Copilot This week, we have been busy learning across the curriculum. In English, we have been exploring the legend of Robin Hood and learning about his adventures, characters and setting. We have looked closely at the features of the story and gathered ideas ready for writing our own exciting Robin Hood narratives next week. The children have enjoyed discussing how Robin Hood outwitted his enemies and helped those in need.

In Science, the class became engineers as they investigated parachute designs. They carried out fair tests to discover which parachutes fell most slowly, helping me decide on the best design for a new cycling jacket. The children carefully observed, measured and recorded their results before discussing which features made a parachute most effective.

In Computing, we have been creating animations using Micro:Bit devices. The children enjoyed programming different sequences and seeing their ideas come to life.

In Maths, Year 6 have been exploring different multiplication strategies and thinking carefully about how known facts can help us solve new calculations. For example, we have used ×10 and then divided by 2 to work out questions involving ×5. Meanwhile, Year 5 have been completing their place value unit by tackling challenging reasoning questions, such as finding the smallest and largest numbers that round to 360 when rounding to the nearest 10. These tricky problems have certainly stretched our understanding and encouraged us to explain our mathematical thinking with confidence.

It has been another productive and enjoyable week, and we are looking forward to sharing our Robin Hood stories with you next week.

The best week ever!

Class 2 had a awesome week, which ended with the first ever share-a-book-Friday. We had an amazing time sharing our books while snuggled in with our blankets and cuddly toys. We really enjoyed discovering new and amazing books.

In Maths, both Year 1s and 2s have been comparing and ordering different objects and numbers. Year 2s have also worked really hard to master counting  in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s. In Literacy, we have been learning to use subordinating conjunctions to modify a verb. While Year 1s have been learning to use "because" , Year 2s have been learning to use "because" and "when". In Science, we explored what humans need to survive and looked at how this list might differ from that of animals.

In RE, we have begun to understand the meaning of peace and how following Jesus might bring peace to Christians. In History, we spent time discussing how we mark special events in our lives. In Computing, we explored different gadgets that might have a computer inside them.

Finally, in Art, we used our sketchbooks for some life drawings. We spent time sketching different natural objects we used last week in our nature art. We also took inspiration from the amazing watercolours by Jackie Morris to help us plan our drawings and the colours we used in them. I wish I could post all the wonderful drawings the class produced this afternoon! Every drawing was unique, every one beautiful, every one absolutely original and amazing. Here is a montage of some of the works from our sketchbook work.

A very well done to:
> Nellie for getting the Ready Award for her amazing writing and maths.
> Freddie for getting the Respectful Award for always following class rules.
> Flo for getting the Safe Award for coming into class with a sunny smile and making everyone just that bit cheerier.

Working around lessons this week, I have been impressed by the level of effort from the children. This is only the third week back, but already we are seeing a high level of learning and some strong outcomes. As ever, it is great to be able to share some of this with our school community.

Art
Class 4 have been using a map as a background to sketch work. The focus has been on using soft B pencils to draw strong lines that dominate the page, distracting the viewer from the background. I think these dragon images certainly draw attention away from the maps behind.




Class 3 continue to use charcoal this week. After studying ancient cave paintings, the children created their own through different types of hand prints.
 

Writing
Both junior classes have been doing some paired writing this week. In Class 4, partners Jack and Anoud wrote this paragraph in the form of a non-chronological report about an outlaw:

In the heart of Sherwood Forest, lived Robin Hood, a selfless outlaw during the 1600. For years, his generosity to the poor was immaculate; he could steal from the noble for the unwanted. Since Robin was a kind hearted man, he was hated by the heartless sheriff of the state. He was often chased by the guards; he outran them by a fair distance. He will always be honoured in lots of books today. 

Clubs
It is great we have so many children wanting to join our after school clubs this term. Many of the clubs have been oversubscribed and children placed on waiting lists. We will try to ensure fairness by prioritising these children for clubs in the future. This term we are offering:

- First Lego League Lego Robotics Competition Team (Years 5 & 6)
- Musical Theatre (Years 3 - 6)
- Forest School (Years 3 - 6)
- Cross Country (Years 3 - 6)
- Multi Skills with Pro 20 Sports (Years 1 & 2)

In addition, our peripatetic music teachers are offering the following individual and group lessons:
-Rocksteady Band
-Brass
-Guitar
-Piano

If your child is interested in learning an instrument, please contact Amy Souch in the school office for contact details.

Snacks
In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, the government provide free fruit and vegetables to ensure a daily healthy snack. Children have a range of healthy options to choose from, including bananas, apples, pears, oranges, tomatoes, mini cucumbers and carrots. This isn't provided for children in Years 3- 6. However, children are welcome to bring the same fruit or vegetable snack for their morning break. We ask that children don't bring crisps, chocolate bars, biscuits etc as we want to maintain the healthy eating culture established in the infants. For children attending after school childcare club, please feel free to send them with an equally healthy snack.

Security Fencing
Bridge MAT managed to secure Department for Education funding to replace our perimeter fencing, which was starting to fail in places. New fencing is currently being installed around the school field and will also be extended to the front of the school in the coming weeks. At the moment, the new fencing has made some wooded areas of our field inaccessible but these will be accessible through gates that have yet to be installed as the contractors are still awaiting their delivery. In addition, Sarah Marley has secured 135 native tree saplings through the Woodland Trust. These will be planted by the children in November, inside the boundary of the new fence.

I look forward to sharing more of the children's learning next week.

This week, we were delighted to launch our Reading Buddies scheme with Class 1. Our Year 5 and 6 pupils thoroughly enjoyed sharing stories with the Reception children, who listened beautifully and loved hearing the different books. It was wonderful to see the older pupils taking on their roles as reading role models, helping to build confidence and nurture a love of reading across the school. The sessions were full of smiles, enthusiasm and thoughtful conversations about the stories.

In Maths, Year 6 have been developing their understanding of factors and multiples, using their reasoning skills to solve a range of challenges. Meanwhile, Year 5 have been practising rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100, becoming increasingly confident in explaining their methods. In English, we have been exploring how adverbs and adverbials can add detail and interest to sentences as part of our learning about outlaws. We have enjoyed creating descriptive sentences and are looking forward to using these skills when writing our own non-chronological reports next week.

In Science, we investigated whether the mass of a ball affects the rate at which it falls, making predictions, carrying out fair tests and discussing our results. We have also been learning about Sir Isaac Newton and his discoveries about gravity, linking our investigations to his important scientific work. It has been another busy week of learning and discovery. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and look forward to welcoming everyone back next week for more exciting learning and new challenges.

Art
I teach Class 3 on Thursday afternoons and this week they were learning to use charcoal as a medium in art lessons. We explored the idea of Chiaroscuro (light and dark) in art. Using different charcoals and techniques the class observed rocks and made these sketches: Isla (left) Oliver (right). The darkness and light created with different techniques has contributed to the overall effect.

Friendship Bench
Thank you to Sarah Marley, who successfully secured this free bench for our playground. Donated by the Lazy Susan Furniture Company, this has been introduced to the the children as a friendship bench. If they are looking for someone to play with at breaktime, they can sit on the bench and other children will see they need a buddy and invite them to play.




Meet The Teacher
Thank you to the parents and carers of all our new reception children who joined Abi Flashman and Tom Otterwell-Taylor for an information session this week. We hope you found it useful.

Staff Update
I am delighted to share the exciting news that through their outstanding practice, Tom Otterwell-Taylor and Abi Flashman have been appointed as early years subjects leaders across the 15 schools of Bridge MAT. Tom has also taken on the leadership of art across the Trust. In addition to this, Sam Watts is leading on Showbie, the app used across Trust schools to support children's learning. These appointments reflect the excellent work and level of expertise of these teachers.

We have had another super week here in Class 2.

In Maths, both years 1 and 2 are almost at the end of their first unit of work on Place Values. This week, Year 1s have been counting forward to and back from 10, finding 1 more and 1 less than a number and comparing numbers. Year 2s, on the other hand, have been using deins to split large numbers and writing them in their expanded forms, using number lines and comparing numbers.

In Literacy, we are learning to write a recount. This week, learned to use the adverb of place and time, and coordinating conjunctions. We used our learning to write the introduction and first paragraph of our recount.

In Science, we are learning all about living things and how they grow. This week, we recapped our understanding of what different animals eat and considered all the things that are essential for our survival.

In RE, we explored the Christian concept of forgiveness. In History, we have begun to look at our own personal histories and talk some significant events in our lives. In Computing, we looked at how technology is controlled after which we designed our own robots with our own unique set of controls.

In Art, we have begun to look at how artists explore and collect things to help them create their art. We considered how artists use of sketchbooks to collect and preserve their impressions and how we could also do the same using our art sketchbooks. We also looked at some works by Andy Goldworth and went out into the forest school for an afternoon of foraging, collecting and arranging to create some Goldsworthy inspired nature art. Here are some of the amazing works we created this afternoon!

Finally, a very well done to:
> Ysella for getting the Ready Award for working really hard at Maths and putting in extra effort to master the art of flexibly splitting big numbers.
> Viv for getting the Respectful Award for always taking care to present all her work neatly.
> Rowan for getting the Safe Award for always taking care of his friends.

NOTE:
Please note that we have an additional day of PE with Pro20 every week starting next week. Besides Tuesday, please sent your children in their PE kits on a Thursday too. 
Friday, 25 September 2026 is Share-a-book-Friday.

It has been wonderful to have the class back this week, and they have made a fantastic start to the new term. The children have quickly settled into new routines and have approached all of their learning with enthusiasm and determination.
In PE, we have been developing our handball skills, and the class have been demonstrating some excellent throwing techniques during lessons. It has been great to see their teamwork and growing confidence as they practise the key skills needed for the game.
In Maths, Year 6 have been working hard on ordering and comparing numbers up to 10,000,000 as well as exploring negative numbers. Year 5 have been adding 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 to numbers and investigating the value of digits in numbers up to 1,000,000. The children have shown a positive attitude and have been keen to explain their mathematical thinking.
In English, we have begun planning our outlaw characters and thinking carefully about their appearance, personality and backstory. The children have come up with some imaginative ideas and we are looking forward to developing these further in our writing.
In History, we have been investigating the trading routes used by the Vikings and learning about the goods they traded with other parts of the world. The class have enjoyed discovering how far Viking traders travelled and the impact trade had on their lives.
Overall, it has been a super first full week, and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the class. I am very proud of the effort and enthusiasm they have shown already and am looking forward to seeing what next week will bring. Have a lovely weekend!

We have had the most amazing first week back!
It was so lovely to see all the children come into class, excited and so very eager to start the new year in Class 2. Everyone has settled beautifully and we are well on our way to embedding class rules and routines. Here are a few highlights from the fun week we have had learning in Class 2.

Class 2 is a group of 21 Year 1 and Year 2 children. The class is taught by Mrs Ati Charlesworth, along with Miss Jo Walker and Mrs Lesley Sammels. Miss Jo Walker covers Mrs Charlesworth's PPA on a Tuesday afternoon.
Some key dates to remember for the Autumn term are:

• TUESDAY: PE
  (Please make sure that the children come into class in appropriate PE kit.)
• FRIDAY: Forest School
  (Please sent your children in clothes that are appropriate for an afternoon outdoors. Please also sent in a pair of wellies that they can change into for the afternoon session.)