Welcome
This half term, our big question is:
Could you have survived as a Victorian child?
Stay tuned to see what we've learned so far!
Week 1
Turtle class have had a brilliant first week back after half term! We introduced our new big question and jumped straight in by looking at different artefacts and writing down our questions. In English we have been using the story Major Glad and Major Dizzy. We've drawn a story map and have been rehearsing retelling the story with expression. We have been learning about suffixes and past tense alongside this text! In Maths we have been learning about position and direction. We have been using key vocabulary like left, right, quarter turn, half turn, three-quarter turn, clockwise and anti-clockwise. We have had fun directing partners in the playground! In Geography we have been using Google Earth to take tours around Sunbury and have applied out direction knowledge by using correct terminology including compass points! We are looking forward to continuing with our learning journey next week.
Week 2:
Turtle class have had another fun packed week of learning. In History we have continued our learning about Queen Victoria and have explored her life and achievements through a timeline. We have been discovering more about what life may have been like for a Victorian child and many were shocked that families usually only owned one bed and even shared a toilet with their entire street!
In Maths we are extending our knowledge of direction and have learnt clockwise and anti-clockwise. We have awoken our budding artists and had an amazing morning exploring techniques Rossetti used with charcoal. We went out to the field to draw what we could see around us. In English, we have continued with our story Major Glad and Major Dizzy and children have innovated our story map and have worked really hard at apply expanded noun phrases to our writing. After a very warm end to the week we are looking forward to what fun our learning journey will bring next week.
Week 3:
Turtle Class have had a lovely week full of some really exciting learning. In maths we have been learning about time! We have learned about o'clock and half past. The children did a great job of remembering their learning from Year 1! We transferred our learning skills into the playground where we practised being the hands of a clock and learned how to turn clockwise and anticlockwise. In English we have been continuing with our text Major Glad and Major Dizzy. We have been innovating our own stories and looking closely at the timeline of events. In History, we have been looking at Dr Bernardo past and present and used hot seating to really understand and empathise with the character. In Science we have been exploring the work of Charles Darwin and doing our own flower pressing where we could apply our understanding of plant parts. We have also been learning about which materials are best for muffling sound and making suggestions for Victorians working in noisy factories! We used role play to explore why ear defenders might be needed.
Week 4:
Turtle Class had two exciting days in their new classes, they got to meet their new teachers and find out about what they will be doing in Year 3 from September. It was so nice to have Turtle Class back on Thursday full of exciting things to tell us about their new teachers and new friends. So many of them shared names of children they had become friends with from Beauclerc and even 2 other local schools! In Maths we have been learning about telling the time to quarter past and quarter to, we also revised O'clock and half past. In Art we have been exploring the work of William Morris and his patterns. We undertook research and expressed our opinions about his wallpaper designs! We are looking forward to next week where we have a playtime scheduled with Whale Class at Beauclerc and Sports Day!
Week 5:
Turtle Class have had another lovely week.
On Tuesday, we took a trip down the road to Beauclerc. It was so nice to see our new friends again and start to form friendships following class swap days. We are looking forward to seeing them again on Thursday 14th!
In English we have been securing our knowledge of adverbs as well as writing a fact file all about Queen Victoria. In Maths we have been continuing with our learning on time and have been busy looking at durations of time.
On Thursday we took part in Sports Day. It was such a wonderful afternoon where we had a picnic with our family and friends followed by taking part in many different activities at 6 different stations. Parents followed us around and cheered us on and we were all so proud of ourselves.
We have another exciting week planned for next week and we can't wait!
Week 6
This week in Turtle, Class we had the pleasure of watching the Year 6 play - Darwin Rocks! Turtle Class loved the songs, particularly 'We Will Rock You'! Once we had watched the school play, we had a playdate with Whale Class.
In art. we have been making silhouette portraits just like the Victorians had! They are now on display in our classroom, we have looked trying to guess who is who!
In maths, we have been learning about weight. We have used balance scales to compare objects using 'heavier' and 'lighter'. Next, we will be weighing in grams and kilograms.
We have almost come to the end of our Victorian's topic. We used pictures and fact files to research what Victorian children and teachers wore to school. Turtle Class then compared their uniforms to Victorian uniforms. Many of the children said they much preferred their uniform!
We are all looking forward to next week, we will be spending an afternoon with Whale Class - pleasure ensure that all children have hats, water bottles and sun cream!
Last half term, our big question was:
What makes me a super species?
Week 1
Turtle Class have had a brilliant first week back. It was wonderful to see all the children and hear about their exciting Easter holidays.
On Tuesday, we introduced our new big question and we thought carefully about what we would like to find out. In Science we planted seeds and set up our first investigations to really understand what a seed needs to grow. We made observational drawings using magnifying glasses, made predictions and discussed the differences between bulbs and seeds.
In English we have been using adjectives to describe settings. We used inspiration from the chocolate room in Willy Wonka's factory and we even found golden tickets in our English books!
In Maths we have been continuing with our learning on fractions. We have been investigating thirds and securing our understanding of equal parts.
We can't wait to continue with our learning next week and finish the week on Friday with our trip to Kew Gardens!
Week 2
Turtle Class enjoyed an amazing trip to Kew Gardens this week! Our day started with a workshop called 'Super Spines and Climbing Vines', we went into the Princess of Wales Conservatory and learned all about plants that can be found in the desert and rainforests. Our guide, Jane, taught us all about how these magnificent plants adapt to live in these climates. She tested us with lots of tricky questions based on things we had learned and she was blown away by how much Turtle Class knew!
Next we visited the Treetop Walkway. All the children were incredibly brave and walked around the walkway, it was very high up and also a little wobbly! The children counted and concluded that they had climbed around 112 stairs to get to the top! We also visited the Palm House, it was very humid. Plants that can be found in Australasia lived in there, we climbed more steps and got a birds eye view of all the enormous plants.
Then it was lunch time! We ended our day with a trip to the Children's Garden, Turtle Class adults think this may have been many of the children's favourite part of the day! The children had a great time playing on the climbing frames, zooming down the slides and digging in the sand. There were some very tired children on the coach journey home.
Turtle Class adults would like to say a huge well done to all the children for their fantastic behaviour throughout the day, it was an excellent first trip for Turtles! We would also like to say a massive thank you to our parent helpers for their support during the trip.
Week 3
This week, Turtle Class became artists! The children were introduced to Leonardo Da Vinci and his artwork, some of the children recognised some of his pieces. We shared our opinions about his artwork and tried to draw in his style. The children drew the Mona Lisa in steps, adding details each time.
In Maths, we have completed our learning on fractions. We learnt about 1/2 and 2/4 being equivalent and how to find 3/4 of a shape or number.
In English, we have been reflecting on our trip to Kew Gardens. We used photographs and picture maps to write recounts of our trip.
At the end of the week, we became musicians. Mrs Whenman came to Turtle Class and brought 30 recorders with her! The children absolutely loved having the opportunity to play and learn about an instrument. For our first try, the children were excellent. We look forward to having another lesson next Friday.
Have a lovely sunny, weekend!
Week 4.
What a fun filled week we have had!
Turtle Class started the week by learning more about the Jewish celebration Shabbat in RE. Previously, we had discussed how we spend our weekends and what we do to rest. This week, we were introduced to what Jewish families do on a Friday evening. The children loved learning about a boy called Charlie and his family, they asked lots of brilliant and thoughtful questions. We look forward to learning more about the celebration.
In DT, the children designed, made and evaluated fruit pizza. We learned about the food groups and discussed always foods (fruit, vegetables, proteins etc.) and sometimes foods (sugar and fats). From this learning, the children designed a fruit pizza. They selected what tortilla, yoghurt and fruits they would like to use. We had a great time chopping the fruit and putting together our pizzas. The next morning, we discussed what we liked about them and what we would change if we made them again. Overall, they seemed to be a hit with most of the class!
In Maths, we have started to learn about measure. We have started off by looking at length and height. The children have practised measuring using a range of resources, they have used cubes, paperclips, rulers, metre sticks and measuring tapes.
Each morning, the children have been taking it in turns to use our new and improved reading area. The children have loved chilling out on the beanbag and sharing a book together.
Week 5.
Turtle Class have been working incredibly hard this week and have completed all their quizzes. We had to remember all our maths skills and we had to concentrate hard to read questions carefully. We celebrated with a whole class special certificate and we all stood up in assembly while the rest of the school gave us a clap! All the adults in Turtle Class are super proud of the children so a massive well done from us!
Aside from quizzes, we have been continuing with lots of fantastic learning. In Science we learned about germs. We learned about the different types of germs and how they can be helpful and unhelpful. We used Play-Doh to to create models of each of the germs. We also put our senses to the test to see if we could beat some amazing animals! We investigated if we could see as well as cats in the dark and if we could smell as easily as grizzly bears! We had lots of fun.
In Art we have been preparing ourselves for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations next week. We have drawn portraits of the queen, decorated bunting and made flags!
We hope you all have a restful weekend and we look forward to lots more exciting learning next week.
Last half term, our big question was:
Who were the famous explorers of our world?
Have a look at what we learned about!
Week 1:
Turtle class have had a brilliant first week back! This week we have been learning about Amelia Earhart and introduced other significant explorers. We became historians by using a range of sources to answer questions about our the explorers we will be learning about. In maths we have been investigating how to interpret keys using pictures to represent amounts using both block diagrams and pictograms. Within English, we have been using our knowledge of sentence type to create a monster wanted poster. As a class we have created digital impressionist artwork on our laptops, we are also reading Paddington for our class story.
Week 2:
What another fantastic week for Turtle class! We have had an amazing book week, thank you to all the parent readers who joined us and for the excellent costumes we saw too! The children loved having the chance to share their costumes with Seahorses and Butterflies when taking part in the World Book Day catwalk! Turtle class ended World Book Day with a warm cup of hot chocolate and biscuits while listening to a story.
We have been busy creating our own comics about the amazing Amelia Earhart and what adventures she could have gone on! In maths we have started to learn about 2D and 3D shapes. In computing we learnt about an art style called pointillism and creating our own pointillist pictures!
Week 3:
Turtle class have had an exciting week learning all about Bessie Coleman. Ask us to tell you her inspirational quote! We thought carefully about what life might have been like in those times and how brave and resilient Bessie was.
In English we have been writing our very own 'defeat the monster' tales! We used our model text to help us structure our ideas and used our boxing up template to identify the different parts of our stories. We will finish writing these stories next week. In Maths we have been continuing with our learning on shapes. We have been learning about lines of symmetry and using mirrors to help us draw symmetrical shapes!
In ICT we used the chromebooks to design our own Mondrian pictures. We have been thoroughly enjoying using the chromebooks each week.
We are looking forward to meeting a real life explorer next week! We hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Week 4:
Turtle class have been amazing in their quizzes and shown real determination to do their best this week.
On Tuesday Turtle class became scientists for the day! We learned all about different materials in the world around us and we carried out an experiment to explore which materials were either absorbent or waterproof. We continued our day by looking at growth and investigating the link between the size of our hands and our height to see if there were any comparisons. We were super scientists!
Our exciting week did not end there! We took a walk down to Beauclerc in the sunshine to meet a real life explorer called James Ketchell! He started the morning by telling Turtles and all the classes at Beauclerc about his amazing adventures. Afterwards, Turtle class joined a workshop with James where he showed all the amazing equipment he will be using on his next expedition, to ski across the Greenland Ice Cap. James Ketchell is the first person to complete the triathlon of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, summiting Mount Everest and cycling around the world.
We have had a busy and fun packed week! Turtle class have really shown resilience and we are very proud of them.
Week 5:
Turtle class have had a busy week learning all about the world's five oceans. We learned facts and compared sizes, we sang songs and took part in quizzes. We learned why the oceans are so important and how they help us as humans. We learned why the oceans are under threat and how we can help protect them. Turtle class created some amazing fact files!
In maths we have been continuing with our learning on shape. We are starting to secure our understanding of vertices and edges and we finished our week with a shape investigation lesson.
In English we have been learning about recounts. We recalled our science day and wrote letters to James the explorer to tell him about what we learned. We focussed on past tense words and sequencing events.
Have a lovely weekend, we're looking forward to all the exciting events (including explorer dress up day) next week!
Last half term, our big question was:
Where in the world would I take Beegu?
Week 1:
Last week, we found out that during the Christmas holidays, a spaceship had crash landed in Sunbury! The police even had to be called! From there, we thought carefully about who or what may have landed and we met our character Beegu. We wrote questions, using a question matrix to support our vocabulary and thought about what we would teach Beegu and where we would take her. We drew a story map to sequence our Beegu story and we made our own alien characters to take us through our learning journey! In History, we travelled back in time with Beegu and we met Edward the Confessor! We learned about the 4 different contenders to the throne after Edward died. We debated who should become King and used role play to persuade others! We are looking forward to seeing where our learning takes us next!
Week 2:
Wow what a week in Turtles! We have been so busy, time has flown!
In maths we have continued learning about multiplication. We have explored how to use arrays and have shown our learning partners how multiplication can be shown as equal groups.
In English we have been focusing on Beegu. Beegu is lost and we have been trying to help find her by creating our own posters using adjectives to describe what she looks like.
In Geography and History we are discovering landmarks in London. We used maps and co-ordinates to locate parks and famous buildings before researching the Tower of London. In Art, we investigated lines and shapes in drawing to sketch some of the famous landmarks of London. The children felt very inspired after learning about artist Stephen Wiltshire's story.
We are looking forward to next week and continuing on with all our learning. Don’t forget our ‘Royal’ dress up day next Friday (21st January).
Week 3:
Turtle class have had another fantastic week! We have been learning about the build up to the Battle of Hastings and all the events that preceded it. We weighed up the pros and cons of each potential King and produced some lovely writing.
In Maths, we have been learning times tables, starting with our 2s and 5s. The children loved playing the game 'Hit the Button' on the whiteboard to revise doubles.
In English, we innovated our Beegu story. We created our own aliens that crash on different planets and meet lots of characters.
In Science, we have been learning about materials. We received a post card from Beegu saying that she doesn't like getting wet from the water that falls out of the sky in the UK, and it happens a lot! The children looked at the properties of materials, then designed and created a prototype to help keep Beegu dry. The children made hats, jackets, jumpsuits and even a backpack with a roof! We also learned about living and non living things. We went outside to investigate and decided on a third group of 'once lived'.
On Friday we finished the week with a Royal Dress up Day! We learned about the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the start of the Battle of Hastings. We used role play and timelines to re-enact the battle and we visualised the scene on Senlac Hill!
Week 4:
This week Turtle class found out the ending to the Battle of Hastings. We used role play to understand the full sequence of events and then made shields to re-enact the Normans conquest. We're looking forward to seeing how this historic event will link to our very own school! In English we have been planning to write our final 'losing tale'. In Maths we have been learning about our ten times table and have started to learn about division. On Wednesday we celebrated Australia day. We used maps to learn about physical and human features of Australia, wrote fact files and designed, made and evaluated pavlovas!
Week 5
Turtle class had another very busy week! In History, we learned all about William the Conqueror. We followed his family tree and learned a little about his life before and after the Battle of Hastings. We learned how William the Conqueror influenced life in England and we briefly touched on the Domesday Book in preparation for next week. In Geography we made comparisons between Australia and Sunbury and we made recommendations for where Beegu should live! In English, we learned how to write in the first person to help us with writing our discussions. We looked at images from the Beegu story and used them to write a diary entry as Beegu. The Turtle class adults were blown away by the incredible diary entries the children wrote. Well done Turtle class for another great week!
Week 6
In our last week for the Spring 1 term, Turtle class completed their local history learning. The children learned that the area of Kempton was once known as Chenetone and Henry Beauclerc was William the Conquerors son, the children were incredibly excited to discover the links between our local history and the school names. In Maths we have started a new topic on statistics. We have loved having a class vote in the morning and representing this data in tally charts and pictograms. We have voted on our favourite zoo animals and favourite sports. In art we have been experimenting with blending. The children have used a range of paints and pastels to create pictures. We then used our new learning to work together to create a Turtle Class Bayeux Tapestry. On Friday we took a trip to Butterfly class. Turtle class spent some time with Butterfly class reading stories to them in the beautiful sunshine! The children loved sharing stories and asking Butterfly class questions about the books, we look forward to doing this again soon!
Have a lovely half term break.
Welcome to Turtle Class!
Last half term our big question was:
How has history shaped our capital city?
Last half term we learned about three significant events that happened to London during the 1600s; The Gunpowder Plot, The Great Plague and The Great Fire of London.
We used maps and first hand accounts to follow the events. We used role play to explore how Guy Fawkes plotted and thought carefully about the sequence of events. We hot seated characters and wrote diary entries and letters.
We had many things to look forward to in this topic as we created a class assembly which was enjoyed by all. We also had a day of an interactive workshop where we made candles, plaques, scent bags and did some weaving. We thought carefully about materials of houses during The Great Fire and used junk materials to build our own houses.
We made comparisons between The Great Plague and life as we know it today and explored how far we have come in keeping people safe.
We wrote warning tales and thought carefully about warning signs, why they are used and what they are used for. We used the story of The Selfish Giant to help us structure our own texts. We enjoyed the excitement and suspense of this genre!
Last half term, our big question was:
Would a dinosaur make a good pet?
We learned about the world's oceans and continents. We took a dive into the past and discovered how the world's continents were once a super continent called Pangea.
In Science, we learned about animal and dinosaur adaptations. We applied our learning to designing our own dinosaurs in different habitats.
In English, we used the text Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs to plan and write our very own stories.
In Maths, we secured our knowledge on number and place value, whilst working with tens and ones, and using lots of equipment.
We even had a dinosaur workshop! We dug for fossils, like real life paleontologists, and researched our findings. After lunch, we met a terrifyingly friendly T-Rex called Sophie!
We received a very important package from the Natural History Museum... as well as finding something very suspicious left in the playground... (we may need to use our knowledge of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores) 
