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Larch Class News
5th December 2024
Larch Class are busy working on various projects for Christmas including practising our Christmas performance with Lime Class. In addition, the children are busy in their DT lessons making a surprise to bring home at the end of term.
In Art, we have been trying out mark marking with charcoal. We looked at a painting by Durer and how he created the visual texture of animal fur through colour and brushstrokes. The children were tasked to use charcoal to try and create different effects.
Our Science lessons concluded this week learning about food chains and how stages of different food chains are linked and are dependent on each other. The children have had the chance to create food chains and discuss them with their friends using the correct scientific vocabulary such as producers, consumers and predators.
Thank you to Mr Brooker, who came in to make Christingles with the children in preparation for our Christingle Service.
The children and adults loved their treat from FOSS on Tuesday when they went down to the village hall to see a Widdershans puppet show. Thank you FOSS!
Freddie is out Handwriting Hero!
27th November 2024
We have a new focus in our Literacy lessons starting this week: Polar Bears. Larch Class have loved listening to fiction and non-fiction texts about these amazing creatures, as well as watching short film clips to bring their learning to life. They have retained so many facts already and enjoyed working a groups to share ideas and create different mind maps. We will continue next week to organise these facts under sub-headings before going on to write and illustrate fact files.
Our Science lesson on Thursday was also about animals looking, at how moles and worms have adapted to their underground habitats. Again, Larch Class showed a real thirst for learning and loved sharing their knowledge with their friends, before drawing their chosen animal and writing about its adaptations.
22nd November 2024
In our PSHE lesson this week, we have been thinking about the choices we make in our lives. The children shared choices they make at home at breakfast time and getting ready for school. We then looked at different scenarios and thought about the different choices children could make and in turn what the consequences might be. There was some interesting discussions and it was highlighted that if we make a good or a bad choice it can affect the way we feel and the way others feel.
In computing, Year 1s have been using some paint software to try and recreate work in the style of the artist Mondrian and the Year 2s have been experimenting with their photography skills, deciding if portrait or landscape produced the better photograph of different objects.
Year 1s have started their new topic in maths: geometry. They have started by identifying and naming 3D shapes around the room, before going on to look at 2D shapes.
Thank you to all who supported the food bank appeal led by our School Parliament, Larch Class enjoyed a non-uniform day as well as providing some essentials for the food bank.
15th November 2024
We made the most of the mild autumn days, to get outside and look at the microhabitats around the school at the start of our Science lesson. Children carefully looked under logs and rocks to find a variety of animals, before coming into draw and label their findings. We are thinking about why different habitats are more suitable for some plants and animals.
On Wednesday, we had our Literacy starter outside with some active learning. The children worked together to read a text, whilst walking, using their ‘Kung Fu punctuation’ and then to really highlight individual sentences they had to change the direction they were walking with each new sentence.
We had a visit from a road Safety Officer who taught the children the Green Cross Code. They will be getting some extra practice with the help of Oak Class over the next week.
8th November 2024
It was lovely to see the children after their half term breaks and see their enthusiasm to get back to school and catch up with friends. We have got a busy half term ahead as we start the build up to Christmas.
On our first day back, the children enjoyed a Maths Problem Solving Workshop. They worked in groups, or with a partner, to apply some of their maths skills and logical thinking to solve a variety of challenges.
We have started our new Science topic with a biology theme: Living Things and their Environment. During the first lesson the children have been classifying things in to categories depending on whether they are alive, used to be alive or inanimate. After going on a hunt around the school grounds they sorted different pictures, or drew their own, in to the three categories.
In Art we have been looking at paper cuts by Matisse and the different stages he went through to create his works of art using organic shapes. This week, the children have prepared their resources by painting sheets of paper with primary and secondary colours in preparation for next week when they will start cutting.
25th October 2024
In our final week of this half term, we finished our Art topic by looking at the kinetic sculptures of Alex Calder. The children then were tasked with making their own 3D sculptures using organic shapes. It was lovely to see so many unique pieces of art.
Our Geography topic concluded with planning routes to different destinations on a map, using the compass directions vocabulary as well as left and right – a tricky challenge, but there was some great partner work.
Larch Class hope you have a lovely half term break and look forward to seeing you in November.
18th October 2024
It was lovely to meet face to face or online with so many parents at the Parent Consultations this week. It gave Mrs Whitfield the opportunity to say some lovely things about each member of Larch Class.
Back in the classroom, the Year Ones have enjoyed practising their mouse skills, in Computing, by using painting software on the laptops, whilst Year Twos have been learning about Information Technology in our supermarkets. Learning about barcodes, scanners and tills and how these are all connected, the children worked in groups to follow the process through.
In Literacy we have been focusing on rhyming words and alliterative noun phrases: the children were excellent when working together to think of adjectives starting with the same sounds to describe different pictures around the room from our story ‘ The Black Hat’ – some noun phrases proved to be real tongue twisters!
Congratulations Hope on being our first Year One Handwriting Hero!
11th October 2024
In our computing lessons, we have been learning about e-safety with the help of Smarty The Penguin and Buddy The Dog. The children listened to a story about Smarty and discussed different choices Smarty faced when being online, before deciding what was a sensible choice. The children made posters, some have been chosen to display around the classroom to remind them about being safe online. Buddy The Dog taught the children a song which they enjoyed singing throughout the lesson. The main message for all issues that arose was to ask a trusted grown up.
The art lesson, this week, was the completion of the pictures in the style of Paul Klee, the children mixed different tints and shades of blue to paint their houses they had drawn using only geometric shapes.
We conducted our first experiment in Science on Monday, when looking at Keeping Healthy, with a focus on good hygiene. We learnt what germs are and then the children worked together to look at the effect of soap on germs. After the experiment they drew and wrote about their observations and conclusions.
Science experiment
Science - observations
Choose time after a busy week!
Relaxing after a busy week!
4th October 2024
In Art this week we have been looking at how Paul Klee has used geometric shapes in his painting ‘Three Houses’. After identifying the different shapes, tints and shades used, Larch Class made their own houses drawing different shapes freehand. They also used different shapes to draw round to create more houses. Next week they will be painting them and mixing different shades and tints of the same colour to work in the style of the artist.
Year Ones loved their first time on the laptops, they learnt to log on and then practised using their mouse skills using the trackpad, by completing simple jigsaws online. Meanwhile the Year Twos have been thinking out how IT is used in the wider world, identifying different types of IT used and how it can benefit our lives.
October is Black History Month so once a week in our class assemblies we are reflecting on this and looking at an inspirational person who helped change the world. Thinking about the words ‘determination’ and ‘resilience’, the first person we were learnt about this week was Betty Campbell, who proved people wrong when she became the first black Head Teacher in Wales. She was didn’t want people to suffer like she did and helped set up Black History Month.
27th September 2024
We have our first Handwriting Hero in Larch Class. Zhanna has worked hard on her writing, making great improvements with her ascenders and descenders and now consistently uses her neat handwriting. Our Handwriting Hero has an example of their work displayed in the classroom as a good example to others. Children are awarded this title if they have made a real effort to improve their independent handwriting.
In our Geography lesson this week, we have been looking at the physical and human features we might find on maps. The children got into groups to sort pictures from around the UK in to the two groups and to discuss their understanding. Year 2s then went on to draw physical and human features in our local area.
Both Year groups have been comparing and ordering numbers this week in Maths, using resources to help them. Lots of partner work allows the children time to discuss their ideas as well as giving an opportunity to use maths vocabulary – a great way to embed their learning.
20th September 2024
In Science, we have continued to find out about the human body. This week we have been looking at the digestive system and what happens to after food after we chew it and it was amazing to hear the children using the correct vocabulary like oesophagus and intestines in their discussions. They loved discovering that an adults intestines can be 8 -12 metres long!
Year 1s have begun to compare numbers in Maths, using the greater than, less than or equals symbols and have made a great start.
In Literacy, Larch Class have become authors. After to listening to the book Whatever Next by Jill Murphy, the children created their own stories based on the book, thinking about new characters and inventions. They completed storyboards and then told their stories to a partner. At the end of the week, we did our first Big Write, which is totally independent writing and there was some super stories across the class.
In Music we have started to add some instruments to accompany out song we are learning called ‘Hey You’.
It has been lovely to see some Learning Logs completed and shared with class. Isla made an amazing treasure map for one of her tasks.
13th September 2024
Larch Class have been enjoying their Art lessons with some colour mixing. We have been refreshing our knowledge of primary and secondary colours. Using a human paint palette Mrs Whitfield followed children’s instructions on how to mix different colours. Following on from this we looked at the painting by Kandinsky - Squares with concentric Circles, before the children set about creating their own version of the painting using primary colours initially and then secondary colours.
In Science, we have been learning about bones and muscles. The children were great at naming different bones and thinking about the function of different bones and muscles. We played a game of Simon Said to recap on some of the different names of bones. Margo loved shaking ‘hands’ with Zhanna who was demonstrating how our bodies might feel without bones!
Winston enjoyed his first adventure of the year last weekend when he went home with Frankie. He went to London, a party, a bike ride and even had some hot chocolate! We have explained to Winston ( and the children) that his adventures will all be so different – Winston loves to help with housework and build Lego!
6th September 2024
Our classroom is looking lovely after new carpets and a complete makeover in the summer break. The internal building works has meant quite a different layout to the school, so the children enjoyed a tour first thing on Wednesday to look at the changes and to meet our new Year 5 teacher, Mr Hodgson.
The new Larch Class have got off to a great start this week. There were a few worried faces at the gate in the morning on Day One, but very quickly the classroom was full of happy chatty children. The Year Ones have enjoyed their introduction to PSHE and Science this week and are very keen to learn and share their knowledge.
We sharied news about our summer holidays, but we then listened to a story ‘The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer’ and the children started to think about their ‘unbelievable summers’, with adventures including a trip to Mars in a rocket ship, deep sea diving with mermaids, riding on unicorns and sharks: their summers were truly unbelievable! After a ‘Walkie Talkie’ with a partner (children are randomly paired to walk and talk through ideas) they drew pictures and wrote some great sentences.
In Science, we are learning about The Human Body and started off today completing work about what all animals need to survive and in PSHE we were thinking about Larch Class rules and why we have rules. Our rules try to keep us safe, but also a very important rule in Larch is to have fun! After the children had some circle time to reflect their feelings, I think it is fair to say they have embraced this rule!
19th July 2024
Science and Engineering Week
We enjoyed diving in to the world of science and engineering in our last week of the school year. We started off by conducting a Skittles experiment to see the effect of water on Skittles and what happens as the sugar dissolves. Children were then challenged to work in groups to come up with ideas on how to add transfer water from one cup to another without touching the cup and without using a spoon to get water out. They were then given some kitchen roll to use and enjoyed mixing different colours and watching the absorption of water travel through the kitchen roll and into different containers.
12th July 2024
In DT we have been thinking about making healthy snacks and this week the children made their own fruit salads. They selected their chosen fruits from a range available and then set about chopping and slicing. Some chose to eat them in school while others took them home.
Our Move Up afternoon on Thursday was a great success: our new ‘Year 1s’ settled in so well completing some individual artwork that will be put together for a whole class piece which will be on display in September. There was time for the new Year 1s and 2s to get to know each other with a game outside.
5th July 2024
A busy week in Larch Class this week, with our trip, a visit from a Paralympian and an election!
The week we were privileged to have a fantastic visit from Paralympian, Sean Rose, who started off by leading a fitness class with the whole school before going on to talk a bit about his life. He referred to his ‘bumps in the road’ (some life changing) that he had experienced and how he dealt with them through perseverance and never giving up. The message was very powerful for the adults and children and it went well with Larch Class’s messages from Mojo. The children were delighted when we had a call from Sean later in the week to say he and some friends were cycling past the school, so we all rushed out to say hello, look at his amazing bike and cheer him on his way. Thank you to all those that sponsored the children with their fitness class, we raised a lot of money both for PE equipment in school as well as the charity ‘Wings For Life’ supporting people with spinal injuries.
Our trip to the RSPB was good fun, a picnic lunch followed by a nature walk and then fun in the natural play area. We have never seen so many caterpillars in one go!
The General Election fitted in well with our History topic about Parliament, so we had an election to Larch Class. Candidates in Year 2 were each given a project to spend their budget on and spent time discussing how they might persuade people to vote for them. The Pink Party would spend make sure school dinners were delicious and healthy with lots of choice, the Blue Party would spend money on new parks and play areas and the Yellow Party would buy lots of books new and interesting books for schools. The candidates went around the different classes in school and spoke about their choices, then each person completed a ballot paper and posted it in the ballot box. The rest of the year 2s counted up and announced the results. The children had great fun and their understanding was amazing!
28th June 2024
We started off the week with some fruit tasting in preparation for making a fruit salad in DT. A selection of fruit was on offer for the children to observe colour, texture and taste, it was great to see quite a few children try fruit that they had never eaten before.
Our Larch Class ‘mural’ has developed further this week. Going out in to the Whispering Willows, the children searched for natural materials that they could use to print seaweed, coral or rocks on the seabed picture. Once back inside they mixed some paint and got to work printing.
21st June 2024
Ten children started their week with a trip to Potton for a Racquet Skills Festival, where they had the opportunity to practise their skills, and try new activities alongside other children from local schools. Lots of fun was had!
We have continued with our whole class art project this week and, much to the children’s delight, have started printing in Larch Class. Using bubble wrap the children have been printing an underwater background and they have gone on to use their printing blocks to print some fish to go in to the sea. They experimented to find out how much paint they needed to apply with their rollers, with some good results. We then headed outside for to create some transient art.
In Larch Class, we encourage the children to enjoy a challenge and put in their best effort, which Mojo (our class growth set character reminds them exercises their brain). So now when there is the offer of Mrs Whitfield’s Tricky Challenge it is met with real enthusiasm: this week some Year Ones who are confident with their Number Bonds to 10 worked together on a Tricky Challenge to create One Big Triangle (from nRich) and they were amazing! Working together and systematically they found the solution. Meanwhile, the Year Twos have also been working together to apply their understanding of measuring temperature by looking at climates around the world. They were given fact files about different countries including some information about the average temperatures, they sorted these and then created a scale on their thermometers and added the different temperatures, before going on to compare countries.
14th June 2024
We have learning about Parliament this week and held our own Parliament in the Hub. The children had looked at photos of inside the Houses of Parliament and seated themselves in a similar way. After being introduced to the idea of a budget, groups were given various pictures and they discussed the areas they thought it was important to spend their budget on, giving reasons why. Seated in rows facing each other, the children had to stand to speak and the Speaker of The House (Mrs Whitfield) gave children chance to give their views. They were very respectful of each other and listened well, despite being desperate to stand and speak.
In Science, we have been looking at night and day and why this happens, where the children have demonstrated some excellent knowledge. Meanwhile, Year 2s have been outside getting outside in Maths this week when learning about capacity, they have been estimating the capacity and ordering containers by volume before going on to measure in millilitres and litres.
Our Summer Art project is underway and the children are very excited with Step 1. We are looking at murals and are going to create our own piece of artwork. Murals are meant to be painted directly on to the wall, but Larch Class understand that Mrs Chapman wouldn’t want us to do this so we are going to put ours on paper. The children have started to create their own printing blocks today and they looked great, the children are desperate to start printing so watch this space…
It was lovely to see so many parents and carers at our Active Travel Event on Wednesday, the children certainly seemed to be have fun and learning some new skills.
7th June 2024
Larch Class enjoyed the visit from local author, Laura Noakes, who spoke to the children about her life, disability and inspiration for her two books about Cosima. The message fitted very well with our class character, Mojo, who reminds us just to keep trying even when things are difficult. Quite a few of the children enjoyed getting their own copy of the book signed by Laura.
Year Ones have been working hard on the Place Value of 2 digit numbers up to a 100 and are becoming really confident using the resources to represent numbers.
Our new History topic is looking at Parliament and Prime Ministers. In our first lesson we started to look at what parliament is, before stepping back to 1689 when James II was on the throne. The children enjoyed some role played to bring to life the events leading up to a change of power from the monarchy to Parliament with the Bill of Rights. There was some great acting!
In computing this week, the Year Ones loved getting on the ipads to do a bit of programming and they were quick to use the programming blocks to make a sprite move. Year Twos were equally thrilled when they followed a series of challenges to test their word processing skills. After typing a couple of given sentences, there were various challenges asking them to change the font size, colour and then print their document.
We have a new Handwriting hero this week: well done Max!
Phonics lessons - the soft 'c' Representing 2 digit numbers
24th May 2024
Larch Class have planted their sunflower plants just in time as the weather changed on Tuesday and Wednesday. As we have learnt in Science, plants need water and sunlight to grow – well they’ve certainly had the water this week!
In our Art lessons the children have been drawing self-portraits, but with a twist. They have been studying different cubism artwork by the artist Picasso and then thoroughly enjoyed creating their own portraits.
Thursday was Outdoor Learning Day so Year Ones headed outside to practise counting in 5s using natural materials. They worked together and enjoyed the first step to learning their 5 times tables. In Science the children were identifying trees by using their leaf spotter guides. Armed with clipboards and magnifying glasses they enjoyed discovering the different trees in our grounds. Some of the children then went on to have a go at some leaf rubbings.
We are proud of Zaccaria whose design was chosen for our new school banner!
17th May 2024
Well done Year 2s! They have spent the week working so hard in their end of KS1 Read and Writing SATs. We are really proud of you all!
Thank you to Mrs Hollyman for looking after the sunflowers and bringing them in to school. The children have started to plant them and the current rain combined with the warmth should give them a good start in the ground. We have been conducting science experiments to see what seeds need to germinate and then what plants need to remain healthy. The children have set up the experiments by placing seeds (Year 1) and plants (Year 2) in dark cupboards, sunny window ledges, some with water and some without. Regular observations have been recorded and conclusions drawn.
10th May 2024
Our Australian themed Literacy lessons have continued with the children beginning to plan their own stories starting by looking at the structure of stories, then going on to think about a hero and a villain. Working in pairs, the children made the most of the long awaited sunshine and headed outdoors, to create their stories. Beau and Tate shared theirs with the whole class before all the children had time use their drama skills to act out the different tales. The school grounds were full of grumpy emus, angry crocodiles and one or two cackling kookaburras!
NUMBOTs, a Maths app, has been launched in Larch Class, each child has their own log in to play at home and in school. This week Arabella and Freddie were awarded certificates for completing the most levels. Well done to all those that are busy getting tokens to change their robots. Please check with Mrs Whitfield if you are unsure how to access NUMBOTs.
3rd May 2024
Our Art topic continued using Bruegal’s ‘Children Games’ painted in 1560 as a focus.
After we looked at different close ups of the painting, each child was given either a piece of the painting or the name of a game being played, they then finding a partner to match. We went on to compare games the children were playing in the painting with games enjoyed today. Volunteers then posed in a ‘freeze frame’ of a game. Using either photos of these poses or a 3D artist manikin we looked at sketching a line drawing of our models.
In Literacy we have moved continents: we are no longer in Antarctica learning about Emperor Penguins, but have now travelled to Australia to learn about traditional Australian Tales. Sharing different ancient tales, the children have been thinking about common themes and then have reflected on the messages contained within them.
26th April 2024
In Maths, children are encouraged to use a range of resources to support their understanding and this week in Year 2 the resource was cake! Using cakes, the children explored halves and quarters in their introduction to fractions and then of course it meant they had an extra snack afterwards. In Year 1 they have been learning about arrays as an introduction to multiplication, using counters before going on to make some array buildings for a display and finally they headed outdoors to create arrays using natural resources.
Our learning about Emperor Penguins continued in Literacy and we have been amazed how many facts the children could recall, so this week it was time to organise these facts under different sub-headings before then going on to complete a fact file in their independent Big Write.
Bridge acting
19th April 2024
We hope you enjoyed your Easter cards Larch Class made at the end of last term, the children loved making them as well as the craft gifts from FOSS. Thank you FOSS!
We have started our new topics this term: in Science the children are learning about plants and in Geography we are looking at the continents. In our first Science lesson we went outside and studied the plants in our school grounds, naming and comparing them and how they change with the seasons. In Geography, Year Ones are learning about the 7 continents and locating them in an atlas and identifying them on a blank map whereas Year 2s are focusing on Northern Europe and have started to compare the physical and human features in Northern Europe with those in England.
Our Art topic focuses on Children in Art, we started off by using the painting by William Hogarth of The Graham Children.
The children worked together to look for clues in the painting to find out about this 18th century family, looking at the clothes and different objects in the painting. After posing like the children in the painting, they reflected on how different a picture of children in modern times might be, choosing different props to include.
In Literacy, we have started to discover fascinating facts about the Emperor Penguin in preparation for creating a fact file. The children have enjoyed sharing a book ‘The Emperor’s Egg’ by Martin Jenkins, as well as watching a selection of film clips and then have gone on to create a mindmap full of facts. They were amazed to learn that an adult male Emperor Penguin is taller that lots of children in the class!
28th March 2024
North America won the table points at the end of last week, so this week one of their treats was to plant Larch Class’s seed potatoes. Thank you Mrs Hollyman for supplying us with these.
It was lovely to see so many of Larch Class in Club 30 this week. Membership is open to Year 2 – 4 and in year 2 children need to answer 30 multiplication and division calculations in 2, 5 and 10 times tables in 5 minutes. Tricky!
Winston has an Easter bonnet! Thank you Beau
22nd March 2024
Larch Class trip to Wandlebury Park, Cambridge
Pond dipping, nature trails and habitats were the focus of our hands on Science day in Wandlebury Park. The children loved discovering the many different creatures living in a woodland and pond habitat. We went in to a hide to do some quiet bird watching, collected many different colourful plants from around the park and enjoyed lunch outside. The rain stayed away and the children were great: interested, engaged and very well behaved. There were some very tired children by the end of the day!
15th March 2024
Larch Class learning about how we should look after our world in Science. We have been looking at the Earth’s resources that we use and finding out about renewable and non-renewable resources. This week we have been looking at the impact of deforestation on the animals who‘s habitats are being destroyed as well as impact on our planet. This Science topic went well with our Courageous Advocacy Week, when the children learnt about Greta Thunberg.
In Maths Year Ones have been doing lots of practical work with measuring. They started off the week getting used to using the vocabulary when comparing the length and height of objects and finished off with using rulers and learning to measure accurately in centimetres. Year Twos have had a tricky couple of weeks learning to tell the time using an analogue clock: this is made especially tricky for some as they tend to see digital clocks more. Games and activities helped their understanding
Our computer lessons this half term are about data, Year Ones are learning to group data whilst Year Twos are using software to input data and create pictograms.
8th March 2024
The children are learning about instructions with Mrs Keen on Fridays this half term and began by making tiny mini beasts from playdough following some simple instructions.
In preparation for writing their own stories based on a book we have shared in class (Fergal is Fuming), the children have planned their own characters, emotions and storylines. They then sat with a partner and shared their story, adding more detail as it developed.
On Thursday we celebrated World Book Day and Larch Class was full of wizards, witches and lots of other characters from the children’s favourite books. We went outside for an active Fairy Tale quiz, where the Year 2s gave Year 1s some clues about a character and then the Year 1s went off to search for their character around the playground. Following on from that, we came inside and the children loved creating finger puppet book characters.
Larch Class are excited to be learning about The Romans in their History topic. We started off by looking at some of the technology that the Romans introduced and this week we have been learning about the Roman armies and the invasion of Britain.
Luckily the weather has dried up a little, so it meant that the Year 1s could head outside for their first lesson on measuring, this week, where they were comparing the length of objects.
1st March 2024
On Wednesday, Larch Class sent a team of 10 to a Table Cricket tournament against other local schools in Biggleswade. The children enjoyed their morning and represented Sutton really well showing great sportsmanship. They were delighted to discover they were the winners of the tournament.
16th February 2024
Our Art topic on Architecture ended with a design task. As the Penguin House in London Zoo has been closed down due to it being unsuitable for the penguins, the children set about designing a new one. They considered the purpose and the features of the building and what penguins need to be happy and healthy. After their initial design they went on to transform their plans in to 3D models.
In our Music lesson, this week, we started with a warm up focusing on rhythm and used a rhythm grid. The children used the grid to compose a rhythm and then different groups of children clapped it out - it was tricky to remember to stay silent at the rests!
On Wednesday, we went to All Saints for a Curriculum in Church lesson with Mrs Kerridge where she showed Larch Class the different features found in a church.
Gymnastics with Mr Passman
Place Value: Year 1
Arabella, this week's Handwriting Hero!
9th February 2024
This week was Mental Health Week, with the theme of ‘Your Voice Matters’ so we have been thinking about how we can help ourselves to keep healthy mentally and how to help others. Through artwork, games and watching short film clips Larch Class have been reflecting on what makes us happy and what we are proud of about ourselves.
It was also Internet Safety Day on Tuesday and the children shared the e-safety rules we had already learnt about. They made emoji fans and listen to a DigiDuck story about online gaming, where they showed how the characters might be feeling at different parts of the story by using their emoji fans.
In computing, the Year 1s have been building on their digital painting skills when they were tasked with created some artwork in the style of Mondrian. There were great results!
Our Traction Man themed literacy lessons have continued and this week Larch Class became 30 Traction Men in preparation for writing a Traction Man diary next week. We used drama to help get in to the role and there was some lovely miming of Traction Man getting in his ‘Latex Space Suit and Perspex Helmet’ before zooming off in his’ Jet Powered Trainer’ to defeat the ‘Evil Pillows’. These books have really captured the children’s imaginations and this is reflected in their enthusiasm with their learning.
It has been lovely to see a number of clocks that children have made as part of their Learning Log task. The children love to share their work and hopefully this will support them learning to tell the time using an analogue clock.
Emoji fans
Internet Safety
Getting Their Traction Man Suit on
Into their Jet Powered Trainer
2nd February 2024
Our week started off with a visit from a Road Safety Officer from Central Beds, who talked to the children about keeping safe when out near roads. He taught them about the Green Cross Code and following on from this the children made their own road safety posters. The Officer also discussed the use of car seats explaining that if they were under 1 metre 35 cms tall (or under 12 years old) it was the law that children should be on some sort of car or booster seat. So we measured the height and put a marker on the wall and children were free to see if they were that tall.
In music we got some of our tuned instruments out to accompany the song we are learning at the moment. It was tricky to keep in time and play the different notes, but those that had a turn put in a great effort.
In Science this week, Year 1s were learning about clouds and were beginning to name some of them. They each made a cloud spotter and went outside to see what they could see. Meanwhile, the Year 2s were very excited to make an electric circuit. They were tasked with lighting a bulb and had to choose the equipment they would need. After some investigation a variety of clues were given to support the children and there were squeals of delight when they were successful in lighting their bulb! They went on to draw their circuits and write about their understanding of an electrical circuit.
26th January 2024
Weather Watching in Larch
Year Ones have set up different equipment to measure the weather this week. They are looking at the wind direction, using a windsock and compass, rainfall, using a rain gauge and checking the temperature on our giant thermometer. After checking twice a day, they then put the data in to a weather chart.
On Tuesday we enjoyed a visit from Idris’s mum who came to talk a little bit about Islam and the celebration of Eid. Larch Class loved seeing and hearing about the celebrations, as well as looking at some of the beautiful clothes that Idris and Sofia have worn. It was especially kind of Dilara to bring in some food for us to try: the Bengali pulab was very popular! Larch Class are very grateful to Dilara to give up her time and come and spend it with us. Thank you!
Continuing with our Architecture top in Art, we looked at a selection of gargoyles on cathedrals around the country. Each child was then given a ball of clay and set about making their own gargoyles and the creations were amazing, all so different but all so good!
Great learning log from Willow
New Handwriting Hero
Number Line Work in Maths
19th January 2023
Larch Class are enjoying finding out more about the UK in Geography and this week we have moved north to look at the country of Scotland. Year Ones have been using the atlases to look at Scotland’s location and why it tends to have a cooler climate than England. They have looked at some of the symbols and traditions of Scotland. Meanwhile, Year Twos have been thinking about human and physical features in Scotland, contrasting urban and rural Scotland. Children then went on to add some of the physical features on to their maps of the UK.
In computing Year Ones have been brushing up on their skills with paint software in preparation to create some Mondrian style art next week. Year Twos are focusing on photography this half term and after been given a selection of subjects to photograph they set about taking pictures. They then reflected on the photos on how they could improve the standard of the pictures next time.
Our PSHE lesson about Bodies, started off thinking about differences and similarities. We started with some Active Learning: each child was given a coloured pompom and then moved around the playground in different ways. On the sound of the tambourine the children searched for someone with different colour pompoms to discuss differences between partners and then later, finding partners with the same colour pompoms, they discussed similarities. The children realised that some similarities and differences are not always so obvious.
The focus in Art is architecture and this week we have been looking at features of some of our famous buildings. The children went on to create their own Rose Window of Westminster Abbey.
Active Learning
Art
Active Learning
Making Rose Windows
Photography
Photography
12th January 2023
Despite the cold dark mornings of January, the children seem really happy to be back with their friends and in to the routine of the school day. A new half term means new topics in our Foundation subjects.
In Art, we are looking at architecture and the role of an architect. The children have been looking at some famous buildings in London, and their different features and the purpose of the building. They then went on to complete some great line drawings of buildings such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
In our Geography lessons we have been looking at the United Kingdom, using atlases to identify the different countries in the UK and the seas that surround us. Year 1s have focused on the different flags within the Union Jack, whilst Year 2s have completed their own maps of the UK.
Meanwhile in our literacy lessons, we have been looking at Fairy Tales with a focus on the 3 Little Pigs. There was some lovely drama skills demonstrated on Tuesday when groups re-enacted the story adding their own details to make it their own version. Following on from this the children are planning their own stories based on the 3 Little Pigs, with character and setting changes. We have lions, ducks, foxes and even a dinosaur building a variety of houses.
Idris and Sofia have returned from their trip to Bangladesh and were kind enough to bring Larch Class back a flag and they gave all their friends a badge each from Bangladesh.
20th December 2023
Happy Christmas from Larch Class. See you in 2024!
8th December 2023
On Thursday, in preparation for our Christingle Service, Larch Class enjoyed making their Christingles with Mr Brooker.
We are coming to the end of our Science topic which the children have loved! The Year 2s having been creating their own food chains in different habitats and some children went on to use the internet to research food chains in rainforests. Meanwhile, Year 1s have been using their scientific vocabulary to describe and label diagrams of birds and fish.
Our literacy lessons have also had an animal theme looking at shape poems. We based our learning on a lovely book Apes to Zebras: An A-Z of Shape Poems, the children built up their own word banks about a given animal over the week before getting creative and writing their own shape poems.
We have new Handwriting Hero: Evie. Well done Evie for working hard to improve your writing.
1st December 2023
We have made moving pictures again in DT this week, but this time we used a lever with a pivot to fly a rocket around the Earth. The children were delighted with the results! This is in preparation for this year’s Christmas cards which will be using a similar mechanism. Watch this space…
During some reading time in Larch Class on Monday, it was lovely to pair children up, so a Year One could read their school reading book to a Year Two.
In our History lesson this week, we were learning about significant people in our local area and we focused on Dan Albone who was part of some important developments with bikes. He worked in Biggleswade in the Victorian times, and after learning some key facts, some children went on to compare bikes in Dan Albone’s day to their dream bike in modern times.
Mrs Whitfield would like to congratulate Libby, who was one of the first children in the school to get in to Club 30. Club 30 is open to Year 2 and above: the children need to answer 30 multiplication and division questions in a few minutes which means their speed recall needs to be pretty quick! The club 30 afternoon will take place before Christmas where members play different maths and strategy games, whilst enjoying some refreshments.
24th November 2023
The preparation for Christmas has begun! We have started our traditional Christmas sewing this week, which the children are very excited about. We have also begun to learn about Mechanisms in DT in preparation for making our Christmas cards. Larch Class looked at some simple mechanisms before going on a mechanism hunt inside and outside the classroom. The children then made a moving picture using a simple slider. We then moved on to look at levers and how they help us in our day to day life. We headed out in to the Whispering Willows and some children created a lever, with a pivot point, and demonstrated how they could lift a heavy log (which they couldn’t do without a lever). We will build on this knowledge over the next few weeks.
In History we have been learning about the work of archaeologists and how their discovery of artefacts helps create a picture of the past. We looked at a site from Cambridgeshire where they have uncovered a Bronze Age settlement.
Our Science lessons have continued with an animal theme: Year Ones enjoyed sorting animals by what they eat and are becoming more confident deciding whether animals are herbivores, carnivores or omnivores. This helped them in their literacy when they were doing research about rabbits in order to complete a Big Write factfile about Rabbits. Year Twos did some amazing work on the different levels of a rainforest and what animals might live there. Some children went on to do further research using the ipads. It is lovely to hear both year groups discussing their learning in partners or small groups and using some great scientific language.
17th November 2023
Our focus, this week, has been on Courageous Advocacy which has tied in very well with Anti-Bullying Week. First of all Larch Class thought about being courageous and reflected on times that they have had to show bravery and the feelings that go along with it. To understand speaking out for others and making a stand, we enjoyed some role play from some of the year twos, where Adam overheard some unkindness and intervened. The rest of the class then discussed how they might be courageous advocates. We have created a tree outside the classroom which we have built up over the week. Likening ourselves to a healthy apple tree, we thought about early influences in our lives – our roots, before moving up the tree to reflect our uniqueness in the trunk and then on to how we live the values, on the leaves, before finally thinking of occasions we could be courageous advocates.
Our History lesson was linked to our focus when we began to learn about Mary Seacole, who demonstrated Courageous Advocacy through her work in Crimea. We have used other examples of famous people both past and present who have stood up for those others.
Learning to exchange in Maths
Brick Club has started in school
10th November 2023
Our Science lessons have continued this week, with the Year Ones looking at sorting animals in to groups. They were thinking about the differences between mammals and amphibians. After learning some key features of animals in these two groups, the children worked together to name and sort them accordingly. Meanwhile, the Year Twos have been learning about habitats. We compared a range of different environments and what they provided for the animals that lived in them. The children paired up and discovered some microhabitats in our school groups, where they found lots of slugs amongst other tiny animals. Back in doors they were given pictures of animals and a selection of habitats to sort and discuss why certain animals might live in a particular habitat.
Signing our lunchtime prayer with Louie
We have a new Handwriting Hero: Libby. She has worked really hard with her handwriting and now consistently produces beautiful joined up writing. Well done Libby!
3rd November 2023
The children settled in well after their half term break and seemed really happy to see their friends again.
This week, both our Literacy and Science lessons have had an Animal focus. In Literacy last half term, we completed some worked based on a short animation about a caterpillar that we had watched. We have now moved on to non-fiction text with a focus on caterpillars and Larch Class have started to sort different facts about caterpillars under different sub-headings. We will continue to learn about features of non-fiction text over the next few days, before bringing our learning together when the children will write a non-chronological report about caterpillars.
In Science the Year Ones have started to look at different types of animals and how Scientists can sort them in to different categories, whilst Year Twos have been sorted things that are Living, Dead or Inanimate.
Enjoying some Golden Time at the end of last half term a
7th October 2023
We are now in our third week of spelling tests and it really shows how most children are trying their best to learn their weekly spellings. Year Ones have adjusted well and actually quite enjoy the tests on a Friday. Year 2s are working hard on their times tables and lots of children are now using Times Table Rockstars at home to help with their learning.
Our last Art lesson on ‘Colour’ brought all the skills together when the children created their own seascape paintings. At the beginning of our lesson this week, groups completed jigsaws of two Monet seascapes before we went on to look at the tints, shades and different brushstrokes used in his artwork. Larch class then set about creating their own seascapes with some lovely paintings.
Louie’s BSL club is proving to be a real success. This week Louie and Mrs Hammett were teaching the members to sign colours and days of the week.
6th October 2023
As part of Dyslexia Awareness Week, Larch Class have been focusing on how we are all unique and have different strengths and difficulties. Given that everyone’s thumb print is unique the children were given the same thumb print and transformed it in to a new unique character.
In computing, as well as learning about e-safety and creating some colourful posters, to remind us of the rules when online, the children have continued with their programming: Year 1s have been using the Beebots whilst Year 2s have been using Scratch Junior on the ipads.
On Thursday, in Literacy we wrote a class poem as it was National Poetry Day based on this year’s theme Refuge. Each child thought of something they liked to hold or a place they liked to be that made them feel safe, and then we put it all together for a Larch poem.
Dyslexia Awareness Week
Handwriting Hero
Computing
Signing Club
29th September 2023
Our class teddy, Winston, has been on three different adventures so far this year. Most recently, he went home with Edward for the weekend where he enjoyed harvesting vegetables. Winston goes home with a child and when we are randomly choosing a name (with a lucky dip) on a Friday, there is an air of hope and excitement in the class!
We also have our first Handwriting Hero of the year: Athena. Athena has worked really hard to improve her handwriting with lovely ascenders and descenders as well as starting to join more letters. An example of her work is displayed in the classroom as an example for others.
We have a new phonics display which require the children to keep a careful eye out either in their books or around the school for words with certain graphemes in them. There is a focus grapheme each week (for example this week it is the ‘ie’ grapheme) and then every time a child finds a word containing the grapheme they write it out and add it to the towers. Please ask your children what graphemes we are working on and encourage them to find words as we are trying to build very tall towers!
In our Science lesson this week the children had lots of fun, blind testing. We were thinking about the impact of being blind and how people need to rely on other senses. First of all the children paired up and one of the partners was blindfolded and they had to rely on their partner to guide them around the field. We then headed indoors to conduct some blind testing using our sense of smell and touch to identify different items.
In geography, we have been learning about what makes a good map and have been looking at symbols and a key.
Each week the tables have a chance to win the table points. This week, South America, have enjoyed ipads, Hama beads and board games in early morning work as a reward for good listening, sitting smartly, tidy tables etc.
Building on our phonics knowledge
Blind testing
22nd September 2023
In Geography, we have been focusing on mapping. The children have been getting some experience using a compass and locating the different compass directions. Year 2s applied their knowledge to think about the direction of different features in the village.
In Science, when learning about the senses we have been thinking about hearing and have begun to look at how sound is created by vibrations and sound waves move through the air. Children went on to reflect on how our hearing can keep us safe and the potential dangers faced by those with hearing loss. This was good preparation for an unexpected fire drill later on in the week!
Colours have continued to be the theme in our Art lessons, this week we have been exploring tints and shades of a colour.
We have managed to dodge the showers this week to allow children to ‘Run a Mile’ in the afternoons. In Larch we don’t run a mile, but each afternoon the children complete laps of the track. They are encouraged to keep at a steady jog and over the year we build up the number of laps completed, which continues to build up to a mile in Hawthorn Class.
It has been lovely to share a number of learning logs that children have completed at home. Idris, Harry and Libby have completed some lovely work drawing and writing about their summer holiday in the ‘Postcard Task’.
15th September 2023
Larch Class are continuing to settle in to their new routines. We started the week by looking at class rules, discussing why we need rules and how they keep us safe and happy. The children then went off in small groups to create a mindmap of class rules, before bring our ideas together for a display in the classroom. It was great that so many Year 2s had remembered one of the most important rules in Larch Class is to ‘Have Fun!’
Our Literacy lessons have been based on the book ‘Not Now Bernard’ by David McKee, the children have written some character descriptions and have enjoyed some outdoor drama. In Maths both Year Groups have continued to consider the place value of numbers and Year 1s were great at making their own number line going forwards and backwards. They were then challenged to work together to create a number line, forwards and backwards, reading the numbers in words.
Our Art lessons focusing on colours have continued by contrasting paintings by Van Gogh and Bruegel and looking at warm and cool colours before going on to colour mix to make secondary colours. The class have each mixed paint to paint a sunflower for a display in the style of Van Gogh.
8th September 2023
New Class, New Classroom
It’s new for all of us in Larch this September as all the children and staff get used to the new location of Larch Class.
We have welcomed the new Year Ones who are adjusting to the new routines and they have enjoyed getting to know the Year Twos. We have Walkie Talkie time in Larch where children are randomly paired to walk and talk, this week there was lots to catch up on and find out about new friends in the class.
We started the week off with some storytelling in Literacy, with children working with a partner to make up a sequenced story when given a few sentence openers. Children were invited to come up and retell their story to the whole class- it was amazing to see some brave Year Ones do this on day one!
We have had a busy first week: in Science we are learning about senses and the children started off by discussing what they like and don’t like when using each different sense. In Art, we have been looking at work by the artist Mondrian when thinking about the primary colours. Then the Larch artists set to work creating their own artwork in the style of Mondrian, with some super results!
Colour Mixing
New friends in Walkie Talkie Time
Using resources in Maths
21st July 2023
Our last week in Larch Class.
It really is our last week in Larch as we will be moving rooms over the summer, so in September Larch Class will be in the main school building. We have enjoyed time in the new classroom, but are excited to move and to set up the new room.
This week the whole school art project has been completed and was an excellent backdrop for our Rock Steady Concert in the gazebo. We are so proud of all the musicians who showed real courage to perform in front of such a large audience. Some of the Larch rockers are fairly new to Rock Steady, they were all amazing!
On Monday, the children made some healthy dips to try. They made a Cucumber Raita and a Fruity Salsa dip. Carefully chopping, grating and mixing the ingredients, they worked together before enjoying the tasting session.
During our Pirate Week last week the children had made their own board games, so this week they had the opportunity to pair up and try out each other’s games.
14th July 2023
All aboard in Larch Class!
Capt’n Whitfield and the Larch crew have enjoyed a fun filled Pirate Week! It started off on Monday with the crew coming to school in some great pirate outfits where they worked out their pirate name. Over the week there has been pirate maths and coding, pirate poetry, a pirate jigsaw hunt as well as creating their own treasure map and many other activities.
On Wednesday, we had a Bollywood dance workshop which the children loved and there was some great dancing from all! On Thursday we started our whole school art project led by Mrs Price, based on ‘You Choose’ by Pippa Goodhart where the background to various destinations have been created.
7th July 2023
We have been doing a lot of work on ‘Changes’ to support the children’s transitions this week. Using books such as Changes by Anthony Browne and ‘The Koala who could’ by Rachel Bright, we have been reflecting on good, and not so good, changes in our lives. In addition, with the help of Kevin the Koala the children have shared their worries about moving year groups and, as with Kevin, are beginning to accept that sometimes these changes aren’t as scary once you try give it a go.
In music this week we have begun to accompany our singing of the Friendship Song with chime bars and it was lovely to see the support the children gave each other to play the right notes at the right time.
In computing, Year 2s have been blogging about the best things in Larch Class and were very impressive how they went about setting up the scene to take a photo before going on to add some text. Year 1s have been working with a partner to use Paint software to try and copy a given picture on the laptops.
30th June 2023
We have finished off learning about explorers this week by comparing Robert Scott’s Polar Race in 1912 with that of modern day polar explorer Felicity Aston. The children have been sorting the different equipment taken on these trips, comparing them, looking at the differences and similarities and then discussing the impact of modern technology.
We started off our Maths lesson on Wednesday with a Follow Me game involving the whole class and it was great to see the Year Ones becoming more confident with the place value of numbers to 100.
Larch Class were delighted to see Cherry back with them this week and to show just how must she had missed her friends Cherry brought everyone in Larch Class an ice pop. How kind!
The children loved visiting the FOSS ‘Someone Special’ sale on Thursday. Thank you FOSS!
23rd June 2023
Busy at Gardening Club with Mrs Hollyman.
16th June 2023
Mrs Price enjoyed some time with Larch class this week and she was very impressed with their work. They spent 2 afternoons creating African sunsets, by building up the scenes. Starting with either paint or coloured paper they built up the sunsets before adding silhouettes of animals and trees. The results were great!
9th June 2023
Larch Class have enjoyed the start of their new topic ‘Where Shall We Go?’ with a history theme. The children have starter to learn about explorers discovering what is an explorer, what equipment they might need and some of the problems they might encounter. They delved in to a rucksack to find a range of equipment that modern day explorers might take and then decided on what changes they might make depending on the type of environment they were heading to. We then contrasted modern day equipment with the type of things Christopher Columbus might’ve needed on his exploration to the Americas. Using atlases and working with a partner, the children used given clues to follow journeys of some significant explorers in the past. There were some interesting discussions when they began to look at Neil Armstrong.
The warmer weather has finally arrived, just in time for our drama activity. After watching a short film clip, we have been using expanded noun phrases in our character descriptions and the recounting the film through drama.
The Value for June us 'Respect'
26th May 2023
The Mini Me adventures are complete and the children have written some great descriptive stories. The time in the Whispering Willows inspired the children to use lovely expanded noun phrases and adverbs to make their writing more interesting.
Our Animal Allsorts topic ended with a Science lesson about food chains this week. The class made their own chain outside and thought about the problems when there is a missing link in the chain. They then went on to learn about different food chains and how the energy is passed through the chain. Outside, groups worked together to sort different plants and animals in to food chains before going back inside to create their own.
On Wednesdays this half term, Larch Class are doing tennis in PE and Mr Passman has been impressed with some of the developing skills.
In DT, the hand puppets are finished and look great! We have evaluated them, comparing them to the original design and have shared ways we could improve them next time.
We have been planting out our sunflowers grown from seed and look forward to them growing so we can measure them and sees who’s grow the tallest in the sunflower competition.
19th May 2023
Mini Me Adventures
We have been using the Whispering Willows for inspiration in our Literacy lessons this week. The children were each given a picture of themselves and they used their imaginations to think about what problems they might have if they had been shrunk to the size of a fish finger! There were huge, towering daisies; enormous, terrifying squirrels and massive, scary, hairy spiders to contend with. After working in partners to think of an adventure the children returned inside to start their storyboards.
In ICT Year 2s have started to learning about blogging and vlogging and have been outside filming each other with the ipads.
12th May 2023
Well done to our Year Twos! You have all worked so hard in your SATs! Mrs Whitfield is very proud of you all.
In Larch Class, we have been reflecting on the Coronation and thinking about what we would do if we were King or Queen. The children have drawn and described their royal homes and what they would have inside them: Beau would have a golden piano whilst Rosie would have a bath full of marshmallows! They then thought about the type of hobbies they might have and finally what they would do to help protect the world we live in.
In our Science lessons we have been sorting objects in to Living, Dead and Never Alive. The children went on a walk around the school to identify different objects and which category they belonged to. After that they worked in groups to sort pictures of objects. It was great to hear some interesting discussions between the children about the more confusing objects such as eggs, bread, leather shoes.
5th May 2023
We have been learning about the planned coronation of King Charles III in Larch Class. The children have been learning about the symbolism of the objects used in a coronation and then have acted out some of the rituals that King Charles will do in Westminster Abbey. Each child has been given a crown, which they have enjoyed decorating ready for the occasion.
28th April 2023
In our topic Animal Allsorts, the children are becoming experts at classifying animals based on characteristics and, in addition, have been deciding whether animals are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores based on their diet. To demonstrate their understanding, each child was given an animal to draw and write about its characteristics, they then went on to classify the animal in different ways. As an extension, children used the ipads to research information about an animal of their choice.
Our DT lessons also have an animal theme as we are creating animal glove puppets. We looked at different types of puppets, what materials they were made from and how they move.
Rosie and Lily were inspired and had gone home to make their own sock puppets and enjoyed sharing them with the class. After studying different animals including the colour, shape of features etc the children used a template to design their puppet, labelling the different materials they would use. The sewing and sticking has begun and they are looking great!
21st April 2023
It was lovely to see the children return to school after their Easter break. In Larch Class we have Mood Monsters that the children can place their names on to reflect their feelings throughout the day and nearly all names have been on the Happy Monster for the majority of the week: a reflection of their excitement at seeing their friends and their enjoyment of school.
Over the Easter holidays some of the school has had a reorganisation with Lime Class moving in to the old hall and now were have a ‘Hub’ and a Library. Early Morning Club and Year Ones have been making use of the new areas and all the children have enjoyed exploring the new layout.
Club 30 met on Wednesday afternoon for fun, Maths games and refreshments, it was lovely to welcome four new members – 3 of whom are from Larch Class. To become a member, children from Year 2 onwards, need to demonstrate a fluency in their times tables, so as teacher and Maths Lead, Mrs Whitfield is very proud of the four Larch members.
We have started our new topic ‘Animal Allsorts’ by classifying animals: the class have supported each other in learning the differences between vertebrates and invertebrates and then going on to classify vertebrates into amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals and birds.
31st March 2023
Our Trip to Cambridge Botanic Gardens
Luckily, the rain stayed away for our trip to Cambridge Botanic Gardens. We got to see, and hold, the largest type of seed in the world, make our own pots out of newspaper and plant a nasturtium seed in it to take home and spent time around the gardens sharing knowledge with leaders from the gardens. After a picnic lunch, in the school room (which was very similar to Larch Classroom) the children went on a scavenger hunt around the gardens, gathering cones, seed pods and a host of other items found on the garden floor. It was a great trip and, as always, the children were brilliant! Great behaviour and an enthusiasm for their learning!
We have now finished our class reading book: Paddington and have shared some of the original Paddington animations made 48 years ago! Following on from this the class put on their imaginary red hats and blue duffle coats and became Paddington. They then wrote to Aunt Lucy in ‘Darkest Peru’ to tell her all about arriving in England and meeting the Browns.
In Computing, the Year 2s have been learning about animations and have watched clips of Morph before going on to create their own films using some Playdough. They were proud of their efforts and enjoyed sharing their films with friends.
On Tuesday, our Rock Steady musicians took part in their termly concert for parents, filling the hall with the sound of drums, electric guitars and keyboards and, of course, some super vocals. These musicians have really shown courage to stand up and perform in front of such a large audience.
The staff and children from Larch Class wish everyone a Happy Easter!
24th March 2023
We have been making Easter cards in Larch, that had some very fiddly stages when making them so it was good to see some great examples of children really helping each other.
We invited Mrs Price to Larch Class so the Year Ones could share their amazing independent reports about Barn Owls with her and she was very impressed in deed! The children were very proud of their efforts and were excited to discuss their knowledge with Mrs Price.
We have a new Handwriting Hero: well done Fred! You have worked so hard on your skills.
Alphabetical order
Eddie helping one of the Year Ones
Fred - Handwriting Hero
Winston's new badge
Mrs Price visiting the Year Ones
17th March 2023
What a great week Larch Class have had!
It started off with a Mindfulness Monday when we had a treat from FOSS. Ali, from Mindfulness Magic, spent a couple of hours with Larch Class in a workshop where they explored feelings and mindfulness. It certainly was a quiet relaxed classroom afterwards. Larch Class would like to thank FOSS for our treat – the children really enjoyed it.
As I am sure lots of you know we have been learning about Barn Owls over the last 2 weeks and the children have loved discussing their knowledge in and outside of school. They brought all their facts together when they each wrote a report and they were absolutely amazing! To enhance their learning, we were lucky to spend Thursday afternoon with Felicity’s mum who had brought in owl pellets for the children to dissect. Using tweezers and sticks the class set about searching for the indigestible bones amongst the fur and were keen to match their discoveries such as skulls, thigh bones and jaw bones with pictures on their Owl Trust sheet. Working in pairs the children had lots of scientific discussions about their findings.
On Thursday morning, Larch Class were treated to a Widdishans Stone Age performance, before Hawthorn had their treat from FOSS – a workshop with Andy from Widdershans.
Winston, our class teddy, still continues on his adventures and travels: this week he went to Rainbows with Arabella and was awarded his first badge with his now proudly wears!
10th March 2023
Sutton School celebrated World Book Day on Monday and the Larch classroom was full of book characters for the day. We started off with a Reading Adventure workshop where the children had to work in teams to solve clues to unlock different boxes to find a dragon somewhere in the school. We were very proud of Larch Class as the workshop leader said they were the best behaved and the quickest KS1 class to solve the clues that he had worked with! Well done Larch!
In Science, our cress seed experiment has finished and the children have written up their results and drawn conclusions about what seeds need to germinate and what plants need to survive.
Thank you to FOSS for purchasing some games for Larch Class. The Lemur Table, who had won the table points last week, were the first to enjoy the games as part of their treat being the winning team.
3rd March 2023
Larch Class have been observing their experiment looking at cress seed germination. They have been regularly watering the seeds, comparing them and have been thinking about the question ‘Why?’ Why are the seeds in the fridge not germinating? Why are the seedlings without sunlight yellow and a lot taller than the ones with sunlight? There has been some great discussions and theories. We will draw our conclusions on Monday and finish off writing up the experiment.
The children are enjoying learning about plants and it is lovely to hear, and see, that some children are continuing their learning at home for example Annie is trying to germinate an avocado stone.
Our Literacy lessons have been based on a book called Bog Baby and over the last 2 weeks we have been completing lots of different writing tasks based on the book: descriptive writing, instructions on how to look after a Bog Baby and a persuasive leaflet saying why people shouldn’t take Bog Babies home. There have been some lovely imaginative ideas!
Each week the table that wins the table points, in Larch Class, enjoys different activities in early morning work, such as using the ipads, drawing etc. This week the Tiger table also had the opportunity to use our new Hama Beads.
Tiger table enjoying Hama Beads Planting at home
Planting at home
24th February 2023
Early signs of Spring are beginning to appear around our school grounds with a few daffodils on flower. This is very useful as we have started our new topic ‘The Potting Shed’ by looking at different parts of plants. The children headed out to find roots, leaves, stems and flowers before starting to learn about the function of each part.
Following on from this we have been thinking about what seeds need to germinate. Larch Class have set up an experiment, using cress seeds, to see how different factors affect germination before the children made their predictions.
It was lovely on Tuesday, when ten children from Larch Class were the first to go to Mrs Hollyman’s Gardening Club. The children helped to dig over the beds and found some carrots from last season. They then went on to sew some radish and lettuce seeds. All children will have the opportunity to attend over the next few weeks, so we would just like to say a big thank you to Mrs Hollyman for giving up her time to come and work with the children.
10th February 2023
After studying the design of emergency vehicles, Larch Class have been completing their models. They have painted them, attached the wheels and axles and tested them. Following on from this, they have evaluated their product and compared it to their design.
Tuesday was Safer Internet Day, so throughout the day children listened to, and reflected on, advice from Wise Owl in the Digi Duck books, these stories cover key e-safety rules when on the internet. Posters were made of these rules and are now displayed in Larch Classroom.
Larch Class have a Mindfulness activity at the end of their lunchtime play to help prepare them for the transition from play to work. The children have been working with Miss Austin to create a collage of their favourite mindful activities.
3rd February 2023
We have started our DT projects: to design and build an emergency vehicle. The children have discussed their ideas and drawn and labelled their designs. There was a wide variety of resources on offer, so the children looked at the shape of real emergency vehicles before making their choice. It was then time to get creative! Any boxes with a glossy finish had to be turned inside out which required a bit of partner work and wheels and axles collected. Next week we move on to paint them so watch this space!
Meanwhile, Larch Class has been literally lit up by lots more Learning Log lighthouses. Reagan has used real rocks around his, whilst Evie has used some skills learnt in DT earlier this year to make hers more stable.
On Friday morning Larch Class loved their different Maths challenges and outdoor activities on NSPCC Number Day.
Winston, our class teddy, has spent time with lots of the children at the weekends. He’s been practicing the guitar with Reagan, horse riding with Rosie, gardening with Neriah, rugby training with Adam and has been to numerous restaurants and parties. Eddie is very excited to be taking Winston home this weekend.
