Otterbourne Church of England
Primary School
With God's love, all are encouraged to thrive
TRUST
RESPECT
DETERMINATION
TRUST
RESPECT
DETERMINATION
TRUST
RESPECT
Year 3/4 (Geckos) (pre-2022)
In Gecko class, we believe that respect and kindness are key. Looking after the classroom and each other is very important to us as it allows us to keep a welcoming and tidy classroom.
We want everyone in our class to be safe and happy, and we will achieve this by looking after one another and following the school values.
The children in Year 3 and 4 enjoy the opportunity to work with new children outside their usual year group. This not only enables them to develop new friendships across the school, but also gain new skills as they collaborate with children of a different age.
During the year we aim to offer the children a broad range of experiences, both in and out of school, and develop their independence and responsibility for their own learning. This is vitally important as they prepare to move into upper key stage 2.
The Year 3/4 teaching team is:
Mr O'Dowd - Class Teacher (Geckos)
Mr Gasson - Class Teacher (Chameleons)
Miss Taylor - Class Teacher (Iguanas)
Mrs Simmons/Mrs Morgan - PPA cover
Mr Bagge - ICT
Mrs Slominski (LSA support - AM), Mrs Buttwell (LSA support - AM), Mrs Hern (LSA Support - AM)
Mr Newman, Mrs Sprack, Mrs Alexander, Mrs Welch and Miss Saunders are also working in Year 3/4 as 1:1 LSA support.
Homework Rota:
Homework for Gecko class will be set via Google Classroom - It will be available from Wednesdays and is due in on the following Monday.
Library Time : Wednesday
Reading Diary: Please bring in your reading diary on Mondays so I can give out house points!
P.E.: Indoor PE is on a Wednesday morning. Outdoor PE time is on Thursday afternoons. The children in Year 4 will also receive swimming lessons later in the year. Please ensure that all PE kits are in school at all times as the timetable may change.
If there is any aspect of your child's school experience that you would like to discuss in private, please call the school office to arrange a meeting or a phone call. I am also around in the mornings and afternoons on the playground, so please do come and have a chat with me if there is something I can help with.
Mr O'Dowd
Summer Topic Newsletter
End of Term
Wow - what an absolutely incredible year it has been for us in Gecko Class. This class have been absolutely amazing, and a total pleasure to teach in absolutely every way!
We celebrated the end of term in the best way I know how - Tie Dye Party!
Hopefully this gives all the children a souvenir of their time in Gecko class, and something that they can look back on with a smile!
Well done everyone - have an amazing summer!
Mr O'Dowd
End of Term Tie Dye!
Pizza Star Party!
To say a huge well done and thank you for how amazing the children have been this term, we had a pizza party! This linked really well with our 'Bella Italia' topic (and also Mr O'Dowd loves pizza!)
The children were also able to have some home-grown potato salad using ingredients that they have been growing as part of the 'Wild-Hive' Gardening club for the last term.
Amazing afternoon - well done Gecko-chefs!
Pizza Party!
"Set Your Spirt of Adventure Free!"
To launch our new topic, we had the opportunity to be really adventurous at school today!
We were so lucky to have Mr White come in, and tell us all about his amazing adventure to Everest Base Camp.
Then we had to beat an obstacle course as a team without spilling any water - harder than it sounds!
We went to the woods, and made it adventurous by blindfolding ourselves and following a rope around a course - this was a bit scary for some of us!
Finally, we were adventurous with our taste buds, trying out some every flavour jelly-beans. Some were delicious - others not so much!
A great day of adventure, and now we can understand what it feels like to go on adventures - I can't wait to read all your lovely writing about adventure!
Adventure Day!
DT Projects in the Reflection Area!
Visit from a Bishop - and biscuits!
We were really luck this week in school, as we were visited by a real life Bishop! Bishop Geoff came in to visit us, and told us all about what it means to be a Bishop, some of the jobs you have to do and even showed us all of the different bits and pieces you have to wear!
Then, we went back to classes and decorated biscuits to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the school (yum!)
A big thank you to Bishop Geoff who came in to talk to us, it was so interesting!
Visit from a Bishop and 150th Biscuits!
Plastic Pollution DT Projects
In DT, we made some models from recyclable material that we can hang in the reflection area.
We followed the DT Cycle, planning, making and then reviewing our creations.
Super teamwork and wonderful models!
Plastic Pollution DT
Reading Our Stories to Key Stage 1 and Year R!
Today in school, we took our stories that we have been working so hard on in English down to KS1.
The children were so excited to share their hard work with the younger children, and it was so lovely to see them being so brave and sharing their work with such enthusiasm.
Fab work, and a big thank you to Leopards, Tigers, Puffins and Penguins for letting us come in and share our stories!
Reading to Key Stage 1 Photos
Topic Presentations!
The children have worked so hard at home over the last month to put together presentations at home about our plastic pollution topic. Some children made posters, some made powerpoints and some made models, but all of them really impressed us with their hard work and bravery to get up in front of their peers to present their work.
Well done everyone!
Topic Presentation Photos
Jubilee Celebrations!
Today in school, we celebrated the Queen's platinum jubilee! We had our lunch outside 'street party' style (Thank goodness it was a lovely day!)
Then, as part of the Queens Green Canopy initiative, we planted a tree together as a school, which will be a reminder for many years to come of this historic event.
Platinum Jubilee Photos
What A Wonderful Litter Pick!
Today we launched our plastic pollution topic with a village litter pick. The children were great as always, and we all felt very proud to have helped keep our village lovely and litter-free!
Village Litter Pick!
Photosynthesis Study!
Today in science, we recapped what photosynthesis is and how it works. We picked some fresh leaves, put them in water and then observed how bubble form on the leaves, showing that the leave are producing a gas!
We also covered some plants in plastic bags, left them and then when we returned, we could see moisture on the bags. This showed us that the plants give off water (transpiration) during photosynthesis.
Super scientific work!
Photosynthesis Study!
Longitudinal Study!
Today, we carried out our half termly trip to the Owl, to see what birds we could see on our school grounds and collect data for our longitudinal study.
We braved the elements and managed to see plenty of birds around, including robins, blackbirds and blue tits!
Super work as usual Geckos!
Mr O'Dowd
Birdwatching Photos!
Happy World Book Day!
Author Visit!
We were lucky enough to have a visit from Anne Wan, a local published author!
She shared her journey of her becoming an author, and showed us how lots of different things can inspire us to become writers!
She shared a little bit of her story with us, and got us very inspired to come up with our own ideas for story starters!
A huge thank you to Anne for coming in, the children in Year 3/4 absolutely loved it!
Visit from an author!
Street Dancers!
In PE over the last half term, we have been working on a street dance unit. The children learned the moves and added their own sections of choreography as well.
Some fab dancing - well done!
PE Street Dance!
Geography Fieldwork!
In topic, we went outside to answer the question: 'Where in our school would be most likely to flood?'
We used what we knew of the Water Cycle, and our knowledge of floods to make some predictions on a map, then we went outside and added on all the water sources we could find.
Then we compared our predictions and our findings.
Super work geographers!
Marvellous Map Making!
A big well done to all the Year 4s who took part in our collective worship at church - you were all excellent! :)
Year 4 Collective Worship at St Matthew's Church
Wonderful Water Cycles!
In topic, we looked at how water moves around the Earth in its different forms.
We looked at 'where does water come from?' and discovered that water is constantly moving and changing forms.
We learnt about how it falls as rain/snow/hail (or precipitation), how some water seeps into the ground and how some becomes run-off, joining rivers and streams. The rivers and streams join larger bodies of water such as lakes or oceans, where the sun heats up the water. The heat causes the water to evaporate, and it rises until it cools and condenses - which is how clouds are formed. Then the cycle starts over again when the water falls from the sky.
We then made our own mini water cycles in plastic bags, which will hopefully show us the water cycle in action!
Making Our Own Water Cycles!
Brilliant Birdwatching!
We carried on our Longitudinal Study work, braving the cold temperatures of just 5 degrees! We predicted that we wouldn't see that many birds, as we thought that some birds might have migrated to warmer climates and others might be staying warm in their nests!
We spotted a few pigeons, some robins, a crow, and some starlings too!
We'll keep going out and as the temperatures get warmer (hopefully soon!) we think we might start to see more birds.
Well done Geckos!
Longitudinal Study!
Spelling Shed!
In spelling time, we logged on to Spelling Shed to practise our spelling pattern for the week. Make sure you keep practising at home as well to get those scores up!
Mr O'Dowd
Spelling Shed Practise!
Using atlases in Geography!
Today we explored water around the world and use atlases! We looked at where in the world receives the most/least rainfall and colour coded some maps of our own. Then we looked at water sources near Otterbourne. We were able to spot rivers around us like the Itchen and the Test. We also were able to label the sea between England and France. Can you remember what it's called??
Geography - Using an atlas!
Water Topic Launch!
We launched our new topic in which we will be looking at water on Friday. To get everyone interested and thinking about water in lots of different ways, we took part in three activities.
Water filtration, water wheel making and dam making.
Have a look through and see if you can spot yourselves doing the activities!
Mr O'Dowd
Water Water Everywhere!
Longitudinal Study Birdwatching!
For our Longitudinal Study, we have been looking at how the temperature might affect the number of birds we see around our school.
We looked at the temperature (11 degrees!) and talked about how to measure temperature using a thermometer.
We then spent some time down in The Owl to see what birds we could spot.
Massive well done to all the Geckos who really blew us away with their excellent behaviour and also their keen eyes!
Birdwatching Photos!
RE Day!
This half term, our topic for RE was a focus on 'Holy Mary'.
We recapped the Christmas story told in the bible, and learnt about 'The Annunciation', which was when the angel sent from God told Mary that she was going to bear God's son Jesus.
The children learnt about how Mary is considered holy by Christians, what that means and how it is shown. We looked at some lyrics of popular Christmas carols, and studied some stained glass art of Mary.
We then did some role play to try and work out how Mary might have felt when she was told this heavenly news.
Super work today in RE Geckos!
Annunciation Freeze Frames!
Viking Raiders!
In history, we have been studying the Vikings! This week, we learnt about how the Viking raided Anglo-Saxon Britain, and how they attacked places like Lindisfarne.
We studies pictures of some Viking artefacts to try and work out what sort of equipment Vikings would've brought into battle, then made our own paper swords and axes to carry out some Viking style raids on the playground!
This helped us get an idea of how the Anglo-Saxon monks and villagers being raided might have felt and why the Vikings were so feared.
Super raiding Geckos! You're all a terrifying bunch!
Viking Raiders!
Goodness me what a busy week the Geckos have had in school this week!
In English we have been reading the Iron Man by Ted Hughes, and we role-played the moment Hogarth first saw the Iron Man and then ran home to tell his family. This really helped us when we wrote our diary entries!
In Topic, we have been learning all about the Vikings! This week, we looked especially closely at the famous Viking longboats! The children learnt about why the Vikings were such successful raiders and sailors, and then spent some time researching the boats independently.
For Science, we have been looking at teeth. Last week we set up an experiment using eggs (an eggs-periment you might say) and how different liquids would affect our teeth. We used the egg shells to represent our teeth. We left eggs in water, coke, coke zero and vinegar to see what would happen. We made sure it was a fair test, and then made some predictions about what might happen! Can you remember how the different liquids affected the eggs?
Then after a busy week in school, we tried out Flexi-Friday! The children used this as an opportunity to choose how to pursue their learning. They chose what job they would like to do and I'm so impressed with how sensible and mature they all were.
Fab as always Geckos!
Mr O'Dwd :)
Flexi-Friday!
Tooth decay Eggsperiment!
Viking Longboat Research!
Iron Man Freeze Frames!
Pyjama Day for Children in Need!
Today we wore our pyjamas in to school to raise money for Children in Need - very cosy!
We did some Children in Need activities, and learnt a little bit about why fundraising for this cause is so important!
See if you can guess which one was the 'nice' picture and which one was the 'silly' one!
Pyjama Day!
Amazing Art!
In Art, we have been exploring the work of Cressida Cowell and Quentin Blake - studying how these artists use black and white as well as varying the thickness of the lines of their illustrations to show characters and create moods.
We then experimented creating different pieces of art using charcoal, crayon, pencil and erasers.
Very artistic Geckos!
Monochrome Art!
Super Science!
Today in science, we made junk models to represent our understanding of the digestive system.
We labelled the key organs and then described what happens at each stage.
Then we did a demonstration of how the different organs in the digestive system worked - it was really gross!
Great work today scientists!
Digestive System Junk Models!
Disgusting Digestion!
Time To Shine Day!
Today it was 'Time To Shine Day' where we learnt all about the importance of being bright and being seen - especially now it is starting to get darker!
We learnt about how our clothes should be reflective and fluorescent to help cars see us when we're travelling, and then spent some time writing raps/songs to help spread this message!
A super well done to everyone who was brave enough to get up in front of the class and perform their rap!
Time To Shine Day!
Learning Outdoors!
Today it was Outdoor Learning Day at Otterbourne, so we took the opportunity to bring our learning outside!
We did our spelling lesson outside using whiteboards, and then later on we took our music outside as well!
Super job everyone!
Outdoor Learning Day!
Super Science!
Today in science, we learned all about the journey our food takes. From the moment we eat it, to the moment it leaves our body.
The children first drew down their initial ideas. Then we discussed the journey our food takes through some key organs and learnt about what happens to the food at each stage.
We watched a really gross video of a camera actually going inside someone and showing what the process actually looks like!
Finally, we were able to label a diagram with the key names of our organs in the digestive system.
Great work Geckos!
Learning About Digestion!
Researching Our Dream Jobs!
In PSHE, we have been thinking about different careers and what skills we might need to build in order to do them.
We spent some time thinking about what skills we might need for our chosen jobs, and then spent some time researching the jobs to see whether we needed experience, to go to university, an apprenticeship etc.
Well done Geckos - I was very impressed!
Mr O'Dowd
PSHE Career Research
Writing in the Woods!
We have been working so hard on writing a story, and we took the opportunity to get outside and use our senses to enhance our setting descriptions. The children reflected on what they could see, hear, feel and smell in the woods, and used this to add detail in their story! For example the rustle of leaves became a dragon stalking through the woods, or the sound of traffic became roaring monsters!
The Geckos worked excellently as always, and I was so impressed by their sensible and mature attitude to their writing outside!
Woodland Writing Photos!
Anglo-Saxon Class Court!
In topic, we have been studying the Anglo-Saxons. Last week, we looked at the different kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England and labelled them on a map (can you remember all the names?)
This week, we looked at Anglo-Saxon law, and how the kingdoms were looked after by the King and his Thanes.
We learnt that there was no such thing as prison in Anglo Saxon times, and the punishments for crimes were very different to how they are now!
We learnt about different punishments, such as execution, exile or where you had to pay money to a person's family - known as the 'Weregild'.
We then listened to some crime scenarios and had a go at deciding the correct Anglo Saxon punishment to fit the crime!
Anglo-Saxon Court!
Super Spelling!
In spelling this year, we have been following the Spelling Shed scheme of work, with a focus on understanding and applying our spelling patterns that we learn each week. Each week we look at a new pattern, and we have activities each week so that we get to know and understand this pattern inside out!
This week, we have been looking at the 'inter-' prefix. We learnt that this means 'in the middle of' or 'between'. One of the activities that we did this week was we looked up some 'inter-' words in the dictionary and tried to see if they all fit this pattern of meaning! Some super dictionary work Geckos - well done! :)
Dictionary Word Hunt!
Using Drama in Our Writing.
In English, we have been studying a poem called 'The Grateful Dragon'.
The King has been faced with the difficult conundrum of a huge dragon showing up at the castle door! He has a very difficult decision ahead. Should he slay the dragon? Or should he listen to his daughter the princess and help the dragon?
We got into character as The King and spent some time asking each other questions.
Here are some snaps of a few of the children sitting on the throne and answering their subject's questions!
The King is on the Hot-Seat!
Brilliant Birdwatching!
For our Longitudinal Study this year, we have decided to study birds! The children came up with the question of 'How does the temperature affect the number of birds we see over the year?'
The class then came up with some predictions of what might happen, with some children suggesting we would see more birds in cold temperatures as they would need more food, and some children suggesting we would see more birds in hot temperatures as some birds might migrate away during the winter.
The temperature was 15 degrees, and we saw a few different species of birds, such as pigeons, robins and even buzzards!
Super work Geckos!
Mr O'Dowd :)
Birdwatching Photos!
A Very EGG-citing Discovery!
While we were doing English, we heard news of something very exciting that had been discovered down at the orchard.
We went outside and we were amazed to find a very mysterious looking treasure chest! It contained some gems, old coins and two very odd looking eggs!
The children also discovered a pair of sparkly shoes, and a note that read, 'Please look after this for me.'
We brought the chest back inside for safekeeping, and decided that the eggs were probably dragon eggs left by a princess.
We have been writing some newspaper reports about this amazing discovery in English - stay tuned for more updates!
Mr O'Dowd
Dragon Egg Discovery!
Topic Timeline!
In Topic, we looked at a timeline of historical events to help us place when in history the Anglo-Saxons and Viking eras took place. We had a go at getting all the events in chronological order and I think we did very well!
Mr O'Dowd :)
Topic Timeline Photos
Gymnastics Shapes in PE!
Welcome To Gecko Class 2021-2022!
After a very odd year and a half, it has been so wonderful to be back in the classroom over the last few days, and see everything slowly getting back to normal.
We have had a fun filled first few days, and we have been very busy!
We set ourselves some goals for the year in PSHE, and wrote letters to our future selves about what we are going to do to achieve our goals. We can open these letters in the summer and see how we got on with our goals.
We also made some lovely Minecraft style self-portraits to decorate the classroom with!
We then challenged ourselves with some open ended problem-solving in the Egg Drop. Each group got the same resources, but everybody came up with different ways to build a contraption to stop the egg from cracking! Super job from everybody - especially our two teams whose eggs survived!
Next, we went outside to give ourselves a challenge in Maths. We explored lots of different mathematical concepts using natural resources, including; time, angles, measurement, symmetry and more!
Very well done everyone, especially to our new Geckos who have joined our class absolutely brilliantly. I can already tell that this year is going to be amazing, and I am so excited to get started!
Mr O’Dowd
Outdoor Maths!
The Egg Drop
Letters to our future selves and self-portraits
Posts from 2020/2021
Outdoor Learning Day!
Today was a very busy day in Year 3/4!
Despite the horrid weather, we fully embraced the spirit of outdoor learning day and went outside for every session!
We started off doing our Longitudinal Study, looking at how the temperature affects the number and type of animals living there. We found loads today! Lots of tadpoles, some bloodworms, a few dragonfly nymphs and even a newt!
Then in maths – we headed to the woods to see if we could apply our knowledge of the clock to represent different times using sticks to show the minute and hour hands.
Finally, in the afternoon we made our very own Olympic themed mascots from natural resources! We learned about the history of the Olympic mascots – the Geckos were particularly interested in Wenlock and Mandeville from London 2012.
What a great day!
Longitudinal Study!
Making the Time!
Olympic Mascots in the Woods!
Pop Art!
Over the last few weeks in art, we have been exploring ‘Pop Art’ to go with our theme of comics and superheroes.
We studied the pop art made famous by Lichtenstein, and used some of his techniques, including using primary colours, as well as using Ben Day dots.
We made some onomatopoeia words using Ben Day dots and we are currently working hard on our very own pop art self-portraits – stay tuned for the grand reveal!
Pop Art!
Investigating Money in Year 4 Maths
Today in maths we looked at how to use money in a practical situation.
We have been exploring the topic of money, and have looked at how to add and subtract amounts of money.
Today we planned a party with a budget of £25! We looked at what we needed for our parties, and how much we could afford. We then took our shopping lists and worked out how much change we should get back as well.
Great job Year 4!
Mr O’Dowd
Money Investigation
Science!
Our new science topic is ‘Light’
We explored light by shining torches – and we discovered that light travels in straight lines!
We also discovered that you can change the direction of a light beam by bouncing it off something shiny – this is called ‘reflecting’
Light Investigation!
Drama!
We have started our new English book – ‘Electrigirl’!
We had a go at using drama to help us come up with ideas for hoe the main character got her electric powers!
Ideas ranged from a science experiment gone wrong, to drinking a magic potion, or being struck by lightning!
Can you guess what the Geckos are acting out?
(Good luck!)
Mr O’Dowd J
Drama Pictures!
Science!
We made our own simplified models of the ear! We made a cone to represent the pinna, a tube to represent the ear canal, a balloon to show the ear drum, a straw which represents the cochlea and the inner ear, and then a cup of water to show the brain!
The vibrations are picked up by the pinna, travel along the ear canal and hit the ear drum. The cochlea and the inner ear send the vibrations to the brain, where they can be translated into sounds we can understand!
Ear Models!
STONE AGE ART!
Our topic for this term is the Stone Age – we have been learning all about how this is a time so long ago that we call it ‘prehistoric’, meaning all we know is from clues discovered by archaeologists!
One type of clue that they discover is cave paintings – so we had a go at making some!
We knew that Stone Age people couldn’t just buy paint – so we went to the woods and made our own colours using natural resources!
Then, we came back to the cave (also known as the classroom!) where the lights were turned off and we painted on paper stuck under our desks with only torches to help us see – just like in caves!
(We didn’t use fire because for some reason Mr O’Dowd didn’t think that would be safe…)
Stone Age Art!
WELCOME BACK!
You’ve all been absolutely amazing over the past couple of months – I am so proud of each and every one of you! Whether you’ve been learning in school, or learning at home – you are all superstars and I couldn’t be more impressed!
Roman Day!
Wow what a day! Well done everyone! We made shields, feasted, practised battle formations and made mosaics! A fantastic end to our Roman topic!
Mr O’Dowd J
Roman Day Photos!
Bread Baking!
For DT today, we baked bread! We followed the recipe, mixing the dough and then kneading it!
This bread will then be a part of our ‘feast’ for Roman Day on Friday!
Well done Geckos!
(PS – Sorry if your child came home covered in flour today, baking is a messy business!)
Mr O’Dowd J
Bread Making!
Marvellous Maths!
In maths, we have been looking at the properties of shape! We have explored triangles and quadrilaterals, as well as what makes a shape 3D! We then attempted to make our very own 3D shapes using a ‘net’ of 2D shapes!
3D Shape Nets!
Super Spelling!
We used dice to help us with spelling today, whatever number you rolled gave you a different task to try with your spellings! Maybe you had to use it in a sentence, spell it out loud or even write it using different colours!
Spelling with Dice!
Amazing Angles!
Today in maths, we headed down to the woods to explore angles! Angles are measured at the point when two lines meet, and we explored four different types of angles; right angles, acute angles, obtuse angles and reflex angles!
Angles in the woods!
Brilliant Boudica!
We wrote down everything we have learnt so far about Queen Boudica to see what we could remember!
I was really impressed! Well done for listening and remembering so well Geckos! J
Super Spelling!
Today in spelling, we played battleships! We used our spellings as ships and then in partners guessed where our partner had placed their words on the grid. It was loads of fun and helped us with our challenge words too!
Spelling Battleships!
Longitudinal Study!
Our longitudinal study this year is going to be;
‘Does the temperature of the pond affect the number and type of animals that live there?’
We came up with this question as a class and made some predictions!
Today we went down to the pond and did some pond dipping to see what we could find.
We found some dragonfly nymphs, and some water-boatmen, and even a bloodworm!
On returning to the classroom, we discussed that maybe as the temperature gets warmer, more animals will come out of hibernation for us to find!
Pond Dipping!
Outdoor Learning Day!
Today for ‘Outdoor Classroom Day’ we took our English outdoors!
We spent some time thinking about description, and how we could describe a setting. We used our senses to describe what we could see, hear, feel, smell and even taste! We then took our books outside and went to the woods, where we used our senses, along with lots of adjectives to describe our surrounding.
Writing in the woods!
Prefixes in English!
Today in English we looked at prefixes – a small group of letters that go before a word to change its meaning! We discussed the prefixes ‘un-‘ and ‘dis-‘ and then in groups came up with as many as we could!
We had some great examples, and thought about how they changed the meaning of the original word – for example ‘kind’ became ‘unkind’ and ‘honest’ became ‘dishonest’
Now let’s see if we can bring these into our writing!
Prefixes!
STAR PARTY!
Gecko Class have worked so hard this half term, and because of all the wonderful work, fabulous friendship and brilliant behaviour so far, they managed to hit their target of 600 Dojo Points to earn their first Star Party of the year!
We had a class vote and it was decided that we would watch ‘Inside Out’ which links really well to all the work and discussion we have been doing about mental health. We also had some popcorn! Yum!
A brilliant start to the year from a truly wonderful bunch of kids – I can’t wait for the rest of the year!
Mr O’Dowd J
Film & Popcorn!
RE Day!
In RE we looked at the story of creation, and recapped the sequence of events that is set out in the bible story. We played a game where we only had a few seconds to look at the story, and then we had to go back to our group and try to remember what we had seen to write it down, before sending up the next person.
We discussed how important this story is to Christians, and how Christians believe that God made the world and everything in it, so as people that God made, it is up to us to look after God’s marvellous creation.
We then spent some time designing posters and books for younger children to help them understand the creation story.
RE Day!
Spellings in English!
Before starting to write our newspaper reports, we looked at the Year 3 and 4 spelling list and chose some suitable words to include in our writing!
We did this to help us ‘level-up’ our work, and it also helps us practise spellings! J
Spellings!
Marvellous Maths!
It has been a whirlwind start to the year for maths, we’ve been absolutely whizzing through the topics!
We recapped place value, looked at rounding to the nearest 10, 100 & 1000, remembered how to find more and less than a number and then used our knowledge of rounding to help us make estimates! Phew!
The children have been taking ownership of how they learn as well, with the addition of the ‘Maths Toolkits’!
These allow children to have easy access to a range of maths resources at all times, and so far I’ve been so impressed by the maturity and confidence with which the children are using these concrete resources to help them.
Well done mathematicians!
Mr O’Dowd J
Maths Toolkits!
Romans on the Rampage!
In history, we have been learning about the Romans, and how and why they invaded Britain!
We also put together a human timeline in order to help us visualise how long ago this all happened!
I have been so impressed by how engaged and enthusiastic the children are about this topic, and their ability to recall facts and knowledge that they have learnt is blowing me away!!
Keep it up guys!
Mr O’Dowd J
English – Letter Writing using Conjunctions!
In English, we have been reading the story ‘I Am Spartapuss’. It is a story told from the point of view of Spartapuss – a cat in Roman times.
In the story Spartapuss has been sent to prison by the mad ‘Catligula’ for a crime he didn’t commit!
We brainstormed ideas for a way to communicate with the outside world, and came up with writing a letter!
We identified the key parts of a letter, such as who it’s from, who it’s to, where you put your main body of information and how you open and close a letter.
We then wrote a letter to Katrin – our friend on the outside – who will hopefully set us free!
Features of a Letter!
Science - Forces and Magnetism!
In science we have been looking at forces – both contact and non-contact. We learned that a contact force is anything we can do to an object while touching it, such as pushing or pulling it. We experimented with the different ways we could move a toy car around our tables.
We then learned about magnetism, a non-contact force! We hypothesised that magnets would only stick to metals, so we experimented and tried out magnets on loads of different objects around the classroom! We discovered that while magnets did stick to metals, they didn’t stick to every metal!
Stay tuned to find out more about our scientific discoveries!
Mr O’Dowd J
Forces and Magnetism!
WELCOME BACK GECKOS!!!
We’re finally back! It’s been so surreal getting back into routine, but I couldn’t be more pleased to be back!
We have had an amazing first few days back together and it’s been so fantastic seeing how the children are adapting to being back at school. They are a lovely group of children and I know we are going to have a fantastic year.
We’ve certainly been busy! We’ve been dropping eggs (photos to follow!), decorating the classroom, sorting out lockers and getting to know each other! It’s been a whirlwind of activity, but the children have handled it wonderfully, and I’m so excited for the rest of the year!
Please do let me know if you have any concerns or queries, and I will always do my best to help wherever possible.
Mr O’Dowd J
The Egg-cellent Egg Drop!
2019/2020
SON Project
A huge well done to everyone who came down to Southampton University over the weekend for the performance.
Your hard work over the last several months paid off massively, and I’m so unbelievably proud to be your teacher!
A big thank you to adults at home for all the help practising and helping out on the day as well, we couldn’t have done it without you!
You are all absolute superstars! Well done!!
Mr O’Dowd J
World Book Day!
Wow! Your costumes were amazing!
We had an action-packed World Book Day, starting with a crime scene in the library! We used lots of detective skills, pieced together evidence and looked at witness statements to figure out who could have been our culprit!
Can you figure out who it was?
We also were lucky enough to have a visit from a real life author and publisher! They came to talk to us about their new book ‘The Firestone’ and then we workshopped loads of ideas that they’re going to use to create a real book!
World Book Day Investigation and Workshop Photos
Welcome back!
The week has flown by!
We jumped straight into ‘Spring into Fitness/Wellbeing Week’ and we have been learning about loads of ways to keep healthy, both physically and mentally!
Today we took part in circuit training to keep our bodies healthy and learned about all the benefits that keeping physically fit can provide, both for our physical and mental health!
Mr O’Dowd J
Circuit Training!
Homework Presentations!
WOW!! I am absolutely blown away by how amazing the children’s projects have been! They have been so creative and so brave as well to stand up in front of the class and show off their hard work and all that they have learned over the past half term. I am so so impressed and cannot wait to see the rest of the projects throughout the rest of the week.
Thank you so much for helping out your children with their projects, you should all be super proud!
All the best,
Mr O’Dowd J
More Presentation Photos!
Photos from home projects
Shoebox Synagogues!
The children got creative today and, using their knowledge of a Jewish place of worship, constructed models of synagogues including key features such as the Torah, the Ark, the Everlasting Light and a Bimah.
Very well done to the children, particularly with how they worked together in twos showing wonderful collaboration to create their synagogues.
Mr O’Dowd J
Shoebox Synagogue Photos
This morning in Gecko class we took part in the RSPCB organised ‘Big School’s Bird Watch’.
We made use of our school’s wonderful outdoor classroom ‘The Owl’ which is something the children have feedback that they want to use much more.
We went down as a class and put out two different types of bird food – seeds and mealworms, as part of our longitudinal study.
We then took it in turns to keep watch and see what we could spot while the rest of the class worked on with some artwork.
The children were amazing and spotted loads! Pigeons, robins, magpies and blue-tits cropped up most commonly.
The children were truly inspired by the natural beauty around them, and showed this by creating some lovely artwork!
An amazing way to start a day!
Mr O’Dowd J
Birdwatching Photos
Welcome Back!
I hope you’re all well after loads of festive fun, the kids certainly seem to have had awesome winter breaks! Thank you so much for all your generosity, I was truly blown away! I still don’t think I’ve finished all the chocolate!
We’ve dived straight back in to work, getting stuck in to learning about habitat destruction, and receiving secret missions to create presentations (if you have any questions about that, please come and ask!). We’ve started a new book in class for English work ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes and have been using it to help us look at a story from lots of different perspectives.
It’s been so busy since returning, that this week in our ‘Flexi-Friday’ time we took the opportunity to relax, and used the laptops to practise on Spelling Shed, Times Table Rockstars and Splash Maths! If you have any questions about any of these please catch me as always on the playground before or after school!
Mr O’Dowd J
Election Day! Cast your vote!
Today in KS2 we had our own Otterbourne election! We reviewed the key policies for the Green Party, Conservative Part, the Liberal Democrats and Labour. We discussed the pros and the cons of each manifesto, and the impact that each party may have on our country if they are voted in. We then cast our votes on a voting slip and popped them into the ballot box to be counted and revealed tomorrow!
The General Election is of huge nationwide importance, so we thought it would be really beneficial to do this activity, and allow the children a bit of an insight into what’s taking place around the country today!
Election Day
SON Workshop with Ricky #2
This week we were once again joined by spoken word artist/beatboxer/musician Ricky, who once again inspired the children to write raps about electrical waste. This was an incredibly flexible process, and it ended up going in the direction of a giant recycling monster made out of electronic waste! We will be joined by Robin, the SON project director, again next week to tie all the work we have been doing so far together, and star to work on performance and refinement!
Workshop #2 Photos
In RE, we have been looking at the concept of ‘Holy’ through the story of the Nativity. We studied Mary, the mother of God, and discussed the ‘Annunciation’, where the angel Gabriel came and told Mary that she was to bear the child of God. We looked at how Mary is depicted in churches round the world, and the children were particularly drawn to images of stained glass windows. We responded to this by creating our own stained glass windows depicting Mary by using cellophane.
It was great fun but took quite a lot of cleaning up!
Mr O’Dowd J
RE Art Photos
The next phase of our joint venture with the SON project took place on Monday, and wow! A songwriter/rapper/beatboxer came in to work with the children, and they managed to write a song about getting a new toy for Christmas, and how that so quickly after getting a new toy, it can become outdated and gets chucked away. Then in the afternoon, we wrote raps all about broken plastic products getting thrown away.
What an amazing opportunity this is turning out to be, and the children are so excited to keep going, as am I!
Mr O’Dowd
SON Workshop Photos
Our first visit from the SON Project was today and wow, what an afternoon we had!
The SON project are an orchestra who hope to change the world by creating music about waste, and this ties in perfectly with our topic! We are lucky enough to be working with them lots over the coming months, so stay tuned to hear more!
Robin Browning, conductor for the Turner Sims orchestra arrived this afternoon with a team of people including Anka (a violinist), Ian (Professor of Science), Alice (a scientist), Molly (videographer) and Ollie (education and aural specialist).
We learned about the aims of the project, and even created a song from nowhere!
We can't wait for their next visit!!!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, my door is always open.
Mr O’Dowd J
SON Performance
SON Pictures
Script Writing!
The children have been working incredibly hard over the last couple of weeks to finish off writing their scripts for a news report. We have begun filming some using a green screen and hopefully will have them all finished and ready to show off to the class by the end of the week! It has been amazing to see how dedicated and enthusiastic the class has been towards this, hopefully we can keep this kind of enthusiasm throughout the whole year!
Mr O'Dowd J
During our topic time this week, we carried on learning all about plastic pollution. A big thank you goes out to Mrs Cox, who came in to talk to us all about her job as a landscape manager and how she can help the environment with her work.
We also discussed plastic, and learned that while it can be bad for the environment, without plastic the world would be a very different place! Following this we had a class debate where we discussed the pros and the cons of plastic.
We will keep learning about plastic and how it affects the world around us, so stay tuned for more as we are producing news reports which we are going to film and edit to look like Newsround reports!
All very exciting stuff, as always if you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to catch me before or after school for a chat!
Mr O’Dowd J
Viking Day!
We concluded our theme of Vikings by putting together a day of fun activities! We made dragons like the ones talked about in Norse myths and legends, we carved runes into clay, just like the Vikings would have! We found out all about Viking sagas and we made and decorated Viking longships as well!
It’s been a crazy, fun-filled half term, and I want to extend my thanks to all the children and you at home who continue to help me settle in and who have made this the best start to teaching I could have possibly imagined!
Have an amazing half term break!
Mr O’Dowd J
The Power of ‘Yet’
This week in our class assembly we discussed the power of yet. This means we can transform our thinking from ‘I can’t do this’ to, ‘I can’t do this… Yet!’
This one word can change the whole meaning of a sentence, and over the course of the year we will be trying to develop a ‘Growth Mindset.’
The children all wrote down some things that they felt they weren’t very good at, or that they found really difficult. Then, through the magic power of yet, we looked at how they could change that, what they could do to improve and how they were going to be determined!
The children responded incredibly thoughtfully and I was amazed to see how they were able to change their thinking and be resilient, and I hope that’s something that will continue!
All the best,
Mr O’Dowd J
Setting and Atmosphere!
We went outside with our books, and children were encouraged to see beyond what was actually there, but to use their imagination to create a magical world, and then to describe this place using their senses! A bird singing became the sound of a nest of baby dragons, a car going by became the rumble of a hungry dragon’s belly, and the smell of lunch being cooked became the scent of the dragon’s breath.
Some absolutely fantastic description was produced by the children, and we will use these skills to paint the image of a story setting!
We used roleplay to get inside the mind of the King, who has a very difficult decision to make regarding a dragon outside his castle! We split into groups so everyone was able to ask questions and think of replies, and then some children sat on the 'throne' and addressed their kingdom!
After this, we wrote diary entries using the understanding of how a character may feel to show the King's thought process and the decision he might make!
We are looking at a poem called 'The Grateful Dragon' and will be writing our own stories based on the poem!
Watch this space!
Mr O'Dowd :)
Mysterious Eggs Found On Playground!
This week in Gecko Class, something mysterious happened… Eggs were discovered on the playground outside our classroom! These weren’t just the type of eggs you have for breakfast though, they arrived in an ancient chest, with a note that read, ‘Please look after this for me!’
We thought that they looked like dragon eggs due to the scales all over them, and decided we have to report this to the world in the form of a newspaper report!
Stay tuned for more.
Mr O’Dowd J
Welcome to Gecko Class 2019-2020!
Hello everyone! I am so excited about welcoming the children into my first ever class this year after an awesome couple of days at the end of last term getting to know them. Some of you might remember me from last year, when I was here on placement, and I liked it so much I had to come back!
We have kicked off the new year with a bang, and welcomed Erik Erikkson into school on Tuesday to teach us all about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings. This was a fantastic way to start our new topic 'Let the Battle Commence', which focusses on the Anglo Saxon and Viking period. They were all very well behaved and super polite when questioning Erik about all the fascinating artefacts he had brought with him, and were very inquisitive when it came to asking questions.
So far, I have absolutely loved the first few days getting to know everyone, and I am super excited about the year we have planned together. If you ever need to chat, you can find me in the mornings outside, or grab me after school and we can get something sorted.
Looking forward to the year ahead,
Mr O'Dowd