new science topics.  
In Year 1 this term the children will be exploring the topic of Animals including humans. They can look forward to identifying, grouping and classifying animals based on characteristics such as whether they are a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. This week they are sorting animals into categories of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and insects. 
In Year 2 they will be venturing into the topic of Everyday materials. They will be identifying and comparing a variety of everyday materials such as wood, metal and plastic. This week they are grouping materials according to their uses. 
Year 3 children will be exploring the topic of plants. They will be learning to identify and describe the functions of parts of flowering plants and exploring what they need to survive. This week they are setting up an enquiry to investigate ideal conditions plants need to thrive. 
Year 4 will be exploring sound this half term. They will be identifying how sounds are made and find patterns between volume, pitch and the object producing it. This week they are conducting an experiment involving sound and vibration patterns of rice. 
In Year 5 this half term the children will be learning about forces. They will learn about forces including gravity, air resistance and friction. This week they will be introduced to a variety of forces, and understand how they affect us. 
Year 6 will also be learning about Animals including humans this term. They will be building on their prior knowledge and venturing into the circulatory system. They will learn what the main components of the circulatory system are and explore how exercise can affect it. This week they are using marshmallows and cocktail sticks to measure their pulse. ​