Bar models in Maths helped to show our understanding of how to calculate a fraction of a whole number. Well done!
What’s been happening
Year 2Money
Polar Bears have started off the New Year by going shopping! We have practised adding coins and notes to make a certain amount and also found different combinations to make the amount. We also synergized to solve reasoning questions about Money. We used Habit 3 and put First things First when sketching in Art. We first explored how to use the sketching pencils, before deciding which type to use to sketch the fire.
Year 4Romans
In Year 4 both classes have been learning all about the mighty Romans! The children have learnt a range of information on how the Romans lived, how they fought in battle and why the Roman Empire was so successful! We have debated the significance of the Romans and the impact that they had on Britain by evaluating primary and secondary sources. To conclude our learning, we held spectacular Roman Day where the children got to fight and eat like the Romans!
Year 5Ancient Britain
We had a fantastic time with Gripping History learning all about Ancient Britain. We had a go at writing in runes, learnt about the diet and battle techniques of people in Ancient Britain.
Year 6Health
Special guests have been coming to Queen Emma to give the year 6’s talks about health. In this session, we looked at physical exercise as a way to maintain our health. We looked at position and direction by practising rotations with PE equipment.
Year 4Science Projects
As part of our Space topic, the children have been continuing their learning at home. They have brought in some super videos, posters, presentations and models to tell us more about the solar system.
Year 5Space Academy
We had lots of fun taking part in a range of activities that might prepare us for an adventure into space. We worked on our balance, reflexes and team work. We also teamed up with our Year 1 buddies to share what we had learnt about space. We were also visited by an astronomer who shared a fascinating presentation about the planets, black holes and stars.
Year 6Crochet Club
Extracurricular activities include the crochet club! We have started with snowflakes…lovely work.
Year 3Stone Age to Iron Age
The Year 3 classes have been learning all about the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The children used a range of sources of evidence and their questioning skills during their Stone Age day to learn how humans changed from hunter gatherers to early farmers. They also learnt how the introduction of metal through the Copper – Bronze and Iron Ages changed the way people grew their crops to how they fought in wars.
Year 5Hot Seating
In English we watched the cartoon Baboon on the Moon. We then took it in turns to be hot seated as the baboon so that we could ask questions to find out more about his life. We worked hard to think of interesting questions and how we could give relevant answers.
Year 5Forces
In Science we have been learning all about forces. As part of this we used the Newton meters to measure the force that was need to move different objects. We recorded what we found out carefully in our books.
Year 2, Year 6A Christmouse Tale
On Wednesday, Year 2 and Year 6 were treated to a performance of A Christmouse Tale by Pendle Productions to support their work in their fairytale topics. Children enjoyed the cheery Christmas musical following the adventures of a lonely white mouse as he escapes the pet shop and tries to find his own way to the house where he was meant to have been a special gift.
Year 1Daily Mile Celebration
Year 1 have been completing the daily mile since the start of the academic year. We have successful run the distance from Cambridge to Paris and so we celebrated with some chocolate brioche! Well done to all of Year 1 and we can’t wait to complete our next challenge and run the distance to Lapland.
Year 1Nativity Story
Year 1 were visited by Danny and Karen from the St Barnabas Church who helped to consolidate our knowledge about the Christian celebration of Christmas. We learnt that some people believe that Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph and that he would be very special. The children learnt about the story of the nativity by dressing up and retelling the story using actions.
Year 6WW2 Cake
For our WW2 day, the Year Sixes made chocolate “cake” as people in the UK would have during the war. The rations made it difficult then, but our taste-testers thought it was quite good!
Year 2Sandwiches
Year 2 had a great morning making healthy sandwiches, which linked into our English instruction writing unit and ‘Ready, Steady, Be Healthy’ topic. First we made our delicious, healthy sandwich, using our design to help us. They tasted delicious! Then we looked at different sandwich packaging and evaluated them. We designed our own packaging for our sandwich and made it from a 3D net. Finally we evaluated our product, thinking about what went well and what could’ve been even better.
Year 6Science
In science the year 6’s have been looking at the effect light has on objects we see. We experimented with water in a glass, and a drawn arrow observed through the clear materials in order to understand refraction. Ask us what happened!
Year 1Action Adventure
As part of our topic ‘Action and Adventure’ we have been making moving toys. To do this we first explored a range of toys and discussed how they moved. We then designed our own moving cars and planned our work. Using Habit 6: Synergize, we worked in a pair to construct our toy cars. It was a bit fiddly but we finally attached the wheels to our axels. We then tested the cars, before finally evaluating what went well and what we could improve next time.
Year 3Persuasive Advertising
Year 3 wrote persuasive texts advertising samosas as part of our topic on India. We then used the IMovie app on the IPads to make our own TV adverts with voiceovers, music and titles! It was a huge learning experience for everyone, but the Year 3s really synergised and collaborated well to complete the task! We hope you enjoy these examples.
Year 1
Science
In science we investigated which materials were waterproof. First we made predictions by looking at and touching the various materials. Then we carefully wrapped a doll in one material at a time (paper, tin foil, rubber and plastic), before pouring water over it.Hopefully when Traction Man returns he can use our knowledge to keep himself dry.
Year 1Partition Numbers
Today in maths, the children used a whole-part model to partition numbers. We loved using the practical resources!
Year 1Ten Nice Things
In maths the children played a game called ‘ten nice things’. Using a tens frame, the children had to make number bonds to ten. We loved playing this game!
Year 2Journey Stories
In English Penguin class are learning all about journey stories and specifically ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers. To help the children with writing their own journey story they hot seated both the boy and the alien characters understanding what it may feel like to be stuck on the moon.
Year 6Hockey
During our PE lessons we have been practising our hockey skills!
Year 6Newspaper Report
We have looked at model text to find elements of a newspaper report.
Year 6Light
Our class assistants demonstrated how light travels in a straight line.
Year 6Eco Awareness Morning
We became eco warriors by creating art from recycled plastic.
Year 6Description Activity
We have been working at verbalising needs through hands on activities. We also completed a description activity were we had to practise discussing things clearly.
Year 6Working As A Group
We worked together to begin with the end in mind. Later we worked as a group to help “save” Slimey the worm!
Year 2The 7 Habits
Penguin Class have been learning how to use the 7 Habits in their daily life and learning at school. In Habit 3 ‘Put First Things First’ the class learnt about how you have your ‘big rocks’ in life (reading at home, doing homework, brushing your teeth) and then once they are completed you will have time for all the activities in life that you may want to do like playing on your iPad or going to a friend’s birthday party. To remind the children of Habit 3 they painted rocks to take home.
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6Leader in Me
For the first 8 days of the Autumn term we have been introducing all the children to the 7 habits and our new whole school project: The Leader in Me.
Please see the link to our daily newsletters which introduced parents to each habit and our celebration day on Friday.
We are seeking to teach children that they are the leader of themselves and with the 7 habits they can become leaders of others.
https://www.queenemmaschool.org.uk/parent-information/important-information/letters-newsletters
Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6Pond
We were so excited to see the fire brigade coming to help up fill up our pond! Some of us even got to wear the fire fighter’s helmet and jacket! A great big thank you to the Cambridge fire service.
Event, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6Arts Festival
On Tuesday 2nd July, Queen Emma enjoyed an Arts Festival where all classes enjoyed a mix of art, English and musical activities. We had a great day (as you can see by the pictures below).
Nursery enjoyed a musical sessions with Rat-a-Tat and lots of outdoors activities. Reception and KS1 listened to local group Shake, Rattle and Roll who brought a range of exciting musical instruments in. Year 1 also had an amazing morning working together to paint outside. Year 2 created some weird and wonderful magical potions and investigated ‘The Air we Breathe.’
KS2 enjoyed a musical performance from members of St John’s Choir. Year 3 also loved a recorder workshop and made beautiful natural clay faces. Year 4 decorated tiles with stunning Islamic patterns and Year 5 made origami to hang in school. Year 6 enjoyed a performance from The King’s Men at Queen Edith before making dreamcatchers.
Special thanks must go to volunteers from the community who came in to run some of the activities. It was greatly appreciated and the whole day was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6KS2 Sports Day
We were very proud of all of our children in KS2 who took part in our sports afternoon on Friday 28th June. Everyone demonstrated great sportsmanship,determination and teamwork skills, which made it a very enjoyable afternoon for all.
Huge congratulations to Hawking house who were victorious with 775 points.
Year 1, Year 2KS1 Well-being Morning
As part of Well-being Wednesday in KS1, we have had a fantastic morning taking part in a variety of different sporting activities in order to look after our physical well-being. There were 6 different activities:
Obstacle course
Sprint
Parachute games
Balancing a ball on a racquet
Right on target! Throwing bean bags to a target
Water relay
Well done KS1 on a fantastic morning. You worked really well as a team
Thank you to the Year 6 Sports Leaders and the staff who helped make the morning run smoothly.
Hoodwinked
What a wonderful show! Congratulations to Musical Theatre Club who entertained their friends and families with a wonderful performance of ‘Hoodwinked’ on Tuesday 4th June.
Year 1Planting
As part of our ‘Food, glorious food’ topic, Year 1 have been busy bees! They have worked hard on their class gardens, planting lots of seedlings and keeping them watered! They have discovered putting mint leaves in drinking water makes it taste delicious, and it is very healthy! We look forward to watching and helping the garden grow.
Year 4Cross Stitching
Year 4 are embarking on a cross stitching project this half term. We have designed a bookmark, and have just begun to practise the stitches we need to successfully complete it. It is all looking sew good!
Year 4Line Graph Activities
The Year Fours have been busy using their maths skills in statistics to create line graphs based on activities they designed themselves. Fantastic effort!
Year 5Ancient Egypt
In history, Year 5 have been learning about the timeline of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation; we were amazed to learn that it started in 3100 BC and ended in 30BC! Working as a class, we made a timeline starting from 3100 BC until modern day, which was 52 metres long! When we understood how to order the dates, we then made our own Egyptian timeline by working in groups. We look forward to the rest of the topic.
Year 5African Masks
Year 5 have been busy creating their African masks as part of our D&T lessons. They started by sketching their chosen animal before creating the mask by building up layers of cardboard with papier-mâché. After the masks were created, the children painted them to produce the final affect. We had a great time creating our masks and the children should be very proud of their creations!
Year 5Activities Week
The children in Year 5 had a fantastic opportunity to take part in a week of exciting activities!
Year 4Inference
Inference skills were shared and practised in groups before trying them independently.
Year 4I-Pad Animation
We have practised our I-Pad animation with some lovely results.
Year 4Fractions and Decimals
Throughout last term we found ways to show equivalencies between fractions and decimals.
We used computers to consolidate our understanding of combining decimal numbers to make 1.
Year 4Art
In art, we practised our parallel lines before attempting perspective art.
Year 2Seeds
Penguin class got very messy exploring seeds during their science lesson. We learnt that all plants that have seeds are a fruit. Some fruits have internal seeds and others like strawberries have their seeds externally. We then planted some of these seeds. I wonder if any of them will grow in our country?
Year 5Mini Enterprise
Year 5 completed their ‘Mini Enterprise’ topic with their biscuit making day. The children worked in their baking team and made the biscuits they had designed and planned using a very basic recipe. The children were very creative and the biscuits were very yummy! Once the biscuits were made, the children were able to sell their biscuits. After this, the children analysed and evaluated their products and suggested improvements. Well done Year 5.
Year 4Robot Workshop
We put our understanding of computers into practise when we were visited by experts in robotics. In small groups, we constructed our robot, then coded it to make it move! An amazing morning!
Year 4Maths
Book Week
During Book Week Falcon Class had the opportunity to perform some of their ideas about our class book. Well done performers! At the end of Book Week we all enjoyed our final reading with a little cookies and milk. It was a perfect way to finish off an exciting week!
Burglar Alarms
For D&T we have started to think about a design for our burglar alarm. We have created a classroom layout and have identified areas where our alarm could be located.
Visit from the King and Queen
Year 1 children had a visit from the king and queen as an exciting introduction to our Castles topic.
Miss Barltrop and Mrs Rutter had to look after their horses outside while they talked to the children about different types of castle.
Animation
In year four, we have been using Purple Mash to develop our own animation. Have a look at some of our creations!
Year 5Maths Investigation
Today year 5 completed a maths investigation using multilink. The children had to work systematically to add different fractions together to make one whole. We had a great time adding fractions in a practical way.
Year 5Zebra Bakery
The Zebra class bakery is officially open! The children are now in their baking teams and have chosen their own baking name and designed their logos. Here are their designs:
ReceptionPenguins
Reception have been working hard in D&T this term. As part of their theme based on the book ‘Lost and Found’, the children were given a picture of a finished penguin as well as the steps that they could take to decorate them. The children then had the choice between following the design or making their own penguin. They were provided with a range of tools and materials to do this. The finished penguins looked fantastic. Well done everyone!
Year 1Under The Sea Day
We had a fantastic day consolidating our learning about the zones of the ocean with a visiting expert called Stephen. He explained how scientists find out about the zones by travelling under the sea to different depths using special equipment. He also demonstrated the three zones using a bottle filled with liquids of different densities. We found out more amazing facts about the oceans and the creatures that live in the different zones. We also created a collage of the zones of the ocean.
Year 1Place Value
We have been exploring place value up to 50 through lots of practical activities. We compared numbers using < and >; partitioned into tens and ones; and represented numbers on tens frames, with dienes and using Numicon. We have also used bead strings and hundred squares to help us show bigger numbers.
Year 1 have also been explaining our thinking and any patterns we can see – we have been very busy Mathematicians!
Year 4
Fractions
We have been focusing on fraction work in year four. Our fractions-in-action has included a game to help us recognise the numerator and denominator for all fractions. Lovely partner work!
Multiplication and Division
We have been learning about groups to help us to understand multiplication and division. First we made groups using objects like pasta and lollypop sticks, then we went to make the groups using house point counters in rows and columns to create arrays.
For example, 3 groups of 2 are 6. 2 groups of 3 are 6.
10 divided by 2, how many groups of 2 in 10?
Financial Responsibilities
In year four we have focused on financial responsibilities. We can understand how people spend their money on different things, so we set a challenge for groups. They were to discuss and decide on some possibilities for what to spend £10 on. We had some very enthusiastic discussions! Well done all!
ReceptionWinter Trees
In Reception, we have been talking about winter and thinking about changes that happen during this season. The children went outside and used chalk to draw winter trees, describing what they had drawn.
ReceptionMelting
In Reception, we have been exploring melting and freezing. The children put white and milk chocolate into a bowl which was inside a bowl of hot water, stirring it until it had all melted. We then poured the melted chocolate into ice cube trays and put it in the freezer. The next day, we looked at the now solid chocolate and discussed what it had happened to it. The children really enjoyed eating it!
ReceptionIce
The animals were stuck in the ice! The children had to work out how to melt the ice to set the animals free. They melted the ice using warm water, salt and by holding it in their hands to warm it up.
Year 4Story Maps
The year 4’s have been using story maps and dictionaries to help support their learning in English. Well done!
Art
The year 3’s have been designing and creating a template for their clay pots before developing the clay model next week. Great work!
Year 4Music
In music, we put into practise our understanding of the pentatonic scale by using just 5 notes to work out the tune for a song we had learnt. We then played it on the glockenspiels as the class sang along! What fun!
Year 4The Golden Age of Islam
In year 4, we have been focusing on “The Golden Age of Islam.” Here, we have focused on the 5 pillars of Islam and what they mean.
Year 2Art
The year 2’s were busy mixing colours to create different values; lighter colours were tints and darker ones were hues. We then shared our work and discussed it using our new art vocabulary! Fabulous work year 2’s!
Year 4Art
We used our understanding of area to create mosaic patterns. We created a template with pencil first, before using square paper “tiles” to recreate the pattern on paper. Gorgeous designs!
Maths
Our practical application of area had the year 4’s calculating tile squares down the corridor! Well done!
Year 2Ice
Year 2 have spent a chilly lesson exploring ice. Things that we discovered and wanted answering were;
- Ice can melt and turns slippery when handled. The warmth from our hands make the ice melt which turns the ice into water. This is a reversible change.
- Ice shrinks when it melts.
- Some of the ice was opaque and other pieces were transparent. Why is this?
- Salt speeds up the melting process if put onto ice.
- Some ice is bumpy and rough but it can also be smooth.
Adapted Multi Sport Competition
Four children from our school took part in the annual Primary Adapted Multi Sport PLUS Competition which took place with school children from across the Cambridge & South Cambs School Sports Partnerships.
The morning was full of activity and excitement with children competing in pairs as they rotated around four different sports: Polybat, Boccia, Table Cricket and New Age Kurling. For many of the children this was their first experience of representing their school and taking part in competitive sport so the event was very much about the children having an enjoyable experience and trying out some new sports, with an element of competition added in. The points from each activity were added together to give each pair a total and determine the winners.
Year 4Cricket
This half term the year 4’s are enjoying honing their skills in cricket. With the help of a coach, we are learning some techniques to help practise and understand the game a bit more. Well done!
Year 5Flashback Stories
Having completed their flashback stories, the children worked in groups to act them out. They focused on some key aspects of drama, such as body language, voice projection, physical gestures and facial expressions.
Year 4Music
The year 4’s have been learning about pentatonic scales and some songs with that in mind. In our initial lesson, we practised one such song and accompanied it with various instruments.
Year 5Multiplication
Today year 5 worked collaboratively to create posters representing multiplication through build it, say it, write it and draw it!
Year 2
Fire Dance
Penguin class have been busy creating a dance based upon fire. We came up with a variety of movements that represented a burning ember, to a roaring fire and then slowly the fire dying out. We have also listened to the classical piece of music titled ‘Ritual Fire Dance’by Manuel da Falla basing our movements upon the dynamics of the music. Finally we used paper flames to help us with our movements. We can’t wait to perform it to another class!
Year 4Calligraphy
We have started to think about the Golden Age of Islam. By looking at art in Mosques, we spotted calligraphy as part of the decorative touches that can be found there. We tried our own calligraphy by writing our names in Arabic!
Year 4Factor Bugs
In maths, we took time to review multiplication facts, including factors of different numbers. We complete “factor bugs” to help represent factors of these numbers.
When we finished factor bugs, we put our understanding into practise by playing a game designed to test us on our knowledge of the factors we discussed.
Year 4English
In English, we used the picture book “Quest” to discuss our ideas of features of a quest story. We shared our thoughts and created a list we then referred to throughout the week.
Year 4I-Pad Challenges
We had the opportunity to use the ICT suite this week to look at coding within the Purple Mash programme. At the end of the week we used what we learnt to complete I-Pad challenges. Fantastic work!
Year 5Flashback stories
Our new English unit is flashback stories and Year 5 had en exciting ‘hook’ lesson to get things started. Working with a partner, the children decided where each of the mysterious items had come from and the story that each item told. We shared some amazing ideas – from dragons guarding castles to hidden treasure beneath the desert!
Year 5Maths
Year 5 have already been very busy in 2019, in our maths lessons. We have been learning to multiply using concrete resources (base 10 and place value counters) before moving on to the abstract calculation. The children always have access to the concrete resources should they need them.
Year 5Space Day
Year 5 had a fantastic end to our topic with Space Day! During our day we tested our dexterity skills; worked on our teamwork; ensured we hand great hand-eye coordination and even landed some Mars Rovers! We finished the day with a talk from an astronomer Mathew and graduated from the Queen Emma Space Academy. We would like to thank the parents who helped the children with their costumes.
Year 588 Pianists
Year 5 had a terrific day with our visitors, 88 Pianists. We learned a little bit about pulse and rhythm, before we constructed our own mechanism for playing a musical note. Later, we explored our creativity when designing a unique way to play the piano. We would like to thank our visitors from 88 Pianists for taking care of us and making our day so enjoyable!
Year 4Atlases
We have used Atlases to help with understanding our own geographical area as well as those surrounding us.
Year 4Quest Stories
We have been looking at Quest stories and developing our ideas through partner work and idea sharing.
Year 4Calculation
Looking and noting the various methods for calculation and proving our ideas has helped when focusing on multiplication and division facts.
Year 4Paper Mechanisms
Our paper mechanisms allowed us to design books based on our topic of study. By practising first, we were able to create a spring mechanism, an open the flap example, and a pull and push model for our books.
Year 4Performance
We used performance to develop tableaus based on Robert Falcon Scott’s Diary entries. This helped us with our later writing.
Year 5Space Poetry
In English the children have been performing space poetry as part of our poetry unit. The children agreed that it is important to practice reading poetry, as this develops our speech and acting skills. We had a great time thinking about expression and actions.
ReceptionChristmas Show
The children worked really hard at preparing for the Christmas show and then performing it to the school and their parents. We are very proud of the way they learnt the Christmas story and sang a range of Christmas songs in the play. Well done Reception!
Event, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6Cross Country Championship
The children in KS2 had a fantastic morning at Netherhall taking part in the annual Cambridge CSSP Cross Country Championship! The key theme of this year’s event was ‘determination’ and the Queen Emma team certainly were determined! We were so proud of all who took part. We look forward to returning again next year!
Event, Year 5, Year 6Football Tournament
Queen Emma entered their first ever football tournament this year. The children played extremely well together, demonstrated amazing support for each other and played fairly. All of which helped win the tournament! The children, parents and staff are all excited about progressing to the next stage of the competition.
Year 5Maths
In Maths, the children developed their understanding of perimeter during a practical maths lesson outside! They took rulers and measuring wheels with them, to measure the perimeter of the school playground.
Year 5Music
In music, the children have been focusing on songs based on the solar system. This week the children learnt the term ostinato (a repeating pattern). We then played the ostinato in the song ‘A Starry Night’ using the glockenspiels .
Year 5Painting the Moon
As part of our topic, the children have been creating their own paintings of the moon. To do this, the children practised mixing black and white paint to make numerous shades of grey. The varying shades, were then used to create a detailed painting of the moon and its many craters.
Year 1Aliens love underpants!
We enjoyed the story ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ but then something strange happened.
The pants we made went missing! We looked around the school and asked questions to find out information. We are going to write news articles about what’s happened using time openers.
Footprints and a pair of pants were found. There were a pair of pants in the bushes! Pegs that were dropped.
Year 1 searched for clues outside and investigators reported back information from the office staff and Miss Stubbs.
Year 2Fairy Tale Maps
Penguin class have been exploring maps and will eventually make their own fairy tale map, relating to their topic of ‘Traditional Tales.’ The children looked at a variety of maps and discussed their similarities and differences. They also went on an epic journey on google maps, travelling all over the world and exploring far flung cities.
ReceptionBonfire Night
This week we have been talking about Bonfire Night. The children have enjoyed making their own fireworks using paint, chalks, crayons and even leaves!
ReceptionNumicon
In Owl Class we have been practising recognising Numicon. Some of the children went on a hunt in the outdoor area to find the giant Numicon and place it in order from 1 to 10. We have also been looking at using Numicon to make different numbers, for example ‘4 and 2 make 6’ and ‘8 and 2 make 10’.
Year 2Story Telling Afternoon
Year 2 invited parents and carers to come in for a story telling afternoon. There were lots of fun activities enjoyed.
Year 5Building Structures
October
To kick start our year, Zebra class made the tallest structure they could, out of spaghetti and marshmallows. This enabled us to work on our team building skills and was a lot of fun!
Year 5Maths
September
The children have been using the maths resources to create different numbers in our place value lessons. Even in year 5 it is important to use the resources available. These will always be accessible to the children in their lessons (should they need them).
Year 5
West Stow
September
Year 5 immersed themselves in their Ancient Britain topic with a visit to West Stow. We had an exciting morning exploring some reconstructed homes of Anglo-Saxons and in the afternoon, observed some ancient artefacts in the museum.
Nursery
Activity Days
Children in nursery enjoyed welcoming families into the nursery garden to enjoy our Activity Days. They enjoyed practising the activities and then leading the adults. We talked together about healthy eating and keeping healthy. The children made fruity flapjacks and enjoyed sharing them at the end of the session.
Thank you very much to all the parents and family members who came to join us. We all had a really great time and it was wonderful to spend time together.
Important Dates
22 January 2020
2.1 Penguin Class Assembly
Wednesday 22nd January, 9am
29 January 20201.1 Dolphin Class Assembly
Wednesday 29th January, 9am
31 January 2020Y3 PSFA Cake Sale
See more Important Dates