The sun shone for us this week when we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Sophie takes up the story…
On Tuesday the 21st May, Year 4 went on their school trip to Kew Gardens. Year 4 had a fantastic time even though we didn’t see all of Kew.
Year 4 were delighted when we got tickets to go to the children garden.
When we got to Kew, half of the children went to the Palm house and the other half went to the Temperate house. The Palm house was very hot and steamy while the Temperate house was a much more relaxed temperature.
A while later, we all met near King William’s Temple. The children were exhausted and hungry but were determined to go to the Treetop walk.
The children kept screaming because the bridge they were walking on was very wobbly! Apart from that they loved the treetop views.
After the Treetop walk, we had lunch. The children cheered with relief.
After lunch, we went to the new children’s garden. The children were so unhappy when we had to go. They still had a lovely time.
Thank you for all the parents who helped.
Thanks, Sophie, and I would echo your thanks to Mrs Miller and Mrs Watson for their help throughout the day. Here are some more of our photos.
Just as some meals look really delicious but taste bland,
the sea looked l as calm and inviting as a tropical lagoon but was
freezing! However, our children are made
of stern stuff and were determined to not let the opportunity pass.
Wednesday
Morning
Not
a boy was awake at 7am when they received the early morning call and there was
a similar story with the girls. Breakfast soon put things right and we headed off
for Black Gang Chine.
When we arrived, some of the children spied the silhouette of the Cliffhanger (roller coaster) and felt that the occasion was ripe for some bravado: ( (loud voices) “Is that it?” and :“I’ve been on much more scary rides on my (all-inclusive) holiday last year” – the boys in the party had suddenly developed a swaggering gait. However, the children were soon to learn that talk is cheap and once on board: the squealing began; their voices went from baritone to falsetto;the swagger replaced with a wobble. It was a similar story at the water slide- “Plughole”.
There
was much for the children to do and it was great seeing them enjoy the simpler
pleasures of mazes, adventure parks and slides – some of us even forsook extra
time in the gift shop for a visit to fairyland.
We’ve
worn them out again but, just in case there are any children out there planning
to keep the adults and others awake tonight, its off to the beach again after
supper.
We’ve been celebrating World Book Day this week with special assemblies where teachers have taken it in turns to share favourite stories or poems with the children in their key stage.
We hope that the stories we share will inspire the children to read on and read the books for themselves or find other stories by those authors.
We will list the books we have share on this page.
Monday
Mr Hayes (whole school):
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, from Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Mrs Hayes (key stage one):
Mrs Wobble the Waitress by Allan Ahlberg
All Join In by Quentin Blake
Mr Hayes (key stage two):
The Rise of Wolves by Kerr Thomson
Tuesday
Mrs Teixeira (key stage one)
Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen
Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
Miss Costello (key stage two)
Little House in the Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wednesday
Mrs Ruffell (key stage one)
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Mr Sallis (key stage two)
‘Infinity and Me’ written by Kate Hosford and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
The children have enjoyed a wonderful liturgy with Father Francis on the theme of Thanksgiving. As part of the worship, the children all had a role to play and each group planned a different part of the service, including making up their own verses to familiar hymns, writing the prayers and reading from our new class bible.
Father Francis shakes everyone’s hand at the end of the liturgy.
The children enjoyed preparing the prayer focus.
Father Francis spoke warmly with the children and during his homily, he talked in detail about the importance of the Eucharist as a way of giving thanks in the mass. At the end of the liturgy, the children were congratulated on their singing, which is such an integral part of their everyday prayer life in Year 2. The service ended with Father Francis blessing our food (brioche from France!) and four new bibles which were then delivered to year groups across the school.
Well done to everyone for the very thoughtfully decorated crosses that have come in as part of our class RE home learning. The crosses are all so unique, they look wonderful on the display and reflect the children’s understanding of The Last Supper and the celebration of mass. If your child has not brought in their cross yet, please bring it in by Friday.
Reading Logs – Wcb First Grade with Children Reading Clip Art – Free Design Templates
I have been asked if there are any books that are recommended for Year 2 children to read. Ideas can be found here: https://www.booksfortopics.com/year-2 and it is also a wonderful idea to visit your local library which is filled with hundreds of age appropriate books for free!
This topic explores the importance of memories. A main focus is the feast of Passover (Pesach) for the Jewish people and how this is where they remember how God enabled their ancestors to escape slavery in Egypt to become free.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Believers who respond to God’s word and become members of Christ’s Body become intimately united with him: “In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification.’ This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ’s death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which ‘really sharing in the body of the Lord, we are taken up into communion with him and with one another.” (CCC790)
The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it. It is called:
Eucharist, (Thanksgiving) because it is an action of thanksgiving to God.
The Lord’s Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion.
The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will recognise him after his Resurrection.
The memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.
The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Saviour and includes the Church’s offering.
Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.
THE BIG QUESTION – Why do we need memories?
RE HOME LEARNING (SACRIFICE)
– In the story of Moses, ten plagues are unleashed on the Egyptians. Find out what these plagues were and in what order they occured. Perhaps you could produce pictures showing the plagues. (The deadline for this is 18th March 2022)
JANUARY 2022- OUR TOPIC – MISSION
RE Home Learning
Lent Term-Part 1
Our Topic to
start off this term is ‘Mission’.
This topic
is rooted in the areas of Local Church and community. In this topic we learn
about Jesus’ Mission and how the 12 Apostles were called to continue his
mission. Today, the Catholic Church, through its parishes and dioceses, carries
on this work today. The children reflect
on their role in this and how, since being baptised, they have had a mission to
spread the Good News through word and action.
Some questions of ‘Meaning and
Purpose’ addressed through this topic:
What
inspires people in their mission?
What are the
joys and demands of accepting a mission?
Why do people want to help others?
Our Big Question – Do we all have a mission in life?
‘God has created me
To do Him some definite service.
He has committed some work to me
Which he has not committed to
another.
I have my mission.’
John Henry Newman
Key Vocabulary in this topic:
Mission,
bishop, ecumenism, cathedral, apostle, disciple, Good News, diocese, inspirational,
Baptism, Christian Unity, Gentile
Homework
Activity
In the
Mission topic, we study ecumenism.
Each year in January and or Pentecost, there
is a week of prayer said throughout the Dioceses for Christian Unity.
12 For
just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body,
though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For
in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or
free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Corinthians
12
HOME WORK TASK Design a poster based around Corinthians 12. Include some of the words and phrases. (To be handed in by Wednesday 2nd February)
Year 5 RE Topic Autumn September to October – OURSELVES
The
first RE topic we will study in Year 5 is called ‘Ourselves’.
At
the end of the topic, the children should be able to answer the question : ‘Who
am I?’
They
will learn that each person is made in the image and likeness of God. To know ourselves
and to appreciate that our value is central to our well-being.
From
the Catechism of the Catholic Church: ‘Knowing the unity and true dignity of
all. Everyone is made in the image and
likeness of God.’
Scripure
From the book of
Genesis, a Greek word meaning ‘becoming’ or ‘beginning to be made’. It is the
very first book in the Bible and tells us about the beginnings of the world. In
it we are told that God made us all just to be like God – made in God’s image
and likeness.
Then
God said: “Let us make people to be like ourselves.
Men
and women who can know and love me
and
know and love one another;
and
I will give them charge of the fish of the seas,
the
birds of the sky, and all the animals wild and tame
and
all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.”
So
God created men and women
who
could love and care for the world and everything in it
and
could love and care for one another;
men
and women who could know God
and
love and serve God.
God
blessed them and said to them:
“Fill
the world with people; look after the world;
look
after one another;
take
care of the fish and the birds, the animals and the
reptiles,
the
trees and the flowers and the plants.”
And
so it was.
God
saw all creation and indeed it was very good.
Suggestions
for homework activities
Make a collage using family photographs of all the significant family members—grandparents, parents, children, aunts, uncles etc. who show God’s love (Include those who have died. )
Write underneath it
“We show God’s love to one another.”
It would be nice if the children brought in their collages for a classroom display.
DECEMBER 2020
OUR TOPIC : HOPE
REVEAL
Advent is a time when
we appreciate the love in our lives and prepare to celebrate love becoming a
reality in the person of Jesus. Christians at Christmas celebrate the gift of
Jesus, given by God as a sign and expression of God’s love. Giving and receiving
reflects the truth that all life is given by God and life is given meaning
through the gift of Jesus.
Word
of God
“This is what love is:
it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the means by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, if this is how God
loved us, then we should love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we
love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in
us.”
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
(1 John 4: 10-12)
“Christ’s whole
earthly life – his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his
manner of being and speaking – is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can
say: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’, and the Father can say: ‘This
is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ Because our Lord became man in order to
do his Father’s will, even the least characteristics of his mysteries manifest
‘God’s love … among us.” (CCC516)
Homework Task
In class we we will make our own Jesse Tree. I must confess that this was something of which I had never heard when I was at primary school. Attached are instructions and background information on making a Jesse Tree which you could use to make your own at home (this homework is optional).
Year 5 RE Topic Autumn October to November – Life Choices
This Topic looks at the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. As part of the topic, they will have to explain the symbolism and underlying Catholic Catechism pertaining to marriage. I have produced a sheet with notes and some prompt questions. Children do not need to produce written answers for this homework but should make themselves aware of the body of the text and be able to discuss it.
Some of the ideas in the text are quite challenging and you may wish to discuss them with your child to support them in their understanding.
Imagine you were asked to write a Class Charter of about five rules or guidelines.
Write and decorate your Class Charter .
Think about ( for discussion), why you chose these rules and guides and what actions should be taken if someone breaks the rules.
Following on from our work on the memories the Jewish people hold regarding Passover, our Topic is Sacrifice which looks at the message s from the Last Supper and the how we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us during Holy Week through the Eucharist.
Lent Term-Part 2
Amidst all the work we are conducting on Holy Week in class, I would like the children to conduct some extra research on Baptist Christians. To help them, I have given them a proforma which they can use. A copy is attached below. I would like this completed by Wednesday 3rd April and have not given any English homework in order to facilitate this.
In the Sacrifice topic, we will be thinking about the sacrifices we make during lent and how we can avoid temptation. The task I have discussed with the children is to prepare a lenten calendar to be handed in for Wednesday 27 March.
Here are some examples of the sort of things your child could do.
We have had an incredibly busy term and I was still cracking the whip on the last day of term. Having said that, there has always been room for our daily music ‘ bangers’ and the usual Christmas time activities.
It’s Christmas and I can’t bring myself to set an official homework but I have put a couple of optional suggestions on the Year 5 homework post.
Please let me take this opportunity on behalf of Mrs Brunt and myself to thank you all for your lovely cards, wishes and the incredibly generous gifts and vouchers which are all most appreciated.
Please enjoy the break and I wish you a happy and holy Christmas.
A wonderful project book showing the children’s learning about Saint Teresa can be found in our class library.
Year Two are very sad that their amazing display on Saint Teresa of Calcutta has been taken down. We are hoping to put their beautiful drawings up in the classroom. Meanwhile, the children have been inspired by the story of the Annunciation and they are now designing their own angels as part of an Art and Design Technology project. During your visit to the school to watch the children’s play on Thursday 13th December, please do take a look at our finished display of angels which will accompany the Angelus prayer in the dining room. We look forward to seeing you all then.
On Thursday, Year 1 and Reception joined together for a very special afternoon. Over the past four weeks, Year 1 have been writing stories based on ‘It’s My Birthday’ and, once they were finished, were able to go and read their versions to Reception. Year 1 were extremely proud of themselves and all of the hard work that they had put in. Reception were very excited to listen to their stories!
Reception were so inspired by the Year 1s that they had to tell us the story of Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle. Year 1 agreed that they were fantastic!
Perhaps at the next Sharing Friday, you might like to come and look at all of the children’s fantastic work and effort!
This week, we have been learning about the religion of Islam. Arafa brought in her prayer mat and taught her friends about the way in which she prays five times every day. Arafa taught us all a huge amount about how Muslims pray.
As part of their learning about Signs and Symbols, the children created some beautiful baptism candles and thought very carefully about the signs and symbols that were meaningful to them. Well to everyone.
The children have had a great start to Year 2 and have been very excited about their new learning. What has been especially rewarding is the enthusiasm with which pupils have brought in information from home about current learning. Thank you for the high quality of their home learning, including the posters about Saint Teresa and beautiful baptism candles.
We had an inspiring drama session earlier in October. The children paid great attention during the session and showed themselves to be wonderful actors. Well done to you all!
The circus ringmaster told us that the clowns are very sad and our mission is to make them happy.Maybe our funny faces will make the clowns laugh?
Our wonderful acting has made the clowns smile again. HURRAH!
The Year 2 children have a great passion for art, so I look forward to seeing their artwork inspired by the theme of Bread of Life.
Have a wonderful half term break with your family.
