Happy New Year and I hope all had a fantastic Christmas break. The children have returned refreshed and our attendance has been excellent. We have concentrated on reading this week and I have highlighted the importance of your children reading at home and in school and I have reminded them to enter an entry in their reading diaries. We looked at a comprehension together and have completed several sessions of reading over the week.

In Literacy, we looked at ‘Discussion’ and their respective features and in Maths we looked at ‘Position and Direction’ – we continue with both themes next week. In RE, we looked at the Jewish creation story, we looked at coding in IT and in Music we started learning ‘Happy’. The children had an extra PE session on Friday afternoon and they will have another, led by Mike Edwards, on Monday. The children are aware of this but should they forget their kit I will ask our office to contact you to inform you that your child couldn’t take part due to their lack of kit.

Homework has changed in so much as previous homework was optional and theme related. We have had some great model bridges and I look forward to seeing the completed art work from the last half term. Homework with effect from this week until SATs becomes mandatary. The homework set will follow what we cover in class and acts as great revision. The completion of homework is very important as the only person it will benefit directly is your child. If they struggle please ask them to come and see me but not on the day it is due to be handed in as that will be too late for me to help. The homework needs to be completed in their new books. Each child has 6 books, these cost £4 each – if your child mislays them we can not afford to replace them so please ensure they look after them. The homework shouldn’t take more than an hour each week and is good practise for when they go to Secondary where homework features strongly.

In the event of any queries please see me or call the office and I will contact you by return. Thank you, as always, for your continued support and assistance in helping your child reach their full potential. I’ll publish our curriculum coverage intention for the term early next week.

Have a great weekend.

IT’S CHRISTMAS! What a busy week. We have been carrying out a few Christmas activities and we have finished off a few topics so we can have a fresh curriculum start in January. We completed our last Gymnastics session on Monday – the children liked performing their sequences to the rest of the class.

We went to the Abbey on Tuesday and took part in a Christingle Service – the children were a delight to take and I was proud of their behaviour and their interaction whilst at the service. Similarly their contribution was valued and appreciated in the school Christmas Performance at the local Baptist church.

Our Science topic is now complete and we move onto Evolution and Inheritance in the New Year. In Literacy, we completed our Highwayman Unit – the children particularly enjoyed acting out their specific scenes.

We finished off the term watching ‘The Christmas Carol’ – this was a recent class book and I thought the children would appreciate the Shrewsbury setting. It is a bit of a classic.

Myself, Mrs Shadbolt and Mrs Lewis would like to wish you and your family a safe, enjoyable and memorable Christmas and New Year – we look forward to the new term but will take advantage of the time off, the chance to catch up with friends and family and the predicted rest.

Thank you also for your continued support over the term; it is appreciated.

In PE this week, the children perfected their gymnastic sequences. We continued with our Highwayman poetic study and in maths we looked at percentages. In RE we looked at the significance of Christingle in preparation for our visit to the Abbey next Tuesday. We had a rehearsal of the school Christmas Performance and will be back in the church next Thursday to celebrate the Christmas story. We had our Christmas lunch and many children in the class had their flu immunisations. In line with the country the children voted for the political party they wanted to win in the election and results were shared in celebration assembly on Friday. Another busy but fun week – we read ‘The Christmas Carol’ and will watch the movie (the version filmed in Shrewsbury) later next week.

I can’t believe it is December already. The tree is up in the hall and we have been reading a selection of Christmas short stories in Assembly. We will watch the EYFS dress rehearsal and the KS1 dress rehearsal over the next couple of days and we will take part in the rehearsal for our Christmas Performance in the church.

In Literacy, we started a really good narrative poem that the children are really enjoying. In Maths, we have looked at more functions within fractions. We have studied the heart and lungs in Science and we managed to squeeze the Pantomime of Aladdin in on Monday afternoon – it was great.

We are about to start the penultimate week before the Christmas break and the excitement for Christmas it beginning to increase – what a great time of year!

Have a great weekend.

We have completed a few assessments this week. These assessments help me with my planning, delivery and the differentiation of the work your child gets. It is an opportunity to see where they are with their current attainment and it helps me allocate children to groupings, for example within Guided Reading. I will allocate some time in the next fortnight to feedback the results to your children – they will have new targets as a result of my assessment analysis.

In literacy, we retold a short story and in maths we looked at adding and subtracting fractions. We looked at nativity stories from two perspectives in RE and the children had another gymnastic session where they designed and performed a sequence.

We have a visiting Pantomime in school on Monday and the children will rehearse for our upcoming carol concert.

Have a great weekend; it is due to get colder so please ensure your children have their jumpers and coats in school.

This week has flown. In Literacy, we continued our poetry unit; we completed the week creating our own alternative version of a famous poem that concentrates on imagery. In maths, we looked at fractions, namely equivalents, ordering and simplifying.

We will continue with our fraction unit next week and concentrate on using the functions within fractions. In Literacy, we will focus on writing and grammar.

In RE, we recapped the Christmas story and in Science we started our new body unit where we study the organs linked to the circulatory system. We will continue with these themes next week.

Miss Shadbolt is continuing to enjoy her experience within Willow and has taken a few lessons that the children have enjoyed and fully contributed towards. She is a real asset to the class and will be with us until February.

Have a super weekend.

We have had a super week. Monday was particularly sporty with Orienteering then Gymnastics in the afternoon. The children had their normal PE lesson, on Wednesday, and in PSHE, that day, the children discussed the sequence of family trees.

We started our Poetry study in Literacy and in Maths we began our Fraction topic. We discussed Bullying in PSHE, progressing to a chat about what to do if the children are bullied and a definition as to the term. We then created our ‘odd socks’ for a whole school display. We completed our Science Light unit with a closing experiment and we start the new topic next week.

The children handed in their topic homework and I was particularly impressed with the effort many children put into the tasks. Some received raffle tickets and the 5 most impressive entries received a golden GoGo! More homework was given on Friday – again a new PowerPoint, topic-related list of optional tasks.

Have a super weekend; fingers crossed the rain stop!

Thank you to all the parents that attended the recent Parent’s Evenings. I really enjoy meeting you and discussing your child’s progress. If I didn’t get chance to meet you please try and arrange a meeting, via the school office, so we can discuss how your child is doing in the time he has been with me.

The first week in the new half term has been a busy as ever. In maths we have looked at prime numbers and factors and we studied numbers associated with WW1. We have now almost completed our literacy Newspaper topic; we move onto the conventions of poetry next week. In Geography we looked at the main rivers in the United Kingdom and in PSHE the children discussed what makes Britain great.

On Monday’s, from now until the end of term, the children have an extra PE session (Gymnastics) so please remind them to bring their kit into school.

We have a 3rd year student in the class from Chester University – she is called Miss Shadbolt and she will be working closely with me and the class until well into the next term. Miss Shadbolt has really enjoyed the last week, has settled in really well and has already worked with many of the children so far.

Have a great weekend.

The end of the first half term. It has been a busy but fun and enjoyable first term of the year. We are on track in terms of my Curriculum intention and the children have continued to work hard.

The last half term was quite long but the children managed to maintain a great work ethic until, and including, the last day. Several children in the class represented the school in the Indoor Athletics Competition this last Friday and they were a credit to you, their class and the school.

We continued our Maths Division study – next term, we move onto Fractions. In Literacy we studied Journalistic Writing; we will complete this topic early next term.

On the PD Day, I learnt how to integrate iPad into lessons; I will endeavour to include them more within our normal lessons – I imagine they will now be in high demand!

I hope your children have a great Halloween and half term break. We return on 4th November and it is Parent’s Evening on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings – if you haven’t made an appointment yet please do so by contacting the office.

Thank you for your support in the last half term and I look forward to meeting you at Parent’s Evening.