This half term, we have been learning about The Great Fire of London. We have been learning to write in the past tense and improve our sentences using adjectives and a range of conjunctions. We kept a diary about the main events, just like Samuel Pepys did in 1666! We learnt about where and how the fire started by taking on the role of the baker, Thomas Farriner. The children worked hard to knead bread. They then realised how tired and hot he must have felt after working in his bakery. We learnt about the different methods used to try to stop the fire and even recreated the bucket chain and also watched the effect of using a fire hook to pull down houses to create a fire break. When The Great Fire of London ended, we became architects and designed a new London and wrote rules to prevent another fire happening e.g. houses not being built close together or not to be made of wood. The children also took part in a fantastic workshop to support their learning.
In Maths, we developed our scale reading skills and we have also been learning about money. We can make the same amount in at least three different ways and add different amounts of money and calculate change. We have developed our problem solving skills - including working systematically, using ‘try then improve’ and thinking about the best place to begin. We ended the half term by learning about multiplication and how it links to repeated addition.
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In Science, we have been learning about materials and their properties. We explored objects to investigate if they could change shape by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching, depending on the material they are made from. We had fun debating whether it would be a good idea or a bad idea for all objects to be transparent and investigated which material would be the best for Santa’s elves parachutes!
In Art, we have been learning about the artist Dennis Creffield who used charcoal to create his work. The children investigated how to use charcoal and completed an observational drawing of a tudor house.
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This half term we have been learning how to take a good photograph! We have learnt when it is best to take portrait or landscape photos, and how lighting can affect the photos that we take. We also learnt that the appearance of photos can be changed e.g by adjusting the colours.
Our task time sessions have been filled with fun learning. In Geography, we have learned about mapping and geographical features - in New Malden and London. In DT we have explored our engineering skills inspired by our scientist of this half-term Milly Hennayake. In PSHE we have been talking about similarities and differences.
PE is always a popular lesson and this half term we have been focusing on dance and ball skills. We have been learning to send and retrieve a ball in different ways, which has developed our throwing and catching skills. In dance, we have had fun creating dance phrases to different feelings using music as stimuli.
We visited New Malden Baptist Church to learn about why Christmas is important to Christians. Back in school we learnt about how other cultures celebrate the Christian festival. The children learnt about celebrations in Serbia, Italy, Argentina, Australia and Iceland. We completed the half term by learning the blanket sewing stitch to create our own Christmas decoration. We are very proud of them!
Thank you as always for your continued support. We have appreciated all your donations on Mufti Days, Children in Need Day and at our School Fair. The children enjoyed performing for you at their Christmas Concert.
We hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday, and wish you all the best for 2026!