​We've had another busy week. Maple class did a sterling job of starting off the new hedge at the playing field boundary and we look forward to seeing the saplings sprout in the spring.
Our command of formal language is coming on well and we have built a bank of formal words and expressions to use in our crime report.
In Maths, we have been reflecting and translating shapes on coordinates grids and refreshing our understanding of coordinates. We are now investigating the properties of 2D shapes so that we can use this knowledge to draw them and to calculate areas and perimeters.

Happy New Year everyone!
Although we’ve had a short week, we are fully back into the swing of things and the children have begun their new class book ‘Smith’. Our first piece of writing will be a report of the crime that has been committed in chapter one. We are focusing on creating an appropriate formal tone so we shall all be talking in a rather considered manner over the next couple of weeks.
In Maths this week, we have covered the three different types of averages: Mode, Median and Mean. Please quiz your child about the differences between them.
It was great to hear so much excitement about the new books that had been brought by Santa! I’ll look forward to the recommendations that come forth

Maple Class Blog Friday 17th December
It has been hard work all the way this week, trying to finish units of work but everyone should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved. The stories that have been written using ‘The Snow Leopard’ by Jackie Morris are really wonderful and fully show off the fantastic imaginations that the children have.
Next term our English is going to be centred around the novel ‘Smith’ by Leon Garfield. There is a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter so I really hope that you all enjoy the novel. The writing foci will be a news report, an advertisement and an information text ( all regarding some unusual events and characters). I shall say no more so as to avoid spoilers.
In Maths, we shall be following on from our work on fractions to link to decimals and percentages. This shall be followed a unit on perimeter, area and volume.
Do try to keep the reading and times tables practice going over the holidays but Happy Christmas to you all.

I have very much enjoyed more inspirational creativity from our year 6s this week. They have begun to write their own versions of our class story 'The Snow Leopard' and have really absorbed the poetic lyricism of the author's style (Jackie Morris). Jackie Morris has written many books for children, beautifully illustrated - The Ice Bear, The Seal Children, Tell me a Dragon, The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow, to name just a few. Perhaps you'd like to explore some of these?
In Maths we are improving our understanding of calculating with fractions and are aiming for the reward of KFC next week? There's a lot of suspicion in the class though. Despite high hopes, I don't think they're convinced that there will be fried chicken in evidence. We shall find out on Monday.

Thank you enormously to those who really did us proud at the Remembrance service last Sunday. It was a beautiful morning and to be congregated in the churchyard at the memorial with such a beautiful backdrop, gave an extra sense of peace and reflection to the occasion. The children were a credit to the school and did their part superbly.
In class we have let our imaginations run wild this week as we have created our own poems based on the wondrous ‘ The Magic Box’ by Kit Wright. As ‘biomes’ feature in our upcoming Geography unit, we explored rainforest images for some inspiration. I think everyone was justifiably very proud of their achievement – I certainly was.
Below I have created a class version containing a line (or 2) from everyone’s poem. Can you spot yours?

Maple Class’ Magic Box
I will put in my box…
The whispering tales of legend and myths forgotten through time,
The glow of night animals’ eyes and
Sapphire tears which fall from the clouds onto hand-like leaves.

I will put in my box…
A daring welly stuck in a squelchy marsh,
A drop of golden amber sap fresh from a leaf of an ancient Kapok tree and
The misty breath from forests of time.

I will put in my box…
The sweet, vibrant taste of a perfectly ripe mango, fresh from its tree,
The poison and camouflage of a frog and
The orange stare of a swooping sugar glider.

I will put in my box…
A little pearl, picked from the edge of a shining leaf,
The silvery steam from the forest, swaying above trees and
The sacred stare of a jaguar’s emotionless face.

I will put in my box…
The first drop of rain on my head before the drenching downpour,
The silence before the night wakes and the sun dies and
Long, winding rivers: roads on which I drive to Atlantis.

I will put in my box…
Foam from the tallest of waterfalls,
The patience of the trees to stand day after day and
A winding river snake that meanders through trees.
I shall shoot arrows in my box then fly up into the sky in a colourful hot air balloon.
My box isn’t any old box - it’s not made out of cardboard. Oh no!
My box is created from love, friendship and hope,
The hinges are lightning.
Only the kindest of people can notice it.

​It was lovely to get to see and speak with many of you on parents' evening this week. Thank you for all the support that you give us and your lovely children.
The year 6s really did us proud on Remembrance Day with a wonderfully confident and heartfelt performance of their poetry. The rest of the children in assembly were completely absorbed in the messages that the poetry conveyed.
A few will also be representing the school at the Chagford Remembrance Service on Sunday for which I am very grateful. 
We have had a week of Histrish (their name for History and English combined) and I am now much more in the know about all the medieval monarchs. Please ask them about what they have learned.
Best wishes for a good weekend.

Mr Finch adds...
I had a look the children's written work today and just about had my socks blown off. The progress from September to today is astonishing and the children have made us very proud indeed. Building pride in the children's work, increasing reading and writing stamina, encouraging resilience and spending time to work on handwriting has been transformational for some of these children. We can see the results not only in English and History but in maths too. I am a proud Principal. Well done to Ms Simpson and Mrs Armstrong for this excellent work but even more WELL DONE MAPLE CLASS!

The children have launched with gusto back into their learning and half term seems a long time ago already.
This next half term in English we are taking our lead from the COP 26 conference and focussing on a theme of protecting our world, starting with a study of a beautiful story by Jackie Morris called The Snow Leopard.  We shall be really considering the sentence structures that create different senses of pace and emotion and writing our own stories using a different animal in a different setting. Following on from that, we shall look closer to home at some of the species that are declining on Dartmoor and produce persuasive leaflets for the community to encourage changes that can help recovery.
In Maths, we are continuing to develop our calculation skills with a focus on fractions.
This coming week will also involve us preparing our poetry to contribute to the Remembrance Service next Sunday. The expression that they put in on their first attempt was superb. I'm sure that they will do the town proud next weekend.

We all enjoyed our first Harvest Celebration back together as a whole school last week and what a fantastic job Year 6 did of adding a harmonic 2nd part to our harvest song ‘ Harvest Samba’. They really sang their socks off and the effect was wonderful.
Our ventures aboard our sailing ship have taken us into stormy waters this week. The children have learnt about creating really strong images using metaphor and a fantastic job they have done: clouds have been spitting and snarling, ravenous waves have been devouring their victims and masts like skeletons have crumpled under the threatening skies!
In Maths, we’ve revised the standard written methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and have realised that quick recall of our multiplication facts is going to be key to becoming really fluent. On that note though, we’ve been working hard at this and have all at least doubled our speed since the beginning of term. Some have even quadrupled their speed of recall. Great work everyone!

​What a fantastic end to the week we had last week with our visit to the church to experience some bell ringing. The smiles on all faces were testament to the fun that the children had and we all found it fascinating to watch the bells swinging on screen as we pulled the ropes.
The town was also treated to a rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star played on the Ellacombe chimes.
As well as ringing and climbing up into the bell chamber, we also managed to scramble right to the top of the tower for tremendous views across Chagford and enjoyed finding all the local landmarks.

In English, we've practised very dramatic renditions of 'The Sea' a poem by James Reeves. We have all discovered our inner actors and actresses. See if they can recite any of the poem by heart!

​Hello everyone - It is so good to have begun to get to know the children this week. What a multitude of talents and enthusiasms they have; I'm sure that I have only discovered the tip of the iceberg! Thank you also to everyone who came to sing at the church last week. The children were super ambassadors for the school and their voices brought a proud tear to the eye. You will have gathered that I am teaching the class for English and Maths in the mornings. This past week the children have learnt a magic trick and considered how best to communicate instructions on how to perform it to others. If you haven't been treated to a performance yet, be prepared to be flummoxed! We're also really working on our times tables recall speed with visible improvement already. 'Well done' to all the children.


Keep an eye on the blog for news and pictures of what we get up to.