Weekly News! 29.11.24
What a truly wonderful week we have had in class! The children have been working exceptionally hard, and I am incredibly proud of their efforts and enthusiasm.
As we embrace the festive season, I’m excited to inform you that our nativity practice is well underway! The children are already showing great promise in their performances, and it’s heartwarming to see their creativity and teamwork blossoming. It’s a delightful time of year, and we encourage you to support your little ones by discussing their roles and helping them with any lines or songs they might need to memorise.
Letters and lines have been sent out, if these have been misplaced or you would like some support with costumes, please let us know 😊
English
We have been working carefully on our sounds and red words, and I must say, the children have been truly impressing their teachers with their excitement and effort. Additionally, we have been focusing on maintaining nice, neat handwriting, which is really beginning to show in their work!
In our English groups, we have been delving into the delightful world of the "Stick Man" and exploring his adventurous journey. The children have shown remarkable enthusiasm as we tackled some tricky questions about his experiences and the challenges he faced. It has been heartening to see their creativity flourish; they summarised the story beautifully and even devised their own questions to pose to the stickman himself!
To further immerse themselves in the narrative, we also introduced a fun activity called "hot seating." This allowed the children to take on the role of the stickman and respond to their peers' questions in character. The excitement and engagement from the children during this activity were truly commendable, and it fostered a wonderful atmosphere of collaboration and imagination in the classroom.
Reading
Reading at 3 - Every Friday at 3 our doors will be open for you to come in and read with your child, please note, this will be for the full 15 minutes and children should not leave any earlier. Their books will be set up and ready for you to come in and enjoy listening to their wonderful reading.
Reading folders – Some children will continue to bring home two books, one being a RWI home book. Children are expected to try and read this three times during the week to ensure they are building on their reading fluency. The RWI home books will be changed by an adult.
The other book (with the coloured sticker) should be changed independently by the child themselves - first thing in the morning is a great time to do this!
Some children have been moved onto the accelerated reader programme. We will continue to assess and move more children onto this when they are ready. Children can change these books after they have completed the quiz online. The AR login can be found here… https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/1892319
For a guide on how to use Accelerated Reader please click here… https://www.chiltonprimary.co.uk/accelerated-reader
Please ensure that the reading folders are placed in the reading trays/baskets, so we can read with your children and ensure books get changed. Thank you for your support with this!
Please listen to your child read as much as possible at home and record this in their reading records. Every week, one child from each class will receive a reading certificate in our Chilton Heroes assembly.
Maths
In our maths lessons this week, we have been focusing on fractions! I am thrilled to say that the children have shown impressive progress in understanding various fractions, namely halves, quarters, and thirds.
To make learning about fractions even more engaging, we incorporated some hands-on activities using Play-Doh. This tactile approach seemed to resonate well with the students, allowing them to visually and physically manipulate the shapes as they explored what these fractions look like. The children particularly enjoyed answering some tricky reasoning questions, and I was pleased to see their creativity shine through as they demonstrated their understanding.
Next week we will be looking at statistics!
Thematic
We have been exploring the Great Fire of London, focusing on the order of events that unfolded during this significant historical event. The children have been working hard to organise these events chronologically, which has greatly enhanced their understanding of the timeline and its impact on the city.
To deepen our learning, we discussed different types of sources, specifically primary and secondary sources. This was an intriguing aspect of our lessons, particularly when we had the opportunity to read an actual newspaper report from 1666! The students were fascinated by the language used and the context of the news at that time.
Additionally, Team Azure finally got to meet some local firefighters. Last week, they had been called out for a real emergency, and they took the time to visit our class again this week. The firefighters were very impressed with the children’s knowledge and enthusiasm regarding the Great Fire of London. It was an inspiring moment for our learners!
