The Nursery learners have settled back into the routine with lots of energy and enthusiasm. We are delighted to welcome a new family to the Nursery community. The learners were excited to see their friends and teachers again after the break, and It has been wonderful to observe the children being kind and caring, helping their new friend become familiar with the learning space.

We are excited to start our Unit of Inquiry this week. The Central Idea is, Collaboration Helps Build a Community. We will explore how people help each other and what this looks like in the Nursery community.

In class, we use iPads to take photographs of the children learning. The children are involved in the process and show great interest in looking at their photos on Seesaw. We look forward to sharing the learning with you throughout the term.

It was wonderful to welcome back our lovely Kindergarten learners last week, they skipped through the gate, ready to get back to their learning and those all important connections that were forged during Term 1 of the school year.

This week, we tuned into our new Unit of Inquiry, How We Express Ourselves, through the story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff.' We were very excited to discover a large bridge that appeared in our outdoor area. We found scraps of food, rubbish and a trail of large footprints leading to the gate. The learners decided that a troll had been in our outdoor area, we set about collecting evidence of what we had found and documented it on our iPads. We then made a movie of our learning and shared our inquiry in assembly. We can't wait to investigate further and find out why the troll visited our outdoor area.

We have had an amazing start to Term 2! The learners returned to school refreshed and excited to begin learning. We also welcomed 4 new friends into Year 1, Miguel, Arjun, Sofia and Devaj.

Our new Sharing the Planet unit began with an explosive start when the children went to the MPH room to do yoga, only to find it full of 'rubbish'. The teachers were observers to discussions and action, but it didn’t take long for our caring learners to take action and tidy up. After watching a time lapse video of the event, we did a See-Think-Wonder thinking routine which led to a wonderful discussion and some thoughtful questions about recycling. The learners decided the school community could provide them with more information, so, armed with questions and iPads to record interviews, the learners went on a learning walk around Nexus and found out some valuable information. Over the coming weeks, the learners will be learning how to use the iPad to research answers to their questions. This unit will create authentic learning opportunities for the children to develop their technical skills, understanding how iPads can be used to create, inform and share.

Welcome to returning families and a big hello and welcome to the new families that have joined the Nexus family. We have started Term 2 off fabulously, celebrating Deepavali. The learners all thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations engaging with the multiple stalls, tasting delicious food, dancing and having a fabulous assembly with the amazing bhangra dance performers.

This term continues with our unit of inquiry into ‘Our choices affect our health. The learners are developing their research skills and by doing so will regularly use the iPad as a tool to enhance their learning experiences. Creating videos, taking photos and using search functions on apps such as Pebble Go, support them to be independent inquiries. Seesaw is used as a learning journal, which lets the learners reflect on their experiences and share their understanding in class and with families at home.

Year 3 has returned to Term 2 with a bang! We are straight into preparations for our Cultural Exhibition on Thurs 10ths Nov, and re-establishing our classroom norms and the Nexus RECIPE (Respect, Excellence, Communication, Integrity, Passion, Enjoyable Environment). Our Exhibition involves a dance learned in PHE, a song composed in Music, work created in Art, and a snapshot into the lessons from Chinese and French; all are linked to ‘Culture is expressed through the Arts’. In our classroom learners are also moving quickly to pull their research together to share with families.

Technology has played a vital role during this unit of inquiry. Most notably, our learners have been practising the ins and outs of logging into different digital resources to support their research into cultures. Most learners entering Year 3 are new to retrieving information from the internet or taking notes from what they’ve read. It’s a delight to see the growth in this area and is hugely empowering for them. A question they have can turn into an inquiry—where they are in the driving seat. In addition to using the iPad to inquire, learners are beginning to engage with our coding programme at Nexus. This will continue to be rolled out, exposing learners to age appropriate skills in computation thinking that will prepare them for the continued progression of coding at Nexus.

As Year 4 nears the end of their 'Sharing the Planet' Unit of Inquiry, learners are busy exploring their own chosen line of inquiry on an aspect of the unit that has particularly caught their interest. Their chosen topics are as varied as pearl diving in the Pacific to pollution in the Amazon River basin and ancient Egyptian irrigation methods to how water first appeared on the Earth. After learning how to form useful key questions to help drive their research, learners have used their iPads to research their questions. Through this inquiry, our Year 4's are learning to use reputable websites, check the reliability of their information by confirming facts in more than one place, identify key information and how to paraphrase information when taking notes. Year 4 learners have bi-weekly digital skills lessons to develop such skills as coding, making videos and animations to enhance their bank of presentation skills. Digital citizenship and lessons around online safety are ongoing throughout the year and run alongside our research. In their current inquiry, it is encouraging to see learners combining their digital skills with their work completed by hand, and listen to them discuss the merits of each.

At Nexus we strive to use technology in innovative ways that enhance learners unique learning journeys. Our teachers are constantly reflecting on how they can use technology as a teaching tool and a platform for exploring, sharing and celebrating learning. Year 5 learners are always so excited by the opportunity to have their own iPad when they begin their year. We co-construct our digital essential agreement and identify how we can be ready each day, as a respectful and responsible digital citizen. Increasing awareness of how to keep oneself and others safe online is a priority.

Innovative use of technology is one approach that allows teachers to plan engagements that supports diversity of learning styles. Learners access, understand and are motivated to inquire with increased confidence and independence. They have the flexibility to communicate and take action in ways that best suit their audience and purpose. Co-spaces, iMovies, keynote, one note and pic collage are just a few of the different ways learning is demonstrated.

It is fantastic to see our learners become more aware and confident to use features of technology that promotes successful learning. This could include translating English into a mother tongue language, or annotating the features of a writing model on Showbie. It is wonderful to see learners develop increased agency and decision making every day.

Learning how to utilise technology as a tool for learning and communicating is now an essential skill for everyone in our modern society. Unfortunately, this also brings on challenges such as trusted sources and the balance between the digital and physical world.

Within our Year 6 team we work throughout the year to support learners in developing their own ability to monitor and moderate how they use their devices. This cannot happen without parental support and we encourage all families to keep the conversation about what is ok in your household through your Home Digital Essential Agreement as the children seek to become more independent as they mature.

Aligned with this is the amazing opportunity to inquire and create which our iPads offer us. We can explore the world through the high definition camera, visit another part of the world virtually, or creating something amazing whether it be art, music, or a story. You might like to even try coding a game instead of just playing one. The opportunities are endless.

How do you create using technology rather than just consume? If you need inspiration, Apple has the 'Everyone Can Create' series which has some fantastic resources. We encourage all families to continue this conversation and make something amazing!