Class Blog for Canute

Friday 24th November

Canute Class have had a super week , getting out and about in Polruan. On Tuesday, we had great fun scavenging for natural materials to build a stable for baby Jesus to be born in as part of our learning about the nativity story in RE. Later in the week, we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a helicopter arrive and then explore it and ask the pilot questions! This had everyone very excited, including the adults!

Back in the classroom, we are continuing to develop our knowledge of the events of the Great Fire of London and have been focusing this week on how the fire started and the reasons why it spread so far and so fast. The children have been fascinated to learn about the differences between fire fighting in 1666 and modern day approaches and are really looking forward to their visit to the Fire Station next week.

We are so proud of the children's hard work in their English lessons, which has resulted in some super stories about a lion visiting London. Now we are going to become London rats and learn how to write a diary about our experiences in the Great Fire. Year R are finalising their chocolate cake recipes and we're looking forward to seeing how their cakes turn out!

In Maths, Year R have been having a lot of fun finding 1 more and 1 less through songs and hands-on activities. Here are some links to a couple of great songs that support children's understanding of this concept, if you'd like to join in at home:
Five Currant Buns song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mi79hRcSXI
5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_1-TrP9jwA
Year 1 have been learning how to use the strategy of counting back on a number line to help them complete subtraction calculations and Year 2 are developing their understanding of how to subtract across a tens number.

We continue to be very proud of the children's wonderfully enthusiastic attitude towards learning, despite several members of the class having been unwell. We hope you all have a chance to rest and recuperate this weekend, ready for a thrilling day on Monday when we visit the Fire Station and meet our friends from Kensa Class at Blissland Primary Academy again.

Best wishes

Mrs Chasey, Mrs Fernie, Miss Taylor & Miss Talbot

Friday 17th November

Dear Parents,
Welcome to another edition of our school blog, where we share the exciting happenings within the walls of Canute Class. It has been a week filled with exploration, creativity, and learning, despite facing some challenges.

History:
Despite a few setbacks due to illnesses, our resilient students have been thoroughly engaged in discovering the wonders of the past. The classrooms have been buzzing with excitement as the children dove into the captivating history of the Great Fire of London. Through interactive lessons and hands-on activities, our young learners have gained a deeper understanding of this significant historical event.

Maths:
In the realm of mathematics, our Year 1 students have been exploring addition and subtraction fact families. Meanwhile, our Year 2 students have been taking on the challenge of adding 2-digit numbers and mastering the art of bridging 10. The foundations for future mathematical prowess are being laid, and we are incredibly proud of their progress. Reception class has been busy too, mastering the skill of subitizing numbers up to 5, laying the groundwork for mathematical fluency in their early years.

English:
In the world of English, the creative pens of our students have been at work. The delightful stories inspired by "The Lion Who Went to Paris" have taken shape, with the children not only writing but also carefully editing their narratives. It's heartening to see their literary talents blossoming.

Design Technology and Imaginative Play:
Our budding engineers and designers have been hard at work in Design Technology class, where they explored the mechanics of making fire engines. The children learned about chassis, axels, and wheels, putting their imaginations to the test as they crafted their own miniature fire engines. The classroom was alive with the hum of creativity and the joy of hands-on learning.

The Magic of Storytime:
In the midst of our academic pursuits, we've continued to foster a love for reading through captivating stories. The joy on the faces of the children as they immerse themselves in tales of adventure and discovery is truly heartwarming. Storytime remains a cherished part of our daily routine, connecting us through the magic of literature.

Introducing the Nativity Play:
In the spirit of the upcoming festive season, we are thrilled to announce the introduction of the Nativity Play. Your little stars will be bringing the story to life, and we encourage you to support them in learning their lines at home. The magic of the Nativity Play lies not just in the performance but in the joy of sharing this timeless tale together.

Wishing You a Lovely Weekend:
As the week draws to a close, we want to extend our warmest wishes for a lovely weekend. Take this time to relax, recharge, and perhaps spend some moments with your child rehearsing those Nativity Play lines. Your support at home is invaluable, and we appreciate your partnership in making these experiences meaningful for our students. Just a reminder please keep sending in your recycling for out junk modelling fire engines. Thank you for entrusting us with the education and growth of your children. We look forward to the weeks ahead, filled with more exploration, learning, and festive cheer.

Warm regards,
Mrs Fernie, Mrs Chasey, Miss Taylor & Miss Talbot

Friday 10th November

We kicked off our new historical enquiry into the Great Fire of London with a visit to the Pop-Up Play Village event at Blisland on Tuesday. The toys and activities were all themed around the Great Fire of London and the children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wide range of equipment, as well as having the chance to meet up again with Kensa Class from Blisland Primary Academy. We are hoping to arrange a visit to Polruan fire station before the end of term and we'll be inviting Kensa Class to join us. In the meantime, we have started our history unit by comparing what we already know about present day London with London in 1666, focusing on similarities and differences in terms of buildings and their construction, as well as methods of transport and clothing.

Years 1 and 2 have also been using their knowledge of modern London in their English lessons this week to help them write their own stories about a lion visiting our capital city. Meanwhile, Year R are learning how to create a instructions for making a chocolate mug cake and are really looking forward to trying out their recipes!

In Maths, Years 1 and 2 are developing their knowledge of subtraction. Number bonds for 10 (eg 6 + 4, 3 + 7, 10 + 0 etc) are key instant recall facts that the children need to master in order to become efficient mathematicians and we have been using these to help us complete subtraction calculations. Year R have been exploring making and recognising different representations of 4 and 5.

Our nativity play will be held in the village hall on Thursday 14th December at 1pm and we will start rehearsing next week. If your child has a speaking part, we will send home details shortly so that you can help them practise. We are using the same script as last year so it should be familiar to many of the children. We do hope that lots of you will be able to join us on the day.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Chasey, Mrs Fernie, Miss Taylor and Miss Talbot

Friday 3rd November

Wild and windy weather can make children very excited, so we have had a lively, happy week.

We have moved Outdoor Learning days to Tuesdays. This week the focus of the session was on introducing the nativity play and learning about why we perform them. The children were keen to dress up in their waterproofs and get outside. While we were out the downpour began and we got very wet but the children were full of joy, their laughter could be heard all around Polruan!

In English we have been continuing with our adventure story called 'The Lion in Paris'. The EYFS have started looking at instructions about how to make a hot chocolate mug cake and we look forward to trying these in a few weeks.

In Maths we have continued to work and improve our addition and subtraction skills having a particular focus on number bonds to 10 (putting 2 number together to make 10). Any work on this at home would be valuable. The EYFS have been learning about 2d shapes and spotting them in our environment.

We have finished our enquiry question this week looking at 'Why I am amazing' by looking and comparing our 4 nations. On Monday we will start our new enquiry 'What happened in London a long long time ago?' We look forward to launching this question with our trip on Tuesday to join the Children at Blisland School at a 'Pop Up Village' based around the great fire of London events.

We hope you have a wonderful and restful weekend.
Mrs Fernie, Mrs Chasey, Miss Taylor & Miss Talbot.

Harvest Fun

Friday 13th October

It has been another busy and fun week in Canute Class, culminating in our super Harvest Festival celebration at St Saviour's church. We're sure you will agree that the children did a fantastic job of retelling their harvest story, The Giant Turnip, and they sang with lots of enthusiasm and pride. We were delighted to see so many of you there to share the event with us.

As part of our enquiry, we have been learning about the four countries that make up the United Kingdom and their capital cities. We began this geography unit by exploring some of the famous monuments and buildings around London on a make-believe bus driven by Paddington Bear. The children then had fun building their own versions of Nelson's column, St Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge. This geographical knowledge is being built upon in their English lessons: Year R are retelling the story of a family touring famous London sights on a bus and Years 1 & 2 will be turning their adventure story about a lion in Paris into a story about a lion in London. We have also posted our letters to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and are keeping our fingers crossed that we might get a reply in due course...

In Maths, Year R have been exploring numbers 1, 2 & 3. They have learnt to recognise the numerals, accurately count out that many objects, find 1 more and 1 less and to subitise, which means being able to quickly recognise how many objects are shown without having to count them individually. Years 1 and 2 have begun their units on addition and subtraction by revising and developing their understanding of number bonds to 10. Year 2 are applying what they know about number bonds to 10 (eg 6 + 4) to help them find number bonds to 20 (eg 16 + 4) and beyond, up to 100 (eg 60 + 40).

Thank you for continuing to send the children in to school wearing their PE kits on Thursday. It makes the day work so much better and it seems they enjoy having a day off from wearing their uniforms! The children are going to the village hall for their PE so please also send them in with a water bottle that they can take with them as PE is often very thirsty work! As the weather gets colder and wetter, can we also ask you to ensure that your child brings a coat to school so that they can enjoy their outdoor playtimes to the full.

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chasey, Mrs Fernie, Miss Taylor & Miss Talbot

Friday 6th October

We have had yet another great and busy week in Canute; as you are all aware this term our enquiry question has been all about me.

We started our learning by looking at ourselves. In art we looked at some key vocabulary like portrait and self-portrait and begin to create our own self-portraits. When drawing our self-portraits, we looked carefully at the features we were drawing, we experimented with different media and techniques and begin to express our own feelings about our own art that we have drawn. We then look at other artists work and discuss and describe what we can see and like. We will particularly focused on the work by Andy Warhol and some of his Pop Art portraits and self-portraits. Following on with the bright colours Andy Warhol used we learnt to recognise and name primary and secondary colours, mix primary colours and this week in Outdoor Learning we started to organise and sort objects in nature by colour. We then had a go at creating our own Pop Art self-portraits and we cannot wait to share these with you.

In English the children have produced some outstanding writing over the past few weeks which culminate is them this week with them completing writing their letters to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall where the children told them all about themselves and the village in which they live. We look forward to posting them this week & waiting eagerly for a reply!

In maths the children have work hard with Place Value and we have completed the units, so we look forward to a bit of addition and subtraction next week.

Just a couple of reminders

- Each Monday afternoon we go up to the ‘Wild Tribe’ area for our learning so please could you if possible, ensure your child has a coat and some wellies in school. We have waterproof trousers for everyone.

- On Thursday we will walk down to the church for our harvest festival at 9.30 so do come and join us. After the service the children are going to walk down to the post-box to post our letters that we completed as part of our English.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

Mrs Fernie, Mrs Chasey, Miss Taylor & Miss Talbot

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How do we teach early reading in Canute Class?

We teach children to read and write using a phonics programme called Twinkl Phonics. Phonics breaks down words into their smallest units of sound eg the word cat is made up of 3 sounds: c-a-t. Children learn the sounds made by individual letters or groups of letters. Where 2 letters together make one sound, this is called a ‘digraph’. Where 3 letters make one sound, this is called a ‘trigraph’.

Every sound has an associated picture and action which helps the children to recognise and remember the sound. For example, the flashcard for the sound /s/ (hiss like a snake) shows an image of a snake and the associated action is holding your hands together and wiggling your hands and body like a snake.

Once the children recognise the sounds in a word they can read the word by sounding out – saying each sound aloud - and then blending the sounds together so that they say the whole word without any pauses between sounds.

When children join Reception, we start teaching them to read and write by teaching them the sounds made by the letters s, a, t, p, i, n. These sounds have been specifically chosen because they enable the children to make and read a large number of words immediately.

The Twinkl Phonics programme has 6 levels:

• Level 1 (pre-school) - prepares children for starting to learn to read and write in Year R

• Level 2 (Year R) – teaches the single letter sounds

• Level 3 (Year R) – teaches the most common digraphs and trigraphs

• Level 4 (Year R) – teaches children to blend adjacent consonants in words

• Level 5 (Year 1) – teaches alternative graphemes for sounds the children have already been taught

• Level 6 (Year 2) – teaches more alternative graphemes and spelling rules

The levels are roughly aligned with year groups as shown in brackets, but we teach to each child’s individual level and children move through the phonics levels at their own pace. Every level of phonics (except for Level 1) includes ‘tricky words’ that the children must learn in order for them to become fluent readers. These are words that the children cannot fully ‘decode’ using their knowledge of sounds. They simply have to learn these tricky words by heart. For example, in Level 2, the children learn the words: I, no, go, to, the.

Your child will have several opportunities to read in school each week:
• in their daily phonics lessons
• in their guided reading lessons (min 3 times per week)
• reading 1:1 with an adult – the frequency of this depends on each child’s needs but our intention is that each child will be heard to read by an adult at least once each week.

Your child will have brought home a Reading Pack. This pack contains lots of resources for you to share with your child to support them along their reading/writing journey. You can help your child to make faster progress by practising these things at home:

• Saying their sounds – use the parent information sheet and the sound flashcards
• Writing their sounds correctly – use the wipe clean letter formation sheet
• Recognising letters/sounds in their environment (eg when you are in a shop, walking along the street etc)
• Making words to sound out and blend using the sound flashcards
• Learning their tricky words by heart (we will send home a list of their words in the week beginning 2 October along with some suggestions of activities)
• Reading their mini book to an adult at home (minimum 3 times per week if you can please)

Your child will have 2 books in their Reading Packs each week: a mini book and a home reader. The mini book is directly related to the sounds that your child has learnt that week in their phonics lessons. The home reader may occasionally contain sounds or tricky words that your child has not yet learnt (they come from different schemes to our Phonics programme) but with your help they should be able to read this also. Sharing books with your child is a lovely way to spend special time together and your child will enjoy having the opportunity to show off what they can do!

When anyone hears your child read at home, please ask them to write a short comment with a date in their home reading record. That way we can easily identify when a child has read their whole book and needs to change it. If you have any further questions or specific concerns about your child’s reading, please speak to Mrs Fernie or Mrs Chasey. We will be very happy to help.

Friday 29 September

It has been another busy week in Canute Class, with lots of learning taking place. Year R are loving Phonics and, as always, we are in awe of how quickly the Reception children are learning their sounds. The older children have been learning alternative spellings (or 'graphemes') for sounds they already know (for example, using 'ie' to make the sound /igh/ in words). From next week onwards, all of the children learning Phonics at Levels 2-5 will bring home sound flashcards in their Reading packs. If you can find time to practise these with your child each week, as well as hear them read, this will help them to progress faster in their reading and writing.

In English, the Year 1 & 2 children have been editing their draft letters to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. When the letters are finished, we will go to the Post Office, buy stamps and post them. Hopefully, we will get a letter back! Year R have begun a new English unit based upon the lovely picture book 'Perfectly Norman' which tells the story of a young boy who suddenly grows a pair of wings and how he initially struggles to accept being different from his friends. The children have really enjoyed the story and are retelling it in their own words.

In Maths, Year R have had fun identifying and making patterns in different contexts: visual patterns, sound patterns and body action patterns, to name a few! Years 1 & 2 are continuing their work on place value. Year 1 have begun to compare numbers using the language of 'greater than', 'less than' and 'equal to' and their mathematical symbols. Year 2 have developed their ability to compare and order objects and numbers up to 100.

Everyone has enjoyed our practical, hands-on Science lessons this half-term. We have sung songs and played lots of games to help us learn the names of the main parts of our bodies ('Simon Says' has been very popular!). We have also been exploring our 5 senses. This week, it has been the turn of 'touch' and 'smell'. The children thought it was very funny when Miss Talbot and Mrs Chasey removed their shoes and socks to try and identify a mystery object in the feely bag using just their feet! The children gave some excellent descriptions when they took turns to identify objects first with their feet and then with their hands. They concluded that although all of our skin can sense touch, the skin on our hands is better at sensing touch than on our feet.

On Wednesday, we had our second Meet the Teacher event where Mrs Chasey explained how reading is taught in Canute Class. We know that some parents/carers were unable to make it to the meeting, so we will add the information that was given to our blog page. There will also be an opportunity to discuss reading when you come in for your parent consultation appointments later this month. As always, though, if you have any specific concerns relating to your child's reading, please do speak to either Mrs Fernie or Mrs Chasey and we will be very happy to help.

Thank you to everyone for sending the children into school wearing their PE kits on Thursdays. It has made a huge difference to the amount of time spent searching for missing bits of kit and the children appear to enjoy having a 'day off' from wearing their uniforms!

We hope you all have a lovely weekend.

From Mrs Chasey, Mrs Fernie, Miss Taylor and Miss Talbot

Friday 22nd September

Friday 22nd September 2022

As you may be aware our enquiry question this term is ‘Why am I amazing?’ The children have been amazing all term but this week we have particularly noticed some great listening this week during story times, and they were amazingly patient when instead of just jumping into the primary colour playdough they listened and waited particularly when they were all very excited to get their hands dirty and explore the primary colours, this resulted in them all being able to make some beautiful shades. They also continue to settle well into school and have made me feel amazingly welcome very quickly.

In maths the Year 1s and 2s have continued to learn about place value. The year 1s have been focusing on numbers to ten finding one more and one less than a given number. The Year 2s have been looking at how number are made understanding that 56 is 5 tens and 6 ones but it could also be made in alternative ways such as 4tens and 16 ones. The Reception have been working hard looking at measures exploring and comparing weight, capacity and length.

In English the year 1s and 2s have continued with our letter writing and we have been very impressed with all their learning. The Reception have been working hard with making sentences about what they would like the world to look like in the future.

In RE this half of term we are looking at the story of creation. On Monday we looked at a Christians view of creation and what was made on each of the days, the children then had great fun making themselves out of clay and natural resources.

In art we are learning what a self-portrait is and how to draw them. We spent the afternoon looking at the artist Andy Warhol and is pop art portraits and learning about colours and how they are made looking at the Primary colours. I do hope some of your children have managed to get rid of the interesting-coloured dyed hands we had on Tuesday!

It was lovely to meet some of you on Tuesday at the ‘Meet the Teacher’ session. We had a chat about the class day starting at 8.45 and finishing at 3.15. The structure of the week will be that Mrs Fernie Teaches Monday and Tuesday followed by Mrs Chasey on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Miss Taylor will be in every day and Miss Talbot will be in every day except Tuesdays. Book bag pouches which your child should come home with this afternoon and on them is a clear label about what should be in there. Please do read the mini book at least 3 times in a week and if your child wants to read more then do read the other book. There will be mini flashcards of all the sounds these are for you to use with your child to help make words or just to see if they can recognise the sounds. Please bring the try to ensure the pouches are in every day but please can you make sure they are in on a Wednesday as we plan to take them in on a Wednesday and send them back on a Monday.

Just a reminder that next Wednesday the 27^th October Mrs Chasey will be running a phonics session at 3pm just to help you understand all the words we use and show you how we teach all the children in Canute to read. It would be really beneficial for every child to have at least one parent attend if at all possible.

One final reminder is that every Monday starting on the 2^nd October we plan to spend the afternoon up in the woods, allotment or wild tribe area so please can you ensure your child has wellies and a waterproof coat and if it’s a particularly cold day then a spare set of warm clothes they can change into before we go.

We hope you have a wonderful restful weekend.

Mrs Fernie, Mrs Chasey, Miss Taylor & Mrs Talbot.

Friday 8th September

It has been wonderful to welcome everyone back this week, and hear about all the exciting things that the children have been up to over the Summer. The children have enjoyed seeing and playing with their friends again, which has been lovely to see. Everyone has settled back in well, and we look forward to a busy term.

Our enquiry questions this half of term is ‘Why am I amazing?’ We will be looking at self-portraits in art and studying the artist Andy Warhol to create our own pop art images. In RE we are learning about a Christians view of creation and incorporating Harvest. Science we will be leaning about the body. In Maths we will all be looking at Place Value and in English we are going to start off with writing our own letters.

Reading books will be coming home next week, please do read as often as you can with your children ideally a minimum of 3x a week.

Mondays are going to be our Outdoor Learning days when we will head out to the Wild Tribe field, allotment or woods and complete some outdoor learning activities. Mrs Fernie will be sending more information out next week about what the children will need to bring in.

Thursdays are our PE days. On this day children are to come into school in their PE kits and trainers already for their PE session.

Please do not hesitate to arrange a time to meet should you have any issues you wish to discuss about your child. There will be an informal ‘Meet the Teacher’ session soon but any questions before then please do get in touch.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Fernie, Mrs Chasey, Miss Taylor and Miss Talbort