It has been wonderful to welcome Windsor class back for the autumn term. We have got stuck straight into our new topic: Light and Sound. We have begun with some noisy Science, exploring how different instruments make sounds. We will develop our understanding, looking at sound waves in more detail, considering pitch and volume, and carrying out lots of experiments. Our art sessions will be linked to the topic and I hope the students will really enjoy participating in practical music sessions with professional musicians this half term. Last week, we enjoyed rating our staff team’s favourite music! In Humanities, we will explore the Hindu festival of lights : Diwali.
In English, our class novel is Wrath by Marcus Sedgwick, which is set around the time of lockdown, focussing on a group of teenagers in a band. The story is proving very engaging, and it deals with lots of age-appropriate issues. The beginning was very dramatic as we discovered one of the characters is missing after being bothered by a strange sound. I have already been very impressed by students’ communication when responding to the novel and I look forward to seeing how it inspires their writing.
Students have made a really good start to their core mathematics and literacy work. We have been continuing our work on the Little Wandle phonics programme in the mornings and I have been so pleased with how much students have remembered over the summer. In mathematics we are focussing on number skills, seeking to increase students’ confidence with key number facts whilst enabling them to select appropriate methods and scaffolds to solve more complicated problems.
The whole class have made an awesome start to the new academic year, and they have been very welcoming to our fabulous new members of staff: Sam, who is with us from Wednesday to Friday, and Nora, who returns full-time after working with us as a student on placements last year. We all miss Lisa but are pleased she is joining our friend, Tristan, as she begins a new role at Paces adult service. Please do continue to keep in touch, via email or home-school communication books, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I can’t wait to see students’ successes this term and to share them with you.
Best wishes,
Kathy and the Windsor team