The Chronicle

This week, in addition to celebrating British Science Week, where Junior 6 enjoyed being detectives and taking fingerprints, we have also been studying light. Pupils immersed themselves in reflection, learning about how light reflects from different surfaces to create mirror images and diffuse scattering. They have experimented with creating their own light boxes to send a narrow beam of light to a mirror so that they can investigate the laws of reflection, proving to themselves that the laws are true: the angle of incidence does equal the angle of reflection!

Then, they created optical illusions, making pencils bend through light’s refractive properties in water.

Next week, we will be creating colour optical illusions, tricking our eyes into seeing colours that aren’t there!

The theme this year for British Science Week is 'Connections'! Pupils have been introduced to the theme in a fun, imaginative way to get them excited about the week. They have been investigating fingerprints. Their activity was designed to get them thinking about fingerprints, comparing different fingerprints, and seeing if they could identify any patterns. On Wednesday, children also got the opportunity to watch a French production in the hall.

Blythe in Junior 5W put a question to ‘Question Time’ which took place at the Science Gallery London at 7pm on Thursday 9 March, and live-streamed from the British Science Association’s YouTube channel. Experts worked with the public, communities and/or young people asking the question: what can be done by those in science to better serve and involve the next generation?

Junior 4 took to the stage this week for their Easter rendition of The Easter Story. With a crowd of parents, grandparents, friends and families gathering in The Gables, the pupils retold the close and faithful well-known Bible story beginning with Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem. The pupils then continued through to Jesus' arrest, death, burial and eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday, with songs to match the mood of the story and relaying the Easter message that Jesus truly is the Son of God. It was a very reflective performance before venturing the next day to enjoy Junior 4's residential at Kingswood!

Junior 3 have been madly rehearsing for the Easter Production which we hope you all enjoyed on Tuesday evening.

The children were excited to find themselves putting on a pre-show for Ms Holmes and the team as they rehearsed their way through Tuesday morning, capably telling the story of Holy Week and the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day. Some lovely new voices emerging and some excellent performance techniques by Junior 4 acting as great role models for some of our keen thespians. Well done all. Ms Holmes watched from the side lines on the night and was proud of everyone!

In other areas, fractions continue at a pace, and we are skirting our way around the coastlines and geology of this island of ours. One more week left and a serious ‘rest’ on the horizon.

The theme this year for British Science Week is ‘Connections’! Pupils have been introduced to the theme in a fun, imaginative way to get them excited about the Week. Year 2 went into Windmill Woods and learned about habitats and how animals have specific needs, such as the need for shelter, the correct temperature, or a place to keep them safe from predators. Different animals are suited to different habitats. Where they live may depend on what they need to eat and what type of animal they are. All the children had fun creating habitats for animals we may find in the Forest School area.

Junior 1 have really enjoyed their week in school. We have completed our science experiment with interest and loved checking our pots of cress regularly to see their progress. In English, we have finished our story of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and we are now ready to write ‘The Easter Story’ for the last week of term. This week’s Maths lessons have been lots of fun with practical investigations of weight and mass. The children were interested to find out that a small thing could be heavier than a bigger thing! We have finally finished learning about the last of our UK countries with our lesson on Northern Ireland and everyone enjoyed trying some Irish treats. Finally, our Art lessons have been all about the special person in our lives and everyone had the opportunity to make a card for their mummy and write a fact sheet about her. We would like to wish every mummy a happy Mothering Sunday.

This week Reception have been reviewing their cress growing experiment started last week. They have learnt that the cress with both water and light grew the best. The cress without water didn’t grow at all. The cress seeds with water but no light, grew tall but had yellow leaves and didn’t look very healthy. Continuing on with our growing theme, the children then learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly. They watched a video of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis with awe and agreed it is quite miraculous. This then inspired some fantastic butterfly artwork.  he children also made some beautiful Mothering Sunday cards and reflected on what they love about their Mummy.

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