Jupiter
Welcome to Jupiter Class!
Jupiter class is a mixed class of Year 3 and Year 4 children.
Our teachers are Miss Smith and Miss Connor. Mrs Tickle and Mrs King are our teaching assistants.
The ethos of our class is to develop inquisitive, confident and independent learners who are willing to try their best and find success in their everyday learning. Every child is unique and we aim to tailor lessons to the individual needs of the children.
On this page you can find updates about our learning and any special adventures we have been on. We hope you enjoy reading about our learning journey!
Jupiter Class Updates 2023.2024
Summer Term
W.C 22nd April:
This week in Maths the year 3s have been looking at mass and capacity. We have spent time comparing, adding and subtracting and measuring in litres and millilitres. The year 4s have moved onto looking at hundredths, they have recognised hundredths as fractions, decimals and recognising them on a place value chart. In English we have continued with our new story (still not knowing the name!), we have written descriptively about circus acts, written and drawn our predictions, discussed a new character and then written persuasively to encourage people to go and watch the magician Abdul Kazam! In DT we had our first lesson looking at microbits, we spent time having a go at using microbits and we wrote a simple program to control LEDs. In Science, the year 3s described how soil is formed and made and they made their own mini compost bins. The year 4s explored the relationship between distance and volume and created their own investigations into this. In Topic we spent time exploring the origins of the Olympic games and Ancient Greek culture. Finally, in PSHE we started our new unit looking at managing risks. We spent time discussing possible physical and emotional reactions to different risks.
W.C 15th April:
What a busy first week back! In Maths, the years 3s have been focusing on mass and have looked at reading scales, measuring in kilograms and mass and equivalent measurements. The year 4s have been looking at tenths- recognising them as fractions, decimals and on a place value chart and number line. In English, we have started our new book and have spent the week discussed the first few pages and characters, by completing character descriptions and freeze frames, but we still don't know the name of the book! In Art we started our new unit focused on drawing, different shades, tones and textures. We had our first session with Hunts where we are learning Dance. In RE we looked at our new enquiry question 'Why are places of worship important?' We looked at our new Topic -Sports through time and we created our own Blooket quiz with information we researched. Finally, we spent time boosting our multiplication fluency by completing some code breaker activities.
Spring Term
W.C 25th March:
A very busy last week in Jupiter class! In DT we made, tasted and evaluated our Indian cooking. The children carefully prepared and measured out their ingredients. In Art, we created our final piece using all of our learning from this term, we made sure we showed off our sewing skills in our final pieces! In Maths, we finished our work on fractions. The year 3s found unit and non unit fractions of a set of objects. The year 4s subtracted fractions from whole numbers and mixed numbers. In topic, we completed our KWHL grid to show everything we have learnt in our topic 'India' and to finish this off, we completed our own quizzes we made in Blooket. Finally, we ended our week with Reward Day! The children made chocolate nests, we had an Easter egg hunt and then ended the day with a film. A big well done to all of Jupiter this term, they have all worked so hard. I hope you all have a lovely Easter break 🙂
W.C 18th March:
This week in Maths we have continued our work with fractions. We have spent time recognising equivalent fractions and equivalent fractions on a number line. Then we moved onto ordering and comparing fractions or mixed numbers and adding and subtracting fractions or mixed numbers. In English, we have been analysing persuasive writing in different texts, consolidating our understanding of persuasive writing techniques. Then we ended the week with planning and writing our own persuasive leaflet, persuading people to visit India. In RE, we answered our enquiry question 'Why is light important in different faiths?' and showed our learning from this term. In Art, we planned our final design ready for us to create next week. In Science, the year 3s learnt about the properties of rocks. In Topic, we learnt about what henna is and why it is used. We designed our own henna pattern and then tried to recreate it using our own 'henna'. Finally, we ended the week sharing our amazing Science homework projects, it is clear how hard everyone worked on these projects! I hope you all have a lovely weekend, one week to go!
W.C 11th March:
This week has been British Science week so we have been completing lots of fun Science activities! The children conducted their own investigations, they were given the investigation question 'which biscuit is the most durable?' and they decided how to find out! Some children built towers, some dropped biscuits and others dunked biscuits. As well as this, we were excited to have the children from Mercury class to join us learning about camouflage and how moths have adapted over time to blend in with their surroundings. Their children created moths and placed them around the playground before the predators (the grown ups!) tried to find them. Also, we took part in the British Science Week Live lesson and completed activities alongside this. In Maths we have been focusing on fractions. The year 3s spent time recognising unit and non-unit fractions, how to make a whole and then placing fractions on a number line. The year 4s looked at fractions greater than one, how to count in fractions and then ended the week with how to find fractions of an amount. At the beginning of the week the biscuits for our investigation mysteriously went missing, so we wrote newspaper reports based on this in Exciting Writing. In RE we discussed what the light at Hanukkah symbolises. Finally, we were lucky enough to have two PE sessions this week, one with Hunts and one with Mrs Griffiths and the year 5s! Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
W.C 4th March:
This week has been assessment week so the children have been working hard showing off what they have learnt. They completed Maths, Reading, Spelling and Grammar papers. We are so proud with how the children completed these assessments and they should be very proud of themselves! In DT, we have been researching and planning our Indian dishes and then we wrote up our final recipe ready for us to start cooking! In Science, we introduced our new units Y3- Rocks and Fossils and Y4- Sound. The children completed their KWHL grids and spent time designing and creating the working wall in the classroom. In RE, we spoke about what the symbol of light represents to Christians. For World Book Day, we spent time reading the The Black Book of Colours. We spent time practicing writing in braille and then we created our own class version of the book by writing their own sentences, writing in braille and creating their picture using PVA glue to give it the same effect as the book.
A big well done to all of Jupiter this week for their hard work!
W.B 25th February 2024:
In Maths this week, year 3s started by comparing and ordering lengths- using their conversion skills they have been practicing, they then moved onto finding perimeters of different shapes. The year 4s have been using their known facts about shapes to help them find missing lengths on shapes and then using these to find the perimeter of different shapes. In English we have been exploring different poems from different cultures. The children explored poems based on different festivals and then read them with expression and used actions alongside this. They then ended this with writing descriptively about one of the festivals we explored. In Art, the children used lino to plan and create their own repeating patterns. In PSHE, we watched some videos all about growth mindset and why mistakes can be good, then in groups we created posters for our classroom to remind us why a growth mindset is important and we wrote our own inspirational quotes. In Topic, we learnt how to pronounce and write the numbers 1-10 in Hindi, this was tricky but we were very determined! For PE we had our swimming lessons and we had a coach in from Hunts as well! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
W.C 12th February:
This last week has been a busy week. In Maths we have carried on our learning with length and perimeter. The year 3s have been measuring in millimeters, centimeters and meters and then moved onto equivalent lengths. The year 4s have been looking at equivalent lengths and then measuring the perimeter of rectilinear shapes. In English, we spent time recapping our understanding of inverted commas and then we planned and wrote our own extension to the story Oliver and the Seawigs or our own story based on the same structure. In Science we finished our units- forces and magnets (year 3) and electricity (year 4). The year 3s spent time making their own water magnets and the year 4s created their own circuits. In Music, Jupiter spent time with Mr Anns learning about two note patterns where they conducted the class with their own compositions. In PSHE we finished our learning on money and budgeting, we then ended the week completing a Natwest workshop where the children planned their own birthday party, that was the best value for money. The children were in groups and planned and budgeted for a birthday party.
Well done Jupiter Class for this half term, I hope you have a restful break!
W.C 5th February:
This week in Maths we have been consolidating our understanding and different methods for division and multiplication and then we started our new topic - length and perimeter. In English we recapped features of a non-chronological report and then planned, wrote and edited our own based on sea monkeys from Oliver and the Seawigs. In Art, we made repeated patterns from images based on India, we used different printing methods to create these. For Safer Internet Day, we watched a live lesson and then planned and started to create our page on the school website- which will be shared once we have finished! In RE, we discussed why light is important to Sikhs Bandi Chhor Divas (Sikh Diwali). We ended the week by sharing our Ghandi and Mother Teresa homework.
W.C 29th January:
This week in Maths, we have worked to consolidate our knowledge of division with and without remainders. The children have looked at different techniques to divide accurately including partitioning, flexible partitioning, place value charts, counting in multiples and using bus stop. As this is a tricky concept, we will come back to revisit this more in the near future. In English, the children read more of our text 'Oliver and the Seawigs' before writing and performing either a list poem or cinquain poem to describe the new island. We also thought about the new character Stacey de Lacey and created freeze frames depicting the reactions of Iris, Oliver and Stacey when they first met. As part of DT, the children followed a basic curry recipe and conducted taste tests of the ingredients to see which they liked and which they didn't. In PSHE, we explored money further with the children, focusing on measuring profit in enterprise. In Exciting Writing, the children wrote in character as Oliver, explaining to his diary the new events in the text. In Music, the children continued to look at Ravi Shankar, we learnt about drones and ragas and then performed our own as groups. Finally, we ended the week spending some time with Mars class thinking about Pride and creating our own alphabet.
W.C 22nd January:
This week in Maths the year 3s have been dividing a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number and then moved onto looking at flexible partitioning to help us when dividing. The year 4s have been working hard at using the grid method to help them multiply 2 and 3 digit numbers by 1 or 2 digit numbers. In English, we have continued to read Oliver and the Seawigs. We have been exploring new vocabulary, how characters have been using different language to portray different emotions and then drew and wrote descriptively about our own illustration based on a paragraph from the book. In Science, the year 4s discussed how to keep safe around electrical appliances and some of the dangers there may be. In Topic, we used our map skills to explore Indian rivers and oceans. We created our own fact files all about the River Ganges and we discussed the significance of the Ganges to Hindus. In RE we discussed why light is important to Hindus at Diwali and we looked at the story of Diwali. In Art we explored colour, pattern and print through simple repeated patterns and we created mood boards showing our responses.
W.C 15th January:
This week in English we have continued to read Oliver and the Seawigs. The children first wrote a diary in character as Oliver before we met Iris the mermaid and created role-on-the-wall descriptions for her. We used these description to create eye-charts linking to Iris' poor vision. In Maths, Year 3 have learnt how to use the grid method to multiply two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers. Year 4 learnt multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100, including decimal numbers! In PSHE, we started to look at money and savings. We spoke about different ways of gaining money as an adult and how we might protect this money by saving or investing. We looked more on the geography of India in our topic lesson and used compass directions to locate cities. In DT we started our new unit focused on Indian food. We researched different foods that modern Indian people would eat and how this compares to our own diets. Finally, the children had their first swimming session this week and they were all brilliant!
W.C 8th January:
What a busy first week back! In Maths, the year 3s looked at their 8 times table and the link between the two times table, the four times table and the eight times table. The year 4s looked at recognising factors and factor pairs. In English, we started our new unit focused on Oliver and the Seawigs. We made predictions based on illustrations from the book, we started to read the book and then discussed the idea of being an explorer and what we would need if we were explorers. We then ended the week writing a character description of Oliver, using the illustration and also what we have read so far. In RE we started work on our new enquiry question 'Why is light important to different Faiths?'. In Art, we completed an artist study on Gurjeet Singh. In Topic, we completed our KWHL grid for our new topic - India, and then we came up with our own quiz questions all about India ready create our own class quiz. The year 4s started their new Science unit- Electricity. They spent time identifying common appliances that use electricity. Finally, we took part in the Indian Dance workshop. The children learnt a few facts about India as Natalie the teacher has lived there! They learnt different hand movements had different meanings and then in the end performed the dance.
Well done to Jupiter this week for their hard work. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Autumn Term
W.C 18th December:
Even though it has only been three days, we have still been busy! We started off our week with the brilliant Rocksteady concert. In PSHE, we identified people who were special to us, and we recognised how they support us. In Art, we finished creating using clay and Modroc and then painted our final pieces of Victorian clothing. Please take a look at the pictures of our final pieces, the children were independent and so creative! In Topic and RE we finished our units and completed the KWHL grids. The children have loved the Victorians this term. In Science, the Year 3s explored shadow sizes and how these can change. The Year 4s identified and explained the different stages of a water cycle. Finally, we ended our week with Reward Day! We completed Christmas crafts and activities, had the amazing surprise of watching Aladdin Pantomime and then ended the day with a film and snacks. We all want to say a massive well done to all the children this term, they have worked so hard and definitely deserve the break. We hope you all have a lovely Christmas and see you in the New Year!
W.C 11th December:
This week in Maths the Year 3s have been multiplying and dividing by 4 and 8. The Year 4s have started their work on area. They now understand what area is, can find the area of different shapes and they can compare areas of different shapes. In English, we explored a variety of Christmas Haikus. We then moved onto brainstorming ideas about Winter and then we created our own Winter Tanka poems. In Science, the Year 3s demonstrated and explained how light travels to form a shadow. They conducted an investigation to see what the best material would be for curtains. In Art, we started creating our final piece based on a piece of Victorian clothing using clay, Modroc and wire. In DT, we tested out our games and then evaluated them and decided if we met the requirements. In Topic we explored the differences between Victorian Christmas's and a modern Christmas. In Geography, we named and located areas of high ground in the UK.
W.C 4th December:
This week in Maths the year 3s have been focusing on our three times tables and the year 4s have been problem solving and consolidating their learning of multiplication and division. In English we have been looking at the features of Kenning poems and then creating and performing our own- all with the theme of Christmas. Please watch the videos on this post- can you guess what the poems are about? On Monday we had our Christingle service, which was lovely as always! In Science the year 4s investigated materials as they change state and completed an investigation where they were melting chocolate at different temperatures. In Art, we experimented with different materials to see what material we would like to use when we create our final piece. The children tried out Modroc and clay to try and create different textures. In Computing, we spoke about how websites can be shared via the World Wide Web and what this is. Then we moved onto describing how content can be added and accessed on the World Wide Web. Finally, we ended the week with a DT day. We spent the day creating and finishing our board games. Next week we will be evaluating and testing out our games!
W.C 27th November:
This week in English we have been filling in gaps as identified from assessment week and our in class learning. We have looked closely at using apostrophes for singular and plural possession, creating word families, correctly punctuating sentences starting with subordinate clauses and adding detail to our writing using different word classes. All of these things will continue to help us with our writing as once the children understand the SPaG, they can successfully apply it in their work. In Maths, Year 3 have started to look at multiplication using arrays and equal groups. Children should be confident with the 2/5/10 times tables to help them be as successful as possible in our Year 3 learning. Some children have been using TTRockstars to consolidate this learning before we move on to the 3,4 and 8 times tables. Year 4 have continued to focus on multiplication and division and have looked at 11s, 12s, 1s and 0s. We have looked at the difference between dividing a number by 1 and by itself.
In Exciting Writing, we wrote persuasive letters to Father Christmas explaining why we deserve to be on the Nice List this year - let's hope he agrees! We enjoyed a festive visit from Genr8 who led an assembly called 'Christmas Hope.' It looked at the Christian belief that Jesus was born to bring hope to the world.
W.C 20th November:
This week Jupiter have been working really hard to complete their first assessments of the year. These help us to see what the children are doing really well with and any topics that we may need to cover. The children really impressed all of us with their focus and determination!
In Science, Year 4 looked closer at gases and completed 3 experiments to explore the properties of gas. In PSHE, we spoke about trust and how it can be maintained or broken in a friendship. In Geography, we focused on longitude and latitude. In Art we spent time sketching and we sketched different Victorian outfits. Finally, we had a very creative day on Friday. We spent all morning starting our Victorian games in DT and then we ended the day trying some simple Victorian arts and crafts to create games. We made a Thaumatrope which showed a bird in a cage as well as making our own penny twists and Zoetropes.
W.C 13th November:
This week in Maths the year 3s have been focusing on the skill of estimating and using the inverse to check their answers. The year 4s have been applying their knowledge of multiplication and division when looking at the 3s, 6s, 7s and 9 times tables. In English, we planned and wrote our own set of instructions for 'How to make a personality potion'. The children made sure to include all the key features of a set of instructions. In DT we planned our Victorian games ready to start making them this week. In Computing we looked at the difference between websites and webpages and also discussed what routers are and why we need them. In Science the year 3s focused on reflections. We spent some time experimenting which material is the most reflective and why. Finally, as it was Anti-Bullying Week, we started the week with a live assembly all about World Kindness Day and then ended the week with a live lesson all about Making a Noise about Anti-Bullying.
W.C 6th November:
What a fantastic week it has been!
All of the children have enjoyed taking part in careers week. We've welcomed a number of visitors into school: an agronomist; a civil servant; a midwife; a plumbing and heating engineer; a fire crew and a gentleman from Cambridge University. Thank you very much to everyone who has given up their time to talk to us; the children found it very interesting, have learnt a lot and have had their eyes opened to opportunities for their futures.
The highlight of the week for most of our children was our adventure to KidZania. They enjoyed trying out a variety of careers and occupations, and have been spending their hard earned Kidzos at school today!
W.C 30th October:
Welcome back! This week in English, we have looked at balanced arguments linking to Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. The children learned about causal and contrasting conjunctions and how they can be used to add clarity. We learnt about PEE paragraphs using a point, evidence and explanation. This also linked to our Exciting Writing as the children wrote a discussion to answer the question 'Should Halloween be banned?' In Maths, Year 4 have started to think about multiplication, focusing on the 3 and 6 times tables. We also have practiced speed to start preparing for the multiplication check in June. Year 3 have continued to consolidate their addition and subtraction knowledge of three digit numbers in column.
In Topic, we were learning about the industrial revolution. The children matched the inventions to information paragraphs and found out who created them. We also spoke about what revolution means and how we are in the middle of a technological revolution. The Year 3s started their new Science unit focused on light and discussed the importance of light. Year 4 took part in a football competition at the prep on Thursday. Finally, we ended our week creating firework art for display during the PTA disco.
W.C 16th October:
What a busy last week in Jupiter Class! In Maths we have been consolidating our learning of addition and subtraction using column method. The children have wowed us with their determination with this and they have really shown off their learning! In English we have read the poem Jabberwocky. The children first looked at different conventions of poems then we moved onto making our own nonsense words like the words in Jabberwocky. Finally, we ended the week by practicing and memorising a stanza of the poem with actions. The children then filmed themselves performing their part of the poem. In Science the Year 4 children set up their own experiment focused on teeth. They put eggs in different liquids to see how they were affected. We then spent time looking at the eggs are noticing differences in colour and texture. The Year 3s spent time discussing the digestive system and exploring the journey through the digestive system. In DT, we spent time conducting consumer research focused on our games we are going to create next term. In Geography we looked at the eight compass points and explained how to get from one location to another using the compass points. On Monday we had our Harvest festival and then we ended our week with a class full of scary hair! A big well done to all children in Jupiter Class, they have settled in so well 🙂 Hope you all have a lovely half term and fingers crossed the weather improves!
W.C 9th October:
This week in Maths we have been focusing on addition and subtraction using column method, the children worked really hard on this method- particularly when we needed to carry or exchange! In English, we planned and wrote our own ending to Street Child. We will finish the story next week and see if any of our endings were close to the real ending! In Science, the Year 3s focused on the skeleton. The children drew their own skeleton and labelled the bones. The Year 4s created their own investigation focused on tooth decay. The children chose different liquids to put an egg shell in to see how the liquid affects it. In Topic, the children shared their homework projects with each other and then focused on comparing Victorian life to Modern life. They worked in partners to choose either houses, toys, clothing or school and created a poster comparing between life in the Victorian Era and now. On Thursday the Year 3s went to a sports event in Kimbolton, and the Year 4s had a PSHE session focused on Mental Health as the 10th October was World Mental Health Day. Finally, we ended the week with an extra PE session as we spent time with the Sports Leaders. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
W.C 2nd October 2023:
Another busy week in Jupiter class! In Maths the Year 3s have been consolidating their understanding of number bonds, adding and subtracting 1s,10s and 100s and then ended the week with focusing on pattern spotting. The Year 4s have been spending time looking at counting forwards and backwards past zero into negative numbers, adding and subtracting 2s, 10s, 100s and 1,000s. They then ended the week by consolidating their previous learning of addition.
In English, we spent time focusing on using expanded noun, writing a setting description and then we spent time looking at how to use speech marks correctly.
In RE we spoke about Humanism and we researched about Greta Thunberg and how she impacted the world. In Art we spent time exploring different Victorian fashion and how this has influenced fashion in modern day.
W.C 25th September 2023:
In English this week we have continued our work on Street Child by Berlie Doherty. The children wrote a diary entry from the perspective of Jim and his life in the workhouse so far. We watched a video which showed the conditions for children in Victorian workhouses which really helped the children get into character. We also practiced our illustration skills by drawing the scene that we could visualise while we listened to Chapter 8 again. We thought about descriptive vocabulary and tried hard to incorporate this into free verse poems from the perspective of Jim when he escaped. In Maths, the children built on their knowledge of number lines to identify and estimate numbers up to 1,000 (Year 3) and 10,000 (Year 4). We started to order and compare numbers up to the same value before Year 3 learnt how to count in multiples of 50 and Year 4 worked on their rounding skills.
In topic, we looked at Victorian inventions and discussed how they changed the world for the better. The children then picked an invention and created an advertisement poster, thinking about the main benefits of the product. Year 3 continued their Science work, moving on to think about skeletons. We learnt about endo, exo and hydroskeletons before sorting animals into these categories. Finally, we practiced our sawing and joining skills in DT where we made wooden frames to help us with our Victorian toys projects.
W.C 25th September:
This week in English, we have started our new text called 'Street Child'. We analysed the front cover of the text and discussed what questions we have and what we think we know about the book. We read the first few chapters of the text as a class, thinking really carefully about some of the trickier, old-fashioned vocabulary. We created a role-on-the wall for the main character Jim Jarvis thinking about both his physical appearance and what his personality might be like. Finally, the children created freeze frames to depict the scenes from the story so far. In Maths, we have continued with Place Value, moving onto larger numbers - Year 3 looked at numbers up to 1,000 and Year 4 looked at numbers to 10,000. We focused on partitioning and flexible partitioning before working on 1/10/100/1,000 more and less. We ended the week with a focus on Roman Numerals, especially linked to time telling.
In Science, Year 4 started their unit by looking at food chains. We discussed the terms prey, predator and producer as well as primary and secondary consumers. In RE, we began our unit about people of faith by looking at a few influential people of faith such as Mother Theresa and Marcus Rashford. The children brainstormed their own beliefs and shared some lovely thoughts such as 'I believe that I am loved' and 'I believe that everyone should have somewhere warm to live.' In Geography, we focused on naming and locating continents, countries and oceans. In Art, we started to look at the Victorian designer Charles Frederick Worth. He is often known as the first fashion designer! The children really impressed me with their Exciting Writing editing which focused on subordinate conjunctions. Year 3 children learned (Year 4 recapped) using ISAWAWABUB to add detail to our clauses before applying this to our writing.
W.C 11th September 2023:
Another busy week in Jupiter Class! In Maths we started our work on place value, specifically focusing on representing numbers, partitioning and placing numbers on number lines. In English we finished our work focused on 'In Our Hands', we finished reading the story and then the years threes continued the story and wrote their own! In DT we introduced our new unit of work focusing on making our own game. In the first lesson we conducted market research about Victorian-style toys and games. In PSHE we spent time understanding our role in helping the school feel like a place where everyone can learn safely and happily. The year threes started their Science unit 'Animals including humans' and spent time focusing on the five food groups. We also had our first HSSP session focusing on dribbling the ball. The year threes ended their week with Forest school, whilst the year fours were busy at our Grafham residential!
W.B 4th September 2023:
A big well done to all of Jupiter this week! We are so impressed with how well the Year 3's have settled in and the Year 4's have been super role models :) This week we started our Creative week by looking at the story In Our Hands by Lucy Farfort. We have spent time predicting, discussing the emotions of the characters, using our inference skills and then ended the week with following along with the author and illustrator and created our own watercolours of the main character. We started our new topic 'The Victorians' by completing a timeline activity and then spent time researching the monarchy and created a monarchy family tree from the Victorians to modern day. In PE we worked on our football skills and focused on dribbling the ball. In Art we research William Morris and then planned our own identical repeating pattern, influenced by William Morris. To end the week we created our repeating patterns using a range of materials to help us print.
