Christmas Fun!

Week beginning 07.12.20

This week we have been having some Christmas fun! We enjoyed a Christmas lunch as a class and had some surprise visitors too!

Fitness

Week beginning 30.11.20

The children are really enjoying their 9 week Fitness programme led by West Lancs School Partnership. They have focused on running, balancing, jumping and stretching. See how hard they are working below! Very impressive. 

Paralympians 

Week beginning 30.11.20

As part of our Jigsaw PSHE unit of Celebrating Differences, this week we discussed and researched about Paralympians. The children chose a specific paralympian to focus on and created an award for them. The children independently decided what award they wanted to give them and why they believed this. They produced some fantastic work!

Roman Forts

Week beginning 23.11.20

This week in History, we have been looking at Roman forts. The children used an online resource to create a fort and learn why the Romans chose specific factors such as a headquarters. They then created their own fort and explained why they chose certain parts to their design. 

Conductor or Insulator?

Week beginning 16.11.20

In Science this half term, we are learning about electricity. Children in Falcons, have really enjoying beginning to use and explore the electrical circuit components. They are using accurate symbols and starting to investigate different factors. This week, we looked at whether various materials were conductors or insulators. The children presented and recorded their own results and finally, wrote a conclusion about their findings. 

Remembrance Day

Week beginning 09.11.20

This week in Shared Reading, we have focused on non-fiction texts based on Remembrance Day. After various discussion about the content and vocabulary used, the children chose their favourite piece of information. They then learnt this fact off by heart and as a class, we performed our new knowledge to educate others. 

I was very proud of how respectful the children in Falcons have been this week, especially during our two minute silence on Wednesday. 

Lest we forget.

Roman Mosaic Designs

Week beginning 09.11.20

This week in DT, we looked at Roman mosaic inspired designs (linking to our History unit). The children have sketched some fantastic patterns to help them gather ideas for their cushion we will be making at the end of our unit. 

Christmas - Matthew and Luke

Week beginning 09.11.20

In RE, we are looking at the how the nativity story is recorded in the Bible. This story is only recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. During one of our lessons, we looked at how Luke records the Song of Mary 'The Magnificat'.

The children used the words of 'The Magnificat' and interpreted them with illustrations, explaining why they chose to represent them this way.

Athletics

Week beginning 09.11.20

At the start of Autumn 2 in PE, we have been focusing on quick reactions and rapid acceleration. We tested various static positions to answer the investigation question - 'Which is the best way to start a race?' We then used our findings to practise our preferred strategy when passing an object using a push pass in a relay race. 

An Interview with Julius Caesar

Week beginning 02.11.20

This week, we began our History topic on Ancient Rome and The Romans. We began by focusing on Julius Caesar and his attempted invasions on Britain. As a class, we created questions that could be asked in a interview. In pairs, the children then created detailed answers to the questions. Finally, we conducted an interview with Julius Caesar. Please enjoy our finished product!

Recycled T-Shirt Bags

Week beginning 19.10.20

Here are our recycled bags made out of t-shirts! We have used all the skills we have learnt in our textiles topic this half term!

Descriptive Poetry

Week beginning 19.10.20

During the final week of Autumn 1, we have been looking at descriptive poetry using figurative language. As a class, we chose to focus on winter settings. We created fantastic poems using: similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, expanded noun phrases and alliteration. We have also performed them for you to watch!

A letter from Rome!

Week beginning 12.10.20

This week, we used all our knowledge gained from our study of Rome to write a letter to a friend. In this letter, we are on holiday in Rome and describe all the fantastic human and physical features! The children could recall and retain a range of information, they were inquisitive and always wanted to find out more and extend their knowledge. Well done!

Child-led Worship

Week beginning 12.10.20

This half-term, children from KS2 have been leading Worship to our bubble. This has included planning and preparing resources! The children have delivered fantastic Worships consisting of the following topics: celebrating diversity, Harvest, life journeys, our Christian Values and current events. During the delivery, children included: key questions for discussion, a Bible story, a hymn and a prayer. Fantastic! 

Music Signing

Week beginning 05.10.20

In Music, we have been learning sign language to the song ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ by Bon Jovi. These children volunteered to perform the signs to the rest of the class. They did fantastic!! 

Comment t’appelles-tu?

Week beginning 28.09.20

This week in French, the children learnt how to spell their names using the French alphabet. They tried very hard to pronounce the letters correctly! 

Super Sowing!

Week beginning 21.09.20

In Textiles (Art), the children have been practising various sewing stitches. We have focused on: weaving, back stitch and cross stitch. The children even learnt how to thread and tie a sewing needle! These skills will help the children when they create their ‘t-shirt bags’ at the end of this unit. 

Light! 💡

Week beginning 14.09.20 

Our focus for this half term in Science is light. We have carried out various investigations including: testing different opaque and transparent materials to create a lightproof den, using CDs and a torch to investigate how light travels and creating periscopes to see if light is reflected at the same angle. The children worked very well practically in groups, asking relevant questions and creating predictions / conclusions. 

Handwriting Focus

Week beginning 07.09.20

Since returning to school in September, we currently have a continuous whole school focus on handwriting. In Year 5 and 6 we have been trying hard to form all our letters accurately when joining. Here is some of our fantastic efforts! 😊

Worship Area

Week beginning 02.09.20

During our first three days back at school, we completed some activities to incorporate in our Worship area. Here are some examples of the activities:

1) All One Body - writing things we are proud of about ourselves and writing things that we would like to focus on as a target for the year. 

2) Creating a prayer tree that includes chosen Bible verses, prayers and blessings. 
3) Good News Activity - spreading our good news on a paper chain. 
4) God’s world, my world - choosing a place in our world (using a map) and finding/researching a fact about that country. 

RE Visit

Week beginning 09.03.20

On Tuesday, we had a visit from Emma (local preacher), a friend of Banks Methodist School and Chapel. We retold and discussed the Easter story focusing on different events such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Palm Sunday. We even learnt about Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit visited the Disciples’ to spread Jesus’ message in different languages. Emma then washed a member of our classes’ feet as Jesus washed the Disciples feet to highlight the value of being humble. Finally, we learnt about various Easter traditions and asked fantastic questions to deepen our knowledge and understanding.

The Only One We've Got...

Week beginning 02.03.20

To celebrate World Book Day, we spent the week learning about and reciting a poem. We chose a poem based on Global Warming due to our enthusiasm and passion for this topic. Due to prior learning in Shared Reading, Geography and English we could extend and share our knowledge during discussions. We performed our poem confidently during our family assembly on Friday, including actions and expressions. Well done to all the children!

World Book Day

Week beginning 02.03.20

The children came dressed in fantastic costumes on World Book Day! During the day, we shared our enthusiasm for a range of different books. Some of our children even came dressed inspired by topics studied in lessons - an eco-activist (Global Warming topic) and evacuees (book study on 'Goodnight Mister Tom')! 

Global Warming Debate

Week beginning 24.02.20

This week, we have been looking at balanced arguments in English with Miss Sufferin. As a class we explored the different points for and against global warming, and discussed the different positives and negative effects that occur due to it. We wrote about the causes of global warming, the effects of it and what people can do to prevent it from getting worse.  We performed a class debate to showcase a balanced argument and to see how a debate is ran, we then based our guided and independent writing on this balanced argument to give the points we have learnt throughout the week in a formal way.

3D Sculpture

Week beginning 10.02.20

Following on from our clay sculptures, this week we created our sculptures using a range of materials. We followed our designs well and used different tools and techniques that we had practiced in our Art lessons. 

Trip to Broadhursts

Week beginning 10.02.20

This week, we also visited a local bookstore called Broadhursts. The children were fascinated exploring the different floors of the building, even including the spooky attic! We learnt that the book shop used to be a hospital and heard some tales about operations that used to take place! The children then explored the store and found lots of exciting books including ones we have read in class (some even returning the following weekend)! 

Trip to the Atkinson

Week beginning 10.02.20

This week, we visited the Atkinson as part of our cultural capital trips. We visited the library on site and chose books of different genres. We also discussed the process of becoming a library member. We then explored the museum exhibits there including learning about and discussing information about our local area (linking to our previous topic). The children were very well behaved representing our school, well done!

Clay Modelling

Week beginning 03.02.20

Our DT focus this half term is sculpture. This week we created a clay model of our designs before we create our larger scale sculptures next week. Our sculpture focus is an object that represents Banks Methodist Primary School. The children have created some excellent models that consist of a: cross, tree of wonders, Bible, hand and the word 'resilient'. We worked hard exploring different techniques and tools such as rolling, hollow making, squeezing, scratching, pinching and smoothing. We are looking forward to painting our clay sculptures!

Trip to Southport Beach

Week beginning 03.02.20

On Monday, we visited Southport Beach with children from Penguins. We really enjoyed exploring our local area (including the mini-bus ride) to launch our picture book text focus 'Flotsam'. We were fortunate enough to find a message in bottle that asked us to take pictures of our location and send back out to sea again for someone else to find. We worked in groups to take pictures of Southport in different layouts/orientations. Back in class, we used our experiences to write different poems about the beach. We are going to include our poems in the bottle too! We are looking forward to sharing our poems with you and to going on our two Capital Culture trips next week!

Public Speaking Event

Week beginning 27.01.20

Over the last few weeks, we have been creating speeches as part of our TaRDiS (Tarleton and Rural District Schools) Public Speaking Enrichment Event at Hoole St. Michael's. Our speeches were based on the question, 'Who is the greatest Olympian?' We focused on performance techniques such as: gestures, eye contact, posture and expression. Well done to Isla, Jazmine and Demi (class winner and runners up) who represented our school and presented a well structured argument as to why Ellie Simmonds is the greatest Olympian. 

Earth and Space

Week beginning 27.01.20

This week in Science, we looked at the phases of the Moon. We recapped how the Moon orbits the Earth and how the Sun's light reflection causes different parts of the Moon to light up. The different parts are created due to the Moon's movement. We then explored the phases further by creating them out of biscuits. 

We also explored how shadows are created. We modelled this by creating sun dials and used the light to create shadows and explain why the differ in size and position. We could answer questions asked well to challenge our thinking.

TASA Team Initiative Challenge

Week beginning 20.01.20

This week, we all took part in the TASA Team Initative Challenge at Tarleton Academy. We had a very enjoyable (but muddy) morning completing different challenges against the clock whilst taking advantage of our outdoor environment. Some of the challenges we completed consisted of: toxic waste, spider web, magic carpet and the matrix. We tried hard working as a team, developing our speaking and listening skills.

Small School Athletics Events

Week beginning 13.01.20

On Tuesday afternoon, we took part in our KS2 small school sportshall competition. We enjoyed completing a variety of indoor track and field athletic events. These events included: relay, speed bounce, triple jump, long jump, vertical jump and javelin. The children tried extremely hard and represented the school fantastically. Well done!

Tuesday 

Week beginning 06.01.20

This week, the whole school have been studying the picture book - 'Tuesday by David Wiesner' in our Shared Reading lessons. In Falcons, our big question was 'Who or what do the animals represent?' We explored this by analysing the events and characters in the book through discussions. We then delve deeper focusing upon the clues and illustrations. During the week, we each took a page from the book to focus upon. We then used our interpreted ideas to recreate the illustration in the perspective of the following week (when the pigs invade the town). We finally created a news report to share our ideas gathered. We hope you enjoy it!

Christmas Dinner

Week beginning 16.12.19

On Thursday, we had our Christmas Dinner. We really enjoyed getting served by the staff! It was also lovely to sit as a class and share our excitement for Christmas.

Baking Muffins

Week beginning 16.12.19

This week, we baked our muffins to finish our 'food' DT topic. The children worked very sensibly in groups, weighing out ingredients accurately (year 5/6 scaling up) and following a recipe hygienically and safely. We followed our individual designs (personalized by adding extra fillings) and evaluated our final products including identifying skills we demonstrated and things we would change. We finally made a 3D box from a net to take our muffins home. Yummy!

Science Week

Week beginning 16.12.19

This week, all of KS2 completed various experiments based around our topic of his half-term 'Materials'. 

Year 3 and 4 explored the formation of soil from our school grounds and compared this to a sample of sand. They also investigated states of matter around the classroom and grouped them in solids, liquids and gases. Reversible changes were also analysed including boiling water, freezing water and melting ice cubes. We then used this knowledge of evaporation and condensation to explain the water cycle including the creation of a continuous process wheel.

Year 5 and 6 explored ways of separating various materials that include filtering, magnetism and sieving. They also investigated the particular uses of everyday materials by creating a shelter, the children did well explaining the reasoning behind their choices. Reversible changes were also analysed including boiling water, freezing water and melting ice cubes. We then used this knowledge to compare an irreversible change by conducting a chemical reaction between bicarb of soda and vinegar.

The children worked extremely hard by displaying teamwork, asking questions to extend their knowledge and using excellent scientific vocabulary. 

Goodnight Mister Tom 

Week beginning 02.12.19

On Wednesday, we were fortunate enough to watch our local High School (Tarleton Academy) perform the Christmas production. The show was fantastic, we were all mesmerized! The acting inspired us for our own Christmas production and to study the text after the Christmas break. Well done to all involved! 

The Nowhere Emporium

Week beginning 18.11.19

This week, we began our four week English topic that focuses on suspense texts. We our studying the book 'The Nowhere Emporium' by Ross MacKenzie. The children have been fascinated by the vocabulary and language used. Our classroom has become alive with imagination, discussing the setting, events and characters. I can not wait to see the fantastic writing we produce!

Road Safety

Week beginning 18.11.19

On Friday, we had a visitor in our classroom to discuss all about being safe on the roads (including being pedestrians, cyclists and passengers in motor vehicles). The talk was particularly important for our Year 6's as they move on to High School. We asked great questions, listened well and even measured ourselves to see if we needed a booster seat (under 135cm)! 

Geometry

Week beginning 11.11.19

This week, we started our learning about shape. On Friday we focused on 3D shapes, reintroducing shape names and exploring the different properties. We then built physical models of the shapes from net form to deepen our understanding.

Diversity and Acceptance Week

Week beginning 11.11.19

Our school focus this week has been exploring the terms 'Diversity and Acceptance'. In worship, we have been discussing these topics and sharing our opinions. In Shared Reading, we have been studying a poem called 'I am who I am' - reinforcing the message that it is important to be different and unique. In English, we then created cinquain poems sharing our experiences of diversity and tolerance (focusing upon using powerful vocabulary and structure). Falcon children were very mature this week, well done!

Volcano Talk

Week beginning 04.11.19

In our Shared Reading lesson, we have been looking at a Non-Fiction and Literal Text about Volcanoes. We discussed and found retrieval information, analysed vocabulary and compared evaluative responses. Our school was then fortunate enough to receive a visit from a vulcanologist. We all really enjoyed the talk, asking imaginative questions and participating in engaging discussions. From our new knowledge gained, we are going to write an explanation text on volcanoes next week. 

Power of Imagery

Week beginning 14.10.19

This week, we have studying the power of imagery through poetry. We generated fantastic writing focus ideas and grammar examples about a forest setting. Towards the end of the week, we then created a class poem using all of our amazing ideas!

Netball Tournament

Week beginning 14.10.19

Recently, our class have taken part in several netball tournaments at Tarleton Academy. We played against other small/medium schools in our cluster. We displayed teamwork, enthusiasm and resilience. Our resilience paid off and we scored our first goal! Well done everybody :-) 

Circulatory System

Week beginning 07.10.19

We have been learning about the main parts of the human circulatory system (heart, lungs, body, blood vessels and blood). We learnt about how the system provides us with oxygen and the different transportation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. We then developed this understanding by creating blood in various stages (plasma, minerals, red blood cells and white blood cells). We all worked very hard in our year groups.

Sarah Taylor

Week beginning 30.09.19

This half term our Art focus is drawing and we have been studying the work of Sarah Taylor. Her specialism is drawing and painting animals and focuses her style upon geometric shapes, bright colours and the eyes. Sarah believes the eyes should be the first focal point when sketching as they give character to our creations. We have created our own drawings exploring movement, perspective and shading.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Week beginning 23.09.19

This week we have been looking at food chains and food webs. We discussed and interpreted a food chain as a class and identified the producers, consumers, predators and prey. We understood that the producer produces energy and this energy is passed (consumed) between the consumers. The apex predator is at the top of the food chain/web and cannot be eaten. We then received a scenario in our tables about the decline of the song thrush. We constructed our own food web that included this bird (identifying the producers, consumers and predator) and answered questions based on our findings.

Creating Algorithms

Week beginning 16.09.19

In Computing, we have been looking at precise instructions and the impact of this on our final product. We discussed the different symbols (linked to Purple Mash) that we could use when creating algorithms. After the discussions, we put our ideas into practice and created algorithms (in pairs) to follow when using our trim trail apparatus.  

Nutrients and Water Transportation

Week beginning 09.09.19

This week in Science lessons, we have been looking at the nutrients and water transportation system. We learnt about all the different body parts and their functions used. On Friday, we drew around ourselves to create life-sized models. We then labelled our body parts and discussed the processes used.