Giraffes@taddy

  We found out what a pilgrimage is and where and why some Christians choose to go on a pilgrimage. These are some of our findings and thoughts. 

Giraffes  had a lovely time scouring the library bookshelves to find books on our  scavenger hunt  this morning. They used their impressive knowledge of  book genres, characters and settings .  There was a real  buzz about books  and the children thoroughly enjoyed settling down to some independent reading afterwards.  Hopefully they have been inspired to try out some different genres and authors.  Our book raffle is going really well and lots of children are earning their 60 minute raffle ticket each week. Happy reading Giraffes!

 This afternoon we have spent time weeding the garden ready to plant our flower garden. What an amazing job the children did today, great teamwork! 

  Today we were learning to get HeartSmart. We thought about how decisions we make can help or hurt our hearts. We remembered the Power ON button from Monday’s assembly and how it can help us to ask 2 important questions:    How can I love myself more? (I = me) How can I love others more? (O = others) Our pledge We are going to look out for opportunities to make HeartSmart decisions that will benefit our heart and the hearts of people around us.

 This morning as a special treat we joined in with the Leopards who have been reading The BFG to watch the film and have a little popcorn treat 

 Year 5 and 6 started off the coin picture this morning.  Later on, we became bankers and sorted, counted and bagged the coins up. We very methodical and organised the coins into bronze and silver before piling up £1 of each value coin.

 In our collective reflective today, we were thinking about keeping our selves health -not just physically, but mentally too.  As well as all our caring staff, at  Taddington, we have 3  Mental health and Well-being Ambassadors , who are always on the lookout for ways to help us. Listening to some calming music is one strategy we can use. We also thought of: Spending time outside in nature - growing something Physical exercise - running, cycling or skateboarding. Hobbies and interests - reading a book, dancing, riding, art. Sharing worries with others, a friend, adult or God. Good quality sleep is important too .  On our lovely school field, we had a think about what would help our emotional well-being today: some of us had a close look at some signs of new growth, some had a chat with friends, while others kicked a ball around.  

  Year 5 Giraffes have been busy adding decimals this morning.  Working with place value counters helped us to visualise the problem. Setting out the problem with place value counters Adding the hundredths Exchanging 10 hundredths for 1 tenth Recording each step of the calculation on the whiteboard . Adding the tenths and completing the calculation We 

On our BIG QUIZ this morning, the Giraffes have been impressing me again with their recall of the work we have been doing over the past few weeks and even further back too.  The retrieval grid is part of our weekly homework . The  BIG QUIZ is our quick 5-10 minute check-up to see what we can remember from the retrieval grid  .This morning we proved that we can remember A LOT! Well done Giraffes.  

Giraffes have been exploring the character of the baddie - The Witch - in The Lost Happy Endings , who (spoiler alert!) had a very Unhappy Ending.  She had left some clues which made us think that things had gone wrong in her life and we began to think that maybe she hadn't always been bad.  We decided to write a prequel to the story, so we could tell her tale. The stories are coming to life now and include lots of great writing features  - figurative language , change of voice from narrative to   formal letters in the subjunctive and   1st person  diary entries . They also include  some of our exciting sentences . Well done Giraffes. I'm looking forward to reading your final versions.

As you know, the Endings were taken, leading to reports of terrified tots and anxious parents across the country.   In role as journalists, the Giraffes are on the hunt for news of the wherabouts of the missing Happy Endings. We have been writing formal newspaper reports, using the subjunctive , passive voice and reported speech.  Were you to spot the fugitive, we would suggest that you do not approach her. 

As part of their investigation into the disappearance of the Happy Endings , Giraffes created their own Happy Endings to some favourite fairy tales. Can you guess the story behind each freeze frame? If you're struggling, can you match the fairy tale to the correct photo?  Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood

We are enjoying our Guided reading book Cogheart  by   Peter Bunzl. Today we were looking at c haracterisation through inference.   When we make  inferences  while reading, we're using evidence provided by the author to draw our own logical conclusions. We worked in pairs to answer questions and prove it by giving evidence from the text. Lily The Kraken