Learning Journey – ‘Foundations’
A snapshot of our week:
Reception: This week in Reception our role play area was turned into a green grocer’s. We had a fruit and vegetable tasting session where we discussed some of the things we like eating and the ones we don’t like as much. We then started reading the story ‘I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato’ by Lauren Child, and found out that Lola is a very fussy eater. The children were fabulous at giving vegetables some new, exciting names (like Charlie did in the story); they came up with some great ideas like ‘Submarine elf house’ instead of pepper. In maths we have been exploring how all teen numbers have one group of ten inside them.
Year 1: We’ve really enjoyed learning about the history of toys, and it was super fun sharing the different types of toys that our parents and grandparents used to play with. It certainly took us teachers on a trip down memory lane! there were Barbies from different decades, some well-loved, tatty bears and even a teapot dolls house! We used our reasoning tools to think about how we knew they looked old, and realised that a lot of the toys didn’t have batteries or need power. A highlight of our week was the visit from the 80-year-old Esmerelda (cough cough… Miss Harriskine in a grey wig with a walking stick). She told us all about the toys that she used to play with, and we used our asking questions tool to find out more about them. In literacy, we used our planning tools to start thinking about our own versions of our new book ‘Stanley’s Stick’, and in maths we’re focussing on multiplication and division by looking at equal and unequal groups of objects.
Year 2: On Monday we had a wonderful trip the Embankment, we walked and walked, identifying so many London landmarks. We drew pictures of our favourite sights and found out so much more about our city. We felt so lucky to live in the Capital and now lots of children want to take their families up to Central London and give them the same grand tour. All the children in Year 2 received a huge clap in Celebration Assembly today as their Teachers gave the Star of the Week certificates to all the children in their classes for their outstanding behaviour on the trip. We have written brilliant reports about our day out and included a range of adverbial phrases as well as using the past tense! Thank you to all the Parents helpers who made this trip possible. In maths we have started to look at calculating differences, and solving two step problems as well as building on last week’s work around measurement.
Year 3: We started our new book this week; Escape From Pompeii. We are already excited to find out what happens, all we know at the moment is that a volcano is involved! We have also started learning about volcanoes and Italy in Geography. However, the highlight of our week, without doubt, was our amazing trip to The Royal Festival Hall to perform in The Southwark Music Ukulele Festival. The performance was amazing, we rehearsed in the morning, had a picnic lunch and then performed in the afternoon with lots of other schools. The Teachers and Parents were so proud of all Year 3 and the children in the after-school Ukulele club. Thanks to Joe and all the parents who attended!
Year 4: We started a new book for literacy, Gulliver’s Travels, we saw a theatre adaptation of the book at the Unicorn Theatre at the end of last term so we have been able to make so many links. We have been writing a speech that Gulliver might give to the tiny people of Lilliput explaining why he should be set free, using modal verbs and formal language. In maths we are learning about decimals, and on Thursday, 4A had some extra art, where they designed and built a model of the Iron Man to attach to their own motorised base that we all built last week, which was a blast! 4B were at Dulwich Prep on Thursday enjoying their session in the Science Lab finding out and experimenting with states of matter. Today we have been at Dulwich College, we were invited to take part in their symposium about colour, which was amazing and very colourful! We are now so ready for next month’s STEAM question all about colour.
Year 5: In Literacy we have started to explore Norse mythology by looking at Odd and the Frost Giant which links to our work around the Vikings. We have been finding out about methods of invasion! In maths we have continued to build on last year’s work about decimals and have been practising both adding and subtracting numbers with tenths, hundredths and thousandths. In PSHE we have been considering the damage of negative stereotyping and developing our understanding of prejudice.
On Thursday a team of Year 5 children, with the help of Arthur in Year 3 took part in the Southwark Schools Cricket Tournament, in Burgess park they won every match! They have progressed straight through to the next round of the competition and will be competing for the prestigious ‘Bobby Abel’ Trophy.
Year 6: We have been preparing for our upcoming SATs, revising all of our knowledge in readiness to showcase our amazing learning. We worked so hard yesterday we had our first class game of Rounders of the Summer term and there were some surprising ‘big hitters’. In literacy, we have been looking at the three little pigs project, a spin on the classic fairy tale (where the wolf is the victim!). We have written heartfelt diary entries and interrogated the 3 little pigs. In maths, we have been learning about the different features of a circle- the radius, the diameter, and the circumference as well as looking at statistics, line graphs and interpreting data.
We are also delighted to announce that Mrs Holman-Hirst welcomed baby ‘Dougie’ into the world yesterday!!
Star Pupils this week
Reception: Edric, Ana, Maryam & Taha
Year 1: Nico, Kailah, Mahida & Lilibeth
Year 2: Holly & Kate
‘Foundations’ – Bike Riding Trip to Herne Hill Velodrome: all children from Year 1 to 4 will get the chance to visit the Velodrome in Herne Hill this term. They will get the opportunity to learn to ride a bike and experience the joy of cycling and the endless possibilities it brings like freedom, social mobility, fun exercise, enjoyment of the great outdoors as well as being great for the environment and much more. There will be a 2-hour session including coaching, bike and helmet hire at the cost of £5 per child. We really hope it will lay the foundations for our children to enjoy a lifetime of cycling and will be a lot of fun for everyone, we would welcome as many parent helpers as possible.
Please keep these dates for your diary:
Year 4 – Tuesday 14th June
Year 3 – Tuesday 21st June
Year 2 – Friday 1st July
Year 1 – Friday 8th July
Relationships and Sex Education: during the Summer term all teachers will be delivering lessons on relationships and sex education. Please have a look at the RSE policy on our school website.
Dates for the Diary
- Monday 2nd May – Bank Holiday
- Friday 27th May – Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration pm (more details to follow)
- Friday 17th June – Fun Run
- Saturday 9th July – Friend’s of Dulwich Wood Summer Fair
*The Learning Reviews will be held in school on the evenings of Tuesday 12th July & Thursday 14th July. You will be able to book a face-to-face appointment with your child’s Class Teacher closer to the time. School will be open as normal Monday 4th July
