Year 3
Years 3 & 4 shone on stage!
A huge round of applause for our incredible performers, who took to the stage with courage and plenty of spirit in our Easter play. From the first rehearsal to the final bow, it was wonderful to see them grow in confidence, perfect their lines, and truly bring the story to life.
One of the most heart-warming moments throughout the rehearsals was seeing how supportive the children were of one another. Whether it was cheering on solo singers, offering a helping hand with tricky lines, or even stepping in at the last moment to cover a part - this was teamwork at its finest!
Of course, none of this would have been possible without our fantastic parents and carers. Thank you for your patience, your creativity, and your unwavering support - whether it was helping with line-learning, putting together costumes, or simply encouraging your child to embrace the spotlight. It was a true team effort, and the results spoke for themselves.
Well done, Year 3 - you were absolute stars!
As we wrap up another fantastic term, Year 3 have continued to showcase their learning in a number of ways...
This week, our budding authors took on the school writing assessment challenge of rewriting the ending to The Three Bears… and Goldilocks - with some imaginative results! It was good to see them applying their storytelling skills with confidence. In maths, we ended the term with some reasoning and arithmetic assessments. The children have made great progress, and it’s been wonderful to see their mathematical confidence grow. We’ve also identified a few areas to revisit to make sure they’re secure before the end of the year.
Who knew Battleships could be an educational tool? Year 3 used four-digit grid references to track and conquer in this strategic game, followed by a grid reference challenge worksheet activity. I have discovered that we have some military strategists in our midst!
Our Secret Garden book trailers are officially complete. Using a range of camera angles, text effects, and storytelling techniques, the children have created trailers that would tempt even the most reluctant reader to pick up the book. They used iMovie to achieve this, which may be something budding directors can tinker with at home.
Our bean seed experiments in science came to a fascinating conclusion as we analysed which conditions are truly needed for a plant to grow. Some of our results were expected… others, not so much! We now have a lot of theories about what plants really need to thrive.
It’s been a brilliant, and very busy, term. We couldn’t be prouder of the children’s enthusiasm, hard work, and growing stamina and resilience. Over the holidays, please encourage them to read, practise their timetables (they have made such fantastic progress in them) and, if possible, to complete some maths targets.
Wishing you all a restful and well-earned Easter break!
The Year 3 team (Miss Murphy, Mrs Troughton and Mrs Dobson)
Year 4
Well, that's another term finished. The year is just flying by!
Firstly can I say how very proud the Year 4 team are of all the class, and Year 3. They did a fantastic job of the play with several of them putting themselves well and truly out of their comfort zone. We couldn't be prouder of them. Thank you for supporting them with learning lines and providing great costumes. Even though it has been a theatrical week, we have managed to fit in some learning.
Our learning this week;-
English - We started the week with a writing assessment. The children made up their own ending to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. With Mrs Harper, the children looked at a non-fiction reading comprehension about Springtime.
Maths - Last week the children carried out an assessment, and we have gone over some of the questions in those papers this week. With Mrs Harper, the children learnt about quadrilaterals.
Topic - The children debated whether Pompeii should be a tourist attraction. They came up with some great reasons as to why, or why not. They worked well in groups, gathering their arguments and debating respectfully with some great questions to one another and demonstrating great reasoning with their answers.
Science - The children looked at food chains.
Burwell House Residential trip - This will soon be upon us, how exciting! This week the children have brought home a letter with more information for you, along with a kit list. We would like to invite you to a meeting on Friday 25th April at 3.15 just to talk you through the plans and to answer any final questions you may have.
Have a lovely Easter, enjoy the weather, make some lovely memories,
See you back in school on Tuesday 22nd April
Mrs Chittock and all the Year 4 team
Year 5
We've tied up lots of loose ends this week.
In English, we had a go at writing some narrative poetry inspired by Jim. We challenged ourselves to keep to a set syllable structure and make our poems rhyme. In Maths, we have been adding fractions, which is really easy if your fractions have the same denominators but is a bit tricker if they don't. We worked out how to calculate how to find an equivalent fraction with the same denominator to make adding easy.
In Science, we learnt about the 5 main methods plants use for seed dispersal. In Computing, we continued to develop our Scratch games. We will have one more development game next half-term before inviting another class to come and play our games.
We finished off our History topic about the Ancient Egyptians. We wrote a discussion text about whether it is right that archaeologists dig up the past. There were lots of great ideas on both sides of the discussion.
On Wednesday, we cooked our Bolognese! We had lots of fun making our Bolognese and only had 3 chopping injuries (one of which was me!). We learnt lots of important life lessons, such as: if you want to cook something, it needs to be in the pan rather than the bowl; you should probably take the brown skin off the onion before attempting to chop it; what a bulb of garlic looks like! Everyone enjoyed eating their Bolognese. Recipes and instructions were sent home if you'd like to help your child make it at home.
Y5 finished their playmaker course this week. Katie, the instructor, told Mrs Nichols what a lovely time she had had working with Y5. She said they were very well-behaved, were engaged and worked brilliantly as a team. She said we were one of her favourite schools to work with - well done Year 5!
After the Easter break, Y5 will be swimming at Newmarket Leisure Centre on Friday mornings. Thank you to those families who have already sent the permission slip back.
Have a wonderful Easter break. We look forward to seeing you back at school on Tuesday, 22nd April.
Miss Rutter, Mrs Marsh and Mrs Nichols
Year 6
It has been a fantastic and productive week in Year 6, with plenty of exciting learning and creativity taking place across all subjects!
In English, the children have been fully immersed in writing their own versions of Macbeth. They have worked incredibly hard to craft compelling narratives, and from the sections we have read so far, we are truly impressed by their creativity, attention to detail, and use of dramatic language. We cannot wait to read the finished pieces—well done to all!
Maths has been equally engaging as the children tackled the fascinating world of algebra. At first, it seemed like a tricky challenge, but with perseverance and enthusiasm, they have made great progress in understanding variables and equations. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they explored this new area of mathematics.
In science, we had a particularly exciting lesson as the children learned about the composition of blood. To make this topic even more engaging, we used jelly snakes in a hands-on experiment—be sure to ask them about it! This fun and interactive approach really helped to bring the topic to life, and the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Today also marked our final visit to the church, where the children displayed exemplary behaviour and a deep sense of reverence throughout. We were incredibly proud of how they conducted themselves, showing respect and appreciation for the significance of the occasion.
Meanwhile, in art, the children have been busy putting the finishing touches on their textile recreations of a scene from Romeo and Juliet. The level of detail and creativity they have put into their work is truly commendable, and we are excited to see the final pieces come together.
Overall, it has been a week filled with fantastic learning opportunities, and we are so proud of everything the children have achieved. Well done, Year 6!
Nuala Gilmore
