Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of the first full week back after the Christmas holidays and it's been a busy one.
This week, we have been working hard in English and have written our elicitation task based on our new English text: The Day the Crayons Quit, which looks at persuasive writing.   We have also been working on our spelling, grammar and handwriting skills.  We have worked hard in Maths, on our unit Multiplication and Division, this week we have really focused on Multiples and Factors.   In Science, we have focused on Magnetism and have started by thinking about what we already know. On Monday, we enjoyed another fun-filled French session with Madame Jordan, learning greetings and to say how we are feeling. The children have had their Music  session with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 
This afternoon we continued with our work on Pablo Picasso and have started to create a 3D sculpture of a Picasso style face to demonstarte how Cubism works. (See photos)
We finished the week off with a double PE whammy, swimming on Thursday afternoon and our session of Unihoc with our Saints Southwest PE coach Mrs Edwards. 

Spellings are on Dojo for the groups and I have been impressed with how many people are reading every night, I would like it to be 100% next week!  The new Wider Curriculum home learning is on the website and on Dojo and the children have had a paper copy, I have had a few good examples already, some art and some cookery.  Lots of time to do this, pieces are due in by Thursday 17th February and I will expect at least 3 completed tasks, more if you want to.

  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
Next week, we will be continuing work on our new History topic area of The Middle East and our Science area of Magnetism. We will be writing in a persuasive style for our English work and will continue to work on our Multiplication and Division unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, get outside, be active, read and enjoy family time.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

Welcome to a new term and happy new year.
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This week, we have been working hard in English and have been writing different styles of poetry to get a flavour of the different genres of poetry that there are.   We have also been working on our spelling and handwriting skills.  We have worked hard in Maths, on our unit Multiplication and Division, this week we have really focused on multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100.  The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce, learning some new call and response songs.
We finished the week off with some work on Picasso. We explored the artists life and the significant periods of his career and presented this in our sketchbooks in a very artistic way (see photos).
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Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. I will be giving the children a Wider Curriculum home learning sheet, with the activities for this half term for you to choose from. As in previous half terms, I will expect at least 3 completed pieces. (This is also available on Dojo and on the link at the bottom of this blog.)
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
Next week, we will be working on our new History topic area of The Middle East and our Science area of Magnetism. We will be starting our new English text and continue our Multiplication and Division unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, get out, between the showers and enjoy family time.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of a very long term and it’s CHRISTMAS!!!!
This week, we have been working hard in English and have written our own versions of A Visit from St Nicholas by Clement Clarke-Moore.   We have also been working on our spelling and handwriting skills.  We have worked hard in Maths, on our unit Multiplication and Division, this week we have really focused on multiplying and dividing by 10. We finished the week with a Christmassy investigation based on the Twelve Days of Christmas.   In Science, we have focused on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at what a chemical change is and how to investigate. On Monday, we enjoyed another fun-filled French session with Madame Jordan, learning the names of various animals and how to say whether we liked or disliked them. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny – which included a Christingle service with Year 6. 
We finished the week off with a Christmas based day of games, quizzes, party food and film. Everybody had a great finish to term.
Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. Some great examples of home learning this term, ranging from prayer mats to model shanty towns and some awesome scientific cooking videos so well done to children and parents for the extra hard work that you have put in with these. (See photos) 
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
After the holidays, we will be working on our new History topic area of The Middle East and our Science area of Magnetism. We will be starting our new English text and complete our Multiplication and Division unit in Maths.
 
Have a great holiday, eat lots of food, be merry and enjoy family time.
 
See you on Wednesday 5th January.
 
Mr F

​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of another week and there are some rather Odd Socks around!
This week, we have been working hard on assessments in both English and Maths, the children have worked really hard and have had a great attitude towards their assessments.    In Science, we have focused on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at what a chemical change is and what it looks like when a chemical change is taking place. On Monday, we enjoyed another fun-filled French session with Madame Jordan, learning how to say whether we like or dislike certain things. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 
Today, we celebrated the end of our North Tawton Anti-Bullying Week by wearing Odd Socks. This is to show solidarity against bullying and appreciating the fact that it is good to be different. The theme this year was One Kind Word - to celebrate this element, Miss Keen bought some Kind Heart awards which a person in each class received for their kind deeds to others in the school community. There will be more of these presented throughout the year. 
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Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. There is a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo. For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by next Thursday, that's the 16th December.  I have received a few good examples already, a prayer mat, some scientific cooking, art work based on shanty towns and an autobiography. 
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
Next week, we will be working on Multiplicatgion and Division in Maths, Poetry in English, our DT topic and enjoying some seasonal festivities.  Remember, Wednesday 15th is Christmas Dinner, There is no other option on that day, so if your child/children do NOT want school dinner , please send them in with a home packed lunch ( and indicate this on the Gateway). Christmas jumpers and head gear are encouraged for Christmas Dinner, we will also need these for some alfresco singing in the afternoon - look out for the video!
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of another week and it’s ended in a Christmassy jumperathon!
This week, we have been working hard in English and have completed our writing in a biographical style about our inspirational person.  We have also been working on our spelling and handwriting skills.  We have worked hard in Maths, on our unit Statistics, this week we have completed the unit and the assessment for this.   In Science, we have focused on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at what the key differences are between a physical and chemical change. On Monday, we enjoyed another fun-filled French session with Madame Jordan, learning the names of various animals and how to say whether we liked or disliked them. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 
In art, we have been working on drawing houses, taking a section of our drawings and turning it into a tile for printing, the results have been very pleasing.
Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. There is a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo. For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Thursday 16th December, which is the last Thursday before the Christmas holidays. I have received a few good examples already, a prayer mat, some scientific cooking, some shanty town based artwork and an autobiography. 
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.

Next week, is assessment week and the children will have a few assessments to look at their progress during the term ansd to help me determine what the next steps are for next term. We will also be continuing work on our new Geography topic area of Housing and our Science area of Physical and Chemical Changes. We will be starting our new English text Imagery in Poetry texts and start our Multiplication and Division unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of another week and it’s been another action packed special.
This week, we have been working hard in English and have written in a biographical style about our inspirational person.  We have also been working on our spelling and handwriting skills.  We have worked hard in Maths, on our unit Statistics, this week we have really focused on interpreting and reading data and drawing line graphs.   In Science, we have focused on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at what a chemical change is and the difference between a physical and chemical change. On Monday, we enjoyed another fun-filled French session with Madame Jordan, learning the names of various animals and how to say whether we liked or disliked them. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 
Today, we had our final Mini Police session with Matt Young from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and the children met their local officer and explored the kit that a police officer uses, they have also graduated as Mini Police officers.
Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. There is a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo. For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Thursday 16th December, which is the last Thursday before the Christmas holidays. I have received a few good examples already, a prayer mat, some scientific cooking and an autobiography. 
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
Next week, we will be continuing work on our new Geography topic area of Housing and our Science area of Physical and Chemical Changes. We will be starting our new English text and will complete our Statistics unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!

 It’s the end of another week and it’s been another action packed special.
This week, we have been working hard in English and have written in a biographical style about J.K.Rowling.  We have also been working on our spelling and handwriting skills. In Maths, we have worked on our new unit Statistics, this week we have really focused on interpreting and reading data and drawing line graphs.   In Science, we have focused on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at the states of matter and how they change and whether these changes are reversible or irreversible. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 

We also started work this week on our art skills unit based on architecture and the children have produced some stunning pencil sketches of houses.

We finished the week, raising money for Children in Need. What a busy day we have had today, we've dressed up, sung, danced, run, had a Road Safety assembly and squeezed, English Maths, Computing and PE between all of that! There are some superb pictures below and on Class Dojo - make sure you take a look.

Spellings are on Dojo for the groups, we will be having the test on the last column's spellings on Monday, so there will be new ones coming out next week.  There is a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo. Last half-term’s were so good, that the Bronzes are now on display in the main school.  For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Thursday 16th December, which is the last Thursday before the Christmas holidays. There is lots of time to complete this so I will be expecting some really good quality pieces.

  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
​
Next week, we will be continuing work on our new Geography topic area of Housing and our Science area of Physical and Chemical Changes. We will be writing our biographical texts and will continue our new unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of another week and it’s been another action packed special.
This week, we have been working hard in English and have decided upon our person to research for our biographical writing. We have also been developing our note taking skills and learning the difference between active and passive sentences.  We have worked hard in Maths, completing our end of unit assessment and looking at the beginning of our new unit on Statistics.   In Science, we are beginning a new unit on Physical and Chemical Changes, looking mainly at the states of matter and how they change. The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny. 
On Thursday, we had some members of our class out representing the school at the Castle Dojo Cross Country Run, they all conquered the 1.5 mile course which was a really tricky one. At 11.00 on Thursday morning, we had a minute silence to remember those that have fought bravely for us and to think about those that still do that job now.   Last week I posted the beginnings of the artwork that we have been working on for this event and I am pleased to say that the results are fantastic and have really added a talking point to the main school corridor.
Spellings are on Dojo for the groups. There will be a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo very soon. Last half-term’s were so good, that the Bronzes are now on display in the main school.  For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Thursday 17th December, which is the last Thursday before the Christmas holidays. There is lots of time to complete this so I will be expecting some really good quality pieces.
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their new reading journals and that these come in every day so that I can monitor their reading.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
Next week, we will be continuing work on our new Geography topic area of Housing and our Science area of Physical and Chemical Changes. We will be writing our biographical texts and will continue our new unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

 
​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 It’s the end of the first week back after half-term and it’s been another action packed special.
This week, we have been working hard in English and have decided upon our person to research for our biographical writing. We have worked hard in Maths, looking at addition and subtraction, particularly the column method for each, rounding for approximation and using the inverse (opposite) method to check our answers. In Science, we are beginning a new unit on Physical and Chemical Changes.  The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny.  In Art, we have worked on our Christmas card designs, which you should receive tonight. We have also been working on some Remembrance artwork, based on the pieces of artwork in the gallery below - The Scream by Edvard Munch and Stormtroopers advancing under gas by Otto Dix. I hope you agree, the results are superb and the children worked really well on their pieces. 
We have been active every morning (that it hasn’t been raining!), we have also enjoyed another exciting session with our PE coach Mrs Edwards. This week, we worked on invasion game skills, through tag rugby.

New spellings are now on Dojo for the groups. There will be a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo on Monday. Last half-term’s were so good, that the Bronzes are now on display in the main school.  For this, as there was last time, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Thursday 17th December, which is the last Thursday before the Christmas holidays. There is lots of time to complete this so I will be expecting some really good quality pieces.

At the mention of Christmas, your children will be bringing their Christmas card designs home for this year. This is a great fund raiser for the school as a percentage of the money goes directly to FONTs, who have been brilliant at raising money to help fund activities and resources to enhance our children’s education. If you wish to order some cards based on your child’s design, please return the order form with your payment preference on it on Monday.
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  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their home learning folder, and that as on next week, I would like to see the folders every Friday.

Tonight, I have sent home a reading challenge called Genre Genie. The challenge is to read several different books from different genres. I will award 2 learning points for each book completed. To help with this, i will post some links and a book list on Class Dojo.

  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on.
 
Next week, we will be starting work on our new Geography topic area of Housing and our Science area of Physical and Chemical Changes. We will be writing our biographical texts and will begin a new unit in Maths.
 
Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves and if you are watching fireworks please stay safe.
 
See you on Monday.
 
Mr F

​Good afternoon everybody - Happy Friday!
 We have reached half-term and are all in need of a well-deserved rest.
This week, we have been working hard and have produced some super creative writing, based on slavery. We did some drama and wrote in role as a slave as a final writing piece for our History topic of The Benin Kingdom. We have worked hard in Maths, looking at addition and subtraction, particularly the column method for each. In Science, we explored what a solute, solvent, solution are and what the terms soluble and insoluble mean.  The children have had their Music and PSHE sessions with Miss Boyce and RE with Miss Penny.  We have been active every morning (that it hasn’t been raining!), we have also enjoyed another exciting session with our PE coach Mrs Edwards. This week, we worked on invasion game skills, through netball with a tournament to end this focus area.
New spellings are now on Dojo for the groups. There is a digital copy of this half term's Wider Curriculum Home Learning on Dojo, I have received some very creative examples so far. For this, there is a choice of activities, I would like to see 3 completed activities by Monday 1st November, which is the first Monday back after half term. There is lots of time to complete this so I will be expecting some really good quality pieces.
  In terms of home learning, can I remind everybody that the expectation is that children read for at least 10 minutes at home every day, this can be magazines, newspapers, manuals, cookery books, as well as their reading books, as it is all reading. This is to promote reading for pleasure as there is nothing better than a good book. Remember, that you are your child’s greatest role model, so if they see you enjoying a good book, it really promotes good learning habits.  I will ask that reading is recorded in their home learning folder, and that as on next week, I would like to see the folders every Friday.
  I would also like children to spend time working on their times tables, which are vital in so many areas of the Maths curriculum.  They can do this through Times Tables Rock Stars, I have also posted a list of great websites to practise on for half term.
 
Next week, really enjoy your half term, as the children have worked very hard and have learnt a lot.
Here are a few things that they have had to say about their learning this half-term:
 
In History, we have been learning about the Benin Kingdom.
The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. By the 1400s they had created a wealthy kingdom with a powerful ruler, known as the Oba. The Obas lived in beautiful palaces decorated with shining brass.
Gradually, the Obas won more land and built up an empire. They also started trading with merchants from Europe.
 
During this topic, we also learnt about the slave trade and wrote a diary extract as if we were a captured slave.
Dear Diary,
I am now an innocent slave that lives to get out of this prison. Me and my mates are always being beaten up for trying to run. The other day one of our ‘masters’ nearly killed Georgia for not hearing what to do! It’s so cold and dirty down here below deck we’re surrounded by diseases and death. After a week, I had cuts and scars all over me. It stung so much! Our punishments were severe, if we tried to run our ears would be chopped off and also we would be hung by our neck until we died. Outside, I could hear the crashing and thrashing of the waves. This was the worst time of the year, because everyone is bashing onto you which causes more injuries. A body thrown by the wave smashed into me, the smell was indescribable. Blood trickled down my face towards my eyebrow. I clung on for dear life. Could this be the end…
Amber died 20th July 1692.

MINI POLICE
Hello, hello, hello! After 2 weeks  with Matt, we have learnt about Cyberbullying and bullying. Next half-term we are going to focus more on Cyberbullying. In the first week, we learned a bit about Matt’s life as a police officer. Today, we watched a video about a 13 year old boy named Joe and how he was bullied at school.
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Science
In Science this term, we have been focusing on separating mixtures. We also revised what solids liquids and gases are. These are the three states of matter.
 
Have a great week, whatever you are doing, get outside and enjoy yourselves.
 
See you on Monday 1st November
 
Mr F