Caring at Christmas
Our youngest pupils have just returned from delivering the most wonderful Nativity performance of ‘The Bethlehem Star’! As many of you reading will have been lucky to witness, each of our Year 1 to 3 pupils, performed with joy, confidence and a wonderful smile throughout, leaving those lucky enough to be in the packed audience with joy in our hearts and a smile on our faces.
This week in assembly, I set the pupils the challenge to show Care to others. We have been discussing what showing Care looks like in our Ad Vitam lessons - listening to each other, being polite and kind were just some of the examples. Ultimately, we agreed that if through your actions, you can make someone else feel happiness, then you have shown Care.
The pupils may not immediately realise it, and would probably identify many of the other Learner Profile attributes that were on display this morning - ‘Risk-taking’, ‘Communicating’, ‘Knowledgeable’ to name but a few - but each one of them showed ‘Care’ towards every single person in the audience this morning and for that, I thank them and want them to know how proud we are of all of them.
Claire Robertson, Head of Junior School
Island of the Week
Congratulations to Lewis who were named Island of the Week for the second week in a row!
Maths Certificates
Congratulations to everyone who received their Mathematics Certificates in assembly this week. The pupils have shown how Knowledgeable they are through the tasks they have been set on Mathletics. There are many stages the young learners can work through, each with five stages; Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Epic and Legend.
Great work from all the certificate winners below!
Bronze I
Alex, James P (Year 1), Abigail , Flora (Year 2), Theodore, Agnes, Patrick T-I, Luna (Year 3), Louis, Isobel, Rory, Aliya, Roddy, David (Year 4), Bonnie, Amiee, Dallan, Catherine, Albert, Niamh (Year 5), Priya, Isabella (Year 6)
Bronze II
Austin, Emily, James M (Year 1), Charlotte, Sofia, Meena (Year 2), Alvin (Year 4), Noah, Islay, Olivia, Serena, Mairi (Year 5), Dylan (Year 6)
Bronze III
Victor (Year 2), Owen (Year 3)
Bronze IV
Olivia (Year 2), Arya, Alex, Imogen, Saif (Year 3)
Working his way through all stages of Bronze and Silver, Rai Ka is on Gold II
Awesome Arabic
This week the Arabic Club have been learning numbers from 1 to 10 and different fruits in Arabic. The members have been really enthusiastic about their Arabic studies and after only three sessions since the club started, Noah, Emily, Andrew and Saif are able to read and write simple words in Arabic! The students learn in a variety of ways from bingo and word games for vocabulary, to watching videos with authentic speakers to introduce new topics. They then practise their writing in Arabic when they learn new words.
The club runs every Monday from 4.30pm - 5.15pm and they'd be delighted to have new members next term!
Year 1
Gingerbread House
Year 1 got the festive season off to a wonderful start, with the aid of Miss Barclay and a few cocktail sticks, they worked as a team to make this wonderfully snowy gingerbread house. All thanks to Elizabeth who wanted to share this German tradition with us!
Dear Santa
Throughout this week, the Year 1 class has been buzzing with excitement, crafting heartfelt letters for Santa Claus. Their enthusiasm and creativity have filled the classroom with joy and anticipation for the festive season!
Year 2
Family Histories Museum
Over the past few months, the inquisitive Year 2 pupils have been researching their family histories. Their inquiries took the pupils on a learning journey that included talking with family members, uncovering interesting artefacts, recording findings in a variety of ways, and even spending time dressing up as characters from a bygone era. This week, both classes proudly presented and celebrated their learning as they opened the doors to friends and family at the Family Histories Museum, which featured independent research by every member of the class.
A huge round of applause for the budding historians in Year 2 - you have achieved great things this term!
Year 3
Super Stories
“What makes a good story?” That has been the question on the forefront of the minds of Year 3. They created characters, story plots and problems that needed to be solved. They were also tasked with having to edit their stories at least once after they received teacher feedback. The children then created the success criteria themselves, and completed self and peer assessments. Excellent work, Year 3!
Year 4
Touch Typing
As part of Year 4’s Unit of Inquiry, Technology, the class enjoyed a lesson led by Flora on ‘touch typing’. Flora has been using a typing website at home and asked if she could lead a lesson with the class on how to use it. She was able to confidently share how it can help their technology skills, showed her peers how to get the most from the website and she made sure to help each of her classmates when they had a question. What a fantastic lesson from Flora!
12 Days of Swimas
5P completed the 12 Days of Swimas in class this week. Enjoy their special rendition of “On the first day of Swimas, my teacher gave to me, one cannonball!”
Enthusiastic Explorers
Class 5C had an exciting visit from Jack Holmes from St Andrews University this week, as he gave an alternative slant to their Unit of Inquiry on Explorers. Exploring Darwin and his work on finches, the children investigated why animals (specifically birds) have adapted in the ways they have. Mr Holmes challenged them to experiment with different materials to explore which type of beak was more effective at collecting food. Great work, explorers!
Year 6
Spanish
Year 6 have been working on a fantastic project with Senorita Bradley in their Spanish “En mi Ciudad” presentations. They have been researching a Spanish city of their choice and finding out facts about the food, language, culture and population. Throughout the project, Year 6 have shown fantastic research and communication skills to present their facts back to their classmates in Spanish.
Senorita Bradley has been amazed by their pronunciation in Spanish and the fascinating facts they have discovered! Did you know, Valencia has the largest aquarium in Europe and Walt Disney based his castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the Alcazar de Segovia castle?
Bien hecho Year 6! Trabajo fantastico!
Marvelling in Maths
In Maths, the Year 6 students joined forces, collaborating to unravel a series of challenging word problems using a three-step approach:
1. Understand the problem, 2. Make a plan, 3. Action the plan!
This method initiated interesting discussions and a variety of strategies were used to solve a number of real life problems.
Buddy Time
Year 4 and 6 enjoyed a relaxing Buddy Time last week, taking the chance to create origami stars together. Excellent teamwork!
The Bethlehem Star
One of the highlights of the season is always the Years 1 to 3 Nativity and this year, they sparkled in The Bethlehem Star. A fun story of determined journalists on the hunt to find the biggest scoop! A huge well done to all the performers who did a brilliant job! Thanks also to the friends and families who joined to watch the festive show!