Nursery

The Nursery children have learnt a lot through exploring ‘Transport’ this term. The transport we looked at included trains, cars, buses, aeroplanes, helicopters, boats, trams, tractors, lorries, vans and again we looked at emergency vehicles. The children were asked how they got to nursery that morning, with a variety of answers! “In the car with my mummy”, “On the boat!” and some children even told us they flew through the sky.

Fine motor skills and colour recognition are on-going next steps for our children so we gathered all the small vehicles from our room and put them through paint, watching the tracks that they left, allowing us to develop our observational skills. The children were able to describe the marks they made and also talk about how the colours changed when they are mixed together. 

Reception

This week Reception had a very special visitor! A lady from the zoo brought in some animals for us to learn about. We learnt all about chinchillas, lizards, bearded dragons, cockroaches and tortoises! We were curious just like Corey and asked lots of questions about each of the animals. We waited patiently for our turn to touch and stroke the animals; were gentle when we touched them and made sure to use our quiet voices, so we didn’t scare them. We were even brave enough to touch and look at some of the animals that we were scared of!

Year 1

Year 1 had a visit from the Animal Experience. We were curious like Corey the Chimpanzee as we were very excited to meet the animals. We were responsible learners like Ruby Robin and had discussions about health and safety before and after handling the animals. We came up with different ways we can hold and touch the animals safely and gently. The Keeper explained the importance of gentle handling, so we don’t excite their defence mechanisms. We saw lots of animals like:  a bearded dragon, a blue tongue skink, a tortoise, a high yellow leopard gecko and a chinchilla. We were lucky enough to touch and hold some of the animals with great care.

Year 2

This week, in year 2 we went on a school trip to the Jewish Museum. Whilst on the trip, we showed great curiosity  as we learnt new and exciting facts about the Torah. We had a go at using a quill to write in Hebrew, which is the language the Torah is written in. We also had the opportunity to look at some exciting Jewish artifacts, such as a yad and an Ark. 

 

The purpose of the trip was to support and develop our learning in R.E where we have been learning about sacred books. We definitely came back from the trip having learnt a lot more about the Torah! 

Year 3

3 Willow have been working hard in February. We have just had our Design and technology week where we have been making dips. The children researched different types of dips to help them in their design process. We started off by making guacamole. Later in the week, we made hummus. The children then had to decide what would make their hummus taste even better. The class decided to add red pepper- which was delicious. Everyone has enjoyed learning new cooking skills and some children have even made the recipes at home!

Year 4

Last week year 4 learnt about truss bridges in DT. As part of the unit, we tested different materials for joining wood together and designed and created our own truss bridge! We then tested the bridge to see how strong it was and how much weight it could hold. As you can see from the pictures, year 4 worked incredibly well collaboratively and created some fantastic final products.  

Year 5

Last week, 5 Willow were given the opportunity to visit the Bank of England as part of the Abacus programme. At the museum, we met with volunteers from a range of companies who helped us find out information about the bank and its history. We were guided around the museum before attending a presentation with someone who works at the bank. 

 

We really enjoyed getting to deepen our knowledge of how money is made and how we can use it. We never knew how much time and effort goes into the money that we use every day! 

Year 6

Year 6 Willow have been in the Art Studio again. This time we were challenged to create a self-portrait using different media. 

After sketching the outline of a portrait, we used water colour paint to create different skin shades. We were curious to find out that our faces had many different skin shades. Then we investigated and used tonal pencils to add features and detail. We had to observe the different sizes, shapes, positions, tones and textures of all the different features. After this we investigated different thickness of acrylic paint and created a background wash to cover our canvas. We collaged our portraits onto the surface. Finally, we added patterns to the background.