The Last Post! (Until next year).

Year 3

This week we have been having fun and learning at the same time. We made Christmas cards, decorations and angels. We also completed and evaluated our photo frames. On the last day we had a fantastic party. It was so much fun that we didn't want it to stop!

Year 4

We have had a great week full of fun! We spent our time making Christmas cards, calendars, and stained glass windows. We have also been performing in our Christmas play and we loved singing our songs.  Our favourite part of our week was our Christmas party. Happy Christmas!

Year 5

We have been making Christmas biscuits, cards and lots of writing about the Aztecs.

Year 6

We have been exploring mathematical concepts through festive investigations. In English, we have been writing spooky traveller stories.

Merry Christmas everybody 

and a happy new year!!!

Key Stage 2 Blog - only one more week until the end of term!

Year 3

This week we have been making, decorating and evaluating our photo frames. Don't scroll down any further if you have a child in year 3 or you will spoil your Christmas surprise! We have also been practising and improving our singing for the Christmas play next week. A very exciting week and more to look forward to.

Year 4

Year 4 have been making 

peppermint creams. This is how we made them. First, we tipped icing sugar in a bowl. Second, we added water and peppermint extract and mixed them together. Finally, we put chocolate on the top. They were yummy!

Year 5

We are going fraction crazy. We have made equivalent fractions, found fractions of quantities and are adding and subtracting fractions.

Year 6

We have been looking at poetry in English and writing our own poetry. In Mathematics we have been working out percentages based on the twelve days of Christmas.

  Pantomime Time!   

Fascinated!

On Friday 5th December, the whole school visited the Churchill Theatre, situated in   enchanted Bromley. A land full of castles, fairies, witches, forest and a spinning wheel! The evil Carabosse had cast a spell on the beautiful Princess, and she was doomed to sleep for a hundred years. Only a kiss from her true love could break the spell. We all went along to help the Prince to enter the hidden and cursed castle and rescue the Princess.

Two children went on stage!

This is what we thought of our experience..........

"The pantomime was the highlight of my time at Downsview!"

                      

"I loved it! It was the highlight of the year. There is only one word to describe it, amazing!"

"I liked the fire part because it was so scary."

"The pantomime was exciting and funny. I really enjoyed the ice cream and loved watching."

"We walked to the station and sang 'Are we nearly there yet' from the Xmas play!"

"I loved it when the toys came alive!"

The witch was scary because she was green!"

"There was a fantastic ending! Silly Billy was very funny but my favourite person was the princess. The prince was Rob from Coronation Street."

"I liked the songs and the witch!"

Thanks to all the parents, governors and teachers who helped make this possible.

What a fantastic day!

Key Stage 2 News!

Year 3

This week we have been designing and making photo frames for someone special! In Mathematics we have been practising our times tables and division facts. The class champion can answer 30 questions correctly in only 50 seconds! Phew!! 

Year 4

This week we have been going on an adventure in English and we have written diary entries about it. We have also been looking at the points of a compass and learning about angles in maths.

Year 5 

There have been some great stories written about Dangerous Places this week. We have also painted the pots for our Aztec topic and are learning how to write computer codes.

Year 6 

We have been looking at personification by studying " The Story of Hiawatha". In Mathematics we have been studying the relationship between percentages, fractions and decimals. Today, we had our final swimming lesson of the term and made great progress!

This week in Key Stage 2

Year 3

This week we have been learning to tell the time and recommend the website www.timemonsters.com
It's fantastic! We have also been boxing up stories to help us organise our writing. Each box is a story part and paragraph.

Year 4

This week we have been using our imagination to travel. In maths, we have been doing column addition and subtraction. In topic, we've been learning about the Anglo Saxons. We also did some weaving and basket making. It was fun.

Year 5

We have been learning about forces. This week we tried to sink a Compare Bear, in a canister, in a cylinder of water. Like a diving submarine. It was fun - but very messy!

Year 6

We have been story writing using "boxing up". We have been learning to assess and improve our own writing. We started our topic on Electricity by making circuits and in Mathematics we have been practising our mental maths skills.

#ICT2inspire…what our children thought!

Inspired to write...

After their writing workshops with Mr Rylands, I asked the children for their feedback. These are some of the comments received…they are all genuine quotes from the children and I'm both delighted and proud of them all!

"What an amazing experience! It was such good fun. We learnt to just throw out our ideas and go for it!" Kaitlin & Sinead

"I've never done that much writing before." Alexus

"We have learnt that cliffhangers hold the readers attention and makes them want to read on…" Isha, Shoniwa & India

"We went on an adventure and it was great!" David

"We've learnt to recognise and use effective similes and metaphors." Harry & Clarease

"I loved it when we found out where the squeaky voice was coming from"    Tristan

"I enjoyed the part where we spoke poshly...and then, like pirates!" Connor

"Mr Rylands gave me the encouragement and confidence to write more." Keira

"We've learnt to use commas correctly." Aliyyah & Lewis B

"Mr Rylands is a man of laughter!" Jack & Sophie

"Our imaginations are explorable!" Alfie & Daniel

"Interesting vocabulary creates better writing." Oliver & Hanna

"Thanks to Mr Rylands modelling, I can now use punctuation better." Lewis F

"The ideas just crawled into my head and out on to the page!" Kaitlin

"What a humorous and entertaining lesson." Dilip

"We learnt how to open and finish sentences in different ways. It makes your writing more interesting." Marshal & Elisa

"I am going to re-phrase my wording to create better sentences. I'm going to translate my writing by using different words that mean the same." Ben

"It was a brilliant learning experience!" Emily P, Izzy & Charlie

Thanks for an 'awesome' day!

#ICT2inspire with Tim Rylands & Sarah Neild

Everyone at Downsview Primary School was extremely proud and excited to welcome Tim Rylands  & Sarah Neild recently for a two day exploration of inspirational ICT and technology. 

Arriving on 23rd October 2014, Tim worked with children and staff alike in some 'myst'erious writing workshops. Following these, Tim and Sarah then led a day of staff development training and shared many fantastic online resources and tools that could be used to enhance learning and truly engage our children.

"Mr Rylands made learning fun and exciting!"

"I just had to write my ideas down."

"Writing is fun!"

Engaged children - keen to share ideas!

Mr Rylands in action…involving children in their learning.

"Mr Rylands was really funny!"

Tim's work is mainly focused around writing and how to become a better writer, but he goes way beyond just writing. Tim is about developing children's thinking and imagination…he is passionate about developing children's curiosity…he is about engaging children in their learning and inspiring them to be the best that they can be. To help him do this, he mixes brilliant teaching with a computer gaming programme.

The two day event, funded through The Swanley Collaboration, was a huge success and I'm very proud of our school for organising and hosting it. Our next step is to use some of the incredible technology and online resources available to further our children's enjoyment of learning and success. 

A belated welcome back!

Firstly, I would like to apologise for the lack of blog posts recently. 

Term 1 began positively and we were soon so busy with good teaching and learning that we've forgotten to get the blog up and running again. 

Apologies! This will be rectified now with an exciting blog about our recent visit from Tim Rylands to follow...

On Friday 11th July 2014, thirteen Year Four and Five Downsview pupils travelled to Benenden School for the Music Plus Kent Music Experience…

It was a very busy and tiring day, but well worth it! On arrival, it was straight on to the stage for rehearsal time. There were six local schools involved in the concert and a large audience was expected…

Following the music, ready to go!

Practising is hard work!

Everyone working together...

Ready for show time!

The children were fantastic! After rehearsals there was time to swim, take part in a percussion workshop and listen to other groups of musicians performing.

At 7:00p.m, it was show time…and a brilliant performance it was too! Well done to all of the children involved.

Thanks to Mrs Jarvis for organising the event and to school staff for their support.

Downsview's Got Talent

On Tuesday 25th March we had our Downsview's Got Talent show. This is where children performed their talents. We had lots of acts performing this afternoon in the hall. Everyone was so brilliant it nearly brought tears to our eyes and everyone was cheering. Most of the acts were singers, dancers or joke tellers. Courtney & Katie in year 6 and David & Tristan in year 1 performed some gymnastics which included handstands and cartwheels.
In our class we had Vienna who skipped with a hula-hoop, Toby who sang an Olly Murs song and Abi, Abbie, Becky, Tieghan, Tiffany and Keeley who sung and danced to Carly Rae Jepsen.
On Friday we will perform again to all of the parents and visitors who come to see us. We will be bringing in costumes and dressing up clothes to wear.

by Cherry Class

Science Week in Key Stage 1 and EYFS

Apple class have been doing a science experiment to see how many straws they could join together and still drink water.  They have been leaning about sharing . They listened to the story Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson.


Birch class stuff;

They had to get straws and sellotape on the straws and put it in a cup.
They have also been doing  poems and singing. They have been learning to tell the time with clocks .
When they have been doing art they have been making monsters.
Also they  been practising their assembly .


Cherry class have been learning lots about Science. They have described what it would be like to go on a journey to Mars. They have also had a go at using chromatography to split colours. In art they used acids and alkalis to make rainbow fish and they have been testing parachutes.

Key Stage 1 this week

This week Apple class have been travelling along a bench in P.E. and also balancing and also made animal puppets. They played the bus stop game and some number games.

This week in Cherry class we have practicing our assembly and getting stuff sorted for it. Also we have been practicing  our ocarina  for our assembly. We have been reading African stories such as the rain goddess, Mamo on the Mountain, Grace and family, Amazing Grace and Almaz and the lion.
We have been learning about the Seychelles islands. They are made up of 130 islands. The Seychelles are the smallest parts of Africa. There is a big one of them and one is so small that you can't see it on a map that has all the parts of Africa. We have been using mod rock and improving our models. In our phonics we have been learning about tip top: T and I stand for time and p stands for person  and in top T and o stands for topic and action  and p stands for place.  

A beach in The Seychelles

In Birch class they have been leaning 2 digit numbers and in English they are reading and writing  rhymes and learning about castles.


by Vienna, Abbie, Finley and Liam

Happy Pancake Day from Key Stage 1

In Birch Class they've been learning about monsters and making them. They have been learning about two digit numbers and adding and subtracting them. Also they have been reading and writing poems and learning about dragons.
 
Today Apple Class have made pancakes. They have been using moving monkeys and learning to take away. They have played in the role play as vets. They have also learnt to do stretches in gymnastics.

Cherry Class have been designing and making African fabrics. They have also continued to complete work based on the film Madagascar. In ICT they have been making PowerPoints about Africa ready for their assembly next week.

by Freddie, Russel, Joshua, Paige, Ellie and Rihanna

KS one blog

Birch class have been colouring monsters and dinosaurs, designing monsters, and writing poems about monsters. They have been rhyming and adding and subtracting. They have been writing the alphabet on the laptops and making different coloured monsters. They are learning about castles this is what they learnt:  there are swans in the moat, Castles have towers, Kings and Queens live in them and castles are bigger than a house. 



Keely and Josephine



Apple
They have been learning taking away and sums and they got a new game.hey were riding bikes and scooters.

Finley and  Amadu


Cherry Class have started their topic of The Seychelles. They looked at photos and maps to see what it is like there. Also, they have been writing character descriptions of the animals from the film Madagascar.

Apple Class: They have been doing peace in the playground.  They  have made a Chinese dragon. They also made a snowman. They have had circle time.

Birch Class have been making stories. Also they have been weighing in Numeracy.

Cherry Class have been planning information books about African animals for Apple Class. In Numeracy they have been multiplying 2s, 5s and 10s. They have also been learning about the different types of homes in Africa.

A village house

Homes in Cairo, Egypt

Key Stage 1

Welcome to our blog - the last week of January!

Apple Class have been  learning about Chinese new year and they have been ordering numbers  and they was talking about peace  and in phonics they  have been learning about sh and ch.
                                            
In Birch Class in English they have been retelling the story of Dogger and making up their own stories about losing toys. In Numeracy they have  been solving problems.

Cherry Class have been finding out information about giraffes. Did you know that a giraffe's kick can break a lion's skull? They have also started making model African animals in Art.

 

 

by Alex, Billy, Connor and Liam

 

Term 3 - Week 3

Posted by Libby and Bayley - Elm Class

Year 6

We have made peace jars filled with glitter, paint and water. They will help us feel peaceful and calm down.

Year 5

Thank you to all of you who joined us for our learning assembly. This week we have been learning all about mass, length and capacity.

Year 4

This week we have been having fun making dot pictures in the style of an Australian aboriginal artist. In mathematics we have been learning how to solve real life problems, involving division using r u c s a c.    

Year 3

We have been learning lots about the Romans this week.  We discussed whether Boudicca was right to start a rebellion and research information about Roman gods on the internet.

Have a good weekend!

Apple Class have been adding up. They have also been reading a story about peace. They also played outside.

Birch class diary of the week: In numeracy they have been taking away. They also have been helping super heroes solve problems. They have also  been writing a story about their favourite toy in literacy and every morning they have been leaning how to handwrite.

Cherry Class  have been reading the story of Almaz and the Lion which is set in Ethiopia. They have written character descriptions and story endings. In Numeracy they have been adding and taking away. They have also learnt about the Muslim festival of Eid.

 

by Toby, Alfie, Abbie and Abi

Term 3 - Week 2

Typing by Libby and Bayley in Elm Class (Year 3)

Year 6

We are enjoying learning about The Tudors.  Our learning assembly was all about Henry VIII and his six wives.  We are also finding out about electricity in Science.


Year 5

We have begun our work on The Aztecs.  They seem to be a gruesome lot!

Year 4

We have been exploring electrical circuits in Science and found a circuit must include a power supply to work. Our first swimming lesson this week was great fun!

Year 3

We have started learning all about the Romans. So far we have been finding out about Boudicca and why the Romans invaded Britain.

The weather.......................................

IT'S STILL RAINING!!!!!!

THIS WEEK IN KEY STAGE ONE

Apple class went on a trip to pizza express . They made pizzas and they got pizza hats. They have also been learning about the Artic and Antarctic and made penguins and icebergs.

 

Birch class have been following instructions. They have made paper planes.

 

Cherry class have been learning about compass points and different areas of Africa. They have also been reading stories about Grace and writing diaries and letters.

By Becky, Tiffany, Rhiann and Rihanna

Happy New Year!!!

Year 3

We have started to learn about the Romans this week and will be finding out what they liked to eat.  We are hoping to have a Roman banquet later in the term but we probably won't be eating ALL of the things that Romans liked to eat.........

Year 4

Year 4 have started the Term well and have just embarked on an exciting Science project involving electricity........

 

Year 5

A week of learning about all kinds of pronouns....tricky little things.  Our trees are doing well in their pots ready for planting in the Spring.

Year 6

Year 6 have come back to School rested and ready to learn.  They have a lot of hard work ahead of them but they are definitely up for the challenge!

Happy New Year from Key Stage 1 and EYFS

Apple Class have been learning how to tell time and they did guided reading in the morning.
They did phonics and they made a ice café in  the roll play area.


Birch Class they made paper planes and they made paper swans to follow instructions.


Cherry Class have started their new topic of Africa. They have been writing descriptions of African scenery using adjectives, similes and positional language.

 

by Vienna, Amadu, Billy and Alistair