Year 1 Geography- The Countries and Capital Cities of the the UK
This week in provision, Year 1 have enjoyed making each of the countries of the United Kingdom with play dough and matching each of the countries to the correct flag. They have also completed a jigsaw of the United Kingdom. These activities have allowed the children to make simple observations about the size, shape and location of each of the counties such as England being the largest of all four countries and Scotland being the furthest north. Year 1 are also working on naming the capital cities of the four counties in the UK.
Year 4 Art - Fabric of Nature
Our art this week is inspired by the rainforest. We were looking at the starting points in a design process with a focus on rainforest plants, flowers and animals. We selected images that interested us and then drew our own versions on a 15 x 15cm square. Next we used various media including pastels, chalk, pencil crayon and felt to enhance our designs. The end result was amazing and the children were all super proud of their efforts.
Reception: Challenge Champions
This week in Reception, we are focusing on the story, Sharing a Shell. The children have been really busy in provision completing challenges. They have been attempting to write sentences, strengthening their muscles in the fine motor area, creating rockpools, drawing fish, painting using the skills of Pointillism, counting shells to play a subitise game and moulding the playdough to create different characters from the story. Well done!
Year 2 - Geography
In Geography, we had a closer look at the continent of Asia. I was extremely impressed with the countries we could remember such as Japan, The Philippines and Saudi Arabia! We found lots more out about Asia today such as that Asia is made up of 48 countries. I’m sure the children will remember these facts just as well.
Year 5 - Mountain Life
During geography, Year 5 have started learning about life in the mountains. They began by exploring Lyfta, where they met Simon Mtuy, who lives on Mount Kilimanjaro. Through this platform, the children experienced his way of life, the local culture and how people adapt to living near the mountains. They explored his surroundings and gained insight into his daily life. Afterwards, the children engaged in thoughtful reflection, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of living near a mountain. They considered aspects such as access to natural resources, tourism opportunities and breathtaking scenery. As well as challenges like isolation, harsh weather conditions and limited infrastructure. This reflective discussion encouraged them to think critically about how environment shapes lifestyle.
Year 3- Geography- Locating different climate zones
This afternoon, Year 3 geographers started their climate zones unit. They learned the difference between weather and climate, identified key lines of latitude like the Equator, and explored the diverse climate zones across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Whole School Worship - World Toilet Day
In worship yesterday, we looked through our spirituality windows and out into the world on toilets. We were shocked and saddened to find out that around 700 children under 5 die every year due to poor sanitation. We heard about Jeremiah in Kenya who doesn’t have access to a toilet. In his community, people would mostly use a hole in the ground or a plastic bag, which some people would tie up and throw on other people’s roofs. We talked about how this affects people’s health and shared ideas of what we could do to help. The children then learned about our Toilet Twinning project for which we raised money a few years go to sponsor the building and maintenance of toilets in Nepal, Uganda, Tanzania, and Afghanistan. We reflected on how we should never take our toilets for granted and thought of ways we could save loo paper and water.
Year 4 - Class Worship: How Do We Know Who We Are?
We had an extremely thought-provoking class worship today. We found out about Amur, a Muslim boy in Denmark, using Lyfta. He shared a small snapshot of his daily life and explored the question “Who am I?” The discussion which followed was the perfect opportunity for us to practise our talk tactics and listening skills as we shared our opinions on who Amir is as a person, whether or not we thought he was a good person, and how we could tell. There was a lot of agreement among the children with some building on others’ ideas, and a couple of respectful disagreements.
Year 5 - Fun in the snow
Year 5 had an amazing time in the snow today, building creative snowmen and making wonderful memories together. It was heartwarming to see the children laughing, playing, and truly enjoying the wintry weather. They also took a moment to reflect on the beauty of our snow-covered surroundings, sharing thoughts about how lucky we are to have such fantastic outdoor spaces to explore and appreciate as a school community.
Reception: Exploring the Snow
Our Reception children enjoyed exploring the snow today. They worked together in small groups to build snowmen! They collected resources for the arms and they all had carrots for their noses. The children also found some icicles so we looked closely at them and how they had formed. It was also wonderful to look around at the winter sight and really feel the snow too. Our world is beautiful in all types of weather and what a treat we all had this morning.
Year 3 - English- Discovering Bear Island
Today, Year 3 worked in pairs to explore the book "The Last Bear." They made predictions and inferences about the story based on the front cover of the book. Next, they looked at the double-page illustration (map) of Bear Island. The children debated whether it was a real place and explored the map, identifying locations like Tromso and Svalbard. We used Google to research the island and discovered that it is a small, uninhabited island in the Arctic Ocean. The children were fascinated to learn that there is a Bear Island in Norway, not far from the UK.
Year 3- Interfaith Week- Prag's trip to India- Hinduism
Year 3 celebrated Interfaith Week by learning about Hinduism. Prags, who was born in East Africa, shared her experiences of visiting India. She showed pictures of both traditional and modern parts of the country, highlighting its diversity. Prags also discussed the importance of recycling and her love for visiting sacred sites like the River Ganges and the Golden Temple. The girls then wore colourful, sequined skirts while the boys wore jackets and they all learned a dance routine together. The children asked insightful questions about the language and clothing and enjoyed trying the vegetable samosas that Prags brought in. It was great to learn about the traditions and religious beliefs of Hinduism.