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We have seen a significant reduction in the level of absence due to Covid and other illness again this week which is welcome news. We are duty bound to track and monitor the attendance of every child in order to keep everyone safe and ensure our children can access the education to which they are entitled. This week every year group is either using our great facilities in school or have been out and about exploring what is on offer in Bristol to enhance our learning.
We have woven into our week activities linked to Safer Internet Day and Mental health awareness. Please read on to find out how each year has engaged with these important themes. Jane and Tim have been in our outdoor classroom leading a Stone Age workshop for Year 3 and WOW of Trees workshops for Years 4 and 5. Further workshops for other year groups are booked for term 4.
This is a long seven-week term and in the context of the pandemic it is not surprising that many are feeling tired and emotional. We definitely need this weekend to recharge, ready for the final week of term 3.
In school we have been using this website of ideas and resources https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk
Reception have had a magical week for spell writing, potion mixing and wand waving as their learning centred around the book ‘Room on the Broom’ by Julia Donaldson. They have enjoyed measuring height and time in maths, ordering the days of the week and have been thinking about the story of the Lost Son in R.E. As part of ‘Safer Internet Day’ the children found out about how to use the internet safely both at school and at home.
We have also been talking with the children about feeling calm and using some breathing techniques as it is Mental Health Awareness week. We will also be reading some stories to help them to think about and talk about their feelings.
We are so proud of your learning Reception and we know our final week of learning together will be as fun-filled as ever!
Year 1 Mama Panya’s Pancakes and Making Clay Lions
This week Year 1 have loved travelling to Kenya through our story Mama Panya’s Pankcakes: A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary and Rich Chamberlin. In Literacy, we stepped into the shoes of Adika from the story and wrote a diary entry about his day where he travels to the market and invites all his friends for pancakes. We enjoyed building our own market stalls, as well as using maps to locate Kenya and making Kenyan flags. In Art, we looked at the work of sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Frink and then used clay to sculpt lions. For Children’s Mental Health Week we discussed the meaning of mental health and the things that we can do everyday to help us feel good. We discussed this year’s theme of ‘Growing Together’ and talked about the people around us who can help us grow and ‘lift us up’ before drawing this support network on hot air balloons.
Year 2 packed out the coach, bouncing with excitement and anticipation as they headed to Ashton school for their annual Dance Festival. We saw an array of lions, giraffes, elephants, ribbons, dusters and very colourful t-shirts! Both dances were a huge success and the children soaked in a large applause. When we were leaving Year 2 caught a glimpse of the secondary pupils who towered above them. It was very exciting to think that could be them one day! All the adults were so impressed with the children's behaviour and our effort. It really was a special day.
See links to both classes dances:
2FD The Greatest Showman - https://youtu.be/57JC90fCu8o
2KH Circle of Life - https://youtu.be/SaGMMdmite8
This week in mathematics, Year 2 moved onto statistics and gathering data. They have enjoyed using tally charts and pictograms to present a variety of data, including how many cars, scooters and pedestrians passed the school gates. In Literacy Year 2 have started the final chapter in their book 'Anna Hibiscus'. We discussed what the word 'wisdom' meant and how we can show respect to the elderly members of our community. During lockdown, an initiative called 'My Dear New Friend' was set up by the Literacy Hub. This inspired Year 2 to create their own letters to people in our local community who may continue to be isolated even though restrictions have eased. We hope it brightens their day and we can't wait to hear back from them! Year 2 have also looked at traditional African customs and we have been sampling some Chin Chin, mango, plantain crisps and other tasty morsels!
In recognition of Children's Mental Health Week, Year 2 have been doing lots of mindfulness activities to help them feel calmer and ready to learn. We have also been acknowleging how our marvellous mistakes help us to become more resilient and grow (like flowers towards the sun) towards our goal. In computing, the children made up their own 'Kindness spells' to remind others to use a 'pinch of respect, a bowlful of kindness and a spoonful of empathy' when using the internet.
Year 3 Stone Age workshop, Morris and Matisse
What a hands on, fun filled week we have had. As we are nearing the end of our Stone Age History project, we were lucky enough to have Jane and Tim provide an outdoor classroom workshop. This included; shelter building, grinding flour, clay pots, fire building and eating some stone age bread! The children threw themselves into the day and commented on how hard life must have been in the stone age (after grinding flour for 15 minutes!)
We also started our new art project, taking inspiration from William Morris and Henri Matisse. We used their floral designs to create our own repeat floral prints. We then transferred these onto polystyrene blocks. We finally used these to print and decorate our own eco friendly tote bags. It has been a whirlwind of mess, fun and learning. Roll on the final week.
This week in R.E. we have started considering the key question, 'Why do some people think that life is a journey?' So far, we've looked at what a journey means to us personally and Baptism, an important journey that Christians take. To find out about Baptism in more detail, we took to trip to Christ Church where Pastor Ruthy taught us all about what Baptism means and why Christians decide to get baptised. We then took part in our own mock baptism service to get a feel for the real thing.
We have also been celebrating Safer Internet Day. In particular, we have been looking at what respect and responsibility look like online. Our Year 3 and 4 Digi Leaders kick started the day with a fantastic assembly where we discussed conversations that were safe and unsafe online. In class, we came up with an Internet Safety spell that we can all adhere to when we're using the internet.
This Thursday, we chose an activity from the children’s mental Health week 2022 website to help children explore how we support each other to grow together. In this activity, they thought about who helped them try something new and who helped them grow. They designed colourful hot air balloons with the names of their support network on the outside and lines in the middle to represent the social connections. They wrote the names of their mum, dad, grand-parents, pets, friends, family, coach… Then, we displayed their beautiful hot air balloons on the value board.
The sun was shining on for Forest School on Friday and it was the perfect way to end the week. We learnt all about the importance of trees for the environment and for our wellbeing. We also used our mathematical skills to estimate the age and height of trees and enjoyed noticing and appreciating all the wonderful trees in our school grounds. To finish, we made a Victorian spinning toy out of a wood round and string. They have provided us with endless entertainment.
Wow, another very busy week in Year 5 – we are definitely ready for the weekend! This week, we completed the publishing of our adventure stories set in Antarctica. We are very proud of them and look forward to bringing them home over half term to share with different members of our family.
During Safer Internet Day we looked at online gaming and thought about how to keep safe: usernames; not giving our personal information; and what to do if something makes you feel uncomfortable. We came up with some advice for different situations you might come across and discussed the best ways to stay safe whilst online.
In Maths, as part of our lesson on Thursday, we reflected on just how much we have learned about fractions this term. We produced posters for our Maths Working Wall in the classroom on a chosen aspect of our learning: equivalent fractions; mixed numbers and improper fractions and how to convert from one to the other; adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator and denominators that are multiples of the same number.
To celebrate Mental Health Week, we had several lessons on this topic. We discussed mental health and found out some interesting facts. We looked at ways we can look after our mental health. As the focus of the week is ‘Growing Together’ we completed an activity that recorded our ‘growth’ looking back at past events and the future events that we hope to achieve. We also thought about our achievements this academic year and recorded this on a tree in our classroom.
Forest School focused on the ‘Wow of Trees’, we became tree detectives and learned how to measure the age of a tree. We also found out many wow facts about trees. Did you know some trees can live up to 5,000 years old? Another interesting fact we learned is that trees are amazing at reducing our stress and good for our well-being. They help us feel kinder towards others, more creative, happier. This is partly because trees release chemicals called phytoncides – when we breathe them in, it can reduce blood pressure, lower anxiety, and increase our pain threshold. What a perfect way to end our week - thank you, Jane and Tim, for another fabulous forest school.
Earlier this week, Y6 had the pleasure of visiting MV Balmoral down in the harbour for a brilliant workshop led by "My Future, My Choice". They learnt a lot about engineering, pulley systems, drove the cranes and made a replica of the rocket launcher used to rescue people and ships before the existence of the RNLI. It was a fantastic day of history and STEM learning.
Following the Science theme, Y6 also started their topic of light this week. They learnt that light travels in straight lines, they learnt how light travels to an object and how we see. Finally, they produced their own children's TV shows to explain their learning. The shows were very entertaining and demonstrated brilliant understanding.
Year 6 have been reflecting on their mental health by considering how they have grown together over this year. For many of them, their developing independence and the responsibility of having a buddy to look after have been a key part of their growth.
PTA Facebook group
The PTA now has a Facebook page where you can keep informed of all upcoming events. Don't hesitate to join:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/888300882075291/?ref=share
Dates for your diaries - up and coming events:
- Quiz Night Friday (adults) Friday 18th March
- School Disco (children) Friday 1st April
- Mile of Pennies Friday 20th May
- CampFest 9th & 10th July