Summer Term: Week 8
This week took an unexpected turn with the Inspection happening. The children were completely unphased by this and showed themselves to be the smiley, happy and hard-working children we know them to be. A great reflection of the school and lovely for the inspectors to see. We continued our work learning about the Fundamental British Values and the children learned of the Rule of Law. They discussed all the rules they follow daily, ranging from washing their hands, respecting the rights of others to learn through the classroom rules, to knowing the rules associated with using a zebra crossing to cross the road. They thought carefully about how important it is to have and to follow rules and what might happen should they not.
Year 2 was full of excitement on Monday morning seeing friends and exchanging half term news. They started their new history topic, ‘Seasides Now and Then’ by visiting the Holy Well and it was absolutely amazing to meet Levi who has spent the last year digging it out and creating a community space for everyone to enjoy. The children quietly chatted to their friends, discovered interesting natural materials and touched the Holy Well. It was a very special morning and the children were fantastic.
The Year 1 children have come back to school raring to go and have been very ambitious. They wowed Mrs Reed and Mrs Bates in their English lesson with their recounts from the text of Sharing a Shell. There was much excitement as they set of for their school trip on Wednesday. They worked collaboratively as they organised themselves before setting off. They had a fantastic day at the Blue Reef aquarium. They listened carefully to the talk and were enthralled at looking at all the colourful sea life. They managed to do a little bit of shopping paying with their coins and checking their change. Ice cream on the beach was the perfect way to end the day.
Reception have been enjoying the start of their new topic, minibeasts. They watched the caterpillars eat and get fat before half term and when they returned after half term, the caterpillars had turned into chrysalises. Over the course of this week, they have hatched. The children have been fascinated and enjoyed watching the Red Admiral butterflies grow and feed. On Friday afternoon they released the butterflies on the headmaster’s lawn. They used the magnifying glasses to look closely at the empty chrysalises, aphids on the rose bushes, and lots of other minibeasts in the forest, when they went on a minibeast hunt. The children also baked and independently decorated delicious butterfly and bee biscuits whilst singing their phonics song. It’s been a very jolly week in Reception!
This week the Chaffinch and Kingfisher children have been thinking about holidays. In the Kingfisher class the children started talking about destinations they would like to travel to and what they would need to take on holiday with them. In Chaffinch circle time the children talked about what they did on their recent half term break holiday. One child excitedly told us that she had made a den in the park with mummy and daddy. Another said, “I played on the slide with my cousin”. Another child described how he had played with the water sprinkler and got his toys wet. We also heard, “We went to the café with nanny and we had loads of chocolate!” Chaffinch children practised their initial sounds recognition when playing a game of Silly Soup. They listened attentively and identified the correct corresponding pictures to the letter and practised saying the sound. In Cheeky Chefs we made Smarties cookies; the children followed the teacher’s instructions really carefully and showed excellent turn-taking. When asked what we used the weighing scales for one child said, “We use the scales to measure numbers” and another said, “125 grams is big.” The cookies looked and smelled delicious and were enjoyed by all.
This week the Nightingale children chose a stickman and monster topic to work on. They were then asked to draw these and did so imaginatively. “Look at my stick family” one child said and showed staff their family of stick people. They have loved the sunny days and explored the garden area with water activities, sand pits and shaded areas for stories and building blocks. Another busy week.
This week in the Robin class the children have had lots of fun in the sun. They have had copious amounts of exploration with water in the garden, to keep cool. They have practised pouring and explored the terms ‘full’ and ‘empty”. They also practised their fine and gross motor skills by painting the garden with water and watching it disappear as it evaporated. They got the big parachute out and practised listening and attention whilst playing some simple games together as a big group.
This week the Sparrow children have been making the most of the gorgeous weather. They had an exciting, bubbly car wash outside. They used different bright colours and textures to help them explore sensory play and develop their creativity.
Armelle Wilkinson
Head of Pre-Prep and Nursery
