In our Art lessons children have responded to artwork depicting the Great Fire of London. As part of this learning the children have started to develop an understanding of different historical sources and are beginning to be able to identify the most reliable sources of historical information. The children have also created some beautiful pieces of artwork depicting the Great Fire of London. 

We were lucky to have Fireman Simon visit Molehill and share with us examples of how the Fire Service has changed through history. The children enjoyed seeing examples of how the uniform firefighters wear has changed and learning about the equipment they use to put out fires. 

As a consequence of all these wonderful learning experiences the children have produced some fantastic pieces of writing, including; letters to Fireman Simon, diary entries writing in role as Vlad from the story Vlad and the Great Fire of London, fact files about the famous diarist  Samuel Pepys and factual writing about the Fire Service in 1666. 

Lower Key Stage Two

This term in LKS2 we have based our learning under the transdisciplinary theme 'Where we are in place and time' with our inquiries focussing on links between societies and places, comparing different opinions and beliefs globally and investigating how relationships have changed over time. Much of our inquiry has been delivered through our work on the Ancient Greeks and Greek Mythology where we investigated connections and links between the different city states at that time. Through our work on Sikhism and Ancient Greece we discovered many differences in opinions and beliefs which we compared with our own. Many of these were also portrayed in the exciting Greek myths such as Theseus and the Minotaur and Medusa which children used to support reading and writing. We also discovered how relationships, particularly between those in power and ordinary people, have changed over time including widespread democracy; a legacy of Ancient Greece.

Upper Key Stage Two

This term, years 5 and 6 have been exploring the transdisciplinary theme, 'Where we are in place and time', through the central idea, 'Human migration is a response to many factors including social and economic circumstances'. Both year groups have explored the idea of migration as a whole, looking at push and pull factors and linking this to our understanding of the world in PSHE lessons with a focus on media portrayal of refugees. 

As well as this, we have investigated migration due to religion, whilst looking at the 5 pillars of Islam and migration throughout History, particularly during the Industrial Revolution. Investigating child labour conditions and laws was also thoroughly enjoyed and will be carried on next term! 

Finally, both year groups have been exploring texts that depict migration but for different reasons. Year 6 have been investigating the text 'Windrush Child', which tells the story of a boy called Leonard who has migrated from Jamaica to Southampton to live with his father, Whereas, Year 5 have been exploring the exciting story of Journey to Jo'burg which depicts the bravery of two children who trek across South Africa to find their mother who is working in Johannesburg so that their baby sister can receive medical help. The story takes place during apartheid and we were very fortunate to hear a real life recount of life at the time from our very own Principal who lived in South Africa for a short while during this time!