This week has been packed with creativity, thinking, and learning across the curriculum.

In English, we applied our setting toolkit to describe a grand, Victorian-style kitchen. We boxed up the model text, planned our own versions, created a shared write, and then hugged the first paragraph to ensure it was rich in detail and atmosphere.

In Maths, we focused on using efficient multiplication strategies. We explored how our knowledge of multiplying by 10 can help us multiply by 5. We also spent several sessions practising division by partitioning numbers into manageable multiples. For example, when dividing 85 ÷ 5, we partitioned 85 into 50 and 35, then divided each part by 5.

In Science, we investigated the boiling points of different metals and represented our findings by creating bar graphs.

Art was a particularly inspiring lesson this week. The thoughtful work produced by the class was truly wonderful. We were inspired by artists Grayson Perry and Paula Scher, focusing on their use of typography—particularly their map-based work featuring words and postcodes. The children were given a map of Rickmansworth, tracing paper, and sketching pencils. Some chose to trace the town, while others created their own maps or explored the pathways of the brain. It was fascinating to see how children expressed ideas about their identity, sense of self, and personality.

In Geography, we explored the key features of a mountain, including the foot, face, ridge, snow line, tree line, summit, and valley.

In RE, we learned about the Panchatantra—a large collection of moral tales from India that illustrate virtues and vices. These stories are shared with Hindu children around the world to teach values and the importance of good karma. The class created comic strips to retell The Crows and the Cobra.

During Guided Reading, we read The Grunts by Philip Ardagh. We practised inferring meaning by reading between the lines and thoroughly enjoyed this Twits-style story.

Thank you for supporting your child at home by listening to the Young Voices songs. This is really helping the children to prepare for our visit to Wembley Arena.

Spellings have been sent out today. We are focusing on the -ly suffix, including:

• Words ending in -ic add -ally (e.g. basic → basically)

• Words ending in y change to i and add -ly (e.g. happy → happily)

• Words ending in -le change to -ly (e.g. gentle → gently)

• Words where the root word does not change (e.g. final → finally)
  These are available on Doodle Learning for extra practice.

The Change Maker Project

This week, we spent time in class-based Collective Worship discussing the four activities in this half-term’s Change Maker Project. Please encourage your child to complete one TRUST activity before the final week of the half-term. We have loved seeing the variety of activities completed from the Friendship and Compassion sections.

Homework

• Reading at least 5 times a week

• Doodle English & Maths assignments

• Spellings to learn

• TTRS – 14 times

Reminder

Young Voices takes place on Tuesday 3rd February. Please encourage your child to practise the songs over the weekend.

Thank you for your continued support 🌟