Fairfield, a Learning for Life Trust school, report on yet another very busy week of fabulous learning ...

"In Nursery, the Friendly Frogs have enjoyed another very impressive week of learning. In Circle Time and as part of PSHE, the children read the Colour Monster book. This book told them about different feelings they might have and that it is okay to have different feelings; the Colour Monster changes colour when he feels different. The Friendly Frogs love story time. This week they've enjoyed reading a story about Little Lumpty- the children were able to retell parts of the story too! However, this week it’s been all about numbers. Our youngest learners have been rote counting, matching numeral to quantity, sorting, matching and having lots of number fun. The fun continued as this week's Funky Finger Challenges were all about nursery rhymes- the children thoroughly enjoyed their activities and relished the challenge of experimenting with paint markers to help them to develop their fine motor skills.

In Reception, the children have worked really hard drawing a picture of Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle’s houses! Mr Wiggle and Mr Waggle is their first focus story for this year. The children have started to learn the story and will soon be able to retell the story to you at home using their actions! In PE, Reception enjoyed 'The Farmer’s in his Den' and they also played Duck, Duck Goose to conclude their session. The children were superstars as always! On Friday afternoon, the children were busy singing in Music then participated in relaxing yoga activities.They do love their fit Fridays! Moreover, staff are very impressed with the children's efforts in their daily Phonics sessions- the children are trying very hard and are making wonderful progress.

In Year 1, as part of their PE lessons, pupils are getting confident with their throwing and catching skills. The children enjoyed throwing the ball into the air, clapping their hands and catching the ball again in a warm-up; they also practised their super Maths skills by counting how many times they could throw the ball and catch it. In Friday's Maths lesson, pupils were busy finding one more and one less of a number up to 20! In Writing, we are so impressed with how well the children are developing in handwriting sessions: this week they practised their handwriting skills and talked about good handwriting positions and pencil grip. As well as this, also in English this week, Year 1 are continuing with their focus text ‘Naughty Bus’. The children’s independent work, from their Learning Ladybird weekly challenges, is now proudly displayed in the classroom. It has been lovely to watch them complete these writing activities with such enthusiasm. On Wednesday, the children showed great collaboration as they ordered the events from the story using their comprehension skills from reading sessions. In Art, the children discussed different pictures of the seaside by different artists. The children made some fantastic observations and discussed their likes and dislikes about each picture- this is part of their Monet 'By the Seaside' topic. In PSHE, Year 1 have been discussing friendship and created friendship flowers to describe the qualities of a good friend. In last Friday's Celebration Assembly, Class 1NP were awarded the trophy for the most Dojo Points earned across the school. Well done 1NP!

In Year 2, in Maths, the children have been working hard on their number bonds to 10 and 20 and have worked collaboratively being magnificent mathematicians! In active Maths, Number Bond Tennis was a hit, whereby the children pretended to hit a number to their partner and they hit the number bond back to them. The children have also been enjoying times tables songs (and dances!). Meanwhile, in PSHE, Year 2 have been discussing friendship and how we make friends, maintain them and enjoy them, enhancing our own happiness - and others. The children worked in collaboration to produce informative brainstorms consolidating their learning from Year 1 of the qualities of a good friend. In Art, the children have continued with their topic studying the artist J.W. Turner. Last week, they concentrated on the types/ styles of paintings he was famous for and what they depicted. They also discussed themes within his work. This week they took an in-depth look at his life. In PE, Year 2 are having fun practising their cricket skills this half-term with a specialist cricket coach. On Thursday, the children had a fabulous morning of History learning at Wordsworth House! This enrichment activity has helped pupils to understand what life was like in the Georgian era, which is their History topic of focus this term.

In Key Stage 2, Year 3 have been learning to identify magnetic and non-magnetic materials in a practical Science lesson last week. First, they predicted if each item would be magnetic or not before testing them. The children had lots of fun testing a number of items! Over the past few weeks, our fantastic Forest School sessions have started once again in Year 3.In week 1 in the forest, the children built shelters- they pretended they were living in the Stone Age in the Mesolithic period, which links to their History topic of study. In week 2, the children went for a walk in the forest to look for food, which the Mesolithic people would be able to use. They found mushrooms, blackberries and even some animal footprints. On Friday, at Forest School, the children made wind chimes, which were used in the Mesolithic times, to hang around the camp- to warn off animals. In the words of one of our fabulous Year 3 pupils, "...the rain didn't stop our fun!"

Meanwhile, in Year 4, in Maths, children are beginning their work on dividing by 10 and 100. It can be tricky to decide where those digits need to slide to, so for their first lesson they put the digits on post its, so they could move them on their place grids which were created from special tape, on their tables! In Art, Year 4 have been developing their ideas in order to create a piece of Artwork in the style of Kandinsky later in the term. This week, they’ve been listening to music and using mood boards, line and shapes in their Sketch Books to express how the music made them feel. During their daily class story time, the children are loving listening to Philip Ridley’s ‘Krindlekrax.’ So much so, that many Year 4s have found copies in our school library so they can read it themselves! Year 4 have also been exploring Maths in the real world! They haven’t been watching Frozen Planet, but they've been learning about Roman Numerals and skipped to the credits where they found the year that the programme was made, in Roman Numerals. The children were challenged to not switch off/ over when their favourite show finishes, but wait until the end and apply their learning! Great work Year 4.

In Upper Key Stage 2, Year 5 children impressed staff with the delivery of their speeches to become their class representative for our Eco-Council in school; each child bravely took their speaking turn and put into very concise words how they would be a valuable member of the council. In active Maths on Friday, Year 5 became problem solvers. Due to the rain, they stayed in the classroom and the children worked in pairs to solve some tricky 2-step problems. In Art, the children have been impressing their teachers with their artistic flair. Over the last couple of weeks, Year 5 have been busy creating Salvador Dali inspired work, including their impression of his famous elephants painting. This work forms part of their study of their topic this half-term on 'Surrealism'. In Geography, Year 5 have been drafting their persuasive speeches about protecting the oceans; they all worked incredibly hard and came up with fabulous ideas. This work links to their Geography study of 'Oceans' this half-term. Meanwhile, in Science, the children worked well together to find out which substances could dissolve in water to make a solution- Year 5 thoroughly enjoy investigations in Science!

Finally, On Thursday, the whole of Year 6 went up to Cockermouth School for an afternoon of netball. They all had a great time showing their skills and represented the school perfectly. This forms part of their Netball in PE. In Maths, the noble, Year 6 Knights of Fairfield slayed their Maths challenges, cracking the mathematical dragon’s eggs to find out if there were Dojo treasures inside. Some fantastic problem solving occurred. In English, Year 6 have produced wonderful setting descriptions, based on their text of study, Skellig. The children have worked hard on their use of vocabulary, figurative language and their presentation. In Science, Year 6 have enjoyed completing Heart research and producing spectacular information pages- this works forms a really good start to their topic of 'What would a journey around your body look like?' Well done Year 6."