Livingstone Primary & Nursery School WK3 NOV 2025

This week we have been learning all about ourselves and our families. The children have begun creating beautiful family portraits using the photos you have shared with us.

If you haven’t sent in a family photo yet, please email one to the school office as soon as possible, as the children are very proud of including their own families in our display.

We have also been exploring the book 'A Handful of Buttons', talking about how every family is unique and special. The children have enjoyed using buttons of different shapes, sizes and colours to represent the people in their families and to describe what makes each one different.

In Maths, we have been focusing on counting to 5, practising careful one-to-one correspondence to help us count accurately.

This week we also enjoyed our third Chickenshed workshop 'New Botanics'. The children loved role-playing the process of planting seeds, watering them and watching them “grow”. It has sparked lots of imaginative play and lovely discussions about nature.

Talking Homework

This week, please talk with your child about good hygiene habits, especially at this time of year when we are seeing a rise in coughs, colds and other illnesses. You might chat together about:

• Covering coughs and sneezes (“Catch it, bin it, kill it!”)
• Using tissues and throwing them away properly
• Washing hands with soap and water, especially before eating and after using the toilet
• Keeping hands away from mouths and faces

A little reminder at home makes a big difference in helping keep everyone healthy.

This week we have started reading 'The Gruffalo' by Julia Donaldson. Reception have loved talking about the features of the Gruffalo and have even started singing a song about the woodland creature and his terrible tusks! The story has opened up lots of conversations about animals and the children have been exploring role play, dressing up, puppets and small world play to retell the story. The children have been inspired to draw by the illustrator Axel Scheffler and have really developed their drawing and writing skills.

Sing the song at home with them and see how well they can remember it!

The Gruffalo Song

Thank you to all for coming to the phonics IMPACT, please support us with your child’s reading at home and bring back all resources and filled in reading diary each Wednesday.

This week in Maths, Year 2 have been working on a mixture of addition and subtraction calculations, using < > and = to compare calculations and missing number problems. In English, we have begun our core text A Squash and a Squeeze where we made predictions and inferences about what the book could be about. We also learnt about nouns, verbs and adding the suffix -ed to put verbs into the past tense. In the afternoons, we have been begun our Geography Unit all about the Polar Regions. We looked at maps and colour-coded where the polar regions are, we learnt about the temperature and the Arctic's physical features such as ice bergs, glaciers and mountains.

Musical Festival Performance

On Thursday 4th December at 9am, Year 2 parents are invited to come into school and watch Year 2 perform the songs that they learnt for the Infant Musical Festival.

Homework

English: pages 20 and 21 (Space Science)

Maths: see the separate addition and subtraction worksheet.

The first achievement award goes to Adam for his excellent focus and work ethic this week. Well done!

The second achievement award goes to Vinny for always being such a fantastic role model - she is a pleasure to teach!

After reading 'The Day The Crayons Quit', Year 3 came into class to find out that our chairs were on strike! They heard a recording of a furious Year 3 chair who explained why she and her chair friends felt unloved, unappreciated and disrespected. We look forward to writing our informal letters next week. In Maths, we continued with multiplication and division. We finished our art lessons where the children explored positive and negative handprints. We created an amazing collaborative piece of art! Our Christmas show rehearsals continue and we are impressed with the children’s expression and projection. Please continue to work on their lines at home.

Homework:

Year 3 Maths Practice Journal: p.33 - 34 (page 35 is optional)

English: Continue to practise your lines so that you know them off by heart. Can you say them loudly, clearly and with expression?

Our achievement awards go to Niya and Sienna for their excellent prehistoric cave art work and for their brilliant acting in the Christmas show rehearsals. Well done you two!

This week in Maths, the children learned how to calculate equivalent fractions and convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers. They showed excellent understanding and are developing their use of visuals and bar models.

In English, they wrote persuasive speeches in role as Dooby trying to get voted in as leader of Eels Island. They are beginning to use subordinate clauses more instinctively.

In Science, they studied reversible and irreversible changes and conducted an experiment about dissolving.

Homework due by Weds 26th November

Maths: pages 31 and 32 (fractions)

Reading: pages 24 and 25 (Weird News This Week, or Inca Bling from Mrs Feshias)

This week's awards go to Milo for his excellent editing in English and Zachariah for his enthusiasm offering answers.

This week in English, we have been designing our own super heroes, villains and settings for a story. We have really enjoyed thinking about the super powers and gadgets !

In Maths we have been learning about different methods for solving division problems. We have been drawing our dienes to group and share.

We had a fabulous time at our multi-sports on Wednesday. Everyone tried their best and showed great effort.