Squirrels Heath Junior School

Year 5 Christmas signed singing! Year 5 have begun to learn how to sign the classic Christmas tune, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". The children have really embraced sign language as a powerful form of communication and expression. In the coming weeks, they will be rehearsing weekly in preparation for a filmed performance of the song to be posted nearer to the holidays!

  This week year 4 are beginning to use column subtraction for larger numbers.  In class, we are using counters to count out the starting number, called the minuend. Then we subtract the subtrahend, by physically taking counters away. If there are not enough, the children go to the next column and exchange! We do not call this borrowing anymore, as we don’t give it back...we exchange it, for example a Ten is changed into 10 Ones. Children can already explain the method, and solve multiple exchange calculations with zeros...we are very proud of their progress! 

This week, in science, Year 3 have been learning about static electricity.  They have been learning how it is produced, what it can be used for and if it can be dangerous.  Their experiments have included picking up tissue paper ghosts using static electricity created on a balloon, separating materials and even making hair stand on end. As a grand finale to the lesson the children could also see how they can bend water using static electricity. It was definitely an exciting lesson. See some of their pictures below.

Year 6 Over the last few weeks, Year 6 have been learning about 'Shelters' in Design & Technology. They have been researching the different types and the resources they can be made of. This has led them onto building their first structures, as a group. Here are 2 of the children explaining what they have been doing.  In DT last week year 6 made structures and tried to make them stay standing up. We used different materials and made different structures with: cardboard, straws, blu tac, tape and wire. Two of the groups made swings and some of us made shelters with different colours of pipe cleaners and straw. As a class, we looked at different designs such as awnings, bus stops, houses, rabbit hutches and even WW2 shelters.  By Layla Y6 Last week we all made shelters and I'm going to give you a quick guide on how they are made. We didn't use ordinary materials, we used, cardboard, straws and some others. My group came up with a design for a swing.  1 We got 5 straws,

 This week year 4 are beginning to use column subtraction for larger numbers.  In class, we are using counters to count out the starting number, called the minuend. Then we subtract the subtrahend, by physically taking counters away. If there are not enough, the children go to the next column and exchange! We do not call this borrowing anymore, as we don’t give it back...we exchange it, for example a Ten is changed into 10 Ones. Children can already explain the method, and solve multiple exchange calculations with zeros...we are very proud of their progress!