Chaffinch

Summer 2020 - our final message for the Summer Term: 

Happy Holiday Birthday wishes go to Lily, Amelia, Jude and Finley!

We hope you all enjoy your summer break and come back to school refreshed and re-energised in September. As some of you have asked for some guidance on resources to keep things ticking over through the summer, we have posted some resources to  help.  These are completely optional.  You can also continue to log on to Purple Mash, Education City, TTRS and Read Theory if you wish to. 

Take care and enjoy the break. xx

Chaffinch Home Learning 13.07.20

Dear Chaffinches

this is our last week of learning for this year and I have a special message for you:

We're so very proud of you  

And we just want you to know

That although our year was cut short

It was wonderful watching you grow

We've loved being your teachers

And we've missed your smiling face

But the memories we have made this year 

Will never be erased

Wading along the chalk bed river

Celebrating Harvest at Wellington

Learning our spellings and times tables

Has all been so much fun!  

The most important lesson though

To last your whole life through

Is to know that you are special

Just because you are you!  

We will see you all in September.  Some of you will be in Chaffinch, and some in Goldfinch, but which ever class you're in remember to work hard, try your best and be kind.  We're  sending each of you a great big hug!

with love, Mrs Dodds, Mrs Gan, Mrs Coulson and Mrs Farrell xxx

Chaffinch Home Learning for week commencing 06.07.20 

Hello Cheerful Chaffinches - we hope you are well and ready for your penultimate week of home learning. 

Let's start by  wishing Jessica a very Happy Birthday for this week - another summer birthday to celebrate!  We hope you have a fabulous day Jess!

Mrs Gan and Mrs Coulson have welcomed many of you back to school over the last couple of weeks and have told me that you've listened well, worked hard and really enjoyed your time in school.  That's fantastic news and we all hope you continue to enjoy your learning as we approach the end of term.  This week there is less directed work on the website: 

• A whole school focus on healthy eating with a project on picnic planning  - incorporating Maths and English.
• Finishing off our Rocks, Fossils and Soil planning
• Maths - please keep practicing your times tables
• English - spelling (see last week's summary of the key stages) and reading regularly

As always try your best and do what you can.  Keep smiling. 

Chaffinch Home Learning 29 June 2020

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's home learning...we have some great ideas planned for you this week.    Let's start by wishing three gorgeous Chaffinches a very Happy Birthday: Ethan Hu, James and Bethany.  We hope you each have a very special day!

As Mrs Vanstone's newsletter mentioned, many parents are finding this time difficult, especially as lockdown lengthens.  The most important thing is our health and wellbeing so we can hopefully  return in September ready, energised and determined.  This week we have planned learning as listed below but know many of you are enhancing this with your self initiated learning and / or only completing some of the work.  This is absolutely fine and we really enjoy hearing what you've focused on.  Please share your learning with us.  Here's a summary of our planned work:

• Maths - the last unit of our booklets can be completed this week.  The teaching slides will help you make the most of the exercises in the workbook.  As always, please practice times tables.
• English - no set work this week other than a summary of the year's spellings and the reading/comprehension in the rock topic slides.
• Science - focus on soils, worms and mud!
• Music - singing for wellbeing
• PE - Friday would have been Sports day so instead we will be competing virtually this year.  There is also a short exercise on the Olympic Values - Not the winning but the taking part. 

Enjoy the week and may the best team win sports day!  

Chaffinch Learning 22.06.20

Hello again cheerful Chaffinches - how are you all?  This week includes Midsummer Day or St John's Day on 24th  June 2020.  It's hard to believe we're in the middle of summer because the view from my window as I write this is grey, gloomy and wet.  I'm imagining all your smiling faces to brighten up my day.  

I hope you're ready for some more interesting learning...this week we're finishing off our Talk for Writing booklets, our maths topics on mass or shape and our spelling programme.   Keep practicing your times tables and reading regulary too please.  We  are also continuing with our Rock topic and I know from your emails, photographs and telephone conversations that you're enjoying this creative topic.  Some of you are even extending your own learning in this area and linking it to our other topics -  such as rivers, or healthy eating or famous artists - which is just lovely to see -  so resourceful!  It's also been great to see you inspire your siblings or other family members to join you in your learning.  There are some great photos in our gallery this week where brothers or sisters are working alongside you, or family members are taking you on shape or rock hunts around your area - there's even a rock collection from outside Winchester Cathedral!

We have no birthdays to celebrate this week but I wanted to end this message with a very thoughtful prayer,  celebrating our  wonderful world, written in response to the RE learning on the creation story this week:

Dear God our Father,

We are very thankful for everything you have made in our world. 

We are thankful for the amazing forests, the jungles, the deciduous trees and the tiny plants. 

The rocky mountains are high and the oceans are vast. 

How did you create all these beautiful things?  

Please help us to look after our environment and care for all your animals – big and small. 

Make us strong enough to do it all.

You are truly amazing!

Amen

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.  Enjoy your learning and please keep in touch. xx

Home learning - week commencing Monday 15th June 2020

Hello again Chaffinches,

We hope you're all well and looking forward to your learning.  Thank you for all your emails and messages - we have even managed to talk to some of you, or your parents, on the phone this week .  It was great to hear how you're all being positive and responsible learners - learning lots of new life skills too such as pet care, baking or gardening.  Well done Chaffinches!  It sounds like you're enjoying our Rocks, Fossils and Soils topic; so make sure to share this week's learning via the parent email so we can put it in the gallery.   

Jack has sent some new jokes:

What  do you call a rock that never goes to school?

A skipping stone.

What do rocks eat?

Pom-a-granite!

What did the boy volcano say to the girl volcano?

I really lava you!

After that, I think we should get on with our learning - all listed below as usual - but remember you also have purple mash and education city (your choice of activities)  Read Theory and Timetables Rockstars.   We haven't sent any links or ideas for PE this week but would love to see some photos of you keeping fit.  What exercise did you enjoy the most?  What unusual things did you do?  What made you the happiest or the most tired? Please send your responses to finchparents@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk

Have fun, be kind, be resourceful

Monday 8th June 2020 - Chaffinch home learning

Hello again cheerful Chaffinch children.  How are you?  I hope you're well and enjoying our new Stone topic.  We have more interesting activities planned for you on Rocks, Soils and Fossils as well as your usual maths and english learning. 

Thank you for the great photographs and work you've sent through the parent email.  It's always great to see what you're working on - some are displayed in our gallery so you can see your friends too.   Keep on sending them in!

I'm delighted to say we have four more birthdays to celebrate this week.  Please join me in wishing a great BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mrs Farrell,  Elyssa, Ethan Ha and Isla H.  We hope you have a great day celebrating with your families.  

To finish, I thought I'd share one of my 'rock' jokes.  It might be more for your parents really but here goes:  What's a geologists favourite band?   -   The Rolling Stones.     Urghhhhhh.   I hope you have a funnier rock joke.  If so, please email it to me on the parents email.  

Be happy, be kind and be safe - we miss you all!

Monday 1st June 2020 - 'Rockin Rocks'

Hello lovely Chaffinch children, we hope you are all well and have had a great half term.  Welcome back to your home learning for this week.  

Let's start with a wishing Jake and Rebecca a very very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  We hope you have a fun time celebrating with your families

This term's learning is very exciting and our foundation subjects are based on our Science topic of Rocks,Fossils and Soils.  Each week, as well as your usual maths and English activities, we will give you a title for the week and suggested activities.  You can complete the  suggested learning and / or others of your own choice related to the topic. Please feel free to take photos, do any extra activities that you enjoy and put your work together in a booklet or folder. You will then be able to look back on this folder in future years and enjoy all the amazing learning you did. 

As always, we would love to see photos of you having fun and enjoying the different activities so we can share them with your classmates.  

We hope you enjoy the topic and remember … be kind and have fun!

Hello again Chaffinches.  This is our last week before half term and I think it's going to be a warm one.  can you find some creative ways to keep cool?  It's also Mental Health Awareness week, with a focus on being kind to ourselves and others.  Lots of our activities this week relate to this theme and I'd love to hear your feedback on how the activities made you feel.

Maths is a final week on 'time' for both year groups.  I know this is difficult and would like to encourage you to stick with it. I've added extra games onto the todo's on the purplemash site and put suggestions on an extra sheet too.  If the workbooks are too difficult then please try these instead.  It's one of those areas that takes a lot of over-learning, especially now there are much fewer analogue clocks in the world.  

English is a continuation from last week - please try to follow the daily suggestions.  You can also add your own ideas for 'free writing' if you'd like to eg writing letters from a  troll or an alien or writing a diary entry.  

Are you ready for the riddle answers?  Last week Elyssa asked, "What question can you never answer 'yes' to?" and the answer is..."Are you asleep?"   This week Isla wants to know, "I'm a light as a feather but the strongest thing in the world.  What am I?" 

As always, enjoy your learning, try your best and be kind. I hope you all have a good week and I'll be back with your next set of home learning in June.  

Chaffinch Class:  Monday 11th May 2020

UPDATE:  Please do not click the link to listen to the T4W audio on either the alien or troll booklets as the content is not available and other tracks uploaded on the site are not age appropriate.  Thank you.

Hello Chaffinches!  I hope you had a happy bank holiday weekend and enjoyed some VE Day celebrations at home.  We have a lovely prayer for VE Remembrance in our photos this week, and some great examples of home learning and relaxing too.  

There are no special Chaffinch birthdays left for May but we have 7 June celebrations ...so watch this space.  Are you ready for the riddle answers?  Last week Beatrice asked, “What has T at the start, T in the middle and T at the end?” and the answer is a tea pot!   Isla asked, “What comes down but never goes up?”  Yes, the answer is 'rain'.  What did you guess?  This week, Elyssa asks, "What question can you never answer 'yes' to?"

As always, enjoy your learning, try your best and be kind. I hope you all have a good week.  

Chaffinch Class: Monday 4^th May 2020

Hello again Chaffinch Class.  How are you all?  I’m OK thanks but a bit ‘fed up’ with these April showers – it’s stopping my bike rides and I’ve pegged the same washing out three times today, in between showers.  Has no one told the weather it’s May now and the sun should be shining?   

It’s OK to feel sad now and again.  Just like it’s OK to feel happy.  It’s really good for us all to stop every so often and just think about how we’re feeling; and it’s good to try to name our feelings.  If we can name our feelings, it makes it easier to try to manage difficult feelings.  I’m going to try to manage my sad feelings about the weather by thinking of all the important things we need rain and water for in our lives and I’m going to manage being ‘fed up’ about my damp washing by putting the tumble drier on.  I’m feeding the white wolf that we talk about in class.  https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/the-story-of-two-wolves/.  Thinking more positive thoughts can help us improve our mood.

Birthday celebrations are positive things and this week we’re lucky enough to have two Chaffinch birthdays to celebrate.  Let’s all wish Freya and Danny a Happy Birthday!   

Vevaan’s puzzle was tricky wasn’t it?  “What goes up but never comes back down?”  The answer was ‘your age’.  This week Beatrice has asked “What has T at the start, T in the middle and T at the end?”  and Isla has asked “What comes down but never goes up?” Please email me if you have a riddle for next week…

This week I’ve planned lessons for 4 days with some optional work on VE Day too.  As always, please just do what fits into your family timetable and situation.  I know we’re all in this together but we’re not all in the same boat so please don’t worry if you don’t get everything done, or if you want to take all the optional learning we’re offering, or even take the learning in your own direction.  Enjoy learning.  

Chaffinch Class:  Monday 27 April 2020

Hello chaffinches!  How are you all? Thank you for your lovely emails and photographs.  I've added some below this message so you can see what each other have been up to.

First things first, the answer to my riddle was an egg.  Well done if you guessed that correctly - you were eggsalent!   Here's this week's riddle from Vevaan, "What goes up but never comes back down?"

This week you have your usual maths and english activities for each day (with x tables and spelling practice please)  and your other sessions on science, french, PE etc but I have also added an optional geography project on Europe to work on over the whole summer term.  Look through the short presentation then make your own project on a European country of your choice.  This is something you can do a little on then come back to often.  You can do more than one country if you want to do more research.  

I don't think we have any birthdays to celebrate this week.  Please keep sending me updates on your learning, your ideas for riddles and photos on the parents email.    Keep smiling and doing your best.  

Chaffinch Class : Monday 20th April 2020

Welcome back to our online classroom Chaffinch!  I'm still missing your cheerful faces but have enjoyed seeing some of the learning you've been doing through the online apps and from photographs in  the parents email.  

Here's a riddle for you: What has to be broken before you can use it?  (I'll give you the answer next week so keep thinking)  If anyone has a better riddle, please send it to me via the parents email. 

This week we should give a Big Birthday Shout Out to Olivia and Elinor who had birthdays over the Easter Holidays and to Alfie who celebrates his birthday later this week.  Also, a special mention for Finley (and his brothers Oscar and Theo) as his new baby brother Reuben has joined the family.  We hope you all had/ will have a special day. 

Please enjoy your learning - keep trying your best but please don't worry about any of it - just do what you can and let me know what you're enjoying.  Take care of each other and remember to be kind chaffinches! 

Easter Holidays - Monday 6th April to  Friday 17th April 2020

We wish you all a peaceful Easter Break.  Please try to read every day (see the email for more reading scheme book choices) and keep your times tables and addition and subtraction skills ticking over.  

Chaffinch Home Learning - Week Beginning 30.3.2020

Hello my lovely Chaffinches!  I'm missing all your smiling faces and kind interactions. 

Here are your weekly activities to keep you smiling until we all get together again...Don't forget to practice your times tables, sing, play outside if you can and read read read (see the links in our first week's learning ideas) 

Just try your best with this learning and be resilient.  That's all you can do. 

Also, let's all sing a very loud "Happy Birthday" to Lex and to Vevaan who celebrate their birthdays this week.  

5.2.2020  Mental health focus - Wear something inside out - it's good to talk about what's on the inside!

Today we thought about our feelings and words or images that made us feel calm, happy, loved and well.  We wrote a short poem based on any abstract noun that made us feel good.  Each of us wrote a super, thoughtful and open poem and worked hard to get the word choices just right.  I thought I'd share this poem on HOPE by Laurie:

Hope is orange like a candle burning warm and bright,

Hope smells like bacon, caramel truffles and newly cooked bread,

Hope feels like being tucked up in bed with your favourite soft toy,

hope feels like smelling your favourite food coming from the kitchen with promises of breakfast in bed,

Hope sounds like a twittering bird song on a misty dawn after a night of cozy sleep.

We all felt calm and happy after writing, reading and listening to these poems and hope you enjoyed Laurie's poem too.  

                Christmas Truffle making  

1. Wash hands and equipment / surfaces!
2. Weigh equal amounts of cake and chocolate (sponge or ginger cake is equally tasty – we used sponge)
3. Using a microwave, carefully melt chocolate in 30 second blasts.
4. Crumble cake into a bowl.
5. Combine with the chocolate and mix well (this is the point to add extra ingredients to taste eg vanilla, raisins, cranberry or brandy! – we left ours plain.)
6. Carefully, share truffles into a round ball.
7. Decorate the top and place gently into the box.
8. Seal with a loving kiss. 

Christmas and Hannukah

We have been discussing and comparing Christmas celebrations with the Hannukah Story from the Jewish Faith.   We found many similarities and some differences between each festival of light.  

Similarities:

Both stories feature refugees - Jesus' family and the Macabbees

Both stories feature occupation by another civilisation - Romans and Greeks

Both are about HOPE

Both celebrate light and the presence of God

Both are in winter time - December and early January

Both faiths are global faiths

Jesus and his family were Jewish

Differences:

they happen at different times in history

they feature different people

the lights were different

Chaffinch December Homework

As December is such a busy time of year, homework will be different this month.  Please can you try to support your child to:

• Read regularly, every day if possible, for a short time followed by a brief discussion of the text.
• Practice times tables little and often – try the maths frame website, singing, random questions, writing out in order and mixed up, card games etc
• Practice personalised spellings little and often – see the different ways listed in the spelling folder.

Weekly spelling and times tables checkups will stop for now and start again week commencing 13^th January.  Many thanks, Mrs Dodds.

Does Prayer Change Things?  (November 2019)

Chaffinch have been considering the question very thoughtfully through studies of both Christian and Hindu prayer.  We have been fascinated by Christian Stories of the power of prayer - such as Jonah and the Whale - and by learning more about Puja (Hindu Prayer).  It's been a real pleasure to listen to such interesting and confident discussions on individual beliefs and experiences and on the value of prayer.