Along with our Science WOW day, a few children in Year 2 went to explore our local garden centre during their English learning this week. The children loved their noun hunt experience and were challenged to look out for and take pictures of their newly learned vocabulary. Well done Year 2!

Friday's fabulous five! Each week we will post five photos from our Opal lunchtimes. This week, the crates have been fantastic climbing zones and our small world zones have been busy. I wonder what next week will bring? OPAL Outdoor Play and Learning CIC

Year 3 had a fantastic Science WOW Day to introduce our new topic all about plants! We began by exploring what makes a plant a plant and sorted different examples into groups such as grasses, trees and flowers. The children then investigated a variety of seeds, carefully observing their features and matching them to the plants and flowers they grow into. To finish the day, we started our own plant investigation by planting seeds and choosing to remove either water or light. The children made predictions and recorded their first observations, and we will be tracking their plant's growth throughout the term! A brilliant start to our science learning, full of curiosity, investigation and hands-on discovery

This week's guide from The National College to support you and your family. #wakeupwednesdays

Can you help? Nuthatches and Sparrows topic for Summer 1 will be Road Trip UK. As part of our learning we will be looking at different places within the UK. It would be great if people could send us postcards from different places so we could locate them. If you could tell us some facts about the location too that would be fantastic! Please send all postcards to: Nuthatches and Sparrows, St Mary's C of E Primary School, Southam Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 2EG Or if it is easier, please hand your postcards in to the Year 2 and 3 class teachers. Thank you for your support in our learning

What a fantastic Year 2/3 trip to Earth Trust on Monday! We stepped back in time to explore the world of the Anglo-Saxons by making bread on the fire, trying drop spinning, and listening to incredible historical stories. The children even acted out scenes on top of the hills and brought history to life. So proud of their curiosity, enthusiasm, and brilliant behaviour. A day full of learning, laughter, and adventure!

This week's guide from The National College to support you and your family. #wakeupwednesdays

Well done to Upton to winning this half-term's house point competition. Their treat is a non-school uniform on Friday 13th February 2026. Well done to everyone for their hard work and determination!

Kingfishers enjoyed a digital painting lesson in computing, using shapes to create Matisse-inspired art.

Wonderful writers in Fledglings! The children have worked really hard on their writing this week, writing about the crayons from 'The Day the Crayons Quit'

This week's guide from The National College to support you and your family. #wakeupwednesdays

Huge smiles, great teamwork, big bravery, and brilliant buzzing performances So proud of our amazing Year 2/3 stars and all of their hard work they put into The Bee Musical!

What a wonderfully muddy Forest School session with Year 4 today! Some of us make bird feeders from apples, carefully removing the pips with an apple corer to make sure they were safe for the birds a lovely example of compassion in action. Out in the woods, there was plenty of tree climbing, swing making, and some brilliant fishing rods which we used to fish in the puddles. With all the mud and water around, the children showed real endurance, and there was a strong sense of koinonia as they shared ideas, helped one another, and looked out for each other throughout the session. A fantastic Forest School day full of care, connection, and muddy boots to prove it!

In Year 2, we love having our music lessons with Katie from the Oxfordshire County Music Service. Last week, the Year 2s explored the meaning of 'timbre', where the children explored all the different sounds that instruments can make. They absolutely loved it!