Delphinus - Reflect and Review

Dear Delphinus Families,

We have had another lovely week and what a busy one it has been!

We have an amazing new routine for the morning and the children are already responding with speed! Simply, once shoes are changed, children complete their ‘Way to School’ on the board and then write a line of handwriting. We are then ready and raring to go with our morning prayer, and Thought for the Day. It is a lovely, gentle start and everyone is really enjoying it.

Thinking about our learning, in maths we are beginning early multiplication by looking at adding equal groups and finding arrays. An array is simply a group of objects neatly organised into rows (going across) and columns (going up and down). 

Think of it as a way to turn a jumble of things into a clear picture. For example, if you have 6 counters, instead of a messy pile, you could arrange them into 2 rows of 3:
● ● ●
● ● ● 

Why is this useful for your child? Well! It helps them stop counting "1, 2, 3..." and start counting in steps, like "3, 6" or "2, 4, 6". This is the beginning of times tables, but in a really fun, practical way – no need for learning by rote just yet! We need to deeply understand the concept first!

Our geometry with Mrs C was all about left and right and moving objects either way. We also identified whether objects and shapes were to the left or right of each other. This was really quite tricky so you might like to have a practice at home – practically of course! Eg is the cushion on the left or right side of the sofa? Is the knife to the left or right of the fork? 

A reminder: Maths homework is Week 11 and is due in on Monday! If you only received your book this week, your child DOES NOT have to complete all the pages beforehand! 

Curious Quest has been an adventure and a half this week with the book ‘Oi Frog!’ by Kes Grey and Jim Field. Here is a brilliant youtube version to watch at home! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2da5yu6rpdg

We have extended our vocabulary this week with: Command   Refusal   Perched   Mountainous   Discomfort   Incredulous   Smothered      Do ask your child how they got the Dog finally off the frog!

Here are this week’s phonics links! Please let us know if they don’t work!

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/G9sjEeeB/qwwBsgUF

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/PN2zKxzF/nE3mK0xy

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/KLYv9hPr/gI7dahmJ

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/iPCEOXQP/QS9LTZJX

The afternoon sessions have also been jam-packed with planning an Animal Park! You might have seen a headline in the Oxford Mail in March and Heythrop Zoo closing after 50 years. We used this as the impetuous to create an amazing new home for all these animals, looking at what habitat they would need to survive and be happy!

In Big 5 we thought about our value – Being Kind. We learnt about being kind to animals and what that actually looks like in practice. We also delved a bit deeper and thought about how we can be empathetic by ‘standing in someone else’s shoes’. 

Next week:

In Curious Quest The Faithful Friends encounter The Biscuit Goblin and we then go on an adventure with Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy! Our maths will be trying out more arrays and then moving on to finding halves of objects and shapes. Our wider Curriculum takes on a digital tone as we use the chrome books to draw pictures!

Dates for the diary:

Thursday Outdoor Learning:  7th May   21st May remember long sleeved tops and trousers. If the weather on that day is warm, children do have time to change into their outdoor kit so can bring it with them.

Bank Holiday - Monday 4th May - School closed

Zoolab visit 14th May - See MCAS message, thank you to those of you who have already paid!

HSA Quiz Night - 16th May - More details to follow

MUFTI DAY and End of Term 22nd May - School ends at 3:10pm