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Darley Dene Primary School

Teaching & Learning Weekly Summary

Below you will find our weekly teaching and learning summary to find out how we develop and enrich your child's teaching and learning whilst they are with us.

Week ending What we have been learning about
26/04/24 Busy week in the Jays class and I am so glad to be back with you all after my short time away. This week the children have been exploring The Lonely Beast and writing some fictional letters. We have been working on our counting, focusing on 2s. The children have been learning about what it means to be a good friend in our PSHE lessons. They enjoyed thinking of fictional characters that are good friends.
19/04/24

Welcome back everyone. The children have settled in well after the Easter break and we have introduced the children to their new topics and they are excited to  hear they will be making vegetable kebabs this term and learning about Kenya and the animals that live there.
28/03/24 We are already at the end of the Spring term! This week the Jays focused on revision, ironing out any misconception the children might have had. The children had a wonderful visit from the author Andrew Weale this week. He really captivated them with his story! The children have been doing some crafting, focusing on fine-motor skills and spacial planning- a fun way to wrap up the term. The children have really earned this holiday! Have a wonderful break!
22/03/24 This week the Jays have been exploring poetry in our new book Out and About by Shirley Hughs. We have been focusing on rhyming words. We had a visit to the Addlestone library. The children had the opportunity to explore some of the books and the wonderful librarians encouraged the children to join the library. The children have been revisiting their maths learning from this term and working on concepts that they found a bit tricky. In science, the children have been exploring animal adaptations, how animals are suited to their environments! They had lots of fun designing their own animals and environments. The children have been exploring weather and learning to identify weather and think about how it affects people.
15/03/24 This week has been a very busy week in the Jays classroom! This week, we spent some time talking about the weather and how it looks in different countries. We linked that learning to the different kinds of animals we might find in various parts of the world. We have also been reading an exciting new book this week titled 'Lila and the Secret of the Rain'. The children are learning all about Kenya, where the story is set. They have produced some wonderful writing relating to the importance of rain. The children are learning about capacity in our maths lessons. We are mainly focusing on vocabulary such as; full, nearly full, empty and nearly empty. We spent our week preparing for our class assembly, which was a great success. What a turn out! The children really enjoyed learning the songs we sang, You are My Sunshine and Counting in 2s. They worked very hard on their van Gogh Sunflower pieces and we were so proud of them for sharing their favourite animal fact in front of so many adults! Thank you for joining us.
08/03/24 What a week it has been in the Jays classroom. We have had a wonderful time exploring literature during Book Week. The children designed their own bookmarks and wrote their own books which will go into our book corner. We read two wonderful books by Rachel Bright and even decorated our door to match her book 'The Whale Who Wanted More'. The children worked on their measuring skills, mainly focusing on weight and length. We spent some time discussing the weather and how it impacts us. The children drew some wonderful sunflowers to demonstrate their learning about Vincent van Gogh.
01/03/24 What a week it has been in the Jays classroom! In maths this week we have been exploring measuring. We spent some time measuring things around our classroom. The children really enjoyed getting to know their space on a deeper level. We are still reading Leaf. The children have written lovely letters of advice and have done some fabulous drawing. This story links to our science topic where we are diving into the wonderful world of animals and their groupings. The children have been taking part so beautifully. I can really see the passion some of them have for animals. There is an exciting art project happpening at Darle Dene. The Jays have been tasked with drawing various Afrian animals - something I could talk about forever! Thier drawns will enventually make a collaborative art display. Have a wonderful weekend!
23/02/24 Welcome back everyone! We have started Spring two off with a bang and dived into our learning. We have a new Power of Reading book, Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann. This story picks up on themes such as the environment, prejudice against those who seem different and learning to communicate, illustrated in a way that combines the naturalistic and the fantastic. The children have been using our writing sessions to make predictions about the book and discuss their likes and dislikes. In mathematics we are focusing on numbers up to 50, counting, place value, numbers lines, addition and subtraction. Our science lessons have been lots of fun! We have been learning about different kinds of animals and what makes them unique. In our art lesson the children were introduced to Vincent van Gogh and we made some beautiful sunflowers. Please take note that Monday 26th February is the Book Fair and Friday 1st March is the Comet House Cake Sale!
09/02/24 This week the Jays visited The Look Out Centre! They had a wonderful time playing in the water-play area, learning about astronauts and stars in the Space Dome and exploring in the science room.They were all such super stars, the whole class earned bronze stickers! Monday was 'No pens day' so we focusd on using words to express our thoughts. In math we worked subtraction within 20 and the Jays articulated their findings very well. On wednesday, the children did some reflective writing based on the trip. We also had show and tell in connection with Childrens mental Health Week. The children had such wonderful stories to share. Thursday was a busy day, we started wrapping up our Spring 1 learning. I hope you all have a lovely, well-earned, half term break!
02/02/24 This week the Jays have been exploring the concepts of cost, profit and loss for our Enterprise Week. We made some lovely flour 'stress balls' to sell at the NSPCC charity market day. The children have also been learning about doubles and near doubles during our maths lessons. They have been working with manipulatives on the mat during circle time to develop their understanding in a hands-on way. The children explored informal writing. They used their understanding of phonics and drew their knowledge from the pervious weeks lesson to write an informal letter to their new Pen Pal - an alien from outerspace!
26/01/24 The Jays got a special delivery this week! A letter from Beegu was delivered to our classroom. The children used their phonics and writing knowledge to compose a letter back to her. The children worked on addition and subtraction within 20. We explored everyday materials in science, looking at their properties and categorising them accordingly. The children have been learning about chime bars in their music lessons, they have really been enjoying playing along to the beat. The children planned and created abstract clay sculptures in the style of Barbara Hepworth.
19/01/24 The Jays have had lots of fun this week! We have been looking at famous space explorers such as Mae Jemison and her influence in history. Beegu is still our literacy focus this week. In one of our writing sessions, we used our phonics knowledge and wrote sentences relating to astronauts and space. The children developed their numeracy skills by working with ten frames and exploring numbers up to 19.
12/01/24 This week in the Jays class, we introduced the children to space! We've read about a little alien named Beegu and we've looked at some famous astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Mae Jemison. The children have been working on their letter and number formation and practicing some addition skills. In PE on Monday, the children had a fun gymnastics lesson and they worked on their catching skills on Friday. Well done on the first week Jays! Have a super weekend.
05/01/24 Welcome back everyone! It's been lovely to hear all about the children's Christmas break this week. The children met their new teacher, Miss Smit this week and Miss Smit looks forward to taking over on Monday fully. They have been writing about their holiday news and exploring the numbers 11,12 and 13. The week we finished off with PE team games in the hall.
15/12/23 Jays have had another lovely week filled with many Christmas activities. On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to watch a pantomine performance of Little Red Riding Hood. The children really enjoyed the show and sat beautifully throughout. On Wednesday, it was Christmas Jumper and lunch day, followed by watching the KS2 Christmas Concert. The children enjoyed pulling crackers, eating their roast lunch and listening to the songs the older children sang. In Maths this week, we have been continuing our shape unit. We looked at sorting both 2D and 3D shapes, and spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a square a square or what makes a circle a circle. The children impressed all the adults with their ability to explain their thinking. In writing, we have been looking at one of the main characters from our book 'Bear'. We discovered that she is a Brown Bear and have been researching and writing many facts to make our own Brown Bear Fact diaries. The children were even able to link in their since learning to explain that Brown Bears are mammals and are omnivores. Just a reminder that term finishes next week Tuesday at 1pm. Have a lovely weekend.
08/12/23 It has been a busy and performance-filled week in Jays! Thank you to all the parents who came to watch the Nativity. The children loved having you there and all the staff members were extremely proud of their effort and enthusiasm. In maths this week, we finished our unit on addition and subtraction. We explored different methods to subtract, including crossing out and using a number line. Today we moved onto our last unit for the term: shape. In writing, we finished and published our winter poems. Before moving on to exploring the characters in our new book. We learnt that one character is called Bear, and we thought all about her appearance. We discovered that she is a Brown Bear and decided to research and learn some facts about real Brown Bears. Next week on Wednesday, is Christmas jumper day and we look forward to seeing all the children's festive looks. Have a lovely weekend!
01/12/23 We love to sing and dance in Sparrows! This week we talked about how people use music to celebrate. Each day we were introduced to a new music family and got to explore some of the instruments. Over the week, we planned and wrote our own class chant style "song", talking about what we like to do and what makes our Sparrows class special. In Maths we have been practising and consolidating our number bonds to 5. Next week is our Nativity and we can not wait to see you all there! If you havent already got tickets, please talk with the office.
24/11/23 Jays have had another fantastic week of learning! In maths, we have been applying our adding skills to find all our number bonds to ten and have started exploring finding missing numbers. In writing, the children have been working extremely hard to re-wrtite our story of 'Mouse Needs a New House'. They carefully thought about their sentences and challeneged themselves to remember their capital letters and full stops. In Science, we applied our knowledge of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores to sort some animals. The children enjoy using all the terminology they have learnt to explain different facts about different animals. We have also been very busy practising our nativity. Please remember to send in costumes by next Wednesday. Have a wonderful weekend!
17/11/23 Jays have had a lovely week! In maths, we have been exploring finding number bonds within ten and to ten. We used different types of maths equipment to exploring writing number sentences in an ordered way. In writing, we have been working on retelling our book 'A new house for Mouse'. The children have worked really hard on saying their sentences out loud before writing. To further our learning of carnivores, omnivores and herbivores in science we looked at what different animals eat and discussed what makes them fit into the different categories. In RE, we have been thinking about families to help us learn about what Jesus' family is like in The Nativity story. Throughout the week the children have also enjoyed practising their Nativity songs and dances. Have a wonderful weekend!
10/11/23 It has been a busy week of learning in Jays this week. In maths, we have continued to explore our part whole models and have been discovering that we can write four number sentences from one part whole. In writing, we have been thinking about which words need capital letters and this week we focused on names. Our History topic for this term is all about toys past and present. This week we discussed what we already knew about toys and looked at images of toys from the past. We progressed our Science learning about animals this week, to think about what they eat and the words used to sort them - carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. The children have also enjoyed starting to learn their Nativity songs and have blown all the adults away with their enthusiasm and energy. Next week is antibully week and Children in need, on Monday the children can wear odd socks and Friday is a mufti day. Have a lovely weekend!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
03/11/23 Jays have enjoyed a week filled with lots of Halloween and Fireworks Night inspired activities. In maths, we continued our learning of parts and wholes to start writing addition number sentences. We create our own spooky potions in cauldrons and wrote number sentences to show how many ingredients we added. In writing, we started our new book all about a little mouse and a giant apple. The children became excellent detectives, predicting what might happen in the story and how little mouse was going to get her apple into her house. In our choosing time learning, we made colourful fireworks pictures using cardboard tubes and paints, made our own magic wands and wrote out ingredients for a spooky spell. Next week Monday we are looking forward to our Diwali and Bollywood dancing workshop. Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the fireworks!
20/10/23 It has been a busy final week of the half term in Jays class. In writing, we became fact reporters and wrote sentences all about what lions in the Savannah do. We learnt that the lionesses hunt and that their favourite animals to eat are zebra, wild boar and wildebeest. In Maths, we moved onto our new unit of Addition and Subtraction. We spent this week exploring the idea of the whole and parts and learnt how to use a part whole model. In PSHE, we thought all about how it feels to be proud. We then drew pictures of a moment we felt proud of. The children carefully thought about this, and drew some lovely pictures. Have a lovely half term!
13/06/23 This week in Jays we have been exploring our book 'One day on our blue planet in the safari' further by exploring what different animals in this habitat do. We watched some videos, discussed different doing words and rehearsed our sentences before writing. All the adults were very impressed by the childrens effort as they really tried to challenge themselves. In Maths, we finished our place value unit by looking at ordering numbers and using number lines. These skills will help us when we start addition and subtraction next week. In Art, we explored different ways of adding texture and colour to paper ready for making our own animal collages next week. We looked at potato printing, using alternate brushes and exploring new techniques with tissue paper. In RE, we started exploring the creation story and found out that a special book to Christians is the bible. We then all thought about books that were special to us. Have a fantastic weekend and see you all next week for the last week of this half term!
06/10/23 We have had another lovely week of learning in Jays class. In maths, we used our knowledge of numbers to compare numbers using the words and symbols greater than, less than and equal to. We were really impressed with how well the children grasped this concept and used maths equipment to support their learning. In writing, we have moved onto our new Power of Reading book 'One day on our blue planet in the Savannah'. This week we started by exploring the different animals found in the Savannah and writing sentences about what they look like and how they move. The children worked hard to remeber their capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We continued improving our ball skills in PE, looking at using racquets and working on our kicking skills. In Art, we have been looking at artist Clare Youngs, who uses mark making to create colourul patterned animals. This week we collected and made our own natural painting tools to find different creative ways to make marks. Have an amazing weekend and see you all next week!
29/09/23 It has been a busy week of learning in Jays class! In writing, we finished our first book of the half term, discovering that Handa gives her friend an unexpected present of tangerines. We thought about all about presents, when we receive them and give them and how that makes people feel. We used this inspiration to draw and write about a present we would give to someone special in our lives. In maths, we put our counting skills to the test to find one more, one less and to count backwards. We were really impressed by the childrens accuracy and love of maths. In science, we discovered that scientists sort animals into groups, we looked at what was similar about these groups of animals. We looked at different types of places in Geography and discovered that some features are human and some are physical. Have a lovely weekend!
22/09/23 It has been another lovely week in Jays class. In writing, we continued reading our Power of Reading book to discover that lots of cheeky animals had stolen fruit out of Handa's basket. Through some drama using masks and using our 'who, doing what' sentence structure we reenacted the story. In maths, we started practising some of the core skills needed for adding, such as counting on and finding one more. As our week focused on lots of animals we used inspiration from artist Steven Brown to make our own rainbow animal paintings. Remeber next week Thursday is our open event and have a lovely weekend!
15/09/23 What a lovely week we have had in Jays class! This week we explored counting in different ways from counting sets of objects to counting out groups of items. The children enjoyed exploring the different types of maths equipment and we were very impressed with their enthusiasm. In writing, we continued our learning of what makes a good sentence, specifically looking at full stops. We also started our first Power of Reading text for the half term Handa's Surprise. The children really enjoyed exploring the different types of tropical fruit, from describing them with interesting words like sour to carefully drawing them in art. Have a great weekend!
08/09/23 Jays have had a fantastic first week in Key Stage One. All the adults have been very impressed with how the children have been settling into their new classroom! In maths, we have started exploring how to sort objects. We thought about how some objects can be sorted in more than one way. In writing, we have been looking at what makes a good sentence, our capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. In the afternoons, we have been exploring lots of choosing activities , from drawing habitats for science and practising our cutting skills to make our own jay birds with colourful feathers. We can't wait for another week of learning, have a lovely sunny weekend!
Darley Dene Primary School

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