Happy World Book Day!

We had an amazing World Book Day packed full of sewing, rapping, dressing up and getting a chance to read for the sheer joy of it. Happy World Book Day 2024!

Check out some of our fantastic costumes!

Bletchley Park

We have been finding out how to crack codes such as Caesar Cypher, Pig Pen Code and learned about the history of Bletchley Park.  Since then we have learned about 'brute force hacking' and how to keep our passwords safe. We compared human speed to computers when cracking a 3-digit code. 

Cricket

We have really enjoyed our Cricket sessions so far, focusing on catching, bowling and batting before we begin matches next week!

Stations of the Cross

Year 3/4 lead the Stations of the Cross for us. Each station helped us to discuss each stage of Jesus' Passion and to reflect in prayerful participation in each part of Jesus' journey. 

Classifying Living Things

To start our new topic, we chose categories to classify different plants and discussed our choices. We learned about the main groups of living things and then looked at classifying species based on their common characteristics. 

Mindfulness Day

As part of Children's Mental Health Week, we had a really calm, peaceful day experiencing a range of mindful activities. These all reminded us of the message from this year's theme, "My Voice Matters". 

Candlemas

Candlemas is a Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple by Joseph and Mary. UKS2 went to mass and all brought a candle to the altar. Father John told us about how he blesses all the candles in church for the year. 

Year 2 Super Writers!

In our English lesson, Year 2 came to visit and show us their amazing riddle poems! They were fantastic! We loved reading them together and working out the answer to their riddles!

Chronology

We started our History topic with our time box, working cooperatively to place the different subjects we have learned at school into chronological order. New for this half-term, we have added in the Early Islamic Empire, which provides some interesting contrasts to the Vikings from last year.

Poetry 

We have recently been looking at poetry in English. Our work has been focused on the poet Rachel Rooney. Firstly, we looked at performing a poem. Next, we looked at different types of poems, such as haikus, limericks, sonnets, and free verse poetry. We are now focusing on creating our own free verse poem.

Safer Internet Day 

On Safer Internet Day, we learned about different 'Persuasive Techniques'  apps and games use - sometimes for positive or negative reasons. We discussed influencers and how they should use their platforms for good, before designing our own influencer. 

Blood and Diffusion

To help us understand more about blood, we enjoyed using ingredients and items to represent its main components and their roles in our bodies. We have also looked at the diffusion of nutrients in the blood, and demonstrated this process using skittles and water. 

Internet Safety

In Computing, we have been learning about ways to stay safe online, and to remember how important it is to be aware of our digital footprint. We made presentations online to offer others advice for a safer online presence. 

The Early Islamic Civilisation

To introduce our new topic, we enjoyed using clues to find out why the Early Islamic Civilisation is so important to learn about. In another lesson, we followed clues to draw the city of Baghdad at this time, before writing an advert to come and visit this amazing city!

Explore Solve Challenge

The ‘explore solve challenge’ learning theme has introduced children to Outdoor and Adventurous Activities (OAA) working collaboratively and
individually to solve a range challenges in different spaces around the school. The unit  also began to introduce children to the skills and knowledge needed to map read and orienteer.

The Blues

In Music, we have been exploring what Blues music is, how different pieces make us feel and the history behind the genre. We've started to learn the Blues chords, starting with the chord of 'C'. 

Dance

At the beginning of our current PE topic, we listened to two different pieces of music and chose movements to match. We then played a game called 'chance choreography' using chosen movements and a dice to create a routine.

The Bible

Our RE topic has been focusing on the importance of books, and in particular, The Bible. We have been practising locating exact Bible verses, before comparing differing recounts in the Gospels and comparing both The Bible and The Torah. 

The Circulatory System

We have been learning all about the parts of the Circulatory System. To start our topic, we made a heart model which simulated our heart pumping blood around our bodies. 

Liturgical Prayer 

This half term we focused on 1 Corinthians 13 during prayerful time. We discussed the meanings of scripture and reflected silently on how to love ourselves and one another. Children wrote on love heart templates and some children shared those prayerful reflections.  

Anti-bullying week

Children focused on the theme - 'Make A Noise'. Children designed their own odd socks with empowering words on. We discussed the differences between banter and bullying and how we all need to work together to tackle bullying. 

Gymnastics

During our gymnastics unit we have been focusing on the topic - symmetry, balance, travel. We have looked at symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns with our bodies. We have also used balances and counter balances with a partner to create a sequence. 

Vocations

We welcomed Father John Dale to our classes to talk about what it means to be called by God to do some definite service. We are all so grateful to be able to ask challenging questions and have the time to reflect on the services that priests perform.

Vikings

We started our History topic with our time box, placing the dates the Vikings were raiders and settlers in Britain. Then we imagined we were Anglo Saxons and could see an approaching Viking longboat, we could send one scout out at a time to look, before returning to our group and gradually we drew what they could see. 

Bible Studies

We started our next text in Bible Studies, the story of Esther, Purim. We read the story and discussed any questions we have so far. 

Our Local Community

During Advent, the GIFT Team visited two local care homes to deliver a short interactive service featuring some of our Advent prayer stations. These visits were incredibly well received by the residents and staff and it was an excellent way for pupils to bear witness to their faith in our wider community.

Road Safety

Visitors from the council joined us to discuss how we can be safe around roads - especially as the days are getting colder and darker. We explored how clothing choices can help keep us safe as pedestrians and how passengers in cars always need to wear seat belts.

Alma

We've very much enjoyed the start of our new English topic after watching the clip, 'Alma'. We have enjoyed identifying the key themes, describing the unusual shop front, and creating 'mood' graphs. 

Library Visits

Over this half-term, classes have been visiting Little Hulton Library to take advantage of having such a wonderful resource on our doorstep. We have taken sign-up sheets home and many of us are joining our local library!

Commitment

In RE, we have been discussing what Commitment is, and how people show this. We discussed different roles and jobs and the amount of commitment this requires. 

Christmas Carols

Our annual Carol Service was a wonderful afternoon as always. it was great to see so many parents, carers and parishioners there to support us and listen as we bore witness to the story of the first Christmas through prayer, song and poetry.

Periscopes

To apply our understanding of how objects are seen because light, which can be reflected, enters our eyes, we created our own periscopes to see above us and around corners.

Dark

To start our new Science topic, we debated what we can see in complete darkness. Then we went to the 'cave' in school and experienced total darkness. We then created light mazes using mirrors and CDs to cast light from the torch to the 'eye'. This demonstrated how light travels in straight lines. 

Decimals

In Year 6, we have been looking at decimals and used the concrete resources to represent ones, tenths, hundredths and thousandths. 

Liturgical Prayer

During our liturgical prayer session, we focused on remembrance. We wrote prayers for all those who lost their lives in war. We created an altar to commemorate them using poppies, and reflected as a group about how we can live in their honour. 

Big Questions

We have been thinking deeply about the Big Question: Do you have to earn love? We explored the question right at the start of our unit, but after studying the theme of Unconditional Love, we returned together to share our deepening understanding.

Evolution by Natural Selection

We looked at how peppered moths and giraffes have evolved over time due to natural selection, which happens in response to a change in environment, or competition between species.

Finally, we collected class data on our choices between smarties or raisins... using our results we discussed which 'species' would survive longer, or how a 'species' might change over time based on our results. 

Common Multiples

Year 6 have been investigating multiples to find common multiples and the lowest common multiple of sets of numbers. Lots of hard work paid off and our learning is going to help us in our next unit of Fractions.

Evolution and Inheritance: Fossilisation!

To start our new Science topic, we made a huge timeline across the playground to demonstrate  how long humans have been on Earth in relation to the first signs of life. We learned that fossils tell us about the species that lived 100,000s of years before us. Then we had a go at making fossil casts of shells. 

Place Value

Year 6 have been getting to grips with reading and writing numbers up to 10,000,000. A sound understanding of Place Value helps us to feel confident in Maths - we can get some extra practise on our Mathletics accounts!

Peer Editing

We all bring different strengths to class. One strength that lots of us seem to share this year is our ability to support one another with our writing. It is great to see so many of us collaborating. 

On Care For Our Common Home

Classes have been exploring recent news articles that involve how climate change is impacting our world. It was shocking to see how interconnected everything is, from how we produce Lego bricks to how temperatures influence bird migration. Some stories were positive though, and we saw how our faith calls us to act.

World Unite

We learned about melodic shape by singing and playing 'World unite' and showing the shape of the pitch and melody in our bodies. We followed the examples before creating our own!

Darwin's Finches

We have researched Charles Darwin and his work 'The Origin of Species'. We 'simulated' the different adaptions of finches that he discovered on the Galapagos Islands to see which were most suitable for the chosen food source: sunflower seeds.

The Day the Stationery Quit!

We received letters from multiple pieces of disgruntled stationery who have not always been treated as they should. It's up to us to persuade them to return! We started to think of ideas to entice the stationery to be reinstated. 

Make My Voice Heard

We are studying drawing techniques in Art this half-term. In our first lesson, we created a research page in our sketchbook to gather imagery, pattern and colour ideas from Maya art – just as Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, may have done. 

Natural Resources

In Geography we have been learning about Natural Resources. This week we found out about The National Grid by modelling, researching, summarising and map reading. 

Harvest Mass

Years 5 and 6 visited church together to celebrate harvest time and to reflect on the importance of supporting our communities in hard times. We also reflected on the interconnectedness of all of our learning this half-term: Laudato Si', Family, Wangari Maathai, Natural Resources... everything in our world is connected!

Writing

After learning a suspense story, we got to work creating our own stories with a similar style. There are great heights, daring escapes and classes full of tarantulas - we're having a great time using our imaginations!

Symbolic Art

We have all found out and drawn our  Maya Spirit companion and considered its meaning.  We then took inspiration from work by Dan Fenelon called ‘A Walk In The Sun.’ We created our own pieces filled with symbols, patterns and colours that represent us. 

Prayer Bags

A member of each class has been chosen each week to take the class prayer bag home. We encourage you to look at the items inside together and enjoy using them at home. 

Laudato Si'

We have been deepening our understanding of Laudato Si'. First, we read an excerpt and asked questions to inform the next discussion. We chose the song, 'Laudato Si' O Mi Signore' as a celebration. Then, we summarised what we felt were the main messages into Tweets.

Tag Rugby

In PE we are starting Tag Rugby this half term. This week we practised our throwing skills and in particular, throwing backwards to a partner.