Today, we were visited by firefighter Kieran, who told us how to be fire safe. He told us how we could spot a fire in the home, how to escape safely if there was a fire in the home, how to make a 999 call and the importance of smoke alarms. We were given a picture and had to put a cross where we think the smoke alarms should go.
We even got to try on fire fighters kit!

Today was Fred's last day at Morda school. But it isn't a goodbye, as he will come back to visit it us. We made him a card to say how much we are going to miss him and sang to him 'Morda we are here'.
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We visited our wonderful library to enjoy some of the books. Here we are sharing a book with our friends.

Our mantle starts in 1967, when The Beatles were asked to be a part of the very first, live satellite broadcast across 25 countries. We were asked by the BBC to help with the broadcast, so we needed to find out what roles there would be.
Who would be part of the team?  What skills would we need?
'Sound technicians'
'Someone to tune the guitars'
'Lighting technicians - to make sure the lights aren't too bright'
'To make the stage'
'Props'
'To make sure the microphones are working and at the right height'
'Know how the satellite works'
'To work the cameras'
'Costume designers - to make sure The Beatles have the right clothes'
We all agreed to help with the broadcast and to be part of the team. We created a still of the role we would have in the team. We asked each other questions about our role.
'Is your job hard to do?'
'Do you need lot's of equipment?'
'Is your job musical?'
'Does it take a long time to do?'

We had a visit today from Mr Cooper, who talked to us all about growing up in the 1960's. We prepared questions to ask him. We asked if he went on holiday, if he owned a television or a car. He brought in some Manchester United football programmes for us to look at, he could even remember the most important football match... the 1966 world cup! We asked him what sweets he ate and he gave us a packed of love hearts to try! We found out lot's about life in the 1960's and how some things were very different but also how some things were just the same as it is today.

In our science, we have begun to find out about rocks and how they are formed. Today, we have learnt the three types of rock and the rock cycle. In our classroom we have an investigation area where we can become geologists and discover various fossils and rocks.

This week, we have begun to learn our new 'Talk for writing' story, called Clock Close. The children learn sections of the story through actions and repetition. We then create story maps to help remember the sequence and key vocabulary. We then move on to innovate the story and make it our own.

This story is about time travel, where a key is found and travelling back in time to a clock workshop. Here we are retelling the story in full -  with actions!

In our assembly this week, Mrs Chapman spoke to us about the different emotions we might feel. She also talked to us about how we can recognise how we feel and how we can control our emotions if we need to. We will recognise our emotions by using different zones.

During our circle time today, we talked about which zones we have been in and the situation that caused the emotion. In our classroom, we have a new area which we can go to if ever we find ourselves creeping into the yellow or red zones. Or if we just want some time to ourselves!

​We hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas and a well deserved rest.

History
This half term we will be travelling back in time to the 1960’s where we will be discovering what it was like living in the 1960’s. We will be learning about the importance of The Beatles in popular culture and how they have influenced music through to modern day.
Through our mantle, we will be travelling back in time to when The Beatles wrote ‘All You Need is Love’. ‘All You Need Is Love’ was written by John Lennon especially for ‘Our World’, the world’s first televised satellite link-up between 25 countries worldwide. The BBC had suggested the idea of using new satellite relays to connect the national television networks of countries across the world, to make a live link-up on a scale previously unknown. The Beatles were the natural choice to represent Britain, and they decided to compose a new song especially for the broadcast. We will become a team of experts working for the BBC to transmit the song by the Beatles across the world.
We will also be learning about Mary Quant and her influence on fashion and design.

Art
As part of our 1960s topic, we will be looking at pop art and the work of Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist.
Science.
This half term we will be learning about rocks and fossils. We will be comparing and grouping together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties. We will be describing in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock.
 
PE
PE will continue to be on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please make sure PE kits are brought into school on a Monday and then taken home on a Friday. PE kits should include plain coloured shorts and jogging bottoms, white or navy t-shirt, trainers and a plain sweatshirt. Please make sure these are clearly named as things can get mixed up whilst getting changed!
 
Outdoor learning
 We will be using the forest school every other Wednesday. We will be going out in all weather, so please make sure kits include plenty of layers (Water proof coats and trousers, jogging bottoms, jumper, gloves and hat. Please no jeans, as these can be uncomfortable if they get wet) Again, make sure kits are clearly labelled.
 
Reading.
 We will change books once a week and children can take home a book to enjoy. Please make sure book bags are in school every day. It is lovely to read your comments in reading diaries, even if we don’t respond, we always read them!
 
We are looking forward to another busy half term. Our time travel topic is going to be an exciting one, so if you have anything from the 1960’s that we might be interested in, please let us know!
 
As always, if you have any worries or questions, please let us know.
 
Mrs Humphreys, Mrs McTweed and Mrs Ryan