September

Tiger class have settled in brilliantly so far and have quickly fallen into rhythm to embrace their learning. 

We have been learning about place value in Maths with the value of each digit (up to 100 in Y2 and 1000 in Y3) being a key focus. We have used different concrete resources such as dienes, place value counters and Rekenreks to help as well as visual resources including place value charts and part-whole models. The children have been engaged and enthusiastic with this learning and have taken pride in presenting their learning too. 

In English, we have been focused on the place value of punctuation where we have looked at common and proper nouns, being verbs, regular action verbs and irregular action verbs. We will continue with this in grammar lessons moving forward as we are now beginning our English unit based on the book 'Stardust' by Jeanne Willis and Briony May Smith. This will explore a variety of emotions and ultimately focus on how everybody is amazing in their own way.

We are also reviewing Phase 5 phonics before this links into spelling. 

Each morning, children complete handwriting practice and this has already had a significant impact which many are very proud of!

In Science, we have had fun this week looking at different types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic and how these are formed. Next week we will be doing experiments to identify chalk and limestone and identify what makes up soil using magnifying glasses and sieves. We will also learn about how fossils are formed. 

In Music, we are focusing on ballads with some fantastic songs, including:

•  'Space oddity by David Bowie' 
• 'Unchained melody by The Righteous Brothers' 
• 'On my own by Samantha Barks' 
• 'Everything I do by Brian Adams'
• 'I will always love you by Whitney Houston' 

We will then look at the lyrics of ballads before writing and performing our own. 

In RE, we are focusing on 'what makes us human' with a focus on worldviews and how different people have different beliefs. This will include looking at spirituality and Buddhist views. The main purpose of RE is for children to develop an awareness of other's beliefs and why this is important for respect and tolerance. 

In Art, we have looked at cave art and Vincent Van Gogh. We experimented with and created using a range of materials, including paint. We looked at using techniques in painting to show texture and shape such as: impasto, sgraffito and tonking.

In French, we are learning greetings such as how to say hello, goodbye and how to introduce ourselves. 

In PSHE, we are currently looking at the 'Beginning and Belonging' unit, which focuses on building relationships, coping with new situations and different sources of support they can access such as their family, school adults and trusted people to them. 

Overall, it has been a very busy beginning to the new year and they have taken this in their stride.