“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me”. John 10:14"
In today's Now Press Play, we learned about the affects that the 'Break with Rome' had on England for years after Henry VIII's reign. We took on the role of one of the Queen's stable hands who discovers a group of Catholics who were plotting to kill her!
In today's e-safety lesson, we learned about copyright and fair use. We read through different scenarios and worked in groups to decide whether we had permission to use the digital thing or not.
We had a fantastic day at Tudor World in Stratford-upon-Avon. In the morning, children learned all about the importance of the theatre in Tudor times and took part in role play based on the theatre. Additionally, we had a tour of the museum. Shortly after that, we took part in a crime and punishment workshop, where some children unfortunately were punished or beheaded for treason. After lunch, we met William Shakespeare who took us on a tour of the town. We visited where he was born, lived, went to school and died, along with the home where his daughter Susanna lived. We loved hearing stories about his life.
As part of British Science Week, we took part in a LEGO workshop. We worked together to come up with ways to travel around the world using different methods of transport e.g. boat, train or truck. As the theme of science week was 'connections', we explored the different methods of communication we could use and also worked in a team to build a bridge.
We have been enjoying drop everything and read time both in our classroom and in the reading corner.
In art this term, we have been learning how to create depth in paintings. Here are our final paintings, where you can see that we have created background, middle ground and foreground.
For this week's science lesson on sound, we were joined by Miss Howard. Miss Howard brought a variety of instruments to support our learning on pitch and volume. Francesca even played her cello for us.
Year 4 are learning about the importance of keeping fit and the benefits it can have on our physical and mental health. They have learned how to get fit in new, enjoyable ways e.g. through circuits with friends, boxing and dancing.
We have been working really hard on our Tudor projects and are enjoying listening to each other's presentations. We even got to taste some Tudor treats baked by Lena!
We have been learning about how computers store data in a database. We were shocked when we realised how quickly a computer can find a piece of information that is stored on it!
In science, we are learning about what sound is and how it travels. In our first lesson, we created string telephones to help us to explain how sound travels through different mediums. We learned that sound is a form of energy, caused by a vibration and that it travels in waves.
We were delighted to receive our certificates from the English National Opera for the piece of music we composed in the last half term.
This week is Children's Mental Health week. In Monday's assembly, Racha spoke to us about this year's theme 'Let's Connect'. In class, we had lots of conversations about the importance of looking after our mental health, hearing the stories of other people. To end the week, we created a paper chain, showing how we are all connected. We discussed how we are connected to everybody in the world, even those we have never met.
In this week's lesson, we programmed Sphero to answer questions about topics we have been learning about in class. Sphero had to roll to a question, land accurately on it, change a specific colour and say the correct answer out loud. The aim was to program Sphero to move from one side of the hall to the other, answering questions along the way.
In this week's science lesson, we tested various materials to decide whether they were conductors or insulators.
Well done to our year 4 skittleball team who won 5 out of 6 games at the Hammersmith and Fulham skittleball tournament. Pupils have been developing their hand skills in PE this term so it was a great opportunity for them to display everything that they have learnt. Well done to all of the year 4 boys and girls involved. Pupils enjoyed some lunch in the park on their way back to school!
As part of our learning in geography, we have been completing research on different settlements around the world to share with our classmates.
We have been practicing our defending, passing and shooting skills in our PE lessons.
In maths, we have been drawing and reading graphs to present data. We have had to be extremely precise when drawing our graphs to ensure the information we have presented is accurate.
In RE, we have been learning about the teachings of Jesus. We learned about how Jesus chose his first disciples. We compared these disciples to ourselves, the disciples of Jesus today. We worked in groups to decide which traits are important as a disciple of Jesus.
We have been cooking all things Spanish this half term in our weekly lessons with Etain.
In today's Now Press Play, we were at home with our cousin Thalia. As we were helping her with her dialysis machine, there was a power cut. We used household objects to make a torch and headed for the local hospital where the doctor told us there was a 2 hour wait. We set out for the local power station and noticed that there no smoke from the chimneys. We broke in via a hole under the fence. Causing the power cut was Danny, an anti coal protester who was throwing coal into the lake. Danny took us to a wind turbine. We turned it on and it lit up the town!
This half term, we are learning to play the recorder in our music lessons with Miss Howard.
Pupils took part in the A-life Healthy workshop. They had a hands-on experience, allowing all to delve in and explore the various activities based on healthy lifestyles. Pupils engaged in variety of different activities set up around the hall in stations. Year 3 and 4 pupils worked together to explore various scenarios and topics linking to PSHRE, PE and science.
In today's computing lesson, we took Sphero on a journey around the world. First, we came up Sphero's story, which included the 7 continents. Then, we coded Sphero to go on its journey around the world. It had to visit each continent in the correct order.
Year 4 have been refining their passing and receiving skills, as well as developing the important skills required to gain and keep possession of a ball. Additionally, they have been practicing shooting towards a target. These are transferable skills, which pupils can apply to netball, basketball, handball and skittleball, as well as many other sports.
We coded Sphero to move through a maze. We worked hard, having to debug our code numerous times. We were delighted when it finally worked!
As part of our wider Spanish curriculum, we have been learning about Christmas in Spain and Día de Los Reyes. Thank you to Carla, who shared her experience of spending Christmas in Spain this year. We loved hearing about all of the Spanish traditions you were part of.
In 'The Green Ship', we have been introduced to Mrs. Tredegar, an old lady who explores the ship with the children. In groups, we created a 'role on the wall' outlining what we know and can infer about her.
We enjoyed constructing our own circuits in this week's science lesson on electricity. We needed a battery, wire, switch and component to allow electricity to flow.
This half term, we are studying 'The Green Ship', illustrated by Quentin Blake. The children have made an astonishing discovery, a green ship in a forest. Here, we are role-playing the children entering and exploring the ship.
We loved learning more about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings during our full day drama workshop.
We have really enjoyed creating our own Viking longships. In our pairs, we designed what we would like our longship to look like and gathered the materials we needed. We had to ensure our longship could float, the oars could move and the dragon head was detachable.
In today's Now Press Play, we learned how water moves around the water cycle.
In today's Now Press Play, we took on the role of a Viking child who took a journey across the Northern Sea in search for a better life in England. We were shocked to find out that our fellow Vikings had plans to raid and invade.
We learned how to repeat code using the 'loop' and 'copy and paste' functions on the Sphero Edu app. We programed Sphero to perform a dance routine that was repeated in preparation for a dance party.
Here is a sample of our Anglo-Saxons and Vikings home learning projects.
We learned how to use the draw function on the Sphero Edu app. We enjoyed leaving secret messages for our partner.
We have been learning to show multiplication and division in a variety of different ways!
In today's computing lesson, we learned how to use the Sphero app and make Sphero move. We enjoyed coding our robots to move around obstacles.
This term, we will be creating our own Viking longships. In today's D&T lesson, we researched information about Viking longships. This will help us in the plan, make and evaluate stages of our project.
In English, we have began studying 'Beowulf', an epic poem from Anglo-Saxon times. Here, we turned our partners into heroes that would be brave enough to fight Grendel the monster. We used the superlative form of adjective to describe our hero.
Today, KS1 and KS2 held a Black History Assembly. Each class completed study of an inspirational person from the local area.
Year 1 - Adelaide Louise Estelle Hall
Year 2 – Mary Seacole
Year 3 – Fanny Eaton
Year 4 – Dr John Alcindor
Year 5 – Ellen and William Craft
Year 6 – Gandhi
We enjoyed putting all of this half term's learning in art into practice. We took inspiration from Caravaggio and Vermeer's paintings and learned how to use tone, shade and shadows to create form.
We have been learning about the Bible in Religion and have studied the stories of many of God's chosen people from the Old Testament. Here, we are learning acting out the story of Moses and the Ten Plagues.
For Black History Month, we learned about Dr John Alcindor, a physician and activist from Trinidad who settled in London. Dr John Alcindor became known as the "Black doctor of Paddington." Here are some examples of our research projects.
Today, we had a special workshop with Music Mission. Firstly, we had an introduction to playing the drums by exploring the drum kit itself and the different types of drum. After that, we explored the different types of rhythms used around the world, like the Samba and the ChaChaCha. Everyone got to join in with learning how to use your hands and feet on the drums as we finished off by performing some songs together.
During Autumn 1, we have been developing our throwing, catching, movement and agility skills through dodgeball in our weekly sessions. We really enjoy playing games as part of a team.
We went on a field trip to study how Hammersmith has developed as a settlement over time. This was part of our topic 'spatial sense'. In the classroom, we studied maps of Hammersmith from 1863, 1915, 1954 and today. We highlighted the changes we could see. Afterwards, we took a walk to the river Thames to observe these changes in real life. Finally, we created a field sketch of what we could see in the area.
We have been learning about how the artists Vermeer and Caravaggio used shade and tone in their paintings to create a 3D effect. We have enjoyed learning how to create form in our own artwork through sketching and painting various objects.
We enjoy using maths equipment to show how to add and subtract in many different ways!
We have loved studying the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The use of role play in our lessons has really helped us to understand the characters' thoughts, motives and intentions. Will Macbeth decide to murder King Duncan? Only time will tell...
In English, we are looking at the book 'Into the Forest' by Anthony Browne. Pupils had to write a persuasive note to the boy advising him on whether he should go through the forest or go the long way around. In preparation for their writing, we did a conscience alley where a pupil had to walk through the center, in role as the boy, and the people on the outside had to try and persuade 'the boy' on what he should do.
Pupils have been exploring songs by Elizabeth Cotten, blues and jazz music and train poetry. Today, we were fortunate enough to have professional songwriter, Miranda Cooper, provide a workshop for the year 3 pupils. Miranda was also accompanies by guitarist Nick. Over the coming weeks, pupils will continue to learn to play the ukulele , develop the skills they’ve learnt in music so far and their to write and compose their very own song. Today pupils used the poems they wrote in English to write lyrics in small groups, with the support from professionals.