Beliefs in Benin

We have really enjoyed learning about the Kingdom of Benin.  At the start of our learning journey hardly any of us had even heard of the Kingdom of Benin, but we have enjoyed finding out all about life in Benin and why it is important for us in the UK to learn about the Benin Kingdom.

As a celebration of our learning, we finished our adventure by investigating what beliefs were common in the Kingdom of Benin.  We learned that the people worshipped many different Gods (making links to Hinduism) and also that they would offer sacrifices to try and please the Gods.  We learned that sometimes humans were sacrificed!  We also found out that people in Benin were Animists - who believed that animals had special powers.  Leopards were very important because they represented power, and crocodiles were thought to be guardians of the water.  We know this from artefacts found in Benin.

We created our own clay tiles to represent animals which might have been worshipped in the Kingdom of Benin.  Needless to say it was dirty - but fun!

Creating Automata toys

We had great fun in our DT project this half term - which focused on using cams.  Our design brief was to create a themed window display which used cams to make the display interactive.

First of all, we investigated different Automata toys and mechanisms.  We watched videos to understand how different automata work and also how cams of different shapes would impact the follower.

Then we started to create our frame.  We measured, cut and assembled the pieces of wood for our frame, and then measured and cut pieces of card to encase our frames.

Once our frames were completed, we considered the designs for our displays and also created the cams to place in the rod which went through the frame.  The final piece was the trickiest bit - 
fitting the cam rod so that the follower pieces were positioned correctly.

We were very proud of our finished designs!

This week we welcomed Mrs Harris to the team. The children enjoyed their first singing assembly with her and she was very impressed by their musical talents. Year 1 and Year 2 enjoyed exploring wind instruments in their music lesson with her too.

Thank you to everyone who came to join us to celebrate Harvest Festival this afternoon. There was a generous donation from the community to the Liskeard Food Bank who also attended in support. Have a lovely half term and see you on the 4th November. 

A huge well done to R/1 for having such a fantastic first half term!!

Here is an overview of some of the things we have been doing this week.

English

In English this week the children have been designing their own Billy Goat and then using adjectives to describe it.

Maths

In Maths we have been continuing to learn number bonds to 10.

PSHE and DT

In PSHE we reviewed our classroom charter and came up with good learning behaviours, these included listening and helping others.

In DT the children reviewed their smoothies by deciding what was good about them and what they could improve, they suggested adding milk to make it smoother.

Well done to the 8 cross country runners who took part in the first of the 5 races that will take part again this year. We started in Trethew and we are looking forward to the next 4 races over the coming months. We show cased our new school banner and all of the runners were so fast zooming past me that I just about managed to get a few photos! These event are attended by around 400 pupils and the enthusiasm and energy as the runners take off at the start of their races is a thing to behold. Everyone did themselves proud and it was great to be there with you to cheer you on!

We have all settled in really well into our new routine. Our topic this half term has been ' All about me'  The children have enjoyed telling us all about what they get up to at home .

Also, this half term  we have been learning to count to 5! everyone has done a fantastic job with this. 

Don't forget next Thursday we will be going to the church to celebrate Harvest festival. Even if you are not in on a Thursday you are welcome to meet us there.  

Every Monday afternoon we are very lucky to have Coach James from Kixx football come in and teach us football skills and multi skills. 

Next half term our topic will be - 'Celebrations' we look forward to learning about the day of the dead, Diwali, Remembrance day, Hanukkah, bonfire night and Christmas!  

Please keep checking Seesaw for updates and observations on your child. Please feel free to add pictures of what they get up to at home as well. The children enjoy standing up and telling their friends about what they have been doing. 
* Please also check your Arbour account that you have filled in the consents section, please. 

Have a lovely weekend and we will see you all next week! 

 Remember next Friday is an inset day!
Miss Whitty, Miss Ronald and Miss Selby. 

This week R/1 made smoothies in DT, they practised cutting up fruit, juicing and blending!
In Maths, we have continued to learn about number bonds to 10 and addition problems, in English we have been writing sentences for The Ugly Ducking and The Three Little Pigs!
In ICT we edited photos and we are going to be making a collage soon.
In History we found out facts about Amelia Earhart and Lance Armstrong.
Reception have been working really hard in Phonics and have enjoyed some autumnal art activities.

Using zero pairs

Within our maths unit looking at Place Value, the year 6 children have been building their confidence calculating with negative numbers.  As well as using number lines which continue past zero to help them - we introduced the children to the idea of zero pairs.

We used double sided counters to help them visualise positive and negative numbers - and they could easily see that +1 + -1 = 0.  They used this idea to spot zero pairs (where positive and negative counters cancelled each other out) and find out the answer to number sentences such as 'What is 6 less than 4?'

The children enjoyed using the counters to consolidate their learning and were able to use visual representations in their books to help them solve more complex problems.

This week the children in R/1 have been busy labelling a tomato plant along with writing their own smoothie equipment list. Next week they will make smoothies, they are very excited about this!!

In Maths this week we have been learning about number bonds to 10 and systematic number bonds, we have used part whole models, bar models and cubes to support our learning!!

In PE we worked as a team and in pairs to practice balancing, throwing and catching skills, they then finished off with a game of duck, duck, goose!

In RE, we have continued to learn about Judaism and in particular Tu B'Shevat, which is a Jewish holiday (The Jewish New Year for Trees). 

Today we will be spending time outside to celebrate 'Mental Health Day'!!

Picture: Two children labelling tomato plants.

Choo-choo Tuesday!

Both Year 3/4 classes visited the Bodmin and Wenford Railway on Tuesday as part of their 'Learning Adventure' on 'The First Railways'.
We received VIP treatment with our own carriages and enjoyed keeping the ticket collector busy, punching 60+ tickets. We are very grateful to the Cornish Heritage Trust for funding our travel and offering us a grant for the coach travel - thank you.
During our lessons we've:
- described how the first trains and railways were developed and composed a timeline of important events in the history of rail travel.
- explained why some steam locomotives are historically significant, say how and why steam locomotives changed over time and describe the similarities and differences of different steam locomotives.
- described how and why the railway network in Britain grew and changed over time.

The Bodmin and Wenford Railway opened in 1834 during the Victorian era, we situated this on our British History Timeline within the class and discussed the use of the branch line in transporting minerals and agricultural sea sand.
During the journey, we completed train -themed booklets and following on from National Poetry Day, we were able to practise our choral poetry remembering the rhythm, rhyme and repetition.
If you'd like to book a trip yourself or find out more, please visit: The Railway - Bodmin Railway

Activities and adventures

We are still having a great time - but as teachers we are battling the very poor wifi.  We promise to share the many photos we have taken with you when we return.  Today we have been incredibly busy through the rain and sunshine.  We have climbed walls, battled the high ropes, leapt from the trapeze platform, built shelters and made fires and solved a multitude of different problems.

We have worked together, encouraged each other and built memories that will last a lifetime.  We finished the day off with a sing-song around the campfire!

Super start to day 2

We settled down to sleep by 10:30pm - but we were awake very early!  We have managed to make our dorm rooms very cosy - and even got to dry out our wet shoes overnight in the 'dry-room' which was a nice surprise!  After a huge cooked breakfast - we have enjoyed activities such as the 'Trapeze', problem solving, abseiling and archery.

More photos to come shortly when we can get the wifi to work!!

Fantastic first day at Beam House (PGL)

After a very early start - we have had a great first day at Beam house.  The bus journey was very smooth - and we arrived a little early.  After a short while to stretch our legs - we were able to get ourselves settled into our rooms and have our packed lunch outside in the sunshine.

This afternoon, we enjoyed activities such as archery, abseiling and the Trapeze (which looks terrifying)!  After a delicious dinner - we have played a great game of 'Ambush' in the dark (we loved the war-paints) and we are settling down for our first night 'sleeping' in our dorms!

A great first day!!

The children have settled into Year 2 brilliantly and have engaged with all their learning so far. We also made it on a school trip to Carnglaze Caverns which the children thoroughly enjoyed! We focused on using adjectives to describe the setting and enjoyed listening to the echoes in the cave. Please enjoy reading more about what we have been up to!

English

This half term we have been learning all about traditional tales. We started off by exploring lots of traditional tales and what they are. Then start looked at labelling and listing nouns before writing captions for pictures from traditional tales. 

Now we have focused on Golidlocks and the Three Bears. We have been busy learning all about expanded noun phrases and the 5ws. We practiced re-writing the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears before making changes to the original and now we are working on writing our own versions.

Maths

This half term we started by thinking about place value. This means making and drawing numbers, comparing numbers and their value, ordering numbers and partitioning numbers. The children have made a great start to their maths learning and have got stuck in! Please see below for some useful websites for children to be practising their maths at home. Their Times Table Rock Stars logins are now ready for them to use and practise their times tables at home. Little and often is the best way to go with this! Please see the bottom of this post for the children's KIRFs this half term. These are number facts that children need to be able to recall quickly. We practice them in school daily but any practice at home would be great too!

https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school

https://whiteroseeducation.com/1-minute-maths

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10

History

This half term we have been learning all about the history of flight and how it all started with the Wright Brothers. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about this and can remember a lot of information each lesson! We started off by learning about who the Wright brothers were and what happened in their lives. We will move onto learn all about Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong before thinking about flight today and learning about Tim Peake.

Design and Technology

This half term we have linked our DT to our Science by thinking about what humans need to survive. In our Science we have explored the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet and now in our DT we will be making fruit smoothies! The children have enjoyed learning about different fruits and vegetables and where they come from. They also got to taste different fruits to help them decide what they would like in their fruit smoothies. We will also practice cutting skills before we make our smoothies.

PE

This half term we have been focusing on ball skills which includes throwing and catching, dribbling both with feet and hands as well as batting. The children have really enjoyed getting stuck in and giving everything a go! We even managed to enjoy a game of quick cricket to bring all our skills together.