Dear Parents

It has been a great start to the week and yes ….What weather we have been having (well not including yesterday anyway)! My sunglasses and shorts began to make an appearance and then just as swiftly went back into storage. Maybe next month! I enjoyed my break and hope you all did too. Lots of walks and a trip with family to Dubrovnik (wonderful city on a beautiful coastline). Saying that my Netflix shows or sports podcasts did also somewhat distract me a little, there are some truly fantastic new Viking and other History shows on at the moment.

This is going to be an interesting half term to fit everything in. That is truly one of the challenges of being a primary school teacher. Trying to complete all the curriculum objectives for a term and in St Stephens…well this is even more challenging but in a good way. As well as it being a five week half term, we also have sprinkled in a half term , various activities and events such as St Stephens Got Talent that are normal for this school and of course our trip to France! I feel the grey hairs multiplying already…those I have left anyway!

Anyway on with my next dazzling entry. Reminds me of the old James Herriot books (the show ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ are based on these) where each chapter is another incident in the life and times of a Yorkshire vet. How about the life and times of a Shepherds Bush primary school teacher? It has a nice ring don’t you think?

In maths we have started our work on Area and Perimeter. This week, we have been looking at how to find missing measurements for sides of polygons and rectilinear shapes and different methods to work out the perimeters. Then we will be approaching finding area and using our times table knowledge to work out the area of assorted shapes.

We have also begun to look at our new fantastic topics in our science, history and RE lessons. As I have said in previous entries, last year, I was glad about coming to Year 5 and tackling topics I have not taught myself before and personally learn lots as we go along. We began an exciting topic in science – The Solar System- and the children were very engaged in the lesson as we picked up facts including 1,300, 000 Earths could fit in the Sun and that the moon orbiting the Earth takes a month and that the moon is made of cheese…okay maybe not the last one but someone did ask me with their tongue firmly in their cheek! I advised them to watch Wallace and Gromit!

In history we are covering a very important topic and one that already has raised some emotion and passion- The Changing Role of Women Through History. This week we looked at the timeline of how women were looked upon in Ancient eras including Egypt, Greece and Rome and other times such as The Viking Age, Medieval, The Tudors and the Renaissance. Lots of interesting (and at times righteous anger inducing) feelings arose around the class as we worked and I look forward to the progression as we move through the topic.

In RE we will be covering our second unit on the world faith of Judaism. As we looked at what we would be learning this term, we made some cross links with facts already covered such as our Easter module and how it linked with the Jewish festival of Passover. We recalled our learning around Jewish artefacts and looked at the story of Abraham which linked with our Old Testament learning from Year 4. We focused this week on the ‘Covenant’ made between Abraham and God and then looked at when we have made promises, did we ever break them and what we did (or could do)  to make up for those broken promises.

I hope the children are looking forward to our trip. Please take note of the emails you have been sent especially regarding date and time of travel, medication and kit lists. You should also by now be aware of how we will keep in contact with you throughout the trip to let you know what your wonderful children have been up to.

I think that is my lot for today. As much as I would love to outline the amazing activity I have planned for the weekend to enrich and inspire my life…I won’t as it involves a walk, a football podcast, a pie and probably a bit of sleeping!

When is the next school break?

Homework as always is on the right of this entry and on google classroom. .

Have a great weekend.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents

Wow what a week!

Okay must mention the weather! What is going on? We have jumped from cold weather to , bright sunshine and then even a bit of heat! I swear I got slightly sunburned at the cross country yestersayt Overall though this is my favourite weather,  bright sunshine and a cool temperature. It is one of the reasons I think the Easter break is my favourite, we are just coming out of winter with a period of lovely bright weather, lighter evenings and the feel that summer is approaching…even though lately our July and August months have been a bit wet!  I still think in your grandchildren’s time we will have become a rainforest or something. Release a few jaguars, alligators and anacondas into the wilds of Britain and they will have a wonderful life!

As Easter is fast approaching we have been looking at origins of the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In our RE lessons we have been continuing to look at Holy Week and the events of that week in Jesus life. Last week we looked at Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and we continued our journey by focusing on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. We have looked at how different denominations in the Christian faith mark these events around Easter time which include marches, vigils, candle services, Stations of the Cross and of course various Easter morning traditions. The children wrapped up their learning and understanding of what goes on in churches of different traditions by designing a brochure to advertise Easter events held in a church.  We have looked at how (and why) the events that week dramatically changed the course of history and we looked at what legacy Jesus brought to the world, even if they are not followers of the Christian faith, through his life, teachings and character and how he is respected in different ways by followers of all faiths – and none. We finished our topic by reflecting on what we would like to be remembered by and as when we are no longer here on this world.

Well another year has passed and yesterday was our annual Easter bonnet parade and oh how we missed it! We should do one at least once a month! Although some of you may not agree with me as you deal with tears, stress and furious shopping to ensure you get all your child requires for their head gear. I did notice one or two parents furiously finishing their hats as we had the France zoom meeting on Monday as well! They were stunning though – as the pictures above show – and we were just abounding in bunnies, chicks, eggs, carrots and of course CHOCOLATE! One boy had so many different types of chocolate on his bonnet he could have opened a shop. It was very tempting to pick one of as he passed me by but I resisted …still those kinders, kit-kat, dairy milk and creme eggs did look very delicious. Surely he would not miss one!

Cross country and Debating Competition

As the term comes to a close in most schools life slows down a bit…not us of course! We have had some church curates visit the school this week as part of their training to be a vicar and they have seem a very varied week. On one hand needing to sit through children completing end of term assessments for core subjects and assessment quizzes for foundation subjects and then trying to keep up with our school timetable. Parades, cross country running, guacamole making in Spanish, children going to a debating competition and of course our Easter service to name but a few events.

It was great to see the children running around Wormwood Scrubs and although I would have just loved to join them I had the important job of being one of the marker stewards! In all honesty the last time I think I ran was for a bus in 1976! There were some stunning performances though

Easter Service

Finally I would say thank you to all those who attended our Easter service today. Easter time and the break that comes with it is my favourite time of the year. The weather is changing for the better, new life is growing and it is a time for family and friends. Thank you today for the readers, orchestra, choir and Rev Denis.

Homework

As I am such a nice guy there will be NO HOMEWORK this week. I know, I know what a wonderful chap I am!

May I take this time to wish you all a blessed Easter with lots of fun and treats and a happy time with your family.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Wow times does fly! It is hard to believe we are closing in on wrapping up our term two! So much has happened (as always in St Stephens) and we have so much to look forward to. I was trying to control myself in booking holidays this year. As you may have gathered I love history and especially a good city break in an old town or city. Well our (for the most part ) lovely weather lately got me thinking and once I start thinking…anyway one booked trip to Dubrovnik later and Easter break can not come faster!

In maths we have continued our work on FDP (fractions, decimals and percentages) and we have been looking at their equivalent values. We have also learnt how to solve word problems on this topic by picking the key words, numbers and mathematical language out that helps them solve assorted challenges. It can be hard sometimes when we look at just how some topics can help later in life (such as coordinates and shape translation ) unless you are going for a specific role such as sonar/radio operator in the Royal Navy, but this one is easy. I mean they have so much to look forward to. Adding interest to mortgages, working out what an extra 12% on the gas bill means and going through a wage readout once a month! I must say though that I feel we have been on this topic for a lifetime and as fun as it can be I am looking forward to moving on after Easter.

We are starting to come to the end of our Spring topics in our foundation subjects and there has been some great learning. In history we looked at the role of people in a family during WW1 and it makes an interest link to life at home in WW2 (which they will study in Year 6). A sobering thought that has come up many times this topic is the sheer tragedy of this war. We looked at the government system of ‘The Pal’s Regiments’ where people joined up and went to the same regiments as their neighbours, friends and family. So we made the comparison with our class and that if they were 18 they would likely be in the same regiment and due to the nature of the warfare there would be a good chance most would not come back. We looked at how this devastated local areas. We also looked at how children were given roles in various scout groups at home and of course how the women worked in jobs traditionally seen as ‘male’.

In our RE lessons we have been continuing to look at Holy Week and the events of that week in Jesus life. Last week we looked at Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and we continued our journey by focusing on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. We have looked at how different denominations in the Christian faith mark these events around Easter time which include marches, vigils, candle services, Stations of the Cross and of course various Easter morning traditions.

Mothers breakfast 

Ah mothers- the best people on Earth! After losing my mum last year I have truly come to appreciate all that mums do. I always always knew this that but the sacrifice, hard work and love we receive from our mums is the greatest thing on earth.  This time of year can be truly tough as well for those of us who have lost our mums. It is poignant for my family especially as it is also the time of Mum’s birthday and anniversary as well.

I hope the children are looking forward to our trip. Please take note of the emails you have been sent especially regarding date and time of travel, medication and kit lists. You should also by now be aware of how we will keep in contact with you throughout the trip to let you know what your wonderful children have been up to. As we have said, please ensure there documents are in school by the Easter break (unless they are needed in the holidays).

Homework as always is on the right of this entry and on google classroom. .

Have a great weekend.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents

No weather reports have been harmed during the making of this blog!

RE and RHE always create some excellent discussion points and this week was no exception. RHE looked at ‘Rights, Respect and Duties’. On the same footing we discussed what our responsibilities were both to ensure we had got them ourselves and how to treat others in the same way. We discussed the difference between them and what we should expect. There were some fun examples around their rights at school and home- I am sure you parents would find amusing- such as the right not to do homework, eat certain dinners and completing chores. We looked at examples laid down by law such as the right to an education, to feeling safe and health care etc as well as our responsibility (and duty) to fulfil our end of those situations both for ourselves as well as in how we treat others.

RE is continuing to look at the Easter story with a focus on The Last Supper (as Maundy Thursday) and the timeline of Holy Week. This week we revisited briefly the famous Da Vinci painting and what the disciples must have been thinking that night and the events of the evening as well as the link to our year 5 World Faith topic of Judaism by looking at the feast of Passover. The children then looked at a classic hymn (Abide With Me) and the symbolism of the words with direct links to the events of Holy Week. It brings to mind one of my favourite’s hymns as a child and one where I use my role as RE leader to the school to bring regularly into the school Easter Service – The Lord of the Dance. No not the Michael Flatley one! We are not having it this year but I may well put it forward again next year! We have some lovely music this year including some pieces by the choir, Miss Ruth (Lewis)m has added greatly to our St Stephens community.

In English I was so impressed with all the children’s final piece on the poem ‘The Highwayman’. Using the style, language and format the children wrote a poem using images from a video of a poem on a dark futuristic London. We planned by writing one example of alliteration, personification, similes and metaphors for each stanza (around five stanzas in total) and then shared them around groups. I really enjoyed this process as the children listened to each other’s examples and then discussed the use of vocabulary. Yesterday and then today (Thursday and Friday) they used this plan to write their first and final draft and then edited their pieces. As I begin marking, I have been impressed with the rich vocabulary and scene building produced and I hope many of you get the chance to read them if (when) you visit next week.

I have been really impressed with the children’s ability to use their understanding to expand on their own work and learning in their subjects in science and geography. Quite often I give ‘open’ tasks where the children have a theme and they need to research, record and present their work using their own initiative. We make regular use of our school chrome books and ipads within this. In our geography, science and English topics this term we have made effective use of our school ipads and chrome books to help researching a comparing a Scandinavian city (Stockholm) and London. They looked at the similarities and differences between the cities focusing on both the human and physical geography, looking at how animals were used and affected WW1 and when we look up science theories and of how wildlife and plants adapt to various environments. It really brings out the best in the children.

Parents Evening

It was great to see you all over the last few days for parent’s evening, although I am sure you would agree there was a lot of clock watching going on too as the countdown happened before our eyes. It is ultimately good for me though as these are always supposed to be ten minute sessions and I always had a reputation for going over! Thank you as well to the parents who were able to pop in and look at the children’s books as well. I hope you found the feedback useful and gave you insight into how your child is doing.

Notices for Next Week  

As I am sure it is not a surprise to you parents who have been with us at St Stephens for a while next week will be a little …well mad! So the weekly timetable kind of goes out the window at this time. We have a number of events such as the Easter Bonnet Parade the Easter service and various sports and other competitions. I hope you stay on top of the parentmails.  On top of that in class we will be completing our end of term assessments for English and maths. We will also try to complete our topics in geography, Science and RE as well as include some end of term fun. I have been asked many times by the children if we can fit at least one game of ‘Kidnapper’ in … think TVs show the ‘Traitors’ only in the classroom. I am sure the children will be happy to explain.

France

Please look out for parent mails about the France zoom meeting and I encourage you to come along. As I have been on this trip a number of times, there are some useful titbits of information for us to impart.  Thank you to those parents who have sent in their children’s passports and GHIC cards or have informed me about keeping them for the Easter break. Please get them in as soon as you can.

English Homework

Homework, as always, is on the right of this blog and on google classroom.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Okay weather, you have let us know you are there so can you please bring back the sun! We had a lovely time of it the week before and now have high expectations. I mean hail…Really?

It is no secret that history is one of my favourite subjects and I was really impressed with some of the work produced these past few weeks. Despite being a ‘history buff’, I learn new facts nearly every week in my own reading and one of the benefits of teaching a new subject is that I also can pick up some new facts. For example I found out this week why ‘tanks’ are called tanks. We looked at how WW1 really advanced the technology of warfare as they leaders found new ways to cause destruction and it was during this conflict that we first began to see such items used in conflict such as submarines, planes and tanks. Ask your children why tanks are called tanks.

RE is beginning to look at the Easter story with a focus on Lent and moving on to the Holy Week and the events within it. After briefly talking about the season of lent we looked at why it is followed in the Christian faith and what happens within it. We finished the lesson looking at how churches remember Palm Sunday and what happened during that day with Jesus. The children looked at the difference between what type of ‘Saviour’ the people of Jerusalem where expecting and what type Christians believe Jesus is.

Maths is swinging from our old favourite – that of fractions – and to its links to decimals. The children focused on the fractions and their decimal equivalents and looked at the breakdown of the values of each part from ones, tenths to hundredths. The homework on Mathletics will be focussed on this knowledge.

In Science this week we had a really fun lesson and I was particularly impressed with the engagement and work from the children. As I have shared in previous blogs, this term we have been looking at changes of state and what makes a reversible or irreversible change. On Wednesday we looked at ‘burning’ and what happens to objects that are exposed to heat. We revisited how some items can be reversed when exposed to heat (such as chocolate) some cannot (baking products) and then looked at what happens with fire. We discussed how fires need fuel and oxygen and finished by conducting an experiment on what happens to that fire when different size glasses are placed over lit tea lights. Fear not safety rules were strictly enforced (as well as general rules around fire) and I even tied my own hair back!

Arts Day

Today was another day that really adds to our school culture and ethos of providing different ways to help children shine in different ways. Our subject was ‘Our London’ and every cohort had different tasks around this topic. Our first activity involved ‘Iconic London’. Children chose a picture online of something closely linked to our city. Then they used these pictures to do a print picture in the style of Andy Warhol. What I loved about this task was that we not only had prints on iconic landmarks such as Big Ben, The Eye, Wembley Stadium  and The shard but we also had underground signs, black cabs and red buses. There were a few really thoughtful choices as well which included a fish and chip shop sign and a picture of the front of a tea shop. Then in the afternoon we looked at the works of famous graffiti artists such as ‘Banksy’ and created our own graffiti piece using their artists styles and use of colour. A very creative day all around. We hope to see you all in a couple of weeks at our Art Cafe to see all their wonderful work.

Parents Evening

I hope to ‘see’ you all next week to give you updates on your wonderful children. Please can you double check the day and timings as we do sometimes get the days mixed up and one of the disadvantages of doing it online is that if you log on late , the system does end the call at the allotted time regardless of if we have been talking for 10 minutes or 2. Please make sure you also take advantage of the opportunity to come school in the morning to look at the children’s books, something we have not had the opportunity to do these last few years.

Fossil Night!

No this was not a typo! Sometimes it seems that parents find it harder to leave St Stephens than their children after Year 6! A year or so back a few parents decided to organise a party for old parents to come to school for a little drink or two and reminisce. They came up then with the inspiring and slightly tongue in cheek name of ‘Fossils’ with a fun link to our actual FOSS team name. For me, events like this really highlight the bonds and community spirit we have at this school. Yesterday we had the party and it was wonderful to catch up with some of these parents and to hear about how well their fantastic children are doing. It is weird as a teacher when you hear about old students finishing GCSE’s, A levels and attending university! Time, as I am certain you will realise as your children head toward their final year here, does indeed fly!

Homework, as always, is on the right of this blog.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Okay no reference to weather today Mr P! I must remind myself from time to time that is for sure…No I must mention it! I do not know about you but did you not notice that our little run of days with bright sunshine and blue sky started on March 1^st? I love days like this with a little bite in the air. Let us hope that it continues and we have a lovely spring ahead.

Well another week has flown by and like last week it was one filled with lots of learning and there were a few other key events too, but more on that later.

RE and RHE always create some excellent discussion points and this week was no exception. RHE looked at news and media and do they always tell the truth. We discussed how influential it is now with so much potential access compared to ‘my day’ where people listened to the news or bought a morning newspaper from the local newsagent. We looked at the difference between fact and opinion and we can tell which was which. We finished by analysing a newspaper article and discussed whether it was ‘biased or unbiased’.

We wrapped up a short RE topic on what pilgrimages are and why people undertook them. We looked at what experience people can get from these journeys and linked them to how and why special places (as well as sacred places) can really create a spiritual experience for people. Children looked at how such places could be where their parents/grandparents grew up, a special place that the family may visit from time to time and how dreams can be fulfilled visiting places of interest such as a football stadium, historical building or cultural place. I told them how I fulfilled a dream when I first visited Rome relatively recently and that, even though I am Christian, it still felt almost spiritual walking in the same places Emperors of Rome had stood or where key events in the Roman Republic had taken place (such as the site of Mark Anthony’s speech at the funeral of Caesar). We listened to a video about a Christian couple’s experiences going to ‘The Holy Land’ and wrote an entry as though we had undertaken such a journey as well.

Maths this week concluded an old favourite – that of fractions. We looked at methods in how to multiply them and wrapped up the week with an assessment on the subject.  It gives me a chance to bring up one of my favourite topics, that of food! So our classroom is abounding in talk of pies, pizzas, chocolates and cakes. I did try and find healthier options to talk about but talking about splitting carrots, celery or cucumbers into equal parts or how many they are when multiplied does not quite have the same ring! I think the children always have that faint hope I will bring out a cake or something to back up my teaching, hmm maybe that celery will come in handy after all.

In English – after a hiatus for World Book Day and a couple of workshops- we got to get back to our topic on the subject of ‘The Highwayman’. This week the children have looked at interpreting the poem and studying the emotions within each stanza. We looked at the language and pickled out key words that stood out. I think it is really rich to revisit some classics for this reason and a line from a treasure seeking adventure film springs to mind. ‘They just don’t talk like that anymore’.

World Book Week

Normally World Book Day falls in our annual Arts Week but we decided to move that to the summer term as it is so busy this half term, yet we have still had a week full of fun and special events.

Thursday was of course World Book Day itself and what an effort children made! The theme was of course (I am sure I do not need to remind you) Heroes and Villains. Somehow my class all thought I should fit in the villain category! I was very impressed with all the costumes but I just loved it when the children teamed up to dress up as related characters. Highlights were Sauron and Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Moana and Teka from Moana, two Hermione Grangers from Harry Potter,  Two characters from ‘Super Cats’, Catra and She’ra frm She’ra, three characters from ‘Lottie Brooks’ and two characters from ‘My Sister the Vampire’. On top of that we had a Zeus, King Arthur, A Mad Hatter, Cruella De ville and so many more.  Great stuff all round. Well done to our winners who came as Ursula from Little Mermaid and Dick Turpin. We had a few activities to commemorate the day today such as writing a book review, visiting a book sale, a poster based advertising their favourite book, the wonderful parade this morning and – my favourite- a forty five minute quiet reading slot. I also got my own book out and it was a lovely peaceful time.

I finished the week taking the KS2 prayer group members and a few extra Year 5s to St Pauls Cathedral Friday afternoon where we attended a very thoughtful workshop on ‘Sacred Artefacts’ and climbed to the dome of the cathedral. It was a lovely trip!

Okay that is enough for me for now.

Have a fantastic weekend. There is no normal homework this week , but at Mrs Perairas request we have put a task on Google Classroom related to World Book Week.

No Homework this week. Please see note below from Mrs Pereira.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Here is a reminder of a parent mail from Mrs Pereira.  

To celebrate World Book Day (on 6th March) and to encourage a lifelong love of reading at home and school, we are running a sponsored read between 3 – 9 March. Children will be asked to read in exchange for sponsorship as a way of adding new stock to our school Library. They can read books, comics, magazines, newspapers, menus, websites, recipes, poems, leaflets, instructions – anything with words! Being read to also counts!

Classes will not be given any homework for the weekend on 8th & 9th March so that they have plenty of time to complete the challenge. Children will also ‘drop everything and read’ on World Book Day in order to support the effort.

The challenge is being organised in conjunction with our local Usborne Partner, Jane Ireland, and all the money raised will go towards brand new books for our school. In addition to the sponsorship money, Usborne will also donate up to 60% of the total raised in EXTRA FREE BOOKS to the school. So, for every £600 raised, we will get an extra £360 in FREE Usborne books!

Our target is to raise £620 in sponsor money, with Usborne donating an additional 60% of books for free. This will give us a total of £960 to spend on new books and resources for our children.

To support our sponsored read, please find enclosed a sponsorship form and reading log for your child if they wish to use it to record their reading. Sponsorship money can be paid via JustGiving here by 9 March.

We look forward to having lots more books for your child to read, share and enjoy in our school Library,

Dear Parents

I hope you had a happy half-term and welcome back. It is hard to believe I know, but we are already past the half way mark. It is scary as I remember my parents always talking about how age creeps up on us and time does go by quickly as we get older, but as a child I felt invincible and in the moment. As I have got older I realise now that time does indeed fly by!

I hope you and the children had a wonderful time at half term and lots of fun! After indulging my love of historical places just a few times more than I should in last few years I have decided to try save my pennies for a few trips in the summer and so am looking forward to Lisbon in May half term, a trip to Spain with my family end of July and then a trip to my current favourite part of the world in August- The Amalfi Coast. It has been wonderful to visit and tick a few places off my historical bucket these past few years by seeing the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus in Greece, The Coliseum and Palatine in Rome, The site of the Colossus of Rhodes in Rhodes, The palace and grounds of Schonnbrunn in Vienna and The Sophia Hagia and Basilica Cisterns in Istanbul. Not bad! Hmm where to next I wonder!

In history we will be looking at WW1 and we had our first lesson this week looking at how it started and the time frames of the early start of the war as well as referencing it to where the war fits on the time line of Britain. As you have all heard many times I just love history and I really enjoy teaching this topic. As you know, our trip to France has a focus on WW1 and we visit a truly excellent museum in Ypres (one I have visited a number of times as we used to do this trip in Year 6 a few years back) and a beautiful but very sobering WW1 military cometary.

Speaking of France…It was wonderful seeing so many of you at the French evening last night. As a whole, our school is so blessed with our wonderful FOSS team whose efforts allow us to do so much more than the average school. However, we are still restricted by government cuts, especially as come to the end of the financial year and last night really helps us to add some funds towards our trip and the coach we use over the whole three days so thank you. Well done to Miss Jessie for the wonderful food and from the hard work from Mr Schumm and all the Year 5 team. We hope you enjoyed the activities and well done to all the winners of the quiz.

In RE we have started our short topic on Pilgrimages before we head into the Easter topic. We have looked at the difference between a ‘special’ and a ‘sacred’ place, discussing what makes a place sacred in a religion. The children have also looked at reasons why a person have undertaken such a trip in the past and indeed why some still do. With a focus on Christianity- we looked at how in some denominations of the Christian faith past saints and ‘holy’ people are revered and so people will undertake trips to visit places (such as Lourdes, Jerusalem and Rome) as part of their faith. We looked at how people will take these trips to pray for reasons including asking to help heal a relative or to be able to have a child. Children learnt that people go on pilgrimages to reflect on their faith or to ask for forgiveness.

I wanted to finish this week by talking about their English work. We finished our topic of persuasive writing on Monday by typing up our finished letters and as I may have said before half-term I have to was really impressed with the work produced over the whole year group. Then we started our new topic on the classical poem ‘The Highwayman. We started it on Thursday looking at the language and interpreting the prose. More on this next week.

World Book Day

As you should know now from an email from Mrs Peraira. Next Thursday is World Book Day. I know sometimes we can feel a little under pressured to really go to town on the costumes and it can cause some parents a lot of stress. Please do not feel this way or spend lots of money on costumes. The topic is Heroes and Villains from stories, so have a chat with the children about who they want to come. Our own year group have looked this year at ‘Myths and Legends’ which have a rich array of characters that fit into this theme and of course there are the heroic and villainous characters in all sorts of popular book series as well including LOTR, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and so many more. I look forward to seeing just what your children can come up with.

Homework, as always, is on the right of this blog and on mathletics and google classroom.

Have a great weekend all.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Well we have had quite a week…again!

It is funny, as I do my juggling act of balancing working through the curriculum, organising trips, sending children to workshops or indeed have more trips organised for us (more on that later) I did think about how I would have loved to attend this primary school as a child. What a fun learning experience.

This week we have been wrapping up some of our subjects that have included Scandinavia in geography, Journey of Life and Death in RE, multiplication and division in maths and a persuasive letter based on our class book in English. End of unit tasks can be fun and I always look forward to seeing if my pearls of wisdom have made an impact! For geography, the children created a brochure on any of the three Scandinavian countries. The advertised activities around physical features such as visiting the fjords, walking to the waterfalls or mountain biking in the forests to human geography such as places of historical interest, water sports, food and drink. As I may have said in previous weeks, I took special interest in this in order to get some ideas for a future holiday trip. I think a trip to Copenhagen or Stockholm may be in order.

We have once again been blessed to enrich the children’s learning with outside visitors and extracurricular activities. Last week we had the ‘life bus’ company visit us to talk about our brain…I will just leave it there shall it? No, seriously we talked about the brain and how it (and our bodies) can react to stress and ways to combat that.

As I alluded to earlier, we were blessed this week to go on a trip to the BFI along the South Bank in a trip organised by Mrs Pereira. It was a massive interactive Spanish lesson with the use of some really good cartoons then followed in the afternoon by a movie in Spanish (with subtitles) about the Spanish version of the ‘Tooth Fairy’ or to be accurate ‘Tooth Mouse’ a being called Peroz. The children were well behaved and the trip went very well.

I wanted to finish this week by talking about their English work. We finished our topic of persuasive writing and I have to say I was really impressed with the work produced over the whole year group. The children wrote a ‘formal ‘ letter about the challenges that arose in our class book – The Boy In The Tower- and included all the elements we have been learning about including flattery, emotive language, rhetorical questions and modal verbs. The children really put their heads down and produced pieces of real quality. I look forward to you seeing them when you pop in to the classes in a few weeks. On that note…

Due to it being half-term there is no homework, but I would encourage your children to ensure they are all up to date on their mathletics for a fresh start to the Spring 2 half term.

Have a great weekend all and a wonderful half term. .

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents,

Firstly there will be no mention of weather, numb fingers or how busy we all are this blog!

I have to say (well I don’t have to say but I will) I am really enjoying teaching your children.  Yes I appreciate this is where you say ‘I have to say’ but truly I do not. They are a lovely bunch with very kind, enthusiastic and hardworking personalities. It is hard to believe that we are almost at the half way point in our year together.

We are continuing our work in science on ‘changing state’ and have been working this week on how materials will change and react when entering liquid. We looked at materials including alka seltzer, bicarbonates and lemon juice and are continuing our development on how to lay out investigations and how to make them ‘fair’.

Our geography this week continued our look at the three Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Using our knowledge on what makes up ‘human’ and ‘physical’ geography, we compared the city of Stockholm with London. As a big fan of city breaks it certainly makes me want to bump Stockholm up my list of cities to visit. It also reminds me that actualy we live in a fascinating and wonderful city ourselves with lots of green places, water based locations and fun activities to get involved in.

RE this term has been a mixture of fascinating, reflective and eye-opening. This week the children had various fact files and looked at how different religions looked at death and loss, their rituals and the beliefs that go with them. The children worked in pairs and looked at a separate faith. We had children looking at Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Facts included who believed in the afterlife and what form that took from a version of heaven to reincarnation. The children found out about different rituals such as body washing, lighting candles, flowers in the coffin and which religions cremated the passed away and which religions buried their loved ones. As I said, earlier fascinating and reflective stuff.

We have once again been blessed to enrich the children’s learning with outside visitors and extracurricular activities. We had the ‘life bus’ company visit us to talk about our brain…I will just leave it there shall it? No, seriously we talked about the brain and how it (and our bodies) can react to stress and ways to combat that. Then later in the week we talked about ‘Vaping’ in RHE and the dangers of it. We looked at why it is popular and that is has been marked and advertised to appeal to a younger target. We all agreed that it is very dangerous and no-one should take up vaping of any kind and should be treated in the same way as smoking.

Yes in case you were wondering we did indeed have English and Maths as well this week. In Maths we moved from multiplication to short division with and without remainders (more opportunities to have questions based around doughnuts, brownies and other food stuffs) and how to lay them out clearly in our books. Our mathletics this week will be based around this. English this week we looked at what makes a persuasive letter successful which would include features such as flattery, rhetorical questions, emotive and formal language. After studying a letter based upon our book ‘The Boy in the Tower’, we then began the process to plan and prepare for writing our own letter next week on the same subject.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents,

I have to say it has been a strange old week!

Well we have been living in strange old times so I suppose that is …well normal! Not that our class is anything but normal J

Certainly, the theme for me has been that despite all the challenges that life can bring us is that it  goes on and I think that, in these uncertain times, it is important that we hold on to that. I am very aware after a number of years of teaching in a variety of schools that the children have a very blessed time here with so many fun learning experiences to have and to look forward to. This week alone, on top of our lessons with our wonderful Spanish, gym, PE and music teachers we have had an additional dance lesson, a workshop from the Fire Service,  and of course our usual collection of curriculum lessons. As I said before, being in St Stephens is a real blessing with the opportunities and extracurricular events the children can get involved in. They are beginning to get excited about future trips including France and Spain and PGL in Year 6 and I know the Year 4s are bouncing around looking forward to Woodrow House. How many children in other schools can say that?

In English, the children are really enjoying our book ‘The Boy in the Tower’ and are picking up on clues and mysteries throughout the chapters as to what the author is trying to achieve and build up to. We have had some grammar based lessons this week around the book, including looking at modal verbs and synonyms for words such as anxiety and depression which are related to a couple of the characters within the book. We will be reading more next week before wrapping up the topic with a persuasive letter which we will complete just before half-term.

RHE lessons have been very compelling and thought provoking and, as an ex youth worker, I recognise their importance. Over the last few weeks we have looked at what drugs are and how they are not just the illegal kind. We have looked at how they are a substance that will affect us and change our behaviour and our bodies for better or for ill. Be they drugs such as alcohol, tobacco or caffeine, to medicines, to illegal drugs such as cannabis and beyond. Our second lesson tied in well as it was about taking risks (are they worth it), peer pressure and how it affects boundaries in friendship.

The children discussed how it can be quite difficult to be assertive with a friend about something that is important to them, such as not being involved in poor behaviour, being unwilling to lend special items or in going to events they do not wish to. We then chatted about how peer pressure can be really challenging and looked at strategies to be assertive in both saying no to taking substances negative for us, to dealing with our own feelings around tricky situations we face with our friends. The children were honest about times they have felt this way and it was a great session.

I am sure the children can update you on their learning this week, but we have had some very fruitful lessons in our subjects such as in RE, learning about what different faiths believe happen after we die, the actions and lives of families back home during WW1 and how animals were used in the war – we had two lessons this week due to this being a shorter half term. The children completed work on showing their understanding on the assorted roles of families at home in the war and researched how different cultures and religions cope with loss and how they live their beliefs through these sad events.

This learning has never been more important in light of the very sad news we all received this week. As you have been informed, Miss Fiona who was a member of our Benchmark Gymnastics team sadly passed away early this week. We have spoken to the children and have told them the importance of sharing their feelings with you and other trusted adults. Miss Fiona and her daughter predominantly taught the children in KS1 and early years but also were members of the Camp Fantastic team as well. We pass our sincere condolences on to her family, especially her three daughters at this sad time.

Lunar New Year 

Today we had a day dedicated to those who celebrate Lunar New Year. Each Year group looked at a country and how they celebrate it. In Year 5 we looked at China and researched the activities and festivals they have and we rounded the day with a group of performers who led the children  Tai Chi and Fan workshop which was great fun.

French Family Night

I hope you have all been able to sign up to our French Culture evening to help whet our appetites for France and of course to raise a few pennies to go towards the hiring of the coach for the duration of our trip. As the letter suggests, it will be a fun night with a family quiz France related, activities and puzzles to solve for children and of course some French cuisine. We hope we can have the whole year group community attend. We also know we are blessed to have a number of French families in the school so please let us know any others we should invite.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Homework is on the right and on google classroom.

Kind Regards
Alex Perry

Dear Parents,

How has your week been? I hope it has been productive and ticked off elements of your to do lists! I find to do lists very interesting! Some colleagues of mine over the years have had written on the top of their ‘to do list’ write a to do list. I have never got the hang of them …hmm a thought pattern beginning there so I had better move on!  Could mention the weather again but my fingers are still numb from the cold last few weeks, so I will not. The children will be learning next half term about ‘trench foot’ (in WW1) and numbness is one of the earliest signs and I was wondering of there were any examples of ‘trench fingers’.

We have been motoring along and there has once again been some fantastic work produced in the class. I have to say being in my second year in Year 5, it is fast becoming one of my favourite terms to teach with some really interesting subjects and there are more brilliant subjects in the next few half terms with WW1 and Space to name but a few.

We are continuing our work in science on ‘changing state’ and have been working this week on how to separate materials and finding out if this was equally possible with solutions. We discussed how evaporation works and the children made great links to some of our previous learning from Year 4 around the Amazon Rainforest and just why it is called a rainforest. We broke down stages in how we could separate a mixture of three or four items such as rice, water, sugar and oil and made predictions about a variety of different mixtures.

Our geography this week continued our look at the three Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We focussed on the human geography today looking at elements such as food, currency, population, cultural differences and the different cities. Another great link this week was being able to reference the joining of Sweden to NATO this week as well. I learnt a really interesting fact when looking at terrain and features of Norway- that 9 out of the 20m tallest waterfalls in the world are in Norway. We looked at the reasons why and it was a great link to a lesson in our last geography topic – that of the journey of a river.

The children have wrapped up their English topic on debate writing and started their new topic based on the book ‘The Boy in the Tower’. After writing their argument at the beginning of the week, they finally had their debate on Tuesday. They put across great points on the topic ‘Should Mobile Phones Be Allowed In Schools’ and were very effective in their ‘rebuttals’ to other children’s points. Hmm with their arguing skills I predict a couple of very interesting years ahead as they all become teenagers! I will just leave that there.

As I said earlier, there are some excellent topics this term, ones that excite, (Journey of Life and Death in RE, Scandinavia in Geography and debate writing), and ones to help us to take responsibility (RHE understanding drugs and medicines and prevention of bullying) and to thoughtfully reflect on our own journeys.

This week in RHE we looked at what ‘drugs’ were and how they are taken to cause change in our bodies. We recognised that we can often think of the illegal kind when we first think of the word ‘drugs’ but that other products such as alcohol , cigarettes and medicines also fit into this category.

Our RE lesson looked at bereavement and what Christians believe happens to people after we pass away. We looked the concept of ‘Heaven’ and children discussed what their idea of heaven is and then wrote a poem about it. I think they believe my idea of heaven is a giant coffee shop with mountains of books about history. They may not be far wrong to be fair. Throw in marmite on toast a few chicken wings and they have it!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents,

Now I am aware that the cliché for small talk is to talk about the weather, indeed I do it just about every blog entry, despite the fact that it is currently rather baltic, but…is it just me or has it been raining now for about two years? All this has been interspaced of course from these freezing spells and they also said last year was the warmest year on record! The mind boggles. Ah well the words within the hymn ‘Jerusalem’ spring to mind about ‘walking on England’s mountains green’. The plants and crops will certainly get their fair share and we certainly should have enough water in our reservoirs for a while that is for sure!

Well on to school work! It will come as no surprise to you that school has begun this term with a bang and, as we have completed week two, is motoring along at a fair old clip! We had a fantastic practical lesson in Science that began our new topic of ‘properties and changes in materials’. We looked at what a solution was and if a substance was soluble or insoluble. There were a few surprises and we were saw how timings effect what can happen to the substance. For example some children initially thought ‘flour’ was soluble due to the appearance of the milky water until they saw later how the flour had settled into the bottom of the cup.

I was very proud of the children in RE this week as we tackled the very tough subject of losing a loved one – something we will all sadly all go through at some point in our lives. I was able to share how I found losing my own mother just over a year ago and the ups and downs we can continue to go through. The children were very reflective and honest as we discussed how people can sometimes express grief to what we could do to try and cope with loss. They then worked really well in creating a brochure in their books to describe and illustrate as suggestions some of these coping methods. They finished by giving their own top three simple summary tips they would tell someone.

1. You should find your own way to express your grief, but do not hold it in.
2. Talk to someone about your feelings.
3. Find a way to commemorate and remember your loved one.

These ‘tips’ were all expanded upon in their books with different examples and overall I was really proud of how they handled and approached this lesson.

We have finally wrapped up our maths subject of ‘fractions’. It feels as though we have been studying fractions for months! I think even I am becoming aware there is only so many times you should/could use the examples of pizza, cakes or chocolate bars when explaining maths concepts. Now that I think of it, it is always junk food included in maths problems! I mean why I could not have used examples including ninths of a butternut squash, sevenths of a granola bar or fifths of a celery stick! Hmm maybe next year! Anyway today we completed our assessment and next week we go back to the subject of multiplication – looking at various methods for long and short multiplication.

As you can imagine there has been lots more this week including, discussing what a habit is and how to deal with a dilemma in RHE lessons and writing a balanced argument in English. They are really looking forward to rounding this subject off with a live debate, but more on that next week. They are enjoying their PE lessons (despite the cold) and learning much in Spanish and music.

That is all for now and, as always, the homework is on the right of this blog and on google classroom.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents

Happy New Year and welcome back – I hope you have all had a lovely and restful break. It’s hard to believe but we are creeping towards the half-way mark. Time does go by quickly as we get older!

I would also like to once again thank you for your amazing generosity with your gifts for Christmas. The cash will definitely go to good use in the coming months (actually I have spent it already on a deposit for a summer holiday) and all the various chocolates have already been consumed!  Your support is indeed a great encouragement to me and I do appreciate it. Miss Cummins and Miss Isobel also send their heartfelt wishes for the New Year and thanks for the gifts before Christmas.

Well on to school work! It will come as no surprise to you that school has begun with a bang and has started at full speed.

We have started our English topic of looking at unbiased arguments this half term and have been looking at how it is important to understand both sides of a debate. This topic can be tricky (in a good way) as it can be hard to take that unbiased view in subjects close to our heart such as ‘should animals be kept in zoos’ , ‘ should chocolate be illegal for Children’ or ‘should homework be banned’. As you can imagine, there were some passionate and very interesting discussions in the classroom and I look forward to seeing where this leads them.

This week we have started our new topic in geography – Scandinavia. We started to look at the difference between being a Scandinavian country and a Nordic one. Looking at how all the Scandinavian countries have a Nordic culture and we looked both at what we know about Scandinavia and what we want to know for the future.

In RE we are looking at the topic of ‘The Journey of Life and Death’. It does create a thoughtful environment that is for sure. One child who was looking over my shoulder earlier in the day as I was opening the power point remarked at the title ‘oh well that is depressing’! We will be learning this is not always the case, although we will all have to go through the pain of losing someone in our lives at some point. We will be looking at how we remember people, legacies and what we want to accomplish in our own lives.

I thought I would leave my weekly weather report to the end of the blog. Boy it is cold! It really hits the bones and I know I am getting old because I just can’t handle it like I used to. Then on top of that I see children running around in just shirts and get upset when I ask them to at least put a jumper on! There is one particular child I have a running battle with on this and one I also recall having with her brother! I think they have lava running through their veins!

I remember a comedy skit once from Lenny Henry and he was saying that in England they have many names for the cold such as ‘it is cold/freezing’, ‘it is a tad nippy’, ‘it is baltic’, ‘its chilly’ but in Jamaica they have one saying for the cold ‘ENGLAND’! This week I think I agree with him!

Homework as always is on the right of this blog and on google classroom.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents

Well it is quite unbelievable that we are already a third of the way through the academic year!

This week has been the usual mix of joy and groans! From the children I hasten to add  J . I have had many accusing stares as I have laid out final lessons from our topics or told them we WILL finish our English writing or RHE topics. ‘But it is Christmas’ they would cry!’ We have played a few games though as well as created some excellent futuristic art from our art topics. I was thinking of watching my favourite Christmas movie – ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’. I decided against it though because I know that as soon as watch Ebenezer Scrooge at work I will get a few suspicious looks in my direction as they began to compare us. Although I would like to think they have all had a Christmassy week as we have been practising our song, had a few run throughs for the carol service, a couple of Christmas themed Maths quizzes along with a few rounds of a growing favourite game – kidnappers.

I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching your children this term. They are a fantastic and lively class and I’m loving getting to know them. We have worked hard, but we have also had a lot of fun. They have an amazing sense of humour, being able to put up with me at my (nicely I assure you) sarcastic best and have been brilliant at taking jokes- although there have been a few tumbleweed moments where my jokes fell on uncomprehending ears. They are a supremely talented bunch and I have been truly impressed with them. I promise you they all have a bright future. A few highlights which stand out for me are the amazing art pieces they have produced, some fantastic pieces of writing, and of course just the sheer energy they produce. One which stands out for me though is our wonderful assembly. The children were just brilliant! The songs they sung literally brought a tear to my eye as they exceeded my expectations for how I wanted it to go and the children were at their comedic best throughout the performance. Fantastic effort to all!

I was also immensely proud of the singing last night, they sounded wonderful. Our readers too were brilliant and I hope you enjoyed it too. For me, with all the business of the lead up to the Christmas holidays including wrapping up the topics, practising for the concert and me assessing the children’s progress, this event is the one that tells me that Christmas is finally here.

Equally I hope you enjoyed our Christmas servicer this morning. Lovely hearing the choir singing ‘Carol of the Bells’ again with some wonderful readers, congregation carols and of course our school classic – ‘I Give Thanks’. Thank you again to all who attended.

As much as I have come to care about them I am VERY glad to pass them back to you in the afternoon and – as my weekly updates suggest – go home and collapse!

At this Christmas tide I do wish you a peaceful Christmas, no matter what you have been through these past few years with stress of daily life, worries about the state of this world and of course the rising cost of bills and day to day living. We have also been hit with a lot of very weird weather as well. With a very wet summer followed by a very wet autumn and now an extremely cold winter. Please dress up warm and look after yourself this coming Christmas.

I would like finish by coming back to Advent. The four candles represented in this season are especially poignant for us as a school as each of the words are associated with a year group’s spiritual identity.

HOPE – May all of us have hope in Christ’s coming and hope that 2024 will be a good year

PEACE – May all of you find the peace of Christmas with your loved ones

LOVE – I pray we all experience the love of God this Christmas and the love of our family around us

Joy- I wish you all a joyful and special Christmas as we celebrate the birth of God’s son and time with our family.

Oh and if you have not guessed – NO HOMEWORK. Ebenezer Scrooge indeed!  Merry Christmas to you all J.

Thank you so much for all the Christmas gifts, you have all been so generous and it is hugely appreciated. Miss Cummins and Miss Isabel have also asked me to thank you on their behalf.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and fruitful New Year. I hope you all have a lovely and restful break and- virus willing- I look forward to seeing you in January.

God Bless you all this Christmas time

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Carols by Candlelight is rapidly approaching, and if you could all please play your part with our rehearsals by having your child/ren practise their songs, that would be greatly appreciated. PDFs of the lyrics can be found below, alongside their accompanying mp3s:

5 Blackman Song – Mary Did You Know?

5 Silverstein Song – Have You Heard the Sounds of the Angel Voices?

Finale – Silent Night

Finale – Traditional Carol Medley

Finale – Popular Medley

Dear Parents,

Going to keep it short and sweet today…I know I have said that before but I truly mean it!

Part of the reason is that after serving drinks at the Parents party last night I am feeling a little peaky and so do not have the wit or the brainpower for my usual witty entries this morning. Seriously though it was lovely seeing some of you this week and I enjoyed the chats, although I am not so good at that part as Mr Schumm or Mr Gane. They both really know how to mingle well at a party!

Anyway moving on from that I shall give you a brief rundown of our week. In a weird way, barring last night’s event, it has been a relatively quiet week from our perspective in Year 5. Of course the school had the wonderful Reception class Nativity and the Ks1 performances this week but aside from a few singing rehearsals it has been business as usual.

We have wrapped up a number of our term topics in subjects including life circles in Science, music and art at Christmas in RE and the breakdown of land, coasts and rivers in the UK in Geography. On top of that we have continued our ongoing topics of fractions in Maths and report writing in English. The children have enjoyed the work we have done in English on the short film ‘The Lighthouse‘ and have planned a newspaper report on the story which we will complete next Monday. They have also really enjoyed a couple of lessons this week in art and using a variety skills to create a futuristic backdrop p We looked at three carols which were ‘O Little Town Of Bethlehem’, Silent Night’ and ‘The Twelve days of Christmas’. We looks at the words and the children then wrote their own verses to these carols with some excellent results. There were some great examples of where the children swapped out items from the traditional version and replaced them with ‘sacred’ items. So instead of sing ’10 lords a leaping’ we might get ’10 angels singing’.

Back to the subject of peace, the children also saw that wonderful Sainsbury’s advent based on the true event during WWI where the German and English soldiers came out of their trenches to share gifts and play football together to celebrate Christmas. A little peace in the heart of a terrible war. Another link as well to our history topic after Christmas – World War 1. I hope we can all find a level of peace no matter what is going on in our lives.

Our RE topic about art and music linked well with the Year group spiritual word ‘Peace’ especially at Christmas’. That is also the Second Advent candle – Peace.  This week we looked at Christmas carols and why they have been around so long. We discussed what they mean to us as individuals and there were some wonderful replies including; having joy with family, traditional Christmas food/drinks/decorations and of course feelings of peace.

They have still been badgering about when the fun starts in class, once again making me channel my Ebenezer Scrooge and I have promised them if they work hard and stay on task then we will play a few games of ‘Kidnapper’, complete a fun maths quiz pack and possibly watch The Muppets Christmas Carol, but only if they stay calm and listen. Yes I know I am unashamedly blackmailing them, but Christmas at school can be very distracting.

Please do not forget to let us know if the children cannot make the Carol Service on Thursday and encourage the children to continue to practice their songs in them.  I also hope to see you all at Christmas end of term service next Friday.

Have a great weekend and as always homework will be on the right and on google classroom.

Kind Regards Mr Perry

PS Well it was a relatively short one as promised!

Dear Parents,

Been another busy week. To be fair I could start all my blogs this way, but I am not complaining.

Christmas has hit us well and truly now. Well done to the amazing choir who left a bit early today to go with Miss Rachel to Westfield to sing a few Christmas songs. I heard you were great! On that note (great links here by me I hasten to add) as I am sure you know, we have our upcoming Carols by Candlelight in a few Thursdays time (Dec 19^th) . To be fair this was one event I regretted losing during Covid a few years ago. Our children really are a talented bunch and it is wonderful hearing them sing the beautiful carols prepared by our music team and the readings on the an aspect of the Christmas story. I hope as many of you as possible are able to make it next week.  On that note please take note of Miss Rachel’s email regarding the class songs and we have put them on google classroom and in this blog as well. I have created an entry above this blog with the class song music and lyrics and the finale music Please practice and learn the words over the next few weeks.

We have been recalling topics in maths with a particular focus on fractions and times tables and, like last week, showing our knowledge through how we can explain, explore and show our knowledge. The children are recognising the importance of key skills such as using bar models to show their knowledge and to break down their learning. We have also resurrected our times tables challenge from last year, a task the children particularly love and each week they are keen to beat their opponent and progress to the next round to claim the coveted Angry Bird trophy! There will be a new champion this term and we will have the grand final over the next few weeks.

Other learning this week has included learning how to write a ‘report’ in English, using as a focus a lovely short video called ‘The Lighthouse’. Ask the children about it. We have looked at how reports should be in past tense, types of headlines, how to record a quote from the eye witnesses (had a great lesson interviewing children in character) and how to use the 5ws. Geography included looking at the coasts of Britain and learning vocabulary including ‘stack’ (rock formations), erosion and peninsular. In RE we had a special guest star (Mr Schumm) who taught the class while I was practising with the carol concert readers about the art we see on Christmas cards and the difference between secular and non-secular. The children then designed their own Christmas card. RHE has continued the topic of ‘Valuing Differences’ with a focus on how people can be discriminated against for more reasons than obvious ones such as sexism and racism. That people can be left out of friendship groups or games because they are different and how discrimination can have massive long term effects emotionally as well. Sobering but very important stuff.

I hope my wish last week of a carnage free Christmas preparation is coming to pass, yet if my plans are anything to go by I suspect not. As well as there being wither teeming rain or truly baltic conditions, there are also a lot of bugs around including flu, stomach bugs and of course our old friend Covid still raises its head from time to time, but I am still hopeful of a family orientated Christmas. Having the challenge every year of thinking what to get my legion of nieces , nephews and God children is causing my usual levels of high blood pressure , extra challenging as they get older , and I have sent my imploring texts to their parents to get me a few hints. Who is still into unicorns or Minecraft? Who is beginning to focus on clothes, makeup and other such items? Still I do love Christmas.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents,

Subjects have been motoring on, as us teachers are thinking about just how we could fit everything in from the curriculum before the bells toll 12 and the ghosts of Christmas come calling…or maybe that is just for me. I have been telling the children that our school days are going to extend over Christmas just to complete all our subjects. I think some of them believe me!

So what have my class of little Bob Cratchit’s been up to? This week along with the typical madness of our school have been the questions like …Are we having PE and gymnastics (and when)? When will we stop working for Christmas?  What day is home clothes day? Are we doing anything extra for the Fete? It definitely pays to be on top of the class ‘Whats Apps’ and parentmail that is for sure. We have been continuing our topics of The UK in Geography, Art at Christmas in RE, The seven elements of art in art and Life Cycles in science.

Maths lessons for my group have been all about expressing knowledge, using Bar Models to show fractions and recognising how to change mixed numbers to improper fractions and our homework on Mathletics will be around this topic. We are acknowledging that sometimes actual methods are straightforward and we are comfortable with them, but what can we do with that knowledge? They have looked at the importance of using inversing to check calculations and times table knowledge to support our fraction work. I use the example of the pyramid builders and the importance of foundations, as such times tables are on the bottom row and are the foundation of many of their topics as they move through school.

So Christmas is here, or almost. So that means in these strange times there will be no celebrations, carols, performances, Christmas cheer…Hey wait! This is St Stephens so of course there will!

It is wonderful that we in St Stephens really keep up with the Christmas spirit, never forgetting its true meaning. I have seen the wonderful FOSS advertising and preparing for our annual fete, the school halls are just echoing with the sounds of carols and nativity songs from the lower years being practised and we are starting to learn our own song for Carols by Candlelight’ which we will perform the last week of term. Trust me, it is a beautiful event and I am sure those parents who have been before will back me up. I hear those of you with children in lower years will have a chance to see their ‘Nativities’ soon as well, so that is great too.

Whether Christmas is your thing or not, or if you are not fond to the build- up to the season, with all that goes on,  it IS a special time of year. I have been telling the children in assemblies how important Advent is. Yes we are waiting for the celebration of the birth of Jesus when he came the first time, but also those of us who are Christians also believe we are looking forward to the second time he comes. This week churches up and down the country lit their first Advent candle -that of HOPE. I hope we are all feeling that first stirring of hope and joy that can be found at Christmas. Finally our Christmas topic in RE is all about peace at Christmas, it’s message from God, and how Christmas brings us peace …amid all the carnage of course!

As you think about how you will celebrate with loved ones this year I wish you as carnage free a Christmas as possible.

Homework as always is on Google Classroom, Mathletics and on the right of this message.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Well what a quiet week it has been. What with last week having our anti bullying week, parents evenings and then not one but two trips this week so we just put our feet up, put on our onesies and chilled out …Yeah right who am I kidding ? J

Nope quiet and calm not usually a word associated with life in St Stephens. Indeed, all around us, evidence of what the few weeks ahead have in store for us is already starting to shape up! Parents are busy putting up decorations, emails are flying around about fete’s and Christmas events, teachers are working on organising the carol concert, KS1 plays and other events and we are trying to get our heads around just how quickly another year comes around.

Quiet? No definitely not. We have had a trip to Gunnersbury Park, a trip to the Lyric Theatre, a number of children out playing football and of course there was last night’s amazing FOSS event but more on that later.

We have equally been busy in the classroom. Our topic in maths next week – that of fractions – is a perfect opportunity for me to use food as a muse for my teaching. This week we have also been looking at word problems around multiplication and division, so for the next few weeks we will be just abounding in references to skittles and doughnuts being eaten, bars of chocolate being split equally or finding equal amounts of cake if one has been chopped into 8 pieces and another 32. Still, after a half term of me teaching this cohort maths, they must be used to me by now! Incidentally some of our mathletics homework will be around multiplying by 10. 100 and 1000.

In science we have continued our work on reproduction in the natural world, focusing this week on the sexual reproduction of animals and if they are internal like mammals or external like fish. We had great conversations around how salmon always go back to the pool they were hatched from to lay their own eggs, how male penguins watch their eggs for a time and about the gestation periods for various animals, which we will look at more next week. We are really focusing in all our foundation subjects in using the technical/topical vocabulary in our writing and so this week we ensured we used the words reproduction, fertilisation, external, internal, gestation and embryo in our explanations.

RE wrapped up our topic of the vocational calling of Monks and Nuns by finishing our information text and our end of unit assessment. Finally our English continued to carry on our topic of poetry and we tapped into all sorts of skills including using onomatopoeia in ‘Nonsense Poems’ , similes and metaphors in riddles and personification in haikus and poems on nature. We wrapped the week by writing our own ‘free verse ‘poem using Karl Nova’s poem ‘The City of my Birth’ as inspiration. The children chose a location or favourite place of their own and reasons why they chose it. Then using skills that included writing similes, metaphors, alliteration and emotive vocabulary the children planned and wrote their own poem.

Class Trip

Well what a way to start off our week. The day was a fun one all around (with a little bit of stress too) but we kicked the week off on a high! The children learned what it was like to have a typical lesson in a Victorian school with an old grumpy teacher – no not me – and had a session that involved humiliation, punishments , insults and no tolerance ….they loved it! To be fair I also took notes for my own development as a teacher and I may just implement a few of their rules and actionsJ. Seriously though the children continued their acting central day and really got into it. Please ask them about their experiences.

St Stephens Got Talent

Well another huge event organised and thank you so much to the amazing FOSS team for organising it. Now although I am personally not really a celebrity spotter, it was very impressive that they managed to get Alisha Dixon and Simon Cowell to our little school. The acts were all a great mixture of fun , skill, humour and …well talent! Poor Miss Whiting was of course once again cajoled into creating a dance routine for her and Mr Schumm. It was a little strange that Mr Schumm was on the judges panel to, but who am I to argue! Still it was a cracking event all around. Thank you FOSS and I look forward to hearing how much was raised!

Aladdin at the Lyric

Okay let us first deal with the elephant in the room! Today we went to the panto…oh no you didn’t…I hear you cry. Well yes did and the children really enjoyed it. Aladdin has always been a favourite for pantos around the country and the children were really keen to see me called on stage by the Dame. I have been in the past a prime target for the dame…it must be my good looks and charm!  An unfortunate reality of the last three times we have been. Thankfully no teachers were harmed in the making of this panto! As we were allocated seats in different places we were of course ensuring we had enough adults in seats and nicely spread out and I was nicelyb tucked in by the pillar. Hey Mr Gane was also there with Year 6 and he does all he can to ensure he will not be spotted. This year he hid at the back! I mean what is not to like about calling up a middle aged, awkward introvert to take him well out of his comfort zone! Honestly though children always enjoy the panto, but I have never seen a group so engaged. In a way that is every panto director’s goal I am sure. Singing, dancing, calling out, whooping, and booing in the right places. I was watching some children who are often very quiet and shy and they too were really getting involved. Great fun all around.

Phew another week done!

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

It has been a bit parky the last few days don’t you agree and the rain! I know Climate Change is not something to take lightly, but I am convinced that when I am in my dotage (not too far away I think) Britain will be rainforest, all hot weather and rapid downpours! All they will need to do is let a few anacondas, howler monkeys and alligators into the wild and we would fit right in with The Amazon! Did not know just when to bring a big coat, umbrella, fleece top or all of the above. Still not complaining, I prefer the cold to rain and hot sun. I have a cricket club and for a sport that is known for stopping in even slightly cold or rainy conditions, it felt a bit odd! Still I had my big coat on and a cup of coffee so all was okay.  Oh dear I am starting to sound like someone at a get together with nothing to say and end up talking about the weather!

Our learning this week has continued as much as possible with all the changes and all that has been going on in the life and times of St Stephens. In geography we have been looking at the UK and how it is made up. This week we looked at how we are broken down into counties and how to identify them in an atlas to then label a blank map. Useful skills all around. Maths we are wrapping up our work on multiplication and division focusing on the relationship between numbers, in recognising and finding prime numbers, factors, squared numbers and cubed numbers. Next week we will wrap this up by learning how we can use our times table knowledge to work out problems like 40 x 8000 using 4 x 8 and will finish the week off by completing an end of unit assessment before moving on to our next topic of fractions. Poetry was our topic in English (and will continue next week) and we have been looking at misconceptions (not all poems rhyme for example) and poetic skills including personification and alliteration. This week has been fun and the children have really enjoyed writing limericks, riddles, ‘nonsense’ poems and haikus. We enjoyed a little competition as I read riddles from a fantastic chapter (called Riddles in the Dark) from one of my favourite childhood books – The Hobbit. Winners getting …yes a warm glow in their heart! One child tried to stump me writing a riddle about a character from Harry Potter and then I returned the favour. Great fun learning all around.

Parents Evening

Firstly thank you for all who zoomed into the parents’ evenings. It was a pleasure talking to you and I would like to reiterate that I have really enjoyed the first term teaching your lovely children. They are a talented, bright and lively that is for sure! It is interesting hearing some of the impressions the children feed back to you after getting to know me. Great titbits have included my coffee habit, my enthusiasm for history (where I have deduced I may talk too much), my drawer that will have the odd kitkat lurking and my sense of humour – or lack of!  It has been fun getting to know your children’s own unique characteristics too.

Class Trip

As always life sprints along at a fair old pace at St Stephens with another busy week ahead of us. It is hard to keep up with who is going to a sports trip, to a high school for an outreach opportunity in maths, languages or another subject or indeed to Westminster to go to the Houses of Parliament with the school council. Then of course we are rounding up our learning on The Victorians when we go to Gunnersbury Park Museum to experience what it may have been like in a Victorian classroom. I wonder how many children will compare me to the Victorian teachers…

Homework

As always I have put homework to your right on the webpage and on Google classroom.  

Well that is the lot I think for this week. I have decided it will be the new me. Less coffee, healthy walks (try the All Trails app) healthy eating and only a little Netflix. I am all set up to go…or maybe I will start next week and concentrate on sleeping a bit!

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

It has been another wet couple of days! Is it just me or has this Autumn’s weather been wetter than normal? I seem to be collecting wet and muddy trainers and walking shoes at my front door. My mop and bucket is also seeing more use than normal, but small problems I suppose. Saying that my Netflix shows or sports podcasts can somewhat distract me a little, but it is good to make you all think I am a domestic champion.

Anyway on with my next dazzling entry. Reminds me of the old James Herriot books (the show ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ are based on these) where each chapter is another incident in the life and times of a Yorkshire vet. So what would I call my memoirs?  How about ‘All Children Great and Small’, Or The life and times of a Shepherds Bush Primary School Teacher? Hmm have to think about this one.

Today (Friday) was Hispanic day and our class represented Columbia. We had a brief lesson on Columbian geography and culture. The children used their knowledge and growing research skills to prepare a fact file advertising the merits of Columbia, looking for key facts and explaining why it would be an excellent place to visit. Our school focus was Hispanic countries habitat and natural world and we looked at the poison dart frogs. It was great to have a parent join us, able assisted by their lovely daughter to talk about life in their home country.Finally the children took part in a dance workshop which was great fun to see and experience.

We have been working at our new topics for this half term and I will give you updates in the next few blogs with a few more details on studying the UK in Geography, Poetry in English, Monastic life and Music and Art at Christmas in RE, Life cycles in Science and Valuing Differences in RHE. The children have worked really hard and a few highlight for me this week were the children studying a performing the poem ‘Facing the Truth of Haikus’ by Malorie Blackman (our class namesake) and dissecting, labelling and describing the sexual parts of a flower (a lily) in science. Lots of hard work by all.

Parents Evening

It is that time of year again and if you have not done so already, please can you remember to book a slot for next week. If this is not possible then please get in contact so we can organise another time. I look forward to hearing from you next week.

I think that is my lot for today. As much as I would love to outline the amazing activity I have planned for the weekend to enrich and inspire my life…I won’t as it involves a walk, a football podcast, a pie many coffees and probably a bit more mopping!

Homework is on the left and on Google Classroom.

Have a great weekend.

Kind Regards

Alex Perry

Dear Parents,

I will keep this one short…famous last words I know! As you may have noticed, I do tend to go on a bit, but let’s give it a go shall we!

There have been some fantastic work this week all round, but I have been especially impressed with the children’s work in English. We wrapped up our information text work where the children wrote their own text on either a fennec fox, beluga whale or grey wolf. The children broke their research into subheadings including; diet, habitat, behaviour and conservation and included within their final pieces illustrations, glossaries, captions, information boxes with special/fun facts and bullet points.  They have worked hard on their grammar focus this term (parenthesis and relative clauses) and we have all worked on our handwriting.

On that note…handwriting is a school focus and our English lead teachers (Mrs Hayes Yr3 and Mrs Allen Yr1) have introduced a new initiative where each half term the class teachers nominate a child to receive ‘The Golden Pen’ award and indeed to get a gold coloured pen as well. The children in question do not have to be the neatest in the class, but should show improvement, hard work and enthusiasm for their writing. Our winner was well deserved for all these things and will receive her gold pen after half term due to supply delays! She does however have the certificate and that greatest prize in a learning environment…the ‘warm glow’ in their hearts they have done well, although in retrospect they would probably prefer a chocolate reward. I do rather enjoy telling them they have a reward and their eyes light up and then see their poor little faces fall as I tell them they have won a ‘warm glow in their hearts’. I know I am mean.

Black Voices Week

This week we have looked at the life of Sarah Forbes Bonatta which also fits in well with our history topic – The Victorians. Sarah was born a member of an African royal family of the Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria in 1843 and after being enslaved and orphaned by a neighbouring tribe ended up in the court of Queen Victoria who became her benefactor. Her life was an interesting but tragically short one as she tragically died of tuberculosis at the age of 37- short life spans being another factor of the Victorian age. Ask your children about her.

As a school we were privileged to have a visitor from ‘Big Foot Education’ to talk to us about how we have had Black people in Britain for longer than we might assume- going back as far as nearly 2000 years. It is right we learn about individuals who fought against the slave trade and fought for rights in this country, but it is also important we know others achievements throughout history. For example not one, but four of the Roman Emperors were Black and one (Septimus Severus) was first acknowledged as emperor in what was then Britannia. One fact I learned was that one of the most popular and talented musicians in the court of Henry VIII was Black – a trumpeter by the name of John Blanke. He was so sought after, he was the highest paid musician of his time. We have learnt this term as well about how many inventions came from Black people and we should never just resign this learning to one month of the year.

Well I am going to come to a halt here with a quick roundup of the rest of the week. We have also completed our topics in RHE lessons with very important and useful learning around how to be assertive against peer pressure, how to recognise our emotional needs and to recognise what ‘discrimination’ is and how it can affect people. We have had our end of unit maths assessments on ‘addition and subtraction’ and have completed our forces lessons in science looking at levers and pulleys.

Well this has been a long half term and I wanted to say I am really enjoying teaching your children. ‘Well what else would he say?’ I hear you say, but I am being very honest…honestly! Seriously though they are kind, sweet, hardworking and well behaved…most of the time!

No homework     

Yes this is true. Now I would love to say this was because I was kind, charming and thoughtful but the rest of the school is doing it so I had no choice !

Happy Half term to you all.

Kind Regards Mr Perry

Dear Parents

With the first half of the term almost over, we can all stop and take a breath.  What an eventful few weeks it’s been: Red Card to Racism day today, Class Assembly, and our DT day. It also shows no signs of letting up with Black Voices Week next week, cross country on Wednesday and Hispanic Day also coming up. To be fair did I expect anything different?

We have been continiong to work on our information texts in English with a focus on one of my favourite topics – animals. The children had a choice of looking at fennec foxes, beluga whales or my personal favourite animal –the grey (or as said in the USA gray) wolf. On that note it is scary how phones work. We had a discussion in class on what was the correct spelling ‘grey’ or ‘gray’ and then when I went home I saw a meme on my phone about the difference between grey or gray! Scary indeed. Sorry about that diversion but as my class are starting to get I do sometimes get a little side-tracked! Anyway on with the English topic, we have been looking at what makes an effective information text and the features that they contain. The children reached their chosen animal with facts that would fit into chosen sub-headings including habitat, location, behaviour and ‘fun facts’. Next week we will be looking at putting all these facts together to write our own information report.

We have also been slowly wrapping up our half term topics and have completed work in our Science (forces) RE (Judaism) and history (Victorians) .The children have worked very hard this term and I have seen some fine efforts in their tasks. They have enjoyed practical elements including investigations around how to put together a catapult (yes indeed watch the windows) as well as what happens when you throw a toy out the window…attached to a parachute I might add. Then the children have really honed their research skills in history and computing by using chrome books and ipads to find key facts about e-safety (computing) and about the Victorian way of life, this was of course shown in their fantastic assembly yesterday. They have understood the meaning (and beliefs) behind the worship of our world faith- Judaism- and have used very creative skills in retelling creation stories and myths (like Pandora’s Box). All in all a very productive half term, and still with a week to go!

Red Card to Racism Day

Although I am so glad to live in such a multicultural society, it saddens me that racism and discrimination still abounds in our society. The children today all wore red in support of the ‘Red C Card to Racism’ movement and we had a lesson on what prejudism is and ways in which it can occur and manifest itself. The children looked at scenarios in everyday life and discussed how to deal with such situations. Mr Schumm led a fantastic assembly this morning on this and how we can deal with such issues as well as recognising that no-one deserves abuse for their culture, colour or religion.

Class Collective Worship

Well we were just abounding yesterday in orphanages, factories, workhouses, inventions, strict teachers and flushing toilets. I am of course talking about our wonderful assembly yesterday. Our assembly was a great success and I was very proud of your children who were all brilliant! What with being the first year group this year, with many disruptions these last few weeks, sports events, and special events, I was really impressed with how the children adapted to what was going on and still had the strength and will to bring our assembly to life. They spoke so clearly and sang so beautifully, their enthusiasm created a wonderful energy and I was particularly impressed with their fantastic singing. A big pat-on-the-back to those with lots of lines to learn and to those who stepped out of their comfort zone. The costumes were excellent and thank you to all who provided them as well as our wonderful class saints – Mrs Cummins and Miss Isabel. Also massive thank you to Miss Rachel for playing the piano and helping them pick up our songs so well. I can get a little carried away when writing the script and always add bits n bobs as I go and I hope you got all the in-jokes and the ‘toilet humour’. Thank you for coming and I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed performing it.

Homework is on your right of the screen and on google classroom. 

Have a wonderful half term.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

Hard to believe we only have two weeks to go until half term and as is the way in St Stephens it has been a truly busy one. This week was relatively quiet in comparison, but we highlighted two very important days this week with the children wearing yellow for ‘World Mental Health Day’.

In English we have moved on from our myths and legend topic and started to look at information texts. We had looked at a variety of types of text including animals, history and archaeological based information. I am looking forward to seeing where this leads. We have also started researching our own topic and we have decided to focus on looking at choosing an animal – particularly an endangered one. We have looked at what features we would find in an information text, including facts, subheadings, titles, captions, illustrations and that they would be written in the present tense.

Maths we have started our ‘addition and subtraction’ topic. Looking particularly at formal written methods (such as the column method) to solve long addition and subtraction problems. The children are encouraged to recognise not just their own potential errors they may make, but also others. These could include not lining them up correctly (such as when we are adding/subtracting a six digit number with a five digit one), forgetting to exchange or carry numbers and not subtracting columns the right way around. In my class we also looked at word problems on these subjects and that I may write that a particular child has eaten 567, 978 skittles in a day and another a different amount and they may have to add or subtract the numbers, but they should recognise the numbers in the word problem and the important mathematical words such as ‘altogether’, ‘more than’, ‘difference between’ etc. We looked at how we need to get rid of the ‘non important information’ (like eating skittles) to find those important facts. Mathletics homework around this will be focusing on using estimating and rounding to help solve these problems.

On Thursday we wore yellow to remind us it was ‘World Mental Health Day’. As I may have said in past blogs, the importance of Relationship and Health Education should not be denied. This week we looked at the importance of positive affirmation and how we should regularly tell each other and, more importantly, ourselves positive statements and truths such ‘You are loved’, ‘You are unique’, ‘ I will keep trying until I succeed’ and many more. We discussed how easy it is to look at the negative side of things and should always try to be positive. I will show my age here, but it reminds me of a great comedy film from the eighties called ‘ Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’. I won’t bore you with the summary of the film, but ultimately two air head lads are destined to save the world and they have to pass at school to get on that track! They live by the mantra ‘ Be Excellent to Each Other and Party on Dudes!’. Future society is then built upon this belief. Not a bad bit of philosophy.

Speaking of positive…we also have ‘Red Card to Racism’ day next Friday. It is so important that we are all aware that we can all sometimes have biases and that we should always be on the lookout for how we can support those who suffer racism and how we can recognise it when we come across it. Our Black Voices Week should not just about looking to plan for lessons for one week but to help us to recognise these contributions all across the year.

Quiz Night

Thank you yet again to the magnificent FOSS team for all their hard work planning yet another brilliant event last night. I think any who went will have had all sorts of conflicting emotions including, ‘I do not want to embarrass myself’, ‘if I get one right how do I look calm while inwardly whooping and doing cart wheels?, and of course ‘I am not bothered if we lose’ , while secretly seething when we do! I know Mr Schumm would have been looking at the two teacher teams thinking ‘don’t embarrass me, don’t embarrass me’ and would have been secretly whooping when one actually did! Hmm! Overall it was a great night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you again.

Finally we have one week to go until our assembly. At writing this I am chewing my nails a little as on Friday afternoon we are having a dress rehearsal with the Year 6s watching (they will be at PGL next week) and we are hoping that it goes well. When you read this entry however we would already have had the dress rehearsal and I will either be sobbing in a corner in despair or will be contently drinking a coffee or reading a book enclosed in a wave of hope and peace! Who knows?

Homework is on your right of the screen and of course on google classroom.

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear parents,

I think sometimes I should cut and paste for every blog ‘it has been a busy week in St Stephens’ but I must try and be more creative so on with this weeks blog…it has been a busy week in St Stephens!

We are well into the half-term now and it has been wonderful getting to know your children. They are getting to know me as much as I am getting to know them. Nowadays I am often greeted with comments such as, ‘How many coffee cups have you had today?’ The answer is usually followed by a stern frown and then a sheepish 3…or 4!. In a similar fashion if they win a small treat for a task such as the best presentation as a group in RHE or the winner of a times table game they really ensure I pay my debt!

I have been enjoying the teaching subjects this term and there has been some great work occurring through the class. In RE we have been looking at the Jewish faith and important elements of how practisers of Judaism live their faith. In previous weeks, we have looked at artefacts linked to their worship, including a tallit, kippah, yad and The Torah. We have compared them to artefacts in our faith and what scriptures those who are of other world faiths study and learn from. This week we looked at ‘Shabbat’ and what a practising Jewish family would do to celebrate it. It is quite refreshing actually to recognise a ‘day of rest’ and we learned how some families for Shabbat would have no electronic devices on, would prepare the food in advance, would always eat together on Shabbat (Friday evening) and have a small blessing ceremony before the dinner. They would certainly do no work of any description from Friday night to Saturday night as they believe that God commanded us not to in the Ten Commandments. Not in as extreme a manner, but it reminded me of Sundays when I was a child. Nice breakfast in the morning, go to church, a mixture of relaxing activities including playing board games, swimming, visiting friends for the afternoon or going for long walks before having a lovely roast dinner. No shops or shopping centres were open, no one had mobile phones, ipads, laptops or satellite TV, public travel was limited and hardly anyone actually worked on a Sunday. I kind of miss those days! After seeing the blank confused looks on peoples faces, I think the children are definitely convinced I began teaching in The Victorian Era! I mean really no ipads or mobiles?

It struck us how we can learn so much from other faiths, how we have special objects and ceremonies across all faiths in world religions and how holy words and teachings can teach us how to live morally. We have recognised that we do not have to be followers of these faiths to learn from them.

This week we finished our creation myths and have worked hard on studying the importance of planning, drafting, editing and publishing our final piece writing. There were some excellent examples of creativity and use of our English grammar and sentencing targets – that of relative clauses and parenthesis – and the children will hopefully look to take these skills further in their writing.

I believe our RHE (Relationship and Health Education) lessons are really important as they help us to navigate the challenges we all face in life with issues including peer pressure, friendship challenges, dealing with adversity and many many more such situations. I am sure we can all remember how we all faced difficulties as children and as we navigated our way from childhood to becoming young adults. I am sure we can all agree that these things can continue to challenge us all as adults as well through our work life, friendships and family relations and not just as children. We looked this week at ‘Unhealthy Relationships’ and what makes a good friend. I told the children I still remember my time as a Year 5/6 child in primary school ( I think they think that was 150 years ago for me) and how one person in our school made things very tricky for most of the children in my class and that I still remember his name. We looked at ways in how we can deal with these times and then wrapped up on a really positive note as the children created a ‘recipe’ in the form of a cake for the perfect friend. Like I said, a very important topic and one I think can be more important than our maths and English lessons.

Our Harvest Festival went well and it was wonderful to see us all together again in such a fashion. Thank you for so many of you coming and of course for all the Harvest donations that are quite simply stacked at the back off St Stephen’s church ready to go to those who need it through the ‘Upper Room’. I think the tears came to my eyes when we all sang ‘I Give Thanks’ and as I said yesterday in church it actually gets better every time and we never get bored of the song. Just watching all the teachers, children and parents getting stuck into the actions as well as singing their hearts out was simply heart-warming. One teacher said they felt the hairs rise up on the backs of their arms and I have to agree with them. It was special indeed.

Homework, as always, is to the right of this entry and on google classroom. So I will say goodbye now and go get a fun size bag of Maltesers to pay off my growing debts!

Kind Regards

Mr Perry

Dear Parents

It feels like deja vu but…we are all exhausted after another busy week! In English, the children have continued their work on our myths – with a focus on creation myths and they have been really getting into it. They have been learning how to use interesting vocabulary, add details with relative clauses and to begin to use ‘parentheses. They finished the week looking at how these factors can add to writing as well as spotting them in myths and writing examples of their own. We will round this work off in the next week or so beginning with planning their own and then writing and editing it by Friday. I am very much looking forward to marking their final product!

In Maths, the children in my group have been consolidating their knowledge on place value looking at partioning numbers to 1,000,000, using number lines to round off numbers and looking at strategies to order numbers over 100,000. The children did this by breaking numbers down through partitioning and then learning how to order them through our understanding of the value of the digits. We have looked as well at maths language such as ‘ascending’ and ‘descending’, which also lends toward our spellings this week, that of ‘Ous’ words.

Other subjects have included continuing our topic of forces in science, where the children have looked at, friction last week and air resistance this week.  We had fun planning how to test how the size of a parachute will affect how the air pushes against it and slows it down. As I was explaining in class and giving ideas around how they could carry on their learning at home, I think even I got excited! I mean what is not exciting about throwing a toy soldier, teddy, Barbie Doll or indeed Darth Vader off a height to test various parachute sizes or how the mass/size of the toy could equally effect the objects descent and the effects of air-resistance. I did off course express if they did do it at home the importance of safety. Would love to hear about it if anyone does it! Next week we look at water –resistance. What fun!

Being the democratic school we are, last week we had our elections, speeches and presentations prepared by the Year 6s and voted for by the house captains. As a prior Year 6 teacher I know how important these elections are and told my class just how the confidence of many house captains have risen as a result of being elected, the amazing fund raising they have been a part of and the pivotal role they have in school daily life. The children took the responsibility of voting very seriously and have made excellent choices. I am sure they will have a great year.

Speaking of special …A massive thank you to all the parents who came to the family supper – one of my favourite St Stephen’s events. I think I got to say hello to most of you and if not …well hello! Delicious food – I could not pass without taking at least one more lamb chop, scoop of rice or chicken wing!  Gives us real incentive to celebrate good bounty at our Harvest Festival next Wednesday. It is a simple event – yet one that really shows our community spirit. As I said last week,  I was really looking to it and you all did not disappoint. There is nothing better I think than to spend time together with that common denominator – food- where we can just enjoy each other’s company…and a chicken wing or three! Thank you so much for all the wonderful food brought to the event! Your children MAY have been on a sugar high running around but I was too busy stuffing my face to notice. A wonderful event all around thank you. Let me just give you a short transcript of an average conversation I had with children yesterday.

Me – “Hello are you having a good time?”

Child – “ Yes Mr P “

Me – “ What wonderful food have you been eating”

Child – “ I have had a doughnut, two cup cakes, sweets, fruit and whipped cream”

Me – “ Any savouries”

Child – “ Errrrmmmm……Oh and a slice of pizza!”

Me – “ Hmmm well I hope you sleep well tonight! “

Well at least they had a good time!

IMPORTANT- Please take note of the email sent via ParentMail about the trip next year. For your children to go, we need the important documents in by Christmas holidays and for the passports to have at least six months before expiring from our departure date. If you require any other information then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Class Assembly

The children have been working hard on the script and hopefully we will get a couple of practice sessions in over the next few weeks. As stated in the ParentMail we will be grateful for support helping the children to look vaguely Victorian with their costumes and supporting them in learning their lines.

Homework as always is on Google Classroom and is also listed to the right of this entry.

Have a wonderful weekend and kind regards.

Mr Perry

Dear Parents,

Is it cold? Is it warm? Is it bright? Is it cloudy? It does seem a bit of a lottery these days. I honestly am never sure what to wear in the mornings. Jacket? Fleece? Jumper? As I have said it is a bit of a lucky dip! Thank the lord for air conditioning that us all I say!

It is the end of another busy week at St Stephen’s. In Maths my group has been focusing on recognising the value of numbers up to 1,000,000 and how to use the Gattegno Chart – anther great link to ancient history. We have looked at how to split them, what happens when we times numbers by 10, 100 and 1000  placing them on number lines and we continued to look at solving problems eliminating clues. After all our work last year on our times tables, it is important the children continue to practice. As we discuss in class the old motto ‘practice makes perfect’ this is no truer than with times tables and the children should practice for ten minutes a day. We have mathletics homework based upon our work in class.

We have been enjoying our history topic on the Victorians, the children have been researching, illustrating and writing up theories on the industrial revolution and looked at the benefits and negatives it brought to our life and culture. We have looked at how a lot of our progress at this time was built on the horror of slavery and we have looked at how the speedy growth of our industry was also at the detriment of life for British citizens, especially the labourers and their families.  There have been some fantastic examples of work. When discussing how teachers and foreman would have been very harsh and strict I am sure there were a few looks in my direction! We have looked at how despite the horrific working conditions for many people and touched upon the horrors of slavery we have discussed that this age made huge leap forwards in ‘technology’ in the growth of machines, steam power and commerce for the United Kingdom. If only it was not at the cost of so many lives.

Speaking of fantastic …we are moving ahead with our English topic of Myths and Legends. As I have frequently said to my children, I just love these topics. My personal love of reading, which I strongly promote, began with fantasy such as Narnia and LOTR at their age (I would have just loved it if series like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter would have been around when I was their age) then moved onto historical fiction and non-fiction. I just love it when there is a blend of the two such as Ancient Greek myths, Norse legends and tales such as King Arthur and Robin Hood. I am looking forward to seeing their final written pieces.

Eritrea and Ethiopia Day 

We are blessed at St Stephens to be multicultural and we just love how so many cultures are represented and expressed in our school community. Today we had a veritable feast for lunch of Eritrean cuisine . Thank you so much to all the wonderful parents who cooked and prepared such a wonderful meal for us all. It was soooo good! I think many of us may skip dinner tonight as we are so full up! We are so privileged here to have had such a wonderful community of Eritrean and Ethiopian families as part of our school over many years and it was fantastic to celebrate your special day today.

Harvest Festival  – Wednesday 2^nd October 9.00 AM

As I mentioned last week, It is wonderful that we can all meet together to celebrate our church festivals. On that note, you are all invited Wednesday 4^th October 9 am to our Harvest Festival, where we come together to thank God for our harvest. This will be held in St Stephens Church. Every year we collect non-perishable goods to go towards feeding those in need at a local charity. Like last year, proceeds will go to the ‘Upper Room’. You would have all received a parentmail with the list of appropriate goods. We look forward to seeing you there.

Family  Supper – Thursday 26th September 6PM

With all the wonderful events that FOSS put on, I know this one is always one of the favourites and it was such as shame that we could not put it on last year. The children love it because –as one child stated- we can run around in the dark! I am just thankful we pass over all responsibility to you at 3.30pm J . I mean what is not to love about children who have been stuffing their faces with doughnuts, cakes and other puddings (and of course a few savouries too) running around the playground on a sugar high! Seriously though it is a wonderful evening and I am always one of the first in line with my plate to sample the wonderful variety of food that is brought to the supper. It is a simple event – yet one that really shows our community spirit.

Homework as always is on the right, with the spellings. Grammar should be completed on google classroom and maths as always is set on Mathletics. Please ensure you stay up to date with Mathletics so you do not fall behind.  Overall they have made a great start to this so please keep it up!

I am going to go home and try and procrastinate about the list of jobs I have to do. Maybe I should stay and do a bit more marking!

Kind regards

Alex Perry

Please also see below a letter from our Arts lead teacher concerning Arts opportunities for Year 5/6 children.

Dear Parents

Did we have a summer holiday? When was it? It seems so far away…cue a bit of whinging and sobbing in a corner…followed by a large glass of wine!

Well not being a believer of luck or anything personally they may have been a few feelings foreboding today as it is indeed Friday 13th…well I have to say it has been a great day and indeed a great week! I only looked over my shoulder twice today…

This past week or so (and over the coming half term)  I am getting to know the children’s learning habits through classroom activities and getting a handle on how we can work together.. Don’t be alarmed if your child moves onto different class working groups and there may be movement in the maths classes in the coming weeks as Mrs Connor and I get to know the children. They are a great bunch and I have really enjoyed teaching them, even those in Ayleward House…In class joke there !

We have started our maths and English topics in earnest. In maths, my group have looked at face value, understanding the value of parts of numbers up to 1,000,000 and how the importance of place holders. We also joined history and maths together by having lessons on Roman numerals and using them to work out dates of significance in history and the years of the reigns of assorted kings and queens of Britain, they really enjoyed it and it was fun trying to learn and understand the right sequences. They have been working hard on layout and presentation of maths problems and I have been really impressed with the effort put into this. Our homework for maths this week reflects all these points and there are also tasks on recalling times tables facts for 6 and 7.

We are so blessed to have such generous parents in this school and we are lucky to have additional avenues of support and learning opportunities for the children. With teachers for Spanish, Music , Gymnastics and PE weekly and they do not include the various other opportunities throughout the year with dance lessons, QPR football sessions and Scientist in Residence lessons to name but a few. We could not do this without you parents who raised for us in FOSS a massive £175, 000 last year. Thank you so much!

Homework – Please see opposite for the homework which will be spelling, comprehension and maths. A new process will be using Google Classroom a lot more for other homework such as comprehension or additional tasks. Spellings and sentences as always will be in the green books and mathletics will be set by class teachers. Miss Bill and I had a chat today with the year group about homework expectations so please have a chat with them about it.  

In RE we have begun our topic of Judaism as well as begun looking at our class spiritual word – Peace. Next week the children will write prayers and created a poster with their bible verse in their RE books based on their idea what ‘PEACE’ means for us as individuals. Not just wishing for PEACE in the world, but also what it means for Peace in our lives. We also have started our worldwide religious topic on understanding what it is like to live as a follower of Judaism and what items and artefacts are important to them -such as a Kippah’, Tallit and Seder dish.

It has been wonderfully democratic in school this week with class elections for school council and the children voted for who would take on that role. Well done to all those who went for it, as well as the two children nominated as our prayer group representatives.

So all in all it has been a very democratic week in class…although I still have my dictator moments J.

I am looking forward to going to France with your children next year – a trip I loved doing with Year 6 a few years ago and as emailed earlier in the week, I hope all our children can attend. On another note good luck to the Year 6 going to PGL next week and I am sure they will have a fantastic time. I will repeat this throughout the year to the children many times throughout the year, but I truly believe that they are blessed to have so many opportunities and experiences in this school, or have I said that already J

Just to round off I would like to say your children are certainly a group full of character and energy. I see myself having a long bath before sinking into my couch every Friday when the week ends with a glass of coke zero and a box set on Netflix/Amazon Prime/Disney Plus as I try to recover J . Seriously they are wonderful children and I am having great fun teaching them.   They are a credit to you!

Kind regards

Mr Perry

Welcome to Year 5 Blackman!

I hope you had a wonderful summer holiday and are ready to start the new school year. I have been really looking forward to teaching Year 5 again as last year was my first year teaching this age group in this school. I taught Year 6s for five years and Year 4 for three before going to year 5. They are at a lovely age in their development and even better they also begin to get my humour (or lack of) J  as well. It is fantastic once again to meet new families, siblings of old students and get to know children from a year group who I do not know as well. We are all in this together as we start our year 5. I look forward to getting to know your children (and you of course) in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Miss Cummins and Miss Isobel have been wonderfully helpful over the last few days and I thank them both. I have worked with Miss Cummins before and we make a great team and I know you all know them (Miss Isobel and Miss Cummins) well from last year. Miss Cummins has over twenty years’ experience as a TA and is a welcome member of the Year 5 team. Miss Williams, Miss Bill and Miss Tami have also been wonderfully supportive as we begin our new year in Year 5. As I am sure you are aware – Miss Bill and Miss Williams are working with the other Year 5 class.

The Children have been letting me know all about themselves by creating a coat of arms that represent them and have included with them topics such as family, interests and talents. They have learnt a bit more about me and my interests, hobbies and expectations and we have looked this week at our personal heritage of our families to create a display in the class. Today they created a wonderful self portrait for the wall and the class was just abounding in mirrors, pastels and chalk. I am look forward to getting to know each other well in the coming months through assemblies, playtimes and looking at being back on track with school trips and sports events. Then of course next year we have our residential. Roll on France! I know this trip really well after taking five year 6 classes here before switching France with our Spanish trip and of course we brought it back last year. I am looking forward to taking your children here.  We have looked at our expectations for the year and drawn up a charter for our class rules and the children have been listening and following the rules sensibly.

Our timetable has been put on the website and I will parent mail you as well. In Maths – as always- Year 5 will be split into two groups.  I will be teaching the independent group and Miss Bill will be teaching the other group supported by additional adults. Although the groups will start more or less the same there will be some adjustments based on Miss Bill’s and I’s judgment. We will want to support your children as best as possible. As per my parent mail on Monday, PE kits will be needed for Tuesdays (PE) and Wednesdays (gymnastics). The children should come into school in their PE clothes on these days which they will keep on for the rest of the day, unless we have sports days- I would want the children to have full school uniforms on Monday, Thursday and Friday.

Reading books will not be issued this week, but will go out every Monday and should be returned by Friday when they will be changed, these books should be read with an adult and recorded in their reading log books. We will also have a school library slot on a Friday where the children make a more personal choice.  Children will visit the school library most weeks.   Homework will be issued every Friday and should be returned by Tuesday. Mathletics tasks are part of the weekly homework and should be completed by Tuesday as well.

I have attached a link below for you to see our class timetable which we will stick as much as possible, although I am also sure that you have come to realise that we have a lot of extracurricular activities in St Stephens so the timetable may change from time to time.

Timetable – Year 5 Blackman Autumn 1

I have also attached a copy of our ‘Curriculum Map’ for the autumn term which will show you the topics we will be covering in each subject. These too may be subject to change from time to time.

Year 5 Curriculum Map 2024-2025

I am looking to meeting you all properly over the course of the coming weeks and know we will have a successful year ahead.

My email is a.perry@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk

Kind Regards

Mr Perry