Dear Parents and Carers, 

What a wonderful and exciting week we have had in Rivers.  The children have enjoyed a range of special learning experiences, showing fantastic enthusiasm, curiosity and teamwork throughout the week. As part of our Design and Technology unit, the children became little chefs, making their very own soup. During our class gathering, we spent time learning about and discussing Diwali, exploring how and why this special festival is celebrated. We also took time to remember and reflect on Armistice Day, helping the children to understand the importance of remembering those who have served and sacrificed for others.

To finish our week on a high, we thoroughly enjoyed our cinema trip! The children had a fantastic time. 

This Week – What We Have Been Learning

English

This week in English, Rivers Class continued their journey through our fiction book, Milo Imagines the World. We focused on developing our grammar skills, particularly our understanding of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. The children explored a range of vocabulary and expanded noun phrases to create their own imaginative settings. They also explored personification to bring their descriptions to life.

The children showed great creativity by writing descriptive sentences using powerful vocabulary and a variety of grammatical features.

At home, please encourage your child to write their own descriptive sentences using nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs, remembering to use the correct punctuation. Why not challenge them to explain what a noun, verb, adjective and adverb are and give examples of each?

We were very impressed by the children's creativity and their use of powerful descriptive language!

Maths

This week in Maths, Year 2 children have been learning how to add by making 10, add three 1-digit numbers and add to the next multiple of 10. They have practised using their number bonds to 10 and different strategies to solve addition problems, building their confidence, fluency and mental maths skills.

This week in Maths, Year 3 children have been learning how to make connections between numbers and use their understanding of place value to add and subtract two numbers without exchanging. They have practised using different strategies to solve calculations, developing their confidence, accuracy and problem-solving skills.

Wider Curriculum – Design and Technology

In Design and Technology, we explored the exciting journey of designing, preparing, making and evaluating vegetable soup. Our Year 2 and Year 3 children demonstrated enthusiasm, creativity and growing confidence as they developed their own dream vegetable soup designs and transformed their ideas into colourful mood boards. They carefully selected images, ingredients, colours and textures, developing their ability to communicate and explain their design choices.

Throughout the project, the children strengthened their practical food preparation skills, including using the claw grip, chopping, measuring and stirring, while learning the importance of kitchen safety. Working collaboratively, they applied these skills to prepare and make our class vegetable soup.

After making the soup, the children evaluated its taste, colour, texture and ingredients, reflecting on what worked well and suggesting thoughtful improvements. Year 2 pupils developed their confidence in describing and sharing ideas, while Year 3 pupils extended their learning by explaining and justifying their decisions.

This engaging, hands-on project encouraged creativity, teamwork, independence and problem-solving. Most importantly, the children discovered that designing, making, evaluating and improving are all essential parts of the DT process.

A fantastic achievement for our young designers and chefs!

Next Week – What Will We be Learning 

English

Next week Rivers Class will continue exploring Milo Imagines the World, building on their descriptive writing skills. We will introduce similes, helping the children understand how comparisons using ‘like’ or ‘as’ can make their writing more vivid and imaginative.

The children will explore how to use similes alongside powerful verbs, adjectives and adverbs to bring their imaginary settings to life. They will also practise improving their sentences by choosing exciting vocabulary and checking their punctuation.

At home, why not encourage your child to create their own similes? For example, “The stars sparkled like diamonds” or “The clouds were as soft as cotton.” Challenge them to include similes in their own descriptive sentences!

Maths

In Maths, Year 2 children will continue developing their addition and subtraction skills, focusing on adding and subtracting across 10. They will explore different strategies to subtract from a multiple of 10 and subtract a 1-digit number from a 2-digit number when crossing a ten. The children will use their knowledge of number bonds and place value to solve calculations with increasing confidence and accuracy.

At home, please encourage your child to practise simple addition and subtraction calculations that cross 10, using number bonds to help them find the answers.

Next week in Maths, Year 3 children will continue developing their addition and subtraction skills, focusing on adding and subtracting two numbers across a 10 and a 100. They will explore different strategies, using their understanding of place value and number bonds to help them exchange tens and hundreds when needed. The children will practise solving calculations with increasing confidence, accuracy and independence.

At home, please encourage your child to practise adding and subtracting two-digit and three-digit numbers, particularly when crossing a 10 or a 100. Challenge them to explain the strategies they have used to find their answers!

Wider Curriculum –

Next week, we will be moving on to our exciting new Science topic, where we will be learning all about how to stay healthy. The children will explore what our bodies need to stay healthy and strong, including the importance of eating a balanced diet, keeping active, getting enough sleep and looking after our personal hygiene.

Celebrating Our Learning  

On Thursday,  the children had the opportunity to make their very own soup and, of course, enjoy tasting it! The children were so excited to try their creations, and the overall verdict was a fantastic 10/10! It was lovely to see their excitement and sense of achievement as they admired and enjoyed what they had made.

And, of course, we must not forget our highlight of the week – our cinema trip! The children had a wonderful time and made some lovely memories together.

Reading

This week, Rivers Class enjoyed another wonderful library session, where the children demonstrated excellent library etiquette and a growing enthusiasm for reading. They shared their thoughts about their chosen books with their peers, explaining why they selected them and why they would recommend them to others. It was lovely to see their confidence and enjoyment when discussing books!

During our Reading Comprehension lessons, we focused on developing our retrieval skills. The children practised reading questions carefully, scanning texts to locate relevant information, highlighting key details and using the evidence they found to write accurate answers.

At home, please ask your child what they understand by retrieval skills and why they are important. You can reinforce their learning by reading a short story together and asking questions such as “Who is the main character?”, “Where did the story take place?” or “What happened at the beginning?” Encourage your child to find and point to the information in the text that supports their answers.

This week, Rivers Class have been given Maths home learning activities to reinforce and consolidate the skills they have developed during the week. Please encourage your child to complete these activities independently where possible, offering guidance and support when needed.

Thank you for your continued support at home. Working together makes a real difference to the children's confidence, progress and love of learning!

Phonics, Spellings and Vocabulary

Reading and Phonics: Please continue to support your child with reading their phonics group books regularly. This will help strengthen their phonics knowledge, develop fluency and build confidence in their reading skills. Encourage your child to sound out unfamiliar words and discuss what they have read to develop their comprehension.

Spelling and Handwriting: Rivers Class have also been given spelling and handwriting homework. Please support your child in practising their spellings and forming letters correctly, paying particular attention to letter size, formation and spacing. Developing good handwriting habits is essential for helping children write clearly, fluently and confidently, allowing them to focus more on expressing their wonderful ideas in writing.

Class Reminders and Important Information:

All children have taken home a letter today informing you about our theatre visit to see Winne and Wilbur- A Christmas Adventure, at Pegasus Theatre on the 11 December. Please see the letter for more details.

Rivers Team