Disciples of Christ
We concentrated on the Ascension of the Lord in worship this week, when Jesus told his followers, "Go, make disciples of the nations." It is astounding to think that, two thousand years ago, many hundreds of miles away, this command was the beginning of the evangelising work that resulted in our school existing today!
It is important that the children understand that we too are called to continue spreading the Good News in our own place and time. Helping our children to speak with confidence and clarity about their faith is a gift that parents can offer their children. We have a selection of books to help parents start that conversion on display in the Main Entrance, come and take a look some time.
Mary, our mother
Spiritual Council visited the Mary statue outside St Mary's Church for their meeting today, as May is a month dedicated to Mary. We said a Hail Mary and put some flowers down next to the statue. After that, the group took part in some spontaneous prayer ranging from asking our mother Mary to look after people we knew in need to being a loving mother to all those suffering around the world at this moment in time. It was a very humbling experience for all.
Special Visitor
The Nursery children were surprised with a lovely visitor, Scarlett - the school's therapy dog. The children in Ladybird Class had a role play vets and, to add to their knowledge and experiences of pets, Scarlett came and visited us. The children and Scarlett were very good at listening and learnt about Scarlett and what other therapy dogs do, like visiting people in hospital. Scarlett also showed us the tricks that she has been learning. The children asked some questions, such as, “What does Scarlett eat?” and, “How old is Scarlett?”
The results are in!
After a week of soaking in various liquids, we took out our eggshells (acting as teeth) and examined the results. We were all surprised to see how bad the egg shells had turned after being in vinegar and orange juice. We reflected on what we had learnt and remembered that acid causes tooth decay which is why vinegar and orange juice can affect your teeth so much if not cleaned properly! Apart from water, all egg shells had deteriorated and we all reminded ourselves of the importance of dental hygiene.
On the move...
This week, Year 2 are having a DT week. The children are designing a functional vehicle with wheels on a moving axel, based on design criteria that they have produced. The children have been learning some new skills such as cutting (with a saw), shaping, joining and finishing. They finished off by evaluating their products against a design criteria. See the photos as they moved along in the DT journey!
Putting Things Into Perspective
As part of their art unit on perspective, Year 6 explored a variety of artists and their work building up to creating a 3D diorama. They measured and constructed a frame and then created a piece of art work with aspects which popped-out and looked three dimensional. They were able to choose from a variety of mediums to create their work, some children even using more than one. Lili produced a very effective piece based on the woodblock print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa using wax crayons and watercolors. Joshua recreated a spectacular version of Starry Night using pastels incredibly effectively to show texture replicating Van Gogh's original. Their beautiful work has certainly brightened up the classrooms, a delight to see!
Toy Story
In Dance, Year 1 have been recapping their learning from Reception of counting the beats. We have been working in counts of 8, listening to the music to help us move. This week, we have been thinking about different body shapes and expressions when moving, linking our dancing to different toys. We started by matching actions to a variety of toys - robots, aeroplanes, balls, stretchy men, trying to keep in time to the music, before moving onto creating a dance of toys waking up in a museum and being worried. We used the book 'The Lost Toy' previously used in out History Unit on Toys, to support us with showing different feelings, expressions and movements.
Wisley Gardens
On Wednesday, Year 3 enjoyed a wonderful day at RHS Wisley to enhance their Science topic on plants. First of all, we were sent in our groups to sketch different plants. We enjoyed looking at the spiky cacti. Then we drew rushing, blue waterfalls and glimmering rock pools. We ate lunch either in a place surrounded by a hedge or a shelter with plants like strawberries and mint around us. I devoured my lunch as quickly as I could as I was excited about the next activity. After lunch we visited the glasshouse and observed the tropical plants, venus flytraps and cacti. There were luscious lemons, tall trees and very large leaves. In the workshop with Wisley staff, we planted pea shoots and ended up with very messy hands! It was an amazing day and we learnt many interesting facts about plants. By Theo 3I and Eva 3V
Super Reception!
This week Reception have been turning themselves into superheroes to scare off the Evil Pea! We thought about what superpowers we already have, such as kindness, thoughtfulness and gentleness. We also looked at some amazing superpowers animals have, like bat's hearing, dog's super smell and frogs that can jump really high. Finally we discussed what superpowers we'd love to have. Take a look at some of our superheroes, can you read what our powers are?
The Magic Begins...
This week, Year 5 began their Harry Potter topic in English. This entailed an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry followed by a sorting ceremony in the 'Grand Hall' whereby each child was sorted into their Hogwarts House!
We would like to say a massive thank you to Miss Hall and Miss Lordan who worked extremely hard to make the experience magical!
What's on locally?
KOOSA Kids May Half Term Holiday Club at St Joseph's Primary School, Guildford.pdf