Maple Class

Welcome to Maple Class

Classteacher: Miss N. Pender

ANCIENT GREEK DAY MONDAY 15TH JULY 2024

We have had a fantastic Ancient Greek Day in Year 5 and 6 today. We have completed quizzes, solved Archimedes puzzle, played an Ancient Greek strategy board game (Petteia) and even completed the Olympic Games! Well done Maple! I have attached some photos below. 

Week beginning Monday 8^th July 2024

WELL DONE YEAR 6! Wow! What a performance. Year 6 were amazing on Tuesday and Wednesday night. There was laughter, tears and lots of fun. Thank you so much to everyone that came to see the show and for all of your support at home with costumes and helping the children remember their lines. We will put the photos on the website soon for you all to enjoy. Thank you to all of the parents who came to our exhibition evening on Thursday. We hope you enjoyed looking at all of the children’s fantastic work.

REMINDER: Monday 15^th July is our Ancient Greek Day! Don’t forget your costumes!

Week beginning Monday 1st July 2024

This week, Maple Class have been completing their different Proof of Progress (POP) tasks in specific subjects. I have been really impressed with how much the class have remembered in science, history and geography. On Tuesday, we enjoyed our shared learning session with parents! I am sure that you would agree that the children made excellent teachers! Thank you so much to the parents that were able to make it (I have attached some photos below). We have continued reading our class text, ‘The London Eye Mystery’, which has taken lots of twists and turns this week. Each afternoon, Year 6 have been preparing for their production. Thank you for all of your support in organising costumes and additional props. The children look fantastic and I know they are very excited to perform next week!

Miss Pender 😊

Week beginning Monday 24th June 2024

This week, Maple Class have been busy preparing for their shared learning session, which will take place on Tuesday 2^nd July at 9:15am. They are looking forward to sharing their learning with you! We have also explored the Ancient Greeks further in history by looking at the Olympics. In science, we have written our conclusions to our experiment investigating the size of shadows. Each morning, Year 6 have also been working hard on their production. I was so proud of Maple's excellent efforts during our Sports Day this morning. They were fantastic role models and incredibly helpful!

Please can I remind parents/carers that costumes for the production need to be brought into school as soon as you have them. Thank you! 

Have a great weekend Maple Class!

Miss Pender. and Mrs. Yearling 

Week beginning Monday 17th June 2024

We started the week in our sports day teams creating flags for our countries. The Year 6 children were fantastic role models and helped to support the younger children with this group project! We have also worked hard to continue our narrative stories, with a focus on balancing action and dialogue this week. In computing, the children continued to explore selections and practised identifying different conditions and outcomes. We don’t have long left for the production now so keep rehearsing your lines and songs Maple.

Reminder: the children will need an old T-shirt for swimming on Monday 24^th June.

Have a great weekend Maple Class!

Miss Pender 😊

Week beginning Monday 10th June 2024

This week, Maple Class have continued to explore their class text, ‘The London Eye Mystery’. This has inspired them in their narrative writing and I have been so impressed with their outcomes. We had a really interesting lesson focused on Greek philosophers on Tuesday and there were some excellent discussions based around this. On Wednesday afternoon, Maple Class started to investigate the strength of different frameworks as part of their D.T learning.

Well done for continuing to learn all of your lines for our production too Year 6! Mrs. Yearling and I have been so impressed!

Well done Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 3rd June 2024

It has been lovely to welcome Maple Class back to school after the half term. This week, we have continued our swimming sessions on a Monday. I have been really impressed with all of the children’s efforts during these sessions. Their behaviour has also been impeccable! This week, we have started our new class text (The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd) and this has been inspiration for our writing sessions. I have been blown away by some excellent suspense writing this week. We have started lots of our new topics for Summer 2 including ‘Light’ in science and ‘Structures’ in D.T. In Year 6, we have started rehearsing for our production of ‘Darwin Rocks’ and Mrs Yearling and I have been really impressed with the number of children who have been practising their lines and lyrics over half term. On Thursday afternoon, we were lucky enough to take part in a fantastic workshop all about biodiversity. The session was based on a quadrat survey which is a much-used ecological technique. The children made quadrat frames in pairs to help them calculate the percentage coverage of different types of plants for their survey. I have attached some photos below. 

Well done for a great week Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 20th May 2024 

On Monday, Maple Class started their swimming lessons at the Garrison. I was so impressed with all of the children’s efforts and excellent behaviour during this session! The swimming instructors were really impressed. (Reminder: We will have swimming on the first day back after half term!) This week, we have finished our class text (Kensuke’s Kingdom) which the class really enjoyed. I loved reading their different opinions when reflecting on the book. The children have also enjoyed exploring Ancient Greek beliefs as part of their history learning and making a desk tidy in computing using the app Tinkercad. Maple Class have been introduced to the Year 6 production - Darwin Rocks! Lots of children have stepped out of their comfort zone and have shown enthusiasm for learning new songs and lines. Don’t forget to start learning your lines and the lyrics to the songs over half term Maple!

Have a great half term everyone!

Miss Pender 😊

Week beginning Monday 13th May 2024

I am so proud of Year 6 for completing their SATs this week. They have shown resilience and have persevered brilliantly throughout the week. WELL DONE YEAR 6! I hope you enjoy the photos below of the SATs breakfast and celebrations. 

Just a reminder that swimming starts on Monday 20^th May 2024 – children need to bring to school with them their swimming kit and towel.

Have a restful weekend everyone! :)

Week beginning Monday 6th May 2024

We have had another busy and productive week in Maple Class. This week, we have finished off our revision sessions in preparation for the SATs next week. The children have all worked incredibly hard and I am so proud of them. I look forward to seeing them at SATs breakfast (8am) on Monday 13^th May. Thank you to all of the parents who attended the SATs information evening on Tuesday night – the PowerPoint slides are now available on the class page. We have also been busy this week exploring city states in Ancient Greece. The children enjoyed deciding which city state they would prefer to live in and writing a speech to persuade the rest of the class that their city state was the best one! As well as this, we have explored the movement of the moon in science and started sewing as part of our textiles learning.

Well done for a great week Maple – have a rest this weekend! 😊

Week beginning Monday 29^th April 2024

We have had another great week in Maple Class. Our themes in our morning revision sessions this week have been food, transport, men and women and royalty. The class are really enjoying their class text: Kensuke’s kingdom, and this week, our main character is stranded on an island! It is a real page turner! The children have been working hard writing water safety leaflet information texts inspired by this. I will attach some photos of the finished writing soon! On Tuesday, the class learned all about what a settlement is as part of their geography learning and they also got the chance to meet the man who lives on Earth but works on Mars as part of an online STEM session.

Have a great bank holiday weekend Maple! 😊

Week beginning Monday 22nd April 2024

I am so proud of Maple Class this week as they have been working hard to complete their assessment papers. Every single person has put 100% effort into this and they have had fantastic attitudes. The children have completed a variety of papers which they will be doing in SATs week (the week beginning Monday 13^th May). In topic lessons, we have explored the Ancient Greeks in history and Japanese calligraphy as part of our art learning. On Thursday, Maple Class also enjoyed using our new school iPads to explore 3D models in computing. I have attached some photos of the children in action this week below!

Well done for a great week Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 15th April 2024

It has been lovely to welcome Maple Class back to school after the Easter break. They have all come back with fantastic learning attitudes. Well done Maple! We are continuing to push through with our revision sessions each morning; however, these will now follow a theme each day. This week, we have explored different maths, grammar and reading questions linked to nature, holidays, animals and sport. We have started our new class text, ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ by Michael Morpurgo which the children are already enjoying. In geography, the children have explored the population of different countries across the world. They have also enjoyed our new science topic ‘Earth and Space’ and have become familiar with the different planets in our Solar System.

Well done for a great week Maple! 😊

Week beginning Monday 25th March 2024

I cannot believe we have reached the end of another term! It has been a very busy term but I am so proud of all of the children’s hard work, particularly when revising in the morning sessions! This week, the children have been busy finalising their Spring Term topic books and they should be very proud of their outcomes. They look beautiful! As well as this, Maple have been working hard to complete their POP (proof of progress) tasks to showcase their learning for this term in science, history and geography. I really enjoyed reading different letters to the Northern Gateway Development explaining the findings of our fieldwork study. I also had some fantastic diary entries written from the perspective of an Anglo-Saxon.

Well done for all of your hard work Maple. Have a wonderful Easter break. Stay safe and eat lots of chocolate!

Miss. Pender and Mrs. Yearling 😊

Week beginning Monday 18th March 2024

This week in maths, Maple Class have explored percentages of amounts; number sequences; units of time and coordinates, reflection and translation. In grammar, we have looked at the active and passive voice, the subjunctive form and commas. In topic lessons, the class have enjoyed comparing Karmic and Christian beliefs and how they affect our moral behaviour in R.E. and on Tuesday afternoon, they enjoyed learning all about the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king – Edward the Confessor. They have also worked hard producing their own paintings in the style of Chris Ofili.

On Friday, (today) the class also enjoyed a special K’Nex workshop where they were challenged to design and make a bulldozer. We had some excellent efforts and I was really impressed with the team work.  

Well done for all of your hard work Maple Class – have a great weekend. Four days left! 😊

Week beginning Monday 11th March 2024

We have had another busy week in Maple Class. The children have been working extremely hard in their topic afternoons. This week, they have enjoyed classifying animals as part of their science learning. They have also linked their geography lesson to maths this week by creating a bar chart or pie chart to reveal the results of their fieldwork study: What impact does the Northern Gateway Development have on the local area?  We will reveal our findings soon! On Monday, the children enjoyed playing the glockenspiels as part of their music learning. As well as all of this, Maple have continued reading (and enjoying) their class text: Cloud Busting. We have had some very sensible and mature discussions about the theme of the book.

Today (Friday), we celebrated Red Nose Day and enjoyed dressing ‘funny for money’. I have attached some photos below!

Well done for a great week Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 4^th March 2024

This week, we have continued our revision mornings in the hall. In maths, we have covered a variety of different areas of the curriculum: division, order of operations, estimation, properties of number and mixed and improper fractions. In grammar, we have explored prepositions, pronouns, determiners, synonyms and antonyms. I can see lots of children feeling more and more confident with the different areas. It has been lovely to welcome lots of children to our maths booster sessions this week too. Well done Maple! On Tuesday, the children produced some fantastic artwork inspired by the artist Chris Ofili. They have used his painting to plan their own ideas in their sketchbooks linked to our class text ‘Cloud Busting’ by Malorie Blackman. I have attached some of their sketches below. It was also lovely to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday and the children enjoyed dressing up in their pyjamas.

Well done Maple Class – have a great weekend. 😊

Week beginning Monday 26^th February 2024

It has been lovely to welcome the children back to school after their half term break! We have been busy in Year 6 as we have started our revision sessions altogether as a Year 6 cohort. I am so proud of all of the children because they have made such an excellent start to their revision. All week, I have witnessed fantastic, positive attitudes towards their learning. Thank you for encouraging your children at home to complete their pages each night. In the afternoons, we have been busy learning all about the artist Chris Ofili as well as starting our new classification topic in science.

Well done for a busy (but productive) first week back Maple! 😊

Week beginning Monday 12th February 2024

I cannot believe we are at the end of another half term! This year is flying by! This week Maple Class have completed assessments in reading, maths, grammar and spelling. I have been really impressed with their efforts and attitudes towards these. They have also been busy writing a persuasive advert for a gadget in English inspired by our class text Stormbreaker. In art, the children finished their sculptures by using Modroc as a material. On Tuesday, the children enjoyed the Gilberd production of ‘Back to the 80s’ and as always, they were exceptionally well-behaved.

It was lovely to see lots of you at the parent/teacher consultations on Tuesday and Thursday too!

I hope you all have a fantastic half term Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 5^th February 2024

This week we have celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week with a range of different activities. Maple Class enjoyed a Makaton lesson to start off the week on Monday delivered by Mrs. Richardson and it has been wonderful to see lots of the children using their new signing in class and to me! Ask your children at home to show you some. The class also enjoyed making and decorating clay hands as part of the week inspired by the quote ‘Having a hand in making a change’. They also enjoyed some Walk and Talk with Birch and Willow later on in the week However, the weather was against us so we shared our signing and a book instead. On top of all of this, the children have also continued their normal lessons and I have been really impressed with all of their hard work yet again.

I look forward to seeing lots of you next week at the parent consultations.

Have a great weekend, Maple! 😊

Week beginning Monday 29^th January 2024

This week, Maple Class have worked hard to develop their understanding of algebra in maths by creating and solving maths ‘rules’. It has been great to see everyone’s confidence developing with this. In English, the children have finished writing their quest stories inspired by our class text – Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. I was really impressed with Maple Class on Tuesday afternoon when learning about friendships and how to resolve conflicts. Lots of children had a very mature attitude towards this topic and they produced some fantastic posters!

Well done Maple!

Week beginning Monday 22^nd January 2024

This week, Maple Class have worked hard to consolidate their understanding of fraction, decimal and percentage equivalences. This is also their KIRFS for Spring Term 1 so please make sure your child is practising these at home.  In English, the children have started to plan and write their own quest stories and they had lots of fun coming up with secret missions that their characters could go on. In topic lessons, the class have enjoyed learning about the Anglo-Saxons in history; in computing they have explored improving a game by using and changing variables and on Thursday, they enjoyed experimenting the brightness of a bulb in science. Mrs Yearling has been busy putting up displays for the Spring Term too. I will upload some photos soon.

Well done for another great week Maple Class! 😊

Week beginning Monday 8^th January 2024

This week the children have really enjoyed reading our new class text for the Spring Term (Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz). They have developed their retrieval and inference skills to answer different questions. We have also had lots of discussions about the character’s so far and who we like/dislike. In English, we have started to explore the skills we need in our toolkit to write a quest story. The class have worked hard to develop their use of language to reflect action. In our topic lessons, the class have enjoyed exploring variables using Scratch as part of their computing learning and they have enjoyed researching the artist Alberto Giacometti as part of art.

We have also been practising our songs for the Young Voices Concert on Monday. I know the children are really looking forward to it!

Have a lovely weekend Maple Class. 😊

Week beginning Monday 1st January 2024

It has been lovely welcoming the children back to school after the Christmas break. The class have delved into their new class text - Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. The action-packed story has already gripped the class! They also enjoyed their first science lesson of the Spring Term exploring different electrical components and their corresponding symbols. We have an exciting few weeks of learning ahead of us, including some interesting geography fieldwork; learning all about the Anglo-Saxons in history and we will be starting to create 3D models in art. Well done for settling back into the school routine after the Christmas break Maple! 

Week beginning Monday 18th December 2023

Monday - Today the children have been busy making toys with a cam mechanism as part of their D.T learning. They have worked well in their groups to create their moving cam mechanism. I was really impressed with their measuring and sawing skills and they worked hard to create a stable structure. They then were able to think of the positioning of their follower and cam. Well done Maple! Photos below. 

Week beginning Monday 11th December 2023

The children loved performing for you on Tuesday evening at their Christmas Carol Concert. Thank you to all of the parents/carers that were able to attend and thank you for all of your support with learning words for lines and songs! The whole team in Years 5 and 6 are really proud of the children for their amazing performance. We are now coming to the end of lots of our units in different subjects. Maple Class have been working hard to complete their Autumn Term topic books by adding front covers, contents pages and evaluations reflecting on their learning. I am blown away by the quality of these!

Well done Maple Class – have a lovely weekend! 😊

Week beginning Monday 4th December 2023

This week, Maple Class have worked hard to complete their discussion writing all about whether wolves should be kept in captivity. They have done a great job with these and have worked hard to keep a formal tone throughout. They have also been busy completing their first lot of assessments. I am so proud of their maturity and resilience towards the tests that they took. These assessments are to help me identify any gaps to support further teaching in the Spring Term. We have continued to read our class text (The Wolf Wilder) and we are getting close to the end now. As well as all of this, we have continued to rehearse for our Christmas Carol Concert which will take place on Tuesday next week. 

Well done for a great week Maple. Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Pender :)

Week beginning Monday 27th November 2023

This week, Maple Class have been working hard to develop their understanding of fractions. They have learned how to multiply and divide fractions and to find fractions of amounts. In English, we have started our non-fiction unit which focuses on discussion writing. We are discussing the topic: should wolves be kept in captivity? This links nicely to our class text – The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. We have already had some great ideas from the children! I have also been really impressed with the children’s geography Proof of Progress (POP) tasks this week. They have all remembered so much of their learning about Norway, ordnance survey symbols, grid references and compass points.

Well done to the Year 6 children this week who represented the school at the Roman Cup Squash competition! You were amazing and we are all really proud of you!

Well done Year 6! 😊

Week beginning Monday 20th November 2023

We have had another very busy week in Maple Class this week. In English, we have continued to work on describing a character in a tale of fear. This week, the children wrote two stories showcasing everything they have learned from their toolkits. The children have also continued to develop their fraction knowledge in maths and I have seen so many children developing in confidence with this. In history, we have learned all about Viking longships and Maple Class enjoyed designing and naming their own!

Well done to all of the children that took part in Bikeability over the last few weeks too.  

Have a lovely weekend Maple! 😊

Week beginning Monday 13th November 2023

This week Maple Class have been busy writing their tale of fear with a focus on describing character. I have been really impressed with the children’s stories so far and can’t wait to read the completed versions next week! In maths, we have started a new unit with a focus on fractions including, finding equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions and converting fractions. On Tuesday, the children enjoyed learning about the different parts of a flower and they worked in groups to dissect a flower.

Just a reminder that Monday 20^th November and Tuesday 21^st November is the second Bikeability session. This means that GROUP 2 will be taking part. Please ensure the children are dressed appropriately for the weather and they have a road-worthy bike and helmet in school.  

Week beginning Monday 6th November 2023

This week (On Tuesday) we were lucky enough to be visited by an artist. The artist taught the children how to draw a self-portrait, giving lots of effective strategies tips and advice. The outcomes are amazing! I have attached photos of the portraits on the slideshow below. We have also continued to read Wolf Wilder in class in our reading sessions. In English, we have started to learn our model text (based on describing a character) and the children have written lots of descriptive sentences and built up a toolkit. In maths, we have explored short division and the children have learned how to give remainders as decimals and fractions. It is great to see lots of the children learning their multiplication facts at home by logging onto Times Table Rock Stars.

Just a reminder that Monday 13^th November and Tuesday 14^th November is the first Bikeability session. This means that GROUP 1 will be taking part. Please ensure the children are dressed appropriately for the weather and that they have a road-worthy bike and helmet in school.

Have a great weekend, Maple!

Miss Pender

Week beginning Monday 30th October 2023

I have been really impressed with Maple Class this week because they have all come back from their half term break with excellent learning attitudes! In reading, we have started our new class text for this half term - Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. The children have enjoyed exploring what a 'wilder' is and in art they even had a go at sketching wolves. In maths, the children have started learning about division, including the language of division; using partitioning to solve division questions and short division. I saw some fantastic science work describing the differences in the life cycles of a mammal and an amphibian this week too. It has been wonderful to see lots of the children logging on to Times Table Rock Stars each night and I am starting to see a difference in their multiplication fact recall. Keep it up Maple! 

Miss Pender :)

Monday 23rd October 2023

Don't forget our class Times Tables Rock Stars tournament starts today! You can battle from 8:30am but can play no later than 6pm each day. The tournament closes on the 20th of December at 9am. I hope you are all enjoying your half term - keep learning those times tables!

Good luck Maple! :)

Week beginning Monday 16th October 2023

I cannot believe we are at the end of our first half term! Maple Class have worked incredibly hard this half term. This week, we have strengthened our understanding of long multiplication in maths. We have (sadly) reached the end of Viking Boy by Tony Bradman and will be starting a new book after half term. The children were huge fans of Viking Boy and it has been a pleasure to read. The highlight of this week was our Thursday afternoon squash session at the Garrison. The children enjoyed playing on a real squash court and the coaches (and adults) were really impressed with their behaviour. I will add some photos below. I have also been really impressed with Maple's science POP tasks showcasing their understanding of forces. 

Well done for a fantastic half term Maple Class. Have a great week off and I will see you back at school on Monday 30th October! 

Miss Pender  :)

Week beginning Monday 9th October 2023

This week, Maple Class have explored short multiplication in maths. They have worked hard to develop different strategies to use to solve multiplication problems, including the use of factors and partitioning. The class have also really enjoyed Viking Boy this week. We have made lots of sensible predictions and been able to retrieve key information from the text. In English, Maple Class have started to write a set of instructions called: ‘How to Fight like a Viking’. I have seen some excellent ideas with this! I really enjoyed teaching the children how to locate places using the eight points of a compass in geography. We have also continued to develop our drawing skills in art by investigating reductive drawing this week using charcoal.

Well done Maple Class!

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Pender 😊

Week beginning Monday 2nd October 2023

We have had another great week in Maple Class. I have been blown away by the children’s excellent story writing this week. Every pupil has worked hard to create suspense in their stories.  In maths, we have explored properties of number including, multiples, factors, prime numbers and square numbers. On Thursday, the children enjoyed being introduced to the Young Voices songs that we will start learning in school. We also had a great art lesson exploring positive and negative space when drawing. I will attach some photos below. Well done Maple Class.

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Pender 😊

Week beginning Monday 25th September 2023

This week Maple Class have worked hard in their maths reviewing how to add and subtract larger numbers using column addition and subtraction. In English, the children have enjoyed planning and writing their own suspense stories. I have been really impressed with how well everyone has applied the tools they have learned into their writing. On Thursday afternoon, the children explored the famous artist and architect Hundertwasser. 

They were able to explore his different paintings and recreate themes from his ideas. The children worked in groups using acetate to create their own composition inspired by the artist and his style. Take a look at some of the photos below. 

Just a reminder Maple Class 'At Home Evening' is on a Monday after school until 4pm. Please feel free to come in and have an informal chat with me or look at your child's work. We have some lovely Viking displays to show you too. 

Miss Pender :)

Week beginning Monday 18th September 2023

Year 6 had a fantastic time on their residential this week. I am so very proud of all of the children that went. They all showed excellent manners, resilience and a fantastic attitude whilst we were away and many members of the public commented on how amazing their behaviour was. I am also really proud of the children who stayed at school and worked hard on creating beautiful poetry projects with Mrs Yearling. 

Well done Maple! :)

Week beginning Monday 11th September 2023

This week has been a very busy but exciting week in Maple Class. In maths, the children have explored rounding larger numbers and using negative numbers in context. Maple Class have continued to delve into the world of Viking Boy and each chapter seems to be more exciting than the last at the moment! The children have also enjoyed their first history lesson understanding where the Vikings came from and why they invaded. I have seen some beautiful topic work! In science, the children worked in groups to plan and carry out their own experiment exploring the force of air resistance. We have had a great week and I hope everyone has a restful weekend. I look forward to seeing lots of you on Monday morning ready for the residential!

Miss Pender :)

Week beginning Monday 4th September 2023

It has been wonderful welcoming the children back after the summer holidays. Maple Class have settled back to school really well and they are getting to know the different routines in the classroom. This week, we have explored the place value of larger numbers in maths - the children have already amazed me with their secure knowledge. Our English lessons have focused on creating suspense in a story using personification. Maple Class have also started their new class text - Viking Boy by Tony Bradman. It has been fantastic to see how engaged they are in the new text already. In science, we completed an experiment investigating the gravitational pull on the Earth's surface and we learned some Ordnance Survey symbols in geography. We also created some absolutely stunning artwork linked to the Vikings which will be on display shortly! Thank you very much to all of the parents who have returned letters over the last few days, including walking home arrangements and Bikeability letters. This half term, our P.E. lessons are on a Wednesday and Thursday but please ensure that P.E. kit is in school each day. 

Miss Pender :)