Primary Press April 2016

Parkfield Primary Press Edition 3 March 2016

Key Dates Please see below some of the key dates for this term. Details on specific items will follow.

Welcome I can believe that we are over half way though the year!

Primary Parents Evening 19/20th April SATs Week for Year 6 9-12th May Half Term 28th May- 6th June End of Summer Term 19th July

It has been a really busy term in the primary sector of the school, as you can see from this bumper edition of the Primary Press.

We have had a number of visitor and trips to enhance our fantastic learning in the classrooms, from Reception going to a farm to special science ninja sessions in the classrooms.

As we move towards the summer term I would like to welcome Mrs Claxton who joins us in Year 1 teaching Bees. I would also like to wish Bon Voyage to Mrs Bongioanni who has relocated to Switzerland

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with her family and we wish her every success in the future.

This will be the last published edition of the Primary Press as we move towards our Website being our main point of contact with Parents. The ability for class teachers to blog what is happening in the classrooms has been well received and provides you with clear and up to date information.

I hope you have all having a good holiday and look forward to a really productive term.

Dan Sears Vice Principal - Head of Primary

Reception We can’t believe we have reached half way in our school year. What a fantastic term we have had.!

This term we introduced “star of the day” with lots of children making the right choice and creating a difficult decision for the teachers. We also celebrated all those children who achieved 100% attendance during the Autumn term, We have been looking at space and technology. We have travelled around the solar system and visited the moon.

In topic our focus has been all about space and our planet Earth. We have travelled around the galaxy looking at different planets, what it would be like to be an astronaut and looking at the phases of the moon. In particular eating our way through a biscuit recreating the moon phases! We finished our space theme with emphasis on planet Earth.

We have looked at land, water and air and studied the globe introducing the names of all seven continents.

In Literacy, our focus was story and non-fiction books based on space. We have been very busy retelling stories, writing recounts and using describing words. In Maths we have learnt lots about 3D shapes, learnt how to add using different techniques and began using o’clock when learning about time.

After our little break it will be exciting to start next term looking at Spring and growth.

Reception

We have been very busy looking at different life cycles, animals and their young. We have been watching our tadpoles grow and planting beans and cress.

We have learnt how to subtract in maths and have been writing recounts and bean diaries.

We had a fantastic 2 days at the farm to end our topic for spring and growth.

We have also enjoyed World Book Day and a visit from Dr Evans, Head of Science, where we watched several experiments.

Key Stage 1 Year 1

This has been a busy term for the Year 1 classes. In literacy we have been looking at the grammar aspects of writing and how we can use different parts of speech to make our writing more interesting. We have focused on adjectives, imperative verbs and rhyming words.

We have used a variety of books to help us with this including” Handa’s Hen”, “We are Going on Safari”, “Don’t Let the Pidgeon Stay Up Late” and “Don’t Let the Pidgeon Drive the Bus”.

Numeracy lessons have seen us practising our number bonds, counting in sequence and estimating quantities.

Before Half-Term we focused on celebrations, taking part in Chinese New Year activities, pancake flipping (and eatingJ) and Valentine’s Day activities.

Year 2

Year 2 enjoyed their visit to Winchester Science Park. They asked some very insightful questions during the Planetarium show, and had lots of fun using the hands on exhibits. They also enjoyed making glow in the dark goo with the secondary students during Science week!

This term the children have been exploring the Iron Age and taking part in a range of art activities. We looked at the clothing of people at this time and the children used clay to create their own Torc Celtic necklaces. After looking more into Celtic life the children explored the role of the Celtic warrior and spent an afternoon transforming into a class of warriors. The children have also been learning about Chinese New Year and made lanterns using sugar paper, glitter and paint.

Montessori

Celtic Jewellery The children have been studying Celtic jewellery and have created their own Celtic Torcs

In topic, we have continued to follow the development of life on Earth with our focus being the first half of the Palaeozoic Era. Here we have studied creatures such as the Trilobite, corals and the development of the first vertebrates, namely fish. The children took part in tasting different kinds of fish (although this did make the classroom a little stinky!) and took a close look at the life cycle of the salmon. After half-term we continued to move through the latter part of the Palaeozoic Era, looking at the overcrowding of the sea due to the massive explosion of life and the subsequent invasion of the land in the search of food and space to grow. We have looked at amphibians, reptiles and insects and greatly enjoyed our visit from Crazy Creatures.

Key Stage 2 Year 3 Spring Term - First Half We have had a very exciting and busy half term in Year 3. Not only have we taken part in whole school activities for World Book and Day, National Science Day and Sports Relief we also spend a brilliant day at Dorchester Museum and the Tutankhamen Exhibition. W all thoroughly enjoyed this day out and learnt a lot as well.

In Maths the children have concentrated their efforts on learning about fractions, shapes, angles and numbers.

We have discussed fractions, including: 1/2 1/3, 1/4, 1/5,1/6 and 1/8. Using these fractions, the children have calculated different fraction amounts of whole numbers and have explored how fractions can look different but are actually the same (equivalent). We spent time identifying and finding acute and obtuse angles as we learnt that an angle is part of a 360 degree turn. We focused closely on right angles and how it is an L shape, a quarter turn and a 90 degree angle. We have learnt to partition three digit number into hundreds, tens and ones, and, using this knowledge, the children have added, subtracted and rounded three digit numbers.

In English we have looked at a variety of non-fiction texts such as instructions, explanations and non-fiction texts.

The children have successfully written their own reports managing to use sub-headings and paragraphs accurately to make their work easier to read. We have also been looking at Greek Myths, a topic the children are particularly enthusiastic about. We have been exploring the morals of each of the Greek Myths and the children have offered some very sensible ideas. We used a selection of Greek Myths to find new adjectives and verbs we hadn’t seen before so we can use these in the future to make our writing better. I am looking forward to the first week back after half term when children will write their own Greek Myth!

In Science we have labelled the parts of a plant and thought carefully about what each part does. We also learnt about the 7 life processes, ask your child if they can remember what the acronym MRS NERG stands for! We also set up our own experiment in the classroom to find out what plants need to grow, we’ve been observing, watering and measuring our plants regularly. It has been really interesting. When studying the topic of light we’ve looked at what light and darkness is, reflection, staying safe in the dark, shadows and the sun. The children have had very in inquisitive minds, producing super pieces of work including a staying safe in the dark poster for younger children.

In Topic our focus has been on ‘Treasure’. We have thought carefully about the role of an archaeologist. We did this by becoming one ourselves as we looked at different artefacts and tried to figure out what they were and which time period they were from. We have looked in great detail at the Discovery of Tutankhamen and created our own newspaper articles about the discovery. Finally, we have also built character profiles based on what we know about a historical figure and made judgements as to whether they were a good or a bad person. For example, we spent a lot of time looking at Henry VIII. Could your child tell you some facts or even sing you our song? We have explored in great depth primary and secondary sources to learn more about Tutankhamen, Henry VIII, The Rosetta Stone, Painting and artworks and finally, the history and geography of our local area. Children have been really enthusiastic, completing research tasks and putting together their own newspaper reports, information leaflets and pieces of art.

Finally, we must say how nice it is to see how ambitious our children are. In PSHCE we have been talking about different challenges we may face and what dreams we have for the future. It has been a pleasure to listen to them share their goals and ideas.

Key Stage 2 Year 4

This term we have become super scientists – exploring and learning ‘States of Matter’! This has meant that we have investigated, experimented and explored all that is involved in states of matter including; solids, liquids and gases, the water cycle, evaporation and much more!

Some of our favourite experiments have been weighing gas from fizzy drinks, melting chocolate in different water temperatures and creating our own investigations to test evaporation. Through this we learnt the melting point of chocolate (around 35 degrees), that most small cans of drink have around 2 grams of carbon dioxide (and that gases to have weight!) and that the hotter it is the more likely evaporation will take place!

This has also coincided nicely with science week, where we had the opportunity to make fluorescent slime!

Year 5 Willow class have had the most amazing half term. From kayaking and paddle boarding too our fabulous Science ninja workshops; the range of activities and learning has been tremendous.

One of Willow’s highlights was their recent residential trip to Land and Wave at the delightful Harrow House.

A little bad weather didn’t stop Willow from experiencing an array of activities including: raft building, fire lighting, team building activities and too many water based sports to mention.

Key Stage 2

Year 5 In class, Year 5 have been exploring the comical fiction texts by the renowned author Jeremy Strong. Willow managed to draft and write their own belly aching pieces of episodic writing which had the teachers and students roaring with laughter. Additionally, our mathematicians have been cooking up some pasta shapes as they explored the properties and angles of different members of the polygon family.

Year 6 Here is an overview of our half term here at Parkfield and some of the things we have been up to!!

We are really into our project ‘All Charged Up!’ We have been working on the Science area of this topic and have been investigating solar panels and wind turbines! We wrote to Mr Conaghan asking him to consider our persuasive letters!

We have planned how to make a solar oven and rubber band buggy! More pictures to follow once we have made our models!

We have a trip planned to Beaulieu in March to consolidate our project! This half term – we are working on our new RE and PSHE syllabus. In RE - we have explored the concept of ‘Eternal Life.’ The unit concluded with an art collage – the children worked in small groups to show their depiction of a perfect world! In PSHE – the pupils have been working on ‘Successes and Goals.’ Elm made totem poles showing steps to success!

Year Six are working their way through the timestable challenges and weekly spellings and making great steps to success! Lots of merit certificates are being given out from 25-75 merit awards! Great work ELM!

Focus on Montessori Maths - Multiplication Multiplication in the Montessori classroom is introduced in its basic form as early as Reception using the Short Bead Stairs. The children are shown that a two bead bar taken once has two beads, a two bead bar taken twice has a total of four beads and a two bead bar taken three times has six beads and so on. The children are also introduced to the visual representation of the multiplication sign and with the aid of prepared multiplication sum cards begin to write and complete multiplication work in their books.

Moving forward a step from the Short Bead Stairs are the bead chains, here the children use chains made up from bead bars using the same colour scheme as the bead stairs. Each chain is accompanied by a set of arrows bearing the sequence of numbers for the multiplication table represented by that chain. The child lays out the chain and then uses the arrows to label the last bead in each bar. Once this is done they can practise their skip counting skills by reading the number off each label. This can be made a little more difficult by turning some of the labels face down at random along the chain and encouraging the child to skip count along the chain again, filling in the gaps of the upturned labels as they go.

The Multiplication Board is a little more abstract in that the beads used are all the same colour, although the concept and method of use is very similar to that of the Short Bead Bars. The individual beads are positioned in the holes of the board in rows depicting the number of the multiplication table being worked with. The six times table for instance would be portrayed by rows of six beads.

The Golden Beads, Stamp Game and Bead Frame can all be used for multiplication with the multiplicand being built with the materials by how ever many times the multiplier depicts. This is a little restrictive, especially when larger numbers are in use, in these cases it is better to use the Checkerboard. The Checkerboard consists of four rows and nine columns of squares arranged in the hierarchical colours as seen before with the Golden Bead Materials, units are green, tens are blue and hundreds are red. The individual rows represent the place value as well as the partial products of multi-digit multiplication. Squares on the diagonal have the same place value. The child uses bead bars with this board enabling him to multiply large numbers without having to commit the multiplication facts to memory. With repetition, maths facts are mastered, opposing the conventional wisdom that says a child cannot complete multi-digit multiplication without memorising the multiplication tables.

Focus on Montessori Maths - Multiplication

The Pythagoras Board gives further reinforcement to the multiplication tables by enabling the child to lay out a series of tiles completing each multiplication table, when complete each table can be read vertically or horizontally as shown in the control chart below.

This can also be done in a more concrete manner by layiing out the quantites in bead bars, this exercise is known as Laying out the Decanomial Square.

Other materials can be utilised to aid with multiplication in the classroom: the Hundred Board can be used to lay tiles of any given multiplication sequence or simply to practise skip counting skills and the Square Root Board can be used to lay out arrays. These can also be reinforced with the Multiplication Charts.