Dear Parents/Carers,

It was lovely to welcome all of your children back into school this week; I hope you all had a great half term and enjoyed a rest. The children have revelled in the challenge of remembering to call me Mrs Rankine this week and I’ve revelled in the challenge of remembering to respond to it! 

This week saw the children complete assessments in English and Mathematics. I was extremely impressed by the children’s attitude, hard work and effort towards these assessments. A big well done (and a much-needed rest) to all.

In Religious Education (R.E.) in the past half-term, we explored the big question of: Creation and science: conflicting or complementary? This allowed children to understand how the story of creation links to the Big Bang and Evolution theories. We then further explored the views of creation from different Christian perspectives and were surprised to find that rather than seeing scientific accounts and Genesis as being in conflict, there are many Christians who see them as complementary. One simple explanation offered by many Christians is that science addresses how questions about the universe, its origins and mechanisms, whereas religion — in this case, Christian belief in a Creator — addresses why questions. Lots of debate and interesting ideas shared together in this unit of learning! This half-term we look forward to exploring values of Christianity and Humanism.

In DT (Design & Technology), we are focusing on one of my personal favourite topics: food! The children quite literally jumped with joy when they discovered that, over the next six weeks, they will be making a class advent calendar. Hidden behind each door will be a Christmas biscuit, designed and made by each child. This week, the children have put their product evaluation skills to the test by looking at existing Christmas biscuits and considering differences and similarities about the biscuits’ shapes, decoration and colour scheme. It’s safe to say that quite a few rumbling tummies were heard as the children pondered what kind of biscuit they would like to create later on this half term.

This half term in music, we will be exploring 'Blue' music. This week, the children have listened to and discussed some of the origins of Blues music and we have started to clap rhythms to some pieces of Blues music. As the half term goes on, children will be playing instruments and composing their own music, inspired by Blues. If your child plays a musical instrument in school (or in lessons outside of school), they are encouraged to bring it in on Fridays so that they can use this in their music lessons as an additional opportunity to practise their skills and continue to play a range of styles of music. If your child does not play an instrument, we have instruments in school for them to play.

This year’s Maths Week is coming up quickly and will be celebrated 14th-18th November. During this week, the children will spend some time in their maths groups learning a times table song to encourage their recall of their times tables facts. Back by popular demand is our Times Tables Rockstars ‘dress like a rockstar’ day. The children are invited to come into school dressed up as a rockstar - wigs and blow-up guitars galore! - on Monday 20th November. Whilst they are in their rock personas on this day, they will share the times table song they learned during Maths Week in a whole school assembly.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for this week has been awarded to Lola. Well done to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines from this week: Lucas and Isadora.

Wishing you a happy weekend ahead with all your family.

Kind regards

Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit 

Dear Parents/Carers,

It’s hard to believe that another two weeks have passed since our last class email. It was lovely to see so many of your children wearing spots today to support Children In Need. As the week draws to a close, Falcons class have been working hard to prepare their class assembly to share with you next Friday.

In addition to Maths Week and Children In Need, we have also taken time to focus on Anti-Bullying Week. This year, the theme was ‘reaching out’ to others. This generated thoughtful conversation within our classroom, full of kind suggestions on how we can ‘reach out’ and help those who may be struggling when it comes to bullying. We also spoke about the different roles the children may see in a bullying incident: it is not simply the bully and the target. Through a mature discussion, which impressed myself and the other adults, children were able to recognise that being a bystander or reinforcing what the bully is doing is not the correct way to handle such a situation.

Many watering mouths were seen this Thursday afternoon as the children enjoyed a ‘magic moment’ linked to this half term’s geography learning: The World of Food. The children were able to sample various cuisines from around the world and consider where they think that particular dish came from. From Polish dumplings to Nigerian soup, we were able to take a whistle-stop tour around the world without even leaving the school grounds! We are incredibly appreciative of any food donations from yourselves, whether home-made or store-bought, to enable us to provide this enriching opportunity for the children. A special thank you to the Head Boy and Girl, as well as the Deputies, who helped to serve the food to their peers.

In Science this half term, our topic is 'Living Things and their Habitats'. Children started the topic with a review of their Lower Key Stage Two learning about animal groupings, recalling vocabulary such as vertebrate, invertebrate, mammal, fish, reptile, bird and amphibian. We then moved on to look at reproduction in plants and the difference between sexual and asexual reproduction. The children have taken basil cuttings and replanted them in the hope of producing new plants from one parent plant. Throughout this half term, we will look at life cycles of different groups of vertebrates. Of course, it wouldn't be a science topic about animals without looking at the work of David Attenborough and Jane Goodall where the children will have the chance to develop their non-fiction writing skills at the end of the unit.

As you will have noticed, if you are a Year 6 parent, we have now begun to use the CGP homework books for Reading, Mathematics and SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). There was great excitement when these books were first handed out – we hope this lovely enthusiasm continues as the weeks go on! Each week, children will be given two pieces of homework to complete (from the choice of three books) and then the homework will be reviewed in class with their teacher on a Thursday. Children will find that the homework acts both as a review and consolidation of previous work and as a challenge to move them forward with their learning. As we consider these books a key element of preparing children for SATs, we really appreciate your encouragement and support as children complete their weekly homework.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks has been awarded to Ewan and Belu. Well done to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines from the past two weeks: Edward, Shiana, Leo and Amber.

Have a fantastic (and hopefully rain-free!) weekend, everyone.

Kind regards

Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit 

2.12.2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, I would like to thank everybody that took time out of their busy schedule to come and watch Falcons Class assembly last Friday morning. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I hope that you did too. Yesterday morning, the children walked into their very own winter wonderland as the whole school had been decked out with Christmas decorations. Combining this with our daily singing practice, the children (and the adults!) have been truly getting into the festive spirit ahead of our Christmas performance next week. We cannot wait to share it with you.

In our RE (Religious Education) learning, we have been looking at the topic of ‘Christianity and Humanism’. We have considered the values that both these groups hold and how they define someone who is ‘good’ by the actions they perform and the principles they live by. We have thought about our own ‘code for living’, considering what is important to each of us; it was lovely to see so much care for both humanity and the environment expressed by the children in these thoughts as they designed their own code.

Moving on to French, we have been looking at the traditional high street in France. Children have designed their own high street incorporating traditional shops such as the boulangerie (bakery), boucherie (butchers), café and le marché (market). Using their English/French dictionary skills, children were then able to annotate their high streets with traditional food/goods that might be found there – in French, of course. We will be using our ‘high streets’ to then help us with mastering basic directions (such as turn left, right, straight on etc).

In PE this half term, the children have been taught by our sports coach, Miss Klausner and have been lucky enough to take part in basketball and sportshall athletics lessons. In basketball, they have worked on a number of different passes to use tactically in games. In athletics, the children have been enjoying a range of jumping skills such as the long jump and vertical jump. I know children are always keen to beat their own 'personal best' scores in these lessons, which is lovely to see.

Finally, in history, we have been exploring the ‘Kingdom of Benin’. This has linked very well with last half term’s English learning based on Windrush Child and last year’s history learning about the Atlantic Slave Trade. The children began their learning by looking at where this once great kingdom was situated in the world (in Nigeria, stretching from Lagos to the River Niger). Another one of our focuses has been on the ‘Benin bronzes’. The children discovered that the people of Benin would love to make bronze artwork for their king (the ‘oba’) as he would reward them with gifts in return. However, nobody believed that such wonderful work could come from Africa. We concluded that such opinions were conceived out of spite and envy rather than based on facts.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks has been awarded to Edward and Samuel. Well done to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines from the past two weeks: Olly, Liana, Logan and Amelia.

I wish you all a happy and festive weekend together. Only 23 sleeps to go!

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit

 16.12.2022

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been a lovely festive week with the children in Falcons Class. The children enjoyed their annual Christmas dinner on Wednesday and it was lovely to have such a festive atmosphere and enjoy dinner together with the rest of the key stage. I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the children for all of the thoughtful cards and presents I’ve received this week. It has been truly touching to have such a kind and caring class to spend the run-up to Christmas with.

Thinking back to last week, it was lovely to see so many of you at the Christmas Performance down at the Dunstable Conference Centre and, I’m sure you’ll agree, the children did us all proud. Beautiful singing, happy hearts and the joy of Christmas made it an evening to remember.

This week saw the activity the children have been yearning for all half term long: baking Christmas biscuits! The children reflected upon the biscuits they planned in their DT (Design & Technology) learning and followed a given recipe to create their individual masterpieces. Once the biscuits had been moulded into each child’s desired shape, the adults then slid them into the oven. The children waited with baited breath as their creations cooled before adding their unique decoration as the pièce de résistance. One biscuit per child was then placed into our class advent calendar to bring our topic to a close.

In Science this half term, we have been looking at Living Things and Their Habitats, with a particular focus on life cycles. Children have looked at, researched and compared the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish! We then looked more closely at the life cycle of humans. Finally, we spent some time applying the persuasive writing skills that were gained last half term in English in our Science lessons. Children learned all about conservationist Jane Goodall and her fantastic work with chimpanzees. Children wrote persuasive letters to try and get people to donate money to the Jane Goodall Institute - and what fantastic cross-curricular writing came as a result!

I wanted to send out my thanks to all the lovely children from the choir who sang on Tuesday afternoon at Elliot Court Retirement Living in Dunstable. There was an amazing turn out from the residents and the children were made to feel so welcome and appreciated. After some lovely singing (with many of the residents joining in, particularly loving our actions to ‘Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree’), the children were treated to squash, biscuits and a little Christmas treat. The visit went down so well that we already have an invite next year, which we will most definitely take up.

Finally, just a quick mention of homework to be completed over the Christmas holidays. All children across the school will be sent some Christmas-based tasks (if you can call eating a brussel sprout a task!) via Google Classroom, for which they will earn some rewards. In addition to this, the Year 6 children have been given an Arithmetic paper, a Reading task and some SPaG tasks to complete over the holidays.  We will, of course, reward Year 6 children for completing these homework tasks as well.

Finally, Falcon of the Week last week was awarded to Bethany. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines: Samuel and Alana.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Have a fantastic holiday with your family and take care, everyone.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit 

Class News Spring Term 2023

13.1.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been a great ten days with the children returning refreshed after the Christmas break and ready to learn. Since their return to school, the adults in the key stage have noticed that quite a few children are missing essential resources from their pencil cases such as green pens, whiteboard pens and glue sticks. If you are having difficulty finding these, children are able to buy them from the key stage for a very reasonable price (no commission taken by UKS2!). Many thanks for your help with this.

This week, as I am sure your child has discussed with you, we have been completing assessments in English and Mathematics. The children have approached these assessments with resilience and determination to show their best effort – well done to everyone! Results of the assessments will be recorded in the children’s planners and we will, of course, be happy to discuss these at the Learning Review meetings in a couple of weeks’ time.

There were a lot of excited children in the key stage last week when we introduced our new Science focus for this half term: Earth and Space! This is a topic the children have been fully engaged with so far, with many eager to share facts that they already know as well as to vocalise their understanding of new knowledge learned. Our first lesson focused around our solar system and its location in the universe. Everyone was blown away to find out that every star is the centre of its own solar system, with ours being the Sun. The children discovered that not everybody used to believe this, however, and thought that the Earth was the centre of our solar system instead. This week, we looked at another disproven theory: that the Earth is flat. Using scientific vocabulary, children were able to explain why people used to believe this and why the evidence shows that the Earth is actually spherical.

In Geography this half-term, we are exploring the ‘Amazing Americas’ and the children were very keen to share their prior knowledge of places they have visited in the Americas. We began our topic by familiarising ourselves with some countries (and their capital cities) in both North and South America, practising our atlas skills along the way. Our geographical thinking really came into the fore in the next lesson when we considered some key vocabulary such as: latitude, longitude, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn to name a few. Comparing multiple places across these two continents helped us to understand differences in typical weather and climate zones, as well as natural physical features.

In History, we are learning about the Vikings! We started by placing the Vikings in geographical and chronological context before moving on to looking at reasons that Vikings invaded Britain and what made them good warriors. The children will go on this half term to learn about Viking longships and ways of life; they will have some exciting opportunities to apply their new knowledge to some cross-curricular writing too!

Finally, Falcon of the Week this week was awarded to Isadora. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines: Reuben and Eliza.

I wish you all a happy and enjoyable weekend together.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit

27.1.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

First of all, I wanted to say how lovely it was to speak to so many of you at the Learning Review Meetings for the past two evenings. Mrs Francis, Miss Stevens and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to speak to you about your fantastic children and let you know how they are progressing within their English and Mathematics learning.

Since our last class email, the children have delved even deeper into the topic of Earth and Space in their science lessons. Despite popular belief, the children discovered that it is not the sun moving in the sky that causes day and night but our planet rotating on its axis once every 24 hours instead. Continuing to think about our solar system’s impact on time, the children learned that the moon orbits the Earth once every 28 days and that the Earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days, accounting for the ‘extra’ day every 4 years that causes a leap year. The children then investigated the other seven planets in our solar system and their respective year lengths, concluding that the further a planet is away from the sun the longer it takes to orbit (and therefore the longer its year). Truly fascinating stuff!

The children have absolutely loved their history learning this half term; they are now extremely knowledgeable about Vikings! They have looked at the ways the Vikings lived and travelled before putting together a guide to being a great Viking Warrior! We decided that some previous experience of fighting in battles would come in useful, along with the personal attributes of being blood-thirsty and strong! After that, the children looked in detail at Viking Longships and then designed their own. The Vikings were amazing at building these revolutionary ships that were well-designed to navigate Scandinavian fjords and travel to Britain.

In Music, the children have been working on their singing voices while exploring the British composer, Benjamin Britten. The children have enjoyed singing "A New Year Carol," which is around 100 years old. The children were originally surprised at how different the song sounded to our contemporary music but they definitely got stuck into the challenging vocal exercises needed to be able to sing the song.

In PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), we have been thinking about how we can keep ourselves safe. Some in-depth discussions have taken place discussing the fact that all medicines are drugs but not all drugs are medicine. Children have understood ways in which medicines can be helpful or harmful and used safely or unsafely. We then moved on to considering what a habit is compared to an addiction and how we know the difference. Good emotional health was then discussed, linking to our half-term value of happiness, where the children thought about and were able to recognise what is important to make them happy. The children were very mature in their thinking and some excellent discussions took place throughout these lessons.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks was awarded to Imogen and William. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines: Freddie, Leah, Joshua and Farah.

Wishing you a happy and restful weekend ahead.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit

10.2.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Wow - what a half term! It’s hard to believe that we are now half of the way through the academic year. Today saw an exciting games afternoon to encourage children’s connections with one another to celebrate Children's Mental Health Week.

This week, we have been fortunate enough to have two of our 'magic moments' to enrich the children's learning. On Monday, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Paul, Head of Engineering at the Mars Rover Project visit each class and speak to the children about the mission to send the Mars Rover to the moon. This was a fantastic way to enrich the children's thirst for knowledge about all things 'Earth and Space' this half term. We heard about all the different prototypes that have to be made and tested on (as the real Mars Rover can't get contaminated in any way), the different conditions on Mars which create challenges for the project (lower temperatures will cause the equipment to freeze and the decreased gravity means the Rover will be lighter on the moon). The children also got to hold and (unsuccessfully) try to damage a piece of spacecraft! The surprisingly light material was passed around and, although we all tried hard, we couldn't make a dent in it! No wonder it can withstand the shaky lift-offs! I have to say, the children were amazing with their listening and questions, as they have been all half term with this science unit. I can see some future engineers on our hands! We also really enjoyed our Viking workshop on Thursday this week. This was another fantastic way that we were able to enrich the children's curriculum by bringing it to life - memories to cherish for a long time!

In English this half-term, we have enjoyed looking at two different writing genres. The term began with the children being introduced to ‘the Scottish play’ (Macbeth). Soon they discovered that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s ambitions for power knew no limits as these two protagonists lied and murdered their way to the Scottish throne. Macbeth’s feelings after meeting the witches on the heath were explored when children wrote a letter from him to Lady Macbeth (some of these you will have seen on the recent newsletter). In the style of a soliloquy, the children then considered Lady Macbeth’s feelings after she came to the realisation of where her murderous intents had led the couple. Excellent writing was seen across the key stage and the children were very glad to see Macbeth get his comeuppance in the end! Our final piece of writing – a non-chronological report – was based on a short film called Pandora (taken from the movie Avatar). Children were given the opportunity to create their own imaginary creature inhabiting Pandora and thought about its appearance, diet and habitat. This gave everyone the chance to be creative and, again, some fantastic writing was the outcome of this very enjoyable stimulus.

Moving on to art, the children have thoroughly enjoyed this half term’s focus: sculptures. We explored two vastly different sculptors, namely Henry Moore and Giacometti. Children described Moore’s sculptures as semi-abstract whereas they found Giacometti's sculptures to be more representative. Despite their different artistic styles, the British and Swiss sculptor had one key detail in common: they both made sculptures based on the human form. The children were tasked to choose one of these world-famous artists as their inspiration and create their own sculpture, using a mixture of wire and clay. This was the perfect opportunity to put their 3D art skills to the test and some brilliant Moore and Giacometti lookalikes were formed. The children were then able to reflect upon their own work to consider what went well as well as how they could improve when making a sculpture in the future.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks was awarded to Freddie and Stanley. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines: Stanley, Malin, Leo and Bethany.

Have a lovely, relaxing half term’s break.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit

3.3.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been a great two weeks with the children (and staff!) returning refreshed after the half term break and ready to learn.

We are focusing on a chemistry unit in science this half term, namely ‘Properties and Changes of Materials’. The children will be planning, setting up and completing a series of experiments to investigate the way that various materials react to one another. We started the topic by revisiting some key vocabulary learned in LKS2 (such as melting, evaporation, condensation and freezing) as well as introducing some new terms (such as solvent, solute, soluble and insoluble). This week saw the first of our four investigations: Is water, rubbing alcohol or oil better at dissolving the colour and sugar coating from an m&m? The children were able to carefully consider what variables they would have to keep the same to ensure it would be a fair test. After the m&ms had been placed in the various solvents, the children were eager to explain the results. They found that water was the solvent that allowed the coating to fully dissolve, the rubbing alcohol dissolved the external colour but not the sugar coating whereas the oil was entirely ineffective. Next week, we will be investigating how best to separate a mixture of salt and sand. Any predictions?

In Geography this half term, we are looking at the topic of ‘Our Changing World’; this will have a specific focus on changing coastlines. We began by considering the different types of weathering that lead to erosion: physical, chemical and biological. To do this we carried out some geography experiments involving water being frozen and defrosted (to mimic the freeze-thaw cycle that leads to rocks cracking) and used an old favourite of mixing bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to show how chemical weathering can erode limestone rock. Many children were also quick to point out that biological weathering has definitely taken place in our local area with paving stones being pushed up by roots of trees (much to their annoyance!). Our lesson this week took us to the coast where we discovered how sand is formed and the process whereby the process of erosion can lead to a crack in a headland eventually becoming a cave, followed by an arch, a stack and then a stump.

In History, we have started our unit on the Islamic Civilisation. In our introductory lesson last week, children were introduced to the 'when' and 'where' of the civilisation to give them an overview of the main learning points. We will cover each of these in more detail over the coming weeks. This week, we honed in on the House of Wisdom - a place that scholars from all over the world flocked to and shared wisdom and knowledge. This part of the world was much more advanced than the West a thousand years ago as the children are already seeing. As the term progresses, we will look at the medicinal and mathematical advancements that the Islamic Civilisation made too.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks has been awarded to Reuben and Hannah. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines: Ewan, Amber, William and Isadora.

Wishing you a happy and restful weekend ahead.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit 

17.3.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

Another two weeks have flown by and some great learning has taken place in Falcons Class during this time.

It was fantastic to see so many children taking part in Red Nose Day today and showing their understanding of this very worthy cause. We enjoyed a whole school assembly led by the Safety Squad (amidst a sea of red), which helped us understand how the money that is donated is used to help others in need. And, of course, what better way to finish the day than a Bake Sale – thank you to everyone who donated some yummy cakes and those who bought them as well.

This week is British Science Week and we are lucky enough to be celebrating in school with this year's theme: 'Connections'. The week was launched by an assembly on Monday with a house competition involving different 'Connections-themed' challenges and the opportunity to earn gold coins. We have also been fortunate enough this week to have an external visitor to link both science week and our current science topic of materials. The children thoroughly enjoyed building animal shelters out on the field, thinking about the appropriate uses of materials and also being able to spend some time connecting with nature. Finally, we took advantage of a live virtual lesson this week - learning about how wool connects to outer space! There is also a science week competition which is open until 27th March - further details are on Google Classroom and we are really looking forward to some creative entries.

In PSHE this half-term, we have been looking at the overall theme of ‘Me and My Relationships’. To explore this, different activities have taken place including considering how to spend money wisely (and whether items are needs or wants!), understanding where funding for public services comes from (very topical of course at the moment) and thinking about how we can live in a more environmentally sustainable way. As always, children have expressed their opinions very eloquently and are able to think through some deeper issues with care and consideration of others’ views.

The children have shown a real enthusiasm for their project in Design Technology: to make a Viking longship. Although there were a few sighs of disappointment when they realised they were making a model and not a full-size longship, they have loved recalling their history learning from last half term and applying it in a different subject. To reach this end goal, the children have explored how portable structures are built as well as how they can be strengthened. This has included the children building their own 3D shapes, with many reaching the conclusion that triangular structures have more integrity. Last week, each team planned what they wanted their longship to look like, considering its intended user (a Viking!) and purpose (to travel across the North Sea). Children also had to decide what joining materials they would use to ensure a secure and stable structure. They’re all very keen to collect their materials, pick up their tools and start building!

Finally, just a reminder that next week is mock SATs week for the Year 6s.  Year 6 children will take these assessments in the rooms that they will have their actual SATs in and the mornings will be run as the ‘real thing’ (which will even include a little morning snack to boost energy); this is a great opportunity for children to feel comfortable with the room and adult they will be working with in May (9th-12th). We would ask that each child comes into school with a water bottle and a book to read (named).

Falcon of the Week this week was awarded to Amber. Well done also to our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines from the last two weeks: Miles, Brooke, Belu and Imogen.

I wish you all a happy and enjoyable weekend together.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit

 31.3.2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

I cannot believe that this is the last class email that I will be sending to you! What a fantastic two terms it has been with your children, watching them grow and tackle new challenges. I am so proud of every single member of Falcons Class and wish them every success in the Summer term and as they move forward in their learning journey, be that Year Six or Year Seven. Over the last two weeks, Miss Doherty has been spending some quality time getting to know the children to ease the transition of her teaching them after Easter.

As you are aware, the Year 6s had their mock SATs last week and we were so delighted with their engagement, effort and determination to do the best they could. It can be quite daunting when sitting a set of assessments in English and Mathematics, but the children coped really well and their amazing efforts definitely paid off as great progression was seen across many of the assessments. It was lovely to see the joy on children’s faces (and a few happy tears) when they received their results and could see how their hard work had paid off. Now, we move forward to the 9th -12th May with renewed energy and perseverance!

In Geography this half term, we have been enjoying learning about changing landscapes and understanding how coastal features of erosion and deposition can change a coastline. Children looked at a case study based on Skipsea, showing great understanding of the issues faced by people in this village as they wrote an empathetic diary entry from the perspective of a Skipsea resident. Looking to the future, we then considered what life might be like in the year 2050 by looking at climate change models and what changes we might see in the landscape as a result

The children have thoroughly enjoyed getting their hands dirty (literally!) in our science learning this half term. Planning investigations has given them the opportunity to practise how to write different elements of a scientific report, including the method, the results and the conclusion. Our final experiment saw the children replicate the processes of a water treatment facility. Each table group worked through the various stages: aeration (adding air to the dirty water by shaking it), sedimentation (removing the sediment from the dirty water) and filtration (pouring the dirty water through a filter of pebbles, coarse sand and fine sand). The children were wide-eyed with amazement as they watched their dirty water drip through the filter and transform into a clear, drinkable liquid. As our topic drew to a close, the children were able to collate all of the knowledge they have gained over the last six weeks and create beautiful double-page spreads to explain their learning. I was blown away by their use of vocabulary, including key terms focused upon throughout the half term such as solubility, reversible change and filtration.

History this half term has seen the children learn all about the Ancient Islamic Civilisation. Throughout the topic, children have thought about the role of Baghdad in the rise of the civilisation. Children then learned about the House of Wisdom: a place where scholars from the surrounding nations would seek to come to share their knowledge and wisdom; this mixing of great minds led to huge progress in areas such as mathematics, science and medicine. This was a great opportunity for writing where the children put together their own prospectus for the House of Wisdom. We compared this to the European civilisations at the time and decided that the Islamic world was far more advanced; we'd definitely prefer their medicinal treatments for some illnesses and ailments. Finally, the children were introduced to the huge trading power of the Islamic Civilisation and the trading route of the Silk Road. The children have loved this topic and it has been perfectly placed so show contrast with our previous topic of the Vikings as there is huge crossover in the time period of these two topics.

Finally, Falcon of the Week for the last two weeks has been awarded to Shiana and Amelia.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend ahead with all your family.

Kind regards
Mrs Rankine, Mrs Dundon and Mrs Paruit