24 Game Competition

This week, on Wednesday the 18th, the 24 Game Maths Team went to a competition at Aylward Primary School. Our team was made up of six children: four from Year Six and two from Year Five. We arrived at school by 8am. and had a short practice session before leaving at around 8:30am. We walked to Northwick Park Station, took the train to Wembley Park, then changed to the Jubilee Line. After getting off at Stanmore Station, we walked another 10 minutes to reach Aylward Primary.

 

To prepare for the competition, we have been training since January, practising for an hour each day. We also attend maths club after school on Fridays. The team has shown great commitment by working hard both at school and at home. Last Friday, we held a special showcase after school for staff members to see what we have been working on. All of our dedication paid off, as our school won 1st place for the fourth year in a row. Every child on the team also placed in the top 6. The competition had five rounds, each lasting seven minutes, with four or five children at each table. Seven schools took part, with a total of 42 children competing. To qualify for the final round (Round 5), participants had to score the highest number of points. Four children from our school made it to the final round, along with one child from another school.

 

This success would not have been possible without the help of Mr Gorsia, who trained us, helped us prepare, and is a great teacher to everyone. We are also very grateful to Mrs Carroll, who has supported us throughout the years and always cheered us on.

 

By Antonia 5K

On Monday, pupils at Elmgrove were thrilled to welcome wheelchair tennis star Andy Lapthorne for a special visit. The current British number 1 quad wheelchair tennis player delivered an inspiring assembly where he shared his incredible journey and spoke about the dedication and determination it takes to be an elite athlete.

Andy has won 58 titles during his career, including 18 Grand Slams and 4 Olympic medals for Team GB. Our pupils had the chance to ask thoughtful questions and learn more about his achievements. Afterwards, some lucky students got to meet Andy in person, chat with him, and even enjoy a fun game of tennis together – a truly memorable experience for everyone involved.

A huge thank you to Andy and we wish you the best in Wimbledon!

Hi everyone! I’m one of the five Year 5 pupils who had the amazing chance to represent our school in the Wondermaths Challenge Heats Round yesterday—and I’m so excited to share our experience with you!

This year, 80 schools from across London took part in the competition, with seven heats happening throughout the week. Only the winning school from each heat is guaranteed a place in the finals—and we’re thrilled to say we came 1st in our heat and qualified!

Our journey started all the way back in November, when 25 of us from Years 4 and 5 began training. After an in-school tournament in March, five of us—Hani (5G), Habibah (5G), Aaron (5ST), Musa (5M), and Pelumi (5K)—were chosen to be on the final team. We’ve been going to Maths Club twice a week and practising every day at home, learning seven different and very tricky games to get ready.

We were trained by our teacher, Mr Gorsia, and had some amazing help from last year’s Wondermaths Champions—Antonia M (5G), Sofia (5G), Tajae (6B), and Abdul (6O). They became our coaches this year and gave up their time after school to help us. Some of them even rearranged their own plans just to support and encourage us. Their help made a huge difference, and we can’t thank them enough!

The competition itself was tough—we had to use all our strategies and quick thinking to compete against 12 other schools. After two and a half intense hours, the results came in: we won our heat! We think we scored 152 out of 200 in the Shapes Round and 184 out of 200 in the 24 Game Round, although final scores are still being confirmed.

This is the sixth year in a row our school has made it to the Wondermaths Finals, and we’re proud to keep the streak going. Thank you to everyone who supported us—we’ll do our best in the finals this July!

Written by Pelumi 5K

Year 1 Update

Last week, Year 1 spent a sunny day at London Zoo. Children got to see lots of the animals they had learnt about in science lessons including penguins, tigers, lions, gorillas and giraffes to name a few. The children were all amazingly behaved with staff at the zoo commenting on how polite and sensible Elmgrove children were.

A huge thank you to all of the adult helpers who made this trip possible.

In English this week, children planned and wrote their own versions of 'The Queen's Hat' by Steve Antony. The story is about a Queen whose hat blows away and flys over, under and through different landmarks in London. Children changed some elements of the original story to write their stories and added prepositions to describe where it flew to in Harrow.

For history, we have learnt about the historical significance of VE day. Children created their own celebratory banners before attending the whole school picnic event on Thursday afternoon which included cucumber sandwiches, scones and juice. Feel free to see our VE day posters displayed on our classroom windows.

In science, children have learnt about different plants we can find outside in the UK. We looked at common flowers and wild plants. This week children went on a hunt to look for wild plants in our school. Children found dandelions, daisies. brambles and clovers to name a few.

In Art, we have learnt about Marianne North, a Victorian botanical painter. In preparation for their own botanical painting next week, children used watercolour paints to explore different tones using primary colours (red, yellow & blue) as a base.

In PSHE we have discussed how we all have different families and friends and no matter how different we all are, we can all be respectful and kind to each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 3 Update

Here is what pupils have got up to this week in Year 3!

English

This week in English, Year 3 began exploring the art of writing thank you letters. Using the beautiful story Cloud Tea Monkeys, the children have started identifying the key features of letter writing. We’ve been focusing particularly on writing in the first person and will soon be introducing the present perfect tense to help enhance their writing.

Maths

In Maths, we’ve been learning to tell the time. The children are becoming more confident reading clocks and have been practising how to tell the time using “past” and “to.” This has involved lots of practical activities and games to reinforce understanding.

Geography

Our Geography lessons this week focused on physical features in the UK. The children learned how to identify and compare physical features such as mountains and rivers, including Ben Nevis and the River Thames, with human features like cities and buildings. This helped deepen their understanding of the differences between natural and man-made landmarks.

Computing

In Computing, Year 3 have been busy creating their own digital comic strips. They’ve enjoyed designing backgrounds, adding characters, and using speech bubbles to bring their stories to life. This has been a fun and creative way to develop their digital literacy skills.

 

 

 

 

 

Year 5 Update

This week in English we have been writing poems based on a storm at sea. This is part of our work around the book: The Matchbox Diary. We used descriptive language to write what it might be like to experience a storm at sea if we were on a boat.

We have also had a focus on learning about why we celebrate VE day this year. We read a report around VE day in reading and then looked at images from the first VE day to write a news report as if we were there. We had a great time celebrating VE Day yesterday and enjoyed the scones and sandwiches that we shared.

Next week we will be moving out of our classes to support the Y6 SATs that are taking place. We will still be covering our learning as usual and thank the children in advance for helping the Y6 with their important tests.

 

 

 

Year 6 Update

We want to take a moment to say a big well done to the year 6 children for all their hard work, determination, and resilience this year so far. They’ve shown great commitment to their learning and have grown in confidence and maturity as they’ve prepared for their SATs.

As we look ahead to SATs week beginning on 12th May, we want to wish them the very best of luck. We are incredibly proud of their efforts, and we know they will approach the week with the same positive attitude they’ve shown all year. Thank you for your continued support.

Maths

In maths, the children have continued with their weekly arithmetic quizzes, using them as valuable opportunities to reflect on their progress and learn from any mistakes. In our reasoning sessions, we’ve been revising key topics and placing a strong emphasis on discussing and understanding different strategies for solving problems.

 

English

This week in year 6 we have been focusing on writing and understanding an information text. The children began the week exploring a variety of examples before beginning to write their own. Previous to this, the children had researched an animal of their choice and made notes to help inform their own information text based on their chosen animal. The writing consisted of an introduction, four main paragraphs and was followed by a conclusion. All of the children worked very hard and maintained the correct writing style for their written reports.

Year 1 Update

Year 1 have had a very royal start to the term. We have been learning about what a monarch is and their role in British history. We briefly learnt about King Charles and his role as king and the late Queen Elizabeth's role in the United Kingdom. We then made our own crowns to wear and went on a royal walk around the school; children even learnt how to do the late Queen's famous wave.

We also read the book 'The Queen's Hat' by Steve Antony. In the book the Queen's hat gets blown away and travels around London visiting famous landmarks. Children acted out the story and even came up with suggestions for other locations in London where the hat could have blown to.

In Art, children have learnt about Victorian fine artist Marianne North and her passion for painting flowers.

In Science, we have also started to look at plants and the parts of a flower (stem, leaves, petals and roots). Children also learnt the purpose of each part to support a flower to grow and stay healthy.

In PSHE, we discussed how to stay clean and hygienic. We looked as soap, sponges, toothpaste and a toothbrush and discussed how often we should be washing/brushing and why it is important to stay clean and healthy.

 

Year 3 Update

Before the holidays, Year 3 children proudly shared their published books to Year 1s. They enjoyed narrating their stories and answering some interesting questions.

Year 3 have got some really exciting work to look forward to in the Summer Term as well. To kicks things off, children discovered how to make tea as part of their English work. The children are already getting lost in the world of India as we read the story ‘Cloud Tea Monkeys’ by Mal Peet & Elspeth Graham. This will progress into the children writing thank you letters from the point of view of the main character, Tashi.

In Maths, we are learning about money. Being able to count and use money is not only an important life skill but also helps

the children’s mental arithmetic. By using physical money, the children are learning how to add and subtract and count change.

Meanwhile in Geography, the children have already been showing off their knowledge of the continents and countries while

recapping the countries which make up the United Kingdom and noticing their physical and human geographical features. Finally in Science, children have started learning about light. This is a really fun topic which involving lots of experiments like testing shadows and reflecting light. We have had great discussions about defining darkness and the importance of light in our daily lives.

 

 

Year 5 Update

This week we have continued with our writing based on the book, Beowulf, by Michael Morpurgo. We have looked at the hero and his attributes and written in role as Beowulf to help us retell the legend. The children have worked hard this week to complete the retelling and they should be very proud of the outcomes.

We have also started reading the book, Wonder, in reading lessons. This focuses on looking different but feeling the same as everyone else. We have displayed the key message from the book in our Year 5 corridor to help the children focus on the theme of kindness.

This term will be a busy one with the focus being on getting the children ready for Year 6.

Year 1 Update

Year 1 have been learning the story Little Red and The Very Hungry Lion. They have acted out the story, sequenced events and have been planning their own versions of the stories. They will be writing their stories next week and will use their phonetic knowledge to spell ambitious words.

In Maths, Y1 have been using the vocabulary longer, shorter and taller to identify and describe a range of objects. They have also started to use rulers to measure and compare a range of objects.

In Geography, children have been busy making their own fact files about England. They have identified a range of physical and human features on the English landscape and they have learnt some facts about different landmarks you will find in England.

 

In Science, children have been exploring which materials are waterproof and which are not. They conducted an experiment to see which materials absorbed water and which materials didn't.

In DT, children have explored appropriate materials to build a model house for the 3 little pigs. They discovered that cardboard was the strongest material we have in school to build the house from. They also found that plastic was the most appropriate material for the roof and have looked at different transparent materials to use for windows. They will be constructing their houses in groups next week.

In Computing, children have logged onto Espresso Coding to form simple instructions to make objects move on screen.

 

 

Year 3 Update

In English this week, we have continued to write our stories based around our robots. We have focused on adding dialogue between key characters and punctuating this correctly using speech marks. Next week, we look forward to sharing our published stories with Year 1 children.

In our History lessons, we have continued to learn about Ancient Egypt. This week we focused on King Tutankhamun and the mystery surrounding his untimely death. The children learned all about how Howard Carter unearthed his treasures. It took him nearly 10 years to complete this task! In class, we have had discussions about how Egyptologists continue to make new discoveries, including hidden tombs, to this day.

In our PSHE lessons, we have been discussing the qualities and strengths needed to perform different jobs. We then wrote questions and answers to prepare for mock job interviews next week. Children have enjoyed thinking about their future job aspirations. They are looking forward to being interviewed next week!

In our DT lessons, children have created their own pneumatic toy with moving parts! They have used their prior knowledge of how pneumatic devices work and conducted surveys of what makes an effective toy. We have investigated how air pressure works to produce and control movement.

It’s been a wonderful week of learning across all subjects, and we look forward to seeing even more progress in the week ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

Year 5 Update

This week in English, Year 5 have finished their writing, telling the story of the animated film “The Piano”. There were some amazing narratives with some really powerful description – well done to all the children who worked hard to produce some great writing. We have been focusing on the text Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo in whole class reading sessions and this week we have started to write in the style of the famous legend. The children have studied in detail the character of Grendel and drew him to help with their descriptive writing. We have also thought of descriptive language that we can use in our writing next week.

 

 

In maths, we have moved on to perimeter of rectangles and rectilinear shapes. Arithmetic is ongoing, and we have been really impressed with how the children are increasing their scores every week. Well done Year 5!

In science, we have continued our work on separating materials with learning around separating solutions where the solids are soluble or insoluble. We have worked on problem-solving with children having to separate materials from “polluted water” using their knowledge and skills learnt in science.

 

 

We have DT day on Monday and would love some adults to support us with the projects we will be building. If you can help with a morning or afternoon, please let the office know.