de Vere Primary School

25th May 2023

The photos say it all in this update as we have had the luxury of not one, but two specials days to compliment our exciting curriculum. Firstly, along with Thunburg Class in Yr 6, we had visitors come from the World War I Heritage Trust to see us with World War I flight simulators, historic photographic presentations, war poetry and art, and a quiz! The children were fascinated to interact with the simulators and our visiting co-pilots for the day. Thank you to Mrs White for organising this extra-curricular day.

Then, we visited Daws Hall Nature Reserve to learn all about Rivers ahead of our new topic next term, and to participate in a number of field experiments and scientific testing. The children experienced ‘kick sampling’ in a brook off the River Stour, unearthing all kinds of larvae and even freshwater shrimp. They tested the river water quality in a number of ways utilising a range of digital equipment, Ph testing strips and charts, and seeing a flow-rate meter in action. The weather was beautiful so we had a whole day of outdoor learning in the local area.

12th May 2023

Continuing with The Ways of the Wolves, we have explored expanded noun phrases and more advanced ways of organising detailed information. The children then wrote and performed presentations to each other on Wolves, concentrating on clarity and accuracy. They did an amazing job of engaging their audiences!

In Maths, we have been developing our understanding of shape and angle facts to enable us to solve angle problems. This was hard work, but we persevered. In Art, we are exploring the beautiful, geometric designs that originated in the Early Islamic Civilisations, and have been learning how much of modern medicine has those early scholars to thank.

In PE, we have been developing our team working skills and tactics, competing in various Handball activities.

28th April 2023

​Welcome back, Attenborough Class!

We have been rediscovering shape in Maths, learning about different types of angles, perimeter and area. In English, we are reading a beautifully illustrated non-fiction book called ‘The Ways of the Wolf’ and learning different language and layout techniques from a gifted author and illustrator. This has linked to our work in Science comparing animal life cycles.

In PE, we are refining our passing and teamwork skills in Handball. In History and Art, we are studying the Early Islamics; all about their love of books, learning, technology and architecture ahead of travelling the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that linked our worlds in the past.

We are looking forward to the Coronation celebrations next week too. So much to discover!

31st March 2023

In our last two weeks of this busy Spring Term, Attenborough Class have been investigating the animal life cycles of a dog, a frog and a ladybird in Science, discovering just how varied and surprising nature can be.

We have also been using a visual text to inspire some narrative poetry around JK Rowling’s ‘The Tale of The Three Brothers’, learning to write similes and metaphors. These poems are designed to be performed so you may find yourself on the receiving end of a verse or two!

In Computing, the class have been challenged to use coding and programming tools to create simple musical pieces on keyboards.

Finally, we attended a whole school Easter service and shared our learning and art work about The Easter Story and the significance of this time of year to Christians.

17th March 2023

Science Week 2023 has been a week of ups and downs,mainly because Attenborough class have been making parachutes! Working in small teams, they researched, designed and made parachutes out of a range of materials and used them to pass a message to Year 6. Sadly, it wasn’t very windy that day but many successfully floated down as planned. We were also lucky enough to take part in a visiting workshop from Gridserve, who brought an electric car with them to much excitement.

We have been studying the life and innovations of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He was both a pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, and an example of a brilliant engineer, mathematician and scientist. The children have written his biography, and designed and built ‘Brunel in a Box’ (linking to our learning about frame structures in DT).

In Maths, we have moved on to decimals and the children are building on their learning about fractions.

We spent today cooking, ready for the mums and family members to enjoy treats after our Mother’s Day Wellbeing Walk.

3rd March 2023

Attenborough Class have really embraced the new topic of the Industrial Revolution in History and English. They already know so many facts about how Britain rapidly changed due to the innovation and invention of the early Victorian Era. A lot of our learning is thematic; we are reading Street Child in English following a poor boy’s journey through a workhouse, learning about what life was like for children at this time, and all the inventions that forced change.

World Book Day was a great success. Thank you to all the children and their families for creating such wonderful, imaginative costumes. We heard from author Sarah Oliver on the day and she inspired many A to Z’s on a range of interests, in a non-fiction writing activity.

In PE, we had a basketball day and practised lots of skills before matches of mini basketball. In Design and Technology, we are learning how to spot frame structures and looking at how they are joined to inspire our own joining skills. In the photos, you can see us experimenting different joining and strengthening techniques.

Finally, in Maths, we have been exploring division and fractions of amounts.

10th February 2023

In Year 5, the children have spent time in the last two weeks working really hard to develop their written methods for multiplication and short division in Maths. There has been some head scratching, frowning and then cheering as they have begun to master each method. I’m really proud with how much dedication they have demonstrated.

In English, they have been exploring persuasive writing, designing leaflets and working on their sentence construction. Using a slightly creepy thriller-style animation, they have surprised themselves with their sinister sentence creations! Parents will have had a chance to read these as Parent Consultations continue.

In Art, they have been painting in an abstract style with a collaged rocket or planet in the foreground as part of our Space Art project. A few of our proudest artists can be seen in this week’s newsletter photos.

27th January 2023

Attenborough Class have been really busy developing their methodology for written multiplication. We explored  area (or grid) models to learn how crucial place value is to the process and began applying it in different size calculations.

In English, we have been focusing on developing vocabulary and persuasive devices. In Geography, we have been learning all about Global Trade and how good are transported around the world. We have also looked at how trade has developed over time to the trillion dollar industry it is today, realising that some brands and logos would be recognisable to children around the world.

13th January 2023

In Attenborough Class, the children have worked hard to be able to convert fractions by finding a common denominator, and learning how this can help to order fractions. We have also explored which numbers some up regularly and which are more rarely used.

In English, we have begun a new tale by Philip Pullman called ‘Clockwork’, defining new vocabulary and the devices an author uses to create tension.

As part of our Science topic on Earth and Space, the children have created beautiful solar system diagrams using pastels.  They also took part in a practical lesson, recreating the movements of the planets around the sun.

9th December 2022

We are using a visual text in English to explore a distant moon call Pandora, filled with six-legged creatures called hexapods. This has led to some detailed, technical writing and amazing insect-based creations which they children loved developing. 

In Maths, we are getting to grips with Fractions as well as exploring larger multiples in practical ways (see photos). 

Our biscuit designs are ready to be mixed, baked and decorated; a Christmas sweet treat to take home next week. 

In History, the children have been exploring the different lives of Rich and Poor Tudors and been practising teamwork in PSHE and RE. We would also like to thank families for coming to hear our Reading for Fluency lesson this week. We appreciate your support.

25th November 2022

In Maths, we carried out investigations into special numbers. The children worked in groups to find square, cubed and prime numbers in a variety of ways. This exploration is so important, even as the children get older.

In DT, we are exploring biscuits – which are the most popular? What makes them popular? What is it about the texture or taste people love? As part of our research phase, we taste-tested some chocolatey biscuits and some Xmas specials to inform our designs.

In Science, we discussed how babies grow inside the body and how doctors monitor their growth and development after birth. The children had lots of insightful questions and really enjoyed learning just how clever our bodies are.

11th November 2022

Attenborough Class have been learning about poetry in English. We explored ‘Cinquains’ which are a similar to Haikus as the have a set syllabic pattern in a five-line shape.  In the photos you will see proud children sharing their colourful poems on a topic of their choice. This led to the exploration of a narrative poem called ‘Night Walker’ by Philip Gross. The children read the poem to fluency, learning about the structure from the original piece, and wrote their own walker poems, including Desert Walker, Rainforest Walker, Day Walker and Sunset Walker, to name a few. The children then used a text called ‘Here We Are’ by Oliver Jeffers to inspire their illustrations.

In Maths, we are learning about multiples, factors and special numbers. The children are particularly proud of their work in this area of the curriculum and the progress they are making.

Finally, you can see some of the finished Norwich market paintings and a special piece for Remembrance Day, which captures imagery from both recent losses in the pandemic (rainbow) as well as the iconic soldiers in the poppy fields of World War II.

7th October 2022

Attenborough Class have had a busy couple of weeks full of exciting learning opportunities. Last week, we were visited by ECC’s ‘Abbie Ayre and the Shed of Science’ who delivered a fantastic performance around Air Pollution and the little changes we can all make to help improve Air Quality. This was a great compliment to our learning about Materials and the visitors were impressed by the children’s Road Safety awareness.

In English, the children used their knowledge of the ‘Cogheart’ story so far to write impassioned diary entries for the main character, Lily. Many are displayed on our ‘Proud Wall’ which parents will be able to visit at Parent Consultations. Next, we have been looking at news reporting. The class took part in a Think, Pair, Share activity, role-playing as reporters and witnesses to a terrible airship crash that happens in the book. You can see photos of the event below.

In Art, we are taking inspiration from a recent Norwich city painting competition piece to sketch out a scene showing the iconic covered market stalls. The photos show Before and After sketches where the children were learning about perspective.