Welcome to Eagle class! Our teacher is Mrs Thomas, who is really good at maths and sport (especially football), and is really keen to make the whole school as active as possible!     

• Our curriculum map - find out about our current topics
• Our latest school newsletter
• Meet our school councilors, Alfie and Destiny

Home learning ideas:

• All of the maths we’re doing this term is dependent on quick recall of tables facts, so it would be brilliant if you could work on this. Focus on one table at a time and try: 
  • Making-up rhymes to help remember number facts (“4 x 6 is 24, bears growl and lions roar!”) 
  • Looking for numbers in that table in the world around you - on doors, car number plates, in phone numbers or when you’re out shopping. 
  • Writing-out tables with finger paints, chalk or water-on-tarmac, or make them from playdoh. 
  • Chanting, singing, whispering... Say tables out loud together whenever you have the chance.
• Each week we are set spellings to learn. Click here for guidance on strategies you can use to support your child in learning these at home.  
• If anyone in your family has ever been to Brazil (or if you know anyone who lives there), it would be great to share their experiences. If not, then the BBC Bitesize site at www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zp9sydm#zj9mtrd is a good place to start.
• There are lots of opportunities to investigate electricity at home - which items in our house use electricity? What do they use it for? What makes them safe to use - and make sure your children understand how dangerous mains power can be. There are also resources to support this topic on the BBC Bitesize site at www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zj44jxs

Our latest news:

• We rounded-off the year with our Leavers Trip. On Tuesday morning we headed down to the leisure park for a fun bowling session, followed by lunch at Frankie and Benny’s. There were lots of laughs and lots of memories shared, and it was a great way to spend our final full day of primary school. We ended the term with an emotional final assembly, reflecting on all that we have achieved during our time at Bedwell and looking forward to the amazing adventures that lie ahead!
 

 
• The whole of KS2 came together this term to perform Oliver!, and we were all incredibly proud of the show that we created. After weeks of rehearsals, practice, choreography and construction we were finally ready to perform on 16th and 17th July. Across three performances, we sold over 340 tickets, and were blown-away by the positive feedback, cheers, laughs and applause that we received. It was brilliant to be able to put on a show on this scale, and it could only take place as a result of a huge amount of time, energy and effort from the whole school community.
 

 
• Everyone in Year 5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Bikeability project, which took place in May. Led by instructors from the HCC Cycling team, we all completed Level 1 training, learning to ride safely and control our bikes on the playground. The vast majority of us then progressed onto Level 2, which saw us heading out and about on local roads. As the week went on, each group went on longer and more complex rides, exploring local roads, learning to recognise potential dangers and getting used to riding on roads with other traffic. By the end of the week, 82 children had completed the course, and we were all presented with certificates and badges as a reward for our hard work.
 

 
• On 13th June, a group of 32 intrepid Year 6s set-off on this year’s PGL expedition. We spent 3 days at the adventure sports centre at Marchant’s Hill, trying out a huge range of activities that we would never be able to experience at home. Over the weekend, we took part in climbing, abseiling, zip wire, buggy building, archery and a tunnel trail - and it was great to so many of us taking on challenges and overcoming fears to make the most of every session. We also discovered lots of hidden talents and abilities that we would love to be able to explore further, with some of us showing expert marksmanship with an archery bow, while others showed amazing climbing skills on Jacob’s Ladder.
 

 
• The whole school got involved in this year’s Sports Week, which took place from 16th - 20th June. Across a packed week, we took part in three Sports Days, a huge range of taster sessions and lots of fantastic events run by local clubs and sporting organisations, as well as our brilliant Sports Days. You can find out more about what we got up to here.
 

 
• In March, we travelled into London, firstly to the Sealife Centre where we saw a huge range of species ranging from sea horses to sharks! Then, we walked across Westminster Bridge, viewing the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, before heading to the National Gallery, where we immersed ourselves in the incredible collection of priceless artwork.
  
 

 
• We organised a Girls Football Festival for International Women’s Day, with every girl in Years 5 and 6 taking part. It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm and enjoyment on display as we charged around the field! 
 

We have been learning about... 

Maths - Across all of our maths sets, a big focus this term was on measures. We completed lots of practical challenges to develop the ability to read scales precisely and measure mass, capacity and length. This also helped us to build an understanding of what 1kg or 1 litre ‘looks like’, so we can make sensible estimates and spot when answers just can’t be right. Those of us in Year 6 have also taken part in weekly Booster sessions, building our understanding and confidence, ready for our SATs in May.

English - In English, we’ve explored a variety of texts, and most recently, Wisp: A Story of Hope, where the children experimented with different sentence structures, effective vocabulary and abstract nouns. Check out two great examples below: 

A hazel glow shimmered across the inky, night sky. Dark rays of moonlight morphed into bright golden beams, which danced all around. People’s arms waved in majestic union. The heartbeat of a song echoed through the glowing camp, the fence was out of view – and so was sadness. Idris smiled softly. Golden Wisps orbited their owners, pulsing bright to the beat of the music. Hope filled the night air, but not just hope. 

A promise. A promise of a dream. 

The people felt hopeful. They felt love. They felt free… 

by Dillan 

Many days came, and many nights passed. Idris was eager to find his Wisp, yet none were to be seen. Well not for Idris anyway. Rememberings flew, twirled and danced in the inky sky, while Idris tasted the pull of the moonlight. Together they watched the pulsing Wisp release a thousand memories from years ago. Glistening upon the sky, the Moon brightened, leaving everyone in wonder. Together they felt love. Together they felt at peace. Yet, best of all, Idris felt hope. 

by Elyse

This term's topics

English - We will start the half-term by focussing on non-chronological reports, linking in with our trip to Harry Potter Studios by using Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as our core text. We will revise our understanding of layout features including bullet points, subheadings and captions, and will develop our use of conjunctions to link ideas. We will also explore different levels of formality that authors use, depending on who they are writing for. After that, we will return to fiction writing, using the Greek myth of Odysseus as our starting point. We will investigate on the use of figurative language and dialogue to introduce new characters and settings, and will then be using it to inspire our own work.

Maths - Our key focus for the next half-term will be fractions. We will use diagrams, models and practical tasks to ensure we really understand what a range of fractions mean and ‘look like’, and will then use these models to help us to compare and order mixed groups of fractions. From there, we will learn to add, subtract and multiply fractions, before beginning to explore mixed numbers and improper fractions (fractions worth more than 1). Finally, we will be linking fractions to their decimal and percentage equivalents and using all these skills to solve problems. Later in the term, we will also be learning to calculate the area and perimeter of shapes and investigating the properties of quadrilaterals.

Science - Our next science topic will see us investigating electricity. We will extend our understanding of conductors, insulators and batteries, and then learn to draw circuit diagrams using standard symbols. We will also be carrying out lots of practical work, developing our ability to draw conclusions from results and learning about the work of famous scientists like Faraday and Maxwell.

Humanities - We will be continue to explore the geography, people, cities and culture of Brazil, using photos, reports and video clips to help us to identify ways in which Brazil is similar and different to the UK. We will also learn about the huge range of environments found across the country, from massive cities to coastal regions, mountain ranges, farmland and rainforests. Finally, we will investigate Brazilian clothing, sport, music and food, tying in with our work in art and DT.

Take a look at our curriculum map for more information on our topics.