Bernadette Soubirous was born in Lourdes, France to Francois and Louise Casterot who were very poor. She was the oldest of six children but was frail and often sick. On Thursday, February 11, 1859, around the time of her First Communion, Bernadette was sent with her younger sister and a friend to gather firewood. And this is the story she had to tell, which was taken from a letter she wrote:
"I had gone down one day with two other girls to the bank of the river Gave when suddenly I heard a kind of rustling sound. I turned my head toward the field by the side of the river, but the trees seemed quite still and the noise was evidently not from them. Then I looked up and caught sight of the cave where I saw a lady wearing a lovely white dress with a bright belt. On top of each of her feet was a pale yellow rose, the same colour as her rosary beads. At this I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was seeing things, and I put my hands into the fold of my dress where my rosary was. I wanted to make the sign of the cross, but for the life of me I couldn't manage it, and my hand just fell down. Then the lady made the sign of the cross herself, and at the second attempt I managed to do the same, though my hands were trembling. Then I began to say the rosary while the lady let her beads clip through her fingers, without moving her lips. When I stopped saying the Hail Mary, she immediately vanished."
The beautiful lady who appeared to Bernadette above a rosebush in the grotto of Massabielle was God's Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She appeared to Bernadette eighteen times and spoke with her. She told Bernadette that she should pray for sinners and do penance. The Lady also told her to have a chapel built there in her honor. Many people did not believe Bernadette when she spoke of her vision. She had to suffer very much. But one day Our Lady told Bernadette to dig in the mud. As she did, a spring of water began to flow. The next day it continued to grow larger and larger. Many miracles happened when people began to use this water. When Bernadette was older, she became a sister. She was always very humble and did not want to be praised. She did not want to receive special treatment just because she had actually seen the Blessed Virgin. Although her own health was poor, she helped care for the sick and elderly sisters. She died in 1879 at the age of thirty-six. Her last words were: "Holy Mary, pray for me, a poor sinner."
THINKING SKILLS
We continue to use De Bono’s Thinking Hats, Habits of Mind and a variety of Thinking Maps to develop the children’s thinking skills. Regular reference is made during lessons to Edward De Bono’s Thinking Hats, Habits of Mind and Thinking Maps. Ask your child to tell you about which one/s they have used in class today!
We look forward to working in partnership with you and your child this year. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss anything.
Mrs Falzone.
We have discussed the rules that we feel will help the children to learn and work in a happy and positive environment. The children have also discussed the importance of having rules and how they can keep us all safe. Additionally, the rules reflect the ethos and mission statement of St. Mary’s school. These are displayed in our classroom. The school’s rewards and sanctions for good and bad behaviour have also been discussed with the children and displayed in the classroom.
Spellings, X Tables, Literacy, Numeracy, Mental Maths and Handwriting homework will be given every Wednesday to be handed in on Monday of the next week. Your child can hand in their homework earlier if they wish. The purpose of the homework is to reinforce learning that has taken place in class. It is also an opportunity for you to see what your child is learning. Each week the work will be explained and we will discuss any questions that they may have. The weekly spelling test will take place during the week to allow your child to practise the spelling pattern that they have focused on in lessons. Please ensure your child has practised and learnt their spellings during the week. Other homework may also be given relating to either RE, Science or history if required.
Now that the children are moving into KS2, a greater emphasis will be placed on being more independent and responsible. Your child’s homework is therefore an opportunity for them to take responsibility themselves; ensuring homework is always completed and handed in on time.
READING
At present your child will still be bringing home a school reading book. Please ensure that your child reads every night in order to develop fluency. Reading records are provided for date, book and comments to be added by an adult. Please ensure that the reading records are signed each time your child is listened to read. Also, if you could spend a little time talking about the text and asking questions to encourage your child to really think about what they have read. This will greatly help their comprehension skills. Evidence shows that good readers are also good spellers and good writers. Reading records will be checked by the class teachers every Monday and we will expect to see five adult signatures showing that you have heard your child read.
Topics to be covered this term:
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Counting, partitioning and calculating
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Understand place value, ordering and rounding numbers;
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Understanding the relationship between the four operations x ÷ + and –
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Securing number facts, relationships and calculating.
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Handling data and measures
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Calculating, measuring and understanding shape
In addition: daily multiplication tables practice and weekly mental maths test
Reading – Collaborative reading groups to develop confidence and fluency of reading skills.
Big Writing – develop beginnings to stories, plot developments and endings. Improve use of adjectives. To develop writing different styles e.g. diary entries, recounts, poetry, letters and descriptions.
Grammar, Punctuation – on going revision and consolidation of capital letters, full stops, speech marks, commas, question marks, exclamation marks etc.
Weekly spellings – to develop children’s store of vocabulary. Each week follow a different spelling pattern.
Handwriting – exercises to practise and improve letter formation, presentation. We will focus on writing words which we have been studying for our spelling focus.
Magnets and Springs:
The children will be learning:
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To explore how a force is required to make something start to move.
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To explore how air can make things move
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To explore how objects move on different materials
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To explore which materials are magnetic
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To measure the strength of a magnet in different ways
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To carry out an investigation comparing the strength of different magnets
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To identify the two poles on a magnet and investigate how magnets attract or repel each other
Working Scientifically:
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Identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes
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Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
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Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions
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Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
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Recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables
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Reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions
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Making systematic and careful observations
Light:
The children will be learning:
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To explore how we need light to see things and why some things are easier to see than others
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To investigate how different objects reflect different amounts of light
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To design and produce reflective strips for night safety
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To explain how a mirror works and describe how images in mirrors may look ‘different’
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To identify how shadows are formed
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To identify what affects the shape of a shadow
Working Scientifically:
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Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
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Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
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Reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions
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Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values
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Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
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Recording findings in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
History – The Romans:
In this topic children will learn about the life of the Romans and how they invaded Britain. They will be exploring was which Boudicca helped to invade Britain. The children will be making comparisons between the Celts and the Romans. The children will be learning about how the Gladiators fought and the ways that the Romans entertained themselves.
Gymnastics- Unit 1 Flight
The children will be creating longer gymnastics sequences to perform to an audience. The children will learn a wide range of actions and explore more difficult ways to perform.
Gymnastics- Unit 2 Bridges
The children will use skills and abilities individually, in combination and in sequence, with the aim of showing as much control and precision as possible. The children will arrange apparatus responsibly, without direct supervision. The children will perform their work for an audience. The children will also watch performances and begin to make simple judgements against a set of criteria, suggesting ways that work could be improved.
The children will be extending their vocabulary this term, enabling them to talk particularly about: members of the family, parts of the body; the weather; vocabulary connected with school work and the curriculum.
From Easter to Pentecost:
Pupils will explore the Season of Easter, the period from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Belief in the resurrection is presented as one of the founding beliefs of Christians and, together with the coming of the Holy Spirit as Pentecost as the rationale for ‘caritas’; love of God that leads to acts of charity. This unit teaches from the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles, also written by Matthew.
Islam:
We will be focusing on the way Muslim people work and where they would go to worship Allah. They will understand where the Muslim religion originated from and understand that Islam and Christianity are both monotheist religions.
Discipleship:
The children will be learning how the disciples, ‘followed’ Jesus when He called. We will focus on ways which we can be disciples in our life and use examples of people who have dedicated their lives following Jesus’ way.
This term the children will be covering three units of coding work:
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Starter unit
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Sequencing and Animation
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Conditional Events
The children will be building up their knowledge of how computer programming works.
They will be experimenting ways of programming commands to make bubbles pop on the screen
And make an alien move up and down.
Art- Roman Art:
The children will be practising their sketching skills using different sketching pencils to draw out images of Roman scenes. The children will be using clay to create Roman pots and glass tiles to create a mosaic design. The children will use Roman artefacts to create realistic drawings.
Art- A Journey Through Space
The children will be focusing on looking at different artists who have been influenced by the theme of space. They will be looking at the styles used and the colours and tones to help create the desired effect.
Constructing a Castle- The children will explore designs of existing castles and spend time planning out their own castle design. They will be provided with a range of equipment and tools to create their own castle which the Roman soldiers would have used.
Electronic Charm-The children will look at some examples of smart wearables. They need to suggest a feature from the Micro:bit that is suitable for an eCharm.
Then they will write a program that initiates a flashing LED panel, or another pattern, on the Micro:bit when a button is pressed. They will need to identify errors, if testing is unsuccessful, by comparing their code to a correct example. They will explain the basic functionality of their finished program. Children will need to suggest key features for a pouch, with some consideration for the overall theme and the user. They will use a template when cutting and assembling a pouch, with some support and describe what is meant by ‘point of sale display’ with an example.
PSHE/ CITIZENSHIP & RSE EDUCATION:
Information from the Ten Ten Resources:
LKS2 Module Three: Created to Live in Community explores the individual’s relationship with the wider world. Here we explore how human beings are relational by nature and are called to love others in the wider community through service, through dialogue and through working for the Common Good:
Unit 1 – Religious Understanding explores in greater detail the community aspect of the Trinity and encourages children to think about what the Trinity means to them and how as they were made in God’s image, they too are created to live in community.
In Unit 2 – Living in the Wider World, children will learn some of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching from Together For The Common Good, which will help them to live in communities in the way God intends. Teaching includes the common good, the human person, social relationships and stewardship.
MUSIC:
UNIT NAMES:
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Just three notes
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Samba with Sérgio
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Fly with the stars (class percussion)
Focus: Pitch (notes C-D-E), crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, crotchet rest, rhythm patterns, structure, score, dot notation, samba, carnival, fanfare, call-and-response, beat, percussion, music and community, minor and major chords (A minor, C major)
We look forward to working in partnership with you and your child this year. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss anything.
Thank you in advance for your support,
Mrs Falzone