This half, we have started our new topic, ‘Maafa’ where we have studied Africa past and present, with a focus on Benin. We have also looked at the development of the transatlantic slave trade, what life was like for people during this time and what events led to the abolition of slavery. Children have been using their writing skills to create non-chronological reports, leaflets, newspaper reports and diary entries. Additionally, we have finished our class book, Freedom, where we learnt about the life of a boy called Nat who moves to London after being a slave in Jamaica.

In Art, we have been studying ‘Tints, Tones and Shades’, where we have created some lovely landscape paintings and sketches with a focus on perspective and shading. During Science, we have learnt about the circulatory system and the job of the heart. We created our own clay models of the heart and conducted an experiment creating blood using food dye and water. Additionally, we have conducted other interesting experiments during our Science day.

Next half term, we will continue with our Topic and look forward to some exciting events ahead!

In Summer 2, we have continued our topic, Groundbreaking Greeks, where we have looked closely at the city-state of Athens. Additionally, we have studied key important figures in history such as Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle and Archimedes. As a class, we have learnt about the Greeks’ achievements in Philosophy, Maths and Medicine, discussing how this can still have an impact today in modern day society. Also, we have learnt about democracy in Greece and key landmarks such as the Acropolis. To finish our topic, we will be looking at the Greek Olympics, arts, culture, and Alexander the Great.

 During Art, we have been studying the expressionist movement and created our own pieces of expressionist art influenced by Edvard Munch. In French, we have learnt about how to describe different shapes and discuss key classroom vocabulary. Finally, in DT we are looking at Greek architecture and designing our own examples of buildings you would see in ancient times. What a great end to another fantastic year in Maples class!

We have had an extremely busy half term, finishing with our topic 'Maafa'. During this time, we focussed on what life was like after the abolition of slavery and learnt about the colonisation of Africa.  In English sessions, the children worked extremely hard creating their own wonderful escape narratives based on our class story. We were delighted to have a special Africa workshop, which was run by some of our amazing parents, allowing the pupils to handle special artefacts and celebrate different cultures. 

After finishing our Maafa topic, we have also engaged with some Geography sessions, learning about key map skills and climate change. We have been lucky enough to have another exciting project, working alongside one of our parents and The Open University in creating and designing a game based on the theme of climate change.

During our DT sessions, we baked some delicious bread rolls that were enjoyed by all the children. Additionally, we had an interesting green elf visitor this month and created some excellent 'How To Steal Christmas' instructions based on the animated version of The Grinch. We look forward to another exciting and busy half term soon!