Falcons Class
Class News Autumn Term 2025
12.9.25
Dear parents and carers,
Welcome everyone to Falcons Class! It has been an absolute pleasure to be with the children over the last few weeks and to hear all about their wonderful summer adventures. Already there has been kindness aplenty – they really are a lovely class! As well as spending time in their base class, the children have settled in brilliantly into their English and Mathematics classes and I know there has been great excitement in starting our new text in English – Journey to Jo’burg.
Our History topic for the term is ‘The Atlantic Slave Trade’ and we began the topic by listening to some evocative slave songs and then considering the definition of a slave. We thought about the fact that slavery has existed throughout history in many different cultures, looking at primary sources from Ancient Greece and Rome. Children were then presented with a series of pictures taken from the time of the Atlantic Slave Trade and, thinking like historians, we considered what we could see in the pictures, what might be happening and what questions we had arising from the pictures. Children were really engaged in their learning and are very keen to learn more about this important topic.
In Geography we have started our new topic for the half term – investigating rivers. We started by recapping our knowledge on the water cycle, something children would have been familiar with during their science learning in LKS2. The children enjoyed creating their own diagrams to explain the process of the water cycle and included key vocabulary such as precipitation, infiltration and condensation. Ask your child if they can explain the process to you! Next week, we’ll be investigating rivers further as we look at how rivers erode, transport and deposit materials.
Our topic for this half term in Science is light and we will be exploring the Big Idea that 'Objects can affect other objects at a distance'. We had a very exciting start to our learning as we carried out an experiment to prove how light travels. Using a torch as a light source and several pieces of card with a small hole in the centre, we were able to prove that light rays can only travel in a straight line. We recorded our findings by drawing and labelling a diagram of our experiment and then wrote up our findings making sure to include lots of key vocabulary. Amazing scientific learning from all the children, well done everyone!
It has been great to see the children coming into the classrooms well prepared for their learning. In addition to the basic equipment, we would also appreciate all children having a whiteboard pen, green biro and glue stick to hand for each lesson; if children have run out of any of these pieces of equipment, they can be bought from Mrs Francis’ ‘shop’ at very competitive prices!
Falcons of the Week are Demi and Arlo.
Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Kornel and Lilly.
Wishing you a really wonderful weekend with your lovely children,
Mrs White
26.9.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
The weeks are certainly flying by as we come to the end of Week 4! We have been thoroughly enjoying our learning in Falcons Class and I have been so impressed with the engagement, hard work and enthusiasm from everyone. They really are a wonderful class.
What helps Hindu people as they try to be good? That’s the question we’ve been exploring during our Religion and World Views learning this term. We have enjoyed wonderful and thoughtful discussions with the children as we have explored the idea of important concepts in Hinduism – samsara, karma and dharma. Ask your child if they can recall what these mean and why they are so important to Hindus. To help children to understand these important words, we played a traditional Indian game of ‘Moksha Chitram,’ where good actions are represented by ladders and bad actions are represented by snakes. Children were tasked with thinking about positive actions that they have carried out in their own lives that would help them to climb ladders and examples of negative actions which would see them fall down. Next week, we will be exploring the word ‘dharma’ in greater detail and exploring their own duties now and in the future.
Having previously carried out an experiment that helped us to understand that light only travels in straight lines, this week in Science we set out to challenge this thinking. We looked at what a periscope was and how they have been used throughout history. We learnt that they are used to see over and around obstacles. The children were fascinated to learn how they had been used in World War I and II in the trenches to see over the top, monitor what the enemy were doing and to protect them from enemy fire. We looked into the science behind a periscope and how mirrors and angles are used to reflect the light to allow the light to travel along the periscope and to your eye. A highlight was then making and testing our own periscopes. We had such fun taking the periscopes outside looking over and around obstacles - what a great lesson!
Congratulations to Charlie and Laila who have been awarded Falcon of the Week. Our Handwriting Hero and Heroine go to Alice and Hugo for fantastic handwriting. Well done children!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Mrs White
10.10.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a wonderful few weeks we’ve had in UKS2! The children have done fantastically well this week during our assessment week. The children tackled papers with determination and enthusiasm and are eagerly awaiting their results. These will be shared with the children next week. Throughout the assessments, we have reminded the Year 5 children that they are just at the start of their journey towards SATs and so these assessments are purely to give a baseline for the teachers.
The children have been enjoying nurturing and caring for our array of plants in UKS2. These were planted during the first week of term and the children have delighted in seeing their first spinach and kale leaves form which will be happily devoured by our guinea pigs.
We have also been embracing nature in our art lessons, as children have been researching about the life and work of Antoni Gaudi. The children were fascinated to learn how he was inspired by nature, studying things like trees, bones and shells to design his structures. This research helped them understand how natural forms can influence creative work, sparking some excellent discussions about organic shapes and design.
Our Geography lessons have taken a creative turn. To consolidate their learning about the water cycle, the uses of rivers and the problem of pollution the children began the planning process in order to write imaginative diary entries from the viewpoint of a water droplet. This approach made complex concepts like condensation and evaporation relatable and will allow them to express their understanding in a fun, narrative way.
We dove into human biology this week, focusing on the fascinating structure of the eye in science. The children did a truly fantastic job of identifying and labelling the different parts, from the pupil and iris to the retina and optic nerve. They showed impressive concentration and accuracy, demonstrating a solid grasp of how this vital sense organ works.
Finally, we celebrated finishing our first full English text, "Journey to Jo’burg," which was a powerful and moving experience. The story provided an important introduction to the historical injustice of Apartheid in South Africa. The children showed wonderful empathy when writing a deeply reflective diary entry from the main character Naledi's point of view, helping them to connect personally with the themes of courage and equality.
Falcon of the Weeks have been awarded to Poppy and Alex. Handwriting Hero and Heroine has been awarded to Ethan and Esther.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend with your lovely children,
Mrs White
24.10.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know the children this half term. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing new friendships formed, existing ones strengthened and seeing children celebrating various successes in their learning. I’m a very proud teacher of the wonderful Falcons Class.
In computing, the children have been learning all about online systems including investigating how Amazon creates efficient processes to help in the day-to-day running of their business. We put our skills to good use by developing our own system at Lark Rise – our digital library. The children have thought about how to improve our current system so it is user-friendly and books can be quickly logged back into the library. To help with this, the children have learnt how to create and share Google Forms, how to use formulas in excel to interpret the data and they also created wonderful posters and videos explaining how the book return system works. We’re excited to launch this and the Reading Ambassadors are already excited to use the data to suggest future book purchases to Mrs Lang.
In history, the children have been thoroughly captivated in our learning on the transatlantic slave trade. We will continue to learn about this important topic next term but we ended this half term with researching and then creating a factfile on the life and experiences of Harriet Tubman. Ask your child to explain why she is so important and about her incredible bravery and determination. We have been so impressed with the children and their maturity and sensitivity when learning about this important topic.
In science, we ended our learning on light with a carousel of science experiments, where the children were about to see refraction in action. This was part of our celebration of Biology Week, where we were inspired by Mrs True’s wonderful assembly to kick-start the week. We have all really enjoyed this topic and the children have created wonderful pieces of work to share their learning, really showing their ability to work scientifically. We look forward to more science next term!
In art, the children enjoyed working in groups to complete Trencadis designs, which were made famous by Antonio Gaudi. The children used mosaic tiles to create a nature-inspired piece of work. We then used these creative skills to think about how we could redesign our key stage block. We were blown away with the children’s creativity and we definitely have some budding architects.
This week we started rehearsing for our class assembly which takes place on Friday 21st November at 9am. The children have a script but there is no need for them to know their lines off by heart. Our first rehearsal was fantastic - I can’t wait for them to share it with you.
Homework for the half term has been set on Google Classroom in Falcons Base Class. The children have been tasked with creating a poster promoting someone who has made a significant impact in the black community. This ties in really lovely with both our English and History work and is part of our celebrations around Black History Month.
Falcon of the week is Harleigh and handwriting hero and heroine are Oliver and Ella.
Wishing you a wonderful half term break with your children.
Mrs White
14.11.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are all firmly back in the swing of life in UKS2 following the half term break. It has been lovely to hear all about the children’s exciting adventures with you all.
In computing, the children have been very excited to start our new topic – video production. We have started to look at the various features of videos and have then delved deeper into the different camera angles and the effect of these on the viewer. We then analysed the differences between genres of videos and discussed how features such as font and audio can be used to appeal to different audiences. The children have already started to work on our end point – creating a seasonal video! I have been really impressed with their creativity and can’t wait to see their finished videos.
In English, we have all been captivated with our new book – Skellig, by David Almond. The children have been working on developing their impressions of various characters as well as using their prediction skills to decipher what is the strange thing that is living in Michael’s garage. Ask your child to explain what has happened in the story so far. I’m sure you’ll be just as gripped as we are! We were also excited to take part in Michael Rosen day, with the children joining in on a live lesson with one of our favourite authors. This was a really special lesson as the children have looked at various Michael Rosen texts throughout their time at Lark Rise, with Chocolate Cake being a very firm favourite!
In science, we have started our new topic on electricity. In our first lesson, the children researched and reviewed key topics including what electricity is, different types of circuits and how and why static electricity is created.
We have also enjoyed celebrating Anti-Bullying week, with the children joining in on a live lesson which got them to think about different scenarios as well as thinking about what they can do to avoid being bystander.
We just wanted to give a reminder about charging Chromebooks. We’ve noticed that we have a growing number of children that are regularly coming into school with their Chromebook uncharged. We understand that sometimes they might forget to do this, but please do try to remind your child to do this. While we have a few spare Chromebooks for children to use if their Chromebook is faulty, we do not have enough for children to be using if their device is flat. Thank you for your help with this.
Handwriting Hero is Gabriel and Heroine is Emily. Falcon of the week is Oliver.
Finally, just a reminder that our class assembly is on Friday 21st November at 9am. Some children have asked about getting various costumes. Please do not buy anything! There is no need to wear anything different from their school uniform and if they do want to wear a costume to get into character, they can wear something they already own.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Mrs White
28.11.25
Dear parents and carers,
Apologies for the delay in sending this to you. I was having a wonderful time getting the classroom festively decorated for the children for Monday morning.
There’s a definite festive feel to the key stage! Over the last few weeks, we’ve started to work on our Christmas performance that will take place at the DCC in Dunstable - more details to follow. The children are doing a wonderful job learning the lines to our class poem and the songs are sounding fantastic already - I’m sure you’ve heard all about their favourite donkey song!
It was fantastic to see so many supporters at Falcons class assembly. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them take to the stage and deliver their lines with confidence. Performing in front of an audience is not for everyone. I wish you could have seen the backstage magic where they all supported each other and encouraged the children that were feeling a bit nervous. They really are such a wonderful group of kind and caring children.
The children have enjoyed starting our new topic in geography, where they have been learning all about biomes and climate. This week, the children created posters to show how all three biomes are affected by greenhouse gases. They also included suggestions on how we can save these biomes from the threats they are facing.
In history, after a fantastic live lesson on the history of Harewood House in Yorkshire, the children have been learning about how the slave trade was abolished. We have learnt about influential figures such as Wiliam WIlberforce and the children enjoyed thinking and debating about which were the most striking reasons people gave to parliament to keep and to abolish the slave trade.
Last week, we all enjoyed taking part in Maths Week, organised by Mrs Shilvock. The day started with an exciting TTR assembly and throughout the week, the children took part in fun maths learning activities outside, battled in a TTR competition and they also worked in teams to create board games for children in KS1. They all thoroughly enjoyed having the children over to our key stage to play the games.
Falcon of the Week is Archie and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Stefan and Monika.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend with your wonderful children,
Mrs White
12.12.25
Dear parents and carers,
What a spectacular highlight we had in UKS2 this week with our Christmas performance at the DCC. I’m sure you’ll agree that the children put on an incredible performance. From learning lines to perfecting new songs, we’re so proud of how well the children did and how much effort they put into making the show such a special event. We’re not too sure when we’ll stop humming along to “Do the Donkey!”
This week, we have enjoyed using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to design bunting as part of our Design and Technology lessons. The children had to carefully measure out a triangle and then enjoyed creating a festive design that will go on to the top of it. Next week, we will be developing our sewing skills and can’t wait to see the finished product of a class bunting.
We came to the end of our reading of Skellig this week. I’m sure your child has told you all about the story. Reading a book together is definitely up there as one of my most favourite parts of being a teacher. The children have also worked hard at creating a dialogue between Michael and Mina. The pieces of work they have created are absolutely wonderful. Next week, the children will be turning their work into a book so you will have a chance to read their masterpieces.
In history, the children completed their learning on the Transatlantic Slave Trade with a persuasive letter to have a statue removed which was built in honour of a former slave owner. The letters were beautifully written and really captured the children’s passion and understanding of this important topic.
Next week, we will be celebrating in our classes with a party on Thursday afternoon. Children are welcome to bring a small game and a snack so we can all enjoy an afternoon of festive fun together.
Falcon of the week is Annabel and handwriting hero and heroine are Gabriel and Demi.Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Mrs White
Class News Spring Term 2026
9.1.26
Dear Parents/Carers
It has been so lovely to welcome back the children after the Christmas break and to hear their stories of happy times with you and the rest of their families. Thank you once again for the generosity shown by many of you with the cards and Christmas presents given to us – we really appreciate your kind thoughts.
So now we are back and ready to continue with another great half-term of learning. In Geography, we are looking at the topic of ‘Marvellous Maps’ which will culminate in using all our mapping skills to navigate around the school and creating maps for others to follow and find clues! We began this topic by checking our understanding of atlases and using them to complete an atlas race in partners, racing from Whitby all the way to the Thar Desert!
Science this half-term is looking at ‘Inheritance and Evolution’ and this week we began the topic by considering variation in species. We discussed the meaning of ‘inheritance’ and put this into the context of thinking about eye colour, which is inherited from our parents. We drew diagrams to help us understand how we inherit one copy of the gene from our mother and one from our father (as well as understanding that eye colours can be recessive or dominant!). Moving on, we will consider the Theory of Evolution and complete a practical experiment based on the ‘finches’ from the Galapagos Islands.
Next week, we will be completing a second assessment week for the Year Six children, results of which will be fed back to you in their planners and during the Learning Review meetings later on this month. We will, as always, encourage the children to do their best and to use the week as a great opportunity to see how far they have progressed since October (which they all most definitely have done!).
Homework for the Year Six children has also changed from this week going forward. As a school, we have purchased homework books for each child for Mathematics, English reading and SPaG. Homework will be setting homework from these books each week and the pages for them to complete will be marked in their planners for the children to refer to. We appreciate your support and encouragement with homework and hope that the new homework books will help to give children confidence in the lead up to SATs.
Just a reminder that all children should have their coats in school as the weather is so much colder now, but we still want them to have the opportunity to get outside and have some fresh air in these winter months.
Falcon of the Week is Monika. The Handwriting Hero is Charlie and the Handwriting Heroine is Demi.
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Mrs White