Suckley School
Happy, Aspirational and Ready for Life
Spring
Maths - Year One have been working hard on their understanding of volume and capacity. We took advantage of the lovely weather to spend time exploring these concepts practically outside.
At forest school we have been enjoying the spring weather and we were oserving the changes of the site. We made crowns using the natural resources and tried to find items to match the colour wheel.
Science - to conclude our learning about materials, including properties and uses, we conducted an experiment to see which material was the most insulating for a spacesuit. We had to carefully measure the temperature and record our results accuratly.
PHSE - we have being thinking about 'Safety First', learning about all types of personal safety.
Forest School - DT . We were using the oven at Forest School to make flatbreads. The children enjoyed measuring, mixing, rolling and then eating their creations!
English - We are writing a fact file on Katherine Johnson. We went on a hunt to find facts. Then we had to decide if they were facts or fiction based on our existing knowledge. The children did very well and found all the correct facts. We will be using these facts in our writing over the next few weeks.
PE - We have been working hard on defending and attacking skills in group games with Tom from PACES.
History - We welcomed David Cadle to school to share with us the history of Flight and Space. He brought with him a selection of historical arefacts and replicas to help us understand the timeline of flight and space exploration. The children were very engaged and most of us tried on an astronauts helmet, that had been to space!
PHSE - We welcomed Thomas from Platform who came to talk to us about railway safety - which links to our PHSE unit of 'safety first', in which we are considering a variety of ways we can keep ourselves safe.The children were excellent and participated very confidently in this informative session.
Forest School/ Science- This week at forest school we celebrated British Science Week with investigations into the theme 'Adapt and Change'. We made a wormery, considered butterfly lifecycles and explored the changes to nature at our site.
RE- This week we have been thinking about how Christians believe that God is always forgiving. We looked at the parable of the lost son and discussed what this story shows Christians about God. We sequenced the story and then made our own hidden meaning boxes - with drawings of the parable on the outside and words to describe what Christians believe this story shows us.
We were all really excited to go back to Forest School after the winter break. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and we spent some time considering the site safety rules and then spent some time exploring the site looking for signs of spring.
World Book Day - we had a fantastic time celebrating books on Thursday 6th March. We dressed up as book characters, drew book covers, created bookmarks, illustrated in the style of Axel Scheffler and of course read books!
COMPUTING - We have started a unit on coding, where we are learning about code blocks, algorithms and how to input the correct information into a computer. The children worked hard and were able to programme correctly.
ART - We have been learning about artist Peter Thorpe who is a contemporary American artist, with a special interest in painting space and rockets. We produced our own artist fact files in our sketchbooks and practiced a selection of paint techniques that we might use to create the background of our final piece. We investigated mark making with splattering, sponging, scraffito and brush strokes.
MUSIC -This week we have had two introductory sessions with the ukeleles. We have learnt the difference between plucking and strumming. We are trying hard to train our fingers to hold the ukeleles correctly!
SCIENCE - We tested some materials to see which were waterproof. We were trying to find a material suitable to use for an umbrella. The children carefully tested and recorded their findings.
SCIENCE and HISTORY ENRICHMENT -We had a fantastic time at the ThinkTank Birmingham. We went to the Plantarium to see a show about space, where we were able to share our existing knowledge! As well as learning more about space we also explored the animal gallery, MiniBrum, transport and engine gallery and discovered lots of thing that are made in Birmingham. The children demonstrated all our Suckley values and made all the staff very proud!
NUMBER DAY (MATHS) - In support of the NSPCC we joined in with number day. We had a great time getting dressed up in number themed outfits. To support our maths learning we set up a 'shop' and used money to see what we could afford. We had to add together our coins and make a choice. Could we buy everything we wanted? How much money did we need? Year 2 showed their confidence handling money following their maths lessons on this topic. Well done Robins.
SCIENCE - We continue to grow our understanding about materials and what they are used for. This week we have been looking at the properties of materials and considering the vocabulary we can use to describe them. We started by just using our sense of touch to see if we could decsribe the feel of the item and guess what it was made from!
COMPUTING - Over the last two weeks we have been focusing on building our computer skills. We have been working on a unit of work about drawing images and creating designs on 2Paint within Purple Mash. The children have looked at creating Abstract and Pointalist artworks, work inspired by Piet Mondrian and making repeating patterns in the style of William Morris! The children have work so well together, to share the computers and support their partner. It has resulted in some fantastic final art. Check them out in our class big book next time you are in school!
HISTORY- This week we have compared Galileo's telescopes with the James Webb telescope to compare similarities and differences. We all really enjoyed learning about how far into space the James Webb can see. We wondered what it might find in the future! We plotted on our Suckley timeline when Galileo invented his telescope and when the James Webb was launched. The children were thrilled to discover that they were alive when the James Webb was launched into space and we all agreed that none of us were alive when Galileo was working - even Mrs P!
GEOGRAPHY - We have been researching what national characteristics are associated with each of the countries within the UK.
SCIENCE - Our new science topic is 'Everyday Materials' and we have been investigating what is a material and testing ourselves to see if we could identify the difference between a 'material' and an 'object'. We also had a hunt around the classroom to see if we could identify the common materials used in our school.
SCIENCE - We were lucky to have a visit from Steve and Andy from DAWEC who brought lots of animals to show us. They talked to us about how the aminals lived and discussed their habitiats. We had the chance to hold some of them too! It was a really informative session which we all really enjoyed. It was great to put our science learning to the test!
RE - Open The Book. We learnt about the Christian story of Joseph.
ORACY (ENGLISH) - We really enjoyed acting out a script linked to our first text of our new topic - 'The Marvellous Moon Map'. Every child in the class was confident to perform for the rest of the class - who were a fantastic and respectful audience. Well done Robins - super work.
MUSIC - We were very lucky to have a visit from a local ukelele group who played us some of their favourite songs. It was a lovely treat and everyone is now very excited to start learning the ukelele as part of our Music provision!
GEOGRAPHY - We have been learning about where we live. We have considered which planet, continent, country and town or village we live in. We have also been thinking about the Uk and the countries that make this union. We are looking at national characteristics that make up national identities.
ART - based on the book 'The Promise'. The children used chalk pastels, trying new techniques with smudging and colour blending.
Dear Robins’ parents/carers,
Welcome back to school. We hope you had a relaxing Christmas break.
Our class theme for the term is ‘Reach for the Stars’ and we have attached a copy of our topic web for your information. We hope to be able to visit the ThinkTank in Birmingham to visit the Planetarium, and we have a ‘History Man’ visit booked, to support our practical understanding of our topic. We have lots of exciting writing opportunities within this topic and lots of cross-curricular links to foundation subjects, which we think the children will enjoy.
We will start the term by looking at a whole-school text - the beautiful book, ‘The Promise,’ by Nicola Davies - where we will be writing poetry and completing complementary artwork.
We were very lucky to have Miss Kordas, a student teacher from Worcester University with us last term, and we will welcome her back in the summer term. This term we will welcome another Worcester student, Miss Hopkins, for her placement.
We ask that you continue to read with your child at home as regularly as possible and ensure they have their reading book and reading record in school every day, even if their book doesn’t need changing, so we can record any reading completed at school. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
The system for spellings will remain the same this term and PE will continue to be on Tuesday mornings. Please make sure that your child has their PE kit in school for this.
Until further notice there is no forest school for Robins while we allow the ground to recover. Please come to school in uniform on Thursdays until forest school resumes.
Yours sincerely
Mrs. Pinnington and the Robins Team.