Classrooms

Darwin Class Message

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2 days ago
Posted on 13th Feb 2026 by

End of half-term.

It’s hard to believe we’ve already reached the halfway point of the spring term. The weeks have flown by and what a busy, purposeful half‑term it has been. ‘Darwin’ has been full of energy, curiosity and plenty of hard work; it’s been wonderful to see just how much progress all of the children have made.

Recently, the weather hasn’t always been on our side and there have certainly been plenty of rainy days. As ever, the children have made the very best of indoor wet‑play — creativity, collaboration and a lot of laughter have brightened even the greyest afternoons. Their resilience and good humour have been a real highlight.

As usual at the end of a half-term, we have the privilege to select a recipient for Star Pupil. This is always a challenge and I wish we could award twenty‑five! After much deliberation, we have chosen Isabella. Isabella has not only worked incredibly hard in all of her lessons but has also put in a lot of extra effort at home. As a result, she has made phenomenal progress and should feel incredibly proud of all of her achievements.

As we look ahead, I think we are all very much looking forward to lighter evenings, drier days and the sense of renewal that spring always brings. For now, we hope everyone enjoys a well‑earned rest over half‑term. (Don’t forget that maths club begins after half-term – see dates listed on this class page. Maths Club runs from 3:15 – 4:15 after school on a Monday and is free of charge. I would encourage all Year 6 pupils to attend as many sessions as they possibly can!)

Details about homework for the break can be found in the homework section below.

All the best, Mrs. E.

Darwin class members making the most of rainy-day indoor breaks.

 

What is the significance of the books on the reading chair?

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2 weeks ago
Posted on 31st Jan 2026 by

Friday 30th January Update

Look at our fabulous new reading chair, complete with screen adaptation of David Almond’s Skellig and a pomegranate. You will have to see if your child can tell you the significance of those items!

Certificate winners:

Last week, Oli H was awarded the writing certificate for his outstanding recount work. He worked really hard during the editing process to ensure that his spelling and punctuation were accurate. The red certificate was awarded to Lake for his excellent, productive week and his kindness in helping others around the school.

This week, the red certificate has been awarded to Oliver D for his amazing effort in our English lessons. We were all really impressed with his writing! The maths certificate was awarded to Annabelle B for her determination (and success) in mastering percentages this week.

We won the attendance award too, so we need to think of a way to celebrate that next week (not karaoke though – never again!!).

This week’s homework is to complete the task/tasks in individual maths target books and bring them in on Monday so they can be updated.

Apologies for the late page update this week!

Mrs. E.

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1 month ago
Posted on 16th Jan 2026 by

Friday 16th January Update

We have enjoyed our first snow-free week back in school! We have particularly enjoyed reading Skellig, which we finished today. We are very much looking forward to watching the screen adaptation next week, to see how it compares and contrasts with the book.

Our certificates this week:

Jolame was awarded the reading certificate for his excellent reading with Mrs. Burrows this week and Heath was awarded the red certificate for his concentration and diligence in maths.

Details about homework can be found in the section below.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs. E.

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1 month ago
Posted on 08th Jan 2026 by

Welcome back!

Believe it or not (looks out of the window) it is now the spring term! As you will be aware, there are severe weather warnings across the country, including our area. With this in mind, I have given the children in Darwin their homework, plus some additional tasks, today. This can be completed tomorrow, should the school have to close. (We will update you about this as soon as we possibly can.) Further information, including helpful links to videos and games, can be found in the homework section below.

The Year 6 children have brought home their maths target books today. I have glued in a summary of their autumn assessments in reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar and maths. I hope you find the information useful.

Stay warm; stay safe!

Mrs. E.

 

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2 months ago
Posted on 05th Dec 2025 by

Darwin Update Friday 5th December

So, it is now December. The school Christmas tree is up; advent calendars are being opened and we are now allowed to ‘mention’ Christmas in Darwin class – but only briefly, yet!

This week has been an interesting and varied one. In maths, we have reached the end of our fraction work, for now, and have started looking at position and direction, specifically co-ordinates. We enjoyed sharing the questions we created for homework on Monday – I think I may have some future exam writers in the class! On Tuesday afternoon, we had a visitor in school who told us what it is like to be Jewish – we learned a lot. We had a house meeting on Wednesday morning to plan our special ‘house afternoon’ in the final week of half-term and Code Club on Monday was as well attended as ever – Bigtrak had a great time completing a phenomenal track in the hall.

This week’s certificate winners are:

Haiden was awarded the writing certificate for the excellent start he made to his non-chronological report about Tongo lizards. Jolame was awarded the red certificate for his kindness in ensuring that nobody was left out during this week’s PE session. Well done, both!

Next week, there are a few events planned for Darwin class:

On Monday (as long as the technology co-operates) we are attending a live comic drawing session online with a book illustrator. The session is entitled ‘Jingle Smells’, which is intriguing. On Tuesday, Darwin class will be having their Christmas lunch; on Wednesday morning (technology allowing, again), Darwin class are taking part in a Micro:bit Christmas themed ‘code along’ – these are always good fun. On Friday, it is, of course, the trip to Ironbridge, which I am sure everyone is looking forward to enormously.

Our writing assessment is currently nearing completion, which means I will shortly be able to complete this term’s assessments and send the information home to you. I am aiming to do this by the end of next week but, if not, certainly before Christmas!

Information about this week’s homework can be found in the section below.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. E.

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3 months ago
Posted on 28th Nov 2025 by

Darwin Weekly Update 28/11/25

This week, the Year 6 pupils have had a go at some past papers to see what the SATs are all about. The Year 5s have also completed some SATs-style assessments. Everyone has performed exceptionally well, especially as the Year 6 tests are designed for the end of the school year! I will send home a short summary of the assessment outcomes next week, once we have completed our writing assessment task.

Our certificate winners this week are:

Annabelle N. was awarded the reading certificate for her outstanding reading assessment result – phenomenal! Jed was awarded the red certificate for his high level of effort in all things, particularly in PE this week – I have also been impressed with his table manners at lunch time. He has an excellent command of cutlery!

Details of this week’s homework can be found in the homework section below.

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. E.

 

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3 months ago
Posted on 21st Nov 2025 by

This week in Darwin.

It has been a lovely, ordinary week in Darwin. We have continued reading Skellig and with our focus on calculating with fractions in maths. In history, we have looked at images of evidence that shows the human impact of the slave trade; in science the children have been learning about legal and illegal drugs. Some important learning indeed!

This week’s certificate winners are:

Jorgie received the red certificate for her excellent classwork and also for her mature and responsible attitude. Micaiah was awarded the maths certificate for the excellent progress he is making and for his hard work and effort learning about mixed numbers and improper fractions this week. Well done, both!

Our homework this week, is a reading activity, which was sent home on paper and there are some spellings to learn for Monday (see the spelling section, also below!).

Have a lovely weekend – stay warm!

Mrs. Evans.

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3 months ago
Posted on 07th Nov 2025 by

Weekly update.

We’ve had a fabulous first week of this half-term. We have started to read ‘Skellig’ by David Almond; made Christmas card designs to be printed into cards or mugs, should you want them (order forms should be coming home shortly). Our tag rugby team did us proud on Thursday and, although they did not bring home a trophy, they played well and displayed a high level of sportsmanship. While they were away representing us, the rest of the class watched a webinar about being a Wildlife Ranger – it certainly appeals to me!

Our homework this week is a maths task; details to be found in the homework section below. We have also been looking at the spelling pattern /i/ represented by ‘y’. We have had a preliminary test to see how many we can spell and identify the ones we need to learn. The children have been learning them during morning work time. The ‘real’ test will be on Tuesday. These words can be found in the spelling section below.

Excellent equivalent fraction work this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. E.

 

Message from Dr. Roberts:

If possible, can children bring in some food packaging with traffic light nutrition labels, for their science lesson on Monday.

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3 months ago
Posted on 02nd Nov 2025 by

Autumn 2nd Half.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow, ready to begin the second half of the autumn term! I though I’d just send a few updates before we get going!

Code Club will take place as usual from 3:15-4:15 after school tomorrow. (If your child usually goes home on the bus but is staying for Code Club, please could you let the office know via text message.) Code Club will run until the end of this half-term.

Some of Darwin pupils are working on setting up a ‘Maker Space’, where children in KS1 & KS2 can spend time being creative during their lunch breaks. They are looking for donations of construction toys – see Ella’s poster attached below. Please help them out if you can!

Darwin’s PE sessions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday this half-term. Pupils may come into school in their PE kits, but can bring them to change into prior to the lesson if they prefer. (There is no swimming for Darwin class this half-term.)

My year 6 maths pupils took their maths target books home for half-term. I would like to collect them all in on, or before, Friday this week. There was no homework set to be handed in tomorrow.

All the best,

Mrs. E.