Welcome to Our Class Page!

You will find all the information you will need about our wonderful Oak Class (Years 3-6) using the links. Thank you for visiting our page.

The Highway Man – Alfred Noyes

The children from Oak Class perform the poem – The Highwayman, by Alfred Noyes  – as part of their English poem unit. Great job children!

ROCK’N’ ROLL TOPIC!

Anansi English Topic!

Learning about stories from another culture

Parliament Week 2024 – A visit from the Mayor!

Anglo Saxons!
The children had an incredible Anglo-Saxon Day, dressing up and completing activities all to do with that era in history! We then welcomed a virtual visit – children demonstrated their knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons and hoe they use to live!

The Build up to Christmas…

Wow! What an exciting few weeks it has been!

Along with the rest of the school, Class 2 have been busy learning songs and lines ready for the performance of ‘Born in Barn’. Additionally, they have also spent time learning additional songs and pieces of music in their weekly Band and Choir practice, which takes part on a Tuesday. It was an incredible show on Thursday, and you made everyone so proud! A highlight was definitely the audience joining in with the 12 days of Christmas, complete with singing, musical instruments and images to hold!

Class 2 have also been treated to Burnley Youth Theatre’s production of ‘The Big Bad Wolf’, of which they performed to us in school. We were inspired by their modern take on the traditional play, and even got the chance to take part in a workshop run by the producer of the show – this was great use for the nativity!

Finally, the icing on the Christmas cake was our whole school Christmas party. We enjoyed a two course lunch, and were treated to ice cream with lots of caramel sauce. All before we danced the afternoon away, and celebrated what a fantastic term we have had altogether! Merry Christmas!

Museum of Lancashire, Henry Moore and God’s Covenants

Class 2 were really lucky to have the opportunity to visit the Museum of Lancashire. It was here that we were able to experience the life of Secret Agents during WWII. We had great fun looking at historical sources, learning Morse Code and finding out the best tips on how to be a spy…and not get caught!

In Art, we’ve enjoyed exploring the work of Henry Moore and his Shelter Drawings. We have explored using different mediums to recreate his pieces such as charcoal. We are now looking forward to working on a bigger scale – watch this space!

We have also spent lots of time learning about God’s Covenants, and those that he made with different people in the Old Testament. We were particularly good at acting these out for other’s to guess which of the 10 Commandments were which. Additionally, we enjoyed the opportunity to talk about the promises we have made and to also explore the themes of trust and courage.

Meeting Winston Churchill, Veteran Bernard and Remembrance Day

We have been fortunate to have met some inspiring individuals over the past two weeks! Winston Churchill came to visit us virtually and we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to hear about his life, work and legacy. As always, Class 2 thought of some amazing questions to ask him to add to their building knowledge about WWII. Following our virtual meeting, we were lucky to meet Bernard, who is a local war veteran. Whilst he was only a small child in WWII, he was still able to tell us about his role as a Colonel in the Infantry Regiment. He gave the children a super talk about Remembrance too, and some amazing life advice! We were all inspired by his bravery, and it led to us delivering some poignant prayers and poem readings in our school’s Remembrance service held in our memory garden.

Operation Christmas Child

Following our last topic, ‘Passport to Europe’ and our learning about refugees through our class text, ‘No Ballet Shoes in Syria’, we wanted to do something to help those less fortunate than us. After lots of discussion, we decided on donating gifts to those abroad at Christmas time. We showed great care and compassion for others, as we donated, wrapped and packed 14 boxes full of exciting gifts. We even wrote little hand written notes to recipients. We’re really excited to see where our gifts end up through the barcode tracking. We’re hoping to track this on our scratch the world map, that we’ve been using throughout our Geography units!

Christine from Cafod and Cross Country Success!

Recently, we were lucky to have Christine from Cafod to visit us and talk to us. Through lots of different activities, she talked to us about Catholic Social Teaching and how we can ensure we surround ourselves by Catholic values everyday of our lives.

Additionally, Year 5 and 6 got the opportunity to take part in the small school’s cross country competition. It was wet, muddy and lots of fun! All the children that took part ran their hearts out, and showed great resilience and strength to finish the course. The girls team placed 3rd overall, which was an amazing result!

Autumn 1 – Our European Discoveries and much more…

Our theme for this half term has been ‘Passport to Europe’. We entered our first day of the year by having a continental breakfast of croissants, which we all devoured! From this, we took our learning over the English Channel and spent time exploring mainland Europe through map work, and the study of the art of Antony Gaudi! Closer to home, we looked at the work of David Hockney as part of our work on Creation and Laudato Si. Class 2 have really enjoyed taking the opportunity to lead Prayer and Liturgy and choosing current themes such as this to lead their collective worship.

We worked collectively a lot in Science, as we thought deeply about sound through different experiments…with one of our favourites being making string telephones!

Year 5 and 6 also got the opportunity to visit Cobble Hey Farm and be part of the planting of new wildflowers. They were also lucky enough to meet some of the furry friends on the farm too!

Summer – Oceans & Plastic Pollution

This term, we have been learning about British seaside holidays in the Victorian era and how holidays have changed since then. We will look at the railway boom and how this affected people’s lives. We will be focusing on the history and geography of Blackpool and the impact the railway boom had on going on seaside holidays. We have also been looking at the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and try to play a small part in tackling this. We have been doing some exciting upcycling in art, creating seascapes using recycled materials. In English, we will be looking at seaside poetry, and we took a class vote on our next class read, which is ‘The Lost Whale.’ We loved ‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold and wanted to link our Summer topic to our class read about the ocean.

PE Competitions

Oceans and Plastic Pollution

Spring 2 – Animal Conservation

We are absolutely delighted to share with you the incredible experiences and invaluable learning moments from our class.

During Spring 2 – Animal Conservation, we embarked on an exciting journey with a captivating ‘Topic Launch’ at the Wild Board Park. This exceptional park is dedicated to the conservation of animals and boasts a remarkable collection of rare and endangered species, including deer, meerkats, and fascinating amphibians. What a stroke of fortune it was for us to have the entire park exclusively for our class, granting us the unique opportunity to interact with these diverse animals firsthand and delve into the park’s remarkable efforts in animal conservation.

Below, we invite you to explore the remarkable range of topics we have been immersing ourselves in this term!

Habitat Corners

We utilized our mathematical skills to craft a three-dimensional corner by using card, scissors, glue, and a ruler. With the construction of our corners completed, we embarked on transforming them into vibrant habitats using an array of materials. Drawing upon the knowledge gained from our science lessons, coupled with the resources available in the art room, we enriched our models with captivating details.

Once our imaginative habitats took shape, we got busy in using our imagination to complete a creative write. We were tasked with creating descriptive narratives from the perspective of the creatures inhabiting our creations. Each of us crafted unique and captivating descriptions that brought our habitats to life.

Take a look below to see what else we have been doing this term!

Spring 1 – Rock and Roll

Topic Launch – Stone-Age History Visit!

What a first day back to school. This workshop was our introduction to the Stone Age topic ready for Spring 1, the children are now so excited to start the topic and it has to be said we can’t wait to get going.

What we did in 1 whole day:

  • The evolution of the human race
  • Timeline
  • Decoding the scientific vocabulary
  • Comparing bones
  • Why aren’t we extinct?
  • A hunt!
  • Archery and spear throwing 
  • Otzi the Ice Man
  • Cave painting
  • Making stone age tools
  • Sketching tools and making predictions
  • Myth Busting and Q&A

Art and DT

Geography (Volcanoes and Earthquakes)

History (Stone Age to Iron Age)

Diana Award (Anti-Racist Bullying)

We made our own Stone Age houses out of clay!

Autumn 2 The Art of Food

Take a look below to see what we have been up to this term!

Funky Furniture

Our new funky furniture has arrived and the children have loved taking their favourite book into our new reading area.

Topic Launch

We started our new topic with our topic launch of making poo! It’s safe to say that some of us were left disgusted!

Art

As we dived further into our topic, we made our own teeth made from clay. Look at our amazing work below.

Remembrance Day

We were fortunate enough to have a visit from a WW2 veteran who is 97 years old! He told us all about his time during the World War and was an inspiration to us all.

PE

We welcomed back Judo and Fencing this term and once again it has been a massive hit at St. Mary’s…

Nativity!

A massive WELL DONE to all the children at St.Mary’s who put on an amazing show this year. As always, you have made everyone proud of your efforts. The children performed their first concert in front of an audience and it was safe to say everyone was left very impressed with how far they’ve come this term.

Autumn 1 – Healthy Humans

What a start it has been to the new school year! Our topic for Autumn 1 is ‘Healthy Humans’. To kick start our topic, we had our topic launch which involved the children of Class 2 partaking in a Science carousel. The different stations included were:

  • Our very own operation table.
  • Creating our own fact page using the iPads and our new Science books.
  • To identify the bones of the skeleton, which involved using our life size skeleton (Steve) and our very own organ apron.
  • Finally, the children used our new “My Body” interactive quiz which taught us further about our body.

Throughout Science, we completed various experiments such as answering the question, ‘Does a longer femur make you jump further?’ When comparing bones in different skeletons, the children acted as Archaeologists to discover what bones had been buried at St. Mary’s. We ensured that the bones were handled with care and gloves were used so they were not damaged.  To end our topic, we had a virtual visit from Dr. Jo who talked to us further about the human body and the importance of keeping healthy. Class 2 thoroughly enjoyed asking Dr. Jo lots of questions, whilst also telling her all about what we have been learning.

PE

This term in PE, Class 2 have been putting their netball skills to the test. We have developed our skills of passing, movement, shooting and then applying it to a game situation, with our brand new netballs and posts.  Our Year 6 children were fortunate enough to take part in the St. Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst Netball competition and test their skills against lots of other schools.

Art

Class 2 have been working hard in Art to create their own fruit face portraits inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Mrs. Jennings supported the children by teaching them various techniques and methods that were then applied to their final piece. They can now be seen in class on our Art display. Not only did Class 2 create portraits, but they created their own clay fruit bowls which turned out fantastic. The children took their time to add  fine details to their fruit. Take a look below at our amazing art work!

Music

With the help of Mrs. Gilmour and Mr. Warren the children have been learning various instruments. Our new keyboards have been available for the children to use and develop their skills. The school band is coming together and is starting to sound brilliant. Mr. Warren has been impressed with the progress the children have been making with their individual instruments.

Cycle B 2021-2022

IRON MAN

The children started their Iron Man topic, with a bang! As part of our curriculum, where we start with topic launch, a 10ft Iron Man landed on the school grounds. Luckily, the CSI team were out their to investigate the strange being. Children used the experience to support their creative writing and even to incorporate the Iron Man into their music lessons!

In Class 2, we have been working hard on replicating how Ted Hughes creates suspense and imagery in the story, ‘The Iron Man’.

We have been focusing on writing our own diary entries, plus techniques on how to write a novel. We have thoroughly enjoyed The Iron Man topic and have recently created our own pop up book based on our favourite chapter from the book. Below are some examples of our work. Enjoy!

Van Gogh Media City

Class 2 were fortunate enough to visit Media City and watch Van Gogh Live. It was an incredible experience, which saw us discover his amazing art work. Take a look below at our school trip out. We’ve even tried applying his techniques to our own art work.

The Great Plague 1665

After the massive hit of ‘The Iron Man’ the children were starting to think what could possibly top our next class topic. Fortunately for Class 2, The Great Plague was up next. The children started to learn lots of horrible and disgusting things about the plague and how it terribly impacted London in 1665. As part of the class topic, Class 2 have been reading the story ‘Plague: A Cross on the Door’ by Ann Turnbull. This story took us back to 1665 through the life of Sam, who is the main character and is a nine year old boy (the age of some of our Class 2 pupils). Sam has no family, but lives and works for the shoemaker, Mr Kemp. The story hooked the children and left them wanting to know more as the days passed.

Additionally, Class 2 were set the challenge of writing a newspaper report on the impact of the plague in London. Through their hard work, the children produced some amazing newspaper reports which can be seen in our reading area. We have also been using our Art and DT skills to create London houses, doors and rats which were made out of clay. Take a look below at some of our brilliant designs and hard work throughout the term!

VR Experience

For our extraordinary ending of the unit Amazon Adventure, the children were fortunate enough to see the Amazon river and rainforest from the comfort of our classroom. We were able to see various animals that lived in the rainforest such as, gorillas, orang-utans, sloths, ants and spiders. Additionally, the children were put to test with a geography quiz, which took them around the world to visit lots of famous landmarks.

PE

Throughout last term, Class 2 have taken part in various sports competitions despite the challenges of COVID-19. It has been brilliant for the children to get involved in such a wide range of sports. As of yet, the children have taken part in Fencing, Dance, Judo, Pickle Ball, Football, Swimming and now Glow Dodgeball! Glow Dodgeball put the children through their paces, but this time in the dark!! Class 2 competed against many different local schools within the Gartstang community. Glow Dodgeball was a massive hit and it’s something we eagerly look forward to taking part in again. Not only that, but this term Class 2 will be putting their skills to the test in Curling! Watch this space!

Take a look through the gallery below to see how much fun we have had in PE last term.

Curling

Wow! What an experience curling has been!!! Within the 5 weeks, we have learnt about all the skills needed to become a master curler. The final session put our skills to the test, as we battled it out against one another. Overall, Curling was amazing fun! Definitely keep an eye out for any future St. Mary’s Olympic stars.

MEET OUR NEW YEAR 6 PREFECTS!

Well done to our new Class 2 prefects. They will taking on a number of responsibilities, which include running various lunchtime clubs (choir, phonics, pickleball and football0, school council, but most importantly, being positive role models.

OUR NEW SCHOOL LINK – ST. MARY’S IN MALAWI