Ferrari Class-Summer Term 1, 2023

Welcome to the home page for the first half of the Summer Term 2023.

We have a new topic this half term called ‘Moon Zoom’. It is a design technology/ history-based topic which develops the children’s knowledge of technology, space and materials. Children learn how to design and make model spaceships, considering the properties of materials. They might even meet an alien!

The topic web detailing all of our learning for the half term can be downloaded below.

Moon Zoom.docx

Week Ending 19 May

Despite the poor weather conditions, resulting in us missing a day in school, Ferrari have been bright and breezy and ready to learn!

Here are some of the highlights from our week.

This week the Year 2 children have been taking the Key Stage 1 SAT’s. I have been so impressed with their wonderful attitude to taking the tests each day. Everyone has worked to the best of their ability and showed great resilience. In fact, they have taken everything in their stride and I even heard two children saying how much they enjoyed these assessments! Well done Year 2 – we are so proud of you! Whilst Year 2 have been working so hard, the Year 1 children have been over in Villa V with Mrs Wortley and the LSAs. They have enjoyed a variety of maths and English activities based on our Moon Zoom topic.

On Wednesday the children planned, designed and made their own space junk models. Some children chose to work individually whilst others worked with a partner. There was a lot of trial and error and the children had to adapt their plans when construction didn’t go as expected. We had a variety of models made such as space scenes, rockets, moon buggies, satellites as well as a Rebel Base! The children really enjoyed this experience and were so proud of their efforts. Well done everyone!

In English, the children have written a recount (diary) about the day Yuri Gagarin journeyed into space! They had to remember to write in the first person and use the past tense. They wrote about their thoughts and feelings as well as what they saw when they were in space. They really were thinking and acting like authors! The Year 2 children are starting to edit their writing and make improvements where necessary. The children took it in turns in sitting in the ‘Story Telling Chair’ to read their wonderful recounts to us all!

This week the children had the opportunity to visit our school library and choose a book from our new book selection! Earlier this year, the children were asked what sort of books they would like to have in our library, from topic, fiction, graphic novels to picture books. Everyone had their say, so when the wonderful collection of books arrived the children were very excited to choose a favourite book!

On Thursday, Mrs Clarke did an art workshop with Ferrari linked to our space topic. They examined famous pieces of art inspired by space then created their own space pictures using chalk.

The Year 1 children have now completed their maths unit on Time. They have learnt the days of the week, the months of the year as well as being able to sequence events using time vocabulary. They can also use an analogue clock to tell o’clock and half past the hour. Well done Year 1.

The children did an excellent job with their home learning on Tuesday. I was really impressed with their research into the Hubble Space Telescope and the explanation texts that they produced. Very well done everyone!

Week Ending 12 May

After a great Coronation weekend, it was wonderful to welcome Ferrari Class back to school on Tuesday. Despite the short week, the children have had exciting and challenging learning experiences. Here are some of our highlights.

As part of our Design and Technology curriculum, the children have made some fantastic Space Rock Cakes with Mrs Smith. These were no ordinary Rock Cakes because they were covered with edible glitter which made them even more tasty!! The children worked in small groups with Mrs Smith, weighing, mixing and stirring the ingredients before finally moulding the mixture together to make the cakes. While the children were in assembly, Mrs Smith baked the cakes so they were still warm when it was time to take them home!

While each group were cooking, the children enjoyed some space art with Mrs Page. The children used wax crayons to colour a piece of paper in a pattern. Then they covered the pattern with black crayon. Now the fun began, as they scraped away space shapes to reveal the colours below – it was like magic!

This week has all been about Time! Both the Year 1 and Year 2 children have started the learn how to tell the time on an analogue clock. The Year 1 children have been learning o’clock and half past and the Year 2 children have moved onto quarter past and quarter to. We have been practicing the days of the week and the months of the year and have made a special chart showing which months our birthdays are in! The children are doing a great job of using the class clock to recognise special times of the day. It is also wonderful to see the children wearing their watches to school.

In PE we have been practicing for Sports Day with Egg and Spoon races! The children have been learning to balance the egg on the wooded spoon and how to move around with increasing speed. The children have also practiced their throwing skills, specifically with a javelin. They have thought about their leg and body position as well as the follow through with their arm. They learnt that it is important to have the right trajectory and know when to release the javelin. As warm up games, they have enjoyed two new games this week, ’Window’ and ‘Time bomb’ but ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ is still a favourite (very topical!).

In our English lessons the children have written information about ‘The Solar System’. They have included a topic sentence, factual information, used technical vocabulary, wrote a question and answer as well as adding extra information using flaps! They did this independently – well done Ferrari we are so proud of you!

In our topic lessons we have been learning about Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into space! The children have learnt about this ‘Mover and Shaker’ and written about his achievements as well as working collaboratively to write poem about how it would feel blasting off into space!

On Friday we welcomed George and Belle (Mrs Smith’s dogs) to our outside area, to learn about living and non-living things which is part of our science curriculum. The children had learnt about the seven characteristics of living things and they applied what they had learnt to the dogs. The children had the opportunity to take the dogs for a walk, give them a stroke as well as feed them a treat. They even got to see the dogs do tricks! We wanted to say a big thank you to Mr Smith who took the time to bring the dogs into school to support our science.

What a great week!

Week Ending 05 May

Despite it being a short week due to the bank holiday, Ferrari packed lots of learning into our four days at school!

Here are some of the highlights of our week.

Ferrari Class are very good at making connections in their learning and this week was no exception! With the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, we were delighted to welcome Hannah Flatt back into school to talk to all of the children about the coronation. Hannah is a historian, a teacher and worked as part of the Education team at Westminster Abbey. She gave us a fabulous insight into what was going to happen and Ferrari were able to share their knowledge with the school from what they had learnt from their Bright Lights Big City and Magnificent Monarchs topics. We all enjoyed a wonderful Coronation Picnic organised by FoBFS.

We are all set and ready to complete our own non–fiction page about the Solar System! This week in English we learnt about what made a successful flip book page. Each day we looked at different elements from topic sentences to introductory paragraphs. Questions and answers to designing and making flaps to give more information. We are all excited to put what we have learnt in practice!

In maths we had another successful week of learning! The Year 1 children completed their unit on Money. This involved looking at the value of coins and notes and being able to identify British currency. I was really impressed with the resilience and the understanding the Year 1 children exhibited considering they use Euros in their daily lives! The Year 2 children completed their three weeks long unit on Fractions and which involved looking at halves, quarters and thirds of shapes and amounts. They have recently focused on unit and non-unit fractions as well as solving fraction related problems. I am so proud to report that all the Year 2’s got full marks in their end of unit assessment!

How far are the planets away from the sun? The children made a model using measuring skills and fractions to plot the position of the planets in our solar system. The children applied their prior knowledge and understanding of the planets to help plot their position.

What is a simile and how can it be used to make a poem? We read a Space Poem using similes and discussed how the simile helped to build a picture in our minds of what space was like. So, in pairs the children worked collaboratively to create their own simile poems about space. It was super to hear the children discussing ideas, reviewing their ideas, editing and improving! They enjoyed sharing their poems with the class.

PE on Tuesday is one of the favourite lessons of the week for many of the children. We have started practicing some of our athletic skills with running and relay races. We have also been working on our fitness with games and activities to support our flexibility and endurance. Well done Ferrari!

In our outside area we have enjoying our construction area. The children have been working collaboratively to build castles, homes as well as space stations using bricks and wooden blocks. Here are some of their fabulous creations!

Another great week of learning Ferrari – very well done!

Week Ending 28 April

With less than two weeks back at school, the children in Ferrari have already learnt so much about space from their topic ‘Moon Zoom’! Your knowledge is already ‘out of this world’!

Here are some highlights from our week.

On Monday, Ferrari joined Key Stage 2 to take part in a very special 2023 book celebration marking the Coronation of King Charles III. They took part in a live draw- a-long hosted by best-selling and award-winning children’s author and illustrator Rob Biddulph. They had a fabulous time learning how to draw their own Coronation crown based on St Edwards’s crown which will feature in coronation of King Charles. They were very proud of their efforts!

When learning about Katherine Johnston last week, the children were fascinated to learn how a rocket was launched into space. They watched some of the Apollo mission footage, reflected on what they had witnessed and asked lots of questions to consolidate their understanding.

’Why does the rocket split into sections?”

“What makes the rockets burn?”

“What is gravity?”

“Who controls and pilots the rocket?”

“How do the astronauts return to Earth?”

As part of our Design and Technology curriculum, the children designed and made their own rockets. On the back of the rockets they made a lunching mechanism using straws. The children launched their rockets using ‘wind power’ and measured how far their rockets travelled. The children discovered that if they made their rocket too big or heavy that it didn’t travel as far as the smaller models.

In English, the children have been reading the non-fiction book ‘Look inside Space’ by Rob Lloyd Jones. This book has flaps which reveals further information and is beautifully illustrated with pictures and diagrams.  This week the children analysed what made each page engaging to the reader and what were the common features. They discovered there was a title, topic sentence, technical vocabulary, questions and answers as well as fascinating facts written in sentence form. Using this information, we created a success criteria and have started to write our own pages about space.

In maths, the children have completed their second week of fractions. The Year 1 children have looked at a half and a quarter of a shape and amount and then successfully completed their end of unit assessment. Well done Year 1 – you have shown you have a good understanding of fractions. These objectives were also covered by Year 2 but at greater depth. They have been using the correct notation as well as terms such a denominator and numerator. They have one more week of fractions next week. The children are still doing extra worked linked with time in preparation for their White Rose unit on Time later on this term.

In our RE lesson we have started our new topic ‘How should we care for others and the world, and why does it matter?’ In our first lesson, we addressed the question, Is each person unique and important? The children learnt that Christians believe that each person is valuable and unique. We shared the story of people bringing children to Jesus.

We then discussed what is special and unique about us and why we are all important. The children enjoyed recording what made them special and sharing it with the class.

Well done Ferrari Class another super week of learning!

Week Ending 21 April

It was wonderful to welcome the children back and hear all their news and stories of what they had been up to over the Easter Break.

Here are some of the highlights from this week.

The children were very excited to be learning about our new topic ‘Moon Zoom’. They straight away made a connection in their learning and shared what they had learnt about Neil Armstrong as one of our ‘Movers and Shakers’ in the Autumn term. We started by reading an inspirational story ‘Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson saved Apollo 13’ by Helaine Becker. This book tells the story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race as a human computer. You’ve likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know it was this mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home?

As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about maths and about the universe. From Katherine’s early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, this American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history.

The children were so fascinated by this story that they decided to find out more about her life. The children wrote a simple biography, highlighting some of her greatest achievements.

In our early morning maths, we started to learn about ‘Time’ as this is a topic we will be covering later on this term. The Year 1 children have been learning about the days of the week and months of the Year as well as ordering activities according to the time they have happened during a day. The Year 2 children have started to learn the o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to times on an analogue clock. In the classroom, the children have been using our class clock to tell the time and generally take a greater interest in the timings of our day.

In the White Rose Maths lessons both the Year 1 and Year 2 children have started a unit on Fractions. The children have focused on what a fraction and how to find a half of a shape and half of an amount. The year 2 children have used the symbol for a half and have been introduced to the term ‘denominator’.

Our English unit focuses on the Usborne book ‘Look inside space’ by Rob Lloyd Jones. This is a non-fiction book which uses flaps to provide extra information about the topic. The children have started to learn about the features and layout of the book so they can ultimately write a double page spread of information which includes an introduction, a flap with sentences providing further information for the reader and a flap which poses and answers a question.

In Science we have started a new topic called ‘Living Things’. The children have investigated and classified objects according to whether they are ‘living’, ‘non-living’ or ‘never lived’. This has brought about a lot of discussion and we have even resorted to using our favourite biologist, David Attenborough, to help us with our classifications!

Having been inspired by the Apollo rockets, we are excited to make our own model rockets next week!