Mini Olympics

What a fantastic day of fun, teamwork, and new experiences!

Last Friday, a group of our Key Stage 1 children visited Kingshill School to take part in an exciting Mini Olympics. From archery and boccia to curling, handball, and badminton, the children approached every activity with enthusiasm and smiles.

The focus of the day was on trying something new, and our children embraced every opportunity. Their teamwork, resilience, and excellent sportsmanship were recognised by the sports leaders, who awarded them special armbands and a certificate - a moment we are incredibly proud of.

Thank you to all the parents who supported with transport and to Your School Games for organising such a memorable event.

We are also looking forward to bringing some of these activities into school next term so that all children can take part.

We would like to say a huge well done to all pupils who have participated in sporting events this term, including the swimming gala and SEN sports. These opportunities would not be possible without the continued support of our parents, staff, and helpers - especially Mrs Morris and Mr Scriver.

Design Technology Day

Today was a celebration of creativity, curiosity, and hands-on learning.

Cygnet Class explored levers and linkages, learning how mechanisms work. They designed and created their own moving monsters, sharing ideas and voting for their favourites before bringing their creations to life.

It was wonderful to see such imagination, teamwork, and problem-solving skills on display throughout the day.

 Forest School

We have thoroughly enjoyed our weekly Forest School sessions. Spending time in the woods has given the children valuable opportunities to explore and learn about our local environment.

Each week, the Cygnets are joined by a Key Stage 2 group, allowing them to build confidence, develop communication skills, and collaborate with others.

A big thank you to Macaroni Woods, our parent helper, and our Forest School lead, Sue, for supporting these enriching experiences.

Cygnets Class News

English
The children have completed their Superhero stories, creating imaginative tales featuring unexpected heroes. They were so proud of their work that we compiled their stories into a class magazine.

Maths

• Reception: Focused on number formation, as well as early addition and subtraction. They are also developing their understanding of teen numbers as “10 and some more.”
• Year 1: Learned about positional and directional language, including left, right, above, and below.
• Year 2: Continued developing their understanding of time, including reading clocks in 5-minute intervals.

Geography
The children have been learning about the weather and how we prepare for different seasons.

Science
We explored habitats and food chains, finishing the term with hands-on scientific experiments.

RE
The children have been learning about Holy Week and created thoughtful “emotional mountains” to represent the journey and feelings within the story.

Thank you for your continued support. We are incredibly proud of all the children and their achievements this term. 

Yesterday, we enjoyed a wonderful adventure to Macarroni Woods, where the children spent the day exploring and discovering the natural world around them.

On arrival, the children eagerly collected their binoculars and treasure boxes before setting off on a woodland adventure. They were given a list of items to find, including animal droppings, fungi, footprints, and other signs of wildlife. We explored the woods on a long walk, and the children were amazed to discover hidden animal skeletons along the way. Among the finds were two deer skulls—one male and one female. Sue explained how skeletons can be identified by looking for two small holes and a bone in the eardrum. Afterwards, the children recorded their discoveries in their explorer diaries and were thrilled with everything they had found.

After lunch, we ventured into a different part of the woodland that we had never visited before. As we walked quietly through the trees, we were rewarded with sightings of a kite, hares, muntjac, and a deer. The children quickly realised how important it was to stay quiet in order to observe wildlife in its natural habitat.

Sue also had a surprise in store for us—we discovered a World War II bunker, along with remnants of buildings that had been destroyed. It was a fascinating insight into the history hidden within the woods.

After our adventures, we walked back to basecamp where the children enjoyed some well-earned chocolate biscuits before playing on the boat and singing boat songs together.

What a truly magnificent adventure that we all participated in!

Cygnets

English The children have continued their Beegu adventure, focusing on using adjectives and extending their sentences. They designed their own alien sock puppets and created imaginative stories about their characters visiting Earth, meeting new people, and going on exciting adventures. The children have worked incredibly hard and are now at the publishing stage of their stories.

Mathematics In Year 1, the children have been learning about the numbers 11, 12, and 13, exploring number bonds, addition, and subtraction. In Year 2, the children have been using directional language such as clockwise and anti-clockwise to describe movement and have been learning how to find coordinates using a grid. They have now moved on to practising their times tables. In Reception, the children have been developing their understanding of numbers, learning what comes before and after, and ordering numbers correctly.

Design and Technology

We spent a full week creating moving storybooks. The children learned how to make pictures move, practising techniques such as rabbits popping out of hats and cars travelling along streets. They designed, coloured, and assembled their own pages before completing an evaluation of their finished project. The final pieces are wonderful!

Science

The children have been learning about different materials by investigating objects in our classroom. They discovered that items can be made from materials such as plastic, wood, fabric, glass, and brick, and discussed how many different objects can be made from the same material.

History

We explored explorers using a timeline.

The children learned about:

• Christopher Columbus, who aimed to travel to Asia but reached the Bahamas

• Mary Kingsley, who travelled to Africa to study insects, fish, and plants and became the first woman to climb Mount Cameroon

• Matthew Henson, who helped lead an expedition to the North Pole

• Dame Ellen MacArthur, who sailed solo around the world in 71 days

PSHE

We have been thinking about what makes people special to us and discussing who we can trust. This is a theme we will continue to explore throughout the term.

RE

The children have been learning about Judaism. They explored Jewish artefacts and their meanings, matched objects to their names, and learned the story of Hanukkah. They discovered why the festival lasts eight days and the significance of lighting a candle each day.

Computing

In Computing, the children are learning to use Microsoft Word to create and format lists. Thank you for your continued support — we are very proud of the children’s enthusiasm and hard work this term!

Cygnets What a busy and exciting start to the term! The children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring our new class text, Astro Girl. Inspired by the main character’s dream of travelling to space, we’ve been researching animals that have journeyed beyond Earth as well as learning about famous astronauts.

Maths ·

Year 2 have been developing their subtraction skills using strategies such as counting backwards and rounding. · Year 1 have been learning key number facts, focusing on all addition and subtraction facts for the numbers 7, 8, and 9. · Reception have been working with numbers to 10—counting objects, ordering numbers, and comparing which amounts are more or less.

Geography The children have been learning about the United Kingdom and its four countries. We explored aerial maps to locate where we live and discussed the features of different places, understanding that a physical feature cannot be moved.

Science

In science, we have been investigating the four seasons and learning how many months make up a year. The children have been thinking carefully about the changes that happen in each season.

Computing

This term, the children have begun learning how to log on and log off laptops independently. They’ve also been creating digital pictures and practising how to use a mouse to navigate computer programs.

Religious Education

The children have learnt about the very first Christmas. We have thought about all the characters and how they would feel when they were given the very exciting news.

Autumn 1 

We have made a wonderful start to the academic year. The children have settled back into their year groups and are making new friends across the class. We began the term by introducing our first topic, “Brave”, through which we are learning about the Celts. During the first week, the children created Celtic costumes and then used them to hide in the bushes and ambush Ms. Davies! She was very surprised by the bows and arrows they had made. In English, all the children have thoroughly enjoyed our first story of the year, Cave Baby. Through this text, we explored the characters' feelings—discussing how Mum, Dad, and the baby might have felt throughout the story. We also focused on describing animals, learning that we can use adjectives to describe nouns. The children used the adjectives they thought of to write wonderful sentences about cave animals. Over the next few days, we will be writing our own versions of the story. Children in Reception have been working hard on their pencil grip and have started learning to write their names. In Maths, all children have been exploring place value:

 Reception have been learning numbers up to five, using Numberblocks to support their understanding. They have also been counting objects and matching them to the written number.

Year 1 children have been working with numbers up to twenty. They have been counting, ordering numbers, placing them on number lines, and exploring one more and one less.

 Year 2 children have extended their knowledge to numbers up to 100. In History, we have begun learning about our personal histories—looking at how we have grown from babies to school-aged children. We will soon be comparing specific events from our own lives with those from the past.

In Religious Education, the children have been learning about the concept of Creation and how some religions believe that God created the world. We listened to the story of Creation and were amazed that it was said to have happened in just seven days! The children have painted beautiful pictures to represent what occurred on each day.

Reception and Year 1 have enjoyed visiting Forest School alongside some of the older children. We have been observing and discussing signs of autumn. In Science, our focus has been the human body. We’ve explored internal organs such as the brain, heart, and lungs. We then moved on to learning about the eyes-discussing the iris and pupil, and how the amount of light affects what we see. This week, we’ve been learning about hearing and how sound travels through vibrations. We played a game of "Guess the Sound" and used adjectives to describe how each sound made us feel.

In Design Technology, we have started learning how to weave. This week, we practised using strips of paper to create colourful patterns.

2024-2025 

Summer 1

In the Cygnets class, we’ve had a very special visitor who has been causing all sorts of mischief – a dragon! It was such a surprise for us all. We’ve written and received letters from a fire station and even created some gruesome dragon-themed menus. One day, another dragon appeared in the playground, and we received a letter explaining that we needed to keep it moist. The children have absolutely loved having our new class pet and will be very sad when it moves on to visit another school. They’ve created some fantastic work and are incredibly proud of their efforts.

In Maths, we’ve been busy learning how to tell the time. We started by thinking about the days of the week and months of the year. Now, we’ve moved on to reading analogue clocks. So far, we’ve learned to tell the time to the hour (o’clock), half past, quarter to, and quarter past. In Reception, children have been practicing reading numbers and counting out the correct amounts.

In History, we’ve been learning all about King Charles and his coronation. We explored the entire process – from the anointing and crowning to his promises and swearing on the Bible. We also looked at the items he holds, like the orb and sceptre. The children were fascinated to learn that there have only been two televised coronations. We compared Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation with the current one and noticed that hers was in black and white! We’ve now moved on to studying the Bayeux Tapestry and learning about William the Conqueror. When we looked closely at the tapestry, we spotted images of historical coronations. We’ll continue exploring this topic next week.

In Religious Education, we’ve been learning about special stories in the Bible and what Jesus was really like – especially how he showed generosity and kindness to those around him. We looked at specific stories that highlight these qualities, and then reflected on our own characteristics and the qualities we value in our friends.

In Computing, we’ve been learning about stop motion animation. We created flipbooks and discussed some of the TV shows and films that use stop motion. Soon, we’ll be making our very own stop motion videos!

In Science, we’ve been learning about life cycles and how we change as we grow. We began by thinking about the different stages from baby to old age and how we can tell when we’ve reached each stage. The children wrote descriptive sentences for each part of the lifecycle. We then looked at adults and their young, matching baby animals to their parents.

What a lovely few weeks we have had in our Cygnets class. The added sunshine has given us all a lovely boost. In this term the children are learning about what makes Britain Great. The children are learning about what makes up the four parts of Great Britain. In our continuous provision we have been exploring farms which include animals and tractors which help to provide us all with the food that we need. We have also explored Pancake Day and all thoroughly enjoyed having a pancake race. Then this week we have been busily looking for signs of spring one of the most exciting things that we have noticed is the baby lambs bleating.

In English, we have been busily learning the story of the Scarecrow Wedding it has been a lovely start to this spring two topic. The children have investigated some of the words that the author has chosen to use and used them within their own speech and in their writing. Some of the words that we have used are words such as exclaimed, sprinkled, hunted, spotted and certain. We understand that if we use these words in our writing it makes it much more exciting.

In Maths, children in Reception have been continuing to count forwards and backwards from one to twenty. The children have also been exploring the idea or more and less this originally started by sight and then by counting. We have also noticed that some groups can have the same amount. During this last week we have been looking at finding a number and saying one more and one less than that number. In Year one the children have been very busy investigating addition and subtraction sentences using numbers up to twenty. We have thought about part, part wholes and how to solve mathematical problems. During the last week we have been learning about fractions the first fraction that we have learnt about is a half. The children have then halved the numbers. We will continue our learning of fractions in the coming weeks. In year two children have been learning about statistics where they have been interpreting a table. We have also learnt how to read and construct a tally chart. We have also been learning to construct our own bar charts. Also we have been learning about fractions we have been learning about haves, quarters and thirds or shapes and patterns and then working them into numbers.

Reception and year one have had a fabulous time at Forest School. We have been thinking about how we would survive in different environments. For the last few weeks we have been building shelters which would keep us protected in the rain and snow (of which we had a little sprinkle during this week’s lesson). We have also learnt about building a fire to keep us warm and safe. Sue explained to the children all about how to keep safe around fires and also what fires needed to maintain lit. The children this week created sparks to start their own fires.

In Geography, we are investigating where we live. Within this we have thought really carefully about the village Southrop and what we can see on an aerial map. We have also learnt how to draw maps and what we can use to show buildings, shops and churches. The children in year two have created their own maps of Southrop and included a key to represent their findings.

In History, we have been thinking about our own personal history. We have learnt about timelines and what happened in our own lives. We have then made photographs from our memories about significant events that have happened in our lives. We are thinking next about events such as birthdays.

In Religious Education, we have been learning about Holy Week and what this means to a Christian. We have thought about the week and what happened at each part of the week. We have acted it out and wrote a recount to explain. During this week we have thought about the emotion attached to the story. We have considered the happy, sad and unsure times of the story and who betrayed him. Within computing we have been learning how to represent data.

In Computing, we have been learning Represent animal-themed data in different ways, using objects and technology. We have learnt to log in and use mouse and keyboard skills to navigate the computer. They have also represent the same data as a pictogram and a table or chart. Last week we have collect data about mini-beasts using a tally chart and represent data digitally.

In science, we have been learning about survival and what we need to survive. During the last few weeks we have thought about what animals and human need. This week we have investigated food groups and how they impact our bodies. We then thought about having a healthy balanced diet which does include treats.

In Reception the children have been learning to add numbers together up to ten and how to make up various numbers. The children have been working hard on their number formation. In year one the children have been continuing to add and subtract teen numbers. They have been working so hard using pieces of equipment. In year two children have been busy multiply and dividing numbers by twos, fives and tens. In English the children finished writing their rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk. The children in their big write changed the character and what had been taken from the castle. The children thought very carefully about the sequence of the story.

In Geography, year one and two children have been learning about the seven continents and which is the largest and smallest. We have also been learning about hot and cold places in the world and what may live in these areas. We have also been learning about the equator and what countries sit along the imaginary line. Reception children have been learning about animals found across the world.

In Science, we have learning about habitats and things that are alive, dead or have never been alive. We chose lots of items that we needed to establish if they’ve always been alive. Next week we will be investigating mini beasts and where we might find them and other habitats across the world.

In Computing children have continued to make their stories and taking pictures. We have then edited the photos. In the next session we will be learning about data handling.

In Music the children have been thinking about performing different songs. The children have thoroughly enjoyed and performing songs to each other.

The children in year one and reception have really enjoyed this terms worth of Forest school. The children have been thinking about things that they may or may not find in the woods or other places. Last week we found a Gorilla which the children knew didn’t live in the woods but how could we keep him safe. As a team we made a gorilla nest that we could all sit inside the children had snack with him. This week the whole class went back to the woods for their final session of this term we played games and the children explored the whole area.

Cygnets were very lucky to be invited to a spiritual day at Kempsford School. The children participated in a number of activities where they thought about what a good friend looked like, how we can persevere, what it takes to be a good team player and being part of a community.

What a busy second half of the term!

Bristol Aquarium

The children in Cygnets have been very busy. We went on our first big adventure. We went to the aquarium in Bristol. On the trip we had a very exciting tour where we learnt new facts about the aquatic animals that were in the centre. At the end we fed the fish. The children had such a lovely time. We had the opportunity to hold shark teeth, a mermaids’ purse and also a piece of shark skin.

Literature festival

What a super adventure we went on when we went to the Literature festival! The children started their day by listening to a story teller who told two different traditional stories. The first story was about a possum who didn’t realise that he had a reflection and took advice from other animals how to solve the problem! The second story was about a monkey who thought that honey was called trouble.

We then went to Watersons to buy our books. The children thought really carefully about what book that they wanted to buy. There was so much choice!

We then went to see the author Joseph Coelho. He told us lots about his life and why he enjoys writing books and poems. He demonstrated different ways to write a poem. He then read us one of his Luna Loves books.

We were so excited to meet him afterwards and the children had a picture with him. The most exciting thing happened that we all met the Gruffalo.

Read Write Inc.News

Reception

Reception children have been working hard this term to learn their sounds and use them in their reading and writing. The children know their single sounds and have started to learn their special friends sh, ch, th, ng and nk.

Year one and two

Have been very busy learning all their sounds and using them in their reading and writing. Within this the children are also learning to read and write polysyllabic words and place names. The children have the opportunity to read the books three times before they bring the books home to practise reading. The children are working hard on reading fluently and with a good pace at the same speed that they would normally speak.

Maths

Reception

During this term the children have been learning to put numbers in order. They have also been learning about the number 5. This includes counting out objects, writing the number and understanding where 5 comes in the number order.

Year one

We have learnt about 2D shapes and named them and thought about the quantities of the shapes including how many sides that a shape has. During the last part of this term we have learnt about addition and subtraction using the phrases more and less.

Year two

We have learnt about hexagons, pentagons and octagons. The children also have learnt about vertical symmetry of a shape. We cut out shapes and explored if shapes were symmetrical or not. We also learnt about the vertices of 3D shapes. We also made lots of pictures using shapes and we did lots of sorting shapes.

Geography

We’ve had so much fun learning about the coast. As part of our studies we learnt about the Jurrasic coast we have learnt about the natural and physical characteristics of the coast. Within this study we labelled the sections of the coast. We then studies Weymouth. We watched a video and completed a tally chart to see all the things that you can see and do in the town. We then made posters to advertise the seaside town and we found out that it’s one of the warmest places to visit. We have then made pictograms of the things that are found at the seaside. 

Religious education

We have continued to learn about churches and what we may find inside them. We have then thought about how we pray and why. The children have created their own prayers for things that they are grateful for. We then looked at the parable the lost son and wrote prayers on behalf of the sons and the father. We have lastly looked at the Lord’s Prayer and the meaning of the words that we are saying.

Science

We have continued to learn about animals habitats. We have though carefully about where animals live with the sea. This then engaged our learning to things about other habitats across the world which included the Artic and Antarctica. We have learnt that grass and moss can grow in the Artic but plants with long roots can’t penetrate the soil as it is so cold.  We have learnt that this is called a tundra.

PE

We have been so lucky to have so many opportunities to be physically active within life at Southrop. This term Reception and year one have thoroughly enjoyed their weekly visits to Macaroni Woods where they have explored the area. We have made toffee apples, story sticks and painted in the forest. Year one and two have improved vastly with their swimming technique and gained a lot of confidence in the water.  On a Monday with Mr Woods the children have homed their skills of using space and balls. On a Thursday PE lesson the children have been playing space games one of our favourites is picking up planets. We are a very competitive class!

As part of our learning we have brain breaks. The children have really enjoyed learning different dances to songs which is also increasing our physical wellbeing. We have also started to meditate through the day. This gives us an opportunity to calm our thoughts and allow us to centre ourselves and reflect on the day.

What a start we have had in Cygnets this Autumn term. We have welcomed some new families to our wonderful school community. The children of all three ages have settled very quickly into the school routines and are enjoying our topic, “Under the Sea.” 

For the first part of this term, the children will engage with the story of Tiddler. We have joined in with the repeated refrains throughout the story. We have then looked at the specific language which the author, Julia Donaldson, has used within this book. In English, we use Read Write Inc. to teach phonics, reading, handwriting and formulating sentences within the phonic stage they are working within. 

In maths, in this first part of the term, the children in Reception are learning to count consistently and finding ways to manipulate numbers. In year one, the children learned place values of up to twenty and ordering numbers. In year two, the children learned about numbers and place values of up to a hundred. Children have been working with numbers between zero and a hundred. We have been learning about place values and tens and ones. By the end of this unit, we will be thinking of numbers ten more and ten less.

In Physical Education, the children have been learning about space and team games. The children have enjoyed the glorious sunshine. We have some very competitive children within our class, which makes for a very exciting PE lesson. On Mondays, Mr Wood has also been teaching children in the field. We have also had our first swimming lesson for the children in years one and two. The children were so excited and couldn’t wait to tell the adults and children about their first swimming session.

The children in Geography have been learning about the water surrounding the United Kingdom. We have also learnt about the four parts of the UK: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We have also learnt about coastlines around the UK and the surrounding waters, which include the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the North Sea. We have also used Google Earth to locate places around the UK, such as Durdle Door, Giants Causeway, Orkney Island, Flamborough Head and Pembrokeshire. The children enjoyed looking at the details as they zoomed from place to place.

As part of our Under the Sea unit, we have been learning in Science about various habitats, and we will continue to learn how to keep habitats safe for organisms to live in.

Reception and year one have had a fabulous time going to Macaroni Woods, where they have explored the new spaces.

From week three, we have started providing the children in cygnets with a snack as well as fruit and vegetables. Thank you to everyone who sent a contribution for this week. Next week, we will have breadsticks, pittas, hummus, and other items.

We are so excited about our trip to the aquarium and can’t wait to share all of our news with you.

Autumn 1, Week 6 and 7

Well done, Cygnets, as we approach the end of term, we are dealing with lots of colds, illnesses and general fatigue, but the children are showing great perseverance. They have given their all in their learning from Phonics to Computing. Each piece of work has been constructed carefully. The Year 1 and 2 are working hard to ensure their sentence structures and punctuation is in place, concentrating on beautifully joined letters and choosing their vocabulary carefully. We have been learning poems with actions and also thinking about homophones in English. We also have been learning some sign language, it is a true joy to see the children use sign language to communicate, a great skill to have.

Next Wednesday, I will be giving out Bronze badges to children who have reached 35 reads. Please comment and number each read so I can reward children who are reading frequently. I have assessed the children in phonics and they are doing so well. I will send out links to videos over the next week with gaps that you may wish or may not (it is half term) to plug over this time. Any questions, please just email. Well done Cygnets, you are becoming confident readers, we are super proud of you!

Please don't forget that next Thursday is Celtic day. Please do not buy a costume, all the children need is a scarf and / or a brooch and if you agree, we will put blue face paint on them so we can run freely through the woods as Celtic warriors. We also have Show and Share and would love you to come and find out what we have been learning this term. 

Please check out our key dates for next term and also our book recommendations on the website (Curriculum - English)  for over the holidays. 

Reception and Year 1 continue to enjoy their trips to Forest School, this week collecting leaves and nuts to make a collage and having some rather startling snacks!

Week 4 and 5

What a week! The children have been amazing in responding positively to all the changes in their daily classroom routines. Their behaviour has been wonderful and they spoke proudly about our school. We are immensely grateful to each of the children and to you, parents for input into our OFSTED process this week.

Again, this week, the children have worked incredibly hard. In Maths, the children are exploring 2D shapes. They have been exploring the properties of shapes from squares to octagons. They have also been exploring numbers in Mastering Number using their stem sentences to compare numbers. In Reception the children are really getting to grips with numbers up to four. They are learning how to write the numeral, recognise the word, count carefully and represent the number in different ways using a variety of resources. I am sure the children will enjoy telling you all about Colin and all his mistakes he has made this week. 

In Phonics, the children have continued to learn new sounds and also review and narrow gaps in their phonic knowledge. We have pushed hard to ensure children are remembering to use their sound mats available to them in every writing task. 

In writing, we continue to explore the wonderful high-quality text, 'How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth'. We have been washing mammoths, un muddling instructions, exploring imperative verbs and looking at the features of instructional writing. 

In Computing, we completed our e-safety and I hope that the children will be able to tell you how they will stay safe online, it is such an important unit in this day and age. Please continue to monitor your child's online activity carefully. 

In handwriting, we have been looking at patterns in Reception and doing some brilliant work on our gross motor skills. In year one and two, we have looked at capital letters this week and are working hard to sit the letters on the lines. 

Some of the children are already creeping towards 35 reads in their reading records which means they will be presented with their bronze stars before the end of term. Well done to all of you who are working hard to support at home, we know how time consuming and frustrating getting tired children to read can be but you are making a huge difference, well done!

Term 1 - Week 2 and 3 

Another busy couple of weeks in the Cygnet Classroom. The children are now in good routines and are working extremely hard at all of the activities that are being offered to them. 

We have been reading Frederick the Fox in preparation for the Burford Literature Festival. We are delighted that the whole school will be attending this year and the children are excited to meet illustrator Lisa Read and do some Foxy activities. 

We have also been continuing our writing unit based on Judith Kerr's, The Tiger Who Came to Tea.  We have roleplayed, made masks and dreamed up our own stories based on this wonderful text. We have stories such as, The Swan who came for a swim, the dinosaur who came for dinner and the fox who came to Faringdon. The children have acted out their stories, talked them through with peers and teachers, planned them and will be putting them into books alongside illustrations on Friday. 

We have had a great start to RWI Phonics this term. The children are enjoying their daily sessions and are building knowledge, fluency and expression. Please continue to read with them at home daily and number their reads so that they can achieve a bronze, silver or gold star. 

We are reading a range of books from our reading spine that is available to the children in our class library. The children are now starting to revisit some of these high quality texts and share them with friends. Please note all children now have their Accelerated Reader logins in their reading record books. They can now access the site at home. Please note the updated URL address from last year. Any problems, please let me know. 

In topic the children have been thinking about the Celts.  They started out by thinking about how we know about this time in history, and how archaeologists find evidence.  The children have then thought about Celtic clothes.  The children have set up their own natural dyes and practiced weaving.  The children also had wool which they are combing and spinning.  Next week they are going to be weaving on looms.

We are looking forward to our end of term whole class forest school Celtic day where we will dress up as Celts (a scarf, cloak is perfect - don't buy or stress). 

In Computing, we read and discussed a wonderful story about Digiduck who needed reminding on how to behave online. We have been exploring how to keep ourselves safe online whilst being kind and respectful to others. The children have learned that if they come across anything they do not understand or unsure about to tell a grown up immediately. They have also been reminded to be kind online just how we would do face to face. 

In RE, we continue the Creation story and we discussed how Christians believe that the world was created by God. We talked about Sundays and going to church and we also discussed what we like to do to take some time out and reflect. 

Our new handwriting initiative is going really well. Well done to everyone who has logged on at home and using it. We can see that handwriting is already improving. 

In Science have been thinking about our body.  The children started by looking at baby photos and tried to guess who was who!  They then had to think about the similarities and differences between themselves then and now.

This week the children had an experiment to do.  Do people with bigger feet need longer gloves. They had to predict their answer.  They all made hand and foot prints, then measure their hands and feet with cubes.  They recorded their results and concluded that if you have big feet you do not need longer gloves.

Forest School has been a big hit and the children are really enjoying exploring the outdoors and making houses for animals. We have had lots of outdoor play, PE we are focusing on games and how to intercept and move around safely in a space. We have had rice, gloop and shaving foam writing alongside lots of painting, constructing and getting a little messy. 

Well done to all of the children in Cygnets, another wonderful couple of weeks. 

Term 1 Week 1

Well, what a fantastic first week back for the Cygnets. The oohs and the ahhs at how different and tidy the classroom is was enough to give us the positive start we needed! 

Each child has grown significantly, both physically and developmentally. They have risen to many a challenge in this short week, and have taken on their new year groups with the best 'can do' attitude and resilience that we could have hoped for. Each child has fallen back into the routine of the school day and despite very high temperatures have given their all in every lesson. 

We have been absolutely delighted to welcome Remy and Esme, our new Reception children to Southrop and they have fitted in beautifully to the Cygnet class. We are so proud of how the Year 1 and 2 children have welcomed them, showing kindness and care to each of them.

We are also delighted to have Mrs Martyn back with the Cygnets, inspiring children and helping them achieve their very best, along with Mrs Brown, Mrs Harz and Mrs Holloway to aid support and work alongside our class. Their positivity and contribution to the children has been huge and they have worked hard together to come up with wonderful ideas and resources to improve the learning environment. 

In English, we are working hard to write lists and plan tea parties with some wonderful guests and party ideas. The story, "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" by the renowned Judith Kerr has gone down a treat and the children are retelling it beautifully, coming up with some wonderful ideas of their own.

In Maths, they have worked hard to count numbers to 20 and explore two-digit numbers. We have used number blocks, base ten and lots of counting apparatus to secure our numbers. 

We have started a new handwriting scheme called Letterjoin, there are details in the children's reading folders to access from home. We have loved improving our gross motor skills and fine motor skills this week.

In RE, we are exploring the concept of what Christians believe,  reading the Creation Story and discussing  how the world may have been created. 

In Computing, we read about Smartie the penguin and all the obstacles he faced online, however we now know if we have a problem online we seek help from a grown up. 

We have been very excited about our Celtic topic called Brave. We watched the trailer of Brave and noticed some Celtic dress and different living conditions to ours. Existing  knowledge has been recorded and ideas collected about what the children would like to find out.  

Please continue to read daily and enjoy a bedtime story each evening. We look forward to a wonderful year and thank you all at home for your fabulous support.