Happy Easter everyone; I hope the holidays have started well for you.  The sun is shining, so I hope you will be able to make the most of the holiday despite the restrictions.  We had a busy final week of term culminating in a celebratory goodbye to Miss Chauhan.  The children have worked hard this term and when we return for their final term we will try to make the most of those final weeks at primary school.  I will do my best to ensure they are ready for the next stage in their education.  Inevitably this will include some kind of assessment of their learning throughout primary school but as you know this will not be in the form of SATs as is normally the case.  There will also be some opportunities for transition meetings and also some celebrations and fun to mark the end of this stage in their education.  Looking forward to it.  I have not set any homework for the holiday so you can have time with your families without worrying about home learning!  I hope children will continue to love their reading though.
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Happy Friday parents, carers and children!
We've had a busy yet fun week and the children have worked hard with focus, thoughtfulness and imagination.  Their stories are complete in draft and I will share some of the excellent writing they have been doing in the gallery below.  The children are showing confidence in maths lessons and have been focusing on sharing their understanding verbally as well as in their books using "I know that..." sentences to explain their reasoning.  This emphasis on talk has been reflected in an oracy lesson in which we really thought about the skills of speaking and listening and how important these skills are for learning and for life!  We made a set of 'talk rules' which we will use to help us improve our class discussion and debating.  You will have seen some of the great still-life painting they did in art with Miss Chauhan and hopefully you also enjoyed the Samba drumming posted on the School Dojo page.  Thank you Mrs Mathews; they loved that and were brilliant.  We enjoyed Lacrosse again on Monday and also dodged the showers and the balls in dodge ball this morning with our Saints coach Mr Stronge.  Only four more days of school until these children will be starting their last term of primary school - can you believe it?!
Homework has been set this week, which is to create something for our reading corner display.  The details of this homework can be found in Google Classroom.  In addition to this, the children chose 10 homophones as spellings to learn this week.  I hope they will also be reading regularly at home and will send me a photograph of them in their favourite reading place.  

We have had some fun with Red Nose Day today with children wearing red, some wearing their official red nose and others with some very artistic face paints.  We had a Red Nose Day quiz this afternoon and watched a video to understand what sort of causes the money raised by this event might help.

This week we have learnt more about human evolution in science and completed our short unit on converting measure.  We have now started learning how to find the area and perimeter of 2d shapes as well as the volume of cuboids.  We will be remembering some of our algebra to use formulae to do this.  In English, we have begun writing an overcoming the monster story inspired by Beowulf. We are writing a class planned story at the moment and then children will go on to write their own invented story.  I'm sure we shall have some gruesome tales to tell!
We have enjoyed two PE lessons this week, which children were surprised about but I did remind them that this is what we are required to deliver.  In one session we used some of the new PE equipment that Mr Foreman has invested in for the school to play Lacrosse - it was a first for me and for most of them and seems like a really enjoyable and accessible sport.  Then today, Mr Stronge from Saints set the class some problem solving challenges in his PE lesson - great fun to watch!
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Next week, we will have PE on Monday and Friday - La Crosse and fitness based challenges.  We hope for some dry weather so the children can start using the field for playtimes.  I have set spellings for them to learn which are a review of some of the spellings taught during lockdown as well as three personal spellings.  They have brought these home with them and I have asked them to find their homework folder over the weekend so we can start using that again.  There is no other homework this week but it would be good if they could fins some time to enjoy some reading and to practise their times tables on TTRS.
​Have a great weekend!

 As the children left tonight - some of them said "It doesn't feel like it's been only a week, it feels like we've been back for ages!"  I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I'm going to have a positive mind set and decide that it means they already feel back into the swing of school and have settled back well.  The evidence certainly seems to suggest that.  It has been a really lovely week - the children have been happy, relaxed sociable and calm all week.  We have done lots of practical activity as well as lots of activity to check in on mental well being as well as easing back to a good standard of learning and focus.  I hope to continue to integrate practical activity with their written work but have stressed the importance that they are able to switch from activity and group work to focussed independent work so that all skills are developed to an appropriate standard in readiness for secondary education. 

This week we have been inspired by Amanda Gorman's poem The Hill we Climb.  If you haven't heard it click on the link below to watch her recite it at Joe Biden's inauguration speech.  Such stirring stuff from a young woman!  We illustrated some of the most meaningful phrases as well interpreting some with movement.  We have also returned to our 'Overcoming the monster' story of Beowulf and made some gruesome monster faces and used drama to respond to Kevin Crossley-Hollands version.  We have begun work on measures and had a go at estimating the capacity of the school pool to varying degrees of success - however some children had some excellent strategies for estimation and some showed good knowledge of volume and capacity and how they were related.  In science we have been recapping on our evolution and inheritance topic and today, we investigated bird beaks and learnt how Darwin's theory of evolution was supported by the different beaks of the Galapagos finches.  We also had our first real-life PE lesson with Mr Stronge.  It was good to see EVERYONE joining in the team games with respect and cooperation.  We have read our own books every single day this week and have also started our new class novel - Skellig - one of my all time favourites!

I have not set any homework for this week - they've done enough of that for a while!  However, I today checked that they all still had their Home Reading Diaries and gave new ones to anyone who didn't.  Please make sure your child continues reading regularly, even if this lapsed in lockdown, and notes their reading in their diary to be checked at school once a week.  Children could also be using Timestable Rockstars at home and next week I will set spellings too.

Thank you everyone for being so amazing during lockdown - although only a few children brought home certificates today, really I could have given out loads more as they were all fantastic!  I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

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This is my last blog before all the children return to school on Monday and I can't wait!   The children who have been at school during lockdown have been absolutely fantastic but I am so looking forward to having the whole class back together again.  On Monday, children will need to bring their own equipment to school:  A black handwriting pen, a pencil and rubber and some colouring pencils or felt pens.  We will need to keep the classroom well ventilated and it can be quite cold so please make sure children wear plenty of layers under their uniform.  They should enter the classroom via the back door as they were before Christmas and bring their coats and bags into the classroom with them.  We will ease back into normal routines next week with plenty of opportunity to reflect and look forward.  I am keen to get them off of those screens and getting them talking to each other in real life!!

We have had a good final week of blended learning.  We have had fun with stories this week while celebrating World Book Day.  I really enjoyed our Google Spookathon Meeting with Hazel Class on Thursday where the children had the opportunity to read their 100 word ghost story.  Some great stories from both our class and Hazel Class.  Lots of children have entered the World Book Day 'toilet roll challenge' - winners will be announced next week.  At school, the children have done a great job of clearing up the orchard ready for us to use our fantastic environment for some outdoor learning this spring and summer.  They were rewarded with some delicious melting marshmallows toasted on our new fire-pit kindly donated by a Year 6 parent. I have seen many children at home have also been helping out in the garden and getting things ready for spring which is surely here now.  

Have a great weekend everybody - Have a look at our pictures from this week featuring Miss Boyce's art challenge, WBD outfits, toilet rolls, fitness gurus

At last some fine weather to enjoy.  At school, we have been enjoying our fantastic school grounds at playtimes but also for our learning.  The children at school and at home have been thinking about how we could improve our school grounds to make it an even better outdoor learning environment.  We will begin next week with the children who are at school, by having a general tidy up in the orchard.  If your child attends school on Wednesday, they will need clothes they can work in as well as wellies and gardening gloves if you have some.  They can also bring small tools with them to use such as secateurs to use to cut back some weeds etc.  We have also been using the orchard and field for some orienteering activities which has been really enjoyable and good for map reading skills.  

This week we have been finding out about the epic Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf in readiness to read Kevin Crossley-Holland's version and to write some of our own 'overcoming the monster' stories.  We will pause this teaching sequence next week while we celebrate World Book Day (Thursday) using the theme "Share a story".  All week we will be reading, writing and sharing stories - but with a difference!

We have come to the end of our unit on algebra in maths which the children have done very well with.   It's great to hear children using the maths vocabulary naturally (equations, expressions, substitution) and not just in maths lessons.  On Monday, we will be doing an end of unit assessment followed by some problem solving and reasoning work over the rest of the week so we can start our new unit when all the children return.

It has been good to see that many children are still engaging with the whole curriculum and have taken up some of the afternoon challenges such as creating algorithms, learning about Lent, using French, and doing a bit of music. Some pictures below illustrate some of their work.

Have a good weekend and enjoy the fine weather.  I really can't wait until 8th March when we will begin our road to 'normal' again (whatever that may be!)

,Well, we have come to the end of another half term of lockdown learning.   You should be very proud of your children and of yourselves for the way that you, and they, have all approached this challenging time with positivity and resilience.  Thank you so much for your support.   I hope that the children have found the more flexible and creative approach to afternoon activities stimulating - we will continue in this way after half term.  I have enjoyed seeing the fossils made at home and at school as well as some nice entries for the geography challenge that Miss Radbourne set.  At school, we did some sewing in design and technology to create some Spring representations and some children got creative at home making flowers out of paper too.  Some children created a French menu - I wonder if any of them will be serving their dishes up on Valentines Day?  The children came up with some good ideas this afternoon for the pupil voice charter which we will be sending on to our Trust Champion Ed Finch.
During half-term there is no work set so it is an opportunity for you all to rest and recharge your batteries.  I hope it won't be too long before all the children can return to school as I am missing them so much!  In the meantime, I hope they will continue to engage as they have been, so they are ready to return to school learning as soon as it is allowed.
I believe Mr Foreman is setting a fun half term challenge which you will be able to find on the school website under School News.  There may be time left to buy a virtual balloon for the virtual balloon race that FONTS are organising - please help them to raise even more money for your children's school.  More details here: https://ecoracing.co/user/page/1349
Now time for the kids to get away from those screens and have some much needed fun and relaxation!
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We have been expressing ourselves this week as part of child mental health week.   Children have chosen to express themselves through music, art, cooking and even through what they have been wearing.  Today we dressed to express ourselves in whatever way we chose.  Whereas some chose to wear bright coloured clothes to express happiness, others wore a face covering and headphones to express how they were fed up of being stuck at home and on a laptop all the time! This week was a chance for children to express their feelings whatever they might be and to look forward to a hopeful future!  The children have finished their artwork and poetry this week and I will post some of their fantastic examples.  We have now finished out maths unit on percentages with an end of unit assessment today and generally the children seem fairly confident in their understanding.  It's important for them to recall a few equivalent facts which can help them: 1/2 = 0.5 = 50%  1/4 = 0.25 = 25% 3/4 = 0.75 = 75% - why not challenge your children to remember these facts?
We are continuing to learn all about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and will be writing a biographical text about him as well as learning more about his theory.  Next week we are going to have a go at making models of fossils - the evidence for evolution!
I have enjoyed meeting with some children on a one to one basis to support them with their learning or just to chat about how things are going.  I will be doing this regularly from now on and will endeavour to meet with every child over the next week- even if it's just to say hello.  Please ask children to keep checking the stream in Google Classroom in case I ask them to meet with me. Additionally, Miss Ruby has begun some 'catch-up' sessions with some children and will meet children again next week in pairs - look out for your meeting link and time on Monday or Tuesday.
Have a great weekend everybody - it's getting colder again - but hopefully dry, so wrap up warm and get out in the fresh air!

Happy Friday everyone.  It was nice to see a little bit of sun at the end of the day today but it's been a bit of a miserable week weather wise.  Hope we get some dry weather this weekend so we can get out and about.  I hope some children will get involved with the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend.  I will be taking an hour out to sit and watch the birds in my garden hope you can too.  Please send some pictures in.  Miss Radbourne has put more information about this on the School Dojo page.  
In maths, the children are doing really well with percentages this week and are showing good understanding - well done.  It's been a pleasure to work one to one with a few children to help them, an opportunity we don't always get, so it's good to find some advantages in this situation.  
The first drafts of the children's poems inspired by I am Cat have been really impressive - they are really trying hard to use all the success criteria - some early examples are attached but they are probably even better by now as I haven't had the chance to check them yet today.  Next week, children could have a go at their own Jackie Morris inspired artwork to accompany their poem pages.
In school, we have enjoyed some painting this week inspired by Pablo Picasso's Guernica - it made a nice change to get away from those screens.  We also enjoyed our P.E lesson this morning with Saints South West and are logging our daily activity on Travel to Tokyo https://www.getset.co.uk/travel-tokyo/north-tawton-community-primary-school-ex20-2hb/school-team-17986.  We had a go at creating a marathon winning moment - see the attached picture.
Have a great weekend - get away from those screens for a bit children - you don't want to be a screen zombie!! (See attached)
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