Literacy
Oak continued reading the children’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. This term they met the great and good lion Aslan and read with shock how he sacrificed his life to save Edmund (the least likeable of all the children), not resisting as the White Witch and her evil followers bound him and dragged him to his death. Aslan’s powers are greater and more mysterious than the Witch realises and Aslan returns to lead the children and all the good creatures of Narnia to triumph at the last battle. The class chose a scene or character from the book to write about; Mr. Tumnus the faun was a popular choice and some chose to imagine his meeting with Lucy from his point of view. Others favoured the battle scene and the rescuing of the creatures whom the Witch had turned to stone.
To end the term in festive form we read Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We enjoyed reading it out loud and admired the story and the imaginative use of rhyme. This inspired the class to make their own Grinch advent calendar, each day filled with a hand-drawn picture.
History
Oak studied the Renaissance, from its beginnings in the powerful and wealthy Italian city states to its gradual spread across Western Europe, greatly assisted by the development of the printing press. They learnt of the principal differences in outlook between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance thinkers as they rediscovered classical philosophy, literature and art.
The class chose prominent individuals from this period to research: great names such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei as well as some lesser known but remarkable people such as Marguerite de Navarre and the painter Sofonisba Anguissola.
Geography
This term Oak followed the COP26 meeting, held this year in Glasgow, and learnt about the global climate summits that the UN has been organising for almost thirty years that are known as COP or ‘Conference of the Parties’. The class went on to learn about the Greenhouse Effect, what it is and why it is linked to climate change. They identified the main greenhouse gases and how they are produced and saw that the Industrial Revolution was a pivotal moment in mankind’s impact on the natural environment.
Science
This term Oak Class has been learning all about the solar system. The class has looked carefully at the different planets found in our system, named them and identified their features. The class has also learnt about the different phases of the moon and pupils are now able to confidently identify the name of each phase of the cycle.
As part of our Science topic the children were set the challenge of finding out more information about an area of interest. They were asked to then create a presentation explaining what they had discovered. With no boundaries the children’s imaginations ran wild with some amazing results!
This process encouraged children to develop their public speaking skills as well as helping to build their confidence in expressing ideas, thoughts and feelings in a different academic setting.
Mathematics
In Statistics:
This term, Oak constructed and interpreted various tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, pictograms and line graphs. We practiced solving comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and line graphs. We also sorted different sets of data while using the Venn and Carroll diagrams. In addition, Oak worked on solving different statistics problems where information had to be analysed in order to calculate the required average: range, mode, mean and median.
In Shapes and Measures:
During this unit, we named and accurately measured acute, obtuse and reflex angles and then identified them in different triangles and quadrilaterals. The children learnt how to calculate the sum of the interior angles in simple 2D shapes and now know how to find the unknown angle. Using our knowledge of properties of 2D shapes we calculated the Area and Perimeter of simple 2D shapes. We also learnt how to calculate the area and perimeter of compound shapes where one side is unknown.
Linking our topics in Design &Technology and Mathematics, the children designed and constructed their own Mathematical Christmas tree. We accurately measured the angles in trapezoids and then calculated the distance between the planks of wood. The star was created as a compound shape where 5 parallelograms fitted into one shape. Oak realised the importance of measuring angles and clearly saw that measurements have to be accurate in order for them to fit together correctly. As part of our collaborative project with Elm Class, we worked on designing our ‘Book Swap Box’ that will be constructed next term.
… and then Birch and Walnuts came to help
…and then Birch and Walnuts came to help 
Merry Christmas!!!
Spanish
Students learned the Spanish version of the song “A King is Born” for the Christmas show. They played “Loteria” (similar to Bingo) to learn and practise numbers from 1 to 30. They looked at the physical characteristics of people, the months of the year and the basic vocabulary of Christmas and Christmas traditions.
ICT
Students learnt and practised how to make a poster on Google Drawings by drawing, modifying and combining objects and inserting images, text and other useful tools. They also learnt how to: copy/paste, group objects, layer and add a background.
Each student designed a poster for the Christmas show. Cecilia’s poster (Oak Class) was chosen to be displayed around the school and was featured on the invitation sent to parents.
French
Christmas Performance ”Hey Ewe”
Bravo, Maestro!!! 
Our teachers wanted to dance as well. 
Collaborative background posters
Designing and making our Christmas costumes...
The mighty Oaks and Ecstatic Elms had a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their creative side while making costumes, dancing, singing, creating props and performing on the stage during our Christmas Show.
Thank you and well done to all the Oak and Elm students for their outstanding dedication and hard work during our «Hey Ewe!» performance!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy your holiday!
Best wishes,
Mrs. Harrington, Christine, Joanna, Cecilia, Mr. H and Mr. Kralka