As we are sure you are already aware, the children at Grange Park Primary School are encouraged to take part in volunteering through our Acts of Kindness (AOK) Programme.  

We promote Acts of Kindness in the home, at school and in the community...

and through the work that we do with the numerous charities that we support. 

Within the school, the programme allows children to take part in AOK’s at lunchtime which include litter picking, helping out in the dinner hall and reading hub, gardening, being a playground buddy and a buddy reader.

Children enjoy this responsibility and take it very seriously.

“I enjoy reading to the younger children and helping them to learn. It makes me feel happy and grateful that I am part of this school.” 

Mila - Tiger class

“I enjoy mostly gardening because it reminds going to my grandpa’s with my cousin and watering the flowers.” 

Elif - Ash class 

"I  swept the floor in the dining hall, it made me feel good and kind!" 

Franklin - Willow class 

Acts of Kindness are celebrated every half term in special AOK assemblies where children receive special mentions for their contributions.

Recently the school purchased AOK bibs for all classes so it is obvious for anyone to see who is taking part in AOK! 

We all know that there are many emotional benefits of both giving and receiving kindness, but did you know that being kind also has a ton of health benefits?

• It increases the amount of oxytocin (also known as the “love” hormone in the body)

• It increases the production of happiness hormones in the body

• Being kind can actually make you live longer

• Kindness produces hormones called ‘endorphins’ which are the body’s natural painkillers

• It improves your overall mood

• Kindness has been shown to decrease social anxiety

• Being kind reduces blood pressure

A Neptune child reading whilst doing a handstand....

Wondering what book to pick up next? Keen to try a new author? Looking for a book to inspire a reluctant reader? 

This Tiger child is reading whilst waiting for her washing!

We’re here to help you discover your next read and to give children and families ideas of what books are suitable and brilliant for each age and stage of reading. Reading Recommendations

A Robin child has found is reading whilst enjoying the sea air!

Whether you love books about animals, poetry, tales of adventure or books that make you laugh out loud, enjoy having a browse and choosing your next read.

Kingfisher child practising yoga while reading his book...

Wherever you are, you can enjoy a great book!

Daffodil class have been spending their Friday afternoons in Grange Park's very own Forest School. 

"Forest School has made me feel happy because we are outside and all together." Audrey - Daffodil class

Over the last few weeks the children have created their own clay tree monsters, discovered worms under logs, made nature paint brushes and mud paint and been surprised at how muddy their hands could get! 

At the end of a session the children enjoyed sitting around base camp with a hot chocolate to warm up their muddy hands and share with one another what they have been up to.

A favourite memory from Daffodil class is when the children created their own shelter. They worked together to collect logs and sticks to hold one side of the shelter down. The children said it looks like a tent.

"I like looking for bugs. I have found lots of worms." Zac - Daffodil class

"I like collecting logs." Grace - Daffodil class

Acorn class have been very busy exploring our topic ‘Things That Move’. We have been learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly.  The children have read the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle and enjoyed retelling the story for themselves using sequencing cards. 

The children were very excited to receive some very special visitors which were delivered to the nursery. Our very own caterpillars to watch grow into beautiful butterflies. 

For art we learnt about the artist Andy Warhol and his wonderful Butterfly Pop Art. The children made their very own Butterfly pop art prints. All the prints have been put together to make one big masterpiece. 

We had great fun celebrating World Book Day in the nursery. The children enjoyed coming to school dressed as their favourite book characters. They even had a special visit from The Big Bad Wolf who read them the story of Mr Wolfs Pancakes. We even had a try at flipping our own pancakes. 

This Bluebell child decorating the didgeridoo. 

Decorating the class didgeridoo in Bluebell class.

This Snowdrop child drew a picture of himself and the ways he keeps healthy.

Here is a Tulip child who used various colours, materials and shapes to make his snail. He cut them out and stuck them on his paper to create his masterpiece. He was very proud of his creation!

As part of our topic, ‘Wicked Weather’ Year 1 enjoyed a trip to Kew Gardens. We investigated the weather associated with the different seasons at Kew and its effects on plants. 

“The green house was so hot, some leaves were huge.”  Zachary - Butterfly class 

“My favourite part of the trip was the greenhouse because it was so warm and it had so many colourful, beautiful flowers in it.” Jasmine - Grasshopper class 

“I loved looking at the tall trees with leaves bigger than me in the greenhouse.” 

“We were on a plant hunt and I found Daffodils.” 

“There were lots of flowers and we learnt about them.” 

Year 2 went on a field trip to explore how Christians belong to a Christian family or belief. 

We spoke to a minister called Mandy, who is the leader of Enfield Baptist Church. She spoke to us about the actions of a Baptism...

Answering questions about their belief in Jesus, making promises, entering the pool on one side, having a “religious wash” and leading into your new life. 

Then, we learnt about the key symbols of the baptist church.

As well as all of their hard work in reading, writing and maths.  The pupils of Year 3 have been continuing to work hard in their foundation subjects.

PE

This term in PE the children have been developing their teamwork skills to solve problems.  Communication and thinking tactically are important skills to develop in all sporting games.  The children have had to work together to think of creative ways to complete the activities successfully.

D&T

This term we will be making pizzas inspired by the local area.  To do this we have explored the history of pizza before beginning to look at flavour combinations.  Obviously, the pupils enjoyed this session very much as they had to analyse and evaluate the different appearances, smells, textures and taste of different pizzas.

RE

In our RE sessions we are exploring the importance of values through religion and religious stories.  Pupils have explored what their values are along with the values of different religious communities.  In these sessions they have explored the story of ‘The Good Samaritan’, identifying the key teachings and values. The children could then make storyboards using our chromebooks and the ‘Storyboard that’ site to retell the story in our words.

To kickstart our new history topic of Rampaging Romans, Year 4 enjoyed a trip to the Verulamium Museum and Roman Theatre in St Albans. 

We were able to handle real artefacts as well as replicas of tools used by the Ancient Romans to give us a better understanding of what Roman Britain was like for those living in it. 

We also saw restored mosaics and artefacts which had been uncovered through archaeological digs before seeing the remains of a Roman theatre. 

Remains of a Roman theatre.

“It felt like I was a Roman looking at my past life.” Nino - Leopard class

“The trip was awesome! I loved all of the exhibits and learned lots of new things, for example how Boudica almost ruined the Roman reign as it took 20 years to recover from her rebellion.”  Olivia - Leopard Class