Autumn Term Issue 5: 2nd October 2026
Flourishing in the love of God, love of life, love of learning
Dear Families,
The half term is whizzing by, and there is an incredible amount of fantastic learning and thinking taking place across the school. It is always a joy to see the children so engaged and enthusiastic.
You should have received a notification through Arbor inviting you to book a parents’ evening appointment for either 13th or 19th of October. We are also sending a reminder letter home.
Below are some photos from last week’s International Evening. It was truly heart-warming to come together, share in one another’s cultures and celebrate the wonderful community we have here.
Looking ahead, our Harvest Service will take place at St John’s church on 15th October at 9.45am. The PTFA will be collecting donations for the food bank in the playground that morning, and we would be very grateful for any contributions.
Have a lovely weekend.
Alli
Reception
This week in Reception we have been reading Penguin by Polly Dunbar, there’s a delightful animation of it which had the children laughing and gasping and cheering at the end. They’ve drawn wonderful pictures in Drawing Club, inspired by the text and had a go at writing some magic code words, that might make the picture come to life. In phonics we have been building words with sound cards, and we learned our first tricky word “is”.
In maths we have been subitising (counting without counting) dot patterns and using practical resources to experiment with building four. Wherever we can we take maths into all out choosing an learning- how many beats on the drum can you hear? How many conkers have you got? Can you hop 3 times, then pat your head 2 times? How many spoonfuls of water did I tip in?
In RE we have drawn our first Prayer leaves (in Autumn colours) thinking about what we are grateful for.
The children now have a phonics pack, and a reading pack. We need the phonics packs on Thursdays to add the next 4 sounds, and we need the reading packs in on Mondays, returned on Tuesdays with a new book. Please look after our books. Thank you.
Year 1
We have had another lovely week of learning as we began exploring our new text Lubna and Pebble. On Tuesday, the children arrived to discover that they each had their very own pebble, just like Lubna. This sparked lots of thoughtful discussion, questioning and wonder as the children examined their pebbles closely and shared their ideas with one another. In English, the children have been using adjectives to describe Lubna and her special pebble, and they are quickly becoming adjective experts! We also introduced nouns and enjoyed spotting nouns within stories, helping us to recognise and label them in a meaningful context.
In Science, we have been learning about the human body. The children began by identifying familiar body parts before expanding their vocabulary and learning the names of some new ones. Working collaboratively in teams, they drew around a body shape and labelled as many body parts as possible, demonstrating fantastic teamwork, communication and scientific thinking throughout the activity. It has been wonderful to see the children sharing their ideas so confidently, asking thoughtful questions and building on one another's contributions.
Year 2
Over the last week, the children in Year 2 have been growing and observing cress. They carefully thought about what plants need to grow and learned about the function of each part of a plant.
Once their cress had grown, the children were given the opportunity to taste some and discover what it was like. There were definitely mixed feelings! Some children enjoyed the peppery flavour, while others were not quite so sure. It was a fun and memorable way to bring their learning to life.
Year 3
In Science, we learned how our hands work by making a bionic hand. First, we explored bones and discovered that they give our hands shape and support. We used cardboard pieces to make the fingers and straws for hand bones. Next, we learned about joints. and made the fingers bend by joining the pieces together. We also explored tendons. Tendons connect muscles to bones and help our fingers move. We used string as pretend tendons. When we pulled the strings, the fingers curled up, just like a real hand. Making the bionic hand helped us understand how all these parts work together. It was exciting to see our hand move when we pulled the strings!
Year 4
Over the last week, the children in Year 4 have been reimagining Wesley’s civilisation to be their own inspired by our English text Weslandia. They have invented in their writing and physically created in PE their own sports and have designed their own unique fruits and plants! We’re also learning more about democracy ready to organise the school council vote.
Year 5
In Year 5 we have had fun empathising with the characters from our English text, The Lost Thing. We pretended to be the characters as they entered a mysterious office block and encountered an unusual creature. We then used this to help support creative language choices for our diary writing.
Year 6
Year 6 had a great time creating their own classification keys and putting them to the test! Working together, the children used their science knowledge to come up with closed questions to sort different invertebrates. There was plenty of excitement as they challenged each other, compared ideas and refined their questions. The activity was full of teamwork, discussion and problem-solving, and the children loved taking on the role of young scientists as they worked out the best ways to identify and classify different creatures.
Hearing Resource Base
This week, our Reception children have begun learning about deaf awareness, helping them to understand the importance of effective communication so that everyone can listen, understand one another, and make themselves understood. As we have welcomed new children into our Resource Base, the children have enjoyed sharing the story Freddie and the Fairy by Julia Donaldson. Through this story, they explored how communication can sometimes be challenging and discovered the importance of speaking clearly and considering the needs of others. This learning has helped to promote inclusion, celebrate diversity, and strengthen our supportive school community.
News from the Art Studio…
This week, Year 2 have been learning about still life: artwork of objects that stay still, like flowers, fruit or things from around the home. Artists make still lifes to look closely at shape, colour, pattern and texture, and to show the world in their own way.
Van Gogh Class studied Vincent van Gogh and his bold brushstrokes and glowing colours. They drew the beautiful sunflowers grown in our school playground, trying out his thick, textured mark-making.
Kusama Class studied Yayoi Kusama, known for her bright colours and repeated dots. They looked at a display of fruit and experimented with her playful patterns.
Two artists, each with their own unique way of seeing the world, and two wonderfully different results!
Music this week…
This half term, children in Year 4 have been listening to Blues music. We focused on the AAB structure of the lyrics, listening to B. B. King’s song, The Thrill Is Gone. The children have been putting their recorder skills to task as they have been using notes B and A to play their own blues. You can hear a recording on the link attached.
There was much excitement as we launched Young Voices 2027. We are excited to see that the children will be performing an ABBA Medley, a David Bowie Medley, a School of Rock Medley and a Pop Medley amongst others. On the evening, there will be a Guest Appearance from The Beatbox Collective who are world champion Beatboxers. Parents, can activate a parent account following the instructions sent out in last week’s email.
Friends of SJSC
While the sun maybe shining, our PTFA elves are already thinking about the Christmas Fair! On Saturday 28th November we’ll be bringing you our usual day of fun, food and prizes…along with Christmas Trees. If you fancy being part of the team to help plan the day, please let your Parent Rep know. Whether you can spare an hour to brainstorm or a few hours to gather prizes for the raffle, we’d appreciate any help offered.
Have a good week
HB Art Club
This week in HB Art Club we have been exploring techniques using clay.
Some artists have made pumpkins using pinch pots. Other artists have used other techniques like buttering to create their own ideas.
We have some spaces left at HB Arts Holiday Club this half term if anyone would like to join. We are open to all ages, including Reception and those from other schools.
Have a great weekend, see you next week!