Key Stage 2

The Year 3 students have been learning about animals including humans and they recently delved into the captivating world of skeletons. 

One of the intriguing investigations undertaken by our budding researchers centered around the connection between femur length and jumping ability. The question on everyone's mind was whether individuals with longer femurs could jump further.

Armed with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, the students embarked on a series of experiments, meticulously measuring femur lengths and recording jump distances. The classroom buzzed with excitement as they collaborated, forming hypotheses and eagerly testing their theories.

The investigation not only provided valuable insights into anatomy but also honed the students' skills in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Beyond the scientific aspect, the project fostered teamwork, critical thinking, and a passion for discovery. Ms Serah. 

As students engage in their daily cognitive activities, significant emotional development and learning occur in the background. One of the most challenging situations at KISU is bidding farewell unexpectedly to a friend, classmate, or peer. However, such experiences enhance the students' emotional resilience, providing real-life exposure to validating and expressing emotions. Year 5FS encountered such an event last week, offering a direct lesson in bonding, validating feelings, and expressing ideas and emotions. Strategies that helped Year 5 students cope included spending time together in extracurricular activities, having a farewell party, leaving notes for their friends, and exchanging small belongings as souvenirs. Despite the sadness of saying goodbye, it was heartening to see the students support each other, spending more time together until they felt at peace expressing themselves enthusiastically. While students will continue to lament departing classmates and friends, the bonds they built will serve as their everlasting support system. Ms Farah. 

In Term 1.2, Year 4 writers focused on composing non-chronological reports on a fictional topic. Utilizing talk-for-writing strategies, they crafted well-organized pieces about monsters. Despite the common misconception that monsters are unfriendly, the Year 4 writers aimed to debunk this myth. Following the publishing of their work, they eagerly shared their reports with Year 5 students during a buddy reading session. This collaborative opportunity allowed both year groups to exchange knowledge, read their writing aloud, ask questions, and provide constructive feedback. The students thoroughly enjoyed the session, anticipating the next buddy reading encounter! Ms Adamcova. 

In 6SDJ, the children have been busy preparing poems for KISU's annual Poetry Slam competition. The children started by studying Emotion Poems. Poets use personification, alliteration, similes, and powerful verbs to create these poems, which the children also did brilliantly. The children have now completed their poems and moved on to rehearsing the performance of them. Here are some pictures of the children rehearsing! Mr Jones. 

I hope that terrible pun got your attention! In 6MT we have started a new unit in Literacy, focusing on writing biographies. We have started by looking at the life of Wangari Maathai. Wangari was an amazing woman from Nairobi. She started 'The Green Belt Movement' who have planted around 51 million trees and counting. We decided to do own own little bit and worked hard to plant seven of the beautiful almond trees that parents had kindly donated to the school! It was hard work, but the children worked tirelessly and had great fun. We are looking forward to seeing the trees grow in the coming years. Mr Tolliday.