Wolborough C of E Nursery and Primary School

BRUNEL CLASS

Since the beginning of 2024 there have been some changes in Brunel class. Following the departure of Mr. Bishop, Miss Palmer has taken over the class -Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Mr. Strick teaches the class on Mondays and Fridays. Other staff in the class are Mrs. McCarthy and Miss Hunt who work on a 1- 1 basis with children. Also, Mrs. Shanahan who supports a weekly interventions program.

The main areas of the curriculum covered have been –

Maths

Multiplication of 2- and 3-digit numbers alongside regular mental math’s and securing the four times tables. Following this we have covered perimeter of regular and irregular shapes- looking at comparing different measures such as meters and kilometers.  We are now moving into fractions of amounts. We have focused on using the correct mathematical vocabulary to ensure the children are prepared for the transition into Year 5.

English

We have looked at poetry and wrote poems based on ‘The Storm’ which some of us shared with the Year 3 /4 class at Bearnes Primary School.

More recently we have looked at Non-Chronological reports and have constructed our own based on Rainforest animals. In our SPAG sessions we have looked at different word families, tenses and have regular spelling sessions to ensure we know the Year 3 / 4 words ready to move to the next year group. We change our reading books on a regular basis and have been reading Matilda by Roald Dhal as a class story. The children are really enjoying this and show empathy with Matilda when she witnesses behaviors towards the pupils  in her class such as whipping with the belt and birch.  We have three weekly visits to Newton Abbot Library to experience a bigger collection of books and develop our interests in a variety of genres.  Obviously, we are excited about books with the forthcoming World Book Day – which character are you coming dressed as? Can we all guess who you are? 

Science

In the first half of term, we looked at animals in their habitats and tried to classify different animal groups. Now we have moved onto electricity. We will be looking at conductors and insulators and evaluating these. The class particularly enjoy practical experiments and love to investigate.

Humanities

In the first half of term, we focused on The Vikings and looked at daily life, punishments compared to current day, the different Kings and family relationships. We loved a Viking poem which we chanted as a class. Everyone took part in a ‘Hot seating’ activity when  children played the part of King Ethelred. An unforgettable experience for everyone.

Now we are focusing on geography and the whole half term will be based on Italy. We have an amazing session tasting Italian fruits such as olives. The children’s faces tell how they felt about them!! 

PSHE 

We have looked at our thoughts and feelings and spent a session thinking about our teeth and how to keep them healthy. The children loved ‘The Singing Dentist’ We are now looking at ways to relax and ensure we are aware of our own feelings and who we can ask if we feel we need any support.

PE

We were lucky enough to secure weekly swim sessions at Teignbridge swimming pool until a maintenance issue forced this to be postponed. It has been a joy to watch all the children increase their water confidence and make progress towards becoming independent swimmers. Well done everyone!  We have been lucky enough to be able to send children from the class to a local PE dance festival at South Dartmoor College. The children were very committed to lunchtime practices and over came nerves to preform to a wider audience which was celebrated by many parents and staff from the school. A joy to behold. 

RE

We refer to our Christian beliefs and values on a daily basis and the care and compassion throughout the class is a pleasure to observe. We have focuses on Hindu practices and beliefs and are now looking and celebrating the time of Pentecost as we begin to celebrate the Easter story.

The children have adjusted very well to the change in teacher and routine, and we are welcoming two pupils to the class full-time after a staggered introduction to school life. The children in the class are very welcoming and encouraging to unfamiliar faces and I feel the welcome they have shown me has been remarkable. I am an immensely proud teacher of a wonderful class.