The children have been working well this week to develop the skills they have been learning over the last few weeks.  In English, we have been writing diary entries and command sentences relating to The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward, using questions and exclamation sentences as well.  In Maths we have been using our counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and seeing how these link to out time tables, which the children have picked up quickly!  In Science we have looked at a range of materials based on their properties and completed a prediction ready of our investigation next week on the most suitable material to make an umbrella with.  In PSHE we continued our unit on our feelings by discussing different feelings we experience during a range of scenarios.  In Geography we looked at life in the Polar Regions, looking at the different types of animals in both regions.  In Art we used oil pastels and chalk to create a range of different snail spirals, which was great fun!  In PE we learnt how to carry out hedgehog forward rolls and rock and roll.  Finally in ICT we have started looking at Spreadsheets.

We have also had our first visit to the new school library.  We explored the shelves together before sitting on the beautiful new library rug to listen to a story.  This will be a weekly occurrence, and we look forward to using this wonderful space.

Well done to our Star of the Week, Tommy.  Tommy has been working extremely hard in Maths this week with his times tables and has shown what a great times table whizz he is!  Tommy is a kind, helpful friend, and enjoys putting 100% effort into all our tasks.  Well done Tommy.

We have had a busy week in Caradoc and it is lovely to see the children developing in confidence by putting their hands up more and more to share their ideas and opinions.  In English we have been continuing our work on The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward, by using the conjunctions because and when, writing in the present tense, and asking questions to Mr Kenyon to help us with the dragons!  In Maths we have using the multiplication symbol in our number sentences and using arrays to help us find the correct answers.  In Science we looked at a range of everyday items and grouped them based on their properties, noticing that many can be put into several groups.  In Geography we recapped where the Polar Regions are located by using the huge school map in the corridor, then looked at the weather and temperature experienced.  In PE we moved around the hall using different shapes, speeds and heights, followed by learning the pencil roll.  In ICT we learnt about our Digital Footprints, with the children making a safety poster based on keeping our shared information safe.  In RE we learnt about the history of Islam and facts about this faith.

Well done to our Star of the Week, Keedie, who has listened extremely well over the last two weeks and has transformed her handwriting.  Keedie is also growing in confidence with sharing her ideas with the rest of the class, and is being a fantastic friend and member of Caradoc class.  Well done Keedie.

Here are a few photos to show our learning over the week:

Welcome back following the Christmas break. A huge thank you from myself and Mrs Morgan for our wonderful Christmas cards and gifts, we were really touched by them all, so thank you.  We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break.

The children have all settled back into the routine of school beautifully, and have all been working extremely hard throughout the week.  In English we have started a unit based on a book called The Dragon Machine, with children making predictions on what the book may be about, as well as using present tense to write sentences imagining dragons were taking over our classroom!  In Maths we have started our Multiplication and Division unit with the children recapping their Year 1 knowledge on making equal groups and adding equal groups.  In Science we continued our Everyday Materials unit by looking at simple properties of materials, with the children describing a range of objects around the classroom, and in RE we started our Islam unit with the children sharing what they already know.  In Geography we have started looking at the Polar Regions, with our first lesson focusing on their location, as well as the continents and oceans of the world, and in Art we used a range of drawing media to make marks, comparing the marks each media made.  In PE we started our Gymnastics unit with making different shapes with our bodies, and in ICT we continued our Online Safety unit by sharing email safely.

Congratulations to Valeria for being awarded the Christian Distinctiveness badge for last half term.  Valeria constantly shows compassion towards all members of the class and school, as well as towards all adults.  She is caring, considerate and so helpful.  Well done Valeria!

Please remember that our PE days are a Monday and Thursday, and children must be reading at home at least 4 – 5 times a week.  Spellings will start from Monday, 10th January, with our first spelling test of the term taking place on Monday, 17th January.  Remember, if you have any questions, or wanted to share any news, please do contact me on Dojo or let me know on the school door.

Here are a few photographs of our learning this week.

The children have all been extremely excited this week due to the start of our Christmas Production rehearsals.  They have all worked hard so far by learning the songs and starting to read their lines.  Their scripts will be sent home regularly to help them learn their words off by heart, please do make sure the scripts are returned to school every day.

This week in English we have been learning about adverbs, adjectives, statement sentences and exclamation sentences in order to help us write our windy day descriptions in the upcoming weeks.  In Maths we added by making ten using tens frames, and we have started to learn column addition, not crossing ten to start with, followed by crossing 10. In Science we looked at animals and plants and how they adapt to their environments. In History we looked at our baby photographs and ordered them on a timeline, discussing what a timeline is and why we use them.

Congratulations to our Christian Distinctiveness Champion, Dalia. Dalia demonstrates the value of generosity constantly, she is kind and caring, always making sure everyone is happy.  Well done Dalia!

It was lovely to welcome all the children back after half term, and see how happy and keen they were to continue with their learning.  This week we have been looking at the features and success criteria of a windy day description, followed by looking at different verbs.  In Maths we have continued our Addition and Subtraction unit by looking at 10 more and 10 less, related facts, number bonds to 100 and adding and subtracting in ones.  In Science we completed a sticky knowledge quiz to see what we remembered from our Animals including Humans unit, and in RE we discussed our knowledge of Christmas.  In ICT we continued creating algorithms (a set of instructions) to make an animal move by pressing a button and in PE we started our dance unit by moving around the hall like an animal.

Well done to our Star of the Week, Allan.  Allan is working hard across all lessons but I am particularly impressed with his attitude and listening. He puts his hand up instead of shouting out and is always wanting to share his opinions. This week Allan has worked extremely hard in art creating his own Christmas card with a story and meaning behind it. Well done Allan.

Please remember I am holding a parents zoom meeting on Monday, 8th November regarding phonics and early reading.  There are two sessions at 2.00pm and 4.30pm.  Please do try to attend one of the sessions, I will also be explaining the upcoming Phonics Screening Check.  You will find the links for both meetings on Class Dojo.

Finally I wanted to thank everyone who is reading with their child at home.  It is wonderful to read through all the reading records on a Friday and seeing how much you are enjoying listening to our children develop in their reading.