You Can Hear The Knowledge
Knowledge has been abundant this week and the best way to appreciate it has been with our ears! “Stop, Look, Listen, Think” rang around the Hall to start our week as Year 3 led a fantastic assembly launching Road Safety Week, deepening our knowledge about keeping ourselves safe on and off the roads. On Wednesday morning, "We need more sellotape!" and "That's four to me and three to you Daddy!” were just some of the comments that could be heard around the Year 1 to 3 classrooms as we welcomed parents and families in for our Soft Start mornings. The sharing and building of knowledge was tangible and alive, and the joy that this brought to children and adults alike was palpable. Meanwhile, stepping into the Hall during this week you could be met with cries of “they’re behind you!”, as rehearsals for the Year 4 pantomime continue in readiness for next week. Rounding the week off, from the Year 6 classroom came the hum of shared knowledge, as Year 6 delivered their COP summit to Year 4 and 5 pupils who listened, learned and questioned. Indeed, a euphonious finale to a knowledge filled week.
Claire Robertson, Head of Junior School
Children in Need
Years 1 to 6 made spot-acular efforts for Children in Need last Friday! The students looked fantastic, sporting an array of dotty outfits whilst raising a whopping £204.81 for the special cause. They also competed in the Pudsey Bearpees Challenge all week, resulting in an amazing total of 6389 Bearpees! A special thanks to Mr Moan from the University Sports Centre for leading some lively Bearpee training sessions!
Island of the Week
Well done to Skye who managed to score the top spot for Island of the Week!
Year 1
Smashing Shapes
This week, the Year 1 students delved into the world of 2D and 3D shapes, learning about their properties and spotting them in our surroundings. They also had some fun hands-on learning using the building blocks, following instructions to construct various objects out of specific 3D shapes. Great work, Year 1!
Back at the Beach
The Year 1 class had their first beach outing after the stormy weather and it was lovely to be back in the fresh air. Continuing with their Celebrations Unit of Inquiry, the pupils crafted Diwali Rangoli patterns in the sand, just as those who celebrate Diwali do to welcome friends and family to their homes. The class also used their knowledge of shapes to create patterns and practice forming 2D shapes in the sand. Everyone enjoyed the trip and had lots of fun learning at the beach!
Thanksgiving
Mrs McNeill (Alex's Mum) joined Year 1 for a special visit to talk about Thanksgiving and how their family celebrate it. The students have been learning about the history of Thanksgiving and why Americans celebrate it now. They learned it happens on the third Thursday in November and people usually spend it with family and friends, eating turkey and pumpkin pie, watching American Football and the big parade. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate the holiday!
Year 2
St Andrews Heritage Museum
Year 2 were transported back in time this week with a thrilling visit to St Andrews Heritage Museum as part of their Family Histories Unit. Exploring the surrounding area, they uncovered fascinating facts about the lives of fisherman, finding their initials marked in stone where they sharpened their knives and an outdoor barometer warning them of bad weather. The class also learned of the fish at the top of All Souls Church, the history of St Andrews Castle, and a bone-chilling ghost story of the town's Cathedral (a tale best left for daytime visits!). Inside the museum, the pupils imagined themselves in the cramped living quarters of fishing families and marvelled at the magic of green glass in the chemist's shop. Year 1 even reenacted what a laundry day might have been like; trying out the mangle, dolly, tongs and carpet beater in the outside washroom. Well done, Year 2!
Year 2 shared some of their reflections from the trip:
"They used the wooden drawers to hold the different medicine ingredients. They had to make the medicines with a bowl and a crusher" (pestle and mortar) - Andrew
"I loved seeing where the knives were sharpened on the window sill by the fishermen to get the fish guts out" - Johnnie
"I loved the washroom because there was a machine that dries clothes. It was called a mangle" - Poppy
"We missed seeing the two seater loo because the door was stuck" - Arthur
"At midnight when you go to the cathedral you put your hand through a hole and you might get a freezing cold handshake" - Hunter
Stay and Play
On Wednesday morning, Class 2C welcomed some parents into their classroom for a ‘Stay and Play' session. The children had enthusiastically planned what they wanted to do while the visitors were with them, and their parents were put to work! They helped to create 'olden days' furniture for their role-play area, using cardboard boxes and junk modelling materials. Their home corner is now kitted out like a home from the past, furnished with a sofa, armchair, fireplace, grandfather clock, bathtub, a four-poster bed, and a library! Other boxes were used to build a fort, complete with a cannon, cannon balls, a computer, and a dungeon big enough for Hunter and Rupert to fit in!
We would like to send a huge thank you to all those parents who came and got stuck in, helping to make Year 2's ideas a reality. The play area now looks fantastic, and they are having a wonderful time with the new additions!
Year 2 shared their thoughts on the 'Stay and Play' event with their families:
"Best ever! It was so fun building things with everybody. My dad was helping make the stove and we also made the castle" - Toby
"We were making a bathtub with Aria and Beatrice, and Beatrice’s dad was doing it too, and we made taps and soap. We used tin foil for the running water." - Flora
"I mainly made the Grandfather clock. We used boxes and covered it with golden paper and drew patterns with Sharpies, and we drew Roman numbers on it, and we made a flap in the grandfather clock so you can see a pendulum. But we haven't made that yet!" - Victor
Year 3
Stop. Look. Listen. Think.
Year 3 led Monday's assembly on Road Safety Awareness and shared their research with their Junior School peers. They shared the best place to cross the road, how to be seen in the dark and even how you can cross safely if you're visually impaired. Thank you for sharing your safety tips, Year 3!
They also made these helpful videos to spread road safety awareness!
Year 4
Scientific Analysis
Year 4 have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming Isla, a University Biology Student, into their class to work with them on Wednesdays. This week, Year 4 were testing whether unwashed hands produce more bacteria than washed hands. After creating hypotheses, the pupils used agar plates to press their fingers into. Their fingerprints in agar were then left to incubate before analysing the bacteria growth. Excellent investigative work, Year 4!
Year 5
On the Sands
In celebration of Children in Need last Friday, the Year 5 pupils headed to East Sands Beach to collect debris from the storm, to spell out Children in Need in the sand. The pupils then counted the items required for each letter, collected the data which they have been handling in class in various ways as part of their work on data handling.
Year 6
St Leonards COP23
This week, Year 6 have been busy in their Unit of Inquiry lessons, creating their final presentations in preparation for the St Leonards COP23 on Friday. The pupils have been exploring issues regarding equitable access to the world’s resources, having been tasked with persuading Year 4 and Year 5 that they should donate their (imaginary) one million pounds to their fight for fairness in accessing clean water, food and energy. They will inform their visitors about the work they would do with the money to improve the lives of people in different parts of the world. We look forward to finding out who will be the most persuasive and manage to raise the most money.
Sporting Highlights
The U12 hockey squad had a fantastic day playing against Ardvreck School. The A Team had a super game with Captain Phoebe F scoring 4 and Holly A scoring 1. The B Team were not left behind with Captain Florence C and Thea S scoring 2 goals each, and Ella M scoring 1. Excellent teamwork from all the players!