The Chronicle

This week J6 have spent lots of time chatting and reminiscing about their experiences from last week. We had a fantastic time at the Aberdovey Outward Bound Centre, where we spent a fun-filled four days. The staff there could not have been more accommodating, and we were immersed in exciting activities from the time we stepped off the coach. We enjoyed orienteering, gorge walking, canoeing, speed boat rides, hiking, and campfires, where we had to cook our own food, as well as abseiling and raft building. All the activities focused on team building and understanding our own role within a team and how that can change at different times and for different reasons. We also strove to become more independent and resilient to situations we are not used to.

This half term, Junior 5 are taking part in a touch-typing challenge. Each child has created a login for the ‘Ed-club’ website and during their Computing lessons, they work at their pace, completing the different stages of the program. They are challenged to not look at their hands whilst typing, thus hopefully enabling them to become more fluent in this skill. We have encouraged them to continue their learning at home using their own logins. Here’s hoping they become more efficient at typing than their teachers!

Junior 4 pupils enjoyed a music technology workshop at Princethorpe College this week where the children were introduced to computer music production concepts such as sequencing and arrangement and then encouraged to experiment. Using the technology software Soundtrap, the children enjoyed creating music in a completely new way. Starting with drum machine patterns and loops and adding texture through the addition of bass, keyboard and even vocal lines the children each created their own unique piece.

After a short break and an obligatory Princethorpe cookie, the children moved on to explore the concept of harmony. This time using online song writing software Hookpad, the children built a pattern of major and minor chords and overlaid their own melodies. 

Junior 4 clearly enjoyed the workshop and exploring music in a new way and everyone was able to save their creations to their OneDrive accounts to take home to share with their families.

Junior 3 are loving their mythical writing and have spent their English lessons this week thinking about superb vocabulary and imaginative sentence starters. We have used words like encircled, skilled, claustrophobic, exquisite and flabbergasted!

We are loving the story of Daedalus and Icarus…… the boy who couldn’t follow his father’s advice. Hmmmmm…lessons for us all there! We have worked quietly using all the skills we have been learning over the past few weeks to experiment and improve our language skills, editing and perfecting our writing. We certainly have a group of budding authors!

Junior 2 have continued to impress us with their ever-growing knowledge of the rainforest. This week, they have used information books and iPads to discover new facts about the animals which can be found there. Did you know a sloth might have two toes or three? Junior 2 loved learning this fact! We have also been using interesting adjectives to make our writing more exciting. Away from the rainforest, our maths topic has focussed on direction, particularly looking at turns for left and right. There has been lots of practical work on the tricky concept of clockwise and anticlockwise too! For Science, we have continued to look at microhabitats and which creatures might be found there. We are really looking forward to our visit to the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, where the children can experience life in a rainforest for themselves!

Our week started by finding out more about minibeasts – this time ones that live in the water. We focused on water boatmen and realised how interesting tiny creatures can be. We also looked at dragonflies in more detail, and now know that they spend most of their life in the larvae form, with many of these living in water. We went on a minibeast hunt in our Science lesson and although we didn’t find any water dwelling minibeasts, we did see some flying ones and some hiding under rocks and logs. Fractions is our new topic in Maths where we have begun to find and recognise half of a shape or amount. In Geography we have learnt about where hot and cold places in the world are and why. Now we have our fingers crossed for a nice hot summer!

This week the children have been finding out about travelling on a boat to another country, France! We have built boats in the outdoor area and with a range of 2D shapes in Maths. They thought carefully about the sights and sounds on an adventure across the sea and then learnt about how life in France is similar and different to England.