Squirrels Heath Primary School

 In year 1 this week for PSHE we have been thinking about how setting achievable goals for ourselves is a good way to get better at things. We thought about how well we have settled into year 1 and what things we think we can achieve in the next half term. The children came up with some wonderful ideas and they drew and wrote about them on stars. We will have these up on display in or near our classrooms to remind us of our goals.

  This term, Reception have been learning to listen to different environmental sounds. We have been using our voices and bodies to make musical rhythms and patterns and have been introduced to simple percussion instruments. Music is part of Expressive Arts and Design in the curriculum. We love to play musical instruments, sing and dance on the stage together during outside learning time.  Amos’ musical Memorial garden in the Big Playground is where we get to practise our drum skills at lunch time. You might have heard us! 

 This term, in music lessons, we have been learning to play the glockenspiel.  We have learnt a variety of tunes and even been able create some of our own.  As this week was our final week using the glockenspiel we started off playing a set piece of music, and then we were able to improvise.  Our finished pieces showed how far we have come and have also shown us what we can achieve when we are able to be creative and improvise. Take a look at some pictures of us rehearsing in our groups.

This week we have been learning about persuasive writing.  We have explored the features used and we have began writing our own. We were asked whether children should have mobile phones in school 🏫 and the arguments were strong for both sides.  We have been writing a speech with our ideas ready to deliver them to the class. Well done to everyone. 😀

In Reception we have been busy developing our fine motor skills. We enjoy drawing, painting, cutting, threading, shaping and squeezing playdough and building with construction toys. We love taking part in Dough Disco every week and exercising our hands to music.  Fine motor skills are very important as they help us to strengthen our muscles in our hands in preparation for writing. They are part of the Physical Development strand of the Early Years Curriculum.

 As part of our science topic we have been learning about the digestive system.  Last week we looked at the complete process and the organs that are involved with consuming, digesting and excreting our food.  However, this week we made our own digestive systems, to better understand the process.  It turned out to be very messy, but very fun.  It involved mashing up food and drink in our plastic bag stomachs, passing it through our small intestine (made from a pair of tights) and then finally excreting it through a cup.  You could hear our excitement throughout the whole school.  Please have a look at what we did.

 This week in year 6, we had a fun time dissecting our lamb’s hearts. We worked in teams to identify the different parts and despite the smell, we had a fantastic time.