Autumn Term

English

This term in English has been full of dragons, castles and creativity. We wrote detailed character descriptions of Zog, focusing on his appearance and personality, and practised using expanded noun phrases and conjunctions to make our sentences more interesting.

Alongside this, we have been working hard to perfect our foundational writing skills — making sure every sentence begins with a capital letter, ends with a full stop, and includes clear finger spaces.

We also created our own versions of George and the Dragon, changing George from a mouse into an animal of our choice. Our imaginations certainly took flight.

Later in the term, we read The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and wrote diary entries from the princess’s point of view, thinking carefully about feelings, events and voice. We also enjoyed writing our own How to Train Your Dragon instructions and experimented with language and layout to create exciting shape poems.

It’s been a wonderfully busy and imaginative term.

Maths

In Maths this term, we have been busy developing our understanding of place value, addition and subtraction, and shape. We used tens and ones equipment to practically make numbers, helping us to understand the value of each digit in a two‑digit number.

We also learnt how to add and subtract two‑digit numbers and used these skills to solve a range of problems.

Our confidence is really growing.

During our shape unit, we explored the properties of both 2D and 3D shapes. We used our knowledge to solve riddles, describe shapes and even guess mystery shapes using clues.

It’s been a hands-on and exciting term of mathematical discovery.

Wider curriculum

Our topic this half-term has been Troublesome Dragons, and it has certainly lived up to its exciting name. We launched our learning with a dragon egg hunt in the forest. Each egg had a letter hidden inside, and when we worked together to unscramble them, they revealed a special clue that kick‑started our adventure.

A highlight of the term was our fantastic trip to Colchester Castle. We discovered who might have lived in a castle, explored its fascinating features and even had the chance to stand on the castle roof. It was an unforgettable experience that brought our learning to life.

We also completed our first 7 Before 7 promise of the year by taking part in an exciting singing flash mob at Clacton Shopping Village. It was a brilliant moment of teamwork, confidence and fun.

It’s been a magical and memorable topic full of curiosity, collaboration and plenty of dragon‑themed excitement.

Spring Term

English

This term we have been working really hard on our handwriting. We have been making sure our letters are formed correctly and that our writing is neat, clear and easy to read.

We also learnt all about Neil Armstrong’s moon landing and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space. Using what we discovered, we wrote thoughtful letters to Mae Jemison and created detailed non‑chronological reports about her life and achievements. We even became journalists for the day and wrote our own newspaper reports about Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing.

To inspire our creative writing, we read The First Hippo on the Moon by David Walliams and had great fun writing our own versions of the story, inventing brand‑new characters and adventures.

It’s been an exciting term full of curiosity, creativity and out‑of‑this‑world learning.

 

Maths

This term in Maths we have been working on multiplication and division. We explored a range of strategies to help us solve problems, including using arrays, making equal groups, and sharing into equal groups. These practical methods helped us to understand what multiplication and division really mean.

We have also been working hard to learn our 2, 5 and 10 times tables, using them to solve calculations with growing confidence. Alongside this, we have continued to develop our arithmetic skills, practising quick recall and efficient methods to support our learning.

It’s been a term full of number patterns, hands‑on exploration and growing mathematical confidence.

 

Wider curriculum

We have had a really exciting term! As part of our To Infinity and Beyond topic, we have absolutely loved learning about space. One of the highlights was making our very own rockets — we designed them, built them and proudly launched them.

We also watched an incredible video of a rocket crashing into the forest, which sparked lots of questions, predictions and imaginative ideas. It certainly brought our space learning to life.

It’s been a term full of curiosity, creativity and cosmic adventures.