As we end the penultimate week of term, it has been wonderful to see such enriching ends of our units of inquiry. This was evident in 1Willow's family afternoon, where the children baked and made an abundance of treats to show their gratitude for their loved ones. Thank you for your attendance, the children worked really hard and were so pleased to have you in to share their learning. In Year 4, they had their well-being day, partaking in yoga, Zumba and some healthy smoothies! This really embodies their central idea that a healthy lifestyle can be impacted by external influences.

Today, there was a South Korean feast in Year 2. I sat down with the children as they ate dim sum and sushi and listened to them talking about their core text 'The Name Jar' which is centred around identity and is set in South Korea. This was a great example of bringing learning to life!

On the subject of South Korea, this was the country we represented in the STC's mini world cup. Please head over to the sports news section to see how we did... But as a hint, it may include medals!

We also had a visitor in Year 6 this week from Mike Williams, BBC correspondent best known for being part of the BBC Breakfast show with Zoe Ball. It was great to listen to someone working in the industry tell the children about his experiences of working in the media. We even got a shout-out on National Radio this morning! Thank you so much for coming to see us and head to the Year 6 page for the clip!

Finally, we are proud to promote the British values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Respect and Tolerance, and Individual Liberty here at Marden Primary Academy. There is no better exemplification of this than the House Captain contest. Children and staff of each house congregated together in their houses of Desert, Ocean, Polar and Rainforest to observe the speeches of all of the nominees. Children and staff within each house voted for the Head of House in a truly democratic way and I am pleased to announce our new house captains are as follows:

Desert: Alice W, Frankie L

Ocean: Jack Ro, Lewis M

Rainforest: Jasper L, Riley B

Polar: Zak F, Alexander E

Mr N Dosad