Penguins Class
Class News Autumn Term 2024
13.9.24
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
Welcome back to school everyone, we all hope you had a wonderful summer and have loved how brilliantly and ready the children have been for their learning! It has been brilliant to see how well everyone has adjusted to the new school year coming in through the main doors by the entrance, just a friendly reminder to keep doing so in the mornings and avoid coming in through the classroom doors as that is reserved for collection after school. We are so proud of how quickly the children have settled into their new routines. Please remember that toys are not allowed in school for many reasons but mainly due to the risk of loss or accidental damage which can be very upsetting for the children.There is no homework this week to help the children settle into their first full week of school. This will recommence next week. The new lunch system is working really well and the children have loved having a colour coordinated band for their lunch choice, thank you so much for choosing their options for them as it has made the transitions around lunch time a lot smoother.
Congratulations to Ivy for being awarded Perfect Penguin for all of her hard work and determination, always demonstrating a can-do attitude and trying her hardest at everything she puts her mind to! Well done to Taylor and Teagan for being awarded with handwriting hero and heroine this week.
We started our Science learning off this year with the theme ‘Animals including Humans.’ The children began by matching animals and their offspring and looked at inherited features. We then had some interesting discussions on why it is sometimes tricky to pair an adult and their young like in the case of a butterfly. To enrich the children’s learning further we are going to be studying the conservationist Steve Irwin. The children started by looking at a wildlife reserve that has been set aside as a tribute to Steve for scientific research. See what your child can find out about Steve Irwin at home if you would like to; he’s certainly an inspiring person to help your child engage in their Science learning.
Our very first geography topic this academic year is one the children are going to thoroughly enjoy: Animals Around the World. We started off our learning by discovering what each of the seven continents are called before looking at where each of them are in the world. It was lovely to hear the children's existing knowledge on this topic with many children being able to name and locate the continent in which we live. The highlight of the lesson was definitely the continent song; ask your child to sing it if they remember!
This week, in history, we started the very exciting topic, ‘now and then’. The children were very excited when we came across a basket of belongings that had been accidentally left in our classrooms. We investigated the items and drew our conclusions over who the items belonged to. All the KS1 children demonstrated what excellent historians they are! Finally, we examined some photographs of what school was like in the past and compared it to school now.
This half term we are looking at how we can use lines in art with purpose. The children have been fantastic at creating art through outlining animals, concentrating on their shape and experimenting with different techniques. They have been able to express themselves through their choice of woodland creature and their end result was wonderful as they made some lovely observations on how to create detail with their pencils.
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick, Mrs. Braithwaite and Mr. McAleese
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27.9.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
Another wonderful few weeks everybody, it has been so lovely to see the children really thrive. Well done to Albie and Taylor for being awarded with perfect penguin, you have both been showing some wonderful learning behaviours. Well done to Evelyn and Harry for gaining handwriting hero and heroine last week, as well as Bobby and Rebeca for this week! We have all had a really fantastic week this week - well done everyone!
The children have made a fabulous start to their English in KS1 learning the poem ‘The King of all the dinosaurs’ by Paul Cookson. All the children have thoroughly enjoyed learning actions to go along with the poem and performing it to their peers by heart; amazing! The children then took their own turns to write some acrostic poetry using some powerful vocabulary choices to bring their poems to life.
This week, the children of Key Stage One made a shocking discovery in the intervention classrooms; something wild and unruly had been in there and made a huge mess! There were huge footprints all over the floor and It was like something had been having a wild rumpus in there! Thankfully we managed to clear up the mess and then the children settled down to read our new key text that had been mysteriously delivered to school for us all to share. It is ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak. See if your child can tell you all about Max and his adventures in the story:)
The children have blown us all away with their enthusiasm for our geography learning this half term. With the knowledge that we have seven continents and five oceans, we’ve started to delve deeper and discover which animals live where - and most importantly, why! This week, we considered where animals live in relation to the equator. Do they need to live in a cold place or a hot place? The children became experts at sorting a variety of animals into their correct habitat.
During R.E we have been reading parables and understanding what a parable is. As a class, we read the parable ‘The Lost Coin’ and discussed what it feels like when we have lost something. We thought further about the special message within the parable. Then, we discussed the word ‘forgiveness’ and how Christians show forgiveness.
We have been learning all about algorithms in computing this half term and the children have been fantastic when thinking about instructions. They have learned to be very specific - or something might go wrong! They have used their debugging skills in order to correct anything that has not gone exactly to plan and have had a wonderful time navigating how to get across maps. They have even been able to program bee-bots to get them from their starting point to buried treasure!
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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11.10.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
We have had such a fantastic week this week and it has been wonderful to see all the children truly shine! Well done to Imogen and Oscar for being awarded Perfect Penguin, you are both superstar role models in the classroom! Well done to Caylen and Anastasia for being awarded handwriting hero and heroine - keep up the good work!
We have had such an enriching and enjoyable visit to the zoo this past week! As a team we all want to thank you all so much for your continued support with this! It was such a wonderful opportunity to visit the animals, discussing what continent that they are from - as linked to our Geography learning. It was also brilliant to see and talk about the offspring of the animals - it was a special treat to see the baby rhino and giraffes, if you ask the children I am sure they will be more than happy to share with you what they are all called! A highlight of the trip was definitely being able to use the skills we have been learning in Art to draw the elephants, they even posed for us which was amazing! We have loved spending this time with the children and are so proud of how well they represented the school, there were many compliments received from the staff at Whipsnade - well done everyone! Thank you for being absolute superstars!
Our focus in PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education) this half term has been ‘Me and My Relationships’. The children have blown us all away by their mature approach to discussing their feelings, showing a clear understanding that these feelings can be shown in a variety of ways. Last week, we focused on who our ‘special people’ are, which generated some inspiring conversations between the children. It was a pleasure to hear just how special you and your wider family are to your children. After drawing their special people on a coloured balloon, they now have pride of place in our classroom so that someone your child loves can always watch over them while they’re in school.
Over the last few weeks, we have been studying the genre of rap music and last week enjoyed having a dance to ‘Rapper’s delight’ by the Sugar Hill Gang to find the pulse! The children listen to different songs each week to strengthen their understanding of the pitch, tempo, rhythm and beat of a song. They are getting more and more confident at listening and appraising music every week; well done children! Our own rap song ‘Hey you’ is sounding great with a mix of singing, rap and playing the glockenspiels. The children are now going to be preparing a performance ready for the whole school for the end of the half term.
In History, we have been learning about what schools were like in the distant past and comparing them to what schools are like today. The children have been brilliant at this and have really enjoyed using a range of primary and secondary sources to help them with their learning. We are really looking forward to our Victorian day!
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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25.10.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
A massive well done to everyone for your efforts this half term, we made it! You have worked so hard and we are all so very proud of you - it has been such a fantastic start to the year! Congratulations to Zara and Roman for getting the perfect penguin! You are always fantastic role models in the classrooms!
Over the half term we have enjoyed reading a range of classic children’s stories with the children in the afternoons. It is clear how much the children enjoy their storytime and it was so lovely to see so many of you at our latest ‘Stop, drop and read’ event. Thank you for taking time out for this; it really did mean a lot to the children. Don’t worry if you were unable to make this one though as we have plans for another later in the year! Our key storybook this half term has been ‘Where the wild things are’ by Maurice Sendak. This has inspired lots of the children’s writing this term and we’ve finished with some writing about some wild things of our own. Ask your child to describe their own wild thing or the wild thing they chose to write about in an information report.
In other news, we have rounded off our rap unit in Music with a performance to the rest of the school on Wednesday and the children did not disappoint! It was an incredibly proud moment to see the children sharing their rap which we’ve learned is not an easy thing to do. See if your child is brave enough to perform a little to you as well:)
Our science learning this half term has allowed all the children to really become such fantastic scientists! The children are so knowledgeable about offspring and their characteristics and seeing a Rhino calf at the zoo that was less than a week old opened up some fantastic conversations surrounding what offspring can look like! We loved observing that the calf was not born with a horn and that it grows like our hair! A highlight of our learning was definitely participating in an experiment with blubber and how some animals manage to stay insulated in freezing temperatures. One of the best moments of our science learning was definitely researching Steve Irwin, the children were fascinated by him and how dedicated he was towards his conservation of animals! We are now more confident in knowing the basic needs of survival for animals and loved talking about our own pets and how we keep them alive. Well done everyone, you have shown such enthusiasm and passion for science!
Oh,what a day we all had in KS1 last Thursday for our incredible Victorian day. It was a day enjoyed by teachers and children alike! The children all looked fantastic in their costumes so thank you to you all for putting in the amazing effort that you did. It meant the scene was set from the minute they came into school. When they arrived in class, children were expected to sit in rows. The classrooms were a dark and techless environment. To start our day, all the children were inspected for cleanliness and if they were seen as dirty then they were told to wash their hands. Next, it was time for the 3 R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic) where they experienced learning the Lord’s Prayer and writing with chalk. However, rest assured, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the children! In the afternoon, they were given an opportunity to learn how to play some games from the past. I am sure if you ask your child what they know about schools from the past - they will have lots of knowledge to share!
The children have certainly finished their first geography topic knowing a lot more about where animals live and have started to demonstrate expert knowledge on why they live there. This week, we presented this very understanding! Some children shared how camels have humps that store water, meaning they can live in hot places such as the desert. Other children shared how polar bears have thick fur to keep them warm in the snowy Arctics! We all then had a blast recapping our knowledge by completing a quiz on Kahoot - I'm sure the entire key stage would agree that you knew exactly when each class was completing their quiz by the excitable noise being made!
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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15.11.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
It has been such a fantastic start to Autumn 2 and it is lovely to see how settled the children are, welcoming them back after half term was such a joy! Well done to Anastasia and Amelia for getting the perfect penguin - you are both fantastic role models and superstar learners!
As you are aware, we have celebrated Maths Week this week. Next week also sees the exciting event of Times Tables Rock Star day. You will have already received information about this. Children are invited to come into school on Monday dressed as a Rock Star! Alongside this, we are pleased to announce that there will be an in-school Numbots competition launching on Monday. This will be a competition that is played across all EYFS and KS1. This will run until the 5th December.
This term in History the children have made a great start to their learning all about ‘Remembrance’. The children began by thinking about why people are wearing poppies and then went on to make a beautiful wreath to lay at the local memorial in Priory gardens. The children were incredibly respectful and able to hold a two minute silence for those that have given their lives in the war. It was lovely to see them exploring the site to see all the other flowers and wreaths that had been laid in a local service the day before.
In music this half term, we have started a very special whole school project ‘How does Music improve storytelling?’ The children started by looking at some classic Christmas stories like ‘The snowman,’ and what effect the music had on the children when they watched some key parts of the story. We then looked at what Foley art is (the sounds recreated in films.) The children then had a go at making their own Foley Art using some percussion instruments and everyday items to recreate sounds like the crunching of snow beneath their feet or even a horse galloping.
Our science learning for this half term is all about the seasons! We have been able to get outside and observe the trees and what happens to them in the Autumn, with the idea that we will revisit later in winter and see if anything has changed! We discussed what else happens in the season of Autumn and had the opportunity to go outside and think about creating hibernation dens for hedgehogs, we all had great fun doing this! The children have a fantastic understanding of the four seasons and are able to discuss what they would be doing and what they might wear in each of them!
Our geography learning this half term focuses all around where the children live. We kicked off our new topic by using Google Earth to zoom into where we live, step by step - our planet, our continent, our country and, finally, our town! Can your child remember any of the answers? Next week, we’ll be spending some time focusing on the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. At the end of this half term, the children will need to know their home address. We would appreciate any support you can give your child in knowing this; it will not only help to develop their geography skills, but their ‘street smart’ skills too.
In Design Technology this half term we are designing and creating a moving picture. Over the last two weeks, the children have been looking at different moving mechanisms in our classroom and exploring how they work. They then created a slider and lever template. You are sure to be thrilled when you see the moving pictures at the end of term!
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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29.11.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
Well done for all your hard work the last few weeks - it may have gotten darker but you are all shining as bright as stars! Congratulations to our Perfect Penguins of the last few weeks - Oliver and Mia! You both make everyone proud of how fantastic you are in school, demonstrating our learning values and always trying your best! Well done! Also well done to our handwriting heroines, Zara and Alena! Your handwriting is something you always try your best at and your hard work is really paying off!
Please note that if your child is in Year 2 and in either the Blue or Grey group for RWI they will also be receiving a paper based reading comprehension homework task titled ‘VIPERS’. This homework will need to be completed each week. It will be sent home on a Thursday and will need to be handed back by Friday the following week to Mrs Bilenkyj. You can support your child with this reading comprehension task. There is no expectation that they complete this independently. They will need to write their answers to the questions. Please ensure any pieces of paper handed in with the homework are named. This homework is vital for our year 2 children as reading comprehension is an important skill that will enhance their reading development.Please note that the children will still need to complete their RWI homework each week on Google Classroom. Thank you all for your support with this.
In R.E, we have been learning about how Christians celebrate Christmas. We started with reading the nativity story and discussing each event that took place. Then, the children had a go at working in groups to recreate the nativity story. They all enjoyed using puppets to get into character.
On our walk into Dunstable a few weeks back, we had our eye out for any physical and human features. Can your child explain to you what the difference is between the two? Back in the classroom, we have now gone into even more detail about these two words and sorted some examples into these two categories. The children were brilliant at explaining that beaches are physical because they are created by nature whereas The London Eye (and other landmarks) are human because it is made by just that - a human!
We have been fantastic at becoming digital painters this half term and have been exploring how we can create art on the computer. Understanding all the tools and how they work is a skill the children were brilliant at picking up. They have shown how creative they are and also how they are digitally minded and able to use their knowledge safely. We have also been exploring the concept of online bullying and how we should always be kind - even online!
In Science, we have been learning about the four seasons - Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. We have been thinking about the many things that are different in each of the seasons - animals hibernating, changing of the leaves on the trees and the differences in weather; just to name a few. The children have also been learning about why we have different seasons. Just last week, the children were learning about what happens during the Winter months. We spent some time thinking about animals hibernating. As a Key Stage, we went outside and spent time building hibernation dens for the animals in our local environment. The children thought carefully about what animal they were building a den for and what type of shelter they would need. Some children even added some food into their dens for the animal that may take up refuge in their dens. We all thoroughly enjoyed spending some time outside.
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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16.12.2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Penguins class,
What a wonderful half term it has been! We are all so proud of all the hard work you have done this half term! You are all superstars and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
On Friday we will be holding a Christmas Key Stage party for the children to celebrate all their achievements and hard work. If you would like to contribute any snacks or party food it would be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations to our Perfect Penguins of the last few weeks, Aria and Zara M! You are both brilliant! Also well done to Teagan for being our handwriting heroine, you are brilliant and have worked so hard to make your writing neat and beautiful!
Wow everyone - you have all blown us away! We are all so incredibly proud of the hard work and determination that you have shown while tirelessly practicing for our smashing nativity. You were more than incredible and I just know that everyone who came to see the performance was as impressed as we were. Year 2, you have really shone bright and it has been so lovely seeing you step into the roles as well as you did, your confidence and charisma is wonderful and you’ve all done such a brilliant job! Well done to you as well Year 1s, you sang beautifully and we all loved the dance moves! Thank you parents and carers for working on lines at home and supplying costumes - it has been such a wonderful experience that I know the children have enjoyed - well done again we are so proud!
It has been so lovely to see the children all use their knowledge of the seasons in order to compare the characteristics of each. It has been especially lovely being able to compare the state of the trees in the Winter versus the Autumn. We are really excited to return to this learning in Spring and Summer to make even more comparisons and scientific observations.
In Music this half term, the children have been extremely busy not only learning all of the songs from our Nativity but also making little compositions to go with the story ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse.’ They have used a variety of instruments from bells, glockenspiels, drums and even a plastic bag! We can’t wait to show the rest of the school what we have been doing in our performance assembly next week. It has been such a busy half term filled with music that we have barely had a chance to study our musical hero of the half term this time around so maybe you and your little ones may like to have a boogie at home to James Brown's song “I got you! (feel good)”.
As our Geography unit is coming to an end, we have written the most incredible letters to Santa Claus. Not only did the children share their address with Mr. C, but they were also able to describe the wonderful town in which we live: Dunstable! The children were able to comment on both human and physical features within Dunstable meaning that Santa is now very well informed on what he will fly over on his visit in just under two weeks’ time. What a wonderful purpose for writing to bring all of our geography knowledge from this half term together!
In R.E., we have continued to learn about how Christians celebrate Christmas. We have learnt about advent and have been lucky enough to have an advent calendar in our classroom for the children to enjoy and take part in. Before the end of term, we will be finishing up our learning by making our very own Christingles and thinking about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. Wow! We have really enjoyed our R.E. learning this half term. I am certain the children will have so much knowledge to share with you!
Have the best Christmas, we hope you all have a magical time!
Lots of love,
Miss. Sheldrick and Mrs. Braithwaite
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