Stretham Community Primary School
Welcome
Rabbit Class 2022
Video message from Mr Sweeney.MOV
Summer Term 2023
Week Beginning 10th July 2023
On Tuesday, Rabbit Class had a fabulous Seaside Day! We recreated the experience of an old-fashioned seaside holiday by turning our school hall into Stretham-on-Sea! In the morning, we had the chance to make all sorts of seaside souvenirs, such as a shell box, a puppet and a hook-a-duck. In the afternoon, we had tickets to board a steam train to visit the seaside stalls.
Week Beginning 3rd July 2023
In Computing over the last few weeks, we have been working very hard using the Scratch software to create a simple animation. We had to create a background and add two moving and talking characters. We also added sound to our animations.
Week Beginning 26th June 2023
In Maths this week, we have been thinking about position and movement. To give us practice at using some positional language, we played a game where we took it in turns to place coloured counters on a grid and give instructions to our partner to do the same; the test was then whether our grids looked the same!
It was time to release our butterflies this week! We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the incredible life cycle of the butterfly and watching the process with our very own eyes.
Week Beginning 19th June 2023
Every morning in Rabbit Class, we have a go at writing a couple of sentences that are dictated to us. The sentences include words that follow the different spelling patterns we have been learning and also some of the tricky common exception words. We then check our sentences, sometimes working with our learning partner, and make any necessary corrections using a pink pen.
In PE this week, we practised throwing and catching with accuracy.
Week Beginning 12th June
What a busy week we've had! Take a look at the photos to see just some of the things we've been up to:
- floating on our front and backs in swimming
- using sketching pencils, in Art, to make as many different shades of grey as possible
- working as a class (with a conductor!) to compose soundscapes to represent the city and the countryside.
Week Beginning 5th June 2023
In Art this week, we were creating rollercoaster pictures using paint. Our objectives were to use the right amount of paint, hold the brush properly and use single, sweeping strokes.
In Maths, we have continued to practise telling the time. This week our focus was minutes past and minutes to the hour (to the nearest 5 minutes). We had great fun making our own clocks and then using them to play a game to give us lots of practice.
Week Beginning 22nd May 2023
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wildlife down in the Explorers' Area this week!
In History, we learnt about Stonehenge. Using rubbers and pencils, we explored how our ancestors moved the giant stones to build Stonehenge.
Week Beginning 15th May 2023
In Art, we really enjoyed making tiles from clay. We used tools and a template to make the tile and then selected objects to create repeating patterns. Don't they look fabulous!
We have worked so hard this week, it was nice to enjoy a little bit of free-choosing!
Week Beginning 8th May 2023
We've thoroughly enjoyed exploring some replica prehistoric artefacts this week (on loan from Ely Museum). We have predicted and discussed what they would have been used for and even had a go at sketching some of them.
In English, we have been working very hard over the last few weeks to improve the quality of our writing, making sure that we include adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions. We have also been paying attention to using a consistent tense. Here we are sorting sentences into the past and present tense to help us distinguish the difference.
Week Beginning 1st May 2023
We have enjoyed a variety of activities this week to celebrate the King's Coronation. Here we are making a proclamation to say what we would do if we were the new King or Queen.
In Science this week, we set up a comparative test to investigate what a broad bean needs to grow into a healthy plant. In groups, we decided on different conditions for our beans; some won't get any water, some will be without sunlight and others haven't got any soil. We can't wait to see how they grow!
In Maths, we have been learning about fractions. We have practised writing fractions, finding fractions of amounts and exploring the fact that one half is equivalent to two quarters.
Week Beginning 24th April 2023
In Art this week, we explored cave paintings of the Stone Age and had a go at creating our own. First, we produced a textured cave background using paints and a sponge and then added prehistoric animals using stencils. We also added our handprints using paint in a spray bottle (not quite how they did it in the Stone Age - it is thought they used to spit or blow the paint through hollow bone).
In History, we learnt more about life in the Stone Age and being a hunter-gatherer; hunting animals and foraging for food.
Week Beginning 17th April 2023
What a super first week back it's been! We are all very excited about our new topic - The Stone Age. We enjoyed looking at information booklets to kick-off our learning and listening to 'Stone Age Boy', by Satoshi Kitamura. In this story, a young boy trips and falls down a dark hole to find himself in a very different time and place - Stone Age Britain! Before writing a description of the Stone Age camp, we used drama to explore the various jobs that people might have been doing.
Our new topic in Science is plants. This week, we explored the idea that plants can grow from a seed and that a plant needs to disperse its seeds far and wide. We enjoyed making 'helicopter seeds' from paper and watching them fly outside in the breeze.
Spring Term 2023
Week Beginning 27th March 2023
It's been another busy week in Rabbit Class, with lots of learning, a class assembly, a morning down in the Explorers' Area and a few fun Easter activities! Here we are enjoying the Explorers' Area.
In DT this week, it was time to build Baby Bear's chair. Everyone attempted to make and test a strong and stable chair for Baby Bear. Many demonstrated fantastic perseverance and those that were not so successful did a great job of evaluating their designs and suggesting how to improve them. We have even had reports that further improvements have been made at home! Well done Rabbit Class! 
Week Beginning 20th March 2023
In Design Technology, we tested the strength of different structures, comparing a cuboid, a cylinder and a triangular prism. To our surprise, the cylinder was the strongest (most of us predicted that it would be the cuboid). We then set to work making cylinders of different sizes and thicknesses to make the strongest structure we possibly could.
In Maths this week, we developed our knowledge of measure. We carried out a practical investigation to explore volume and capacity, part of which required us to estimate how many small containers of water would be needed to fill a larger container. We also practised using thermometers to measure temperature.
Week Beginning 13th March 2023
Hooray for Science week! We have certainly enjoyed celebrating British Science Week, with lots of different activities in Rabbit Class. This year’s theme has been ‘Connections’. There are connections in the world all around us; connections between people, places, plants, animals, forces and materials. It’s been a busy week – we squeezed in a lot:
- We joined a live lesson with Science Farm LIVE to find out how tractors are connected to space and then explored why tractors have big wheels.
- We learnt about the diversity of careers in Science and engineering and read about some inspirational scientists.
- We discovered how forensic scientists make connections, between evidence left at a crime scene and potential suspects, and then examined our own fingerprints.
- We talked about healthy living and the effects of exercise on our bodies. This included an enquiry to see what happens to our heart rate when we do exercise.
- We played ‘The Floor is Lava’ with miniature bears – the challenge was to see how many bears we could save using 3 cups and 4 large lollipop sticks!
Hooray for Science week! We have certainly enjoyed celebrating British Science Week, with lots of different activities in Rabbit Class. This year’s theme has been ‘Connections’. There are connections in the world all around us; connections between people, places, plants, animals, forces and materials. It’s been a busy week – we squeezed in a lot:
- We joined a live lesson with Science Farm LIVE to find out how tractors are connected to space and then explored why tractors have big wheels.
- We learnt about the diversity of careers in Science and engineering and read about some inspirational scientists.
- We discovered how forensic scientists make connections, between evidence left at a crime scene and potential suspects, and then examined our own fingerprints.
- We talked about healthy living and the effects of exercise on our bodies. This included an enquiry to see what happens to our heart rate when we do exercise.
- We played ‘The Floor is Lava’ with miniature bears – the challenge was to see how many bears we could save using 3 cups and 4 large lollipop sticks!
Week Beginning 6th March 2023
Our Fenland area is famous for its 'big skies'. This week, we enjoyed painting sunsets and then adding a silhouette of Ely Cathedral. We were very pleased with our finished pieces!
In Maths this week, we have been exploring mass. Here we are comparing the mass of various objects, predicting which is heavier and which is lighter, and then using measuring scales to check.
Week Beginning 27th February 2023
On Thursday, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Ely. We started the day with a visit to Ely Museum to learn more about the Fen landscape, how they drained the Fens and what life was like in this area in the past. We enjoyed exploring replica artefacts such as an eel catcher, various farming tools and a type of wooden bird scarer. After Ely museum, we went to Ely Library to celebrate books and reading – what a treat for World Book Day! Finally, we explored Ely Cathedral inside and out. I think we were most impressed with the magnificent ceiling.
Week Beginning 20th February 2023
On Tuesday, we enjoyed a visit to St James' Church in the village, as we have been learning about the features of churches. We explored the pews, the font, the pulpit, the lectern, the cross and the beautiful stained-glass windows.
In our RE lessons, we have also been thinking about places that are special to us. We all had to draw our own special place and then describe it to a partner and explain why it is special to us.
Week Beginning 6th February 2023
We enjoyed a visit to our Explorers' Area this week. As well as the usual activities, we looked for the first signs of spring and cooked some potato wedges with cheese; they were very tasty!
We thoroughly enjoyed being quiz masters this week! We learnt all about cacao pods and how chocolate is made and then wrote our own quiz questions ready to test the rest of the class.
