Issue 9
Year 5 boys set up basketball coaching
A group of Year 5 boys with a passion for playing basketball decided that they wanted to share their passion and have set up basketball classes at lunchtime for any other children who want to learn. The children have to sign up and there is already a waiting list as it is so popular.
National Non-Fiction Competition Winner at Chandlings!
Children at Chandlings Prep took part in a National Non-Fiction competition sponsored by Welbeck Children's Publishing. They all had to write an imaginary interview with either a historical character or an animal. Over 800 entries were received from schools all over the country. Congratulations to Christopher who was chosen as the winner of the 5-7s category for his 'Interview with King John.' The judges were very taken with his entry, commenting that ‘it was so funny and well-constructed’. Christopher received a bundle of books from Welbeck as his prize.
Congratulations!.pdfWorld Book Day - Dress up Day
We LOVE World Book Day at Chandlings Prep. The school was full of colourful representations of books from Rainbow Fish to Smeds and Smoos. There was even a surprise performance by members of staff of Julia Donaldson's a Squash and a Squeeze to everyone's delight. We also had the privilege of several authors visiting the children sharing their books and poems with us.
Book Day Assembly - Staff 2023 FN.mp4World Book Day - Book Fair
World Book Day - Author Valerie Bloom Visits
We were delighted to welcome the writer and performance poet Valerie Bloom to Chandlings as part of a week filled with exciting World Book Day events. Valerie, who received an MBE for her services to poetry, performed her poems to the whole school from Nursery to Year 6. Valerie's writing is heavily influenced by her Jamaican background, and we were fascinated to hear how Jamaican Patois evolved, and to learn some of the words which feature in Valerie's Patois poems. Everyone joined in enthusiastically with her 'Pinda Cake' song, and Mrs Branch asked for the recipe (essentially, peanuts and brown sugar). Valerie's 'Mega Star Rap' was a hit with the older children who burst into spontaneous applause at the end. It was a memorable day that inspired and enthralled teachers and children alike.
World Book Day - Author AF Harrold and Iszi Lawrence Visits
Years 2 and 3 had a fantastically entertaining time listening to AF Harrold perform his poetry, read from one of his Fizzlebert Stump novels and inspire the children to write poems of their own. We were warned that he 'does things that aren't always entirely normal' which turned out to be true and made for a funny and engaging morning.
What a fun morning Year 5 & 6 had with Iszi Lawrence. She regaled them with stories about suffragettes doing jiu jitsu, super spitfire flying women, girls seeking revenge against the evil Blackbeard pirate and they created their own World War 1 story having discussed the plot with Iszi.
Year 6 explore the wonders of Maths
Year 6 have been exploring the wonders of Maths. They have created tessellations inspired by Escher's artwork, investigated Fibonacci's Spirals and designed symmetrical tiles.
Year 2 launch their Ice Topic
This half-term the new topic Year 2 is ICE. The topic began with a challenge to solve a number of clues to guess what the new topic was. The children deliberated that ice is not only solid, but also transparent, brittle, naturally found in the solar system and found on lakes, rivers and oceans in cold weather. Next the children enjoyed watching some clips of David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet to appreciate the wonder of ice around the world. Then they created a yummy, melting snowman biscuit. Finally they worked well in teams to examine a block of ice using food colouring and describe what they could see, before discovering how best to rescue a lego explorer from the ice using salt!
Year 3 immerse themselves in Roman life at the Corinium Museum
Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed exploring the modern galleries during their trip to the Corinium Museum in Cirencester.
On arrival, they split into two groups, with one group starting the day in The Lifelong Learning Centre where the children enjoyed taking part in a workshop. They moved around a selection of fun activities including dressing up in Roman outfits and discovering more about the foods and games available at that time. The other group was able to start looking around the museum straightaway. With museum staff on hand to answer questions about the Roman soldiers and mosaics there was plenty of information available to find out more about Roman life.
After lunch the children worked enthusiastically in small groups as they searched amongst the artefacts so that they could find answers to the questions posed in their workbooks. A fantastic trip and without a doubt they could have stayed there a lot longer!
Year 3 & Year 4 Poetry Walk
As part of our poetry focus for World Book Week Year 3 and Year 4 enjoyed a Poetry Walk, inspired by nature, throughout the school grounds. A variety of poems, relating to various locations within the school, were discovered by the pupils. The children read and discussed the poems, the poetic devices within them and selected their favourite line.
The poems the children found included one about bees by the beehives, a poem on birds at the bird hide, a poem on ducks by the pond and a poem about climbing trees in the Nursery Woodland. The children finished with a deliciously warming hot chocolate!
6M Assembly - Appreciation
6M's assembly was all about thinking of others and thanking them for the things they do. A few weeks prior to the assembly they had written individual letters to all the members of staff thanking them for what they do at Chandlings and put a few treats in the staff room to show their appreciation. During the assembly they read out some of the letters they had written along with some of the replies they had received from the staff. The assembly took place on National Appreciation Day and linked to the Wellbeing topic of My Heart and 40 days of kindness.