Introducing the KIRFs Café...

What are KIRFs?

KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) are pieces of mathematical knowledge that we want the children to learn off-by-heart or be able to work out very quickly (within 3 seconds).

They are designed to support the development of the mental skills that underpin mathematics. They are particularly useful when calculating, be it adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing.  They will include facts such as number bonds, counting on, back, times tables, equivalence of units of measure, and square numbers.

Each year group is allocated key facts to focus on throughout the year, in line with age related expectations. These should be practised for rapid recall.

Check out the website and class blogs for the newest KIRFs each Half Term.

We look forward to welcoming you to the KIRFs Cafe on Wednesday 17^th April at 3.10pm in Finnygook.

We have continued our learning about the Maya civilization and culture. The children worked in small groups to investigate, research and make notes about different aspects of the Maya civilization and how they have influenced our society today: for example, the invention of chocolate; and the playing of team games. They found some amazing facts such as the Maya used hot chocolate as a medicine, albeit, a lot different from the hot chocolate we drink today and  included chilli peppers.

English
This week has included assessment in reading. All of the children have made good progress and are able to infer (read between the lines) in a piece of text. They enjoyed reading the stories in their reading assessments.

Maths
This week has included learning the key vocabulary for converting units of measurement. The children recognise that kilo derives from the Greek language and means a thousand and milli derives from the latin language and means a thousandth. This has helped them to solve simple conversion challenges for grammes and mm, for example. 


best wishes,

Mr Parry, Mrs Swabey and the Talland Class team (Mrs Walters and Ms Rowlands)

This week's jokes:

Where do sharks go on their Summer holidays? Finland.


What's the favourite tree of an English teacher? Poetry. 

Sports' Day was a big event this week. Each child put in his/her best efforts throughout the day. The comradeship, enthusiasm and dedication oozed throughout. Thank you, Talland Class.

English
The children have been learning how to write a book review. The key points they considered were the actions and characteristics of the main characters, for example: responsibility, friendship, perseverance and bravery. They learned a lot about themselves, too, during the writing of the book review.

Maths
The main theme for this week has been the exploration of polygons (many sided 2-D shapes). The children now recognise the criteria for a regular polygon (all sides and angles equal) and an irregular polygon. They had the opportunity to further their protractor and ruler skills by measuring sides to the nearest centimetre and angles to the nearest degree. Well done, Talland Class.


best wishes,

Mr Parry, Mrs Swabey and the Talland Class team (Mrs Walters and Ms Rowlands)

This week's jokes:

What is harder to catch the faster you run?  Your breath.

Why can't Cinderella play football? She keeps running away from the ball.

Creative Art Week

The children have had the opportunity to apply their creative skills during this week. The focus was abstract drawing and painting. As you can see from the pictures, the children's ideas, creativity and enthusiasm oozed out throughout the week. They should all be proud of their achievements.

English
This week, the children have learned how to write a set of instructions using imperative verbs and numbered bullet points. They have also secured their knowledge and understanding for the use of : and ;. 


Maths 
This has been the final week for the children's study of decimal numbers for this term. They are now confident in adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers. This includes its every day use when calculating money. 


best wishes,

Mr Parry, Mrs Swabey and the Talland Class team (Mrs Walters and Ms Rowlands)

This week's jokes:

What did the artist draw before he went to bed? – The curtains!

Did you hear about the artist that always took things too far? – She didn’t know where to draw the line.

The Creative Class

During this week, the children have further developed their unique Maya patterns. Once completed, they will use these design ideas and paint them onto a  piece of fabric. They have used complementary colours,  observational skills to good effect and recognise repeated patterns. Talland Class have also used their observational skills during our history investigation about the Maya culture. They learned how to use pictures and objects to learn about another culture by asking open and pertinent questions - What are they doing in the ceremony? for example. 

English
This week has been another competition week. The children have been writing a Spooky Story of no more than 250 words to enter a national competition. Some of the starter sentences of the stories have been fabulous, for example, One dark stormy night.... and I didn't think the school was actually haunted until.... Thank you Talland Class for putting in so much effort.

Maths
Using addition and subtraction skills to solve decimal problems has been the theme for maths this week. The children's understanding of place value has increased incredibly throughout this week. They have learned to look carefully at the operation they need to use (+ or -) and whether they need to exchange values from one place value column to another.

best wishes,

Mr Parry, Mrs Swabey and the Talland Class team (Mrs Walters and Ms Rowlands)

This week's jokes: 

Where do birds go on summer holiday? The Canary Islands!

Where do bees stay on their summer holiday? An air bee and bee.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

A Creative Week

Talland Class have enjoyed exploring the Batik art form during this week. This is linked to our study of the Maya civilisation and to the beautiful colours they used in the materials they used: their clothing, in particular. The children noticed the use of complementary colours, shape and shading when they produced their own representations. 

English

During this week, the children have entered a poetry competition using their own unique poems. They have developed good confidence in using many poetry devices to good effect: metaphors and similes, for example.

Maths

The children's knowledge and understanding of place value is becoming clearer. Due to this, they have been able to add and subtract decimals to 2 decimal places.

best wishes,

Mr Parry, Mrs Swabey and the Talland Class team (Mrs Walters and Ms Rowlands)

This week's jokes:

Why should we always look up to the sun for positivity? – He always focuses on the brighter side of life.

What did the sun say to the ice? – You’re gonna have a total meltdown!