11th March

It has been lovely to welcome Miss Coleman back into Beech Class this week, as she prepares for her return on Monday.  This will ensure a smooth transition, so the children can continue with their learning without disruption. 
A huge thank you for sending in photos of your children reading in unusual places!  I have loved receiving these images by email, and we have a vibrant display in our classroom in celebration of World Book Day.  As I write, it is Thursday evening (my day off), but I can’t wait to find out from Miss Barton how the day went.  I’m sure the children had fun and hopefully have ideas of new books and authors to explore.
Cross curricular links help to cement learning, and a fine example of this was in our outdoor learning session on Tuesday.  Paul from Devon Wildlife had organised for the children to do a wildlife habitat survey in the school grounds.  One task to be done was to measure a hedge using strides.  This linked perfectly with our Maths topic of Length and Height: the children have been exploring non-standard units of measurement.  They have been measuring items in the classroom using cubes, lollipop sticks, and their hands.  So, to have the very practical application of measuring a hedge using strides was a lightbulb moment: people do this in real life!
‘Artis Everywhere’ is a project funded by the Arts Council, that we’ll be using in order to provide weekly creative sessions to enhance our Science topic of ‘Building Materials’.  On Wednesday, Beech Class explored the material of glass through mime, music and movement.  Toward the end of the session, children practised mirroring each other and were pretty good at it!  This is a great example of kinaesthetic learning where children learn through doing and having a ‘hands on’ experience.
Things you can do to help your child next week:

• Talk about ‘mass’ in terms of ‘heavier than’ and ‘lighter than’
• Make some cakes and measure out ingredients together
• Research The Underground in London
• Notice the changes in the season in time to tell Paul on Tuesday

As always, thank you for your kindness, support and patience.
Very best wishes,
Audra Fitzgerald