During Art this week, we began by following detailed instructions to draw an anatomically correct heart, carefully studying its shape, chambers, and arteries. Each step required concentration, from outlining the aorta to ensuring the ventricles were in proportion. As we worked, we took our time, checking each other’s progress and offering tips where needed. Once finished, we shared our drawings, taking a moment to appreciate the unique details everyone had added. We pointed out aspects we liked in each other’s work — someone might have captured the perfect curvature of the left ventricle, while another’s shading made their heart look particularly lifelike. It was a lovely moment of collaboration and mutual admiration.

Planning a charity event to raise money involves careful organisation and a clear focus on the cause  - this is something we have been focusing on in Jigsaw lessons over the last two weeks. After careful planning, we reflected on our efforts by sharing with peers what we did well. This could include speaking about teamwork, communication skills, or how we contributed to the ideas.

By recognising these strengths, children not only boosted their confidence but also learned the importance of collaboration in making a positive impact.

This week, we have been applying some of our geometry and measurement skills in order to calculate the area and perimeter of a range of different shapes. We developed our learning by exploring the relationship between the two and we found that shapes could have the same perimeter but a different area and vice-versa. Finally, we completed a series of problems where we were required to apply our knowledge - Mrs Barnett was so impressed! 

What a fantastic start we have had to 2025 in Willow Class with an investigation about blood vessels! Our new topic is Heartbeat where we learn all about the circulatory system. We delved deeper into how this works and we explored the connection between blood vessels and blood flow. We found that if blood vessels are clogged with fatty deposits, they are narrower and the blood will not flow through as quickly which can lead to health problems. We are looking forward to learning much more!

We wanted to share this information with you to help keep your child safe online and ensure that they understand the risks of phones as well as the benefits. 

Have a lovely Christmas and we will see everyone in 2025!

On Friday, Willow Class had their natural disasters WOW Day which was both exciting and educational! The children began their day by building and decorating their own volcanoes. Afterwards, they got comfy with cushions from the book corner and settled down to watch 'Elemental' which was a brilliant way to learn about the natural elements. Finally, once their volcanoes were dry, they spent the afternoon mixing a range of substances to create a chemical reaction that simulated a volcanic eruption. It was a fantastic, hands-on way for them to apply their understanding and they had great fun doing so! 

During our No Outsiders lesson for this half term, we read a story called 'King of the Sky' written by Nicola Davies which is a story about a young Italian boy who moved to Wales with his family. He feels isolated and alone until he makes an unlikely friend, an old man who lets him fly one of his pigeons in a race. This friendship helps him to learn how to belong. We discussed how the boy felt throughout the story and how the events affected his emotions. Then, we used this information to draw a storyline showing the main events and how they impacted him. Here are a few of our examples! 

We had an incredibly fun French lesson today where we ended up playing a board game called Escape the Castle! To start, we completed a crossword to help us recall the nouns for rooms in the house. We then learnt nouns in French for items you may find in a castle. To finish, we played the board game to practise our vocabulary. 

This morning, we wrapped ourselves up and got outside for our PE session of football. To begin with, we practised our dribbling and passing skills before having interceptors who tried to gain possession of the ball. We ended with mini matches where we had to work collaboratively and come up with different plays that meant when to dribble and when to pass. Here are some pictures of our skills! 

Our new writing unit, that we will be focusing on over the next few weeks, is call 'Wisp'. It is a beautifully illustrated, inspiring book and we thoroughly enjoyed reading it and exploring the language in today's lesson. After writing down all the effective vocabulary on our whiteboards, we used this to create shared poems.