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Sunday 10 May 2026 WEEK 4 in Year 4 This week in Year 4, we have enjoyed analysing speeches by Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai. We explored how differently each speaker addressed their audience and identified a range of persuasive techniques that we can now use in our own persuasive letter writing. The children were particularly thoughtful when discussing tone, powerful language and the impact of rhetorical questions.
Friday 8 May 2026 Spinning spiders This week we started a new text in Literacy called "Aaaarrgghh! Spider!" by Lydia Monks. We discussed whether spiders would make good pets and shared our opinions, giving reasons for why we liked or disliked them. We also drew our own spiders, hung them up using string, and went outside to search for real spiders. On the play dough table, we pretended to make minibeast fossils by pressing bugs into the play dough and seeing what marks they left behind.
Friday 8 May 2026 Instructions and commands This week, the children have started writing commands as instructions for a text they'll write about going on an imaginative journey!
Friday 8 May 2026 Good Luck for SATs
Thursday 7 May 2026 Cloud Busting in Year 5 Year 5 have started a very unusual book this week. By Malorie Blackman, it tells the story of a friendship between Sam and the new boy in school, Davey, aka Fizzy Feet. The whole book is written in verse; the language is accessible but also very effective in describing the developing friendship. And there is a twist! Ask your child to ell you what they think so far!
Wednesday 6 May 2026 Climbing Frame Joy There was great excitement in Reception today as the children were able to play on the new climbing frame for the first time. The children laughed and chatted as they climbed across it, taking turns beautifully.
Friday 1 May 2026 Our new friends We've had some new arrivals in Nursery! Our caterpillars have arrived, and we're looking forward to seeing our tiny friends grow.
Friday 1 May 2026 Fun Revision This week, Year 6 revised grammar in a fun and engaging way by creating colourful posters focused on word classes.
Wednesday 29 April 2026 Very Strange Happenings in Reception! Reception arrived at school this morning to some find some very strange items in our garden area. Wires, pipes, a spacesuit, dials and machinery were all found.
Saturday 25 April 2026 Our Class Assembly On Friday, year 5 enthusiastically performed their class assembly to the whole school and their families and friends.
Friday 24 April 2026 Is Happiness the Purpose of Life?
Sunday 19 April 2026 A Scientific Week This week, we have been learning about life cycle in both plants and animals.
Friday 17 April 2026 999! This week in PSHE, the children talked about how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.
Friday 17 April 2026 Welcome back Nursery! We have settled back into Nursery very well after the Easter holidays. Our topic for this half term is minibeasts, and we have been creating artwork linked to this, including drawing minibeasts using our pre-writing knowledge and skills. In the atelier, we made repeating pattern caterpillars by printing with paint.
Friday 17 April 2026 Understanding Electricity This week, Year 6 completed their science unit on electricity. Having spent several lessons investigating how different components function in a circuit, the children summarised their learning in the form of a poster.
Wednesday 15 April 2026 Green Fingers in Repection At the end of last term the children planted some seeds. Today we transplanted some into our raised beds and others into larger pots to continue to grow before being planted out.
Friday 27 March 2026 A Happy Easter
Friday 27 March 2026 Exploring Islam
Friday 27 March 2026 Happy Easter This week, we have centred our learning around Easter. We explored the Easter story and created egg designs using our knowledge of pre-writing patterns and shapes, carefully cutting them out to practise our scissor skills. We have been focusing on holding scissors correctly, using a comfortable grip (fingers on the bottom, thumb on top, elbow down) and turning the paper with the other hand. The Nursery children have made great progress with this since the start of the year. Well done, everyone!
Wednesday 25 March 2026 Great Athletes Sponsorship Challenge.
Tuesday 24 March 2026 Great Athletes - Steve Frew This week, the children took part in an exciting fitness circuit led by Great Athletes. They showed great determination and perseverance, and all successfully completed the circuits.
Tuesday 24 March 2026 Visit from Dr Adler Thank you very much to Dr Adler for coming into teach us about the digestive system. The children all enjoyed jumping up and down to be chewed up, crawling down the oesophagus, spinning around in the stomach, tiptoeing round the small intestine, walking along the large intestine before crawling out into the toilet!
Tuesday 24 March 2026 Gymnastics in Reception
Tuesday 24 March 2026 Free verse poems Today, in small groups, the children experimented with creating a free verse poem about the noise they would hear on the road outside school, using vocabulary and presentation for effect whilst thinking about how the poem would be performed by the reader. Particularly, the children considered onomatopoeic words, e.g. swoosh!
Sunday 22 March 2026 The life of a Mayan in print Our art this term has been linked to the our autumn term history project on the Mayans.
Sunday 22 March 2026 The Promise Last week, we completed our own version of The Promise by Nicola Davies.
Friday 20 March 2026 Pre-writing pattern fun We have been working hard on developing our pencil grip and control through pre-writing shapes and patterns, including lines, circles, and zigzags. The children explored these on large paper, strengthening their fine motor skills. Our work was inspired by the paintings of Henry Matisse and Yayoi Kusama, which we explored in maths earlier in the week.
Friday 20 March 2026 Spring Concert This week, our talented musicians were given the opportunity to showcase their skills, first in front of the whole school and then, in the evening, for parents. The range of instruments and the quality of performance was so impressive. The children demonstrated courage, performing in front of such large audiences. Congratulations to this year's winners of the St Andrew's Music Cup and Medals.
Thursday 19 March 2026 We are Authors! Inspired by the stories we read together in class, Reception have been inspired to write and illustrate their own 'Journey Stories'. Our characters visited beaches, London, the dessert and even the moon!
Friday 13 March 2026 Happy Mothering Sunday This week we have been thinking about our own mothers and the concept of mothering in general. Along with their Reception buddies, Year 6 led a beautiful service at St Mary's Church. They also used watercolours to make cards illustrated with their mum's favourite spring flowers. We hope you enjoy some special family time this weekend.
Friday 13 March 2026 Fruity Calligrams! The children had fun today bringing in an assortment of fruit, from apples to pineapples, on which to base calligrams!!
Friday 13 March 2026 Signs of Spring We have been learning about Spring and exploring what this season looks like. We went on a “Spring Walk” to see what signs of Spring we could find in our environment. Afterwards, we created blossom trees by independently selecting and using a range of resources.
Thursday 12 March 2026 Science Week in Reception We learnt all about worms and enjoyed finding them on our Outside Area. We made them a temporary home of dead leaves, soil, sand and water while we observed them.
Saturday 7 March 2026 Why do we decide to read a specific book? To celebrate World Book Day, year 5 thought carefully about the types of books love to read, particularly at bedtime.
Saturday 7 March 2026 Plant reproduction As we continue our science topic around life-cycles, we have been learning how plants form seeds.
Friday 6 March 2026 Dinosaurs History
Friday 6 March 2026 World Book Day
Friday 6 March 2026 World Book Day The St Andrew's theme for this year's World Book Day was bedtime stories. Children (and staff) loved being able to come into school in their comfy pyjamas. The day started with an assembly where children from each class shared their favourite books. Year 6 then spent some quiet time reading with their Reception buddies. They also enjoyed a book swap, made bookmarks and enjoyed listening to teachers' favourite bedtime stories. What a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading!
Friday 6 March 2026 Investigating light and shadows We have been investigating light and shadows! We used torches to explore which objects created shadows and how the shadows changed when we moved the torch closer to or further away from the object. We tested a variety of objects to observe what their shadows looked like and to find out whether every object produced a shadow. We noticed that we could create shadows using our hands, and we took the torches around the classroom to see whether the shadows looked different in the darker areas of the room.
Thursday 5 March 2026 World Book Day in Reception Reception were so excited to come to school in their pyjamas on World Book Day. They all came to school armed with one of their favourite bedtime stories which they thoroughly enjoyed sharing with their Year 6 Buddies!
Thursday 5 March 2026 World Book Day The children in Year 4 have had a wonderful day celebrating World Book Day. To start the day, the children shared the books they had brought in with each other, and three children shared their books with the whole school during a special World Book Day assembly.
Thursday 5 March 2026 This term so far...
Sunday 1 March 2026 Metamorphosis This week, in science, we have been learning about the life-cycles of animals. We have considered the difference between a complete metamorphosis and an incomplete metamorphosis. We then used secondary sources to find out about the life cycle of a particular insect and created circular dials to represent our learning. We were very careful to use the correct vocabulary and learnt many new words such as nymph, larva and pupa. One of our pupils brought in a real pupa so that we could experience how hard and protective the outer shell was.
Friday 27 February 2026 Northern and Southern Hemisphere As part of our new Geography topic, we are exploring the world and began by looking at the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. We learned that the Equator divides the world into two hemispheres.
Friday 27 February 2026 Drawing shadows and fable planning It was lovely to have some sunshine the other day so the children experimented with shadows in science, drawing objects with where their shadows fell.
Friday 27 February 2026 Sharing our Published Work
Thursday 26 February 2026 Spring is on the Way Reception have been busy discussing the changes we are beginning to see around us as Winter finishes and Spring begins. We have noticed lots of daffodils and snowdrops beginning to bloom and have been enjoying the glimmers of sunshine and milder temperature we have seen this week.
Thursday 26 February 2026 Celebrating Lunar New Year We have been celebrating Chinese New Year this week through a variety of creative activities. The children learned about the story of the Chinese Zodiac and the animals involved in the great race. Throughout the week, the children practised mark-making by copying Chinese writing, explored junk modelling to collaboratively create a class dragon, and enjoyed moving ribbons using large arm movements to develop their gross motor skills. They also designed and made their own individual dragon puppets.
Monday 23 February 2026 Internet safety week In year 1 we were looking at whether we can believe what we see on the internet or not.
Monday 23 February 2026 English We have been reading the story – “It Fell From The Sky”, about a selfish spider who manipulates his friends and fellow inhabitants into making him wealthy.
Monday 23 February 2026 Internet Safety Week In the final week of half term, the children were looking at how to be safe on the internet. The children were focusing on Online communities within the games they play and the videos they might watch. We were looking at how we do this safely and what we should do if there is something we are unsure of.
Sunday 22 February 2026 The best thermal insulator As we came to the end of our science topic on materials, we carried out a investigation to see if could improve the thermal insulating properties of material.
Sunday 22 February 2026 Internet Safety Along with the rest of St. Andrew's, year 5 have been thinking about the importance of internet safety.
Friday 13 February 2026 Valentine's Day We have been making Valentine's Day artwork for our friends and family in Nursery. One activity included cutting hearts by following an outline on folded paper and sticking the hearts to a string using masking tape. This activity was very tricky, but lots of children persevered and were proud of their achievements. Well done, Nursery children!
Friday 13 February 2026 Matisse and Milhazes In art this term, the children have been creating work inspired by French artist Henri Matisse and Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes.
Friday 6 February 2026 Performing The Koala Who Could We have been looking at fables in literacy and the children will be writing their own original fable!
Friday 6 February 2026 Why are Mountains so Important? In Geography, the Year 6 children have just completed their unit on 'Why are Mountains so Important&quest;' They looked at the definition of a mountain and were introduced to new vocabulary for the key features of a mountain landscape. They learnt how fold mountains are formed and explained how fossils of sea creatures ended up at the summit of Mount Everest. The children researched key facts about Mount Everest, including details about its location, the animals that live there, equipment needed by climbers attempting the ascent and the dangers experienced at such high altitudes. Finally, they considered how Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay must have felt when they conquered Mount Everest by writing postcards as if they were those famous mountaineers.
Friday 6 February 2026 Winter Soup Reception has been busy chopping and peeling all of the vegetables we bought at the greengrocers last week so that we could make our Winter Soup. We enjoyed making it and lots of us were brave enough to taste it when it was cooked!
Friday 6 February 2026 Saying Goodbye to Our Chicks We've had a very exciting time in our Early Years with our visiting chicks! The children watched them develop from eggs into chicks while learning about the life cycle. They loved observing the chicks and discovering how to care for living things. The chicks also inspired lots of creative activities, including artwork and model making. We will miss them!
Wednesday 4 February 2026 Pictograms and Multiples This week we have continued our learning around Wonderful Women from History which the children have engaged really well with. We have also been looking at how we collect data and how we are able to present this. The children began by using tally charts as a way of collecting data and have then learnt to convert this into pictograms using the laptops.
Friday 30 January 2026 It fell from the sky This week, the children finished their writing based on the book - It fell from the sky. All of the class, have demonstrated many of or school values including: courage and persevering.
Friday 30 January 2026 It Fell From The Sky
Thursday 29 January 2026 Wonderful Women This week we have continued our History unit on Wonderful Women from History. We have been focusing on women who have changed the future for others by making positive contributions to society.
Thursday 29 January 2026 New Arrivals Reception have been bubbling with excited due to the delivery of an incubator containing 11 eggs on Monday. We are delighted to announce that so far 9 of the eggs have hatched and we currently have 9 fluffy, chirping chicks in our classroom.
Thursday 29 January 2026 It Fell From The Sky This week, we created artwork linked to the school's writing project, based on the book It Fell from the Sky. The children explored a range of artistic techniques and materials while developing their fine motor skills. We drew minibeasts using chalk and charcoal, focusing on circles and straight lines and counting the number of legs. The children also created dandelions by blowing through straws and printing with dish brushes, experimenting with breath control and texture. We also had lots of fun making marbles using marbling ink. Nursery is all about being introduced to new techniques while practising and refining fine motor skills, and the children showed great enthusiasm and creativity throughout the week.
Wednesday 28 January 2026 Metres to millimetres This week, the children have started their new maths unit on length and perimeter!
Monday 26 January 2026 Written Multiplication This week we have been learning how to carry out the process of written multiplication.
Friday 23 January 2026 North Herts Writing Project We are now in the final stages of this year's North Herts Writing Project. Working on the book, 'It Fell from the Sky' by the Fan Brothers, the children have drafted, edited and proof-read their recounts. They have really enjoyed the process and can't wait to publish their final pieces to share with parents and the judges. Alongside their writing, they have also created artwork based on the illustrations from the book.
Thursday 22 January 2026 Climates and climate graphs In our geography unit (Why are jungles so wet and desserts so dry&quest;), the children have been learning about different climates, e.g. dry or polar, and climate graphs.
Thursday 22 January 2026 It fell from the sky The first three weeks of English lessons have been dedicated to writing our entries for the North Herts Writing Competition.
Wednesday 21 January 2026 It Fell From the Sky! This week we have been looking at our Herts Writing competition and the text, 'It Fell from the Sky.'
Friday 16 January 2026 Our Calm Corner Year 6 have been learning how to use the Calm Corner appropriately. Each child had the opportunity to spend a few minutes there this week. They are now confident to use it should the need arise. Many thanks to those parents who made contributions to make the Calm Corner more inviting and effective.
Friday 16 January 2026 Snowflake pre-writing fun This week, we explored pre-writing skills through a winter-themed activity using snowflake templates. We used cotton buds to create dotted patterns by following straight lines on the snowflake templates. The activity was designed to support early mark-making while also developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Friday 9 January 2026 It Fell from the Sky The children are enjoying their new literacy text, It Fell from the Sky, by Devin Fan. They spent time this morning retelling the key details orally from the viewpoint of one of the garden insect characters! This included using time adverbs and adverbials to sequence the events in chronological order.
Friday 9 January 2026 Humpty dumpty sat on a wall We have returned from the Christmas holidays feeling super grown-up and ready to learn! As part of our phonics sessions, we have been singing 'Humpty Dumpty' and exploring the rhyme through a range of creative activities. The children made their own Humpty Dumpty pictures by colouring, cutting along curved lines and zigzags, and then taping the egg template back together.

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