The Joy of Christ

We looked ahead to Thursday’s celebration of the Ascension of the Lord in worship this week. We heard that the disciples, “…returned to Jerusalem full of joy!” despite the anxieties and uncertainties of what life after Christ’s ascension might bring. The disciples were still overjoyed by their part in the story so far!

Their example is an inspiring one for us to follow, especially during times of turmoil and worry in our own lives. Finding reasons everyday to bask in the joy of God’s radiant goodness can brighten our own and others’ lives.

We have been encouraging the children this week to be responsive to the many opportunities they have everyday to praise God for the feeling of joy that simple pleasures can bring: the warm sunshine, a smile, a good game at playtime.

C - Ascension

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Musical Joy!

In Music, Year 2 have been busy learning 'The Friendship Song' by Joanna Mangona and Pete Readman. We have spent time learning the lyrics to the verses and chorus, and this week we had a go at putting instruments to the song, too. Next stop, improvisation and composing our own parts...

From caterpillars to butterflies...

This half term, Ladybird Class have been looking at life cycles of plants, people and insects. They had the opportunity to watch the life cycle of the butterfly in real time. Alongside this, they listened to the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and had the opportunity to eat some of the fruit mentioned in the book! Below is a video showing the life cycle of the butterflies, how the children took good care of them and them singing the caterpillar song!

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Joy to the World

Miss Shail led this week's Witness Worship, sharing with us the talents and passions of Selena Gomez. Miss Shail explained that Selena finds a deep sense of joy in rehearsing her talents and sharing them with others. She invited a host of talented staff and children to share a little bit of that same joy with us all in assembly.

Miss Shail went on to explain that Selena Gomez also works as a UNICEF children's ambassador (the perfect witness for our focus on Global Goals this week!) She organises charity concerns, bringing joy to many fans around the world and raising funds for worthy causes at the same time. She says, "I can't think of anything I would enjoy doing more!"

JOY witness assembly

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Natural Talent

This week, Year 5 have been studying the work of William Morris, an artist who used repeated patterns (applying a nature theme) to create attractive prints. William Morris focused on the shape of nature rather than the tiny details. The children experimented with different types of objects for printing and evaluated the outcomes. At the end of the week, each child had the chance to design their own ‘William Morris’ inspired tile with a thread and used printing ink and rollers to create their own repeated pattern prints.

Waste not, want not

In Year 3 we have been focusing on Global Goal No.2 - Zero Hunger. On Monday we collected our food waste at lunchtime and were all shocked at how much food we waste, especially when some people in the world do not have enough to eat. We have challenged ourselves to create less food waste each day. In another activity, children looked at fruits and vegetables labelled 'imperfect' or 'wonky' by supermarkets and concluded that they were perfectly edible. Some children took the products home to eat or visited supermarkets to explore further products.

Reception to the rescue!

We had Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman and a whole host of superheroes turn up for the Reception Superhero Party! The children loved dancing, singing and playing games. However, I think the Co-Op food went down a treat! All the children's expert party planning work paid off. Well done Reception.

Things get prickly in Year 1

This week Year One had a furry visitor. Meet Henry the hedgehog! The children learned lots of new facts whilst being able to get up close with these wonderful animals. Do you know what a baby hedgehog is called?

Tension in Year 6

This week in Year 6 we have been writing suspense stories, using the short animation, Alma, as a stimulus. The incredibly powerful language, the use of figurative devices (such as similes and onomatopoeia) and the use of paragraphs to create juxtaposition and build tension has been astonishing from our Year 6 pupils. They really have done themselves proud. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Alma stories

Under water with Year 4

This week in Year 4 we have been raising the awareness of Global Goals. Year 4's focus was on goal 14 - life below water. At the beginning of the week we created some art based on the Surfers Against Sewage video 'The Creature'. Did you know over 95% of our oceans are still undiscovered?

So Year 4 went to work creating some new species of sea creatures. Throughout the rest of the week we have based our Maths, Geography and Science on our Global Goal and we are very excited to share it with the school at the end of today.

Nursery News

There was great excitement in the nursery this week, when Metro Man & Kas came to visit us from Metro Bank. Kas talked about how we can save our pennies when we do jobs for our parents. Metro Man then handed out a free goodie bag to all the children. The children had a cuddle or high fived Metro Man before he left.

Also in the nursery this week, leading on from the children's role play where they wanted to make a campfire and toast marshmallows while camping inside, we were able to take the children's lead and made this happen outside for real - including fire safety!