The Chronicle

This week in Science, Junior 6 have started a new topic in which we are learning all about the human body. We started the week thinking about all the major organs that we all have inside ourselves and what they do. The children were tasked with labelling a diagram of a body, precisely placing each of the major organs where they thought they should go. We then set the children an independent research task where they had to find out as much about the heart as they could. We were amazed at some of the fantastic facts we found! Junior 6 were all super scientists this week - let's keep up the hard work!

This week in Junior 5, the children have been working hard to learn the key features of comic strips. They each enjoyed discovering how to create panels, speech and thought bubbles, captions and had fun using onomatopoeia to ZAP! WHAM! KAPOW! Alongside our history topic of Aztecs, we then introduced our new feature text, The Princess and the Warrior. After learning the story of Izta and Popoca, they then used their newly improved knowledge of comic strips, to retell their own version of the story in the form of a comic. Junior 5 have started the second half of Michaelmas term with aplomb and we have all been very impressed.

This week, Junior 4 have been researching and learning about the various Roman gods and understanding their roles in the world. The children hunted around the classroom for the hidden gods and discovered and wrote down facts about their powers, history, and physical features. They then created their own Pokémon cards based on their favourite Roman god.

Junior 3 have crossed continents and landed in Kenya this week. We found out about and recreated the Kenyan flag, read the fascinating story of Lila and the Secret of Rain and located the country on a world map. The childrens' fact-finding comprised of learning about the ‘Big Five’, their delicious food including fish, stews and mursik, the population of Kenya being similar to England’s but the climate being very different!

The exciting return to school after the half-term break is like embarking on a new adventure, this is certainly how we, in Junior 2, feel. Children have been busy creating dragons following our topic on castles and they used a variety of paints to create amazing mythical creatures. The children also made Remembrance day poppies; this was so very touching as we remembered the sacrifice veterans made and those who have served in the military. This allowed children to discuss and engage in historical events and the importance of honouring those who have served our country.

Over half-term children were encouraged to make a creative project about their environment. We had so many beautiful projects which we were able to share with the whole class. It was wonderful to see how each child applied their knowledge and understanding of a topic that is of interest to them, it was clear to see that we have many keen researchers in Junior 2.

After a wonderful half-term to rest and recuperate, Junior 1 have returned with a new zest for learning. Jack and the Beanstalk is our new focus in English and already we have re-created the story using the Mighty Writer, sequenced the story’s main parts and created our own story-map of it. In Science we have been looking at shadows – what they are, how they are created and how they change size depending on how close an object is to the light source. Geography has seen us develop an understanding of the differences between arable farms and pastoral farms and what we would get from each of them. While in History we went back in time to a Victorian kitchen and compared what we would eat for breakfast 150 years ago to what we eat now. So, as you can see, we have had a very busy start to this new term!

This week Reception have been writing, writing, writing! The children have been practising their letter formation and perfecting their wonderful writing. We have been amazed by their super attitude coming back to school after the half-term and the progress that they are making. We have also started to practise for the Nativity, what an exciting half-term it is going to be!

This week in Nursery, our Dormice have been making their special Remembrance poppies and also learning about Arctic animals; penguins and polar bears were among the favourites!  

In Badgers and Hedgehogs, we began the week thinking about bonfire night and all its exciting colours, sounds and smells.

Outside, the children collected leaves to make their own pretend bonfire. We had a go at making our own fireworks using diet coke and mentos. The children were highly amused to watch the bubbles fizz up and cover Mrs Allen! This then prompted lots of fantastic questioning and the children were keen to see what happened when mentos were added to milk, water, Fanta and Pepsi Max.

Inside, the children explored lots of ways of creating their own paintings of fireworks exploding in the night sky. They used feathered cardboard rolls to press print glittery fireworks; straws to blow spikey explosions; car wheels to drive the paint splatters; and cotton wool pads and a rolling pin to bash little puddles of paint - it was great fun experimenting.

Our story of the week was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children have enjoyed acting out this story in the role play corner and singing the Goldilocks song, which has prompted lots of comparative maths discussions around size.