This week, the children have shown incredible resilience and determination throughout assessment week. They approached each task with a positive attitude and we are very proud of the way they persevered, challenged themselves and remained focused, even when questions became more demanding.

In English, we have begun writing our own fantasy stories inspired by Arthur and the Golden Rope and Norse myths. The children have explored the key features of fantasy writing, including powerful heroes, mythical creatures, magical objects and adventurous settings. They have been working hard to develop descriptive language, expanded noun phrases and varied sentence openers to make their writing more engaging. Next week, we will be moving onto our new unit of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

In Maths, we have continued our fractions unit, focusing on understanding the whole. The children have been exploring how fractions relate to a whole object or quantity and identifying equal and unequal parts. We have looked at representing fractions using diagrams and number lines, and discussing the importance of the denominator and numerator. The children are building confidence in recognising how fractions fit within a complete whole.

As biologists, we have begun developing our understanding of plants. The children have learned to identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants, including roots, stems, leaves and flowers. We discussed how roots anchor the plant and absorb water and nutrients from the soil and how the stem supports the plant and transports water. The children have enjoyed observing plants closely and discussing how each part plays a vital role in helping the plant survive and grow. We then applied our learning creatively by producing artwork inspired by the botanical studies of David Douglas and the detailed floral paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. The children carefully observed the shapes, patterns and details within plants before recreating their own enlarged and close-up interpretations. They focused on colour blending, shading and careful sketching to capture the structure of flowers and leaves.

We also had a wonderful time celebrating World Book Day. The children thoroughly enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book characters and sharing their love of reading with their classmates. Throughout the day there were many opportunities for the children to read and share books with one another, discuss their favourite stories and recommend books they enjoy, whilst celebrating the joy reading can bring.

Homelearning this week is all on Sumdog. Indian class have focused challenges for Maths and Spag.

Key Notices:

The Maths Institute have asked us to share details of the Oxford Maths Festival, a free event for children aged 4-13 which they describe as “an extravaganza of all the wonderful curiosities mathematics holds. Over two days you can immerse yourself in a wide range of events, with something for everyone, no matter your age or prior mathematical experience”. The festival will be taking place  on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May with some events taking place in the Institute in North Oxford (which is right next door to Somerville College) and others happening at Cowley Templar’s Square.

See here for more info about the event and the Eventbrite page to reserve a spot. Please could you share details of this event with your pupils’ parents?

Have a lovely weekend.

Oceans Team.