Summer 1 in Owls

It's been a jam packed half term in Kestrels class... Despite the miserable weather, we've been trying our hardest with our learning and have been especially enjoying our Ancient Greece topic! We've really enjoyed getting to make our own Greek pots out of clay and will be painting them before half term.

In Topic, we've been looking at what life was like for a range of people in Ancient Greece. We used this research and information to hold class discussions and debates around equality and the similarities and differences between Ancient Greece and modern Britain. We have been particularly outraged by how women were treated in Ancient Greece... Did you know that women weren't allowed to leave the house without their husband's permission? Men and women also had different sides of the house to spend time in and women were considered no smarter than children! The children have been SO enthusiastic with this topic, and of course it's been FAB seeing everyone dressed up!! Thanks again for helping all children to have a costume! 

In Maths we have been getting our heads around angles in shapes, and have been persevering with this! We can now use known angle facts to find missing angles in triangles and quadrilaterals as well as use a protractor accurately to solve reasoning and problem solving questions. We've also been exploring properties of 3D shapes and revisiting this from previous years. As always, getting to make nets and use these to find out the properties of various 3D shapes was really exciting. 

In English, we've been studying the Iliad and using this to enhance our knowledge of Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. We've used this as a stimulus to write our own stories, including a variety of Greek Gods and have enjoyed getting to perform these. 

We've also used the text 'So You Think You've Got It Bad' to draw direct comparisons between Ancient Greece and Modern Britain, using venn diagrams and comparative conjunctions to do this.

In Science we've LOVED getting to study Electricity again. We have looked at how to draw the scientific symbols for different components in an electrical circuit and have used our knowledge of electricity to make predictions about how the components work and what could affect how they function. We have also planned and carried out our own investigation around whether the length of wires affect the brightness of a bulb, which has helped to increase our working scientifically skills.

Spring term:

Spring half term was a busy one and we packed a lot of learning into a short time!

We enjoyed linking our writing to the book we were reading in guided reading: Cogheart. From this, we wrote adventure stories that were set in a similar Victorian setting and with familiar themes that appeared in the book. Our stories contained mechanical creatures and a protagonist. In addition, we had a week learning about the Titanic and the disastrous events that took place in April 1912. Southampton’s SeaCity Museum gave us a virtual workshop all about life on the Titanic and the ship. We were given a boarding pass for person who sailed on the ship and found out which class we were in: first, second, third or even crew. After researching all about our new persona, we wrote diaries both before and after the ship hit the iceberg. Finally, we created cabins out of boxes and thought about what we would (and wouldn’t!) have in our rooms.

This half term was the second part of our Victorian topic and we really got stuck into the question of whether it was a dark age or golden age. We asked ourselves if the building of railways had positive or negative impacts on society, we also researched pioneers of the time, compared schools to now and finally came to our own conclusions as a class. Ask us what what we think at home!

In Maths we enjoyed converting units of measure, as well as investigating area and perimeter. We were able to think practically and used a range of resources to help us solve worded problems. We also looked at ratios and using objects to help us explain trickier questions.

Lastly, we had fun in science lessons where we planned an experiment to test our heart rate. This involved using the field whilst taking part in a range of activities and finding our pulse rates. This helped us find out which exercise raised our heart rate the most. We also learnt about healthy foods and how we get our energy!

Both Kestrels and Owls are looking forward to the Summer term!

Autumn 2 term in Owl class

Merry Christmas everyone!

This term has continued as it began, with everyone in Owls class showing wonderful resilience and a hard work in these difficult times. It has been a joy to work with them throughout this term, and we are so proud of the progress they have been making.

Towards the start of this half term Owls had a week of ‘Bikeability’, where they went out on their bikes each day, learning about road safety and they highway code, as well as how to signal…

Our topic for this half term has been ‘properties and states of matter’ which has meant we’ve had lots of time to ask ourselves some interesting questions and carry out exciting experiments to find out the results. We have looked at which material would make the best coat for a snowman, what we should make Christmas lights out of, as well as mini biology unit where we went bug catching!

In maths, we have really gotten into the nitty gritty of it starting with some long division. We learned a fun rap to help with the steps and then got cracking. We also looked at the sometimes confusing fractions: converting them and then adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying. For what can be a couple of really tricky topics, Owls have done very well this term and have been apply their skills with a few practice tests.

At the start of this half term, we continued working on our ‘Wonder garden’ texts, creating a wide array of varied and exotic worlds, with some vivid descriptive language. After this, we spent a series of lessons studying a number of books that were nominated for the Hampshire illustrated book award, which Owls then practiced and filmed creative readings off for other children in the school. We then looked at biographies, with everyone picking and researching their own inventor to study, draft and then write about. To close the term, and in the build up to Christmas, we have been writing diaries entries for Edgar the dragon, exploring emotions. Our guided reading text has been ‘Pig heart boy’ by Malorie Blackman, which has raised some interesting questions and sparked some debates about morality and animal rights.

This term has also marked the start of Owls starting to get ready for the big move to secondary, with some (virtual) assemblies where they had a chance to chat to some former pupils from South Wonston and ask them questions.

We are all looking forward to the a new year where we can have a fresh start and continue to enjoy being back at school!

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Miss Jones, Mr Sawyerr and Mrs Drury 

Autumn 1 term in Owl class

We have had a great start to a new and different school year. I have been so impressed with the resilience and positivity that has been shown by every member of our class, not to mention the mature attitude towards changes that have been made to our daily routines.

I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone and finding out about their hobbies and interests. There has been lots of learning taking place as well as virtual assemblies and PE coaching.

Our topic was 'are earthquakes and volcanoes random?' - the children got stuck in with finding out answers to this question and investigating why...

We used ICT to research volcanoes and earthquakes, finding Google Earth to be very useful. We also used practical methods to find out about the layers of the earth and even got to eat them afterwards! Organised chaos hit the classroom, as our 3D volcano models were made and Mr Sawyerr helped us 'explode' them using a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Overall, it was a very practical topic with lots of discussion and research into our fascinating planet.

In Maths we have been consolidating our knowledge of place value and the four operations including BIDMAS. It has been different not being able to work closely in groups but we still find ways to support each other and work practically. Our English lessons have been focused on reporting the Pompeii disaster in 79AD, experimenting with persuasive language in writing charity pitches for aid relief and exploring the 'Wonder Garden' to create our own unique habitat. Our imaginations ran wild as we combined animals to create our own fauna and creatively invented rare flora.

The children have really enjoyed our Guided Reading text 'Wonder' and shown empathy towards the themes that are addressed in the story. We have tackled the fear of being different, feelings of sibling rivalry and bullying. We haven't quite finished the book yet and I know the class are desperate to find out the ending!

I am certain that this Year 6 will continue to impress me, Mrs Drury and Mr Sawyerr in everything that they take on this year. We are uncertain what it will throw at us but I am so pleased that we are able to be in school and continue to embrace our learning opportunities.

Well done Owls!

Miss Jones