Wild Tribe 

Today class three's enquiry question took us outside to learn more about the Ancient Maya. Their research into Maya pyramids, hieroglyphs, cocoa and the number system culminated in the class interpreting objects into a 3D form using clay and modelling dough, tasting Maya inspired hot chocolate by the campfire and challenging each other to represent numbers using the number system invented by the Ancient Maya. An inspiring day of learning and curiosity! Well done class 3!

Welcome back to Spring 1, we hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and are ready for a busy 2024.

Our wider curriculum enquiry question is Why 'settle' in Britain?, our topic focuses on the Anglo-Saxons which links into their previous Autumn enquiry about the Vikings.
Attached below is the homework grid and curriculum map.

Our Wild Tribe session for the term will be held on Wednesday 17th January, a letter has been sent out as a reminder.
Please keep checking the website for pictures and updates.

We look forward to an exciting term!

Mrs Alberts, Mrs Thomas, Miss Bawden and Mrs Dungey.

Welcome back! We hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas holiday and are looking forward to the new year and all the opportunities and experiences that await us in 2024.

In Class 3, our enquiry question in the wider curriculum will lead us to comparing and contrasting ancient civilizations and the learning grid for this half term in attached below. Our enquiry question question this term in "Who were the Ancient Maya? How does their lives and legacy compare to the lives and legacy of the Anglo-Saxons? 

Below, you will also find the practice booklets for each spelling group and the homework menu for this half term which follows the same format as the one from the Autumn term.  

The homework menu for this half term is also below. Each week you need to choose one of the ideas below and bring it into school by Friday. Choose any five from the options below and complete your choices in any order.

This half term (Spring 1) our Wider Curriculum Enquiry Question is 'Who Invented Toys?'
The main focus of our learning in this area will be linked to Historical Enquiry with additional links made in Science, Computing and Art. 
The children have talked about what they already know and come up with some questions that they want to answer. We have used these questions to create our Homework Menu. Homework can be something physical that the children bring into school, something they talk about or something they photograph (which can be emailed).

Below is the Homework Menu and the Wider Curriculum Enquiry overview.

This term our enquiry question was linked to rivers, we therefore decided to study Claude Monet and his river scenes.
Our final piece combined all of our previous knowledge of how he painted and the class were very impressed with their attempts at his famous Thames river scene!

Class 2 had the opportunity to go and sing Christmas songs at the local care home on Wednesday morning, the staff and residents emailed to say how polite and well behaved the class were and how they can't wait for a repeat visit next year!
The class created individual Christmas cards for the residents, who were delighted and once the singing was finished they were treated to chocolates and cookies!
Class 2 have also been busy making Christmas Cake and shortbread for the Nativity!

Wild Tribe Day 

Making the most of a break in the rain, Class 3 took their learning outside today. Using a range of map and Maths skills we were able to answer fractions questions, solve puzzles, unscramble clues and locate orienteering controls within our field and Wild Tribe Area. 

We then wove willow wreaths as decorations for Christmas - these wreaths are a real demonstration of the creativity and determination in class 3. 

A Wild Tribe Day would not be complete without cooking on the campfire. Toasted marshmallows and smores proved very popular with the class once again demonstrating their wide range of skills and 

River Fieldwork

On Wednesday we went onto the moors to look at the features of the river. We found erosion, made a dam and saw how it meandered.
It was such a beautiful day that we could see all the way out to sea!
We also used maps to find our location and used our compass skills to find North, East, South and West!

What a week at Darite! First we have world famous BBC stars in our midst and then  we finish the week with a visit from our MP. The children were really excited to see the school and their friends on the CBeebies show Fred and Pete’s treasure tales. The BBC came to film way back in March and the episode finally aired this week. The children performed amazingly and we were all so proud of them. Make sure you check iPlayer for the episode “The Storyteller’s Hook” if you haven’t seen it. 

We also welcomed Sheryll Murray MP to school today. She spoke to the children about how parliament and government works and had time for photos and questions. She met the school council and was able to give them some advice. Thank-you to Ms Murray for taking the time to visit us. 

This week we also took time to reflect on the remembrance services that will be happening this weekend. As always, the level of respect, thoughtfulness and kindness shown by the children was wonderful to see.

This term continues to race towards Christmas with lots of activities planned. Please make sure that you keep up to date with key events on the website and newsletter.

This half term our Wider Curriculum has a Geography focus. Our enquiry question is 'What is special about where we live?' It builds on our previous History enquiry about Cornish miners and will help develop skills we can use for our Amazon enquiry in the Summer Term.

Welcome back to Autumn 2,  our wider curriculum enquiry question is 'Why are rivers important?'.

We will be learning how rivers form on high ground and change as they journey to the sea, by the end of the enquiry the children will be able to name the key aspects of rivers and explain the water cycle.
In Science we are continuing to learn about forces and magnets, we will create a painting of a river in Monet style in Art and in DT we will design and make a Christmas card using linkages.
In Music we are learning to perform and recognise notes using a glockenspiel,  in ICT we will produce and edit a piece of digital art linked to rivers.
In RE we will explore what it is like to follow God and in PSHE we will celebrate difference.
In French, children will be able to recall and spell 10 action verbs.

It's lovely to be back in class 3 for the second half of the autumn term. Ms Godby-Blake and Mr Whipps teach the class with the support of Mrs Dungey and Miss Bawden. We're looking forward to the term ahead and useful information can be found on the documents below. Please note that PE kits will be needed on Mondays and pupils should come to school in their school PE kits. Spelling lists will be sent out at the beginning of each week but overviews for the term are also available below.

Our enquiry question for the term has a Geography focus as we explore and answer, 'how does the physical geography of an area affect the people who live there? Watch this space for examples of the learning taking place in class 3!

Wild Tribe Day this term will be on Wednesday 6th December. Please can pupils come to school in their wild tribe kits with welly boots and waterproofs. 

Class 3 welcomed Claire Newman to school. We were incredibly lucky to be able to have her visit as she works for NASA! Claire is a senior research scientist working to understand the atmospheres of Mars and Titan and looking at weather patterns! Her work had been carried out by the Curiosity Rover on Mars – making the first measurements of winds around the Martian dunes. The children were fascinated and horizons were definitely broadened in the afternoon. Huge thanks to Claire for making time to come and talk about her work with us. 

Class 3 Banquet 

Class 3 have celebrated the end of their enquiry by cooking and baking a range of Greek food. The class enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to try new foods and sample each other's cooking. The class should be very proud of their collaboration.  

This half term we have been learning how to dance with a specialist teacher called Paula. We have learnt how to mirror and canon. We produced a final dance piece called Adventure. Scan this QR code to watch our performance.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Harvest Celebration on Wednesday. The children really enjoyed making the soup and table decorations. Use a device to scan these QR codes to watch the children singing. 

This week we begin new learning in English and Maths.
In Maths we are starting our Addition and Subtraction Unit where we will be applying the skills we acquired in our previous unit: Place Value.
In English we are going to be learning about instructions and specifically about instructions used for games. 
Both learning journeys are attached below. 

Class 1 visited Wheal Martyn museum this week as part of our topic 'What was life like for a Cornish miner?'

We had a guided tour of the site from Nolan who used to work as a miner. 

We got to look down into the pit and find some pieces of quartz on the floor. 

In the afternoon we worked with Gemma to dress up as people from the past.