Science: comparative test
In our science lessons the past couple of weeks, we’ve been investigating which is the strongest magnet in our big box of magnets!
We talked about and decided how we could investigate this question. Some of us decided to see how many paperclips a magnet could pick up. Others decided to see how many pieces of paper they could put between a magnet and a paperclip.
We thought about which variable would change (the magnets) and which would need to be the same (the type and size of paperclip and paper). We then Co ducted the experiments and recorded our results.
A conclusion we made was that it wasn’t the largest magnet that was the strongest.
Lost property
We have a few items of clothing, including cardigans, jumpers and PE black zip up tops with no names in the cloakroom.
Please ask if you think they might belong to your child.
Thank you.
Observation over time
Over the past few weeks, Year 2 have been growing radish seeds in different conditions in order to find out what seeds need to be healthy. This week, we recorded our results and made conclusions about our experiment.
Prior to recording our results, the children decided that the best way to assess how healthy the plants were was to compare their height and colour.
Through careful observation and diligent measuring, the children recorded their results and then made conclusions about what a plant needs to be healthy, based on their findings.
The children discovered that the plants that received water and sunlight grew the tallest and also looked the healthiest colour. Therefore, they concluded that plants need water and sunlight in order to grow.
We have really enjoyed our science topic this half term and hope that it has encouraged the children to plant more things at home.
Remember to send us pictures of your sunflowers as they grow!
This week in Reception
The children have been enjoying lots of physical activities including skipping, movement play and PE.
Phonics
We are continuing our Phase 4 phonics learning and learning to blend and segment words with four phonemes such as; stop, black, float, and storm.
We will continue to send sheets of words home for your child to blend. Please keep practising the phase 3 phonemes, especially ar, or, ow, oi, ur, ear, air, ure and er.
Maths
This week we will continue to learn about subtraction by taking away objects and using ten frames to help us see how many are left.
Literacy
This week’s story is ‘Mad about Minibeasts’. The children have been writing a class minibeast poem and using adjectives to describe their favourite minibeast. They have been making them with playdough.
Have a great half-term break. Hopefully the sun will shine!
Please send any ‘wow’ moments to
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
Stamp Competition
This year, Royal Mail are hosting a stamp competition in order to honour the people who have done great things since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Eight designs will be picked by a special panel including none other than Her Majesty the Queen! These winners will be seen by millions of people and there are other cool prizes up for grabs for runners up.
Thank you to everyone who got involved and submitted their creative efforts in appreciation of our COVID heroes. You should be very proud.
Check out some of the many entries below.
We love reading!
So far this year, we’ve enjoyed reading a range of texts in class and picked some interesting books from the library.
Common highlights in our class discussion were:
- Letters from the Lighthouse. “It’s so mysterious and I love reading about WW2,” said Felix.
- Macavity the Mystery Cat. “It’s funny because it’s a cat robbing everyone and the police can’t find a… cat! He can even levitate which is pretty cool,” reminisced Albie.
- The Arrival. “I loved watching the video in our inference lesson,” enthused Emily.
I think these reflections speak for themselves…
Living and Learning: Medicines: Who helps us to stay healthy?
Today, Year 1 have been learning about different medicines and the people who help us to stay fit and well. This was our second lesson introducing age-appropriate drug and alcohol education.
Today’s session focused on medicines; what they look like, how they are used and why people use them. We explored how medicines
are used to treat illness in the short and long term as well as how some medicines can help protect people from becoming ill in the future. The children considered the role of other people in helping them to stay healthy and well, manage, or recover from, illness.
Feel better scenarios
In pairs, the children thought about a time when they felt poorly and what helped them to feel better. Next, the class were asked to think of five different people who help others to stay healthy and well. We discussed
their roles and the kinds of things they do.
A doctor can help to find out why you are feeling poorly,
The dentist keeps our teeth and gums healthy.
Cleaners are important people. They get rid of the germs.
A paramedic arrives in an ambulance. This can get help very quickly.
My daddy is a pharmacist. He gives medicines to people to help them to feel better.
E-safety
We have also been learning about how to stay safe online. The children completed a sorting activity where they had to decide whether various online scenarios were safe or unsafe.
After the activity, the children wrote sentences in their books stating what they each do to stay safe online. Here are some examples of their sentences:
I stay safe online by keeping my username and password private.
I stay safe online by only speaking to people that I know.
I stay safe online by telling a trusted adult if something makes me feel upset or worried.
I stay safe online by playing games that are appropriate for my age.
Programming
This week, we have been using Bee-Bots and Blue-Bot devices to test our programming skills.
The children enjoyed completing a series of challenges where they had to put their algorithm and directional knowledge to the test.
I was really impressed with how well the children worked as a team – ensuring that every child had a fair turn to test their algorithms whilst also helping and supporting their teammates when it was needed.
If the algorithms didn’t work, we used our debugging skills to fix the problem.
Living and Learning: Sleep
In a recent Living and Learning session, Y3 and 4 have been learning all about the importance of sleep.
To begin, the children went on a ‘fact hunt’ around their classroom and discovered some information about why sleep is so important. They found out information such as:
- people who get a good quality sleep are more likely to make good decisions, perform better at sports, learn better, remember more and generally feel healthier
- all electronic screens like the TV, computer, tablet etc should be turned off an hour before bedtime
- drinking or eating anything with caffeine (like energy drinks) or lots of sugar can keep someone awake for a long time
- a messy bedroom can actually affect good sleep – it’s much easier to relax and fall into a deep sleep in a tidy, organised room
- spending time outside during the day and exercising can help someone fall asleep (and sleep well)
- keeping to the same routine is a good idea for good quality sleep, too
- doing something relaxing in the hour before going to sleep can really help (such as reading a book, listening to a story, having a bath or cuddling a pet etc)
- … and much more!
The children then compared their daily routines to the information they found out. We then discussed how we could all ensure we get quality sleep at night.
Finally, we had a quiz to see how much of the learning we could remember from the session.
The children were really honest about what they could do to make sure they get better sleep. There are things that I’m going to include in my routine to make sure I get better sleep as well!