Sharks, 2020-21 Archive

Week beginning 14th June 2021

What a fabulous first 2 weeks back in school, although Year 6 might not agree!

That’s because they have been working hard on their Year 6 assessments and have been taking internal SATs papers for Maths, Reading, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. Mrs C has been so proud of the way in which they have tackled these tests. All their hard work has really paid off and they get to have a ‘SATs Breakfast’ to celebrate on 30^th June.

In PE, we have started our swimming sessions and it has been wonderful to see everyone have so much fun in the water. Some of us haven’t actually been swimming since the first lockdown so we were a little nervous last week. However, it hasn’t taken us long to get our confidence back and Mrs C has been impressed with our progress. We already have some very proficient swimmers in the class though who can do a very impressive butterfly stroke. (Well we are Sharks after all!!)

This week is Refugee Week and Mrs C ‘wowed’ us with a poem about this subject. If you read it from the beginning to the end, it suggests one thing. If you read it backwards – from the end, back to the beginning – there is a totally different message. Read it for yourself below and see the power of the written word. Sorry that it’s a little small!

Week beginning 24th May 2021

The highlight of the week has to have been our visit from Kinetic Sports. We had fantastic fun playing skate hockey and Mrs C was really impressed by our efforts on the hover boards. We worked collaboratively to help one another balance and after a bit of practise, some of us were zooming around on our own.

In maths, we have been concentrating on developing our understanding of Geometry – Position and Direction. Firstly, we explored reflection, then coordinates and then translation. We know that Mrs C can spot a wiggly line from 5 miles away so we were all being very careful to have our rulers at the ready.

In English, we have been brushing up on our use of colons and semi-colons as we are determined to add some different punctuation to our writing other than commas and full stops. By using these, we will be able to vary the length of our sentences to make our writing more interesting.

We have taken part in a couple of campaigns this week relating to our learning Experience Caring for Our Common Home. For one of these, we became The Eyes of the World. We learnt that the eyes of the world are on us this year as Britain hosts world leaders for the United Nations’ climate change talks – COP26. They will make important decisions that will shape the future of our global family. We designed eyes, which are going to be sent to the Prime Minister to let him know that we are watching the outcome of these talks.

Week beginning 17th May 2021

In English this week, we have taken part in a ‘real’ debate. The imaginary proposal put before us was… ‘Should a Sports Centre be built on the school field?’ Mrs C played the role of a Torbay Planning Officer and we became the interested parties. E.g. SMC pupils and parents, local residents, builders, unemployed people etc. We then voiced our opinions about the proposal and backed them up with evidence to support our views. The end of the week saw us ‘writing to’ Torbay Planning Department so that they could consider whether planning permission should be granted or not.

In maths, we have just started a really short teaching unit on measuring and drawing angles. Some of us were able to use a protractor pretty quickly but we will need more practise to make sure that our measuring and drawing is really accurate as we are only allowed to be one degree out!

We have loved working on our double page spreads for our Caring for our Common Home Learning Experience. We are taking a lot of care to present our new learning in a colourful, informative and creative way. This week, we have been concentrating on adding information about solar energy.

In RE, we are coming to the end of our work on Pentecost. We ended the week by discussing The Fruits of the Holy Spirit and decided which one would help us to transform the lives of those people around us.

Week beginning 10th May 2021

This week we have been getting really ‘stuck in’ to our Learning Experience – Caring for Our Common Home. Mrs C was very impressed with our recall of previously learnt knowledge about Global Warming and Climate Change. During one of our lessons this week, we learnt more about renewable and non-renewable energy sources and why coal, oil and gas are ‘Fossil Fuels’. We also started our double page spread, which is a way of sharing our new learning in a creative way.

In maths, we have been revising how to multiply and divide decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. Many of us found that using a resource called ‘Numbers Up’, really helped us to understand this mathematical concept.

In English, we have just started a new teaching unit on discussion texts. The proposal put before us was… ‘Should children be allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast?’ After our initial response of ‘YES, DEFINITELY!’, we then considered the arguments for and against the proposal.

In PE, we have been developing our throwing skills. As the weather hasn’t been too kind to us, we have been developing our shot put techniques in the hall, using beanbags. We learnt how to stand, prepare and ‘launch’ our beanbags, using a strong throwing action for longer distances. We had great fun and look forward to being able to use the light weight shot puts outside next week.

It was Ascension Day yesterday, when we remember the time when Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. We celebrated this Holy Day of Obligation with an Assembly. It gave us a chance to think about how we can show love for others just as Jesus taught us.

Week beginning 3rd May 2021

Even though it has been a slightly shorter week, we have been really busy.

We have been lucky enough to have 3 workshops on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to teach us about our right to be SAFE, STRONG and FREE. We were congratulated by the organisers for our participation in the discussions and for our existing knowledge about how we can protect ourselves from strangers and people on the internet. Mrs C was really proud of us. We also learnt even more ways to keep safe and tried out our ‘Safety yells’ in the playground. It was one of the few times in school when we were asked to shout out really loudly!!!

In maths, we have been continuing our learning about decimals and we are now using our mathematical skills to problem solve, using efficient addition and subtraction calculations.

In English, we had the chance to do some short burst writing. This is when we only have a limited amount of time to write something totally from scratch. This week, we wrote a story based on a picture of 3 very different islands.

In PE, we have been developing our jumping skills. We never knew that trying to put together a hop, a leap and a jump could be quite so challenging.  Jonathon Edwards, however, made this look easy when he broke the triple jump World record in the 1995 World Championships. Mrs C showed us a video of his amazing jump and we all decided that 18.29m is a very long way. We know this because it took us approximately 5 of our jumps to match this distance. Also, we now realise the importance of continuous training and practising if you want to be a top competitor.

Have a great weekend, whatever the weather and stay safe.

Week beginning 26th April 2021

We have been really busy bees this week.

In English, we have been publishing our World War II diaries and brushing up on our use of apostrophes. Our Proud Authors Wall already looks amazing with our World Book Day opening paragraphs so we can’t wait to add our diaries to the display.

In maths, we have been continuing our learning about decimals and we have become much more efficient shoppers as we have been focusing on money for the last couple of days.

Our new Learning Experience was launched this week. It is based on Caring for our Common Home and our focus is how we can Restore our Earth by considering how we can reduce our contribution to Global Warming. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring Renewable Energy. Mrs C is very impressed with our recall of all the Climate Change facts that we have retained and we are really excited about how we can all be Agents of Change.

In RE, we have started our Unit on Pentecost and this week we have been thinking about how energy can be transformed. It fits in really well with our new Learning Experience and next lesson we will be reminding ourselves of how Jesus revealed himself to two of his disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

With the Bank Holiday weekend ahead of us, we are hoping for some sunny weather so have a great one and stay safe.

Week beginning 22nd March 2021

What a busy week!

In maths, we have been interpreting tables and exploring line graphs. We have also been able to keep our efficient calculations ‘bubbling’ by using them to work out totals and differences.

In English, we have been exploring the features of diary entries and after a shared write, we have started to write some diary entries of our own. We have tried hard to include everything we have learnt so far and Mrs C keeps us on our toes by continuously asking us to recall our previous learning.

Wednesday saw us exploring Light. During our science lesson, we were wowed by rainbow spinners and light beads and we also investigated what happens when light passes through water. We will be really digging deep into the science behind these amazing observations over our next few lessons.

We had great fun on Thursday afternoon when we learnt all about the D-Day Landings. We had no idea about the part that Brixham played in this significant World War II event. However, some of us might become your historical guides soon when we take you on a walk around the outer harbour.

Next week is Holy Week and brings our adventure through Lent to a close. This week, we have been considering what ‘sacrifice’ really means and how we can sacrifice something of ourselves each day to help others. It has given us all a chance to consider ways we can make a positive difference to the people around us.

Week beginning 15th March 2021

Another great week for Sharks.

In maths, we have been brushing up on our multiplication and division calculations. Mrs C keeps reminding us that really good mathematicians are not only able to ‘do the maths’ but also ‘explain the maths’ so we have been working on this to improve our understanding further.

In English, we have been identifying important World War II vocabulary and ensuring that we are able to use these words accurately in our writing. This has been extended into our Learning Experience on World War II, where we have written confidently about World War II leaders and the countries that they represented.

In RE, we have been continuing our journey through Lent and our new Gift Team led our Act of Worship on Monday via Zoom not only to SMC children but to Priory children too. They were a little nervous but they were totally awesome.

Comic Relief Day on Friday enabled us to wear our own clothes and donate money to this wonderful charity. We were also involved in a national Times Table Rockstars Fundraising event. Every time we ‘gigged’ and earned remote coins, we could buy Red Nose Day items in the shop. TTR then donated 5p for every item that we bought so we are really excited to find out how much we raised. We might even get to see the cheque being presented if we watch the television this evening.

Stay safe and have fun.

Week beginning 8th March 2021

What a fantastic first week back in school.

We are so happy to be with our friends again and Mrs C is really pleased to actually ‘see us for real’ rather than just on a screen.

For some of us though, being back in school seems a little strange so we have been looking out for one another and providing friendship and support wherever we can.

We have definitely been getting back into the swing of school life by working hard during our maths and English lessons as well as being totally engaged with our history, PSHE, RE and PE.

Mrs C brought her Nan’s travel trunk into school as a ‘hook’ for our new learning experience and we found that it was full of World War II artefacts. We saw, ration books, leaflets, photos, identity cards and so much more. Some of us even got to try on an army jerkin, which once belonged to Mrs C’s Dad. Hearing about the past and seeing these objects really brought this period of history to life and some of us have already brought in our own WWII memorabilia too.

A highlight of the week had to be welcoming Mr Zaki back to school to help support the teaching of PE. We have all missed him and his dodgeball PE lesson was so much fun. Don’t tell Mrs C we said that, though!

Well… we are all quite exhausted after our first week back so we are really looking forward to a restful weekend.

Stay safe and have fun.

Week beginning 1st March 2021

As you know, this week has been our last week of remote learning before we return to school on Monday. You won’t believe how EXCITING it is to know that Sharks will back together again.

In maths, we have been exploring number sequences and got to grips with some Tricky Triangle patterns too. We had to use straws to make triangular patterns and some of us were able to predict how many straws we would need for a particular pattern even without actually making it, using algebra. Wow!

In English, we have be writing poems about A Mirror of Wishes and A Mirror of Despair. Mrs C was really impressed with our choice of vocabulary and some of our poems made her laugh too.

In RE, we have been focusing on how to keep our memories alive. We had a chance to share some of our photos and keepsakes, which was lovely.

Thursday was World Book Day and we had the opportunity of tuning into a Live Lesson. It was great to hear the authors and illustrators enthusiasm towards their work and in the afternoon we completed some fun World Book Day tasks.

Next week, we are going to become historians when we get stuck into our learning about World War II. Some of us already know quite a lot and Mrs C was delighted to hear this.

It just leaves us to say A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone at home and in school for supporting our learning during the lockdown. We couldn’t have got through it without you and have a fantastic weekend.

Week beginning 22nd February 2021

Even though this has been a slightly shorter week, we have been really busy.

In maths, we have been continuing our exploration of improper fractions and mixed numbers by examining different representations for them. English has seen us beginning a new teaching sequence based on a short story called One Chance. It’s all about what happens after a wish comes true and we are really looking forward to where this could take us in our writing.

We were excited to have Mrs B lead our Computing lessons this week. She taught us all how to make a maze by inputting codes into Scratch. We absolutely loved it and Mrs C is very impressed with what we have achieved.

Photos to follow.

 

Week beginning 8th February 2021

Well, this has been the final week of Home Learning before half term and what a week!

On Tuesday, we had our Internet Safety Day and we considered who and what we could trust online. We became Internet Detectives, Agony Aunts and Uncles and also thought about the motives behind adverts. We already knew a lot but we are going to be even more careful moving forward.

Wednesday saw a ‘Break from Screen Day’. We were involved in many practical learning activities, which were designed to keep us away from our devices. Some of us loved it and others of us really prefer the live sessions and structure that we’ve come to know over the last few weeks.

We have still been continuing with fractions in maths and we have finally published our Game Stories. Many of us have really enjoyed writing these and we have tried hard to include all the language features that Mrs C has been teaching us.

We would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at home and those in school for supporting us with our Remote Learning at this strange time. Have a great half term break and we are going to try to remember to give ourselves time away from our screens as much as possible.

Stay safe.

Week beginning 1st February 2021

Well, this week has been Mental Health week so Shark Class have been spending a lot of time ‘Expressing Themselves’.

We watched a fabulous Express Yourself live assembly with some very famous people on it and this inspired us to be expressive too. Some of us did drawings, some of us sang and danced, others played sports, others played instruments…the list goes on and on.

On Thursday, we all expressed ourselves through clothes. Bright colours seemed to dominate and we all shared why we had chosen to wear what we were wearing.

Expressing yourself is really important and vital to our mental health and we have really enjoyed sharing the ways in which we do this.

All this ran alongside maths, English, RE, Geography, Art and DT. Mrs C is particularly delighted with the way our Finding stories are coming along and she said that she can’t wait for our next instalments.

With a week to go before half term, next week we are planning to have a day away from the screen as a whole school. Watch out on next week’s overview and see which day we plan to move away from our computers. Yeah!

Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Week beginning 25th January 2021

It’s been a great week of remote learning for Sharks.

We have been exploring the causes of climate change in geography, interpreting remainders in maths and have planned and started to write our own stories in English. Our computer work on Scratch is coming along really well. This week we programmed instructions so that our Sprites wouldn’t fall off the side of the screen or turn upside down and we also learned how to change their speed. In RE, we have been exploring the work of the Bishop and how he inspires and cares for the people in his diocese. Some of us have also been getting really creative with our Art and DT and others of us have been following the Getset4 PE lessons at home. Mrs C thinks that we are all stars.

Week beginning 18th January 2021

It’s been another fantastic week of remote learning for Sharks. We have been finding out about different biomes in geography, working on our understanding of division in maths and changing the mood of our writing in English. We have also been manipulating ‘sprites’ and making them move on Scratch and we have been so fantastic that Mrs C wants US to lead next week’s lesson instead of her. By exploring Jesus’ mission in RE, we have been considering what qualities are needed to become a volunteer for a charity. All in all, a great week and we’d like to thank everyone who has supported us with our learning, both in school and at home. Here are some photos from this week.

Week beginning 11th January 2021

It has been such an amazing week. Sharks have been really engaged with their remote learning both in school and at home. Thank you to all of you, who have been supporting them and seeing their smiling faces on the live sessions is a real tonic. Here are some photos from this week, in celebration of their wonderful learning.

Week beginning 4th January 2021

I’d just like to begin by saying how proud I am of Sharks and their Home Learning efforts this week. They have been amazing but they wouldn’t have been so successful without all the support at home.

Starting on Monday, we have the launch of our live lessons and I am really excited about this.  All Sharks need to do is get up and be ready for 9am and I will do the rest.

Really looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.

 

Week beginning 7th December

This week in English, we have started to publish our letters for our Proud Authors Wall. We are making sure that we have checked our writing for spelling and punctuation errors and have also ensured that we are producing our best handwriting. We keep asking if we can go up to the wall so that we can compare our current piece of writing to our last piece. In this way, we can make sure that there has been an improvement.

Most of us have taken our Star Reader test this week for Accelerated Reader and Mrs Callaghan is really pleased with our improved ZPD scores. We just need to keep up the reading at home so that we continue to get even better.

Week beginning 30th November

In RE, we have moved into Advent and loved making our Advent wreath. We are all very excited that we are on our journey towards Christmas and are looking forward to all the preparations we need to make along the way.

 

Week beginning 23rd November

In Science this week, we have been exploring the 3 different states of water. Mrs Callaghan conducted some fabulous experiments where we observed the changes from a solid to a liquid and a gas to a liquid. We also found out how to speed up the melting process of ice by adding salt to it. Mrs Callaghan was really impressed with our scientific vocabulary and we used this well when we recorded our observations on labelled diagrams.

Week beginning 16th November

In Maths, we have now finished our teaching unit on Subtraction and have started our new unit on Multiplication and Division. This week, we have been investigating multiples, factors and prime numbers. Knowing what these are, will help us calculate and problem solve more efficiently.

 

Week beginning 9th November

We really enjoyed our Children in Need day today (Friday 13th November) and of course the opportunity to wear our own clothes. Thank you for your donations and we look forward to seeing how much we raised sometime next week.

Week beginning 2nd November

We have been really busy this week designing our Friendship cards as part of our RE unit – Belonging. We thought long and hard about the qualities we look for in a good friend. Loyalty and commitment came out top of the list but there were many others such as being honest, being kind and being forgiving. It was a special moment when the first friendship cards were exchanged – all carried out according to the guidelines outlined in our school risk assessment of course.

Photos to follow.