Summer 1

June 2025

Our topic in school this half term has been ‘Grow Your Own’ and not only have we explored plants and what they need to grow and thrive in our science lessons but have also been to Chadderton Park to look at plants in our local community and thought about how crops get from ‘farm to fork’; making bread, a vegetable pasta dish and baked potatoes.

In maths we have explored the number system and have been working on understand where numbers appear on a number line or square as well as completing additions and subtractions. We have also learned about position and direction and have joined in with dances including the ‘Hokey Cokey’ and ‘Cha Cha Slide’ (which include words such as ‘in’, ‘out’, ‘back’, ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘turn’), played games such as Simon Says and ‘Where is Teddy?’, followed arrows to reach a destination, given and followed instructions including positional and directional language and completed an obstacle course blindfolded.

Some of the children in class visited Moorland Home on a residential trip and not only had a wonderful time but did amazingly well when adapting to a different environment away from home. The children also visited Smithills Farm and Hollingworth Lake.

The final week of term was ‘Sports Week’. We had used our PE sessions to practise traditional sports day events such as the relay and egg and spoon race and showed off our ability to move around a gymnastics course, with skill and safety. We also took part in a ActivKids session with ex-England footballer Jess Clarke.

We are looking forwards to our final half term, where we will be exploring ‘Our Amazing World’

Middleton Arena Swimming

May 2025

This year Silver Birch and Mountain Ash Classes have been taking part in weekly swimming lessons at Middleton Arena, and the children are making fantastic progress!

Each week, the children travel by coach and take part in structured lessons with swimming instructors, working towards the STA School Swimming Academy awards scheme. These lessons focus on key water skills such as floating, kicking, and building confidence in the water.

We are especially proud of a group of children who are now swimming in the deep end. They have been practising jumping into the pool and are now confidently swimming short distances without using floats or other aids – an amazing achievement!

Swimming is not only fun, but also helps with physical development, coordination, and confidence. The children are really enjoying their time in the water and we’re so proud of what they’re achieving.

Unicef Rights Respecting Schools

March 2025

“I have the right to keep some things private”

Unicef Rights Respecting Schools Article 16

At Newlands School and in Mountain Ash Class, we are committed to upholding every child’s right to privacy by fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment. We ensure that all personal care activities are carried out with dignity and sensitivity,  maintaining each child’s comfort and well-being at all times.

We actively teach children about the importance of safeguarding their personal  information, helping them understand their right to privacy and how to protect themselves in different situations. This includes lessons on digital safety, personal boundaries, and  respectful interactions with others.

Additionally, we recognize the diverse needs of our students and provide designated quiet spaces where children can retreat when they need time to self-regulate or engage in sensory activities. These areas are designed to promote emotional well-being, allowing  children to manage their feelings, reduce stress, and regain focus in a calm and supportive setting.

By embedding these practices into our daily routines, we empower children to understand their rights, develop self-awareness, and feel valued within our school community.

Spring 1

February 2025

The children in Mountain Ash have enjoyed our ‘Healthy on the Inside’ topic and worked hard this half term.

We have been thinking about the human body in Science and have found different body parts, explored the skeleton, thought about how to keep our teeth healthy and looked at different food groups and that potions help with growth and strength for example. We have also been cooking healthy dishes including soup, sandwiches and smoothies and have engaged in Happy Healthy Week, during which we had the opportunity to use the climbing wall and had visits from Skylight Circus and Coran Life Education.

During maths we have focussed on number operations and money; we have started streaming for phonics to allow for each child’s individual learning needs to be met and have enjoyed learning about the Ancient Greeks in History and designing our own sports kit in Design Technology.

Unicef Rights Respecting Schools

January 2025

‘I have the right to choose my own religion and thoughts.’

UNICEF Rights of the Child Article 14.

During our RE sessions this half term, the children in Mountain Ash Class are thinking about why people pray. We have spoken about why people who practise different religions pray and have thought about thanks and what we are thankful for.

Today, we have looked at how people who practise Christianity, Hinduism and Islam pray. We have listened to the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Christian), ‘Gayatri Mantra’ (Hindu) and ‘Call to Prayer’ (Islam), practised different prayer positions and movements and explored a Muslim prayer mat and beads.

Well done Mountain Ash

Autumn 1

The children in Mountain Ash have settled well into class and have already developed friendships and established routines.

Our topic this half term has been 'Roman Rule' and we have learned some facts about Rome, thought about how important water is to the Roman Empire, played some Roman games (including chase and noughts and crosses), explored some real Roman artefacts, made a Roman shield and enjoyed a Roman banquet. We also make fantastic Romans ourselves.

During our English lessons we have worked very hard during our Read Write Inc phonics sessions and are not only learning new sounds but developing our blending, understanding of rhyme. syllables and alliteration and developing our listening skills. In our maths session, we have shown off our knowledge of sequences / patterns and completed some work on 2D and 3D shape. During our Science lessons, we have explored states of matter and during food technology we have looked at using the same ingredients (lemon, bread and carrot) in both a savoury and sweet dish.

We look forward to our 'Celebrations around the World' topic next half term.

English

October 2024

During this half term, the children in Mountain Ash Class worked hard during phonics sessions. We have completed listening activities, including playing rhyming and syllable games, have worked on recognising and forming letters and using our knowledge of the sounds they represent to read and spell words.

We have also fostered our love of reading through afternoon story sessions.