Heartsease Primary Academy Newsletter - 4th December 2023

Office update

Head Lice

Please check your child's hair regularly for Head Lice, thank you.

Diarrhoea/Vomiting

Please be reminded that if you child has an episode of diarrhoea / vomiting they need to be at least 48 hours clear from the last episode before returning to school.

Weekly class updates

Nursery

This week in the Nursery we have listened to a story about Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light. We played a counting game with a dreidel. We have learned the words tall and short and have compared lots of different items to sort them into these groups. We had a look at different candles and talked about being safe with flames. We have had lots of fun decorating our Christmas trees. We are busy making cards, calendars and decorations. We are practising our Christmas songs for our performance next week. 

Ruby Class

This week in Maths, Key Stage 1 continued subtracting; Reception continued working on part-whole model; we also applied our maths to share the baubles and decorate our Christmas tree. In English, we started re-telling the Dogger story. We also drew and wrote thank you cards to Nick Miller who told us about Edith Cavell on our trip. We did weaving in DT, in preparation of making pop-up cards. In computing, we continued thinking about how to make groups for data handling. 

Reception - Jasper/Jade Classes

Reception have been reading 'Stickman' and talking about his feelings as he goes through the story. Practice is in full swing for our Christmas play and we enjoyed a visit on Monday from a wonderful Student drama company who put on a Pantomime performance of 'Jack and Beanstalk'. We are recapping the maths we have learnt this term and will enjoy looking at everyones Christmas jumpers on Christmas Jumper Day.

Year 1 - Onyx / Opal Classes

We have been practicing this week for nativity performances next week as well as vivisting Heartsease Church on Friday to reinforce learning around why Christians celebrate Christmas.

This week we learnt what seas and oceans surround the UK and what was the difference between different trees. In English we discussed the characters' feelings in the story, the Storm Whale. 

Year 2 - Aqua / Amber Classes

In Year 2 we are reading riddles and answering inference and sequencing questions. In maths we adding and subtracting numbers up to 100. In science we are learning about how to create a healthy plate with proteins, carbohydrates and plant-based food. 

We are also practising for our Christmas Performances next week.

Year 3 - Crystal / Coral Classes

Year Three have been using textiles for art. We have learnt that we can print our own design onto fabric using a collagraph and have been creating our own Mandela inspired designs. In science, we revised our rock learning and thought hard about how fossils are formed. Ask us why you don't find fossils in igneous rock. In history, we have started learning about the bronze age. They used copper and tin to make bronze. Do you think they still used stones?

Year 4 - Topaz / Garnet Classes

This week the preparations for Christmas have ramped up, as the practice for our concert next week continues. In English, we have been finishing up our adventure stories, putting the finishing touches on and ensuring that they are of the highest, most exciting quality. In maths, we have cracked open a brand new power maths book, delving deeper into the world of multiplication and division. In our art this week, year 4 have created their own 2-d artists mannequin and posed them in incredible poses. In science, we recapped and reviewed our unit on the states of matter, ensuring that we were using the correct scientific language.

Year 5 - Emerald / Sapphire Classes

This week started with a fun Monday afternoon watching a panto which the children totally enjoyed. In PE they played a team game where they had to describe a piece of equipment without saying what it was. Design Technology saw the children begin to make their harnesses that incorporate both fluorescent and reflective materials so that they would be safe on their bikes both during the day and at night. After making a poster based on all the aspects of different continents they had studied in Geography, the children are now focusing on the Ancient Egyptians in History. They have already explored the Athenians and how they believed in democracy now they are finding out why the theatre was important during this period in Greek history. Christmas is slowly getting nearer as is our Christmas Concert on 13th December at 3:30pm. All are welcome. 



Bees Knees Awards

• Ruby Class - Tommy - For being determined.
• Jade Class - Debora - For her enthusiastic contributions to class discussions.
• Jasper Class - Chester - For his kindness and caring attitude towards one of his friends who hurt themselves.
  
• Onyx Class - Paisley - For always working hard and helping others with their learning.
• Opal Class - Nathan - For trying hard to concentrate in Science and Geography.
• Aqua Class - Eeva - For writing in an interesting way on Geography with a "Did you know.....?" question.
• Amber Class - Bastian - For his beautiful singing in his solo part for our Christmas performance. Well done Bastian!
• Crystal Class - Grace - For working hard to improve her presentation across all subjects. It's been lovely to see you taking your time to focus on your handwriting and layout of your work. Well done, Crystal Class are proud of you!
• Coral Class - Ivy - Rose - For making such sensible choices in class and at playtimes. She has made wise decisions regarding what is best for herself and her learning and should be very proud of herself. Well done, Ivy-Rose!
• Topaz Class - Ethan - He continually shows a great focus and determination to do his best in every lesson. I was particularly impressed with his effort in writing this week. Wonderful!
• Garnet Class - Lexi - Louise - For displaying incredible confidence throughout maths this week, showing how great of an independent learner you can be.
• Emerald Class - Jenson - For working extremely hard on his maths by completing the challenges! He is always gives 100% effort in every task that he is given. Well done!
• Sapphire Class - Lilly - Mae - For always giving her best whatever she is asked to do (Mrs Marrison agreed whole heartily!)
• Diamond Class - Layla - Rose - For creating an amazing slideshow to summarise all her learning in Science, Well done
• Quartz Class - William - For his excellent work in writing. William has been working really hard in adding a wider range of punctuation to writing, including inverted commas for dialogue, to enhance his level of work.