Author: Scott Grason-Taylor

The Elves Have Arrived

Scott Grason-Taylor

We have been very busy in our first week back and we have been visited by the elves from our story,”The Elves and The Shoemaker”.

We got together to handle some artefacts belonging to a shoemaker. There were a variety of shoelasts with nobbles and bumps and a selection of soles,laces and zips and collars. We got our hands on a typewriter and an old telephone and discussed how they were so different to the things we use today.

The elves left us some notes asking for Elf Snacks and Buns and Hot Coffee so we got on with making these. We have also written replies to the elves.

The elves joined us in the library too.

This has been a great start to the term.

Happy Learning

Happy New Year!

Scott Grason-Taylor

It has been great to welcome the children back into school this week and lots of learning has happened. 

This week, the children have started our new class text ‘Holes’ and the first two chapters already have us all hooked. We are looking forward to reading more next week!

In English, our focus for the next three weeks will be newspaper reports. To start this unit, Leaders explored the features of a newspaper report before learning how to write an effective newspaper introduction. On Friday, we were joined by Hope Whitby and we are looking forward to using our journalistic skills to report on this over the next few weeks. Look out for our reports soon!

It looks set to be a busy term with lots happening. Make sure to check out the Leaders Curriculum Map which has been included in this week’s newsletter to find out more about what we will be learning about this term. 

A new year and a new term.

Scott Grason-Taylor

Happy new year to Learners Class and families, 2023 is upon us.

Learners class breezed back into class this week, like we had never been away. We got straight back into routine and embraced learning from the outset. This just shows the dedication Learners have and it also shows that we are a school family that were glad to see each other again after the Christmas break. 

Our new topic this term is ‘Make It Work’, there are lots of engaging curriculum activities ahead that we will be excited to share in the coming weeks.

This week we have been learning and practising our new focus times table, the 5 times table. We have used resources to help us and have been spotting patterns within the numbers.

Our new Geography topic is ‘Would you rather live in a hot country or a cold country?’. This week we have been finding out about the 7 continents of the world, which has prompted wonderful discussions – ask your Learner about this, they are very knowledgeable.

We are excited to begin our new writing focus and are delighted to use our very own ‘Parker’ as a focus for our newspaper report. Parker initiated a school appeal to help the homeless in our area, I think you will agree he is very worthy of a newspaper report about his story, we will keep you posted of our writing progress.

This term our PE day will be Monday and we will be swimming on Tuesday mornings – please make sure you PE kits and swimming things come into school on these days.

Learners are excited about our new curriculum focuses this term and can’t wait to get started.

Learners class love to learn! 🙂

A snowy end to the term.

Scott Grason-Taylor

Learners Class have been VERY busy, we have enjoyed our Nativity and Christingle Service in Church, a visit to the Pantomime, Christmas crafts with families and a wonderful Christmas dinner and party! Wow! 

The snow fell on Wednesday, which caused great excitement

We have even found the time for some wonderful Christmas writing, inspired by the book Mog’s Christmas Calamity by Judith Kerr. We created story maps in order to familiarise ourselves with the story, then made a change to the story by creating our own Christmas calamities featuring our own pets and in some cases ourselves! 

 

Learners Class have had a wonderful first term, jam-packed with learning, laughter and teamwork. 

Happy Christmas to Learners Class and families. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings!

Best wishes,

Mrs Brown

Merry Christmas

Scott Grason-Taylor

Wow! I can’t believe that it is the end of the first term of the school year already. It has certainly been busy! The children have made great progress and have accomplished many things this term that they should be extremely proud of. 

This week, a highlight for both children and members of staff was Christingle. It was lovely to gather in church together to mark this special event in our school calendar. I am sure you will agree that the readers were wonderful, the music performed by the class bands was amazing and the Year 6 children did a brilliant job of making the Christingles for the occasion. 

On Monday, we were also joined by families for an afternoon of Christmas crafts. The children made brilliant decorations using lollipop sticks and were creative when designing and making their Christmas cards. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

A Pantomime, A Party and A Christmas Play

Scott Grason-Taylor

What a week we have had in Pioneers and a wonderful week it was. We started with a dress rehearsal in Church and made the long walk up and down the hills to get there. Then we had the excitement of a live performance in front of all of the families and friends and the church was packed full of happiness. A day of learning in the classroom was followed by an exciting trip to church for our second performance and this was magnificent.

We woke up to a cold and frosty morning with a blanket of snow and this was the day to travel to the Pantomime. Dick Whittington did not disappoint and we booed and hissed and cheered until we got back on the bus in time for a late lunch.

Party Day was full of new learning. We mastered the balloon relay and the flappy fish game. Musical Chairs has so many rules!

A very happy week in Pioneers.

 

Friday 9th December

Scott Grason-Taylor

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Leaders class.

This week, the children performed in our 2022 Christmas nativity, Straw and Order. I think we can all agree that it was a wonderful show and certainly made us all feel extremely festive. Next week, we will gather again at church to celebrate Christingle. We hope to see many people their to share in this special time with us.

On Friday, the children enjoyed their Christmas party day where they spent time dancing, playing games, taking part in quizzes and enjoying a party lunch together.

In addition to the Christmas activities taking place in school this week, the children have also continued to focus on black history, exploring the role of black soldiers in WWI.

Christmas Preparations Are Well Underway

Scott Grason-Taylor

Hello Visitors, 

We are well underway with preparations for Christmas, including lots of nativity practise. We have learned so many lines, and so many songs: we are very ready for our performance on Tuesday!

Another preparation has been the creation of our school advent calendar. We created a reverse calendar, so instead of taking something, we give something to others. 

Have you heard of Henri Matisse? He is an artist, who created fauvism art. It’s a type of modern art that uses bold colours and textures in paint. Take a look at our inspirations: 

Friday again!

Scott Grason-Taylor

Hi all,

We started the week with another fun session of cricket with Owen. This week we focused on bowling – it was tricky! 

We have continued to look at ‘The Tempest’ and have started to create our own poems to describe the violent storm that caused the shipwreck and the characters to be stranded on a Mediterranean, desert island. We generated some powerful vocabulary and imagery. 

In science, we learnt about ‘friction’ and what it is that causes this. we looked at surfaces that create higher and lower amounts of friction and why this is.

Yesterday, we finished our history learning on Whitby. We discussed the fishing, whaling and smuggling industries. Did you know, smugglers often hid items in graves?! 

Have a great weekend,

Adventurers

Friday 2nd December

Scott Grason-Taylor

This week in Leaders, children have been busy developing their division skills, looking at dividing with remainders as well as using long division. On Friday, the children impressed me with their problem-solving skills as they tackled multi-step problems, correctly identifying the steps that needed to be taken and the methods that they would need to use.

In art, the children have learned about Claude Monet and what impressionist art is. The children are looking forward to creating their own impressionist style paintings before Christmas.

As we enter December, there is lots to look forward to, with one of these things being the Christmas nativity, Straw and Order. The children have been working hard both in school and at home to learn their lines and are looking forward to performing for families and friends next week.