Welcome to the Purple and Yellow Class page! 

2021-22

12/05/2022- English

This week in English we designed and created our own toy using recyclable materials. First, we decided what we were going to make. Next, we drew a sketch of it and labelled it using interesting adjectives. Then, we described what material we were going to use to make it. We used materials we got from home to make the toy. We had to be very creative and supported each other to secure some parts together.  As a class, we created some amazing toys. Making our own toys is one of the greatest ways to help the environment!

6/05/2022-Art

This term in Art we have been learning about Anselm Kiefer and his sculpture of ‘Teetering Towers’. We used his art work as inspiration to recreate burning buildings to represent the Great Fire of London which we have previously learned about. We used corrugated cardboard to represent the concrete towers and we plan to stack them on a smoky background to create our masterpiece.

28/04/2022- Religious Education

This week for Religious Education, we explored a range of holy books. We discussed why they are important and special. We then listened and read different versions of the creation story and talked about what this tells a Muslim, Christian and a Jewish person. We sequenced the creation stories to identify the similarities and differences between them. 

21/04/2022-Mathematics

In Year 2, we have been looking at data and representations. So far we have looked at Tally Charts, which we use to track our house points in school and we have looked at Pictograms. In the lesson, we focused on what value the key represents and used this value to make changes to the data. We discussed how a graph may have various representations but the value must always be the same. We compared some pictograms in which the key represented 1 object and another in which the key represented 2 objects.

01/04/2022-Science

This week for Science we have been testing the effects of exercise on the human body. We began by predicting what we thought would happen to our heart rate when we do different types of exercise.

We then carried out the investigation by timing ourselves, completing different activities and checking our pulse to feel our heart rate. We found that the more movement you make, the faster the heart beats. 

We also found out that exercise is the way in which we move our bodies to work out the muscles inside of us.  It is essential for us to exercise in order to keep our bodies strong and healthy. Our lungs are working harder as we take shorter breaths of air. Your lungs are very important for breathing and it is essential that we breathe as we need air to survive. Exercise helps our lungs work better. When we exercise, our hearts beat faster as oxygen from the lungs move into our blood and get pumped around the body. The blood needs to move the oxygen faster around the body to get to where it is needed. We need to remember that the heart is a muscle and it is good for it to exercise by pumping out blood so it can be healthy and strong. 

Physical activity not only keeps us fit and healthy but makes us strong. It also affects our bodies positively in other ways. We should aim to exercise once a day for at least 30 minutes per day as part of a healthy lifestyle.

24/03/2022-English

In Year 2, we have been reading a story called ‘The Lonely Beast’ written by Chris Judge. We learned about a Beast who wanted to befriend a creature who is just like him. Unfortunately, Beasts are so rare that you might only find one Beast in each country across the whole world! To help the Beast, we worked on writing our own newspaper article which would be shared across the world so that Beasts from every country can read it. This would surely help the Beast find some creatures like him. 

17/03/2022-Reading

This week in Year 2 we have been reading the story ‘Zog’ by Julia Donaldson during our DEAR time. Zog is the keenest dragon in school, he learns different skills with few blunders along the way. But with the help of Princess Pearl, he eventually wins a golden star and agrees to go out and help other people and creatures. From this story, we understood that we should always persevere by continuing to practice things we find difficult. The book is full of rhymes, repetition and amazing adjectives that inspire our writing in all areas of our learning. Whilst reading the book, we all pretended we were in a dragon school and acted out parts where Zog was trying to blow and fly.

10/03/2022-RE

In RE, we have been learning about the importance of Easter for Christian people. We looked at the story of Easter and we found out that Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of others. This meant that although he did nothing wrong he was made to carry a heavy wooden cross on his back, which he was then placed on. There are many celebrations before Easter Sunday, these include Maundy Thursday when Jesus ate his last supper. Did you know there is a famous painting showing this by Leonard DaVinci?

03/03/2022- Mathematics

This week in Mathematics we have been using our times table to solve problems. We found out that multiplication is also commutative just like addition. We used a variety of strategies to up in 2s, 5s and 10s. You can use counters, base ten, number lines, bar model and coins to help you solve different problems. We also compared calculations using the terms greater than, less than and equals to. 

24/02/2022- Our Learning in Geography

In Geography this term, we are looking at farms. We began our topic by refreshing our memories through looking at continents and what they are. We learned all the 7 continents by heart, from largest to smallest and we can sing a song to remind you. We learned about the continent that we live in, which is Europe and we discussed which 4 countries make up the United Kingdom. We found it particularly tricky to locate the United Kingdom on a world map because it is a very small island!

10/02/2022- D&T

This week in Year 2, we have been designing and making a vehicle. We designed a fire engine for the Great Fire of London. We looked at important features of a vehicle. It is essential for a vehicle to have an axel, chassis and wheels, without these a vehicle cannot move on the ground. We used tissue boxes, dowels and cardboard wheels to make our own fire engine. We then looked at key features of a fire engine and added these to our vehicle model like a window, ladder, siren, symbols of fire so people can identify our vehicles as fire engines. 

03/02/2022-Computing

In computing this week, we have been learning about algorithms and why they are very important to help us access different programmes. We had fun creating our own algorithms, but we soon found out that we had to give precise instructions to our robots otherwise the algorithm would not work so well. One example was when a group had to hop 3 times but they were sat down on the carpet. We had to edit our algorithm and add ‘stand up’ to ensure that the robots could hop. 

28/01/2022-Mathematics

This week in Mathematics, we have been learning about money. We can now recognise different coins and notes. We understand that some coins have more value than others. We have been adding and subtracting money to find the total of different amounts. Today we were in the role of a shopkeeper and customer. We bought different items and made sure we gave the correct amount of money. Furthermore, we challenged ourselves by giving more money to the shopkeeper to get the correct change back.  The shopkeeper was required to complete two-steps, first they had to add the items together and then they had to subtract money from the money we gave them. This lesson made us more aware of how responsible you need to be when dealing with money in real life.

20/01/2022-Great Fire of London

In History, we have been learning about the Great fire of London. We began our topic by looking at the different materials which were used in ‘old London’ and we predicted why the fire spread so quickly across London. We learned about the fire from Samuel Pepys’ diary, where he documented the disastrous events. We learned that the Great fire of London started on 2^nd September 1666 in a bakery on Pudding Lane. Today there is even a monument on Pudding Lane in London which reflects this interesting piece of history. We were very surprised to learn that the Lord Mayor of London and King Charles II were reluctant to put out the fire because they would have to break down people’s homes to stop the raging fire from spreading any further.

13/01/2022-Man on The Moon

This week in English we have been exploring a new book called ‘The Man on the Moon’. We have been using our inference skills to discover who the main character is, what he does and what the story could be about. We all predicted what the story could be about and then wrote a letter to Bob with our queries. Bob then responded back along with the story book so all our questions could be answered. It seems Bob has an amazing job role as he is the ‘Man on the Moon’. 

We imagined we were Bob travelling to the Moon in our very own Space Rocket. We used our senses to describe what we could see, smell, touch and hear. It was an incredible experience! We thought it would be great to share this fantastic experience with our friends and family so we wrote postcards describing this eventful journey.

17/12/2021-Christmas!

Year 2 have been busy preparing for Christmas in a range of ways! To start off the festive period, we decorated our classroom Christmas tree and we created a ‘Christmas hoop’ for display in the main hall. We were also fortunate enough to have the pantomime in school (Aladdin).We also began preparing for the Nativity which included singing, dancing, costumes and lots of lines! We have been learning a range of songs for our performance, our favourite songs are ‘Funky Camel’ and ‘Disco star’. 

9/12/2021- Featherbed Tales

This week Year 2 went to Manor Park Library for an interactive storytelling session delivered by a company called ‘Featherbed tales’. We listened and joined in with the story called’ Snap Snap! The Tale of a Very Hungry Crocodile’. We used actions and expressions to represent the characters from the story. We then created an interactive postcard for Ms Broughton, where we sang and recorded a message for Ms Broughton to listen to when she receives the card electronically.  We were shown how we can create our own interactive storybooks using our own voices and how we could send these to our friends and families. We was such an eventful afternoon!

3/12/2021- Eco Friendly day

To begin celebrating Eco-Day, we created some bunting by recycling materials such as cardboard and newspaper. We then focused on our big question “What is climate change?”. We tried to understand what climate change was and how we, as humans living on planet Earth, were impacting the climate. We discussed the types of climates on our planet and how gases made by cars, trucks, aeroplanes and even factories are harmful. We even learned about global warming and how the ice in the Antarctic is melting! This would mean there would be widespread flooding in some parts of the world. We also cooked a meat-free dish which was Broccoli Pesto Pasta. It was absolutely scrumptious!

KS1 Mini Olympics  26.11.21

This week 10 children from Year 2 represented the school at the Sport Tapscott Mini Olympics competition. The children completed the standing long jump, speed bounce, chest push and target throw challenges. What an amazing performance from the children as they displayed all of our school values. Well done to everybody who took part.

25/11/2021- Anna Hibiscus

In Literacy we have been working on a book called ‘Anna Hibiscus’ who is a girl living in West Africa. We had a wonderful opportunity to find out more about Anna and her culture. We discovered amazing facts about the continent of Africa. We looked at famous landmarks, traditional clothing worn by people, languages spoken and famous people who are from Africa. We created fact files using all the information we learnt. We found out that the Pyramids, Victoria Falls and The Nile are all famous landmarks in Africa. We also found out what the big fives are: elephants, leopards, rhino, buffalo and lions. The two famous people who are from Africa are Nelson Mandela and Mo Farah. We talked about how Nelson Mandela stood up for apartheid and how Mo Farah became famous after winning the Olympics in 2012. After finding out lots about Africa we then talked about how some of their lifestyle is very similar to ours.

18/11/2021- Mathematics

In our mathematics lessons, we have been learning about addition and subtraction by crossing 10. We have been focusing on using our number bonds to 10 and 20 to support our mental maths strategies. This week we have used column addition to add numbers up to 100. First we had to label the place value of each number, then we had to add our ones carefully. Finally, we had to add together our tens.  

11/11/2021-Reading 

This week Year 2 visited the Reading Garden during DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time. It was a lovely environment to read our books and we realised that we don’t always have to read books indoors, we can enjoy reading outdoors as well.  

We also visited our school library during DEAR time. We were very excited to see all the new books that were in there! We were able to look at a range of books including fiction and non-fiction books. We borrowed some books, which we will read at home with our parents.

5/11/2021-Computing

This week in Computing we revisited our online safety rules that we created in Year 1. We reflected on the importance of e-safety and why we should follow the rules when we are using the internet. We also spoke about age-appropriate content and discussed how we should always tell an adult when we are using a computer, iPad, tablet or phone! We created an e-safety poster with some of our e-safety rules.

PE in Year 2 

This term, the children have been learning about ‘Locomotion (Running) and how to dodge a tagger or defender in a game. We have played lots of team games and even started to think about developing simple tactics for attacking and defending.

14/10/2021-Parables 

In Year 2 we have been learning about parables told by Jesus. We listened to and acted out the story ‘The Sower of the Seeds’. From this story, we learnt that the seed was compared to a lesson that people come across in their lives. We also listened and retold the story of the lost sheep. We discussed that this story was told to make people understand that everyone is precious to God, just like the sheep was precious to the Shepherd in the story. From listening to and discussing these stories, we thought about creating our own message to share with our friends by creating a comic strip to tell a short story.  ​

7/10/2021-Volcano Eruption!

This term in Science we have been focussing on using our scientific enquiry skills. We began our scientific journey by conducting the Mentos and Coke challenge in the playground! We made a prediction, thought of some questions and carefully observed the experiment. We then began a new investigation; can we create a volcano in a cup? We looked at what a volcano is and how it might erupt if there is a warm liquid inside of it. We then discussed some of the equipment we will need in order to recreate a volcano safely inside of a plastic cup. Our prediction is that we will be able to create a volcano in a cup because of the washing up liquid! We think that the bubbles from the washing up liquid will cause a reaction and allow the volcano to erupt. 

30/9/2021- Ordering Numbers and Counting

This week, Year 2 has been learning to order numbers and objects correctly, counting forward and backwards in twos and fives. Children achieved this by grouping objects, using repeated addition and counting out loud. Children have been learning different techniques to count in multiples including skip counting, jumping on a number line and using ten frames to group objects. Children also completed challenges to identify mistakes made by others and explain why they were incorrect. Children challenged themselves even further by counting forward and backwards to and from 100. 

23/09/2021- Poetry

In English, Year 2 have been reading poems from the Caribbean. Children have been studying many poems and exploring the features, including use of rhyme, repetition, alliteration, similes and adjectives that help create imagery. Children then had the opportunity to write their own poem based on ‘For Forest’ by Grace Nichols. We used our four senses; smell, touch, hear and see to describe what we might find in a forest which we then used to create our own poem. 

16/09/2021- Down On The Farm

This week, Year 2 has been working on an animal poem called ‘Down on the farm’. Children have been exploring the poem in greater depth to find out about unfamiliar vocabulary and identifying different features of the poem. Children also used proxemics to place themselves physically and meaningfully as characters from the farm to explain and justify why they are there. Children then presented their act using a performance carousel to retell the poem. It was a great opportunity for children to express what they think and feel is happening in the poem.

10/09/2021- Back to School for Year 2

Children in year 2 have settled so well into the routines and structure of the school day. They have been focused on their learning and are eager to develop their knowledge in various areas of the curriculum. 

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Year 1 

2020-21

1.07.2021

Manor Park Library

This week in Year 1, we had a chance to visit Manor Park Library! When we arrived we learnt all about the Summer Reading Challenge and were even given our own library cards. We got to explore all the different books the library had to offer and even take one home using our new library cards! We are so excited to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge over the holidays and be in with a chance to win a fantastic prize!

24.06.2021

Mathematical Game

This week, the children in year one were busy playing a game where they could only jump in 1s and 10s to try and get as close as they could to 50 in 5 turns or less.

15.06.2021

Nigerian Mask Making

This week is Diversity week and in Year 1 we have been learning all about Nigeria! In one lesson in particular this week, we learnt about Nigerian masks. We found out that these traditional masks are used for a variety of different ceremonies such as weddings and birthdays. Every mask is unique with different patterns on it, just like the masks we made. We were all Focussauruses and made sure to try our best as some parts of making the mask was a bit tricky.

10.6.2021

Olympic Workshop

Orange class had the chance to take part in an Olympic workshop and travel back to ancient Greece to experience the first Olympic games. The children role played a chariot race, a wrestling match, and a 100m sprint and the winner was given a crown of olive branches. At the end of the workshop the children took part in a closing ceremony where they made the five Olympic rings as well as a freeze frame of an Olympic sport. It was a great experience to kick off Year 1 learning about the Olympics!

27.05.2021

During computing this week, Year 1 recorded their own cooking show! We have been learning how to properly use an iPad, how to record a video and making sure we keep our partner’s face in the frame. We rehearsed what we would say to introduce our cooking show last week and went over the steps of how to make a sandwich. This week we finally got to record ourselves making the sandwich. We had a great time and our sandwiches tasted amazing!

We had a great time in Art this week! We practised how to properly hold and load our paintbrushes as well as techniques we can use to make different brush strokes. To make wide brush strokes, we applied more pressure onto our brushes so the bristles fan out. To make thin brush strokes we didn’t apply as much pressure so the bristles remained intact.

In Year 1 this week, we planted some seeds! Before planting, we discussed what we needed in order to grow healthy plants. We agreed that sunlight, water and warmth were three key parts of growing plants. This lead us to think about how other conditions might affect how plants grow. We thought this would be a great chance to carry out an investigation. We put some of our seeds in the dark, some of our seeds in the fridge and left some of our seeds in a sunny spot by the window. Every Monday we will be checking on our plants to see how they are growing and if where we put our seeds matters.

The children participated in a Now Press Play session where we listened to an activity based on plants. The children pretended to be on an adventure to save their village from starving while learning what plants need to grow.

Now Press Play! w/b 29.03.21

On Tuesday, Green Class travelled back in time to meet Florence Nightingale using a program called 'Now Press Play'. They started their journey in the school hall, where they received a set of earphones each. They then travelled back in time and stepped into role as Florence. During their visit, they learnt about Florence's early life as a young nurse, how she changed nursing and why she became known as 'The lady with the lamp'. It was very enjoyable and pupils were also able to use the knowledge they already had on this topic, as they studied this in History back in the Autumn term.

Have a look at some of the pictures taken during the session!

Now Press Play! w/b 22.03.21

On Thursday, Orange Class travelled back in time to meet Florence Nightingale using a program called 'Now Press Play'. They started their journey in the school hall, where they received a set of earphones each. They then travelled back in time and stepped into role as Florence. During their visit, they learnt about Florence's early life as a young nurse, how she changed nursing and why she became known as 'The lady with the lamp'. It was very enjoyable and pupils were also able to use the knowledge they already had on this topic, as they studied this in History back in the Autumn term.

Have a look at some of the pictures taken during the session!

2019-2020

7.2.20

This week Year 1 have been exploring the mathematical concept of Weighing and Mass. The children had to choose everyday objects and catergorise them into 'light' and 'heavy'. Then they had to go further and compare the objects with each other, using the terms 'lighter' or 'heavier'.

This week we went on an exciting trip to the Florence Nightingale museum. We got the chance to meet her and learn about all the ways she helped soldiers to get better. 

When we got there we got a chance to listen to her life story and how when she was a child her dad taught her Maths, Geography and other subjects at home with her sister. 

After we heard about her life we got to explore the museum and dress up as Florence Nightingale and Soldiers. 

I learnt how she trained others to become nurses and help soldiers to get better. Florence Nightingale felt most happy when she saw the soldiers get better and leave healthy and strong. 

This week Sir John Heron were visited by the Pantomime. They performed a version of ‘Jack and the beanstalk’ which the children thoroughly enjoyed. There was a great deal of audience participation which made the performance even more thrilling. 

13.11.19

This week Year 1 had a real treat! Falconry UK came to visit the EYFS and KS1 to show them a variety of birds. The children were able to see the birds flying and some children were able touch the birds under supervision. The children thoroughly enjoyed their experience and were talking about it long after the session. At Sir John Heron Primary we provide the children with a wide variety of enrichment opportunities and this was a welcome addition to the children's experience of the world.

6.11.19

This week Year 1 have been studying the human and physical features in Geography. Children looked at natural features and man made features in the real world. Children then divided these into the two groups. As you can see, the children knew which features fitted into the different categories. Year 1 will soon be going on a local walk to see what geographical features they can see and then analyse their findings. Keep looking at the page for that update.  

14.10.19

At Sir John Heron Primary we provide a wide variety of parent workshops to ensure we are working together to ensure the children get the best education they can. Here you can see one of our teachers showing parents how to teach our phonics program RWI. This will allow the children to make further progress when the school work in partnership with parents. We appreciate all the support we receive from our parents and want to thank them for attending.

15.10.19

This week Year 1 showcased their learning to their parents during the Year 1 assembly. During their Religious Education sessions, the children learned about Islam and this is what they wanted to share with the parents. The parents responded very well and gave excellent feedback to the teachers. We want to thank the parents for their continued support and positive feedback. It is always appreciated.

2018/19

KS1 visited Barleylands Farm park on Wednesday the 10th of July.  Children got the opportunity see different types of reptiles in the huge Reptile House and awesome birds of prey where children were able to see the birds in action through the flying displays. Children raced around the indoor play area, and enjoyed the outdoor play areas especially bouncing on the jumping pillow. Each class explored the Discovery Barn where there were a variety of animals and took a ride on the Tractor Trailer. The children thoroughly enjoyed their day and so did the adults. We want to thank the parents who gave up their time to attend. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Year 1 recently went to Manor Park library to increase their love of reading. At Sir John Heron we want all of our children to have a deep love of reading and these visits to Manor Park library play a key role in ensuring this. The children receive a talk from the librarian explaining how to use all the facilities at the library. They take their library cards and are then able to take books out that they are interested in. They were also told about events that are happening regularly such as the family film night. They were also told about the summer reading challenge which is taking place on July the 20^th. We would love it if you could attend with your child.

Orange Class Topic Afternoon

Parents and pupils from Orange class participated in a creative Science lesson on the topic of plants. The children were shown real flowers and as a class, they discussed the different features of a flower. They were then given a task of creating their own flower using various collage materials. As you can see the children and adults thoroughly enjoyed creating their own versions of flowers and labelling the features. We would like to thank all the parents for coming and enjoying the children’s learning, it is greatly appreciated. Please keep checking for letters about topic afternoons on Fridays.

STEM Week

As part of stem week Year 1 went to visit Westfield bridge. The purpose of this visit was to explore how bridges are constructed and what materials are used. We explored questions such as 'why was the bridge built in this way?' and 'why did the architect use these particular materials?' The children were able to sketch the bridge from different vantage points to fully explore its design. This visit created an interest in how bridges are built and created enthusiasm for their task in class where they had to build their own bridge to hold objects up over the water!

Florence Nightingale

As part of our History block Year 1 learnt about Florence Nightingale. The children had a sense of awe and wonder as they were sent back in time to experience life as Florence Nightingale herself would have experienced. They became familiar with the harsh conditions that soldiers lived in during those times and how Florence Nightingale tried to help them. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and this showed in their follow up work in History.

September 2018 - Writing Sensory Poems

In Literacy, we are exploring poems. We have listened to amazing poets such as Michael Rosen. We learned about the rhythm and the rhyming of poems. We loved performing the poem "Rhythm of the life" by Michael Rosen.

We also learned how to write sensory poems. We explored our senses and then we wrote the poems. We have written a sensory poem about strawberries and we had lots of fun when we explored the strawberries!