Welcome to Maple Class

Your teachers are Mrs Hunt and Mrs Freiman. We are very excited to be teaching you with the support of our fantastic teaching assistant, Mrs Stevens.

In Maple class, we enjoy learning and we know how to work hard whilst still having fun! We have some fantastic topics that we will be covering throughout the year, including Space Explorers, Australia and Antarctica and the Great Fire of London. We are hoping to learn some new facts from you!

We both love reading and telling stories and know how important being a great reader is to being an independent learner. We look forward to not only hearing you read, but also to find out about the stories you have enjoyed and your favourite authors. To foster a love of reading, here at Newtown, we have the 100 club, where prizes are awarded to those children who read regularly at home. Who will be the first to reach the milestone of 100 reads this year?

Key things to remember:

• PE lessons are on a Tuesday and Wednesday, but your kit needs to be in school every day.
• Children are expected to read daily and record this in their reading records.
• Spelling and Maths homework will be sent home every Friday in your orange learning destination book. All homework must be completed and handed in by the following Friday.
• Your learning destination book can also be used for any additional home learning that you wish to be included. We love seeing all the learning that you do at home.

Make sure that you come back to this class page so that you can see what exciting things our class have been getting up to at school.

Mrs Hunt and Mrs Freiman

Longleat Trip

This week we were lucky enough to go on a trip to Longleat. Whilst there we had an amazing day exploring the park and meeting lots of different animals. We started our morning with a trip on the boat where we got to feed the sealions some fish. We also saw the monkeys, the gorillas and even the hippos (even if they did just look like mud piles). After our boat trip we caught the Longleat train and spotted some signs of spring. Throughout the afternoon we wondered around the park looking at different animals and before home time we even managed to squeeze in a visit to the adventure playground. Take a look at our wonderful photos! 🙂  

Foodies

Our topic this term for Foodies was ‘Street Food’.  We had a great time learning about all the different types of street food there are around the world.  We particularly liked ‘Bunny Chow’ from South Africa but were glad it didn’t actually involve bunnies!  We chose our ingredients for a vegetable stir fry and got to practise our cutting skills as well as learning how to use chopsticks

Wednesday 8th March Home Learning

Science

We have been investigating microhabitats in Science and after discovering what makes a good habitat, we decided to put this knowledge to good use and make some inviting habitats for the minibeasts that live in the Secret Garden. In a few weeks' time, we hope to go back and see all of the creatures we have managed to attract!

Visit to Trowbridge Library

Maple Class had a great time visiting Trowbridge Library this term.  We were very lucky to have Tracy (the Children’s Librarian) read us a few stories that were hilarious!  After that, we spent time looking for fiction and non-fiction books that we were interested in reading and finally those of us who had their library cards were able to borrow the books to take home.  We learnt some great facts about the library:

• it’s free to join and borrow books
• you can have a library card from the day you are born.
• you can borrow up to 12 books at any one time.

It was also very lovely that some of our parents were able to join us for our visit and spend time sharing books with us too.  We can’t wait to go back again soon.

Exploring Bridges

Maple class have been learning all about bridges. They began by exploring with different materials in the classroom to see which would make the strongest bridge. They tested the strength of their bridge and then, after a whole class discussion, attempted to make them even stronger. The children found out about different types of bridges, why bridges are made using particular shapes and the materials that are used to make them really strong and durable. After designing their bridge, they made a prototype to ensure they knew how to make the main body of the bridge. Then, it was on to the making! The children thoroughly enjoyed making their bridges and worked really hard to produce a fantastic product.

Remembrance Day

The children in Maple class enjoyed making Remembrance Day wreaths on Friday. They drew around their hand on different shades of green card. Once cut out, they glued the pieces of card together to make the wreath. They then made poppies out of crepe paper. To make the poppies 3D, they stuck two pieces of paper together and finished them off with black card in the centre. The children were very pleased with their wreaths and so they should be. They looked fantastic!

Shoebox Habitats

In Science, Maple Class have been learning about animals and their habitats.  To celebrate our new-found knowledge, we chose a habitat to re-create and populate it with the animals that call this environment home.  To make the habitats we used shoeboxes for the structure and then a range of recycled materials, paint, old wallpaper samples and natural materials.  We hope you like them!

Police Visit

Today Maple Class had a visit from two very special visitors:  PCSOs Adam and Tom who came to talk to us about their job and how they help to keep us safe.  We got to go in the Police van and see how the blue lights and sirens work.  We also learnt the important numbers to call if we need help: 999 and 101 if it isn’t an emergency.

Astronaut Day

Maple Class began the year with a very exciting day – Astronaut Day! All the children dressed up. They made such an effort and looked awesome! They took part in a range of activities including, making their own astronaut mask, completing an astronaut quiz, tasting astronaut space food, an obstacle course and fine motor skills using an astronaut glove. They even boarded a spaceship and flew to the Moon with Commander Marshall. We all had a brilliant day and I’m sure it is a day the children will remember for a long time.