Author: Mrs Hayes

We now have a wonderful new library in school and it is great to be able to spend time in our library, sharing books with friends and listening to a special story being read. Look in your child’s book bag to find a new library book that they have chosen to bring home and enjoy sharing with their family.

Next week, we are excited to be welcoming Isabel Thomas to our school. Isabel is an award-winning children’s author and science writer. Isabel will be sharing her experiences as a writer with us on Tuesday afternoon and she will also open our new library. There will be a chance to purchase some of Isabel’s fantastic books and get them signed by the author. You can learn more about Isabel’s books and her work on her website:  https://isabelthomas.co.uk/

On top of all that has been happening this week, our fantastic school council organised a mufti-day and art competition in support of children in need. The children looked great and had a brilliant day. Well done, everyone!

Next week, as we prepare to mark the start of Advent, we will be making decorations to get our classroom ready for Christmas. If you have any unwanted decorations that you are able to donate to our class, it will add a spark of Christmas cheer to the weeks ahead.

This week, the children have been learning about Walter Tull, who is remembered for being one of the first professional black footballers (he played for Tottenham Hotspur) and he was also the first black army officer. The children developed their skills of historical enquiry when exploring a range of artefacts from over one hundred years ago. We had to decide whether they could have been found in Walter Tull’s suitcase or not and this resulted in lots of great discussions. We learned that Walter was recommended for a medal of bravery, but he died in the First World War and this knowledge made our Remembrance Dad service even more poignant.

This week, we have been learning about structures. Our first job was to find and name natural and manmade structures in our outdoor playground and then we had great fun exploring different construction materials to find out what makes a stable structure.

We loved the Mercy Mass on Wednesday and sang beautifully as well as performing a moving dance to the Circle of Mercy song. We all wanted to perform in front of everyone, but there just wasn’t space for all of us in front of the altar, so we are looking forward to everyone being involved in performing it for you during our class assembly next year.

After the mass, we planted some viola plants under our new Mercy Tree and we were all promptly rained on, which stopped our camera working. At least the plants and tree enjoyed the rain!

Last week, we attended the District Schools Award Ceremony and were very pleased to be awarded runner up in the Plant to Plate category. All through the year, we enjoy caring for the gardens outside our classroom and it was lovely to achieve this award as our outdoor spaces are so important to us and our wellbeing.

To start the year in RE, the children have been reading the story of the creation as told in Genesis. They have had great fun retelling the story in their own words and next week they will be writing the story in their own words. They are learning about nouns and adjectives, so retelling this wonderful story is a great way to put this new learning into practice and also show just how great they are at using full stops and capital letters in their super writing.

As part of their learning about the sacrament of baptism, the children are also beginning to design their own baptism candle using religious symbols that are important to them. We are looking forward to seeing lots more designs as they come into school.

It has been a very hot week, but the children have still continued to show what great learners they are. They started the week with a Teddy Bear’s Picnic in the shade as temperatures were already reaching 30 degrees. The children revised their Design and Technology learning by making wraps and they enjoyed rereading the recipe instructions that they wrote during this topic to help them to make another delicious wrap.

Starting with a performance by the cheerleading club,, the children have celebrated their talents all week, finishing with a very successful talent show. Well done to all the Year 2 children who auditioned for this event. They really are a very talented bunch! Here are some photos that show what a wide range of opportunities the children have in the many school clubs available to the children here at St Adrian’s. There is a club to suit everyone’s interests!

The children have coped very well with the heat this week, but next week is set to be even hotter, so please do send your child in with at least one full drinks bottle. Why not send in a second bottle, filled with frozen water as this will be great for the children to enjoy later in the day.