The Chronicle

It has been a busy and productive first week back after half-term for Junior 6. The creative writing session with visiting author Jennifer Killick was fascinating. Jennifer was particularly impressed with the vivid imaginations, original ideas and gripping stories produced by this group of children. Perhaps one of them will be the next Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton or Michael Morpurgo! In Science lessons, the children learnt about the heart. They measured their resting pulse rate before and after performing lots of squats. As well as plenty of hard work in all subjects in the classroom, the children somehow still had energy and determination for the sports pitches. They gave excellent performances in hockey and football, both at the ISA events and on our home ground. Keep up the fantastic work Junior 6!

In Junior 5S we are working on 3D pieces linked to Aztec Art. The pupils have used a variety of thicknesses of string to create a design for an Aztec Mask which we will cover in a thick layer of aluminium foil. Once dried, the foil will be painted in acrylic in the natural colours of the Aztec peoples from Mexico around the mid-16th century. Ms Holmes was looking for menacing faces and powerful images to signify the bloodthirsty culture of the Aztecs. They should be ready for display in a week or two!

Junior 4 have been inspired this week by their visit from Jennifer Killick. After an amazing assembly from Jennifer about her inspiration from nature for the scary creatures in her books, we set about creating our own. We all tried to mix up creatures in ways that would be different and scary if you came across them. We thought about where the creature would live, what it would eat and how it would hunt before coming up with a truly terrifying name to match these mixed-up monsters. Jennifer visited each of the classes and had a look at some of these monsters, which was fabulous for us all.

We were so pleased to hear all about everyone’s adventures during the half-term break and our Junior 3 team were keen to welcome the children back to school. Our new book for this half-term is Lila and the Secret of the Rain. The story is set in Kenya and follows Lila’s quest to save the village from drought. It is beautifully told through David Conway’s elegant prose and Jude Daly’s colour-drenched illustrations, which perfectly evoke both the parched landscape and vibrant village life. We are looking forward to discovering more about Kenya as the weeks unfold and our Geography lessons will allow ample opportunity for this. Our new Science topic has also begun with a new focus on forces. This week we had the opportunity to discover the forces of push and pull by creating freeze frames of different scenarios.

Junior 2 have had an incredibly exciting start back to school this week as, upon their return, a letter from a dragon keeper was waiting for them. It turned out that some dragon eggs had been hidden in the school grounds to keep them safe from prowling dragon hunters. Junior 2 could not turn down the plea for help and happily set out to find the eggs and bring them back to class to keep safe while we await further instructions from the dragon keeper. Of course, this prompted a flurry of questions about how to keep dragon eggs and when it might hatch and how on earth we will look after a baby dragon? Luckily, we have been reading a wonderful story called Tell Me a Dragon which had given us lots of ides about different dragons and what we might be in for! We will keep you posted.

Junior 1 have been transported back in time to the 19th century, immersing themselves to the daily chores. Children experienced using a scrubber and metal bucket to wash clothes. These essential tools were needed to loosen dirt and we discussed how different it is today where we can simply load a washing machine and the job is done for us. The children certainly appreciate how much easier life is today.

In RE we are learning all about celebrations. The various celebrations mentioned are when we join with families, in a church and at school. Children were very keen to discuss Christmas and how they will celebrate this wonderful day.

The Reception children have come back rested and ready to embrace the challenge of this new half-term. They have impressed us this week with their writing about Bonfire Night; many sounding out words and simple sentences to match pictures independently. It is fantastic to see such confidence so early on in the year. The children have also been learning about Remembrance Day in preparation for next week and have created their own beautiful painted poppy pictures, as they enjoyed exploring different techniques to create different painting effects.