This Week In School…
Year 3 – have created some fantastic diary entries in English, all about the Stone Age. They have slept in caves, searched for fire wood and even gone hunting! In Maths, they have been learning about mass, weighing in grams and kilograms. In RE they have been exploring symbols of different faiths, the focus this week was symbols within Hinduism. They have begun their new Science topic learning about animals, including humans. They have been investigating the role of producers and consumers and learnt the names of bones in the human body.
Year 4 – have written fantastic setting descriptions in English. They have used adjectives, the five senses and figurative language to describe a snowy scene that really resonated in the readers’ minds! In Maths, they focused on subtracting factions and will be moving on to decimals in the upcoming weeks. In Music, they practised playing the African drums to Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’ and had a go at singing the lyrics with Ms Carrera. They did a great job! In Science, they discussed the function of teeth and moved on to comparing teeth found in carnivores and herbivores. They are looking forward to their swimming lessons next week and eventually building their electric loop games in DT.  Lots to look forward to before the holidays! As part of Humanities this week, Year 4 took part in a Now Press Play drama activity. They got to take on the role of a child who had travelled to Pompeii on a school trip and ended up falling back through time to the day before Mt Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii, covering it in 7 meters of ash.
Year 5 – have been working exceptionally hard in English to write a very persuasive letter to somebody in school. They began by conducting some excellent research, in order to have lots of evidence to back up their arguments. They are excited to complete these letters at the beginning of next week and get them sent straight over to their recipient. In Maths, they have been practising perimeter and area of lots of different shapes. The children have even completed some trickier problems within this topic, where certain shapes have had missing lengths for them to solve as an additional step. In Humanities, Year 5 were introduced to the longest serving king of the Maya times, Pakal. Both classes enjoyed creating quiz questions to test that everyone in the class knew all of the fun facts that there was to learn about this great king. They were also very lucky to have a visit from the local church this week, who gave them loads of information about the origins of Christianity.
Year 6 – have been enjoying their swimming sessions as well as working hard in class.  In English, they have been planning and starting to write a narrative based on a film clip called 'The Lighthouse'.  The children have been looking in particular at writing character and setting descriptions and have made some great suggestions for this descriptive writing.  They have finished their topic on the Tudors in Humanities by looking at plays written by Shakespeare; and started their new topic, Electricity, in Science where they have been experimenting with circuits to investigate the brightness of bulbs.

This Week In School…
Year 3 – have continued to read 'The Boy at the Back of the Class' this week and have used the text to write a letter. They have included some very thoughtful questions in their writing. In Maths, they have continued to learn about fractions, including reading fractions on a scale. In Humanities, they have been using their investigation skills to look at artefacts from the Bronze age and made predictions about how the items may have been used. In PSHE, they have been looking at food packaging and learning about the amount of sugar in different foods. Everyone has enjoyed dressing up for World book day and experiencing different stories and authors.
Year 4 – have been learning about life in ancient Rome, researching information about the food that Romans typically ate, their clothing, living conditions and education. In Science, they recalled key facts about the digestive system and tried to explain the different stages independently. In Maths, they started looking at fractions on a number line and mixed fractions. In English, they have finished writing their newspaper reports about the missing cats from Varjak Paw! They had a great time during World Book Day and their costumes were great to see!
Year 5 – have been working hard to come up with their own narratives, planning an exciting and engaging plot to entertain their reader. So far, the children have mapped their ideas onto a story mountain and have begun describing their settings and main characters. In Maths, Year 5 have been building on their knowledge of decimals and have been successfully rounding decimal numbers to their nearest whole number. In Science, they have been discussing how the planets are arranged in our solar system and how they move. The children have impressed us with their knowledge of planet rotation and orbits, and have now shown an excellent understanding of how the knowledge of our solar system has changed from a geocentric view in the past, to knowing now that our solar system is heliocentric. 
Year 6 – have been very creative!  In Art, the children have finished making their sculptures based on art by Wayne Thiebaud (food), Yayoi Kusama (polka dot pumpkins) and Jeff Koons (balloon dog).  They planned, sculpted and then painted their creations which are looking very impressive.  In English the children have finished writing poems about spring at IVJS and have been using a range of figurative language.  They have now started their new English topic - writing a non-chronological report about owls.  This week they have also started their new Humanities topic - Tudors and monarchs.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been diving right back into their learning and have started a new class text. The book this term is 'The Boy at the Back of the Class'. The year group have really embraced the text and seem excited about reading the rest. In English, year 3 have started by creating a travel brochure for a country that they have created. They have thought about how to separate out their information into paragraphs for the most effective and persuasive piece of writing. In Maths, they have started to look at fractions. They have been discussing what denominators and numerators are and the relationship between a fraction and a whole number. They have also started their PSHE topic on 'Healthy Me' and have discussed how exercise affects their bodies and the importance of the heart and the lungs. In French, they also looking at something healthy as they have been learning how to say the names of different fruits in French.
Year 4 – have had an exciting introduction to their new DT project - Electrical Toys. They began their lesson by learning about toys of the past and then got to spend the afternoon playing with and carrying out a product analysis of some of Miss Rowe's childhood toys (which included Polly Pockets, Action Man and even some old teddies) and some newer toys (Lego, Monopoly and a steady hand game). They all had so much fun exploring and playing together. In English, they are carrying on with the story 'Varjak Paw' and have been planning a newspaper report about the mysterious vanishings that happen throughout the story. In Maths, they have finished learning about perimeter by discovering the perimeter of different regular and irregular polygons. They have also started learning about unit and non-unit fractions. In Humanities, they have started their topic on Ancient Rome and have explored how Rome rose to power. In Science, their lesson this week was met with both disgust and intrigue as they learnt about all of the organs involved in the digestive system! 
Year 5 – have settled back into school well and have got straight back to their learning. In Maths, they have started their unit on decimals. The children have been thinking about their knowledge of their place value columns and how this can help them write fractions as decimals. In English, the children have been exploring what it would be like to go to Epcot, and have been writing a leaflet to advertise the park and persuade people to go there. In Science, they have started their new topic on space. The children have used clues and facts to determine the order in which the planets can be found in our solar system, and have researched different facts for each of them.
Year 6 – have enjoyed writing poems about Spring in IVJS.  They have used their senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste to be as descriptive as possible.  We are now very much looking forward to the arrival of Spring!  In Maths, they have been busy solving problems involving fractions and decimals.  Year 6 have also thoroughly enjoyed art this week, they have investigated the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud, Yayoi Kusama and Jeff Koon.  They will now make their own sculpture inspired by one of the artist's work.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been completing their narratives about 'The Light House'. They have used some wonderful descriptive vocabulary and have really shown their progress in English this half term. In Maths, they have been revising the four operations and challenging themselves with solving and writing their own word problems. In PSHE they finalised their plans for their community gardens and presented their work to the rest of the class. It was great to see everyone working together as a team, sharing their imaginative ideas. In Art, they have been learning about the work of Matisse and Picasso, producing artwork influenced by these artists.
Year 4 – have finished writing their biographies about Varjak Paw. They tried hard to include many of the features and should be proud of their written work! In Music, they learnt about waltz count and practised playing along to songs that used this count. In Art, they had a lovely afternoon creating their African art inspired artworks. They produced paintings, jewellery (through paper bead making) and clothing designs. In RE, they learnt about communities and discussed the British Values and what they are. In Computing this week, both classes spoke about staying safe online and the positives and negatives of the internet. They even tested their knowledge of online safety by completing a whole class quiz! In Maths, Year 4 have ended the week by reviewing perimeter and practising their times tables through Cracking Maths. Well done to those who have moved up a level or two this week!
Year 5 – have been completing their Dreamgiver narratives in English and putting them into their publishing books in their neatest handwriting. They also discovered a beautiful Iberian Lynx and wrote some excellent sentences about him and his landscape. The children included loads of modal verbs in these sentences to show us their excellent knowledge of their success criteria. In Maths, they have continued their work on fractions and have been solving some trickier problems using their knowledge of how to find fractions of different whole numbers.  They have also learnt a trick for how to find a fraction of a whole number, even if the denominator isn’t in the same times table! In Science, they have made some great posters about levers, pulleys and gears and have made some amazing outdoor sculptures in Art. We are extremely proud of Year 5’s efforts this term and hope they have a lovely rest over the holidays.
Year 6 – have finished writing their diary entries in character as Michael from Skellig. They have also celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week by watching the Get Calm assembly and discussing mental health, wellbeing and stress in PSHE. They have also finished all of their assessments for this half term and we are all very proud of just how hard everyone has been working. Well done everyone!

This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been writing a narrative in English. They have included some fantastic setting description with some ambitious word choices. They are rewriting a short film that they watched and discussed as a class called 'The lighthouse'. In Maths, they have used their understanding of measurement to work out perimeters of different shapes. In Science, they looked at the importance of sunlight as well as the dangers. They conducted an experiment to see the changes that UV light makes to coloured paper. In PSHE, they continued to work as a team to produce the next stage in their garden designs. This week they focused on negotiation and compromise in order to work effectively as a single unit. For French, they reviewed their learning of musical instruments and placed what they have learnt into full sentences.
Year 4 – have been writing their own biography about Varjak Paw. They planned their biographies on Monday and have been writing new paragraphs every lesson. In Maths, they have been learning about units of measure such as metres, kilometres and centimetres. In Science, they put their detective hats on and investigated which materials make good conductors and insulators. In Computing this week, they were learning about budgeting and how to amend spreadsheets when hidden costs come their way! Overall, they’ve had a great week. Well done from your teachers!
Year 5 – have continued their narratives on the Dreamgiver and have been putting in a lot of effort to add some finishing touches. They have worked hard to include commas in all of the right places, to ensure that their work flows and has clarity. They were certain that they didn’t want to confuse their reader in the same way that some of our examples did. In Maths, they have been continuing with fractions, making great progress with how well they can multiply fractions by whole numbers. They have then applied this skill to perform even better on their arithmetic tests this week! In Science, they have been experimenting with how water resistance impacts different shapes and surfaces in different ways. They conducted an experiment using playdough to discover that shapes that are more streamlined, with less surface area hitting the water, moved much faster through our tanks of liquid.
Year 6 – have worked hard to solve further problems involving ratio and proportion and have moved on to solving problems involving decimals, percentages and fractions. All of Year 6 were lucky enough to participate in a workshop about staying safe run by the NSPCC. We were really impressed by the mature attitude they all showed throughout the workshop and how respectful they were to our visitor.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been busy writing a diary entry about the Iron Man in English. They have used lots of description and their feelings and thoughts to empathise with a character. In Maths, they have worked hard to solve division problems using the short formal method. They have begun their new Science topic about light, discussing sources of light and investigating which materials are the most reflective to incorporate in their book bag design. In French, they have been learning the names of musical instruments. 
Year 4 – have been very busy this week. In Maths, Lisbon and London have been learning how to multiply two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers, using their knowledge of times tables to help them. They had a go at writing their own short stories, based on their own mini Lego characters! They followed the story mountain stages and tried to include lots of the features of short stories. In Computing, both classes have been recapping how to stay safe online and then learning about spreadsheets. In Art this week, they had the chance to create their own designs using clay and practised the different skills involved in this. It was great fun!
Year 5 – have written some fantastic setting descriptions of their classrooms. They discussed ideas using their 5 senses and added loads of detail throughout. In Maths, they have been practising the formal method for short division, with the children applying their excellent times table knowledge to complete problems with 4-digit numbers. In Humanities, they have continued their learning about the Mayans. The children used real artefacts to decide what they think the Mayans were really like.
Year 6 – have finished their narratives inspired by Skellig. We are so impressed with the creativity shown in some excellent pieces of writing! In Maths, they have begun to learn. about ratio and started to apply this knowledge to scale drawings. They have also finished their Humanities topic related to North America by learning about natural disasters, types of trade and economies found across North America.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been completing their newspaper about the intruder that visited the school. They have used commas for lists, capital letters and speech marks to ensure that their newspapers inform the people of Iver. In Maths, Year 3 have been developing their multiplication skills using column method to multiply 1-digit by 2 digits and have even challenged themselves by multiplying 1 digit by 3 digits. In humanities, year 3 have been exploring the 7 continents and the 5 oceans as well as locating different seas. They have investigated mountain ranges and researched the highest peaks in the world. They have also written fact-files about the world's major rivers completing their humanities topic this term. In PSHE, they talked about their dreams and aspirations for the future.
Year 4 – have been working hard in English to write some challenging animal riddles. These have been tricky to solve and are leaving their teachers very confused as to what animal they have been describing! In Maths, they have been working on solving problems that require them to either multiply or divide a number by 10 or 100. In Science, they have investigated how circuits work and had to make several different circuits to test whether they were complete or incomplete. Their enthusiasm for this lesson was lovely to see. In Humanities, they have started learning about some of the natural disasters that have happened to Africa and are working together to perform an interview where they will tell each other what has happened to their town or village. Keeping with the same continent in Art, they began their unit on African art by looking at traditional African crafts and have produced their own paper beads made in traditional ways. Using the templates to cut the paper the correct shape was tricky but they persevered and have some amazing paper beads to show for it.
Year 5 – have started their new topic on multiplication in Maths. They have been multiplying 4-digit numbers using their formal method and have done extremely well remembering each step. In English, they have watched a great video that told the story of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The children worked hard to describe each of these characters in detail and produced some very creative character descriptions as a result. In Humanities, Year 5 are diving into their topic on the Mayans and got to see some exciting pictures of the amazing Chichen Itza. Later in the week, the children practised their French vocabulary, describing the weather they could see outside.
Year 6 – have begun writing their own narratives inspired by the story of Skellig by David Almond. They have worked hard to build atmosphere and suspense into their writing and create engaging setting and character descriptions. They have begun their new geography topic about North America and have been fascinated by the continuous eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have worked really hard to show off all they have learnt in their assessments! In English, they have written their own narratives about the journey of a Snowman, using some very imaginative vocabulary. In Maths, they have been learning to multiply by hundreds and multiples of hundreds. It has been a very busy week for Year 3 in their Design and Technology lessons, they have created fantastic finger puppets and then developed their skills by designing glove puppets. They have really persevered with their sewing skills to create their puppets. Great job Year 3!
Year 4 – have been busy learning about staying safe online, collecting data about their screen time every day and learning about databases. It has been a busy week of Maths and English assessments but all teachers are very proud of their classes and how much progress they have made this term! In English, Year 4 have been writing their own narrative poems about ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’ and have tried to make sure they have included rhyme and interesting descriptive language. In Humanities and Science, they have been reviewing their learning for the term by creating mind maps and recapping key vocabulary.
Year 5 – have been working hard on their Maths assessments and have shown us how well they have remembered everything they have learnt so far! In English, they have completed their festive narratives and have started to make some excellent book reviews for the Year 5 display boards. Everyone is so excited to see some of their lovely work up for all to see.        In DT, the children have worked so hard to make some excellent pencil cases out of felt. They have successfully threaded their needles and joined their edges using a simple basket stitch.
Year 6 – have worked exceptionally hard completing their end of term assessments. We are so proud of every single one of the children in Year 6 and we hope that they feel very proud of all they have achieved this half term! In science, we have been learning about scientific classification for living things, the different types of microorganisms and how they can be helpful as well as harmful. On Friday, we have had an exciting day cooking for our DT project and learning safe kitchen skills. We are all looking forward to continuing cooking on Monday!

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been very creative in English. They have used their imaginations to create their own animal. In order to inform everyone about their new creation, they have produced a non-chronological report that included sub-headings, commas for lists and descriptive adjectives. In Maths, they have moved on from multiplication and are now setting their focus on division. They have focused on dividing by 2, 5 and 4 and applied their knowledge to solve word problems. In Science, they have continued their exploration of forces. This week, they investigated magnetic forces including which items are attracted or repelled by a magnet as well as how a compass works. They are all looking forward to the Carol Concert next week and have been practicing their Christmas songs with excitement.
Year 4 – have continued to write their travel brochures about Iceland, they have been taking their time to publish them with care and are already multiple pages long! This week, they have added sections on 'Things you can See' and a very exciting page on 'Things to do in Iceland'. Some children even shortlisted the activities for a ‘Top 5 things to do’ section. Miss Rowe, Mrs Punny and Miss Ramsay are very impressed with the work so far, they can't wait to see the finished brochures! In Maths they have been working on the tricky skill of multiplying 3 single digit numbers together however, it has been made much easier by the number of children who have been practising their times tables, really impressing everyone with their tables recall. Keep it up Year 4! In Science the whole year group got to try and find the best material to absorb sound. They found that a thick, padded coat was the best item as all of the padded layers absorbed more of the sound.
Year 5 – have finished their newspaper articles about The World Cup and have produced some fantastic pieces of writing, which contained lots of interesting facts about Qatar and England's first match! In Maths, the children have been working on adding fractions with different denominators and adding to mixed numbers, building on their knowledge from last week. In Humanities, they have been continuing their learning about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. They were intrigued to learn about the daily life of a Viking in their longhouses and have completed a timeline of events of the time period based on their knowledge so far.
Year 6 – have continued to develop their understanding of fractions and have been solving problems involving multiplying and dividing fractions. In English, they have continued to write their narratives to retell the story of 'Glued'. They have worked hard to create atmosphere in their writing. In Humanities, Y6 have learnt about the Sugar Loaf Mountain of Brazil and explored the lives of those living in two very different areas of Rio de Janeiro.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been creating instructions to build a stone age shelter. They have used imperative verbs, time prepositions and adverbs in their writing to make sure the reader understands what to do. In Maths, Year 3 have been continuing to investigate their times tables and have explored how knowing one times table can aid them in working out others. They are explored their 2,3,4,6 and even their 8 times table. In Science, they created multiple experiments! The first experiment involved sending toy cars down ramps to observe how different surface create different frictions. In the second experiment, they made parachutes to observe the effect of the size of the parachutes on how fast the object fell.
Year 4 – have had a very exciting week! They took part in an Iceland Day. On Tuesday, they arrived at school to find out that they would be spending the day learning about Iceland in preparation to writing a travel brochure in English. During the day they discovered facts about Iceland, put their map reading skills to the test to answer questions about locations in Iceland. They prepared a comprehensive budget for their trip – including flights, travel insurance, accommodation, food and activities and spent the afternoon gathering information about volcanos, ice cave, hot springs, Icelandic food, the wildlife of Iceland and the Northern Lights. Both classes had a lovely day even though it has made us all want to on a trip to Iceland! In DT, they have decided on the soup that they are going to make and started to plan their own cooking vlog. In Science, they have completed a sound experiment to find the best insulator of noise. 
Year 5 – have continued their work on fractions, converting and comparing them using their knowledge of equivalent fractions. They have also begun to think about how they can convert improper fractions into mixed number fractions. In English, the children have been really enthusiastic when planning and writing the starts of their newspaper articles all about the world cup. They have learnt some really interesting facts about the tournament and its history and have discussed what everyone knows about Qatar and how the world cup is being hosted. In Humanities, they have been learning about Alfred the Great and thinking about why he is in fact great!
Year 6 – have spent their English lessons planning a narrative related to the short film, 'Glued'. They have worked hard to write effective character and setting descriptions which they will incorporate into their narratives next week. In Maths, they have learnt about comparing, adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators by finding equivalent fractions with like denominators. They have also continued their topic about Brazil and have been applying their understanding of the location of Brazil in relation to the equator and tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to predict the climate and weather of different regions.