Pearl

Summer 2

Splash Park Fun!

Pearl class had the most awesome time on their trip to the SPLASH park.  They also loved playing in the HUGE playground and on the super fast zip wire.  Jacqueline then surprised them by taking them to the drive-through car wash on the way home (they love going there!).  It was also one child's' birthday - AMAZING DAY!

Week 1 Update

A cheeky banana dolphin swam into Pearl class and took the pencils!

The children in Pearl class also have been learning about sun safety and exploring photobooth apps on the Ipad.

FUN IN THE SUN! 

To start our new topic of Fun in the Sun and our cookery focus of picnic food we went for a picnic in the park.  All of the year 6 classes walked to the park together, we relaxed, we ate and we played...EPIC!

Summer 1

Stockwood Park Trip

We had an epic trip at Stockwood Park Discovery centre and got to explore old fashioned transport.

Making and Tasting our Marvellous Medicine

Our Waterproof Testing

We investigated which materials are waterproof and which are not waterproof.

We put a teddy inside each material and poured water over the top.

WET TEDDY = not waterproof.

DRY TEDDY = waterproof material.

Ocean in a bottle!

We experimented how to change the colour of water.  Then we experimented how to turn it darker or lighter.

Science

We put on our gloves and investigated the fish which we bought from Sainsbury's on our trip.

We used our senses to describe the fish.  Everyone held the fish and looked closely at its scales, eyeball, mouth, teeth, tail, fin, body and gills.  We even made it 'talk' by moving its mouth...Pearl class LOVED it!

Sainsbury's Trip

We popped to Sainsbury's to buy a fish from the fishmonger so that we look at it's scales, mouth, eyeballs and other features.

Woodlands Cafe

Take a look at our pictures of our visit to Woodlands Cafe! It was WONDERFUL!

Science

Pearl class have been exploring water this week with experiments and sorting solid, liquid and gas.

The magic beads started out hard and small and grew to be soft and large once they had absorbed the water.  

During our outside run we also looked at daisies and dandelions - we picked some and learnt to 'tell the time' by blowing them!

A Big Thank You!

THANK YOU to Paris and his mum for sending in a bag full of lovely toys for the children...the children thought Christmas had arrived early!

Speaking and Listening

Speaking and listening in Pearl class is so much fun. The children make phone calls to order items from catalogues or menus and practice conversations requiring their personal details e.g. full name, initials, postcode and D.O.B.

Topic 

We have had an awesome start to our topic of 'Water, Water Everywhere'.  The children followed clues to find their surprise - a fish tank!  Each child then received their own sea creature - they gave them names and described them.  Together the children added gravel, bushes, pebbles and water to the fish tank before putting their own sea creature in.  Everyday they will watch their creature grow, will feed them and check the temperature of the water.  They have also been sorting animals which live on land, sea and both.

Pearl class have also fallen in love with our story for this half term - George's Marvellous Medicine.  During the story the children take turns to add bubbling, fizzing and crackling ingredients to the medicine and even taste some of the more delicious ingredients (honey and jam).

Welcome back to Summer Term 1!  This is the final term for the children in Pearl class before they move on to their secondary school (apart from Paris who is year 5).

Our topic this half term is ‘Water, Water Everywhere!’  We will be learning about water, different water

sources, how we can save water, water

animals, the water cycle and lots of

science experiments involving water

e.g. converting liquid water into

solid water (ice).

This half term our school focus is ‘stories from

well-known authors’  Pearl class have chosen

a story called, ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’

by Roald Dahl.  

We will be exploring and re-enacting the story, completing sentences, comprehension tasks, sequencing the story and creating our own version, linking this to our Computing work.  We will be creating our own gruesome medicines with lots of gory ingredients! YUM!

We will be continuing our learning about

puberty and will also be preparing a lot more

for our transition to secondary school.  

For example, the children will send emails

and letters to the children at Woodlands to

answer their questions/gain information

and make friends.

Spring 2

Developing Independence 

Out and about, developing independence.

• Each child was sent with a peer to find an Easter egg which they wanted to buy and then meet back with Jacqueline. 
• Each child used the checkout till to purchase their item and remembered to find the barcode to help them when scanning.
• Pearl class then had a look around different types of shops, such as Pets at Home and Wickes home department.

Snaps throughout the week

A few snaps from this week...smarties tally charts, arm wrestling, music making and mothers day!

Science

This week in science we have been investigating what plants need to survive.

We did an experiment with four plants - one had water, air and light, one had no light, one had no water and one had juice instead of water...here are our results.

Exercise in the Mornings!

Pearl class love to exercise every morning, it wakes up our brains for learning!

Speaking and Listening

In Pearl class we LOVE to practice our speaking and listening by using the telephones to make phone calls!  We have a HUGE phonebook - the children can call anyone...e.g. Burger King to make an order request or they can call The Queen!

Jurassic World

Pearl class are loving our 'Jurassic World' topic in expressive arts.

They worked together to release a baby dinosaur from a ball of ice!

Scottish Art

Pearl class have been creating Scottish art in the style of Steven Brown.

They have also been learning about our value of honesty and using our class honesty box!

Cookery

This half term we are cooking noodles every week in cookery.  We will try different recipes and will attempt to eat them with chopsticks.  YUM!  All of the children in Pearl class are very independent in the kitchen and can even use sharp knives with minimal supervision - please encourage them to cook with you at home - they love it!

Science

In science today (Thursday 7th March) we have been learning about parts of plants and what their functions are.  

We compared different plants, leave and flowers.  We explored them using our senses and thought of describing words.  

We took each plant apart and sorted the parts into three piles:  stems, leaves, flowers.

Then we made out own plant by sticking the parts back together.

SUPER SCIENCE!

Pancake Day

Here is some of the children's AMAZING literacy work from this week (a theme of our story The Tiger Child, our topic Great Britain and PLP targets of asking questions).  Every week the children write their weekend news with a checklist of features to include, such as the WOW word of the week.  The children spend time with their 'magic pen' finding and circling their WOW words, and, because, certain sounds in words !  ?  and " "  .

WONDERFUL!

The Tiger Child

We have had an amazing first day back after half term and have welcomed a wonderful new boy called Paris to Pearl class.

We have started reading our story 'The Tiger Child' and managed to find our own tiger teddy for the classroom.

Welcome back to Spring term 2!  We have a lovely new addition to Pearl class - a boy called Paris who we are all very excited to have join us. We have had his books, chair, draws, pencil case, coat peg and lots of other bits and pieces ready for him for many weeks now (as we have been so excited and eager for him to join us).

Our topic this half term is ‘Great, Great Britain’.  We will be learning about the traditions and cultures of each of the countries in Great Britain and will focus on a different one each week (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland).  

We will also be continuing our learning about our bodies will change as we grow older and also how to keep ourselves safe e.g. in different places, around dangerous items, online safety and keeping our bodies private.

The focus for year 6 in English this half term is stories from other cultures. Pearl class will be focusing on the The Tiger Child – a lovely story set in India.  We will continue with our  weekly speaking and listening session where the children will make ‘phone calls’ on real phones to various people / places. This is fantastic for the children to recall their important personal information such as name, address, DOB, dietary requirements, halal / non halal requirements, ordering food / Items from catalogues, booking appointments and responding appropriately to the questions posed to them. Most importantly - they LOVE these sessions! 

I hope to see you in a few weeks (21st March) for the coffee morning / workshop on growing up and changing. This is a chance for you to see the resources we use to teach the puberty sessions, ask questions and talk to other parents.  The session will be with myself and Dawn.  

Please check our web page regularly to see all of the great things that we have been doing as I will regularly add photos.

Please see Pearl Class’s curriculum overview for this half term. You can click to view to document or download the PDF on the link below.

Spring 1 

Valentines Biscuits & Cupcakes

Pearl class have been busy making GORGEOUS valentines biscuits and cupcakes ready for the valentine's day tuck shop on Thursday 14th February.   WOW!

Science

In science we have been making rain shakers and exploring how to make the rain sound loud and quiet.  We experimented with different materials - pasta and rice pops to see what different sounds they would make inside the rain shaker.

Assembly Fun

In assembly we performed our hip hop / rap dance.  It was awesome!

Speaking & Listening

Pearl class do amazing speaking and listening sessions.  Using the telephones they make quality phone calls to different people e.g. doctor, dentist, vet, painter and decorator, taxi service, food takeaways.

This week the children chose the food they wanted from the catalogue and ordered it.  

This is amazing speaking and listening practice - recalling their full names, address, DOB, healthy food choices, halal / non halal requirement, saying prices / amounts, general conversation, holding the phone correctly to their ears, dialling numbers said aloud by another child, responding to the person on the other end of the phone (Jacqueline).

Snakes & Ladders

We had an awesome trip to Snakes and Ladders for a morning treat - a chance to play together and mix with children from the public.

Wow Work Wall

In Pearl classroom we have a WOW WORK WALL which is full of the spectacular work that the children do.

We also have a question cloud and a kindness cloud.  The children can write or draw their questions on a postit note and stick it on the question cloud to be answered at a later, appropriate time - this is great if the children have questions to ask but are in the middle of a lesson.

Our kindness cloud is very important - adults and children can write or draw on a postit note something kind which someone has done in Pearl class.  

Guitar Practice

Pearl Class have been learning about Bob Marley and 'jammin' (making music) on Sharon's guitar!

Super Scientists

Pearl class have been exploring different materials to identify which ones are magnetic and which ones are not magnetic. Each child had a five minute mission to collect as many magnetic items as they could. We then discussed the magnetic materials and talked about their shared properties e.g. hard, shiny, metal.

Pearl class also have been investigating solids and liquids. They changed a solid candle into melted, liquid wax. They also prepared liquid jelly for the tuck shop which turned into a solid when left in the fridge. WE LOVE SCIENCE!!!

New Classroom Addition!

Pearl class have a new addition to the classroom...a SUPER, EPIC, AMAZING, MARVELOUS, display unit which was given to them by Inspire swimming pool. EVERYONE LOVES IT!!!

Our Healthy Tuck Shop

For the healthy tuck shop which Pearl class are running on a Friday, we have decided to make healthy, homemade popcorn. We are making the popcorn as part of our science lessons looking at irreversible changes. We felt and described the texture, smell, size and shape of the corn before and after it was cooked.

Asda

Pearl class have been busy getting ready for the opening of their PEARL-FECT tuck shop this week.   The children researched different healthy snacks on the Asda website, compared the best prices and made a list.  Pearl class then visited Asda and bought everything ready for the tuck shop.  They took their own plastic carrier bags with them to save on money and to save plastic.

Autumn 2

Biscuit Decorating

Pearl have enjoyed a Christmas, biscuit decorating attention skills session. The children decorated their biscuits using brushed and different coloured icing. This task was done in silence and was very relaxing!

Education City!

We have been using the internet program Education City to practice our money maths skills - identifying coins and counting out different amounts.

Herring Green Farm

Pearl class went on a SENSATIONAL trip to Herring Green Farm.  

The children learnt about all different animals and wildlife.  The children got to handle owls, falcons, guinea pigs, hedgehogs and also touch and learn about dragons, snakes and millipedes.

As an extra treat the children explored the farmyard and were able to feed one of the goats and meet the ponies.  Daniel Cave quoted, "It was awesome!"

Cardinal Newman Party

On Tuesday 4th December some of the year 6 children visited Cardinal Newman School for a fantastic Christmas party...Santa gave each child a present and there were games, dancing, face painting and lots of FUN!

Pearl class also decorated the Christmas tree in the main foyer, made wonderful decorations and it looks EPIC!!!

Winter Wonderland

We worked in pairs with brilliant teamwork to make 'magic reindeer food'.

We put the magic food inside cellophane bags and sealed them with labels which we had made.  The magic reindeer food is for the WINTER WONDERLAND afternoon. 

Drinks!

We have been warming ourselves up with some 'hot drink tasting'. We tasted: tea, spicy chai tea, coffee, hot chocolate and hot blackcurrant squash. It made us feel warm when we drank them and the favourite drink was...hot chocolate!

Science

We have been investigating chocolate and what happens to it when put in cold and hot water, under a hot hair-dryer and wrapped inside warm hands!  Lots of melted chocolate and sticky hands!

Maths

In maths we have been learning about 2D shapes and patterns, here are some snapshots of the children creating their own patterns during the 10 minute 'maths choosing time'.

Children In Need

We had a brilliant day celebrating Children in Need and had some relaxing pamper time too!

Winter Wildlife

As part of our Winter Wildlife topic we have been out in the woods collecting leaves.  We then compared the leaves - identifying similarities and differences.  Finally we used them to create gorgeous 'leaf hedgehogs'.

Light Sources

As part of the 5th November celebrations and when learning about light sources...Pearl class had a SPECTACULAR time using sparklers.  We also carved a pumpkin (we each took turns) and used a candle to 'light it up'.

Welcome Back

Hello and welcome back to the second half term in Autumn.  We have such an exciting and fun-filled half term ahead of us – with the build up to Christmas and many different trips / celebrations.

Our topic this half term is ‘Winter Wildlife.  We will be learning all about different Winter wildlife animals – their habitats, diet, appearance and features to help them survive.  We are extremely lucky having the woodland area next to the school which we can visit weekly to try to find some Winter woodland wildlife.

Our book in English is a traditional tale – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This is a perfect story as we will be watching this at the pantomime in December, it includes lots of ‘winter wildlife’ and we will also be using this for our own Christmas performance which you will be invited to watch.  We will continue with our daily snack shop (each child has their own money pot) and also with the daily phone calls to different characters / people / places to practice and develop our speaking skills.

We will also be starting our ‘growing up’ sessions in PSHE which the children absolutely love!

Please see Pearl Classes curriculum overview for this half term. You can click to view the document below.

Autumn 1

Venue 360

WOW!  On Tuesday 2nd October 2018 Pearl class went on an amazing trip  to Venue 360 gymnasium.  This was as part of our 'Fit as a Fiddle' topic and a general effort to keep our bodies fit and healthy.

All of the children used a range of equipment including the treadmill, stair climber, rowing machine, cross trainer, exercise bikes, TRX resistance system and some weight resistance training machines.  The children had a SPECTACULAR time and experienced increasing and decreasing the difficulty on each machine.  They enjoyed looking at the screens to see how long they had been exercising for and how many calories they had used.

Luton Town FC

Pearl class (and the rest of year 6) were extremely lucky to have some football players from Luton Town Football Club visit on Tuesday 25th September 2018.

The players showed the children some exercises, played a football match with the children and also did a 'question and answer' session.  It was SPECTACULAR!

The Queen ABSOLUTELY LOVED THEM and has sent her reply to us!

A REAL LETTER FROM HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH II. WOW!

The Real World!

In Pearl class, our main focus is to develop our independence and be able to keep ourselves safe in the REAL WORLD.  Most weeks we will visit a shop (the corner shop, Asda, Poundland, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Clothes shops, shoe shops).

Sometimes we will be given certain items to find and collect in our basket ...CHALLENGE!

Sometimes we will choose clothes / shoes we like, find our size and try them on safely in changing rooms.

Sometimes we will have some money to spend to purchase items that we need for our classroom / learning.

Sometimes we will practice counting out our 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins to buy ourself a small weet treat.

When we are in shops we will practice queuing patiently, using public toilets safely, finding the exit, etiquette of how to ask for help and speak to shopkeepers and reminding ourselves who are strangers and who not to talk to.

On Friday 14th September we did our first shop visit...here are some spectacular photos...

Hello and welcome back to another school year – this time in Pearl class (year 6).  My name is Jacqueline and I am the teacher in Pearl class. Lauren is the TA2 who will teach Pearl class when I am not in class and we have three lovely TA’s :  Sam, Sharon and Alice. There are 8 children in Pearl class: 6 boys and 2 girls.

Our topic this half term is ‘Fit as a Fiddle’.  We will be learning all about our bodies (inside and out), healthy foods, healthy lifestyle and exercise.  We have the Luton Town Football Club players coming to visit us at the end of September for an exercise / football session.  We will also be learning how to keep ourselves safe e.g. in different places, around dangerous items and keeping our bodies private.

Our book in English is Paddington Bear – an all-time favourite! The children have already started learning about this book and are already loving the cheeky character of Paddington.  Every week in English we will have a speaking and listening session where the children will make ‘phone calls’ on real phones to various people / places – they may even call Paddington to tell him an important message.

I look forward to meeting you at Meet the Teacher in a few weeks.  Please check our web page regularly to see all of the great things that we have been doing as I will regularly add photos.

Telephone Photos

In our speaking and listening lessons we use the real telephones to make phone calls.  In our first week, we looked through different menus and then called the restaurant to order the food that we wanted.  We had to speak clearly and listen carefully.  We had to learn and say our important details such as our full name, date of birth and where we live. We love it!!

Potato Heads

We made ourselves into potato heads!  We were discussing the similarities and differences of our faces, like our eye colour, hair colour and skin colour.  We then painted potatoes, added hair and also some shoulders to make 'mini models' of ourselves.  It was great!