Maple Class

Well done to everyone for their brilliant dancing during the May Day celebrations this morning. We all agree that Myles and Noreen both made a fantastic May King and Queen. This week has been 'Walk to school week'. Thank you to everyone who either walked, cycled or scooted to school to help look after ourselves and the planet. The adults enjoyed joining lots of you on Wednesday morning when we walked to school together from the common. We are coming to the end of our book, Gangsta Granny,  so in English we have written book reviews. We thought about what our favourite parts were, who we would reccomend it to and any changes that we would make if we were to write it. Our artist of the term is Monet. This week we been exploring different textures and colours in art. We have created our own artwork inspired by Monet's 'Houses of Parliment' during different weathers. Well done to Leo who has been working really hard this week to continue practising his learning ...

It's been a busy week in Maple Class! In maths we have been learning to use the most  efficent strategy when solving subtraction number sentences. We practised using empty numberlines when we can't solve the problem in our head. Today we wrote alternative endings for the traditional tale Goldilocks and the three bears. There were lots of creative ideas such as Goldilocks making the bears porridge to say sorry and the bears breaking into Goldilocks' house! We are busy practising our maypole dancing ready for our May Day celebrations on Friday 25th May. Our May King and Queen is Myles and Noreen. In PSHE we have been thinking about ways to keep our bodies healthy including eating healthy foods, drinking lots of water, regular exercising and getting enough sleep and rest. Mrs Byrne came to visit us today and she was really proud of all of our learning. Congratulations to Jake who is Star of the Week for trying new healthy foods. We hope that Ellis enjoys his weeken...

In creative writing, we watched  a short animation about a girl who found a tube of bubbles which took her on adventures. We wrote our own stories or diary entries about going on a journey in a bubble. Well done to Lucy who went into the Star book for her fantastic story opening. 'One beautiful morning Harry was on the beach. Just then he tripped over something colourful. He picked it up the bottle and read the little label carefully and it said: Bubbles for people under ten. Harry was seven so he could use it. He turned the lid and lots of bubbles flew out of the bottle! "What is happening?" screamed Harry.' We have been revising shape and fractions in maths this week. We found halves, quarters and thirds of shapes and numbers. We were then challenged to apply our learning to different problems. In PSHE we thought about the difference between good and bad secrets. Eden  - a good secret is a surprise, you keep it for a bit but the person always finds out at th...

We wrote our own poems in the style of 'The Train Ride' by June Cribbin. We used adjectives to describe the different settings that the train passed and drew illustrations to match. In maths, we have been using directional language to describe routes such as left, right, half and qaurter turn. We have also been telling the time - please continue to practise this at home. All of the ducklings have hatched! We had great fun putting them into the paddling pool and watching them splash around. We have been scientists this week and carried out investigations about which cars will travel the furthest. We applied our predicting, observational and recording skills to the investigation. Night is spending the weekend with Blake. Lucy is Star of the Week for being a kind and caring friend. Reminder: Friday is the school disco

Today we have come to school wearing our sporty clothes to raise awareness of the Fun Run which is happening on 20th May. We all have been given sponser forms now and you can sign up here www.redbournfunrun.co.uk  . In maths we have been learning to find the mass (g/kg) and capacity (ml/l). We used < > signs to compare the weight of different objects. Can you continue to practise reading scales when cooking/baking at home? We have been historians in topic by comparing old and new trains. Gracie – on old trains there were windows but on new trains there is air conditioning Ramsey – there are rooms on old trains Elliot – steam trains need coal, water and fire to run and new trains are electric or diesel.   In English we have been exploring a poem called ‘From a Railway Carriage’. We have been detectives looking for verbs and plurals within the poem. We will be continuing to write our own poems next week.  ...

Welcome back! When we returned from our Easter holidays our school had become Redbourn Primary School. We are reminding each other to use the words Upper and Lower school. We also met Mrs Hinchliffe our new Head Teacher. We have welcomed Mrs Hinchliffe by drawing her portrait. Today was the very special opening of our school and we have planted a tree to remember. On Wednesday we had a fantastic trip to Buckinghamshire Railway Centre to start our new topic called ‘All Aboard!’ Ramsey: I liked when we rode on the Steam train, it went forwards and backwards slowly. Luca: We had lunch outside in the sunshine Kaspar: We learnt there are three types of train - steam, electric and diesel. Kaitlyn: The miniature train was my favourite part because there were lots of characters to spot We learnt that steam trains need water, coal and fire and it can take up to three hours to get a steam train ready to go!   Well done to everybody for representing our school so w...

Today is Sport Relief so we have all come to school wearing sporty clothes. We have celebrated by completing 'stop and moves' as well as doing a circuit in the hall. Thank you to everyone who brought in a donation. We have been learning about fractions in maths, including halves, quarters and thirds. Sam/Ciara - a fraction is when we split something into equal groups. Can you practise recalling your halves to 20 at home? In English, we applied our history facts to write a non-chronological report about Queens. Before we wrote our report, we created a plan that included a heading, subheadings, introduction and conclusion. Night is spending the weekend with Eden for her real love for learning. Well done to Eisha who is star of the week for her fantastic attitude towards her work. We would appreciate any donations of boxes of tissues in Maple Class. Thank you.

Congratulations to everyone for your fantastic sharing assembly with such clear, confident talking and super singing! This week has been British Science Week. We have created reptiles out of just square pieces of paper. We also learnt about air resistance by making parachutes from different materials and investigating which material fell the slowest. We are learning about Queens in history and have been recording facts in English ready to write a non-chronological report next week. We read a funny story called 'The Queen's knickers'. In creative writing we designed our own pair of knickers and wrote a letter to the Queen explaining what they are and what occasion she can wear them. It's been division week this week in maths so we have been applying out sharing strategies to solve problems. Well done to Noreen for learning her sharing assembly lines very last minute - you are spending the weekend with Night. Rio is Star of the Week for being spotted around school...

In maths we have been learning about multiplication. At the start of each lesson, we have been practising our 3 x table. We've been think about using the most efficient strategy - if we can't solve it mentally then we use an array. We wrote character descriptions about Percy the Park Keeper in English. We thought about his appearance, personality, likes/dislikes and my opinion. Sam - 'Percy is helpful because he cleans up all the leaves in the park' Eden - 'Percy is generous because when the animal's house fell down he made them a new one' Rafferty - 'Percy has red, rosy cheeks from working hard in the park' Ellis - 'Percy doesn't like the wind because it blows down trees in the park and makes more work for him in the morning' To celebrate our 'Colours of the World' topic, we are doing tie-dye with our adult helpers. Please bring in a white t-shirt if you haven't already. Mrs Burgess brought her new puppy into school...

We have been weather reporters this week. We have learnt how to read weather forecasts and collected data on the weather each morning. We have been thinking about weather effects our daily lives. Mr Lowther came to visit us and spoke about how the weather effects his job. Ramsey - 'When the snow turns to ice Mr Lowther needs to put salt on it to make it melt so no one slips' Kaitlyn - 'At night Mr Lowther wears a high visibility jacket so that everyone can see him in the dark'. In English, we have been reading a Percy the Park Keeper book called 'After the Storm'. We have explored different types of sentences within the story. Can you read any more Percy the Park Keeper books from the library or at home? In maths we have been focusing on addition. Harry - If you want to add 9 then you can add 10 and then just take one away. Luca is spending the weekend with Night for super maths learning. Myles is Star of the Week for challenging himself. Reminder: Ne...

This week we have made animal rescue vehicles in design and technology. Our vehicle had to be strong enough to hold a toy elephant, move with ease and be attractive to look at. What do vehicles need? William - wheels Katelynn - chassis Rio - axle Elliot - body Max - axle holder In English, we wrote a set of instructions on 'How to make a moving vehicle'. On Thursday we had a Game On workshop where we practised our netball skills. We learnt different types of passes including chest throw, overhead throw and bounce pass. Well done to Kaspar who is Star of the Week for being supportive and helping others during DT. Next week is half term. We hope you all have a brilliant week with lots of fun, time with family and friends and rest!

Today we have come to school wearing a number to help raise money for NSPCC. Thank you to everyone who has donated. Sam - I'm wearing number 9 and if you turn 9 around it looks like a 6 Rafferty - I'm wearing 10. I know 5 + 5 = 10 Ciara - I'm wearing 1. Double 1 = 2 Max - I'm wearing 36. It's a 2 digit number. To celebrate number day, we have been completing lots of money activities. We worked with our partner to find different combinations of money to pay for fruit. We even got to buy our own special snack too as a treat! In English, we have been reading a story called 'The Hunter' which was set in Africa. We have been using noun phrases and adverbs to describe the setting. In Science, we applied our scientific knowledge of habitats as well as our creativity skills to create shoe box habitats. We worked really well in teams. Tonight in the school disco - we look forward to seeing you! Well done to Rafferty who is Star of the Week for his team...

Yesterday we went on a school trip to Woburn Safari Park because our topic is called 'Colours of the World' and we wanted to learn about colours in nature and animals. William - My favourite part was when the sea lions were swimming, it was funny Ramsey - My favourite part was watching the monkeys swing and climb on the trees Eden - I learnt that zebras bundle together and run at the same time so that their predators eyes go blurry when they're looking at all of the stripes. Ellis - I touched a cheetahs skin. Cheetahs are mammals and they use their spots to camouflage when hunting their prey. Well done to all of Maple Class for representing our school so well and thank you to all of the grown ups that came and helped. Today in English we wrote a recount of our school trip. We used time connectives to show the order of events. In Science, we have been learning about different habitats. We learnt how animals are suited to their environment. Kaspar - A polar has thic...

This week has been 'Colour Week' in school. Maple's colours have been silver and gold. These colours reminded us of space so we created our own planet pictures using marbling inks. We learnt about the first man on the moon who was called Neil Armstrong. In creative writing, we imagined that we had travelled on Apollo 11 and just reached the moon. We applied our facts about Neil Armstrong to write about what he did and saw. We have been learning about statistics in maths. We collected data about favourite colours and used a tally chart to record our findings. We were then able to use this data to create a bar chart on the computers. In Art, we have made gold and silver salt dough medals. We also used gold and silver pens to create pictures of castles, knights and armour. The pens really stood out on black card. Thank you to everyone who brought in a gold or silver item. They have made a lovely display. Everyone will have a chance to share during circle time on Monday...

We have been thinking about special people in PSHE. We drew around our hand and labelled each finger with a different special person. Miss Forrester called this ‘our network’. Ellis said ‘When we need to talk to someone about a worry or problem think about the people on our network’. Rafferty said ‘If the first person is busy or not there, talk to one of the other people on your network’. In English, we retold the Gruffalo story in our own words. Jake – ‘I used an exclamation mark when the fox jumped out in front of the mouse’ Lucy – ‘I used expanded noun phrases to describe the fox. An expanded noun phrase is when you put two or more adjectives in front of the noun like the sly, creepy fox’. Our new computing topic this half term is called ‘We are photographers’. Here are some rules for taking a good photo: Ciara – make sure you put the strap around your wrist in case you drop it Leo – keep the camera still so that the photograph isn’t blurry. Kaspar – review you...

What an exciting week it's been with all the snow! We loved listening to each others snow stories on Tuesday morning during circle time. We've been feeling very Christmasy in Maple class this week.On Wednesday it was Christmas Dinner day and today we wore Christmas jumpers to school. Thank you to those who brought in a donation.  In Maths, we have been using rulers to measure lengths of paper to create a Christmas tree picture. In Creative writing, we found a special golden parcel that The Jolly Christmas Postman had dropped. We thought about what might be inside the parcel and who it was for. We have been busy practising for our Christmas sharing on Tuesday morning. Please use your song sheet to continue to practise the songs over the weekend. Well done to Leo who is spending the weekend with Night.

In English we have been reading The Jolly Christmas Postman. We created actions to help us remember the order of the characters that The Jolly Postman delivered post to. We wrote our own letters to Little Red Riding Hood or Baby Bear. In our letters we challenged ourselves to include different types of sentences (statements, questions, exclamations and commands).   This week in Maths we have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes. GG – 2D shapes are flat and 3D shapes are solid. Ellis – the mathematical word for corners is vertices. A cube has 8 verticies. Harry – We found lines of symmetry. Only 2D shapes have lines of symmetry. Jake – Symmetry means that both sides have to be exactly the same.   We carried out a very exciting science investigation all about chocolate. We learnt that solids can change into liquid. Sam – We held a piece of chocolate in our hand as Miss Forrester read a poem about chocolate. When the poem had finished,...

Today is the first day of December. We have celebrated by helping to decorate our school’s Christmas tree. Our school post box will be open from Monday so you can send your friends cards. We still have some Christmas decorations left over for your tree at home. If you weren't able to get yours at the Christmas Bazaar then you can still buy it by bringing in £1.50. We have been learning how chocolate in our advent calendars are made this week. In English, we retold the process by writing an explanation text. Today we read the chapter called ‘The chocolate room’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We designed a new room for Mr Wonka’s factory and described it in creative writing.   In maths, we have been learning how to divide. ‘Divide means sharing a number into groups’ – Luca. We have used different strategies including sharing and arrays. We were able to solve dividing by 2 problems mentally because it is the same as finding half. Kaitlyn...

In English, we have continued to research dinosaurs - we are now experts! We used all of the facts that we have learnt to write our own non-chronological reports. What does a non-chronological report  include? Harry - heading Elliot - subheadings Ava - real life photographs Kaitlyn - introduction Eden - conclusion Ciara - label and captions Kaspar - technical words We have been learning about multiplication in maths. 6 x 5 = 30. The first number tells us how many are in each group and the second number tells us how many groups there are. We've used lots of strategies to solve multiplication problems including mentally, arrays, repeated addition, doubles (x 2) and swapping the numbers around (commutative value). In computing, we have been practising our typing skills. We've been trying to use both hands and focusing on the home row keys. If you would like to practise at home then this is the game that we used http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr This we...

Today we came to school dressed in spots and stripes to raise money for children in need. Thank you to everyone who took part and made a donation. Today in creative writing we wrote our own Harry and the bucketful of dinosaur stories. Here are some of our story titles: Ciara and the bucketful of Beanie Boos William and the bucketful of cars Kaspar and the bucketful of Mario karts. In English we’ve been learning about non-chronological reports. Next week we will be writing a report about dinosaurs. You’re home learning this week is to research some facts about dinosaurs in preparation for this. We’ve enjoyed having our grown ups in to visit during work shadowing this week. We have been exploring money and giving change in Maths. Harry said 'we can use an empty number line to find change if we can’t solve it mentally' Yesterday was World Philosophy day. We read the story ‘Zoo’ by Anthony Brown and discussed whether we think animals should be k...