Here is our Learning Overview for Summer 2, 2023!

Hedgehog News (26th May, 2023)

Yet another few eventful weeks in Hedgehog Class, I can’t believe where the time is going. During our English sessions the children have written, published and shared their stories based on the book ‘Flood’. Many of these amazing stories are hanging pride of place outside our classroom ready for anyone to read. Along with flood the children have written poems this week focusing on metaphors for a river some children calling them roaring lions, stealthy, slithering snakes and rapid race cars. In art, the children have been creating some beautiful pieces based on ‘Starry Night over the Rhone’ some even rivalling Van Gough. The children also created their own 3D models of a river and natural landscape to add to our display to really catch the eyes. For design and technology, the children have designed their own bridges and have sawn one side of them showing great focus and determination. In RE they have been delving into the concept of trinity and the importance of baptism for Christians. During our French lessons the children have been asking for different types of food, saying please and thank you all in preparation for our French café we will be inviting the parents to. As the half term draws near and the weather is beginning to get warmer, I hope everyone has a wonderful break and return ready to go for the last push of the school year! Safe holidays and see you all in a week’s time!   

 

Hedgehog News (5th May, 2023)

A busy couple of weeks in Hedgehog Class has been full of learning and fun. In Design and Technology, the children have begun planning their bridges to be tested in a few weeks’ time. They began practicing sawing skills focusing on straight lines and above all - safety! Lucky the children went home with all ten digits intact. In Art the children have been channelling their inner Van Gough and recreating Starry Night in order to create their own version of ‘Starry Night Over the Rhône’ to link with our topic of rivers. During topic lessons, the children have begun their topic of Rivers beginning with the water cycle and different parts of a river. The children recreated the water cycle in scientific models with the use of warm water, plastic and ice packs to mimic evaporation, condensation, precipitation and finally collection. During reading sessions, the children are reading the book ‘The Storm Whale’ by Sarah Brennan focusing on beautiful and challenging vocabulary and emotive imagery. In English the children are well on the way to writing their stories based on the book ‘Flood’. It has been a fantastic two weeks and I hope you all enjoy the coronation celebrations and school and at home. Enjoy the weekend and see you all Tuesday!

Here is our Learning Overview for Summer 1, 2023!

Hedgehog News (24th March, 2023)

As we draw close to the end of the Spring term, I am very proud of what the children have learnt, their enthusiasm towards our topic and their hard work. In reading, the children have been enjoying our book ‘Secrets of a Sun King’ and drawing parallels with our Egyptian topic learning. Their understanding of the mummification process, gods and the history of Tutankhamun has come in handy reading this fantastic story often not realising its break time as they want to finish the next chapter. In English, the children are publishing their stories ready for you all to see next week, be prepared for a frightening tale of brave adventurers, ancient riches, mystical curses and mystery around every corner. In Science their habitats have come alive and revealed so much. In RE, the children have been delving deep into the subject of salvation, what it means to Christians and how the impact of the Easter story is still seen today. There have been deep and challenging questions and discussion which I applaud the children for courage and respect. In Art and DT, the children’s death masks have been completed and the scarab brooches have been formed, all the children can’t wait to show you our Egyptian Museum and all the artefacts they have created. We look forward to seeing as many of you as we can next week. On Monday, the children had a wonderful and inspiring experience of listening to James Ketchell tell his tales of resilience, adventure and overcoming any obstacle. A huge thankyou to him! I hope everyone has a restful weekend and roll on the last week of term!

 

Hedgehog News (10th March, 2023)

Another eventful two weeks in Hedgehog Class! The children have returned from the half term with plenty of energy, focus and creativity. Their spooky stories entitled The Curse of the Mummy are taking shape and sending shivers down our spines. The children’s use of suspenseful language, fronted adverbials and similes have been wonderful to see. In reading the children have been focusing on the book Secrets of a Sun King, a story about deadly curses, mysterious illness and the real life of Tutankhamun. It has been great to see children bring their passion from our Egyptian topic to ask questions about the book and make links across the curriculum.  In RE, the children have been focusing on the topic of Passover and Salvation, discussing and retelling the Passover story and the impact this had. The children created their own seder dish to represent their favourite memories using broccoli to represent trees from a favourite holiday, mash potato from skiing adventures and fizzy drinks to represent the spray from the ocean. In science the children have started their topic of ‘Living Things and Their Habitats’ and making the most of our wonderful school grounds to go on scavenger hunts before creating their habitats.  The children have planted sunflowers for a longitudinal study in science to observe changes and growth over time. This is just a snapshot of what we have been doing and we can’t wait to show you are Egyptian work in our museum. Have a great week end, relax and hopefully the weather improves.

 

Here is our Learning Overview for Spring 2, 2023!

 

Hedgehog News (3rd February, 2023)

Another amazing couple of weeks in Hedgehog Class. Seeing how the children are applying themselves is wonderful to be a part of. In reading, the children have been focusing on the ‘Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow’ and delving into an author’s choice of words and some high level vocabulary. The children have been defining new words in context, words including renowned, stickler, shrouded and immaculate.  The book is producing some amazing discussions that I wish you could all hear. In English, the children completed a non-chronological report on the Ancient Egyptians and are now creating a setting description ready for their stories after half term entitled ‘The Curse of the Mummies’. In topic, hieroglyphs have been decoded, Rosetta Stones uncovered, and new languages created. The children using symbols have created intricate and elaborate languages and I am looking forward to decoding their special messages. During Science lessons, the children have been channelling Benjamin Franklin and searching for conductors in our classroom to create complete circuits some including cutlery, tin foil, my rings, glasses and even table legs. 

Hedgehog News (20th January, 2023)

Welcome back to spring term and after a very icy week I am hoping for the weather to warm up soon. It has been brilliant to have your children back in school after the Christmas holidays and I am impressed with the way they have returned. The first week of term we were transported to a different time and place, the valley of the kings in ancient Egypt. During our topic lesson the children have asked questions about Egyptian artefacts and explained what they reveal about their way of life, they have looked at village life and how it differs from ours and learnt how the mummification process worked. They particularly loved the part about the brain being pulled out of the nostrils. In English, the children have been roaming reports detailing the exciting events of the 4th November 1922 and Howard Carters discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Their choice of language has been amazing and their knowledge has shown a great level of understanding. In art, the children have been studying the work of Christina Balit and her beautiful book the Scrabs Secret. Throughout our reading sessions the children have been looking at new words in context, the way an author chooses their language for effect and how a lowly scarab beetle can save the life of a Pharoah. During the past 2 and half weeks we have fit in a lot of learning and I can’t wait to share what our plans are over the next few weeks! Have a restful and enjoyable weekend. Mr Ralph.

Here is our Learning Overview for Spring 1, 2023!

Hedgehog News (2nd December)

Creativity and courage are full flow in Hedgehog Class. The children have finished their Anglo-Saxon brooches and the results were amazing. Their creativity, patience and focus to create eye catching and bold brooches was great to see. They have now begun their new art topic focusing on the Bayeux Tapestry. They are designing a panel to sew together to create a collaborative piece about what it means to be in Hedgehog Class. The children have finished their contrasting setting descriptions which included a fantastic range of word choices, precise nouns, verbs and adverbs for effect. They are now moving onto using persuasive language. Following this, we are going to be Anglo Saxon leaders and writing an emotive battle cry to convince their tribe to go to war against the vicious Vikings after the raids on Lindisfarne. In Maths lessons, the children have moved on from money problems to creating arrays and solving multiplication problems in context showing some great focus and presentation. During computing sessions, the children have been using the theme of a ‘Comparison card game’ (based on the popular game, Top Trumps), to understand what a database is by learning the meanings of records, fields, and data. They have been working so hard and with a few weeks left until Christmas I can’t wait to be able to tell you about their next successes!

Hedgehog News (18th November)

What a few weeks in Hedgehog Class! Starting with the children creating and painting their Anglo-Saxon brooches and jewellery with some amazing results. In English, the children have written beautiful setting descriptions focusing on Anglo Saxon and Viking ports using precise nouns, adjectives, verbs and fronted adverbials for effect. Today, they have finished a contrasting description of a battle scene with their choice of language being truly terrifying, describing Vikings as remorseless invaders, monstrous and fearsome barbarians. To mark Remembrance Day, the children created two different and eye catching pieces of artwork, one including newspaper headlines from the end of the war which they painted over and one other piece using silhouettes and pastels. This week, we were lucky enough to visit Queen Mary's Collage and their science zone, participating in exciting and informative experiments about our science topic states of matter. These experiments focused on melting points of different solids, particle formation in different states of matter along with identifying if items are solids, liquids and gasses under microscopes and reversible and irreversible changes. We have been lucky enough to have Chance to Shine cricket come in and teach the children on Mondays which has been a big hit amongst the class. Roll on next week and I hope you all have a restful and enjoyable weekend.

Here is our Learning Overview for Autumn 2, 2022!

 

Hedgehog News (14th October)

Another two weeks has past and a lot of learning has been taking place. The children have completed their non-chronological reports about the Anglo Saxons and have become fountains of knowledge. The walls outside our classroom are covered in numerous facts from who were the Anglo Saxons to the exciting discoveries at Sutton Hoo.

In Science, they have been condoning their study of sound. They have been Identifying high and low ends of instruments and explaining how the vibrations change the pitch and they have also created cup phones even discovering you can have a 4 way conversation. In RE they have been continuing with their work on what makes a Good Samaritan, they have designed a new school emblem to include our new values and what they mean to the children. It has been a busy week but I am so happy with how the children are working and the amount we are getting through. Keep it up hedgehogs and one week till half term!

Hedgehog News (30th September, 2022)

What an amazing first month, we have been so busy and fit in a lot of learning and fun. It has been brilliant to see the new children and Year 3s settle in so well to a new class and the great example the Year 4s are setting. The value we have been focusing on in Religious Education is “community” and we are most definitely seeing this within our class. The children have been learning all about the Anglo Saxons including what village life was like, where they came from and the remarkable discoveries of Sutton Hoo. The children have developed key skills and can list of all the attributes needed to be a historian. In English they have been working hard on creating a non-chronological report informing anyone who reads it about the Anglo Saxons. I am thrilled with the start the children have made and cannot wait to see what the next few weeks hold. Lastly, can you all please keep any cardboard (including boxes) ready for an upcoming piece of work for art and DT.

Here is our Learning Overview for Autumn 1, 2022!

Hedgehog News (1st July 2022)

Another fun filled two weeks in Hedgehog Class, where is the time going? We had the pleasure of our first school trip as a class to Ufton Court.  The children were taught how to be Roman centurions, swearing allegiance to the Roman Empire before learning the military manoeuvres necessary to protect their leaders. After that they looked at Roman items trying to find out the purpose of the item including good luck symbols, Roman God calendars, measuring jugs which most interpreted as a portable toilet and even Roman soap before relaxing in the afternoon learning how the romans would play games. Thank you Ufton Court for an amazing time! In Science the children have been investigating magnets and creating their own floating compasses and in geography they have been creating maps of the school using grid references, keys and some brilliant sketching. Even though we are this far into a hardworking, eventful year

I am still so impressed with the hard work,  dedication, passion and enthusiasm of the children. Well done for everything you are doing and keep up the good work for the last few weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hedgehog News (17th June, 2022)

Another fun filled and very warm couple of weeks in Hedgehog Class. The children have been working hard and we have been making the most of the good weather by spending plenty of time learning outside in our fantastic school grounds. Our budding young artists spent time using pastels and watercolours using our flower bed as inspiration and the work has been amazing. In Science, we have been learning all about forces and magnets.  The children conducted fair tests, testing friction on different surfaces along with finding magnetic and nonmagnetic materials in the classroom and wider school environment. During our Maths lessons we have all been concentrating on angles which has included scavenger hunts, looking for hidden shapes and angles, passing footballs to understand acute, obtuse and right angles and using Pacman eaters to find right angles in the school and even finding some in the nature trail.  It has been another great 2 weeks with Hedgehogs, and I am sad that we are on the count down to the summer and the little time we have left together as a class. I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the scorching weather.

 

This term, we are launching out topic - The Green, Grass of Home? To find out more information, have a look at our Topic Overview below.

 

Hedgehog News (20th May, 2022)

Another successful and hardworking 2 weeks in Hedgehog class. To mark the Jubilee the children have been creating silhouette collages of the Queen which have turned out brilliantly. In English, the children have been writing their own adventure stories focusing on their word choices, fronted adverbials and similes, they spent yesterday editing and partner editing showing a great level of insight and maturity. Our flower bed is growing beautifully with help from the children watering the plants. In maths, the children have finished their multiplication and division and I am very pleased with how well each and everyone of them applied themselves through this challenging unit of work. Roll on the last week of term and the fantastic activities that will be happening over the coming days. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication throughout this half term Hedgehogs!

Hedgehog News (6th May, 2022)

What a busy 2 weeks back! Having only been at school for 9 days, I am very impressed with the amount of work the children have got though and achieved. To celebrate our new book for our English learning “To the Edge of the World” the children arrived at school to find a boat complete with real sand and shells in the middle of our class. A photo of this went up on Facebook and we were lucky enough to have a response from the author herself. In reading, the children have been fascinated with the book “The Boy at the Back of the Class”. This is a powerful book about refugees, which has led to meaningful conversations, superb work spotting themes in the book and inferring character’s emotions.  In Maths, the children have been working really hard using arrays to solve division problems. In PE, the children have been taking part in kick rounders and are all impressing me, with our last game ending up 68 to 65 points. All of this along with planting sunflowers, watering our own flower bed, taking part in cricket and much more.

Hedgehog News (8th April, 2022)

I can’t believe another term has gone whizzing by. I am so proud of everything your children have achieved and the consistency of the school values they have displayed on a daily basis, I feel honoured to be their teacher. The last few weeks the children have been writing a story based on Wisp, a story of hope. and have created some moving pieces of work though their use of a rich and varied vocabulary, similes and metaphors and deep word choices. In art, the children have been using pastels to create silhouette images from the Easter story using contrasting colours and blending. A personal highlight from the last few weeks was our Italian day which began with a feast with the children wearing their Laurel crowns and sitting in front of their Roman shields. I personally ate a little too much salami. After lunch the children then cooked and tasted spaghetti bolognaise which the other teachers and I agreed was lovely. In RE, the children have been learning about the Easter story and understanding why Good Friday is good. Yesterday we were lucky enough to use the outdoor area to continue with our understanding of planting and are looking forward to eating our own potatoes, spring onions, beetroot and lettuce soon.  I hope you and your families have a restful Easter holiday.

Hedgehog News (18th March, 2022)

Another two weeks down, I don’t know where the time seems to be going. Once again, I am very proud of what the children are working on achieving. In English the children have completed their persuasive writing from the perspective of Queen Boudicca imploring the Iceni to go to war with the rotten Romans.  In Art and DT they have been designing and creating Roman jewellery including brooches and torques to be painted next week. We have begun looking at the Geography of Italy and in RE we have started our discussions on salvation taught through the Easter Story. To celebrate Science Week the children have planted sun flowers, pansies and peonies. 

Hedgehogs News (4th March 2022)

The children have made a fantastic start on their return to school and have picked up where we left off. In Topic the children have been focusing on the life and rebellion of Boudicca, learning brilliant facts and that her name comes from the Iceni word meaning victory. In English, the children have been looking at persuasive language and will be working towards writing a battle speech as Boudicca calling the Iceni to arms against the rotten Romans. Year 3 children have been exploring plants and planning experiments while Year 4 children have been creating circuits, testing everyday objects as conductors and will be making more complex circuits. In reading, the children have been enjoying our animal poetry and the choice of language an author makes to describe and paint a picture. They have written some brilliant animal poems using clues for others to guess what animal they have described.

 

Hedgehogs News (11th February 2022)

Another brilliant week in Hedgehog Class - the time seems to be flying by. In English the children have been completing their newspaper reports about the destruction of Pompeii and have been amazing reporters, some even reporting for ITV news apparently! In maths, the children have been challenged and focusing on non-unit fractions of amounts usually with Mr Ralph’s Brownie recipes or bowls of skittles. In art, children have produced some fantastic watercolour work building towards creating their own Starry Night. In DT the children have begun their work on their roman shields. For Safer Internet Day, the children produced some lovely recipes for respect and their own mascots to remind others how we should act online.

Hedgehogs News (28th January 2022)

Over the past two weeks hedgehog class have been working hard and I am very proud of all of them. The children have produced some fantastic writing describing the city if Pompeii before and after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Their description including sentences like Mount Vesuvius roared like thunder and molten, ruby red lava exploded towards the heavens sending a shockwave through the world and changing it forever. The children have done some great work with their fractions unit in maths. They have begun learning about The Roman Empire, the invasion of Britain and designing and creating their own mosaics. Following the success of the poetry day the children have dedicated the rest of the week on creating poems about impossible gifts.

Hedgehogs News (14th January 2022)

Hedgehog Class have made a fantastic start to the New Year and have hit the ground running. The children have created a new Class Charter with the main promises to be resilient and to always try their best which has been evident by how they are approaching their learning. They have returned to a new Roman themed area in the classroom and have been enjoying the class book “Escape From Pompeii”. This has led to the children creating rich and varied word banks. They have learned about the Roman invasion of Britain, different watercolour techniques along with some fantastic French and PE. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the term has in store.

Other Important Information

Staffing

As you know, Hedgehogs Class is taught by Mr Ralph.  Our sports coaches from SCL will teach Hedgehogs class for half a day on Mondays providing statutory PPA cover for Mr Ralph. 

Homework

Learning out of school is vital to developing successful learners. We have looked at the engagement throughout last term and made some slight adjustments as a result. We have made the decision to change how we set homework and how you can submit the work. With the purpose of making homework more accessible, we are providing the children with homework books and hard copies of the set homework meaning that we rely less on Seesaw.

We want homework to be engaging and purposeful so that it consolidates the learning from the classroom. We also want it to be manageable as we appreciate how busy home life can be.

Homework will be sent home on Fridays and collected in the following Wednesdays. For Hedgehog class, the homework consists of:

• Daily reading for 15 minutes
• Times tables Rockstars daily for 15 minutes
• Maths and English will be set on alternate weeks to provide balance and enable opportunities for deeper learning.

PE Kit

There will be two sessions of PE per week; one indoor and one outdoor session. These are planned for Monday and Thursday, however we do expect all pupils to bring in their full PE kit on a Monday and take it home on a Friday as there may be additional opportunities for PE presented through the week.