Koala

We cannot believe how quick the term has gone. The class has enjoyed practising for the Christmas Production in class and with Lawrence and Jack, and are looking forward to performing to the parents. The class have also been working with Kirsty on a Tuesday afternoon - gardening. At the beginning of this term we enjoyed the story of Kipper’s toybox and looked at different toys. We will be learning about Christmas for the last few weeks. Though the snow has disrupted a lot of the planned activities it did not spoil the Christmas dinner today! The pupils will be busy over the next few days making lots of Christmas items to take home. 

Happy New Year from all of the Koalas. 

It has been a lovely start to 2023. The children have returned to school really well and settled into a routine of creative learning through art, music, dance, outside play, visits to soft play and time to socialise with each other. Our PYP transdisciplinary theme this term is 'Where We are in Place and Time' and our central theme is 'Wild Wild West'. The children have really enjoyed time to be creative and use different fine motor skills to produce their works of art. We have been doing lots of singing and dancing to songs linking to our theme such as Horsey, horsey, She'll be coming round the mountain, 5 little ponies and lots more which have supported Maths and Literacy skills. A love of reading is being promoted by sharing books, having sensory stories with props and visual aids and visiting the school library. There is more fun and learning to be had this term and we cannot wait to see how the children continue to thrive.

Thank you to all of our families and children who have made me feel so welcome since I have started at Milestone.

Angie and all of Koala team :) 

 Koala Class have really enjoyed their theme 'Wild Wild West'. They have been really creative in Art and DT, making super works of art and even cooking. They made chocolate hay bales with melted chocolate and cereals and campfires - full of different sweets to be the fire and twigs with melted chocolate to represent the muddy ground! Our different sensory trays and stories have encouraged the children to explore using their different senses. Lots of learning has revolved around a variety of songs which have supported learning with the repetition, actions and sequences of movements. The children have become really good at being cowboys  and have entertained us with their galloping and even saying 'Yeehaw'.  It has been a fun term of learning and getting to know each other.

Thank you to our families for your continued support. Have a lovely half term and we look forward to sharing Term 4 with you after the break.

Term 4

This term our PYP transdisciplinary theme this term is 'How the World Works' and our central theme is 'Let's go on an Adventure'. We have begun this term by looking at the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt.' We have been listening to the story and have used sensory props to be the different areas that were visited on the hunt: green pipe cleaners for the grass, blue bubble bath for the river, brown play dough for the mud, lolly pop sticks for the forest and shaving foam for the snow storm. We have also enjoyed moving to the and song making sensory bottles and binoculars. 

Term 4 has been very exciting for our Koalas and they have really enjoyed meeting our expert teachers to take part in Music, Drama and Horticulture lessons. During these sessions the children had the chance to use different instruments to make loud and soft sounds; been on fantasy adventures with music, sound effects and costumes; plus they have explored the natural elements outdoors, planted their own sunflower seeds and tasted healthy produce that is grown. 

We continued with our theme 'Let's go on an adventure' and the children became Risk Takers when they tried new recipes from around the world. They used their Inquiry skills when they watched what happened to the ingredients as they were mixed, whizzed and cooked. These sessions combined all of the senses with the children really enjoying the taste elements!

Term 5

The Spring has finally arrived and an exciting new term has begun for our Koalas. They have been having a great time exploring their new theme 'Food, Glorious Food.' This is within the PYP transdisciplinary theme 'How We Organise Ourselves.' We have been enjoying the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and making foods with gluten free porridge oats. The weather is becoming drier and the outdoors has become really beautiful so we have been learning about colours outside by exploring the garden area.  

Term 5 is coming to an end and we have enjoyed the theme this term. Over the last 6 weeks we have continued with food technology and have looked at different coloured foods, tasted new foods and made cucumber sandwiches. The children have worked hard to develop their gross motor skills in sport. We have had visiting teachers to share their expertise in PE and our Koalas have thoroughly enjoyed the activities. They have been Risk Takers because they have tried new activities like basketball shooting, hurdles jumps, balancing on a bench and weaving in and out of cones. They have been travelling at different speeds and learning to develop control over their moves. During Week 3 we had a Phase 1 immersion day to celebrate the King's Coronation which was a brilliant afternoon. In class we were proud of the children for sitting really well to listen to a story about King Charles on the whiteboard. We hope you all enjoy the half term break and look forward to seeing you for Term 6. 

Term 6

This is our final term of the year already, the time has gone so fast. Our theme this term is 'Sharing the Planet' and our title for our inquiries is 'Fur, Feathers, Claws and Scales.' During this term we will be learning about animals and using 3 stories to support our learning. We have begun the term with the book 'Dear Zoo' which has been very popular with the children. The children enjoyed listening to the story with adults, watching the story and a song on the whiteboard, explored tough trays to find hidden animals, matched animals to their symbol and lots more. It has been a really lovely start to the term and the beautiful weather has meant we could enjoy more of our learning outside. Week 2 ended with lots of excitement because we had Sports Day. This was a great day and so lovely to be able to invite the parents along to share the experience with us. The children had the chance to explore two areas: outside where there was football, target throwing, archery, and the parachute. Then we transitioned indoors to the gym where there was a bouncy castle and ball pit. We all had great fun and this was perfect for us to be able to interact together and for our families to meet each other.

The theme this term has been Sharing the Planet and the children have enjoyed all of the stories about animals. The children have been lucky enough to enjoy Drama, Music, Gardening and PE with our expert teachers as well as having visits from our resident librarian. 

As Term 6 is coming to an end we can reflect on all of the achievements Koala Class have made over the year. It has been an exciting time for them, starting school, and they have developed independence, social skills, self regulation, communication methods, gross and fine motor skills. It has been a wonderful year and our Koalas have worked and played very hard. We are immensely proud of every single achievement that they have made. 

We wish everyone a very happy summer break.