What we have been learning leading up to Christmas .....
Nursery:
Welcome back to all the children from your Christmas break, I hope you had a lovely time celebrating this special time with family and friends. I would also like to welcome all the new children and our new nursery nurse, Mrs Daniel, to the family of St Modwen's.
This week we have revisited the Nativity story, sequencing the events and recalling the characters and then celebrating the birth of Jesus. We have read and role-played the final part of the Nativity Story, where the shepherds and the three Kings visited Jesus and took him gifts.
Reception
This week, we have been learning about the Christmas story and the birth of baby Jesus. We celebrated his birth and discussed his first visitors, who were the shepherds. In Maths, we have been learning all about the numbers. We were very good at spotting which number was 0 and not 0. We started our new Phonics groups this week and have settled into this very well.
Year 1:
It has been a busy and thoughtful start to 2026 in Year 1! In our RE lessons, the children have been looking at the Christmas story in greater detail, moving beyond the narrative to reflect on the emotions of the people involved; they showed wonderful empathy when discussing how Mary and Joseph might have felt during their long journey to Bethlehem. Meanwhile, our Geography sessions have taken us around the globe as we located our home countries on a map and celebrated our diverse backgrounds. It has been particularly heartwarming to hear the children speak with such pride while sharing stories about their own families and traditions.
Year 2:
We have had a super busy first week back in year 2! In Maths, we have started our new topic - Money. We have been counting pounds and pence. You can help your child with this by discussing it if you buy something from the shops. In English, we have started a new book - 'Anansi and the Golden Pot'. We completed our cold task on Tuesday and have been thinking about the meaning of vocabulary within the book. In RE, we have been recapping the story of the Annunciation and thinking about how Mary felt when the Angel visited her, as well as why she agreed to have the baby.
Year 3:
Year 3 have had a wonderful first week back and we have enjoyed hearing all about how they have spent their Christmas break! We have started our new topic of Rivers and The Water Cycle this week. In Geography, we have explored The Water Cycle and, in English, we have read our new text 'The Rhythm of the Rain'. The children have explored vocabulary and story mapped this book. In Maths, we have been looking at the 4 times table and, in Science, we have started to look at our new topic of Fossils and Rocks. In RE, we have been discussing the Christmas story and thinking about how the Shepherds would have felt when they were visited by the angel and chosen to meet Jesus.
Year 3/4:
This week, we have been working hard on learning how to multiply and divide numbers in different orders. We will be moving on to more formal methods of multiplication (3x1 digit) next week. We have started reading our new books - 'Varjak Paw' in Year 3/4 and 'How to Train Your Dragon' in Year 4. In English, we have written our cold task about someone playing a trick on us and then we wrote a character description of Mr Twit. In RE, we have been learning all about the Christmas story and how Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt after Jesus' birth.
The new homework grids have been sent home today. Please also remember to learn KIRF statements, practise spelling and times tables and to read on a daily basis. PE days remain Tuesday and Friday - please ensure your child has their kit in school.
Year 5:
This week, we have started our new writing unit for a tale of fear story in English. We have learnt how to use the bus-stop method for division in Maths and divided up to a 4-digit number. In reading, we have started our new text 'Cosmic' and made predictions about the story. In RE, we have started our Christmas unit and have learnt about King Herod's role and explored his thoughts and feelings. In Science, we have started our space topic by learning about the planets. In Art, we have completed an artist research study about Stephen Wiltshire. In PE, the children created routines using a dance by chance activity.
Year 6:
This week we have started many new topics. In RE, we have looked at how different Gospels tell the Christmas story. In English, we have started our new book 'The Arrival'. In Reading, we have started looking at the poem 'The Raven'. In Maths, we have started to look at metric measures and how to convert units. In Science, we have looked at how drugs and exercise can change how our bodies work. We have also looked at what solidarity means in our CST lesson. In Spanish, our new topic is about school.
