Wish you a merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

As the Autumn term draws to a close the children have been getting festive in true Riverbank style!  They have been making lots of Christmas crafts to take home and share with their families and loved ones.  On Monday the whole school watched Arthur Christmas with Miss Brown.  It was lovely to see so many parents come and join in the fun and take part in some Christmas activities with their children on Tuesday.

The following day was jam packed with festive fun!  On Wednesday the Dragonflies and Rabbits joined the rest of key stage 1 for a visit to the church following a special Christmas assembly by Reverend Bailey.  Brookside also wore their finest Christmas jumpers!  If that wasn't enough, everyone also enjoyed a special festive feast at lunch time and had a visitor in the afternoon, a certain Mr. S. Claus came to deliver some lovely gifts for all the children.

Thursday was the Riverbank Christmas party, thank you to all the parents who generously donated food for the occasion, the children had a wonderful time playing party games and dancing with their friends.  Today we are finishing our day off with a Christmas assembly with lots of singing and maybe a few surprises!

Everyone in the Riverbank would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful New year!

The Riverbank is getting festive!

This week we have made a start to our Christmas festivities.  The Rabbits and Dragonflies joined key stage 1 to watch the pantomime 'Robin Hood.'  They all had a great time and got involved with booing the baddies!







The Rabbits have been reading "Peace at Last" by Jill Murphy in Literacy and have been halving shapes in Numeracy.

The Dragonflies have used their Literacy skills to create and make their own plague monster!



























The Otters have been getting creative this week by making Christmas tree decorations, they have been sewing stockings and making clay stars that they are really looking forward to painting next week.

Wonderful authors, making board games and pearly whites!

Although the days are getting colder and mornings darker, the Riverbank children are still working as hard as ever!

The Rabbits have written their own poems and sent it to the lady herself, Julia Donaldson!  The children are eagerly awaiting a reply!  Not only are they sending letters, but the Rabbits have also made their very own cut and stick portraits and have been identifying 2D and 3D shapes just by feeling them!

The Dragonflies have also had a busy week!  In Numeracy they have been halving numbers and shapes, and are even finding fractions of shapes including quarters!  In Literacy they have been learning about instructions and are putting their new skills in to making their very own board games.  They have some fantastic ideas that they are very excited to share with you soon.



The Otters have been looking Herbivores, Omnivores and Carnivores and taking a closer look at the differences not just in their diet, but in their teeth.

A Dinosaur in the Riverbank, historical detectives and something chilly!

This week the Rabbits have continued their prehistoric adventure and have made their very own Dinosaur!  Stanley the Stegosaurus was created by the Rabbits and they worked together to choose the right shapes for each of his features, I am sure you will agree he looks fantastic!  Not only have they been bringing Dinosaurs to life, they have completed their Dinosaur fact book for Miss Brown, she will be a Dinosaur expert in no time at all!
 

The Dragonflies have been looking at performing poetry and have been offering advice on how to perform a poem well.  They have also been looking at how historical events are linked, namely the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Plague, otherwise known as the 'Black Death' in 1665.  As we didn't have cameras in those days, the children have also been relying on artwork from that time and the diary of Samuel Pepys to help them get a better idea about what really happened.

The Otters have started to investigate their new topic "Pole to Pole."  They have used mind maps to see what they already know about it, but also what they want to find out.  To celebrate their new topic, the children made snow cakes in their cooking lesson and sprinkled icing sugar to make the snow.  The children have also been identifying the features of non-chronological reports in Literacy.

Dinosaurs, London and deep dark caves!

What a great week back!

The Rabbits have continued to work on their Dinosaur topic, they have started their very own book as Miss Brown have asked them to help her become a Dinosaur expert, just like them!  They have been excavating Dinosaur bones to see what they can discover.

The Dragonflies have made a start on their new topic "The Great Fire of London!"  They have been looking at London landmarks and the history behind them.  The children are really looking forward to finding out more!











The Otters have been finishing their "Deeper underground!" topic, to bring their topic to an end, the children have made their very own cave paintings.  The Otters have also been experimenting with Rocks and have been testing if they are impermeable or permeable.

 

Swashbuckling tales, Andy Warhol and trips galore!

The Rabbits have had a swashbuckling week learning about Pirates!  They have made their own ships, a moving pirate to sail it and have listened to Captain Dixon’s tales!  In Literacy the children have written their own message in a bottle to Captain Blackbeard.

The Dragonflies have been finishing off their recounts from their Think tank trip last week and have also been recreating the work of Andy Warhol and his famous piece “Marilyn Diptych”.  They have looked at the technique used and have been using different colours and techniques.

The Otters certainly have been busy this week!  They have visited Treak Cliff Cavern which is located at Castleton in Derbyshire.  The children looked at rock formation, stalactites and stalagmites, minerals and also fossils.  They have also visited a local Mosque and the Otters also made a traditional Welsh fruit loaf called Bara Brith.

We also had our Riverbank coffee evening this week where parents were invited to meet the adults who work with the children, thank you to all who came.

Harvest celebrations

Although the weather is getting a little chillier and the mornings a little darker, it hasn't stopped the Riverbank from working hard and having fun.

The Rabbits have started their new topic about Pirates!  They have been learning about Captain Blackbeard and have even painted their own portraits of him and they went on a treasure hunt!  If that wasn't enough, they have also been preparing for their harvest assembly.  The children have joined year 1 and will be performing today.  Good luck Rabbits!






















The Dragonflies have also had a busy week!  As part of their topic about "marvelous me!"  On Wednesday Year 2 and the Dragonflies went on a trip to the Think Tank in Birmingham.  They found out lots and lots about the body, explored the sensory and water play area and finished the day off by watching "The little star that could" in the Planetarium.  The children had a wonderful day and have been enjoying writing about their trip in Literacy.



















As we are celebrating Harvest this week, the Otters have made their very own bread as part of their cooking, and similarly to the Rabbits they too have been painting portraits, but not of Captain Blackbeard!  They have been painting self-portraits and have done an excellent job!

Eid celebration day!

Wow!  What a day!  We have celebrated Eid, the Otters joined forces with year 4 and took part in the Eid celebration assembly.  The children were fantastic and put on a super show! 

The Dragonflies and Rabbits joined with key stage 1 and took part in a craft and activity day. They made Eid cards, Islam mobiles and designed their own prayer mats.  The children have excelled themselves and have lots of wonderful things to take home and show you.  

Eid Mubarak!

Going underground, hunting for the Grufalo and writing Dinosaur stories!

This week the Rabbits have been hunting for the Gruffalo!  They have made "scrambled snake" in their cooking lesson and created their own picture of the feared creature!










The Rabbits have also been mixing colours to see what they can make.

The Dragonflies have been writing their own version of "Harry and the Dinosaurs."  The children have displayed super imaginations!  As part of their marvelous me topic lesson the children have followed on from last weeks "Jeans for genes" day by looking closely at what genes are and what they do.

The Otters have also been working hard in their topic lessons.  This week they have been looking at creatures that are found underground.  The Otters have also started preparing for their Eid assembly

Jeans for Genes day 2015!

This week the Rabbits have been reading "Where the wild things are."  They have created a beautiful display and have even made their own islands!



















The Dragonflies have been getting to know Harry and his Dinosaurs.  They have read about Harry's adventure to school and thought of their own questions to ask Harry and thought how he would answer them.












The Otters have been looking at "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and have been continuing their journey deep underground in their cooking.  Their recipe used vegetables that are all harvested underground.  Can you think of a vegetable that they could have used?

Today is national "Jeans for genes" day!  Lots of the children are wearing jeans to show their support.  Click the link below for more information.

www.jeansforgenesday.org

Back to school!

This week has seen an exciting start for all the children.  They have come back from the holidays and are all  working very hard.

In the Rabbits class they have had some new arrivals!  The children have been getting to know each other and their way around the school. 

In the Dragonflies, the children have made a start to their new topic “Marvellous me!”  They have been using mind maps to establish what they already know about their bodies, both inside and outside. 

The Otters have also made a start on their new topic “Going deep underground.”  The children have been digging and analysing what they have found.