Hello Everyone and Welcome to Rowan Class!

In Rowan class you'll find: 

• Mrs Duncan  (Class Teacher)

• Miss Harris (Teaching Assistant)

• Mixed age class Years 4, 5 & 6: 21 pupils in total 

Rowan Class Update week beginning 20.1.20

Rowan class have had a busy time recently. In English, Y6 have started their joint booster sessions at Great Staughton on a Monday morning: giving all pupils the opportunity to work together to improve their exciting writing and maths skills. We have also read and begun to consider more deeply, one of the key texts from this unit, 'Shackleton's Journey'. Pupils have spent time researching Ernest Shackleton and writing a detailed character description about him. In Maths, we've continued our work on fractions, calculating fractions and percentages of amounts and learning about the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentages. Pupils have learned about different phases of the moon and how the moon orbits the Earth. They have also discovered how the moon's gravity creates tidal changes. Pupils are currently keeping a Phases of the Moon diary. Also in Science, pupils created a pocket version of the Solar System and drew diagrams to explain how the rotation of Earth on its axis, created night and day. In topic, we've learnt about the geography of Antarctica and we've discovered that not all glaciers are white. In art, we have been learning how to mix watercolours to match the different colours found in glaciers.

Rowan Class Update Week Ending 10th of January:

Welcome Back Everyone - Happy New Year!

Two days at Grafham gave Rowan class a most enjoyable and exciting start to the Spring Term. Later in the week, once we were back in class, pupils wrote a diary entry about their Christmas day and completed a recount of their time at Grafham for their exciting writing books. In Science, they also learned that day and night are experienced due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis and that the orbit of Earth around the Sun gives rise to the different seasons. Pupils also completed a pocket Solar System. Pupils have also been learning spellings from this term's topic 'Explorers & Exploration'. Pupils were given a copy of this term's topic map (see below) to take home. An 'knowledge organiser, giving useful information about this topic will also be shared.

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Y4/5/6   Spring 2020

PE: Rugby, dance             PE is on a Friday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please          Homework due back by Thursday please

September 2019:

Welcome to Rowan class. Our topic this term is The Maya - see the topic map below for details. 

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class  Years 5/6   Autumn 2019

PE: Rugby, football, dodge ball                 PE is on a Friday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please          Homework due back by Thursday please

Week beginning 411h of March, 2019 - SCIENCE WEEK!

Rowan had a super start to Science Week with a visit from Lockheed Martin on Monday morning. Pupils were wowed by their presentation on the company's involvement in civil space travel and their development of space landers capable of landing on the Red planet. After looking at some of Lockheed Martin's designs, pupils were challenged to design their own space landers that were strong enough to safely deliver their precious cargo (an egg!). Y6 pupils had the additional challenge of trying to keep their 'build' within the agreed budget of £150 million. Space Landers were then rigorously tested (see below). Later in the week, on Wednesday afternoon, Rowan class had another special science visitor when Mrs Garland came to talk to them about the life cycles of various animals; including Drosophilae which she brought with her. Pupils also had the  opportunity to use microscopes to observe tardigrades. 

Week beginning 4th of March, 2019

Rowan class have been very busy lately! In Maths we have been looking at units of measure and children have been practising converting between different units of length, weight and volume. They have also been improving their understanding of which measurement to use! Year 6 have also been converting between miles and kilometres. In English, we have been working on our grammar, spelling and punctuation - particularly our use of different verb tenses and adverbial phrases. In science lessons we have been learning about different types of reproduction and comparing the life cycles of flowering plants, amphibians and butterflies. In topic we have been looking at how Kimbolton has changed over the years and have learned how to read maps and use 6-digit grid referencing to give a location. We have also complete tests for Maths, Reading and GPS as part of assessment week. We also celebrated World Book Day by writing main character descriptions and summaries of our favourite books. Photos to follow.

February 12th, 2019

Curiosity club enjoyed investigating what happened when you add bicarbonate of soda to vinegar - they discovered that the resultant gas (CO2) inflated the balloons! The group hope to share their investigation with the rest of school next week during a science pop-up session at lunch time. Later, Rowan class had a hugely informative walk around Kimbolton High Street this afternoon: learning about how the village has changed through time. Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Butler for sharing their knowledge on the history of the village with the children - they really enjoyed it and are now brimming full of interesting facts! 

29th of January, 2019

Forest Schools: Year 6 have had their first fire pit session today, a few of them have also made some lovely dream catchers.

Rowan class update week beginning 7.1.19

Rowan class had a super start to the term with their two day residential trip to Grafham Water Centre where they practiced their bush crafting, mountain biking, pioneering, archery and problem solving skills; and played team games (see photographs below). Once back at school, children recounted their experiences during creative writing lessons, then they used laptops to investigate Kimbolton and the local area. In geography we found out about the rivers the world using atlases, maps and the internet. In music we are practicing the songs Y6 will sing at the O2.

SPRING TERM - Planning Overview - Rowan Class Y5/6

PE: Netball; Invasion sports including: gymnastics; bench ball; orienteering

Rowan class update week beginning 17.12.18

Pupils ended the term with: on Monday - a science day- pupils planned their own investigations into how friction could affect the distance travelled by a small car; on Tuesday pupils designed and planned how they would make their Andersen shelters. Then, on Wednesday morning, Rowan class made and furnished their Andersen shelters (see photos below). In the afternoon, for their reward day treat, pupils watched Deano the Magician. A really exciting and fun way to finish the term! Pupils have no written homework over the Christmas break as it is usually a busy time for families but they do need to continue with Maths Whizz and their reading please. Some pupils have been asked to read a little extra.

Finally, many thanks for all your support this term and for your lovely cards, gifts and good wishes. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Rowan class update week ending 30.11.18:
What a busy week! On Monday the ‘Sports Crew’ got us off to a flying start with their super assembly - encouraging everyone to be involved in ‘30:30’ - a new venture, led by Miss Bleakley, encouraging pupils to improve their fitness by completing 30 min of exercise at school everyday and 30 min daily at home. Then on Tuesday, Year 6 headed off to the Royal Opera House to see ‘Carmen’ - what an amazing experience for everyone - including the teachers! See photos below. On Wednesday it was back to lessons and assessment week for everyone! In English, we continued with our ‘Willie’s diaries’ and reflections on Goodnight Mr Tom and Year 5 practised their inferences skills looking at war poems from the anthology ‘What are we fighting for’ by Brian Moses and Roger Stevens. In Maths, we have continued our fractions work: comparing and ordering and finding equivalent fractions as well as adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them! Year 5 have also been finding fraction of amounts. In topic pupils have continued with their independent learning - this week they have researching Anderson shelters - flipped learning their DT lessons later in the week! Pupils have also continued to study different WW1 and WW2 artists - this week they have been learning about Stanley Spencer.

Rowan Class Update Week Ending 12th of October:

Rowan class have had a busy week. In English, we have finished analysing and reciting a selection of First World War poems (see previous posts for clips of some of the children reciting their poems). We have looked at the different types of figurative language and the emotive vocabulary chosen by the poets. In response to images and rare footage from WW1, pupils have created their own word banks, similes and metaphors which they will use to write their own poems. In guided reading some of the class have looked at non-fiction books of WW1 whilst others began reading ' Goodnight Mister Tom'. In Maths, we've revised efficient methods for addition and subtraction and used these methods to solve problems. In topic Rowan have researched WW1 and used the information obtained to create timelines and fact files. In PE they have continued to practise their invasion games skills ahead of this week's DLPT sports days. In addition, some of Y6 entered the Y6 English Challenge.

Rowan Class Update Week Ending 5th of October:

We’ve had a busy week in Rowan. In English we finished off our analysis of the book FArTHER and then planned our stories, set during World War 1, based on this text. I am really pleased with some of the writing - lots of great descriptive language and many of the pupils have written with real emotion. Can’t wait to get them up on the wall. Most of the children finished writing their stories first thing yesterday, leaving the rest of the day to celebrate National Poetry Day. After break, pupils were given a short anthology ofWorld War 1 poetry to read. They then discussed with their partner which poem was their favourite and why and recorded their views in their books. They were then asked to practise performing one of the poems which they will have to learn and perform for a poetry ‘slam’ next week. Rowan class also watched the BBC Live poetry lesson, joining in with the fun activities (see photos below). Also see photos of the class reading and analyzing their poems. In addition to literacy inspired by WW1, pupils have also been taking part in an new activity designed to improved their vocabulary. In Maths, we’ve been solving problems involving place value, rounding and the difference between positive and negative numbers as well as continuing to learn our times tables. In topic we have created timelines for the First World War and researched trench warfare for our stories. Rowan enjoyed their outdoor learning earlier in the week and their tag rugby lesson this afternoon. See photos in an earlier post.

Rowan Class Update Week Ending 28th of September:

Rowan class have been very busy of late. In English we have been reminding ourselves how to use speech marks to show what is said and writing descriptions about the characters we would like to be in our stories inspired by the book ‘FArTHER. We’ve also been predicting what we think will happen at the end of the story. In Maths we’ve finished our work on rounding and are just beginning to calculate the difference between positive and negative numbers. In topic we have been finding out a lot more about World War 1 and what trench warfare was really like. We used what we’d learned to write,in role, a letter home to our families. In science we were imagining what it would be like to live in a world without gravity and we have enjoyed our PE lessons on tag rugby.

Rowan update week ending 14th of September:
Rowan have had a busy week, particularly Year 6 who have completed several baseline assessments. Both year groups thoroughly enjoyed their outdoor learning on Tuesday afternoon and their visit to the Life Bus on Wednesday pm. In the Life Bus they learned about the different organ systems in the body and the importance of maintaining a healthy life style. On Thursday we celebrate Roald Dahl's birthday; children brought in their favourite Dahl books (see photo below). Children also wrote about their favourite Roald Dahl book and researched his life to complete a fact file about him. They also created a new character for their favourite book. In PE, pupils enjoyed the football and rugby session with Mrs Griffiths.

Rowan Class update:
Welcome back everyone! Rowan class have had a busy week. They've completed lots of PSHE work - on 'getting to know each' other: they've described their families, hobbies and favourite foods etc and shared their hopes and aspirations for the school year ahead. We even managed to sneak in some exciting writing - pupils wrote about their favourite day in the holidays. Our topic this term is World Wars and as part of this Rowan class learned about several war artists and they researched and prepared a power point on the war artist of their choice.

Medium Term Planning Overview - Rowan Class Y5/6

PE: Friday pm – Rugby and football. Homework given out on a Friday to be returned by following Thursday.

Medium Term Planning Overview - Rowan Class Y5/6

PE: Dance; Athletics; Cricket

Rowan class update week beginning 4th of June:

A busy week that started with Rowan swimming on Monday morning. In Maths, Year 5 have been investigating 3D shapes. They began by assembling some tricky pre-printed nets and then they used 3D shapes, in class, as a guide when drawing their own nets prior to construction of the shapes selected. They did this very successfully as the photos below show. On Tuesday, pupils were introduced to this half term’s topic - Camera, Lights, Action which will combine The Elizabethan era and Shakespearean drama with the science of light and colour. The pupils worked together in their Kagan groups to create independent learning questions under the headings of: history, geography, science and nature, technology, philosophy and ethics. Whilst Y5 have been surging ahead with their topic work, Y6 have continued with their PSHE, Rainbow Flag work. This week they have been looking at diversity. Y6 shared their understanding of different families with Y1 and 2 - see previous posts. Y6 also learned that people who are different are often bullied because of their perceived differences, this is especially true of people from the LGBT community who are often bullied (HBT-bullying). Y6 designed posters to make clear that this form of bullying is unacceptable. As part of the Rainbow Flag award, the work that Y6 completed with Y1/2 and some of their posters has been used to create a display in the Hall see photos below. In music, pupils are beginning to learn the songs for ‘Macbeth’ which will be our end of term production this year.

Update week beginning February 19th:

Rowan class have had a very busy week. In English, we have been working hard on our stories set in Stuart times. We have included lots of historical details about living in London at that time and about the Great Fire of London or The Black Death. Pupils have been practising using adverbial phrases to add detail to their writing. They’ve also been experimenting with clause order alter the emphasis and impact of what they write. In Maths, we have been studying different metric units of measure and comparing and converting between metric units and imperial measures. In science, we have learned more about microbes: children have researched for themselves how some microbes can be useful e.g. yeast when making beer and bread whilst others can cause serious injury e.g. The Black Death. As part of this unit of work, we have been studying the role of micro-organisms in food decay and have planned an investigation into how bread goes mouldy and the factors that promote the growth of mould on food (see photos below). In history, we have learned more about The Black Death and how, in the absence of any successful treatment and to limit the spread of the disease, those suffering were nailed into their houses. We have written diary entries and letters, in role, to try to give a sense of what it would have been like to have been there at that time.

Update week beginning 29.1.18:

Rowan class have had a busy week! In English, pupils have been identifying details that give a text a historical feel e.g. clothes, household objects and archaic language. We have also been retelling the Story of The Great Fire of London and mapping out the text. Year 6 have been playing around with the order of events to include a flashback. We have also been developing our use of descriptive language. In Maths, Rowan have been converting fractions into decimals and comparing and ordering decimals to three decimal places. We have also been finding percentages and fractions of amounts. In Science lessons we have been classifying different types of micro-organisms and finding out more about those that are useful e.g. yeast and bad for us e.g. flu virus. In topic we have continued to study life in Stuart times and the effects of the Great Fire of London on the capital’s architecture. We have also learned more about the architect Sir Christopher Wren who redesigned and rebuilt St Paul’s cathedral after the fire. In art, we have created some beautiful pastel drawings of the Great Fire of London. We have also looked at architecture before and after the fire and created 3D models of early Stuart period houses. Although we initially used a template, we went on to design our own SD houses using mathematical nets (see below). In PE, Rowan have been developing their hockey skills (see previous posts) and Y5 have been improving their table tennis. Finally, Y6 to the O2 in London to take part in Young Voices; an amazing experience! (See previous posts).

Medium Term Planning Overview Rowan Class Year 5/6 Spring 2018

PE is on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please Homework due back on a Thursday please

Rowan Class Update w/e 12.10.17:

Another busy week for Rowan class. In Maths, we've been learning how to add and subtract using formal written methods and we have used what we have learned to help us to solve a range on one-step and multi-step problems. We also used rounding to estimate and the inverse method to check  our answers. In literacy we self and peer assessed our dragon myths by comparing them to a marking ladder before editing them accordingly. These stories will now be written into handmade books and illustrated. Also this week, in guided reading, some of year 6 continued to read Dragon's Rock whilst most of year 5 have been looking at the poem The Magic Box. The class are now going on to look at this poem in greater detail in English lessons before writing their own version. In R.E. Rowan class have been learning about the significance of artefacts used by Buddhists during worship. In art lessons, Rowan finished their work on Chinese landscapes which were then copied and used to create gilded, Chinese lanterns (photos to follow). In readiness for next half term's sports tournaments, Rowan class practised their dodgeball and rugby skills during Wednesday's PE lesson and they continued to practise their dance steps on Friday afternoon. Finally, in music, pupils have continued to work with pentatonic scales and have composed their own pieces of work. Some photos of the class writing their musical pieces are shown below.

Rowan class are enjoying their weekly outdoor learning sessions with Mrs Tickle. See Mrs Tickle's post below.

We are really starting to make a difference to the raised beds. Rowan class even planted a beautiful silver birch kindly donated by Miss Harris. 

Welcome everyone - a busy term ahead! A curriculum overview for the Autumn term is shown below. This term's topic is 'Dragons, Myths and Magic'.

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Year 5/6   Autumn 2017

PE is on a Wednesday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please and Friday afternoon: Dance indoor kit please     

Homework given out on a Friday for return the following Friday. Pupils also need to do 1 hour Maths Whizz/week

Week beginning 27.2.17:

Another interesting week for Rowan class. On Monday afternoon we had a visit from PCSO Braddick who advised the children on how to stay safe in the local environment and on-line and reminded children of the importance of always letting an adult know where they were going particularly when they were out with friends. In Maths the class were comparing tenths, hundredths and thousandths to their decimal equivalents and learning how to order and round decimals. Rowan class also had the opportunity to use their measuring and scaling skills when they were making pancakes. Our science lesson also involved pancakes - this time the children were looking at how the materials (ingredients) are changed by cooking. The class learned that dry, solid ingredients are added to liquids to make a liquid emulsion or batter which becomes a solid pancake when cooked. Rowan class also learned about the properties of solids, liquids and gases and how their particles differ. The pancakes also sneaked into our PE lesson - see the photos below of our 'Pancake Races'. In literacy we have been retelling a story from another's point of view and learning how to punctuate sentences properly to show who is speaking and what is said.

Week beginning 5th of February, 2017

In English this week we have been learning about the key features of diaries and practising writing diaries about what we did over the weekend. We then moved on to write diaries, in role, as one of Shackleton's crew members; some writing about being left on Elephant Island and others about 'their' journey on the 800 mile trip to St. Georgia in a rowing boat! In Maths we have being using multiplying and dividing of fractions to solve problems and finding fractions of an amount or quantity. In science, Y5/6 investigated the  hypothesis that all living things contain DNA by attempting to extract DNA from strawberries. All of the Y5/6 children successfully followed the extraction procedure and were able to remove DNA from the filtered strawberry puree. See photos below (more photos on Facebook.)

Meanwhile, Y4 learned about the role of magnets in the home and in industry before going on to invent a piece of machinery that could complete everyday tasks using magnetism. In PE the class finished their unit on street dance with Miss Johnson and enjoyed demonstrating their moves to the class! Outside, in tag rugby, they continued to practise their passing skills. In RE Rowan class have continued to learn about Christianity and 'special places'.

Week beginning 23rd January, 2017:

A busy week for Rowan class. In Maths we started the week by adding and subtracting fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers before moving on the multiplying and dividing and problem solving. Year 5 and 6 have also been learning how to use common factors to simplify fractions. Year 4 have been working out how to calculate a fraction of a number or quantity as well as problem solving using addition and subtraction of fractions. In English, we finished our character descriptions of the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton before writing letters of application, in role as potential crew members, hoping to be chosen to accompany Shackleton on his Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The children looked in detail at the pen portraits of each crew member and then tried to suggest qualities that their chosen character might have that would make them suitable candidates. They then had to write a letter persuading Shackleton of their suitability for the role. In science, the children had the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of last term's science topic by writing a non-chronological report on 'Reproduction'. Rowan continued to practise their street dance moves with Miss Johnson and their skills in rugby and dodge ball with Mr Hayward (despite the cold weather).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

Welcome back! This term's topic is 'Explorers and Exploration'. Rowan class will be exploring Antarctica and learning all about the intrepid explorers and their challenges against the wildest, least hospitable place on Earth. See below for a curriculum map.

Medium Term Planning Overview - Rowan Class Y4/5/6 Spring 2017

PE: Rugby, tennis, dance PE is on a Wednesday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please Homework due back by Wednesday please

Week beginning 14.11.16

Another busy week for Rowan class. In literacy, we continued with our work on poetry with a conservation/environmental theme. This week we studied two poems in depth: Surrounded by Noise by Ian Souter which we used to identify onomatopoeic words and From my Window by Martyn Wiley and Ian McMillan which provided similes that attempted to allow the reader to see the beauty in landscapes devastated by pollution. The children went on to write their own onomatopoeic poem about the destruction of the rainforest and have created words banks for their version of the 'From my Window' poem.  In Maths meanwhile, we've been learning formal methods for multiplication including long multiplication by two digits. The children have also been working on their times tables, mental maths and arithmetic skills. In science we have been continuing our work on life cycles: studying the life cycles of butterflies. frogs and fruit flies (Drosophila). In topic the children completed their series of simultaneous timelines showing what was happening in the rest of the world during the expansion of Mayan culture in Mexico. In PE, on Tuesday afternoon, the children continued to improve their ability to work as a team by working (in groups) to move a small ball through a series of pipes. On Wednesday, the class developed their gymnastics skills including their balance.

On Thursday morning, the children enjoyed learning about healthy eating and the importance of maintaining a healthy diet during a visit from Everyone Health. As part of the lesson, children had to learn about different food groups and how to balance them to give a healthy plateful. 

Also on Thursday morning, the children took part in a BBC 'Get Scientific' lesson - learning about electric circuits, circuit components and how electricity is conducted.

Finally, in art, the children examined different examples of Mayan pottery and chose those that they liked best to inform their own pottery designs ready for when we make our Mayan-styled 'coiled pots'.

Week beginning 7.11.16:

Another busy week for Rowan class. In literacy, in keeping with our topic The Maya and our study of the rainforests in geography, we started a new unit of work on poetry with a conservation/environmental theme. We began by looking at the poem 'Mummy oh Mummy' by Anon. The children worked with their partner to identify the rhyming words and patterns and then went on to discuss the meaning of the poem and how best to perform it. The class then used 'Two stars and a wish' to comment on each pair's performance. Meanwhile in Maths, whilst Y4 were taking part in their DLPT Sports' tournament, the Y5/6 pupils investigated factors, common factors and prime and composite numbers and used a 'Sieve of Eratosthenes' to identify all prime numbers below 100. Later in the week the children practised a variety of strategies for improving their mental maths including the use of factor pairs and other known and derived facts to multiply and divide. In science we continued our work on plant reproduction as the children discovered different methods by which plants could reproduce asexually. We also continued our study of different life cycles by observing, through time, the life cycle of fruit flies (Drosophila). In topic the children used their research notes to compile a series of simultaneous timelines showing what was happening in the rest of the world during the expansion of Mayan culture in Mexico. In PE, on Tuesday afternoon, the children had (and enjoyed) their first team building lesson by the Grafham Water coaches. Then, on Wednesday, the class were practising their gymnastics skills.  

On Monday morning, it was Year 4s turn to go to Winhills for the Winter DLPT Sports Tournament. The team competed in a series of games across three disciplines: football; netball and dodge ball and managed to come a very respectable 4th. Well done Y4 (and Y3) and many thanks to Miss Orakci and Mrs Griffiths and drivers for transporting and supporting the children. Later in the week, KPA had a non-uniform day for Children in Need and the children were very pleased to welcome their special guest (Pudsey bear) with a Mexican wave.

Week beginning 1.11.16:

Another busy week for Rowan class. In literacy we edited and proof read our creation myths and our Shipwrecked stories from our previous 'exciting writing'. While in Maths Rowan class continued to add and subtract numbers of 4-digits or more (including decimals) using formal methods for addition and subtraction and used their skills our to solve 'mastery level' multi-step problems. The children checked their answers using the inverse operation. In science we continued our work on plant reproduction in flowering plants as the children discovered the role of different parts of a flower are and learned what happens during pollination and fertilisation. We also began researching the life cycles of amphibians, insects and birds. In topic the children used the laptops to research what was happening in Russia, China and Europe at the same time as the Mayans were developing their cities and culture in South America. In PE the class were practising their dodge ball skills in readiness for the DLPT Sports tournament.

On Thursday morning, Year 5/6 went to Winhills for the Winter DLPT Sports Tournament where each team competes in a series of games across three disciplines: football; netball and dodge ball. Despite being the smallest school there - we WON! Well done team KPA for having a real team spirit and for 'going for it'! We are really proud of you.

Week beginning 17.10.16: 

Wow! What an exciting week for Rowan class. On Monday afternoon, as part of this weeks' 'anti-bullying' events, 'Tom and the Trolls' came to KPA. In this storytelling session 'Tom' and the 'Trolls' tackled the issues raised by bullying at the children's level and helped the children to realise that bullying can include social exclusion and verbal as well as physical abuse. The children enjoyed the session and it provoked interesting comments and remarks during both question time at the end of the performance and back in the classroom. Rowan class were lucky enough to have their photograph taken with Simon and his puppets at the end of the performance.

Then, on Tuesday morning, year 6 (and some of year 5) braved the rain to take part in a tag rugby tournament. Team KPA were great ambassadors for our school; not only were they 4th out of 14 but they also demonstrated great team spirit and excellent behaviour, well done !!

There was further excitement at Wednesday's celebration assembly when Head Girl and Head Boy and the House Captains were given their badges. Emily and Oliver are Head Girl and Boy and Freya, Joe and Emily are house captains for Montagu, Wingfield and Mandeville respectively.   Emily and Oliver (Head Girl and Head Boy) House captains:  Freya,  Emily and Joe.

Despite all this excitement we also found time to finish off our Creation myths in literacy and write and edit our second piece of 'Exciting Writing'. In maths we used the column method to add and subtract and addition and subtraction to solve problems. Answers were estimated using rounding and checked using the inverse method. In science we continued our work on sexual and asexual reproduction as we drew and labelled the male and female parts of flowering plants using lilies for reference. 

Rowan class' school councillors for this year are: 

Year 4: Jodie and Harrison

Year 5: Madeleine and Oscar

Year 6: Oliver and Joe

week beginning 10.10.16: 

Another busy week in Rowan class. In maths we've been reading, writing, ordering and comparing decimals up to three decimal places.  We have also been partitioning decimals and placing decimals on a number line. Rowan class have also been multiplying whole numbers and decimals by 10, 100 and 1000 and using their knowledge to solve problems involving place value and multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals. In literacy we have been finishing off our Mayan creation myths and editing them to ensure our sentences vary in length and structure and that we have used paragraphs to organise our thoughts and ideas effectively. In science we've been looking at sexual and asexual reproduction and the advantages/disadvantages of both types of reproduction. We have also been investigating which type of plants and animals use sexual or asexual reproduction and showing our findings in  Venn diagrams. In Topic, we learned more about the culture of the ancient Maya and place key events from their time period onto a timeline along with other major events that were happening elsewhere in the world at that time. Meanwhile, in PE, we've been practising our tag rugby skills, running with and passing the ball down the line, in readiness for Tuesday's Y5/6 DLPT Sports'Tournament in which tag rugby is one of the games played. Good Luck team KPA!

week beginning 3.10.16:

It's been another busy week in Rowan class. In maths we have been learning how to round whole numbers (2- to 7-digits) to the nearest 10, 100, 100, 10,000 and 100,000 and decimals to 3 decimal places to the nearest hundredth, tenth and whole number! We've also been solving problems involving rounding and place value and completing 'nrich' mathematical investigations. In literacy, in our Kagan groups, we read and retold the Mayan creation myth, 'To the stars by canoe' and mapped it's story structure onto a story hill. We went on to use this simple narrative structure as a model for our own stories. The children began by creating a mind map of their story ideas which they then mapped onto a story hill or 'boxed' up into sections that would become paragraphs. They considered how they would use paragraphs to organise their writing and how they could use fronted adverbials and other connectives to link their thoughts and ideas together. Rowan class are hoping to display their final, edited, stories in a class book of 'Mayan' creation myths. In topic, Rowan class learned about the structure of a rain forest and used laptops and books to research each layer (from the high emergent trees to the forest floor) and the plants and animals that might be found there. The children went on to use their knowledge of branching keys to classify the animals of the rain forest that they had researched. The rain forest theme continued in art as the children learned and attempted to emulate the style of the French artist Henri Rousseau. On top of all that we had the KPA BAKE OFF! Rowan children did our class proud... not only did the cakes look amazing but they tasted delicious too! Class winners will be announced in Tuesday's celebration assembly. Well done to everyone who baked - sale of the donated goodies raised nearly £70 for school funds.

28.9.16 Y6 ENGLISH CHALLENGE, Bushmead Primary

Well done to the children who took part in today's Year 6 English challenge, at Bushmead, we just missed out on a top 3 position! Team KPA did however get the prize for the best strategic planning! Well done all - great teamwork. 

week beginning 26.9.16:

This week Rowan class have been continuing their work on Creation myths. They have been thinking and writing about the setting for their own stories - the rain forest. We've been looking at lots of photographs and video clips to help us imagine what it would be like to be there and using our senses to describe what we might see, hear and feel. The children have been using interesting adjectives to describe the scene and create noun and extended noun  phrases as well as sentences and short paragraphs. Myths are written in the past tense so we have also been looking at and practising writing in verb tenses: simple past and present tense and progressive and perfect forms. In guided reading we've been looking at the key features of non-fiction books and discovering more exciting facts about Mexico. Meanwhile in maths, we have continued our work on place value - calculating and problem solving with negative numbers in context and have investigated Roman numerals. We discovered that the number number system used by the Romans did not have a zero and that it used letters and not the digits we use today. Most children can read and write Roman numerals up to 1000 and can read the years in Roman numerals. Years 4 and 5 were also practising adding 10 and multiples of 10. In topic we have been learning about rain forests, where they are located on a map of the world, and the organisation of trees and plants therein. In science we studied the scientist Carl Linnaeus and discovered how the classification system he devised is still used to classify plants and animals today. We looked at how animals could be classified as non-vertebrates or vertebrates and how the latter could be sub-classified into: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish. The children were asked to find out more about Carl Linnaeus for their homework this week.

In addition, our excited Year 6 children joined other Y6 children from the Trust on a trip to the ballet, to the Royal Opera House, to see 'La Fille Mal Gardee' - they had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

week beginning 19.9.16

Rowan class have enjoyed another busy week. In English we have continued our study of Mayan creation myths by comparing different versions of the same story and investigating the key features of this text type. This week we have been looking more closely at the language used in creation myths, especially the rich descriptive vocabulary and exciting verbs. Rowan class have studied the use of simple past and present tenses of regular and irregular verbs as well as progressive forms of both tenses. In SPAG (Spelling, punctuation and grammar) lessons we have been working on homophones. The children have been comparing the spelling and meaning of many of the most commonly used homophones e.g. their; there and they're. In Maths, we have been extending our understanding of place value by counting backwards and forwards through zero to include positive and negative numbers on a number line and in context e.g. using a thermometer. Some children have been using their reasoning skills to solve worded problems involving temperature - they were able to recognise the direction of change and could calculate by how much either independently or by using a number line for support. In science we investigated the seven characteristics of living things and recognised that all living things must: move, respire, be sensitive, grow, reproduce, excrete and have  and that this list can be remembered by the acronym 'MRS GREN'. Homework for this week is given below. 

Welcome back Rowan class! It's been a busy week. The children have settled well and have been working hard on their new topic, The Maya.  A copy of the curriculum plan, showing what we will be studying this term, is published below. We've already discovered who the Maya were and used atlases and interactive maps to explore where they were from. The class have also been learning about the physical and human geography of Mexico and other countries nearby. Rowan class also learned about the social structure of Mayan people and designed their own Mayan masks.The children also really enjoyed yesterday's visit from the Forest Owl (see photographs below and Gallery for more photos).  This week's homework can be found in the 'Homework' block below.

week beginning 12.9.16

Another busy week in Rowan class! In English we've been reading Mayan creation myths - predicting what we think would happen next in the story based on what we'd read so far - using evidence from the text to justify our point of view. We also identified the key events, ideas and characters in the story and used 'freeze-frames' to describe what was happening and how the characters were feeling at significant parts of the story. In a later lesson we used storyboards to summarise the story. In maths we've been revisiting place value - reading, writing, ordering numbers up to 10,000,000 and identifying what each digit represents. Some of the children used their reasoning to solve problems on place value. In geography, the children finished their work on the physical geography of Mexico by creating a map to show: deserts; mountain ranges; high plateaus, low lying coastal areas and dense tropical rain forests. We will go on to study rain forest habitats  in greater detail. On Tuesday, it would have been Roald Dahl's 100th birthday - the children celebrated by dressing up as characters from his books or wearing yellow - his favourite colour! We had a variety of costumes including: A Wonka Bar; Willy Wonka; Veruca Salt; Matilda(s); Miss Honey; Mr Twit; Miss Trunchbull; James with a large peach;  Danny from Champion of the World, The BFG & Sophie; a Grand High Witch or two; Grandpa Joe and a Fantastic Mr Fox! Well done to everyone! In PSHE, we made our own dream jars filled with 'dreams for a better world'. The children thought of others and 'dreamt for' among other things: a world without poverty and war; clean water for everyone and an education for all. Look out for them the next time you're in school (photos to follow). Rowan class have also been working hard on their handwriting - we have recently introduced the 'Nelson' scheme for cursive, joined handwriting across the school.

Some of our freeze-frames - the children wrote their captions in their books

Rowan class as their favourite Roald Dahl characters:

 some children wore yellow because that was Dahl's favourite colour!

Welcome everyone - a busy term ahead!  A curriculum overview for the Autumn term is shown below. This term's topic is 'The Maya'.

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Y4/5/6   Autumn 2016

PE: Rugby, football, dodge ball                      PE is on a Friday afternoon: indoor and outdoor kit please          Homework due back by Wednesday please

week ending 18.11.16:

Maths: 

Homework:

week ending 21.10.16:

Maths:

Children to continue to practise their times tables and use Maths Whizz and Mathletics.

Literacy:

Children to learn and practise their Y3/4 or Y5/6 spellings as appropriate (see grids below). Pupils should now be able to read, spell and understand the meaning of all words in Wall A for their year group; they should use a dictionary or an on-line dictionary to find out the meaning of any unfamiliar words. 

week ending 14.10.16:

Maths:

Literacy:

week ending 7.10.16:

Maths:

Literacy:

week ending 30.9.16:

Science:

week ending 23.9.16

Literacy:

week ending 16.9.16

Maths: 

week ending 9.9.16

SPELLINGS:

Years 5/6 Wall A:

Years 3/4 Wall A:

Week beginning 18th July:

A quieter week for Rowan class. Year 6 were at Hilltop in Norfolk on a residential visit with the other Year 6 classes from the DLPT; Mrs Whiting and Miss Orakci  accompanied them. They were very lucky with the weather. The children enjoyed a wide range of team team building games and activities including: archery; wall climbing; crate stacking; power jumping and the zip wire!  Back in the classroom we were busy investigating what types of materials made good conductors of electricity and which did not. The children designed their own investigations, selected the materials and collected their own data. They concluded that the best conductors were metal. Materials like plastic and wood didn't conduct electricity and so they were good insulators. 

Year 6 at Hilltop:

Week beginning 11th of July:

Wow! What a busy week... Year 6 last week at KPA 

The week started with a 9.30 a.m. dress rehearsal for the End of Term production 'Cinderella Rockerfella'. The cast were ready - an amazing feet given we'd only started practising the production the week before and year 6 had two transition days; but we were dealing with professionals here. Lines were learnt, costumes sourced and the singers were in good voice. This was a whole school performance and everyone was involved - it was an 'all hands on deck' production. The dress rehearsal and further matinees and evening performances went brilliantly our 'bakers' would have given The Great British Bake Off a real run for their money - lots of mixture stealing and flour flicking. Buttons kept everyone informed and her talking dog kept an eye on the Fairy Nastyboots and her naughty cat. Of course, the story had a happy ending, Cinderella - in a beautiful blue dress - finally met the man of her dreams and the Fairy Godmother promised the Ugly Sisters a makeover (the boys looked nervous at this point!) The Fairy Brigade earned their wings and the audience clapped. A fabulous performance everyone.  A huge thanks to everyone who lent a hand; not forgetting the PTA who supplied the much needed refreshments. Thank you!

A few photos from the performance - lots more on our Facebook pages and in the Gallery section.

Week beginning 27th of June:

Another busy week for Rowan class. In English we explored the Shaun Tan book 'The Red Tree' further. We began the week with a Philosophy for Children session (P4C). Initially children worked in their Kagan groups to share their ideas and to think of some questions they'd like to ask the author and that they thought the text raised. Their initial questions were very literal and based on the text for example 'Why are there no capital letters in your book?' but as the session progressed the children found themselves discussing the ethics of documenting your childhood in a book, faith and happiness asking questions such as 'Do you need to have faith to be truly happy?' The children found the session thought provoking and felt it had given them much greater insight into the text. Some of this work is on display in the hall. Have a look the next time you are in school. On Tuesday it was 'Transition Day'. Year 6 played team building games outside with Miss Webb whilst children in other year groups 'moved up' for the morning. Year 4 and 5 stayed where they were but became Year 5 and 6 and we welcome Year 3 from Oak class as the new Year 4.  During the children drew self-portraits of themselves and a speech bubble giving details of themselves and their aspirations for the new academic year. These will form a display outside the classroom in September to welcome the children back to school and to Rowan class. On Thursday, Chris and Grace from Rowan joined team members James and Olivia from Oak to take part in the final of the Cambridgeshire School Games competition and.... they were Bronze finalists (3/200 schools!) Well done team KPA - a huge achievement for our small school. Further success followed on Friday when our Year 5/6 Maths team WON the Longsands' 2016 Maths challenge another great achievement for our small school. What a week !! 

Children sharing ideas and deciding on their initial questions for their P4C session on 'The Red Tree'

Well done team KPA - Bronze finalists Cambridgeshire School Games 

Well done team KPA - Longsands Maths Challenge Winners 2016 

Week beginning 20th of June 2016:

This week in literacy Rowan class started to study 'The Red Tree' by Shaun Tan.  The book is based on images inspired by the experience of depression. The main character is a lonely red-haired girl. The children predicted what the book would be about by looking at a single image taken from the book and had to justify their opinions using evidence from the sparse text. They went on to produce a list of synonyms for 'sad' and in their Kagan groups rank them according to the intensity of feeling they represented e.g. sad to wretched. They then used these synonyms to write sentences explaining how the main character is feeling. Rowan class used drama to explore the text further, in particular 'conscience alley' to help the main character to decide how to overcome her sadness. At the beginning of the week Year 4 & 5 revisited place value. Children represented numbers in different ways including in words. They went on to investigate symmetry and to complete symmetric patterns and shapes. Year 6 continued with their Y7 transition work on spirals. In PSHE we were continuing our work on Democracy. After a special European Referendum assembly and a lively classroom debate the results of the ballot in Rowan class were 73% in favour of Remain and 27% wanted Britain to leave the EU. In topic, the class were researching theatre in Ancient Greece.

Children using 'conscience alley' drama technique to advise the red-haired girl in the book 'The Red Tree' on what she should do:

Week beginning 16th May:

SATS are over!

Year 4 went to Grafham on a residential visit; Mrs Duncan went with them.

Year 4 had a fantastic time in Grafham. On Monday we had the high ropes and the climbing wall. Year 4 were really brave. Some children even made it to the top of the climbing wall! In the evening the children enjoyed the 'Grafham Challenge' - where they had to walk, blindfolded, through the woods with only a rope and each other as a guide. Children had to feel their way along the rope and give instruction to those behind. Along the way the 'naughty squirrels' dropped unmentionable things onto their heads (water mainly)- it was so disgusting! The children loved it and they got soooo dirty. Sorry folks! After that there was just enough time for some orienteering and then it was time for hot chocolate and bed. Most of the children  slept well though one or two still had the tickly cough that's been going round.

Next day it was up bright and early for a mega breakfast. Before heading off to Grafham water for a session on the water in the Canadian canoes. The children learned how to paddle a canoe and attach rafting planks. Then they had some team games on the pontoon before paddling to the 'beach' for a quick picnic. After lunch it was archery and bush craft. The children practised their skills with a bow and arrow before learning how to work as a team to erect a shelter and light a camp fire.

Last day. After a hearty breakfast the children donned their wet suits before going back to the lake for a raft building session. The wet suits were handy as it was absolutely pouring! This didn't stop the children from having a fantastic time - they got really wet anyway. After a hot shower and lunch it was time to head home... everyone had really challenged themselves, made lots of new friends and had a great time.

SATS WEEK:  Monday 9th - Thursday 12th of May.

Monday:          Reading paper (9.00 - 10.00 a.m.)

Tuesday:         Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Short answer paper (9.15 - 10.00 a.m.)

                            Spelling paper (10.35 - 10.50 a.m.)

Wednesday:        Arithmetic paper  (9.15 - 9.45 a.m.)

                             Reasoning paper 1 (10.35 - 11.15 a.m.)

Thursday:            Reasoning paper 2 (9.15 - 9.55 a.m.)

Friday:                NO SATS

SATs Breakfasts - Monday 9th - Thursday 12th May @ 8.15 a.m. In Hazel.

Monday: Hash browns,sausages & beans; cereals; toast & fruit juice.

Tuesday: Pastries, croissants & jam; cereals; toast & fruit juice.

Wednesday: Bacon 'butty', cereals; toast & fruit juice.

Thursday: Waffles & syrup/jam; cereals; toast & fruit juice.

Week beginning 9th of May Homework Year 4 + 5 - Thank you for all your fantastic letters! You have persuaded me... see my reply in your homework book!!

Forgotten to take your book home? See letter below.

                                                                                                                Kimbolton Primary Academy,

                                                                                                                Newtown,

                                                                                                                Kimbolton,

                                                                                                                PE28 0HY.

                                                                                                                Friday, 6^th of May 2016.

Dear Year 4 and 5 pupils,

Thank you for all your excellent persuasive letters on the subject of homework.  I have considered all of your arguments carefully.

Firstly, you’re right – children can learn in lots of different ways – especially when they’re outside in the sunshine.

Secondly, it’s a great idea to get as much exercise as possible; cycling, walking and swimming are really good fun too.

Finally, new experiences are important in children’s development: they broaden the mind and give you lots to talk/write about.

With that in mind… I have decided that (for this week only) your homework is to:

• be out in the sunshine (with a hat and sun cream)
• ask your family if you can go for a walk/bike ride or swim
• eat a large ice cream (or lolly)… a flavour you don’t normally choose (optional)

and have a lovely weekend with your family.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Duncan

Homework - Week beginning 25th of April due in Wednesday 4th of May.

Maths:

Must: I can show that I can add and subtract fractions.   

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Y4/5/6   Summer 2016

PE: Swimming; Athletics;  Cricket & Tennis

Welcome back - Spring is here!

This term our topic is a Local Area Study of Kimbolton. Some of the things we hope to do are outlined in the curriculum map below.

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Y5/6

PE: Netball; Invasion sports including: football, dodge ball and rugby

Week ending 16.10.15

Rowan class welcomed two magistrates into school today.  The visitors, who were representing 'Magistrates in the Community', told the children about their work, discussed law and order in modern Britain and considered the effect of a criminal record on life choices in the future.  We were very proud of all the children and their sensible questions. 

This term we are studying World War 1 and 2

Medium Term Planning Overview  -  Rowan Class Y4/5/6

PE: Outdoor – Rugby – Friday pm

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