Oak - Week Beginning 14th November 2022
In Maths this week we have been discovering square and cubed numbers and multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000. We have been using our knowledge from last week when we revised multiples, factors and prime numbers to help us to solve tricky number problems too. The children especially enjoyed using the concrete equipment to experiment with square and cube numbers before answering abstract questions.
Across the whole school we have had a focus on Anti-Bullying through assemblies and our PSHE lessons. I also signed Oak Class up to UK Parliament week this week too, so we have combined both these topics to create an Anti-Bullying Bill which we hope to take to the school council and Mrs Peacey to approve and make it a part of our everyday school life. The children came up with lots of ideas of how we can help to promote happy children in school and on the playground to prevent any hurtful or unkind behaviour that could develop into bullying. They presented and then debated these ideas, before voting which were the ideas they would like to put forward for approval. We will update in our blog when any decisions have been made.
In our writing lessons we have been putting together all our skills to write a non-chronological report about pyramids. Throughout our learning journey this half term, we have covered various aspects of this writing genre and produced some excellent writing. We have had a particular focus on the quality of our sentences by ensuring we use a range of conjunctions, link together the sentences within and across our paragraphs and how to structure a paragraph too keep it as informative as possible.
On Wednesday with Mrs Thompson, the children started a DT project to research, design and make a prototype of an Ancient Egyptian Shaduf. These were used to irrigate the fields on the banks of the River Nile enabling the farmer to grow a wide range of crops which sustained life so well for the Egyptians. They worked brilliantly together and Mrs Thompson was full of praise for the class. Next week they will use their designs to produce their actual construction - more shaduf pictures next week too!
On Friday we had a real treat because Mr Chattell, one of our parents and governors, visited our class to show us the fantastic photographs he has taken, in and around our village, of the night skies. He showed us constellations, the Milky Way, other galaxies beyond our own, a Supernova, nebula, wonderful moon pictures and many other wonderous images. He explained how he managed to capture these shots and how precise and time consuming it is. The children were mesmerised by the images and really enjoyed listening too - maybe he will inspire a new hobby in some of the children - fingers crossed. Look out for the Leonids meteor shower in the sky at the moment!
If you are thinking of gift suggestions for Father Christmas this year, I would recommend the following magazine subscriptions as an alternative reading source for the children who struggle to get excited by books. They are very engaging and may motivate even those reluctant readers we try very hard to inspire.
First News a current affairs magazine: Award-winning weekly newspaper for children | First News | Try for FREE
The Week - another news-based magazine: The Week Junior Magazine | Welcome
National Geographic Kids for all the environment, nature and animal lovers: Magazines for Kids (nationalgeographic.com)
For keen scientists; Whizz Pop Bang - The awesome science magazine for children or Children's Magazine for Tweens to Teens | Aquila Magazine
We also dressed up in our own clothes and some with dots to raise money for Children in Need on Friday. It was lovely to see such an array of colourful clothes and not a sea of blue uniforms.
