The Chronicle

Never let it be said we do anything by halves - Junior 6 have had a super week in the Highlands. They started their residential week off climbing the base of Ben Nevis, then enjoyed gorge walking and canoeing and taking on challenges such as the Jacob's Ladder. They finished their week off with an amazing loch-side cookout.

They have all had a super time up in Scotland and have certainly had much better weather than we have enjoyed back here in Kenilworth! The groups have made the most of the stunning Scottish scenery as they explored around Loch Eil, all against the incredible back drop of Ben Nevis. Some of them even got to see the steam train that stars in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express!

We shall welcome Junior 6 back home later today.

Junior 5 have been applying all their new learning about mapping skills in some fun collaborative group activities. Each group moved around the classroom engaging in a series of different map reading challenges that required discussion and co-operation to answer. Children took turns to be the ‘caller’ and read out prepared question cards. The others then had to consult their maps and discuss and agree their answers. It turned out to be a very lively Monday morning with lots of hands-on active learning!

It has been a wonderful week in Junior 4, as we have been inspired by so many excellent presentations in English lessons. We’ve learnt about Rubix cubes, basketball, deforestation and so many more interesting topics, including a beautiful presentation from Jude about his artificial eye. Every child has presented their work expertly to their audience and then listened to their classmates with intent respect. They even had the opportunity to don the cap of a teacher, providing feedback to one of their peers. A super week for all of Junior 4!

The Rainforest is in full swing this week after a lovely week of sunshine and relaxation over the half-term break. We are journeying to the Equator via the story of 'The Kapok Tree,' an amazing tale written by Lynne Cherry over 30 years ago, when global warming was only a whisper. How insightful of her. She tells the story of a lone tree in the jungle, which is due to be chopped down by a timber company worker. The children are already very aware of the significance of this and they have bombarded Ms Holmes with facts they already know and can discuss at length about, which is fabulous. In this way we are ALL learning together and it is fantastic that the pupils are so environmentally aware.

In other areas 'The Trojan Horse' has galloped in (one of the best tales in Ms Holmes view) and the pupils are investigating writing an acrostic poem to encapsulate the terror of being packed inside a wooden horse in a 35 degree heat! Not for the fainthearted – but enormous fun. Thank you for the costumes which have made their way in…..Have a lovely weekend!

The Junior 2 children have been reading a story called 'Silly Billy.' Billy's a bit of a worrier. He worries about so many things, like hats and rain and clouds and giant birds, that it keeps him awake at night. One night Billy stays at his grandma’s and tells her about being worried. She has the ideal solution – a set of worry dolls who will do Billy's worrying for him while he sleeps. Children really enjoyed making worry dolls using wooden pegs and wool. In English, we are thinking of our own character to write a story about. Well done, Junior 2 on another very busy and productive week.

We were so delighted to be back at school after the half-term break. Can you believe this is our last half-term in Junior 1? We are pleased to report that the children have all settled down well to their work and they are really showing the best of themselves. This week we were so excited to participate in the ‘Toys from the Past’ workshop from the St John’s Museum, who came to visit us for the afternoon. Everyone had the chance to investigate toys from the present and the past. The children were immersed into a story, led by the workshop leader, before exploring, comparing, and sorting the variety of toys available. It really was such a wonderful hands-on experience which the children all loved. There was a real buzz in the air as the children left to return to class. What a great start to this half-term; we are all looking forward to the next few weeks as we prepare for our end of year performance.

This week, Reception have been learning how to use a text map to help them write a story. First, they used the picture prompts to verbally tell the story with actions to help. Once they had memorised the story, they were then able to use the text map as a prompt to write their ‘Under The Sea’ story. We had some fabulous writing, which inspired them all to plan their own story to write next week.

They also started to make their vehicles out of junk, following their individual designs.

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