Macaws Class
Class News Autumn Term 2025
12.9.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to another academic year! To say it has been a pleasure over the last two weeks settling in with your children would be an understatement. We have had a fantastic time together learning new routines and getting comfortable and familiar with the expectations in Lower Key Stage Two. This can be a daunting time but the children have absolutely risen to the challenge and they are a credit to you.
We are very pleased to welcome Mrs Smith to the Key Stage this year. Mrs Smith has previous experience of teaching at Lark Rise and has worked in a range of primary and secondary schools as a teacher. She will be providing internal cover for myself, Mrs True and Miss Qureshi and has got to know all of the children this week.
This week, the children have found out their English and Maths groupings for the year and we have wasted no time in starting our curriculum learning. In English, our key text is ‘The Firework-Maker’s Daughter’ by Philip Pullman: the children have met a character named Lila who we have already discovered is brave and adventurous! As the half term progresses, we will follow Lila on her adventures through the text and this will be supplemented by additional fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts to enrich the children’s reading experiences.
Our topic for this half term in Geography is ‘Which Way?’, where we will be embarking on an exciting journey using maps to explore different locations around the world. The children will be given the opportunity to use a variety of maps to develop their understanding of geographical locations and also learn new vocabulary such as ‘latitude, longitude, equator and prime meridian’. Throughout our learning, the children will learn to identify continents, countries and oceans. We hope that this topic will inspire a sense of adventure and curiosity in the children as they learn to navigate and understand our planet.
Finally, a couple of ‘thank you’ messages to all of you. Firstly, for ensuring that children are correctly equipped with the correct uniform, water bottles, PE kits and swimming bags so soon into the term and, secondly, for being particularly patient with us in these first few weeks at home while we get to know your faces so that we can dismiss the children safely. We really appreciate your patience with this.
Macaw of the week for the last two weeks is Oakley and Jackson. Our Handwriting Hero award has gone to Annabelle, Zak, Kiaan and Elsie.
Have a very well-deserved rest this weekend with your wonderful children.
Mrs Bilenkyj, Miss Skingle and Mrs Seaborn
26.9.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been another fantastic two weeks in Macaws Class; we are well into our curriculum now and the children are already making excellent progress. The learning behaviours that we developed in the first couple of weeks are still impressing all of the adults around school; well done to the children for keeping up these fantastic routines.
We are having a fantastic time in our music lessons this term, learning the upbeat and exciting song “Mamma Mia” by ABBA! The children have shown incredible enthusiasm and their singing has been full of energy and passion. We have started to play along with the melody on our glockenspiels and it really has been so lovely to see the children’s focus as they work hard to keep in time with the music. It’s safe to say we’ve got a class full of pop stars in the making!
In history, we began our learning on the Tudors which will be our History topic for Autumn term. The children received a letter from Priory Church with a family tree that had missing information. They had to work on filling in the missing information by using what they already know and researching. We then moved this learning on to look at King Henry VIII and what changes happened during his reign. We have now moved our learning on to look at Tudor dress and how their clothing is different to ours today. The children are truly fascinated by this topic and it has been wonderful to watch them engage so deeply with their learning.
Children have been enjoying their French lessons this half term. They have been developing their confidence in speaking French to each other and in front of the class. So far, children have learnt how to introduce themselves and describe how they are feeling. They have particularly enjoyed the actions that go along with these phrases! This week, the children have covered numbers to 10 in French and learnt to sing 'Frere Jacques' in a round. We were also fortunate enough to enjoy Mrs Francis' 'Language of the Term' assembly on Monday, where the chosen language was French and embedded lots of the skills the children have developed so far.
Macaw of the Week has been awarded to Willow and Kaylan. Handwriting Hero and Heroine has been awarded to Emily, Jemima, Bertie and George M.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Bilenkyj, Miss Skingle and Mrs Seaborn
10.10.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
This half term is certainly flying by! The children have continued to amaze me each and every day. It really has been a lovely first half term full of smiles! I especially enjoy watching the children demonstrate their excellent learning behaviours in everything they do.
In English, the children have been continuing to enjoy 'The Firework-Maker's Daughter' by Philip Pullman. They are very invested in the story of Lila, a young girl who is desperate to become a firework-maker. The children have enjoyed reading the text, using a mixture of strategies, and developing their reading comprehension skills through a range of activities to support this. Our writing outcomes have also been informed by this text and the additional supporting texts; so far, the children have written fantastic descriptions of Lila and persuasive letters to Lila to ensure she doesn't venture up the dangerous Mount Merapi!
This half term in Art, we are excited to be learning how to draw Tudor Portraits, linking nicely with our learning in History! The children started this unit by appraising Tudor portraits from the past. They then completed an artist study on Hans Holbein, a famous portrait artist who worked for King Henry VIII - I'm sure your child will love telling you all about him! Following this, they have been focusing on developing the skills needed to draw different facial features. Next week, the children will use these skills to draw a mock version of their Tudor portrait in preparation for their final piece. You will all get a chance to view these beautiful portraits toward the end of the Autumn term.
We are having a wonderful time in RE learning about the Journeys of Life in different world religions. The children explored how major milestones are celebrated, such as Baptism in Christianity, Bar Mitzvah in Judaism, and key ceremonies in Hinduism. The children have loved comparing these traditions and seeing how different communities mark these important moments. A big highlight has been using the chromebooks to design their own detailed presentation slides, and they are really keen to share all of their fantastic work and new knowledge with the rest of the class. It’s been so lovely to see the level of enthusiasm from the children when exploring different religions!
Well done to all children who were brave enough to put themselves forward for a role or responsibility in school this year. For some children, this is a very daunting prospect but I am so proud of every child who took the chance offered to them. The results will be announced very soon - good luck to all of those who are hopeful for a role this year.
Reminder:
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Homework this week will be set on Doodle Maths. Children’s log in details can be found within their planners.
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Homework for next Friday will be set on Doodle Spell.
Macaw of the Week has been awarded to Maddison and Bertie. Handwriting Hero and Heroine has been awarded to Theo.P, Theo.P, Izzy and Willow.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Bilenkyj, Miss Skingle and Mrs Seaborn
24.10.25
Dear Parents and Carers,
It feels impossible to think that we have already completed our first half term of the new academic year. It has been so wonderful to spend this term with your children getting to know them and having an amazing time learning. It has been jam packed with learning and I am confident the children will be eager to share their knowledge with you.
This term, the children have kick started their base class PE sessions with swimming. The children have settled into the new routine brilliantly, and we have been so impressed by how well they've taken to the lessons. It has been lovely to see the growing confidence in the water - they are all making great progress!
In PSHE, we have been looking at our relationships with people around us. We have focused on the people who are special to use and considered how sometimes we may face problems with those people. We have been exploring how best to handle different problems using scenarios and thinking about what we can do to work through them whilst maintaining positive relationships with others. The children have done a fantastic job at problem solving these scenarios and considering how to be kind and respectful when resolving issues with people around us.
This week, we were lucky enough to visit Dunstable Library - a fantastic local resource that I know lots of our children enjoy with you! The children had the chance to explore the children’s section and enjoy some books; many of them were asking about bringing the books with them. Although we couldn’t bring the books home, it was lovely of Dunstable Library to provide a goody bag for each child as they left the library.
In Computing this half term, children have been learning about computer networks. Children have learned about what a network is and the different elements that make a computer network. We have gone on a ‘network walk’ around school, identifying the different parts of our school’s network and thinking about how they communicate. We have also taken part in weekly online safety sessions to ensure children are constantly reminded about how to keep themselves safe online.
Homework for the half term has been set on Google Classroom and is based around Black History Month.
Macaw of the Week has been awarded to Blake and Kiaan. Handwriting Hero and Heroine has been awarded to Holly-Rose, Dhyanesh, Wren and Sophia.
Have a lovely weekend and happy half term!
Mrs Bilenkyj, Miss Skingle and Mrs Seaborn