Academic Year 2020-21

It's all fun and games in Willow Class

We have been honing our tactics and practising our throwing skills with Mr Clemo.

It all happened on a Tuesday!

The debate was heated. Was it the frogs or the lily-pads who were flying? Which team provided the most convincing argument?

Using our imagination

Ever wondered what it's like to be stuck in a boggy swamp? Role play helped us to identify some really imaginative vocabulary.

There's nothing like teamwork!

We all worked together to create a storyboard for our book 'Tuesday'. Then we re-told the story to each other.

Learning to Learn

Willow Class has been practising getting 'Stuck' with the help of author Oliver Jeffers as part of our Learning to Learn programme. We have discovered that challenge makes our brains 'crackle' and grow. We have had great fun creating our own emotions Blob people and exploring the right kind of emotions for learning.

Academic Year 2019-20

Home learning during school closure

Home Learning for the week commencing 29/06/2020

Dear Willow Class

Attached are the suggested home learning activities for this coming week. This will be the last week of home learning before we welcome Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 back into school from Monday 6th July. I must admit, I am very excited about everyone returning and I hope you are looking forward to it too. It will be a super way to end what has been a rather unexpected and difficult school year for children, parents and teachers countrywide. You have been absolutely amazing and your emails have kept me entertained and made me feel really proud of you all.

Highlights for this week's activities include:

• The next part of our Amazon basin project where you will be researching the Amazonian city of Manaus - do you recognise this name from Journey to the River Sea?
• A Dance Moves computing activity.
• A France Activity Quiz.
• Hopefully, a new music video if Mrs Mo can get everything working properly (all will be revealed).
• English lessons about Peter and the Wolf which includes the opportunity to listen to some wonderful music among other things.
• Spelling activities to check how you are doing with the Year 3/4 wordlist and a chance to look at a new spelling rule.
• Maths lessons all about charts and interpreting data.
• Part 3 of our class book Into the Jungle in the Video Resource Centre.

I am not planning to upload a weekly video this week, but there is also a video on Speech Punctuation to accompany the first English lesson on Monday.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Bennett

PS. Well done Sammy - fantastic result on TT Rockstars. You rock!

Class Gallery the week beginning 22/06/20

Dear Willow Class

I hope you are all well and enjoying what feels like tropical sunshine. It seems very fitting with the amazing Amazon rainforest activities you have been completing as part of our ongoing Land, Sea and Sky topic. There are some super Amazon basin maps emerging and more colourful pictures of rainforest creatures. Emma has also investigated some interesting science on vertebrates, including a model of a backbone made out of sweets - check out the photo! Already some of you have set up the science water cycle project. There's been some super maths and English too - many of you seemed to really enjoy Henry's Freedom Box and have written some great letters imagining life as a slave. 

Finally, Lola, Emma, Annabelle, Millie, Katie R and Ashley have written a fantastic playscript about Cinderella between them. They took it in turns to write a scene and have been practising performing their play via Zoom. What a wonderful idea! I've attached the playscript in the hope that it might inspire you to write a play too. Well done girls!

I hope you all enjoy today's gallery.

Mrs Bennett

Home Learning for the week commencing 22/06/20

Dear All

I am delighted to post the suggested activities for this week's home learning. Highlights include:

• Create your own mini water cycle activity in science.
• A geography mapping task for your Amazon basin project.
• A fun 'Building Blocks' activity in Computing.
• A new music challenge called 'Rhythm' from Mrs Mo.
• Exploring a great story book in English called 'Henry's Freedom Box' which is a true story about a slave who mailed himself to freedom. You will also be taking another look at poetry and writing your own 'amulet' poem (I know how you love amulets having made such beautiful ones of your own).
• Revisiting the last 10 words in our Year 3/4 spelling list (hooray), a fun activity to revise some prefixes to words and some extra practice on the digraphs 'ng' and 'nk' if you think it would help you.
• Exploring money in maths.

I hope you enjoy all these activities. It's been great to see how you've been getting on this week, so don't forget to email me your photos by Friday lunchtime so that I can collate the class gallery. I wonder, did any of you do the 'Stomp' challenge in music this week? If so, do send me your videos. You can also visit the Video Resource Centre for my latest video message to you all and the next instalment of our class book Into the Jungle by Katherine Rundell, which I'll be posting later.

Finally, Emma has recommended a National Geographic documentary on the Amazon. I have included the link below (thanks for that Mrs H).

Look after yourselves. Till soon...

Mrs Bennett 

Class gallery for the week beginning 15/06/20

Dear Willow Class

Goodness me, whoosh and another week has passed us by! I hope you've all had a good few days since I last tuned in. It's been lovely to receive so many emails again this week so I hope you enjoy looking at the photos, videos and attachments in the class gallery.

You've been doing all sorts of things from writing odes to leading science investigations. There have been some lovely colourful creations too from several of you. Jessica B is feeling very proud to have been awarded an NHS Rainbow Badge, Alex D has discovered a fantastic tree house in the woods (see the video) and Emma has also joined Ben and Katie in the Virtual Youth Orchestra (see her starring role on The Incredibles link at 1 min 20 secs).

Some of you have been so enthusiastic with your maths that you've even done the alternative lessons as well as the normal ones - wow, that's dedication! Above all, I'd like to commend the terrific effort some of you are making with your spellings. There are some great ideas in the photos on how to practise these creatively, so well done and keep up the effort everyone.

Hope to see you all very soon. Fingers crossed!

All the best for the next week.

 Mrs Bennett 

Home learning for the week commencing 15/06/20

Dear Willow Class children and parents,

Once again, thank you for the time and effort you are putting into the suggested activities I have been posting for home learning. I hope you are finding the material and links helpful and that there is enough for you to choose from to suit your needs. I have tried hard to make it as simple as possible for you to follow. You are all doing an amazing job and I know it must be really difficult for you to keep going with everything after so many weeks. 

In the English home learning, I have been including spelling activities to keep up the momentum and each week I have offered a new spelling rule for Year 4, a new set of words to work on from the Year 3/4 spelling list, and some extra phonics practice for those who would find this helpful. Details of these change each week and can be found towards the bottom of the English Home Learning pdf, so do scroll down to check this out if you haven't done so already.

The new highlights this week are a science lesson on invertebrates, which will enable some outdoor exploration, a brand new geography project on the Amazon basin which includes some art and D&T activities. I think this is a project you will really love and it's such an important part of our environmental science too. There is another Barefoot computing activity called 'Code breakers' and Mrs Mo has posted a fantastic 'Stomp' music lesson for you to enjoy at home. To find out about all these exciting new things, look at the Other Subjects Home Learning_2020 06 15 pdf.

I have also posted the first video of our new class book Into the Jungle by Katherine Rundell. I wonder if you recognise any of the characters? Thank you to those of you who emailed me about the book. You'll have to watch the videos to find out more and I promise to read to you as often as I can. I hope to post a short video message to you all later this evening. Don't forget to look at the Science page on the school website too as I have added lots more activities for you to enjoy at home. Hopefully there's something for everyone!

Rest assured, you are never far from my thoughts. I so hope we will be together again before too long. Take care and do stay in touch. In the meantime, here are the suggested activities for next week's home learning. Have fun with it all!

All the best for the coming week,

Mrs Bennett 

Class Gallery for the week beginning 08/06/20

Hello Willow Class!

I hope you are all well and have had a good week at home. Some of you seem to have had fun from the photos and videos you have sent in, although I haven't heard from quite so many of you this week. I hope the grey skies haven't been getting you down. Do stay in touch as it is lovely to hear all about what you've been up to. Your emails bring me much joy.

Enjoy this week's gallery.

Mrs Bennett

Home learning for the week commencing 08/06/2020

Dear Willow Class

Here are the suggested activities for this week's home learning. I have also posted a short video for you in the Video Resource Centre. Have fun!

Mrs Bennett

Class Gallery for the week beginning Tuesday 02/06/20

Dearest Willow Class,

Once again, thank you so much for all the wonderful emails you have been sending me. Your photos and comments are really uplifting and I am feeling very proud of your different achievements over the last few weeks, from growing plants to a variety of exercise routines and adventurous baking. I am thrilled to see some fantastic endangered species in a shoebox and delighted to include some photos and presentations full of really interesting facts. You must remember to thank your parents for the amazing support they have been giving you whilst they have been trying to juggle their own work too. You are all amazing and have tried so hard. 

It has been a very busy but special week at school as we have seen the return of Year 6, Year 1 and Reception and Nursery, alongside the children of key workers. I have been teaching much more (including some of your siblings ) and the school has been buzzing with activity. I have even tried out the new trim trail (although I wasn't quite as speedy as the Year 6 children) and I can't wait for you all to see it and have a go yourselves. It is brilliant and you will love it.

I am really missing you. To feel a little more in touch will you all, I am going to record a short video later to show you our new class book, Into the Jungle, by Katherine Rundell. I'll start reading it to you next week. I hope you enjoy it. 

Till soon,

Mrs Bennett

PS. Please bring back the sunshine!

Home learning for the week commencing 02/06/2020

Dear Willow Class

I hope you've had a wonderful half term and managed to enjoy some down time in the beautiful sunshine. Our new vegetable patch is really doing well and I hope all the seeds and plants you have been nurturing are beginning to flourish too. Here are the suggested activities for your home learning for the four days this week. Have fun!

Mrs Bennett  

Class Gallery for the week beginning 18/05/20

Dear Willow Class

Thank you once again for all your wonderful emails. It's so lovely to see the videos and photographs from this week and to receive your kind wishes. Once again, there are some lovely wildlife photographs with several of you releasing your butterflies, and a very interesting report by Sammy on an endangered creature that I've never heard of - the pangolin. What a fascinating mammal! Talking of mammals, can you spot the fawn (baby deer) in one of the photos? You may have to look quite carefully.

While we're thinking about endangered species, Mrs C has recommended a BBC documentary called Primates available on iPlayer. It's all about the endangered orangutan which literally means 'person of the forest'. The orangutan is critically endangered due to deforestation of the rainforest. If you haven't seen the documentary yet, it's worth a look. Thanks for the top tip Mrs C!

It's great to see so many of you doing creative science investigations. Emma's been looking at living things by comparing sand and yeast. She poured warm sugar water coloured with red food colouring onto yeast and sand. She observed the bubbles that came to the top of the glass which showed that the yeast was respiring (breathing) and alive. Even though she couldn't see the yeast very well, it showed that even tiny things can be alive. Alex D has been finding out all about blood with his brother and there's another bouncing egg. Check out the photos and videos of these explorations. I've seen some fantastic maths too - well done Emma for cracking the fractions problems and several others of you for some super calculating!

Ben has joined Katie R in the virtual orchestra and they are feeling blessed with Ed Sheeran (check out the link). Annabelle and her sister have been exercising their voice with Mrs Mo's choir warm ups (see the video). If you play an instrument, why not try out the Virtual Orchestra? Or you could give the choir warms ups a go to keep your voice in trim. Adam's been reciting some really tricky Christmas poetry which must have felt rather strange in this week's sunshine (see the link below) and there are some super artists and chefs out there as well.

I have been very busy in school this week and I've also been filming and uploading the remaining chapters of Journey to the River Sea for you. So now, you can listen to the whole book. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Well done for everything you have been doing at home over the last few weeks. You have been amazing. Now it's time to put your feet up and take a well-earned rest. Have a truly wonderful half term. I'll be in touch again in June. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and your family. May the sun shine on you all. Till next time...

Mrs Bennett

Home Learning the week commencing 18/05/20

Dear Willow Class

Here are the home learning activities that I am suggesting for this week. I hope you enjoy them. Have fun!

Thinking of you all.

Mrs Bennett 

Class Gallery for the week beginning 11/05/20

Hello Everyone!

Once again, I've really enjoyed receiving your emails this week. It is so lovely to see what you've all been up to. Believe it or not, there's been pizza throwing (check out the video) and lots of detailed research on your endangered species including some fantastic art. I can't wait to see more!

I hope you enjoy the gallery this week. Look closely as there are two photos of a snake, a baby one taken by Matthew and the adult taken by me at school on Thursday. Can you identify what type of snake it is? You might even like to sketch it.

Check out the Video Resource Centre where you'll find a short message from me to you all. Have a wonderful weekend. Fingers crossed for some more sunshine.

Take care of yourselves and hope to see you soon.

Mrs Bennett 

Update 11/05/20: Two new KS2 Choir videos

Two new KS2 Choir videos have been posted to the website by Mrs Mo with a new song for you to learn while you're at home. Please take a look at the Music section of the Video Resource Centre to find out more. Mrs Mo hopes you enjoy singing the song which she has composed herself. Don't forget you are welcome to learn it too, even if you're not in the choir. I dare you to give it a go - singing is so good for you!

Home Learning the week commencing 11/05/20

Hello Everyone!

I hope you had a lovely long weekend and made the most of the beautiful sunshine. Here are the activities I am suggesting for this week's home learning. I hope you enjoy them. Don't forget to keep an eye out for the next chapters of Journey to the River Sea in the Video Resource Centre. Take care of yourselves. 

Mrs Bennett

Class Gallery for the week beginning 04/05/20

Hello Everyone!

I hope you enjoy commemorating and celebrating VE Day in your own way. I'd love to hear what you've been up to. To mark this very special day, I have created a video of an interview with my Mum about her memories of VE Day. She was your age on 8th May 1945. I hope you find it interesting hearing from her as an original source! My Mum is currently living in isolation because of her age and she enjoyed doing this for you. Perhaps you too could phone an elderly relative or family friend and ask them what they remember about VE Day. It might help to make their day special, particularly if they are finding themselves at home alone. 

You have been very busy again this week - everything from pond dipping to camping, baking to photography. There's some great investigative science exploration going on and lots of fact finding about endangered species. If any of you read Hertfordshire Life magazine, there's also a super feature all about the Penny Farthing bicycle (thanks for the hot tip Mrs S). Enjoy the gallery!

Thinking of you all,

Mrs Bennett 

Thank you so much!

Your inspiring class video has brought me so much joy. I really appreciate the time and trouble you have taken to create this for me. Thank you for making me smile and laugh.

Mrs Bennett 

Home learning for the week commencing 04/05/20

I hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend activities. I can hardly believe we're in May. I am already missing the wonderful April sunshine. Although I can't believe how lucky we have been to have had such fantastic weather, I know a few farming friends of mine are very relieved to have had some rain. I am sure the seedlings and plants you are all nurturing will welcome this too. So, here is the home learning for the coming week. I really hope you enjoy the activities. Keep emailing me with your wonderful photos, updates and messages. It is so lovely to hear all about what you've been up to. Remember too, that from this week I'll assume you are happy for me to post what you send in unless you specify otherwise. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Mrs Bennett

Class Gallery for the week beginning 27/04/20

I am feeling incredibly proud of you all this week. What wonderful emails I've received from so many of you. I am very excited to hear all about what you have been up to at home. You are so creative. Check out my Video Message to you all in the Video Resources Centre and the wonderful gallery below to hear and see what you've been up to. I hope in some small way that it helps you feel a little more in touch with everyone. I also hope you are enjoying the class story Journey to the River Sea. We're already on chapter 8! I am really loving reading it to you all as it makes me feel like I am back in the classroom with you. Missing you and hope to see you all very soon.

Please note a change of plan from next week. I know many of you are happy for me to publish material you send via the class email but keep forgetting to let me know that you are. So from next week onwards, I'll assume you are happy for me to publish unless you specify otherwise. I hope you agree that this will make life easier for everyone all round.

Katie R has been taking part in a virtual orchestra which has brought together 376 young musicians across the country. If you watch very carefully, you'll spot Katie playing the flute in The Greatest Showman. Scroll down the orchestra's Facebook page to find The Greatest Showman clip.

Update 27/04/20

Check out our school's Weekly Worship at Home resources on the link below. It includes creative activities, think pieces and prayers. This month's Christian value is 'Hope'. On the theme of hope, you may also enjoy the creative activity I have suggested in the RE section of Other Subjects Home Learning for the week commencing 27/04/20.

Home Learning the week commencing 27/04/20

Goodness me! Where has the last week gone? Here is the home learning for you this week. There are also several new videos on the website and there are some new suggestions, so look through this carefully so that you don't miss out on anything.

Happy learning!

Mrs Bennett

Class Gallery for the week beginning 20/04/20

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a good week and have enjoyed your learning at home. You have been very industrious. Ben has composed some music, Adam has been stamping his passport visiting a new country each week (so far he's been to Algeria, Ireland and Rwanda). I love your chalk pavement art Adam and the marshmallow slime looks tasty! Emma has been working so hard on her English, maths and science and has even found time to do some soundwave art. Check out Annabelle's eggsperiment video - Mum says she bounced the egg too high and it is fascinating to watch what happened! I've had more super riddles and Jack looks like he's growing enough vegetables for the whole class. Ashley's been investigating bluebells, has created a wonderful presentation on electricity and has written all about Switzerland. Thank you Sean, Katie B and many others for your wonderful autobiographies. Some great work! Love the Viking longboat Sammy. Harry has set up a wild life camera in his garden. Check out the photo of one of his night visitors. Fantastic idea Harry! Talking of visitors, Sean and his brother and sister have kept a diary about a nesting robin. It is so fantastic that I am hoping to find a way of sharing this for everyone to see. Watch this space! Wow, what a week! I hope you enjoy the sunshine this weekend. There's lots of great things planned for next week. Several videos are on their way. Keep your eye on the Video Resources Centre. Mrs B 

Updates 22/04/20

English

The BBC Bitesize Year 4 English lesson for today is Past tense verbs and verb families. You may find this helpful in supporting your home learning on our grammar focus this week in addition to the material and links already posted.

Class gallery

I am hoping to post a small selection of photos and activities in this week's class gallery on Friday. Please ensure that you confirm you are happy to post what you send in, otherwise I'll be unable to consider your contributions for this. 

Home learning in other subjects

Our home learning this week has focused on English, Maths and Science. I am currently working on some activities for you in other subjects to be posted in next week's home learning. In the meantime, you can refer back to the original home learning pdf posted on 22/03/20 for activity ideas in other subjects.

Home Learning the week commencing 20/04/2020

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to home learning after the Easter break. Here is the home learning for this week. Look below this for a message from me and some photos that I've shared. Do stay in touch with me by email. It's so lovely to hear from you all, even though I am unable to reply in person. Don't forget to let me know if it is ok to share your photos on the class page.

Mrs Bennett 

Hello Willow Class!

I hope you have been enjoying the Easter break with your family. Thank you for all your prayers and kind messages. I am hoping to be able to publish more of our class story soon once we have overcome some technical glitches.

In the meantime, some of you have been very busy bees! Ashley's had great fun building woodland dens. Sean and Oscar have been writing poems and I have posted photos sent in of some of your riddles. Katie B has been constructing a life-size human body. Lucas, Millie and Alex D have been baking some great looking muffins and bread. Several of you have been doing fantastic science 'eggsperiments'. Just how high did you manage to bounce the eggs I wonder?

I love the Viking longboat Lucas! Lea's drawn some fabulous fractions and Fred has written a lovely short story about a mystery friend with a colourful illustration. You have even been digging vegetable patches and planting seeds, so you'll be able to hone your science observation skills and watch them grow over time. Then you'll be able to enjoy cooking what you have grown! Don't forget to check out the school science page. I've posted lots of activities for you to explore at home and I update the page regularly.

Take a look at the photo gallery below to see what your friends have been up to. Please remember to ask your parents to say when they email any photos if they are happy for them to be published on the school website. Look forward to hearing from you all. Enjoy the sunshine!

Mrs Bennett 

Loving our books

Are you making the most of your time at home by relaxing with a lovely book? Don't forget to visit the Hertfordshire Library app where you can download and read a variety of books for free. You could keep a record of all the books you read, so that we can share these when we are back together. Why not write yourself a short review at the end of each book to remind yourself what you liked about it (or didn't like)?

Any David Walliams fans out there (and I know there are many of you) might also like to check out his daily story time 'Elevenses' which he reads at 11 am everyday. You can also visit his website to catch up on any of his audio stories you might have missed.

Notice to Year 4 choir members from Mrs Mo

Please check the Choir section in the School Clubs area of the school website where you will find suggestions for things you could be doing at home.

I hope you are beginning to settle into the new routines at home and that you didn't get blown away if you managed to get outside to do your daily exercise. Keep taking part in the morning Joe Wicks PE sessions and make the most of staying as active as possible. Don't forget to use Fitter Future. Not only does it offer great workout sessions, but mindfulness sessions to help us relax. Look for the 'Be Mindful' section of the Fitter Future website if you haven't done so already. Thanks also to those of you who have been emailing photographs, work and messages via the Willow class email. Although I am unable to reply to your emails, it is so lovely to hear from you all and see what you have been up to and how you are getting on.

Mrs Bennett 

Touching base with Willow Class (posted 28/03/20)

Can you find the new video resource centre on our school website? Keep looking for it and you will find the first video message from Mrs Bennett. I hope you enjoy watching it and that it inspires you to be creative. While you're looking, see if you can find the new science page too!

Some helpful maths links for learning (posted 28/03/20)

I fully appreciate that you are all coming to terms with the challenging circumstances we currently face in your own way. In the meantime, I have been looking to identify some other useful websites to help support you at home, should you wish to explore further. Please feel assured that there is no pressure at all for you to follow up any of these links. I am just signposting some resources that you might find helpful. Although I have explored the links provided carefully, please ensure that you read the terms and conditions carefully for any free trials or sign ups. As you will appreciate, the school is unable to take responsibility for the pages shared.

I have already posted some White Rose Maths activities on Fractions. You may be interested to hear that the White Rose team is providing daily maths material by year group (a lesson a day). Follow the link below to join in with the daily activities.

Our Key Stage 1 children have been using Numbots for some time. You too can use this by logging in with your Rockstars username and password. Numbots can really help you to practise your addition and number skills. See link below to get started if you haven't done so already.

Carol Vorderman is also currently waiving the £2 weekly fee for access to her Maths Factor website. Sign your child up on the link below to access her resources for free.

Gareth Metcalfe, an accredited creator of maths resources is posting daily lessons online through the I See Maths website. See the link below.

A little drama

Re-enacting The Last Supper introduced us to our new unit of work in RE: Why is the day Jesus died called 'Good' Friday?

Postcard from Sheila

It's great to know our friendly archaeologist, Sheila, is enjoying staying in touch with us. We look forward to hearing the news from her next dig in May. In the meantime, we'll be keeping our eyes open. You never know! 

Getting wired

We've been investigating electrical circuits in our new topic Flash, Bang! We all managed to light the bulb.

A bit of peace and quiet

We enjoyed taking our class book outside for story time. It was a bit chilly, but good to get some fresh air.

How was it used and what does it tell us?

We've been investigating authentic Victorian artefacts, from petticoats to paint palettes. They gave us a fascinating insight into Victorian life. We wondered what the artefacts (if they had a human voice) might ask us about our lives today.

Sock it to 'em!

We brought in our own socks and investigated the best ways to get the washing dry. Then, we wrote a letter of explanation to Victorian maid Rosie advising her of our results. Now, she should have no trouble drying the washing in the big house!

123, 123, 123, 123...

Learning to waltz is trickier than you might think!

Strictly Willow Class

Our teacher is taking this Victorian topic just a little too far! We're sitting in rows in the classroom and are being called by our surnames on the register. Mrs Bennett has become mad on times tables and warms herself regularly by our Victorian fireplace. Our wall of Victorian fame is gradually growing so watch this space...

Getting dramatic!

We have been finding out about the plight of Victorian child Jim Jarvis in our class book Street Child by Berlie Doherty. It's hard to imagine how difficult life was then so we acted it out to bring it to life. The threat of a Victorian workhouse is not something any of us fancied. We even had a real Victorian walking stick to help characterise the terrifying Mr Spink!

Measuring up outside in maths

We've been practising our measuring skills in the playground and converting units of measure from cm to mm and m. We're getting better at it!

Is a bubble a solid or a liquid?

We did some hands-on investigation into solids, liquids and gases to compare and identify their properties. This included doing a little more classification practice. We had lots of questions.

Inspired by Carol Ann Duffy

We enjoyed reciting our Christmas free verse poetry about the story of Bethlehem and the First World War Christmas Truce.

Walk like an Egyptian

We celebrated the end of our topic on the Ancient Egyptians with a special topic day. We showcased the artefacts we had created at home and showcased them in our museum for all to see.

An audience with an archaeologist 

We were very lucky to have spent an afternoon with Sheila, an archaeologist. She told us all about digs and how muddy it can be. It was fascinating. We even explored some Roman artefacts and archive documents about Howard Carter, the famous Egyptologist.

High speed engineering challenge

A group of us was lucky to develop our scientific knowledge and engineering skills to build a strong and fast prototype rocket car that would run at speeds of up to 50mph. It was fascinating and surprising to see which models sped the fastest.

Let's eggsperiment...

We have planned and prepared our investigation, ready to determine just how effective toothpaste is.

Harvest celebration

We enjoyed a fabulous harvest workshop at our church. It was so interesting.

Our teeth

We got messy imagining how the different types of human teeth work. Or incisors, canines and molars do an important job.

We've been estimating in maths

How wide is our school field? It's about 60m. We know because we guessed the approximate width, then measured the actual distance.

Practice makes perfect!

After some desk research, we worked out how the parts of the digestive system work together. We got it right in the end!

An amazing system

We had fun discovering how the human digestive system worked. Our first attempt needed a little refining.

Happy Birthday Roald Dahl

We celebrated what would have been Dahl's birthday and had a Dahl Delights day to launch our topic.

Koinonia

Together we can achieve more with God's love at the centre.

Welcome to Willow Class 2018-19

Always eager to share our journey.

Sounds like great fun!

Exploring sound has been brilliant. We've made string telephones, ear gongers, musical instruments and have used the iPads to record the decibels. We've even plucked violin strings and made pan pipes.

Flash Bang!

We're into our new topic on sound and electricity, but we've kept with the Victorian theme and have been exploring leading Victorian inventors.

Exploring our Christian values

We discussed the Christian value 'reverence' and what it might mean. We created our own reverence crowns to help us take ownership of behaving reverently.

Getting outside in Maths

Human number lines have helped us to match up decimal fractions to fractions.

Residential Trip

We had a wonderful time on our residential trip to Burwell House.

Classroom drills

Like Victorian children, we are practising and practising our times tables. Some things never change!

Queen Victoria close up

In art, we've looked at a picture of Queen Victoria with a magnifying glass and recreated a tiny piece of it each with sketching pencils and watercolours. We are thrilled with the resemblance.

Mass production in the Willow factory

We created our Willow pattern plates in our class factory, spurred on by the Industrial Revolution.

Bazalgette's sewers

While we were learning about the water cycle in Science, we were lucky to be able to find out about the amazing Victorian sewer system in London. Our STEM ambassador is a sewage expert and told us all about the famous Victorian engineer, Thomas Bazalgette. We also learnt about the new super sewer currently under construction in London.

Pancake flips and frisbees

We had a great time at Wodson Park, orienteering, playing ultimate frisbee, trying our hand at cheer leading and honing our archery skills.

Learning outdoors

We loved our school Outdoors Day. We personified the wildlife area, worked on our negative numbers in maths and started to plan the creation of a Darwin's Thinking Path for our school. 

Forest poetry

We've been reciting poetry in our wildlife area. It helped us to appreciate the natural world we were writing about.

Endangered species

We researched endangered species and recreated their habitats in shoe boxes.

Visit by wildlife photographer Iain Green

We had a fantastic wildlife experience, observing creatures and plant life in ways that we have never done before. Under Iain Green's guidance, we took some wonderful photos. The detail is incredible and we were thrilled with the results. We thought we'd share a couple with you.

Getting persuasive in English!

We have been debating deforestation and writing persuasive letters to help protect the environment.

Creating our own classification keys

After classifying leaves, we started to look at flowers, grouping and classifying several we had photographed in the school grounds. We never realised how different they all were, until we took a much closer look!

Why are leaves different shapes?

Developing our grouping and classifying skills took us out of the classroom, so that we could take a closer look.

God's wonderful creation

We are proud of the crosses we created from our own photographs, bringing the outside into the classroom in our reflection corner.

Reporting from the Amazon Rainforest

We have been debating and discussing the destruction of natural habitats and what it means for the creatures who rely on them.

Launching our new topic, 'Land, Sea and Sky'

How different it looks from down here! We have been enhancing our observation skills in all sorts of different ways.

Pentecost

We have been learning about Pentecost in RE and used drama to help understand its meaning and significance.

'Allsorts' of working scientifically skills

We have been practising grouping and classifying - sweets were our starting point!

It's all play in science!

We created our own electrical toys. We really enjoyed sharing our inventions.

Electricity day

We investigated circuits and built several of our own.

Sport relief

We all ran a sponsored mile to raise money for Sport Relief. It felt good and we raised a healthy sum.

Pen pals

We opened our pen pal letters in our 'air raid' shelters and enjoyed all the news from our friends at Nether Edge School in Sheffield.

Brancaster 2018

Our three-day trip to the National Trust centre at Brancaster in Norfolk was just brilliant. We did so much and experienced the most wonderful environment and wildlife.

Onsie Upon a Time

We loved our school Onsie Upon a Time Day. There's nothing better than a good book and a cup of hot chocolate! It gave us the opportunity to share our favourite stories and authors. Hope you like our class door of The Hobbit book cover!

When the unexpected strikes!

We managed to capture some wonderfully enormous hail stones. They took ages to melt in our hands.

Ear gongers

Our investigations into sound continued. We were amazed to discover that sound travelled best through solids.

The Servant King

As part of the Easter story, we re-enacted Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. 

Reading by torch light

We have been racing into school with our torches to read in our class Anderson bomb shelter reading corner. We have regularly experienced life in a World War 2 air raid with real sirens. Our desks have made great shelters (we couldn't all fit in the Anderson)!

Exploring sound

We had great fun (and made so much noise) trying to work out if something needed to move to make a sound.

Moonbird

We used the beautifully illustrated book Moonbird by Joyce Dunbar and Jane Ray to inspire us in our work on sound.

What was that you said?

In Science our topic has been sound, and we made some cracking string telephones.

The Last Supper

In RE we have been learning about the Easter story and why the day Jesus died is called 'Good' Friday. 

What am I?

In English we have enjoyed writing and reciting riddles.

We are Viking raiders!

Our Viking topic day celebration has been great fun!

Willow Class Vikings

Viking and Anglo-Saxon Art Masterclass

Artist Jef Winter visited Willow Class to teach us how to draw soldiers. We worked on improving our sketching skills. It was great fun and we learnt so much.

Our Viking homework

We did our own research on Viking longhouses and constructed our own at home. Our class settlement was rather large, when we brought them all in!

Thank you Nether Edge

We love receiving news from our pen pals in Yorkshire.

Opening our letters

Water, water everywhere...

In science, we have been learning about evaporation and how long it takes clothes to dry. We also filtered water to understand how our drinking water is cleaned and recycled.

Keeping fit and healthy

A visit to Wodson Park has kept us active and helped us to practise our athletic skills.

Setting sail

Our new Viking Longship reading area, has helped immerse us in our new topic, Helmets, Beards and Horns.

Dramatic history

We have been playing the part of Beowulf, the legendary Viking hero made famous in the epic Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name. We have been creating our own heroes and mythical beasts, ready to write Norse myths.

Getting technical

We have started to make our own Viking longships... more to follow soon. It's taking a while...

Welcome to 2018 and our new topic!

It's goodbye to the Egyptians and hello to the Anglo Saxons and Vikings in our new topic, Helmets, Beards and Horns.

All Wrapped Up

Our special Egyptian day finished off our All Wrapped Up topic perfectly.

In true Egyptian style...

We feasted on our homemade bread and danced the afternoon away. It was great fun.

Our museum catalogue

We thought you might like a closer look at the artefacts we re-created.

Opening our Egyptian Museum

We were very proud of the authentic Egyptian artefacts we'd researched and re-created ourselves. Our museum visitors enjoyed the experience.

A baker's dozen on Egyptian Day

Making bread was great fun, but messy!

Rye Meads

Here are some pictures of our recent class trip to Rye Meads. We took part in lots of exciting activities; lots of learning and fun was had by all!

Our Charcoal Drawings

I am completely blown away by the beautiful charcoal drawings done by Year 4. The children focused on one particular animal and looked at the texture and 'light and shade' of their skin/fur. We explored the different markings that could be created by charcoal and this is the outcome...WELL DONE Year 4! I am a very proud teacher.

Land, Sea, Sky

Our classroom has turned into 'Land, Sea, Sky' for our topic about animals and their habitats. 

Inventors!

When Willow Class arrived at school last Monday morning, there was a letter awaiting them from none other than...Wallace and Gromit! The letter explained that all of the designs for their 'Cracking Contraptions' have been stolen and therefore need some new designs to showcase at the invention show that they are attending next week. They stated that they needed some well written and clear explanation texts to go with them so they can present it at the show. Therefore, Year 4 have been very busy designing their own 'Teacher Pleasers' and writing some fantastic explanation texts to go with them. To help with our task, Wallace and Gromit sent over some official 'inventor' badges... 

Science Ambassador Visit 

Year 4 had some visitors last week...Mrs Sizer and Neil, the STEM Ambassador! We had a great science workshop, looking at whether arched or straight bridges work better, where we developed our investigation and enquiry skills. We really enjoyed using our imagination and creating bridges just out of A4 paper and cellotape. Many of our bridges did not work first time, but we were able to persevere and learn from our mistakes. We realised that the structure of arched bridges holds more weight and is therefore stronger and more stable. Thank you for visiting Year 4!  

The Life Bus

The school had the wonderful opportunity to go into the 'Life Bus' where we met Nancy and Gerald the Giraffe. They taught us lots of very interesting things about the body and what we can do to keep it healthy. Then, we took a ride to a planet where everybody was exactly the same; they all shared the same interests, they all looked the same. This reminded us all how special diversity is and how it's great to be different!  

Burwell House

Year 4 have just returned from their fantastic trip to Burwell House. Here are some pictures showing some of the exciting things we got up to! 

Amazing Egyptians

A little taster of the song, 'Amazing Egyptians' that Year 4 performed so well in our class assembly. 

Spelling Spectacles 

We LOVE using our new 'spelling spectacles' to help us check and correct our spellings, after we do a piece of writing...

Longboats

We are really enjoying learning all about the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons in our topic, 'Helmets, Beards and Horns.' We recently learnt about the magnificent Viking longboats and made our very own! They look great hanging up in our classroom. 

Snap Science

At the end of last term we really enjoyed having a camera crew from Snap Science film our science lesson. The children were fantastic and blew everyone away! 

Our Visitors!

We are very happy and excited to welcome Mr Roughan and Miss Chaytor, who are student teachers from the University of Hertfordshire. They will be spending every Thursday and Friday with us until Christmas, and will then be back in March where they will be spending every day with us! Welcome to Willow Class! 

Key Steps Gymnastics Competition

On Monday 23^rd May, 6 of Willow class went to Sele School to take part in a gymnastics competition with local schools from Hertford and Ware. The children worked very hard leading up to the competition, practising during their lunch and at homes. Their hard work paid off as they came third place; receiving a bronze medal.

Well done guys!

Trip to Rye Meads!

We have just returned from our class trip to Rye Meads bird sanctuary; what a fun-filled and exciting day it was!. The day started with some pond dipping where we looked closely at some of the invertebrates that live within the habitat. The second half of the day consisted of being real bird watchers and looking at ways to identify particular birds and their preferred environment, whilst also exploring local food chains within the habitat.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our day. The rain did not dampen our spirits or our enthusiasm for learning! 

Land, Sea, Sky

We have had a wonderful first week back, getting stuck into our new topic which is all about living things and their habitats. I wanted the children to create animal portraits using charcoal and texture. The children developed their contrasting skills and were able to use 'light' and 'shade' within their pieces.

I am absolutely blown away by the outstanding work that they produced. 

Space to Earth Challenge! 

This week we were lucky enough to join our school in the 'Space to Earth Challenge' where we aimed to run the distance from the international space centre to earth; we did just that! The children really got stuck in and all tried their very best. They worked together as a team and encouraged each other throughout the afternoon which was wonderful to see and an absolute privilege to be apart of. A massive 'thank you' from Willow Class to the Friends for organising such a fantastic event; much fun was had by all! 

Year 4 Trip To Brancaster!

We have just got back from our wonderful residential trip to Brancaster in Norfolk. We had so much fun taking part in many activities and learning about the area and the habitats that live in them. We got very muddy (some more than others!) in the Coastal Safari where we explored the salt marshes; we recapped our knowledge on the Romans and partook in a battle; we went on a discovery trail where we walked along the beautiful Norfolk coast and battled our way through the reed beds which actually make up 5% of the reed beds in the UK and finally we went on a nature trail at the majestic National Trust property 'Holkham Hall'. 

Flash, Bang! 

We are all really enjoying our new topic, 'Flash, Bang!' where we have been looking at how sound is produced and travels. In the next few weeks we will be going on to explore electricity! 

Last week, we used our enquiry and research skills to see how sound travels through a medium. We used string and paper cups to make string telephones and then went outside to see if they would work! 

We found out that the sound travelled through the medium if the string was pulled tight but that the sound did not work if their was a knot in the string; It stopped the vibrations! 

Helmets, Beards and Horns!

From creating our own 'Missing' posters, researching and then writing reports on the Viking Longship to making our own fantastic Viking longboats, we have been very busy this half term learning through our topic 'Helmets. Horns and Beards'. 

Here are some of the pictures from this half term, in Willow Class! 

Dahl Delights

We have really been enjoying our topic 'Dahl Delights' and have been incredibly busy doing lots of learning, whilst also having lots of fun!

Here are some of the exciting things we have been doing: We have skilfully created BFG dream catchers; we have thought about our own dreams and written incredible autobiographical accounts for our beautiful 'dream bottles'; we have made a 'lonely hearts advert' for the BFG who is looking for a girlfriend and we have also created our own Roald Dahl illustrations, in the style of Quentin Blake!