Hawks Class
Class News Autumn Term 2025
12.9.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Hawks Class and our first class email of the school year! It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome all of the children back to school and our lovely class. Everyone has settled in really well and we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other last week, before moving into our English and Mathematics classes and beginning our foundation learning this week.
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 from 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 all of 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!
Thank you to all of those children who completed the Summer Reading Challenge. We have loved reviewing the work that has been completed and sharing it with whole class. The children have been thrilled to receive their house points for the work that has been completed.
Congratulations to Ella who has been awarded Hawk of the Week. Saraya and Oliver have been awarded Handwriting Hero and Heroine for working hard on the handwriting this week. Well done children!
I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday.
Mrs Shilvock
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 Hawks Class and I have been so impressed with the levels of engagement, hard work and enthusiasm from everyone.
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 are we have explored the idea of important concepts in Hinduism. To help us with this we looked at a story from a Hindu sacred text called the Mahabharata. It teaches Hindus lots about being human. We shared the story of ‘The Man in the Well’ and then considered the message that was being shared in this story. We learnt that Hinduism teaches it is very easy to focus on the physical world, our physical bodies and unimportant things, but for Hindus, the important thing to do is to focus on the true nature of themselves and how to make the world a better place.
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!
In our PSHE lessons, we have been considering the different relationships that we have with people and why they are important. So far, we have considered the importance of being able to work collaboratively as part of a team. We learnt that we have to listen to each other and be prepared to compromise in order to reach a successful outcome. We then moved on to understand that there are times when we will not always agree and in these times we will need to consider strategies we can use to resolve conflict. These are such important life lessons and it was great to see the children discussing and sharing their opinions so sensibly.
Congratulations to Rhys and Reggie who have been awarded Hawk of the Week over the last two weeks. Our Handwriting Hero and Heroine go to Marcus, Yayha and Nieve and Poppy for fantastic handwriting. Well done children!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Shilvock
10.10.25
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who was able to come to see Hawks class assembly today and support the children. The children were so enthused and engaged in the making of the assembly and were very clear about all the information they wanted to share with you. I was so proud of each and every child for their contribution and how we all came together to produce something so amazing. Well done everyone!
Alongside that, 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 were 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. We took inspiration from the nature all around us and completed some incredible observational drawings of leaves, berries, flowers, shells and feathers. We will then use these to support us as we plan to redesign the UKS2 building in the style of Gaudi.
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.
Hawk of the Week for the last two weeks has been awarded to Saraya and Niamh. Our Handwriting Heroes and Heroines have been Freddie, Reggie, Annabelle and Ada. Well done to all of these children.
Please could I ask you to have a look in your child’s backpack over the weekend as a member of the class had lost their pencil case. We are looking for a black pencil case with a gold name written on it. Our hope is someone may have picked it up by mistake or it has been accidentally put into the wrong back pack. Many thanks for this.
Have a lovely weekend together and enjoy all the autumnal colours,
Mrs Shilvock
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 Hawks Class.
In computing, the children have been learning all about online systems, investigating how Amazon creates efficient systems and 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.
Hawk of the week for the last two weeks have been Freddie and Nicolas and handwriting hero and heroine have been Rhys, Ali, Indiana and Sarah. A huge well done to all of these children.
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 well with both our English and History work and is part of our celebrations around Black History Month.
Wishing you a wonderful half term break with your children. I hope you all have an enjoyable and restful week after a very busy half term! I look forward to seeing the children after half term and hearing all about what they have been up to.
Mrs Shilvock
14.11.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are all firmly back in the swing of life in UKS2 following the lovely 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 then have 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 are looking forward to constructing our own electrical circuits and exploring what impacts whether a circuit works or not.
We have also enjoyed celebrating Anti-Bullying week, with the children joining in with a live lesson which teaches us to think about how we would react in different scenarios as well as thinking about what we can do to avoid being bystander.
We have 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 several children to use who need to charge their device.
Handwriting Hero this week is Jack and our Heroine is Ayana. Hawk of the week is Ellie. A huge well done to all of these children.
I hope that you have a really lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday, dressed as a Rock star for TT Rock stars Day!
Mrs Shilvock
28.11.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
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!
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 what we can do to 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.
In Science we have started learning all about electricity and there has been a real buzz in the classroom! We have looked at the elements needed to create an electrical circuit and explore how an ‘open circuit’ would not work as the electricity is unable to flow all the way around the circuit. This week we explore what happens if you increase the number of batteries or bulbs in the circuit. We carried out a fair test and recorded our results before drawing conclusions. There were some fantastic scientific conclusions drawn and it was wonderful to hear the children independently using the correct vocabulary in their work.
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. Keep an eye out in your inbox for the Maths Newsletter that has been produced that celebrates all of the amazing learning completed in school during this week and has some suggestions for Christmas gifts that you could buy to support your child with Maths at home.
Hawk of the Week is Marcus and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Samuel and Ella. Congratulations to all these children for their continued hard work and effort.
Wishing you and your child a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday.
Mrs Shilvock
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!” Thank you so much for coming along to watch and support your child, they were so excited to put on this performance for you.
This week, we have enjoyed using Computer Aided Design (CAD) to design bunting. 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 children have 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.
Our exploration of different biomes has continued in our geography learning. We have looked at biomes with extreme conditions – deserts and the tundra – and aquatic biomes. The children have really enjoyed researching into the flora and fauna that can be found in each biome and considering how they have adapted to live in each habitat. To complete our learning, children will think about how we are negatively impacting the biomes around the world and steps that we can take to reduce this impact.
Next week, we will be celebrating in our classes with a Christmas 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.
Hawk of the Week is Cataleya and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Samuel and Emma. Congratulations to all these children for their continued hard work and effort.
Really looking forward to our last week together next week before the Christmas break. As this is the last class email before Christmas, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; enjoy this special time with your children and I shall look forward to seeing you in 2026!
Mrs Shilvock
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.
Children in Year 5 will continue to have their homework set on Doodle. Each week will be either Maths and English or Maths and Spelling.
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.
Hawk of the Week is Jack and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Amber and Yahya. Well done to all of these children for their continued hard work and effort.
I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. The children have been keeping everything crossed that we get some snow so let’s see what happens!
Mrs Shilvock
23.1.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
Three cheers for UKS2! That’s the message we’ve been spreading after our mock SATs week last week. The children in Year 6 worked tremendously hard during the week and we have been so impressed with their results. So many children made massive improvements that they are very rightfully very proud of. Year 5 had a fantastic week reading Twelfth Night with Mrs Shilvock and also completed some mock papers. Again, massive improvement was seen in so many children. Well done UKS2 - your hard work and fantastic resilience and determination are really paying off.
In English, we have finally overcome our sadness that Skellig is over as we have started our learning on our new text - Romeo and Juliet. The children have enjoyed learning all about Shakespeare and delving into Shakespearean vocabulary. We all enjoyed reading through the prologue and then performing this in small groups. I’m sure your children can treat you to a performance at home.
In Art, children have been completing research on Edvard Munch and Monet. We have researched their lives and thought about the impact their early years had on their work. This week, children started to sketch their own version of Munch’s famous masterpiece The Scream before using watercolours in Munch's very unique style and colour palette to create their back ground. We have seen some incredible art work and it was wonderful to see the children paying such close attention to detail and mixing colours so confidently.
In Computing, children have been learning about variables in games and put their knowledge to use by creating their own game in Scratch. The children were absolutely fantastic and many children were able to create amazing games where they had dialogue between characters and numerous variables in their games. We’re looking forward to progressing these skills further over the next few weeks.
It was wonderful to see so many of you at Parents Evening and to share with you the brilliant progress your child is making. All children will have received their targets in their planners and we know lots are already working on these in their lessons - fantastic!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend,
6.2.26
Dear Parents/Carers
It’s hard to believe that we have nearly reached the end of the first half-term of 2026. And it’s certainly been a busy one with lots of fantastic learning taking place in the key stage.
On Wednesday, the whole of Upper Key Stage Two took part in an excellent workshop based on Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare. Children were so engaged with the workshop host and enjoyed the many acting opportunities - with different members of the class - they had in order to bring the story to life for them. Some memorable acting moments were witnessed and it was fantastic to see everyone really understanding the ancient feud between the Montagues and the Capulets - Shakespeare really did come to life for us all!
In our Art learning, we have progressed on from looking at the work of Munch and have moved on to thinking about Monet and impressionism. This involved us understanding that Monet was just a little ‘obsessed’ with lilies (painting at least 250 pictures of them!). Whilst our own 3-D creations of a lily might not be of quite the same quality, we thoroughly enjoyed using water colours, in shades of blue, green and pink/mauve, to create background washes on which we constructed the 3-D lilies.
Science has seen us become palaeontologists over the last two lessons. Children made their own fossils using clay, impressions from a shell and Plaster of Paris. That, in itself, was very exciting to make but then came the excavation of the ‘fossil’ which involved a lot of toothpicks, steady hands and some determination when the fossil remained in situ! In addition to this, we thought about the role of a palaeontologist, the skills needed to perform such a role and the children’s own experience of this. Patience was definitely a key characteristic of the life skills needed in a palaeontologist!
Carrying on with our ‘Anglo-Saxon’ theme in History, we were both intrigued and slightly horrified as we discovered the different types of crime and punishment in the Anglo-Saxon era. If they haven’t already done so, ask your children which of these three ordeals they would have chosen to take part in to prove their innocence: cold water ordeal, hot water ordeal or iron bar ordeal (and they are as every bit as horrible as their names suggest!).
With all that great learning having taken place in the last couple of weeks, it just remains for Eagle of the Week and the Handwriting Heroes and Heroines to be named: Yahya, Marcus and Ella. Huge well done to all of these children for all of their continued hard work and effort.
Finally, just a reminder that, after half-term, the Year 6 children will be starting school at the slightly earlier time of 8:30am up until SATs in May. We look forward to seeing them to complete these important booster sessions and appreciate your support with this.
I hope you have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Shilvock
27.2.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a great start to the new half-term we have had, especially with the added excitement of an appearance from the sunshine! The children thoroughly enjoyed their first playtime on the field—long may the dry weather continue!
This week, we delved into our new topics with enthusiasm. In Science, we have started learning about animals (including humans) and created timelines exploring the different stages of human life. The children drew wonderful illustrations of how they think they might change as they progress into adulthood. To demonstrate how much we all change over time, the children took part in a quiz to "guess the staff member" using old photos of the UKS2 team. This generated quite a few laughs at our vintage clothes and hairstyles!
In Design and Technology, the children have been researching different types of torches and their functions. They were very excited to hear that by the end of this unit, they will be designing and making their own working torch!
We have begun reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales, exploring their origins and why the brothers started writing these now-famous stories. The children have enjoyed discussing moral dilemmas, heroes, villains, and quests. They have already started drafting their own versions of a "Grimm" tale, and we are incredibly impressed by their imaginative ideas.
As part of our World Book Day celebrations on Thursday 5th March, the Reading Ambassadors are organising a book swap. Please could you send in any donations of children's books (fiction or non-fiction) from Monday and these will be displayed for everyone to choose from at the end of school on Thursday. We are hoping that everyone could bring a book and take a book!
Hawk of the Week is Indiana and handwriting hero and heroine are Alfie and Sarah. Well done to all these children for their continued hard work and effort.
I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to to seeing the children again on Monday.
Mrs Shilvock
13.3.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been another busy but wonderful week in UKS2! It was lovely to see so many of you attend the Stop, Drop, Read event as part of our World Book Day celebrations—a truly special day where we celebrate our collective love of reading. The children enjoyed listening to stories read by our Reading Ambassadors and came up with brilliant designs to improve our library. A highlight was definitely creating our reading dens; classrooms were transformed into cozy reading corners, and some children even engineered their own "reading houses" with multiple rooms!
The children in Year 6 have worked incredibly hard during mock-SATs week—the final practice before the actual assessments in May. We have shared their scores with them and these have been recorded in their planners. They should all be so proud of the progress they have made; we look forward to supporting them over the coming weeks to tackle any remaining "tricky" areas. Meanwhile, Year 5 had a great time with Mrs. Shilvock exploring Grimm Tales like Rumpelstiltskin and also completed some practice tests of their own.
In Geography, we have launched our new enquiry question: What are natural resources and why are they so important? The children completed cross-sectional drawings to identify Britain’s natural resources and land use. This week, we explored how these resources are used to produce energy. Ask your child if they can explain the difference between renewable and non-renewable sources!
We have also been celebrating Science Week, which encourages the children to stay curious. Following an exciting assembly led by Mrs. True, we were inspired to delve into the world of paper recycling. The children set up their own recycling plants to investigate whether all paper can be recycled in the same way. There was great teamwork and scientific thinking on display as the children pulped, agitated, and moulded their paper!
In Computing, the children have been developing their programming skills by mastering "if, then, and else" sequences. They have enjoyed creating their own games in Scratch, and this week, we enhanced them further by adding question codes. I look forward to seeing more of their digital creativity in the coming weeks!
Hawk of the Week is Emma and handwriting hero and heroine are Rhys and Niamh.
There is no homework this week as the children have all worked very hard in their assessments.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy your Mother's Day celebrations.
Mrs Shilvock
27.3.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a fantastic term we have had in UKS2! The children in Year 6 have been working very hard in lessons to prepare for their forthcoming SATs, which take place next term from Monday 11th May to Thursday 14th May. We are so proud of the children’s wonderful work ethic; many are now raring to go, ready to show off their fantastic learning. Well done to the children that have completed extra work packs at home. They have enjoyed receiving lots of house points for bringing these in completed and marked. Year 5 have also been working very hard and are particularly enjoying reading and interpreting Grimm Tales.
In History, we have reached the end of our learning on the Anglo-Saxons. Children worked in pairs to create interview questions they would like to ask an Anglo-Saxon, which gave them a great opportunity to showcase everything they have learned this term. Ask your child if they can tell you what life was like for a 10-year-old Anglo-Saxon!
In Geography, we have continued our enquiry into natural resources and why they are so important. The children enjoyed researching what other schools are doing to move towards using sustainable energy. They then wrote a letter to Mrs Lang to persuade her to consider introducing solar and kinetic floor panels. We eagerly await her reply!
In Science, we have learned about the gestation period of humans and compared it to other mammals. Ask your child if they can explain the differences! We also ended the week with a practical activity where the children investigated the impact of exercise on heart rate. They had great fun planning their own courses and measuring the impact of different activities on their pulse.
The children in Year 6 have been given maths booklets to complete over the holidays for their homework. We discussed these in class and noted that they don’t have to complete them all in one go; instead, they can do a few questions a day. They have also been set some English homework in their CGP books. Year 5 have been set Doodle activities to complete.
Wishing you a very Happy Easter and I hope you have a wonderful break with your child. We look forward to seeing them back in school on Tuesday 14th April 2026.
Mrs Shilvock
Class News Summer Term 2026
8.5.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
Over the last few weeks, the children in Year 6 have worked tremendously hard in their preparation for their SATs. We are all so proud of their resilience and dedication; although there are nerves, there is excitement too to show exactly how amazing they are. Of course, these tests are just a small part of their journey, and we are always so impressed to hear about the wide range of extracurricular activities the children take part in, from rugby and swimming to horse riding, dance, and bands. Please look out for an email with information regarding our well-deserved post-SATs celebrations.
Our recent classroom learning has been equally engaging, particularly in history where we were fascinated to learn about the different gods in Mayan times. The children created detailed fact files to share their knowledge, and I encourage you to ask your child about the priests and the significant power they held over society.
In Religion and Worldviews, we have been exploring the themes of resilience and faith, discussing how beliefs can help guide people through challenging times. Following a wonderful class discussion, the children wrote thank-you letters to someone who has helped them personally. These were truly moving to read, and it definitely brought a tear to my eye to see how lucky they feel to have such special people in their lives at home.
In our computing sessions, the focus has been on data and how spreadsheets can be used to stay organised. The children have been learning how to format different cells and have had a go at creating their own spreadsheets to collect and analyse information. Alongside this, they have been working hard on their touch-typing skills, with every child showing consistent improvement each week.
Today has been all about celebrating the national treasure, David Attenborough, as he celebrates his 100th birthday! We have enjoyed learning all about, the incredible things has achieved during his life time and the wonderful places he has been. What an AMAZING man.
Looking ahead to next week, the Year 6 children will be completing their SATs while the Year 5 students complete their mock-SATs with Mrs. Shilvock. There will be no homework this week; instead, we encourage the children to spend their time doing things that make them feel happy and relaxed so they are refreshed and ready each morning. Year 6 students should come in at the usual time of 8:45 am, while Year 5 students should head straight to the eatery upon arrival (arriving via the main entrance).
Hawk of the Week is Poppy and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Nicolas and Saraya.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Shilvock
22.5.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a wonderful few weeks we have had with the children! We are so very proud of our Year 6 pupils, who completed their SATs with such focus, resilience, and enthusiasm. They should all be so immensely proud of themselves—we most certainly are! To celebrate the end of testing, we enjoyed party zones in the classrooms, and many children wowed us with their fantastic vocal talents in the karaoke and dancing zone. We also had a brilliant time at the zoo, where we all enjoyed each other’s company. The children took particular delight in the bird of prey show, with appearances from falcons, eagles, and hawks!
Year 5 have been just as fantastic, successfully completing their mock-SATs with Mrs Shilvock. You will find their marks inside their planners. The children did a wonderful job acting as mentors around the school while Year 6 were at the zoo. The teachers found it incredibly useful to have the extra help, and we definitely have some future educators in our midst!
In English, we have enjoyed reading our class text, Holes. This week, the children have been writing letters from Stanley to his mother about his experiences at Camp Green Lake—which definitely isn’t your usual holiday camp! The children have been working on their editing skills and have created some really thoughtful and personal letters.
In Science, we completed our learning on microorganisms, where we investigated the conditions in which mould grows. There has certainly been an unusual smell around the Key Stage as we collected our results! Ask your child to explain what they found out. We also created fact files on the amazing Eva Crane—our scientist of the half term. I’m sure you will enjoy hearing all about her contributions to science, particularly around bee conservation.
Finally, we complete our learning about Zrntangles in Art. The children found this to be such a calming activity and have produced some absolutely incredible artwork. What an amazing way to finish out half term.
Hawk of the Week is Annabelle and Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Alfie and Ellie. Well done to all of these children for their continued hard work and effort.
I hope you have a wonderful break with your children and enjoy the sunshine.
Mrs Shilvock
12.6.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been so lovely to welcome back the Year 5s after their trip to France. We have enjoyed hearing all about their adventures, especially their fun time at the theme park! While the children were away, the rest of the Key Stage enjoyed creating musical stories and mastering their woodworking skills by making birdhouses using saws, hammers, and nails. The finished products are fantastic! Next week, we will wave off the Year 6 children as they go to Caldecotte for their residential. We have our fingers crossed for some sunnier weather!
While the Year 5s were away, we also took part in a live assembly for AI Awareness Day. We learnt all about the benefits of AI and what to consider for its safe and correct use. The children also enjoyed learning about the exciting future jobs they might want to pursue in the world of AI.
In Science, as part of the World Ocean Day celebrations, we have been learning all about "blue careers." The children researched various roles, such as underwater photographer, wind turbine engineer, and ocean traffic controller, before creating brilliant fact files to share their knowledge.
In Geography, we have started our new topic on trade and learnt all about importing, exporting, and commodities. The children enjoyed researching where different products are manufactured and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of global trading.
In English, we have all been thoroughly enjoying our class text, Holes. This week, there have been many wonderful gasps across the classroom as the children worked out important plot lines! Ask your child to fill you in on what has happened so far—it really is a wonderful book.
Hawk of the Week is Amber, and our Handwriting Hero and Heroine are Nahul and Ella. Well done to these children for working so hard.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Shilvock
26.6.26
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you enjoyed hearing all about the Year 6 children’s adventures at the Caldecotte residential. It was such an incredible experience for them all, and we really enjoyed seeing them try new things, face fears and challenges, and just have a really lovely time together. England’s excellent score against Croatia was an added highlight, and the children (and adults!) thoroughly enjoyed a well-deserved lie-in the next morning too! We were so proud of the wonderful feedback we received, with the instructors being incredibly impressed with the children’s behaviour, politeness, and eagerness throughout the trip.
While the Year 6 children were away, Year 5 enjoyed taking part in a series of enrichment activities connected to our English class book, Holes. The children created a family tree of key characters and even designed and created their own version of Top Trumps cards based on characters from the text and their key traits. The children also enjoyed making board games in maths and designing quizzes to test their classmates on their key maths learning.
We have also had another major highlight of the year: our L-Factor auditions! We were absolutely blown away by the talented children who took to the stage to audition. For many, this has been something they have been working on during playtimes for months. From magicians and musicians to skaters, dancers, and singers, they certainly covered it all! We now have the very difficult job of choosing only a few acts to make it through to the final, which will be held shortly.
This week has been very different with early finishes and very hot temperatures. We are, as ever, so proud of the children’s resilience through this. For the children staying in school, it was wonderful to see their creative sides come alive, with children enjoying calm drawing activities and some even created their own paper squishies!
Over the next few weeks we look forward to making more fabulous memories with the children—though perhaps in slightly cooler weather!
Just a reminder that swimming is still continuing, with the last session on Tuesday 7th July.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Mrs Shilvock