For our new unit about Fractions, Year 2 have enjoyed exploring the concept of wholes and parts by chopping fruit, deconstructing everyday objects and finally partitioning counters. We represented the whole and its parts by drawing pictures of a part, part whole model with the amounts!
During the Summer term, we place a strong focus on supporting our nursery children to develop their independence and resilience as they prepare for their transition into Reception. These are key aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly within Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development.
Throughout the year, we have been working hard to strengthen the children’s fine motor skills, and this term we have introduced a focused activity known as “apron entry.” During this activity, each child is given their own clipboard and a shortened pencil, which helps to support correct grip and control.
The children are encouraged to draw an object, letter or shape from the board, with a particular focus in this session on creating circles of their own chosen size and quantity. This open-ended approach allows the children to explore their creativity while also developing important early writing skills.
It was fantastic to see the children’s growing ability to concentrate, as well as their confidence in using an effective pencil grip and forming recognisable shapes. These small but significant steps are helping to build the foundations for future writing.
Well done, Crew Frost—keep up the great work!
Last week, our nursery children took part in their very first PE session, marking an exciting step in their learning journey as they begin to prepare for transition into Reception. This experience supported key areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
The children showed fantastic listening skills as they followed instructions from Mr S, demonstrating growing confidence in responding to adult guidance. They were also increasingly aware of boundaries and space while using the field, which is an important aspect of developing both safety awareness and self-regulation.
It was wonderful to see the children engaging so enthusiastically in a range of activities, including dancing and group games. These experiences not only helped to develop their coordination and movement skills, but also encouraged teamwork, turn-taking and building positive relationships with their peers.
The session was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and we are very much looking forward to watching the children continue to grow in confidence and skill during future PE sessions.
On Friday, Upper Key Stage 2 visited Doncaster city centre. For half of the day, they learnt about the fascinating artefacts linked to the city. There were Roman shields and rings, stuffed animals, including Billy the Bear, and a variety of coins that had been dug up. This learning was linked to our history case study all about the Ancient Egyptians.
Then, for the second half of the day, they went on a shopping spree around the city centre’s markets. Raspberries, grapes and even dragon fruit were on the shopping list. All of these will be washed, cut up and then enjoyed as part of a fruit salad on Monday.
This fieldwork during hook week is linked to a new expedition where we will learn all about the brain, body and blood and specifically, how we keep our bodies healthy.
Some quotes from the children about their day:
“I thought the day was really fascinating” – Finn
“I enjoyed going to the shops and buying the fruit from the market.” – Rory
“I asked people at the market what they enjoyed about it and they said there used to be more stalls but they like the coffee shops, and that you can get everything you need” – Charlie
Our UKS2 pupils recently stepped back in time for an unforgettable Time Odyssey workshop, where they explored the fascinating world of the Ancient Egyptians – before fast-forwarding to a lively trip to Doncaster Market!
We participated in an exciting, hands-on workshop that transported the children thousands of years into the past. The children asked thoughtful questions and showed great teamwork as they tackled challenges and shared their ideas.
We then swapped this for shopping stalls with a visit to Doncaster Market. This provided a wonderful opportunity to connect our learning to the present day. Pupils explored the vibrant market, observed how goods are bought and sold and even practised their communication and money-handling skills in a real-world setting.
Overall, it was a truly enriching experience that combined History, Design and Technology and real-life learning. We are incredibly proud of how engaged, respectful and enthusiastic the children were throughout the day.
On the final day of Hook Week be became planet protectors!
Inspired by a video of Mr Beast cleaning up a beach in America we decided that we should clean up our school environment to make sure it is safe for ourselves and any animals who live nearby.
Back in class we also planted some sunflowers seeds!
Finally we revealed our Summer Term Expedition title and guiding question
This term, the children will be learning about Growth and Change. Starting out with the classic story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Together, we made our hungry caterpillars; they enjoyed making them move and pretending they are eating, getting longer and longer. This has got them hooked into our new subject of the summer term. We have some exciting, hands-on learning ahead!
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Weekly Update for Families @ XP Gateshead
Finding our happy @ Norton Infants
Year 11 Rise to the challenge! @ XP East
Litter picking legends @ Norton Juniors
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
Hook week has been a blast in Crew Ramsay! We made predictions about our new expedition throughout the week before the big reveal on Friday. We went on a woodland animal hunt, had a peaceful protest to protect endangered local wildlife, engaged with our key text ‘The Hungry Hedgehog’ and watched documentaries about extinct animals. What a fun week we have had!
