This has been a fantastic week in Seaton for oracy. We started off by using our story maps of Hansel and Gretel to practise retelling the story. We used sentence stems to help structure our sentences. Please ask your child to retell the story at home.

Following this, we worked in groups to practise asking and answering questions from other students based on the characters from the story. This helped us when we were put into the hotseat and pretended to be the actual characters. The masks helped us get into character and we found the lesson a lot of fun. 

Next week we will be starting to write our own versions of the story but with a twist...it will be set in the alps with a house made of cheese and a yeti instead of a witch. 

In maths, we have been learning about percentages and how they link to decimals and fractions. 

In DT, we have started to design stuffed toys based on animals that can be found in the Alps.I was impressed with the sketches and templates I have seen so far. Next week, we will be learning blanket stitch which will help us to sew the fabric together and assemble to toy. 

In PE, we started our gymnastics unit by creating a sequence of partner balances using apparatus. The children enjoyed filming their sequences on the IPads to help them improve their tension and timing. 

What a busy week we have had, enjoy the weekend!

Miss Burton

Happy New Year 2025. We have an action packed term planned ahead of us titled: What is life like in the Alps? We will use this topic to explore the peaks of this mountainous region and expand our knowledge of the geographical features of the area.

We will be writing a traditional tale based on Hansel and Gretel. However, we are changing the setting so that the children climb a mountain in The Alps and find a house made of cheese. Inside, they will be captured by an evil yeti who they will have to defeat!

In DT, we will designing and creating stuffed animals using blanket stitch. I am looking forward to researching animals found in The Alps and seeing the stuffed toys they produce. 

Please find the knowledge web below for more information on each subject.

I hope you all have a lovely week back, 

Miss Burton

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummSeaton ended a wonderful learning-filled week with a coding workshop run by Tech Cornwall. 

They started off by finding out about different companies in Cornwall that use coding and technology on a large scale. They also learned about various job roles and how important AI will be in the future. 

They were then shown how to use coding to control a microbit. They enjoyed making different shapes, patterns and messages. 

To extend their learning further, they then experimented with led lights and had fun seeing all the different colours they could make. They had a great discussion afterwards about all the different types of jobs and inventions that coding is vital for. 

Perhaps we have some future tech wizards in our midst!

Test-tubes and VR

Earlier this week, Seaton class took part in a workshop about the ocean by Plymouth Aquarium. 

They started by learning about where energy comes from and the impact this has on fossil fuels and the environment. They learned about global warming and climate change and how this affected the wildlife in Plymouth Sound. 

They then became scientists and investigated the ph levels of different liquids using universal indicator. They predicted whether each liquid was acid or alkali and then watched as they changed colour. We were all most surprised by milk which turned out to be an acid. Ask them what other liquids they tested and what they found out. 

To finish off, they were all given VR headsets so that they could virtually explore the marine wildlife in the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. They were able to spot crabs, starfish, sea grass, coral and even scuba divers. 
What a wonderful learning experience! 

More gruel please...

Today we dressed like Victorians and learnt what life was like in a Victorian school. 

We started by singing the National Anthem in the hall and then we learned how rules were different in Victorian times. For example, children stand every time an adult enters the classroom and they must not count on their fingers during maths lessons. 

Throughout the day, they took part in workshops where they found out about Victorian life. They learned about Victorian Christmas and made a decoration, they created a sampler by experimenting with embroidery, they played some Victorian playground games and even chanted their times tables!

I think the highlight was trying the gruel that Jane made - it had mixed reviews. 
What a fantastic and educational day!

Robots!

This morning, Seaton class took part in a STEM workshop. 

They learned how to build a robot from Lego by following instructions and then they were able to design and personalise their robots. Once it was finished, they used their coding skills to guide the robot across a maze. 

It was a fun-packed morning and all the children were all successful in getting their robots to follow their coding. There was some fantastic team work. Excellent work Seaton class. 

Concert time!

Over the last 10 weeks, we have been learning to play the violin with Mrs Bartholomew. 

She has taught us how to hold the violin properly and even follow sheet music. We learned about pulse, rhythm, crescendos and listening for a beat. 

The children have really enjoyed learning a new instrument and some of them were surprised by how quickly they picked it up.

On Friday afternoon, the class put on a concert to their parents to show them everything they have learned. It was a great success. Thank you to all the parents that came to watch.

Industrial Revolution

This week, we went on a visit to the museum at the Tamar Bridge Office.

We walked from school over the bridge first which will help us write our poems next week. We really enjoyed the amazing views.

We learnt all about the industrial revolution and how the bridge was made. It was really interesting to find out how they would have dug under the water. 

Then we got to explore in the interactive part and build our own bridges. Another fun part was looking at the cameras and watching different parts of the bridge in action. 



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Maths Roundup

Next week (Mon 11^th  - Fri 15^th Nov), sees the return of Maths Week England! As such, children will be taking part in lots of fun maths puzzles and games in lessons, as well as finding out about maths in real life careers during a Newsday Tuesday special.

To celebrate, we also have some school-wide events taking place:

• Thursday 14^th November - Family Games Night: Maths Escape Room Edition! 

There'll be lots of online and paper-based maths escape rooms to try as families. All are welcome. For every escape room completed, you will gain an entry to a prize draw! As usual, this half term's KIRFs and resources will be available to take away too.

• Crazy KIRFs photo competition!

Open to all ages. Take a photo of your child learning their KIRFs in an unusual way or place and submit them to Mrs Swabey by Fri 15^th Nov. There are some fabulous prizes to be won! Please print and hand in to your child's teacher or email them to lswabey@brunelprimary.co.uk

Please find this half term's KIRFs attached to this blog post.