ISSUE 11
March 2017
Dates for your diary…
Fri 24 March
Red Nose day – non-uniform, ‘funny face / hair’ - £1 donation
W/B 27 March Parents evening – Please book an appointment via ‘Schoolbuddy’
Mon 10 April – Fri 21 April – Easter Holiday
Mon 24 April
1st day back
‘Around the world through books’ - Some wonderful things happened
in book week…
Our theme for Book Week was ‘Around the world through Books.’ Each year group learnt about
the music, dance, art, food and geography of a different continent. We enjoyed sharing the
work from the week with our families.
Children from across the school
had lots of fun with the company
‘Arty Party’ building our wonderful
sculptures.
Many thanks for supporting the book fair. Over £2250 worth of books were sold and we get
60% of this back in actual books. This means we can get lots of lovely books to re-stock the
libraries.
Year 1 – Antarctica
In Year 1 we have been learning about Antarctica.
We explored the story ‘Lost and Found’ and wrote some wonderful poems using ambitious
adjectives and similes.
In PE, we learnt a super penguin dance to the music ‘Boogie Wonderland.’ We waddled and
shuffled just like penguins!
We enjoyed using maps to find out where Antarctica is. In science, we explored which
materials would melt ice the fastest.
Year 2 – Europe
In Year 2 we have been learning about the continent Europe. The text ‘Walk the World’ inspired
us to go on a journey through France, Spain and Russia. We wrote some spectacular sense
poems using similes and alliteration. Each day we immersed ourselves in the language, sights and
smells and we even tried some traditional dishes from each country. In art, we looked at
creating mood and showing climate using a watercolour wash. We then drew the landmarks of
our chosen European countries on top of our washes and carefully went over them in pen to help
them to stand out. The end result was stunning!
Year 3 – Asia
In Year 3 we have been exploring Asia. We enjoyed learning new facts about China and learnt
how to say some words in Mandarin Chinese. We explored using our senses to describe a
Chinese New Year festival and wrote our own fantastic poems. Our favourite activities of the
week were Chinese food tasting and performing our own dragon parade out on the playground.
We performed to the beat of a drum and carried our own mini dragons which we had made in
our art lessons.
Year 5 - South America
In year 5 we linked all our work for the week to our continent of South America. We focused
on the Amazon rainforest in particular and produced some fabulous art and poetry, some of
which is displayed outside the classrooms.
In addition, the children enjoyed making colourful masks which they wore for their Rio
festival dance, which was performed on Friday to staff and parents.
Year 4 Africa
Last week, Year 4 had a fantastic time learning all about Africa.
We started with reading an African myth called ‘The Fire Children’. This linked nicely with a
previous English topic and we were able to quickly identify some of the key features and
structure of the text. We acted out different parts of the story and then focussed on the
setting – an African Savannah. Following our Blue John topic, we already had lots of writer’s
tools at our disposal to write engaging and descriptive pieces that really put a picture in the
reader’s head.
By Wednesday afternoon we were keen to find out more about different aspects of African
life. Some of us chose African food; others drew out African art. By the end of the day
there were large posters of flags, clothes and animals for us to show and present to each
other.
Thursday morning saw a real highlight of the week as we got to visit Thomas Bennett to
watch some performances of African drumming and songs. It was amazing to see such
talented pupils and we really enjoyed joining in with the chants. Some of us were even
allowed to play the instruments!
On Friday we learned about a man called Nelson Mandela. We were shocked to find that, in
the past, South Africa had a system called apartheid where white and black people were
treated very differently. After researching Mandela’s life, we wrote up biographies to tell
other people about this wonderful man. Even after this the fun hadn’t ended, as we spent
the rest of the day creating wonderful African hanging wall art by using different mediums
to colour animal templates. We chose between chalks, pastels, paints, collage and marbling
ink (which was a particular favourite).
At the end of Friday, some of our parents popped in to watch a little performance of our
African songs and to look through our work. What a super end to a great week!
Year 6 - North America
In Year 6, we have really enjoyed researching the famous buildings of New York City for
homework. This has made us very knowledgeable about the iconic New York City Skyline.
We discovered that a French man, called Philippe Petit, walked on a tightrope between
the Twin Towers. Philippe showed incredible courage and appeared to have no fear of
death as he danced, skipped and jumped a quarter of a mile high in the sky. We can’t
believe it’s really a true story! Inspired by his dedication, concentration and willpower
we have written our own version of his incredible story and water-coloured illustrations
to capture our favourite moments.