The Snowy Owls proudly showed off their homework. It was wonderful to see that they had worked hard on their home learning and enjoyed finding out more about our topics with the help of family members. 

The Snowy Owls have been learning about money. Using money in real life situations is key in securing understanding and developing confidence - please support your child to explore with real coins at home (the school coins are plastic replicas and not the quite the same as the real thing!). 

The Tawny Owls having been learning about Ancient Egypt this term. Today, they had a practical lesson where they began the process of mummification. First they had to wash their tomato. Then make an incision on the left hand side and scoop out all the insides. Next they had to clean it inside and out, before finally packing salt into, and around it. The children are excited to see what has happened to their tomatoes when they return after half term.

The Snowy Owls set up an experiment to investigate how water travels through a plant. They dyed water using food colouring and then put celery in the water. The coloured water will travel up the plant in a part called the xylem. The process of soaking up water through a plant is called transpiration. We learnt that if a plant doesn't get enough water it will wilt - like most of the plants in our classroom!!

Key Stage 2 attended a virtual assembly led by Jade Simmons from the Youth Mental Health Foundation. A charity that promotes positive choices for mental health. Jade is 19 so was able to really relate to the children and share her experiences of growing up. Jade has ADHD and she explained how our differences are what make us special. Jade discussed setting positive goals and targets. She also talked about how visualising ourselves doing something that makes us happy can help in times of difficulty. 

The Snowy Owls have been continuing to learn the recorder with Mrs Dixon. They are getting really good at playing London's Burning. 

Barn Owls joined the online British Council event today to mark the 80th anniversary of the D day landings. Barn Owls children asked some very interesting and exciting questions to Ken Hay. Ken fought in Normandy as a Private in the 43rd Essex Regiment for just a few days before being captured by the Nazis.  Despite the issues with sound, all the children were very interested in his detailed answers. The Y6's in particular, are even more excited for their trip to Normandy. 

This week we were visited by Rev. Brooks. Rev. Brooks did an experiment which showed that even though we can not see air we know it is there and can feel its effects. This the what Christians believe about the Holy Spirit. 

​To mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week on Monday, Key Stage 2 children took part in a virtual assembly delivered by the charity 52Lives. Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 will run until Sunday 19thMay, the theme this year is “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Across all classrooms, movement is always important with children encouraged to take part in daily sensory movement breaks. These breaks contribute to alertness and concentration.  Having the opportunity to move and be active whilst recognising the important impact this has on the way we feel is an important skill for life.  

The Tawny Owls have been working incredibly hard over the past few weeks and their behaviour and attitude to learning is improving continually. To celebrate this the children had their bead treat and created Ancient Egyptian Collars, linked to their History topic. I think you'll agree they look fantastic!

Some of the Tawny Owls children went around school putting up the fantastic Catch It, Bin It, Kill It posters they made in our recent PSHE lesson. The group spoke to the Owlets class about the importance of good hygiene and how they can help to stop the spread of germs. 

We are so proud of our Year 6s this week. They have approached the tests with such confidence and positivity. The special breakfasts have helped. The whole school is supporting us this week. A big thank you to Tawny Owls for being so quiet in the room next door. Mrs Jordan had to check they were actually in school today because they were so quiet. Well done everyone, but especially the superhero Year 6s.

In Barn Owls we are trying to keep active in line with this year's theme of 'movement'. Year 6s are stretching, breathing deeply and doing superhero poses each morning before SATs. We are continuing with our running before lunch every day as we work towards a half marathon. We have also started our sports day practice with Mr Burns today.

The Snowy Owls took advantage of the beautiful weather and completed a mindfulness activity outside. Everyone felt calm and relaxed after the session - a great way to end the week. 

The Snowy Owls continue to work on their artwork inspired by William Morris. This week they focused on their final tile design and used tracing paper to make copies. The tracing paper proved to be a very exciting resource! 

The Tawny Owls asked for donations during their winter play and all the families and friends were incredibly generous. The children then spoke about what they could use the money for and they decided to buy play equipment for their outdoor classroom. Some of the resources have arrived and been put together for us. The children are really looking forward to using them over the coming weeks. Thank you to everyone that contributed towards these. 

Alongside this half terms science topic - plants, the Tawny Owls have been looking at how to create a dance motif using this as a stimulus. As well as performing simple movements and patterns, they have been learning a variety of language such as, unison and canon. They have then been working in partners or small groups to perform to the rest of the class with inspirational music like, The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss. 

Barn Owls received replies to their penpal letters today. It was very exciting to read about their hobbies, pets and family. We were impressed with their handwriting and it was reassuring to see that they were learning similar phrases in English to those we are learning in French.

This week during their PSHE session, the Tawny Owls children looked at how germs spread. Paint represented the germs and it went everywhere - even on Mrs Lammas' face, which the children thoroughly enjoyed seeing! They then created posters saying, Catch It, Bin It, Kill It which will be put up around the school, reminding others of the importance of good hygiene. 

The children in the Tawny Owls have been drawing observational pictures of plants and labelling them in Science. They also discussed the different terminology and language used for parts of plants and trees. 

This half term, the Tawny Owls have been really enjoying their art unit, where they are learning how to manipulate paper to form sculptures. Look at these 3D monochrome art sculptures they created this week! Over the past few weeks, they have been learning a variety of techniques which will enable them to produce a sculpture of a flower - which is linked to their science topic, Plants.