Northway Primary School: Our blogs

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:52pm

What a busy time we have had in Y3 and Y4 this term. Here are some pictures showing some of our activities in History and Science.

Lower Junior Christmas Party, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:50pm

We had a great time at our Christmas party, playing games and making Christmas hats for our competition. We also held a hat parade so we could choose the winners.

Problem-Solving Pupils, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:48pm

On Friday 4^th December, The Happy Puzzle Company visited Northway to challenge the children with maths-based activities. The pupils in Lower Juniors loved their sessions and they clearly had lots of fun trying to tackle each of the problems they were given. Working together in small groups, the activities were designed to help the problem-solving and reasoning skills of the children as well as develop their teamwork. Although some of the pupils thought that the puzzles looked easy to start with, they changed their mind once they started trying to solve them!

Mummification, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:46pm

Year 3 have been learning about mummification. We acted out each stage of the process by mummifying a member of our class! Take a look at this website to find out a bit more about mummification http://oi-archive.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html

Manchester Museum Trip, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:42pm

All the children inY3 and Y4 visited the Manchester Museum today.

We took part in a guided tour of the Ancient Egyptian gallery and saw some wonderful artefacts. We also met the mummy of a lady called Asru and used iPad to photograph objects for her to take to the afterlife.

We were also very privileged to have the opportunity to handle some artefacts in a special classroom session.

The museum staff complemented our pupils on their excellent behaviour and listening skills. They were also very impressed by the children’s knowledge about Ancient Egypt. Well done everyone!

Look what is coming up in Lower Juniors – Autumn 2015, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:42pm

English

We will learn about fictional writing, analysing ‘Into The Forest’ by Anthony Browne and, after identifying techniques used by the author to excite the reader, using the ideas from this book to write our own descriptions of a forest. We will also read ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ by Philip Pullman, comparing the characters involved and discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s imagination. We will then study the features of non-fiction writing, producing our own pieces of writing relating to the work we have completed on Ancient Egypt.

Science

We will be learning about light, investigating how light travels through some materials but not others, how shadows are formed and how light is reflected from surfaces. We will also be learning about sound, identifying how sounds are made, how they travel through different materials and how the pitch of a sound can be altered.

Computing

We will be learning about computer programming by using Logo, looking at how we can combine procedures and algorithms to create shapes and patterns.

Knowledge and Understanding

We will be studying Ancient Egypt, including identifying the geographical features of Egypt, understanding the role of the Pharaoh and exploring Egyptian beliefs about life and death.

Creativity

We will be exploring collage techniques, using a range of techniques such as tearing, overlapping and layering to create images and represent textures relating to Ancient Egypt.

Music

The Year 4 children will have specialist music tuition on how to play the violin through the WOPs scheme. Meanwhile, the Year 3 children will learn to read music and play the recorder.

PSHCE

We will be learning about health and safety, looking at how it is important for us to develop positive attitudes to keeping healthy so that we can stay safe and look after ourselves.

RE

We will be studying Judaism and learning about the key aspects of the religion, looking at how people, stories and traditions influence Jewish beliefs.

PE

We will be developing our skills in hockey, concentrating on dribbling, passing and shooting, working on both our attacking and defensive play.

Young Voices 2015!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:37pm

Glee Club took part in the fantastic Young Voices concert this week. They sang beautifully along side more than 7000 other children in the world’s biggest children’s choir! The children’s behaviour was outstanding and they were excellent role models for our school-Well Done!

Newspaper Reports, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:34pm

Miss Kneale’s class have written some fantastic newspaper reports about the story of Little Red Riding Hood. They came into school one day to find a crime scene! The children investigated the crime scene, interviewed witnesses and then wrote a newspaper report about what happened. Unfortunately you can’t see our fantastic illustrations so come and have a look at our display in class.

Look what is coming up in Lower Juniors – Spring 2015, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:28pm

English

We will look at the structure and key features of newspaper reports in the book ‘Extra! Extra!’ before writing our own recount based on a fairy tale. We will produce explanation texts, focusing on how and why a range of devices work, such as ‘the tellyscope’ designed by Wallace and Gromit. We will study a range of haiku poems before writing our own. We will also be writing a non-fiction text about volcanoes.

Science

We will be learning about forces and magnets. We will analyse different forces, such as friction and air resistance, and carry out our own investigations. We will also be learning about magnets, observing how magnets attract and repel as well as investigating magnetic and non-magnetic materials.

Computing

We will be learning about blogging and eSafety, looking at how to enjoy using computer networks safely and responsibly.

Knowledge and Understanding

We will be studying volcanoes and earthquakes, including researching what causes them and the effects of different natural disasters.

Creativity

We will be studying the English artist L. S. Lowry, sketching and sculpting artwork in his distinctive style.

Music

The Year 4 children will have specialist music tuition (brass and violin) through the WOPs scheme. Meanwhile, the Year 3 children will learn to read music and play the recorder.

PSHCE

We will be learning about ourselves, looking at how we can be a good friend and what strategies we can use to solve problems in a peaceful way.

RE

We will be studying Hinduism and learning about places of worship, symbols as well as learning the stories of Rama and Sita, Krishna and Lakshmi.

P.E.

We will be developing our skills in gymnastics, concentrating on balances and rolls, and in basketball, working on both our attacking and defensive play.

Mysterious beanstalk appears in Y3!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:27pm

Year three came in today to find a strange beanstalk growing through their classroom! They read a newspaper article in the book “Extra! Extra!” and are panning some fairy tale based newspaper articles of their own.

Look What’s Coming Up!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:21pm

Key Stage 1 – Spring Term

Science– We are going to take part in lots of investigations and experiments that we will plan ourselves. We will be learning how to observe, gather data, ask questions and interpret what we see to help answer further questions.

Computing – We will be using an app called Puppet Pals on the iPads to create a video. During this topic we will be developing our skills to capture sound and images. We will also be learning how to save and retrieve our work as we create a video.

Knowledge and Understanding – We will be looking at Britain over time. The children will be using their detective skills to work out the chronological order of different time periods. Is there a particular time period you have expertise in? Share some facts with your child and they can tell the class.

Creativity – We will be planning and adapting models and looking at how to strengthen a structure. We will be independently selecting appropriate tools and materials to use in our model making. In order to make our models we will need cardboard boxes of any shape and size so please send them into school after Christmas.

Music – In music we will be looking at classical music across time, from medieval to present day. Do you know any famous composers you could tell us about?

PSHE– In PSHE we will be celebrating the friendships that we have at Northway and considering what behaviours attribute to being a good friend. We will be looking at the right way to handle situations and solve problems in a sensible manner.

PE – We are looking at a range of dances from different time periods and countries. We will be focusing on developing our dancing skills and learning how to Morris dance.

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any resources, expertise or ideas that would support this topic please let us know.

Christingle, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:19pm

In Year 2 we were lucky enough to have visitors from Maghull Baptist Church in our class. They taught us how to make a Christingle. Ask us what each part of the Christingle represents.

Father Christmas comes to Northway!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:18pm

Today we have had our Christmas Party. It has been lots of fun and we even had a visit from Father Christmas!

School Values, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:14pm

Each week we choose a child who has been championing one of our school values! They are aspiration, courage, honesty, perseverance and resilience. Ask me who the champ was this week!

Reading Week!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:13pm

We started our Reading Week with staff sharing their favourite books! Can you remember what books they chose and why? Ask your family what their favourite books are from their childhood!

Significant People from the Past, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:10pm

This week we have been learning about Mary Seacole and Christopher Columbus. We have been reading a variety of non fiction texts about them. Ask us what facts we can tell you about these famous people!

ICT What a lovely lesson!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:08pm

In ICT in Year 1 we used the Bee Bots and programmed them to move around our classroom. We even made them a car park to reverse into!

Counting in multiples of 5, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:07pm

We have been counting in multiples of 2 , 5 and 10 this week in Maths in Year 1. To help us count in fives we drew around our hands!

Read All About It!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:06pm

We have written newspaper reports about the events in Jack and the Beanstalk. Did you know a valuable hen and golden harp has been stolen? The police of Cloud Town are still investigating!

Fractions!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 12:05pm

In Year 2 we have been finding fractions of shapes, quantities and numbers. We know what a half, third and quarter is. Ask us what the denominator tells us!

What do you know about the number 5?, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 11:58am

Draw this bubble at home and ask your child what they know about the number 5.

Reading Week!, by Mr Phillips

Date: 22nd Dec 2015 @ 11:54am