Class 4 have had a wonderfully busy and exciting week! We enjoyed a fantastic visit to The Box in Plymouth, where we discovered fascinating local legends and explored how Plymouth has changed over time, all the way from the Iron Age to the present day. One of the highlights was meeting Mildred the Woolly Mammoth, who certainly sparked lots of curiosity and conversation! Thank you to all the parents who came to our Art Exhibition on Wednesday to admire the children's brilliant chair designs-it was lovely to share their creativity with you. In English, we have been exploring the features of persuasive texts, focusing on how alliteration and assonance can be used to make writing more memorable and impactful. As if that wasn't enough, we also had a great swimming session this week, with most of our Year 6 pupils confidently swimming 25 metres on both their front and back, and some even achieving an impressive 50 metres in the Olympic pool-well done! Finally, a reminder that Sports Evening will take place next Thursday-we hope to see you there for what promises to be a fun and active event.

This week in Science, we have been learning about habitats by researching the lives of two inspiring naturalists, Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough. We discovered that Jane Goodall was born in London and became famous for studying chimpanzees in Tanzania, where she spent many years observing them in their natural habitat. Her work helped people understand that chimpanzees can use tools, form strong family bonds and show emotions, which changed the way scientists think about animals. We also explored the life of David Attenborough, a British broadcaster and natural historian who has spent over 70 years creating documentaries about wildlife and the environment. Through his programmes, he has shown people habitats all over the world, from rainforests to oceans, helping us understand how animals adapt and why it is important to protect our planet. Alongside our classroom learning, we really enjoyed our first swimming session at Mount Kelly, where we had the exciting opportunity to swim in a 50m pool with multiple lanes. In addition, we have begun rehearsals for our end-of-term play and are already showing great enthusiasm as we learn our lines and develop our characters-there is a real buzz of excitement as we prepare for our performance!

We have had a busy and exciting week in class! We were delighted to welcome Adrian Chapman from Blast from the Past, who delivered a fascinating workshop all about Brunel. The children learned about the incredible tunnels, railway stations and boats he designed, and had great fun putting their engineering skills to the test by building their own bridges. They also enjoyed investigating a range of historical artefacts and working out what they might have been used for. In science, we have been exploring the different parts of an egg, learning about the role of each component, including the albumen and how it protects the yolk. In English, the children have now completed their final write-ups of their Oliver Twist-inspired stories, and it has been wonderful to see their creativity and developing writing skills. In maths, Year 6 have been focusing on substituting numbers for letters in algebra, showing great problem-solving skills, while Year 5 have been building their understanding of equivalent fractions, percentages and decimals. What a fantastic week of learning!

This week, the class have been busy exploring our science topic on habitats through an exciting practical activity, grafting willow. Although our attempts did not work out quite as we had hoped, it provided a valuable learning opportunity and sparked lots of thoughtful discussion about what plants need to survive and grow. During our time outdoors, we also made a lovely discovery of a stray caterpillar, which quickly became a focus of interest. Josh, in particular, has been making some fantastic observations about the caterpillar and has linked his ideas brilliantly to our learning about the life cycles of mammals, well done Josh! Year 6 have also shown incredible perseverance this week as they tackled their SATs with determination and maturity, and they should feel extremely proud of all their hard work. To celebrate the end of a busy week, we enjoyed a well-deserved class picnic together. We would also like to invite parents to come into the classroom tomorrow from 8:40am to take a look at the wonderful writing the children have been producing, we look forward to sharing it with you!

This week in Science, we have been learning about the different parts of plants and discussing the important jobs they do, as well as exploring the fascinating ways seeds are dispersed, including by wind, water and animals. The children have enjoyed making links between what plants need to grow and how seed dispersal helps plants survive and spread. In English, we have been focusing on writing speech, thinking carefully about how dialogue is punctuated and how it can be used to show character and move a story forward. In Maths, Year 6 pupils have been developing their skills with co‑ordinates, plotting and reading positions accurately, while Year 5 have been working hard to match fractions with their equivalent percentages and explaining their thinking clearly. We would also like to remind families that May Day dancing will take place on Bank Holiday Monday at the village hall just after midday, and we hope you can come along to support our fantastic dancers and enjoy the celebrations.

Well done to the group of children who visited the University of Plymouth today to take part in a fantastic art workshop. During the session, the children learned about early photography methods and explored how images were created before modern cameras. Using photo-sensitive paper, they produced their own beautiful pieces of artwork inspired by leaves and flowers. The work created was thoughtful and creative, and we are very proud of the care and focus shown by everyone involved. These artworks will be used alongside poems as part of an exhibition in October, which is very exciting. Above is an example of the work that was produced.

Back in school, learning has continued across all subjects. In Maths, Year 6 have been developing their understanding of graphs and charts, while Year 5 have been finishing their unit on fractions, focusing on finding fractions of amounts using clear and accurate methods.

In English, we have been studying a text inspired by Oliver Twist. The children have been exploring how authors bring characters to life through speech, thinking carefully about how dialogue can reveal personality, mood and relationships between characters.

In History, we have been looking closely at the design of the £5 and £10 notes, discussing why certain historical figures have been chosen. This led to some excellent discussions as the children considered who they think should appear on the £50 note from history, giving thoughtful reasons for their choices. It has been another busy and productive week, with lots of creativity, curiosity and excellent thinking on show. Well done to everyone for their hard work!

Over the past week, our class has been hard at work writing up our non-chronological reports inspired by the incredible creatures of Pandora. Using their imagination and carefully chosen vocabulary, pupils have created fantastical species, describing everything from unusual habitats and diets to fascinating adaptations and behaviours. We have been so impressed with the quality of the writing, and it has been wonderful to see pupils take such pride in refining their work. Some truly fantastic pieces have emerged, and these reports are a real celebration of creativity, detail and descriptive language. We are excited to be able to share this work with parents soon and would love to invite you in to read through the amazing pieces your children have been writing. Please look out for further details coming shortly about how and when you can join us.

Alongside our writing success, we also enjoyed some brilliant Rock Steady performances this week. Pupils impressed us all with their confidence and enthusiasm, particularly showcasing some amazing guitar playing. The performances were full of energy and talent and were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone watching. Well done to the whole class for another fantastic week of learning, creativity and performance!