Updates

A time for celebration . . . Spring, Easter, Ramadan and Eid

During the spring term children in nursery and reception learnt about a range of celebrations from different religions and cultures in order to develop their knowledge of People and Communities. This also supports the school value of being respectful and prepares them for their future lives.

The children learnt about the Muslim celebration of Ramadan by looking at books, artefacts and participating in crafts. They learnt that the moon is very important to some Muslims who participate in Ramadan and talked about the countdown to Eid and fasting. The children learnt vocabulary related to clothing some Muslim’s wear like a hijab. One of the children brought in a hijab from home and shared their henna which further enriched children’s learning and made the new vocabulary even more meaningful. The children also tried some traditional food such as dates that are eaten by some Muslims during iftar.

The children learnt about the Christian celebration of Lent and made pancakes at forest school. Practitioners layer children’s knowledge through a range of experiences. They read and acted out the runaway pancake, luckily ours did not run away and we managed to gobble it all up! The children were able to safely sit around the fire. The children and staff explored the Christian story of Easter through storytelling eggs and designed Easter cards. The children participated in an ‘Easter Tea Party’ which was decorated with salt dough crosses they had made a Christian symbol of the cross.

Practitioners were able to draw out connections between the two religions with children.

Computing Showcase

Last week, we held our first ever ‘Computing Showcase’ for Years 2, 3 and 4. Ran by a group of Year 5s, the children got to get hands on with a variety of computing equipment, including: VR headsets, Sphero Indi Robots, Intelino Smart Trains, Dashbots, Beebots, Rodocodo and Micro:bits. The aim was to expose the children to the amazing equipment we have in school and to encourage their love of computing! All of the children were extremely positive about the day and we will be sure to hold another one soon!

Hicketty Picketty My Red Hen . . . A Visit To The Farm

We had a wonderful day seeing what we know about farm animals, in action!

We also learnt new facts such as the name of young animals and male and female ones too.

Stuffed Toys in Year 5

We’ve had a very busy week in Year 5 this week. We have designed, made and evaluated our stuffed toys. We used a range of skills, including a blanket and running stitch, to make our toy nice and secure!

Batik in Year 6 with the wonderful Mr Farlow

Some of our Year 6 friends have had the fantastic opportunity to learn the technique of Batik with Mr Farlow. It is a process where hot wax is applied to fabric to create a resist, followed by ink. This process is then repeated and ironed off. Look at the process and amazing results…

Lego League Club Starts

A group of 12 Year 5s have embarked on a Lego project over the next few terms. We will be creating and coding various ocean themed creations in the project called ‘Submerged’. So far, we have built a submarine, sea creatures and treasure chests and over the next few weeks will be coding them to flash lights, move a propeller and sense if something is too close! Watch this space!

Making Treasure Maps in The Hazels

We went over to The Hazels this week to create some treasure maps. We had to orientate our maps correctly and then drew on some landmarks to help people follow the maps to some coins that had been hidden. Lots of learning on show and lots of fun was had!