Category: Latest News

Exploring Patterns

Scott Grason-Taylor

The Pioneers loved exploring pattern this week. We have continued patterns with two colours and a variety of shapes. This initial work was focussed and we worked for an extended period trying out different combinations of loose parts. The Pioneers were so good at sharing the resources and the space. This was a wonderful way to end a fabulous week.

Independence and Focus

Scott Grason-Taylor

The Pioneers are settled in to their classroom and the learning is theirs. They know where everything is and are confident to ask if there is anything they need. 

They write and read and cut and stick. They build and explore, making comparisons and combine their selection of loose parts. At times the classroom is noisy but if you wait a few moments you will notice the change when the play focus changes and there is quiet and concentration. At the busiest times, it is so wonderful to look around and listen to the groups of play and learning. Learning is not tidy!

Happy Learning

 

Map Making

Scott Grason-Taylor

Friday afternoon was really exciting. We looked at Google Earth and spotted the road and the river. We discussed the things to see in Sleights and then got going with some building. Even Sid the Cat had a go on the whiteboard! His paws caused a problem however.
We moved the furniture back and filled the space with boxes and tiles and sheets. The focus was fabulous and everyone explored in different ways. It was a pleasure to stand back and watch all of the interaction and decisions.
We discussed chimneys and how many were on different buildings. We discussed the river Esk and going over bridges. We talked about the railway line next to the river.
Some Pioneers began drawing maps and added the word ‘map’ which was a fantastic step.
Next week we will build and photograph from above to create maps.

Enjoying the Autumn Sunshine

Scott Grason-Taylor

We have the most wonderful school site and in the autumn it is simply stunning. The Pioneers got out and about to check on the acorns on our oak tree in the forest. We collected bags of forest treasure and had a story on the field. There were lots of brambles and nettles to tackle and this was tricky. Managing to find your boots when there are 25 pairs to choose from is quite a skill!

Happy Learning

Scott Grason-Taylor

We welcomed the Pioneers into their classroom this week and everything was ready. They have filled the space with curiosity and questions. They have moved everything to combine dominoes and train track, buttons and magnets, dough and acorns. They have been dressing up, singing and dancing, writing and building. 

The days have found a rhythm and the Pioneers are learning the routines. They managed lunch and outside playtime, collective worship and our end of week disco which was quite something. We talked about how important it is to be part of a team and they certainly played this out in their actions this week.

Happy Learning

Inspired by Beatriz Milhazes…

Scott Grason-Taylor

This week, Learners had a wonderful art lesson creating collage inspired by Beatriz Milhazes. 

Learners enjoyed researching the artists own pieces, before creating their own inspired artwork.

Just like Beatriz, Learners used bold colours and cascading patterns, using layering and overlapping to perfect their ideas. The aim of Beatriz’s art was to ‘pull the viewer in’ with an eye-catching display and Learners creations most definitely achieved this. Learners created artwork with focus and creativity, using the skills they have learned over the last few weeks and most importantly they thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Learners class have worked incredibly hard this year and have been such enthusiastic learners. They are certainly ready for the adventures of year 3!

Writing and Drawing

Scott Grason-Taylor

The Pioneers love to write and to draw and it is at this time of the year that we can look back and see just how far we have come. The desire to write is there. The desire to understand is there. The awe and wonder found by looking at and learning about our natural world is fabulous. The Pioneers love new knowledge. They are hungry and impatient and demanding and this is so wonderful and long may this continue.

Pioneer don’t stop.

Exploring forces

Scott Grason-Taylor

In science this week, we have been learning about forces. On Wednesday we looked at how using different forces could make an object change its shape. We used dough to help us find out. We squeezed, stretched, pushed, pulled and twisted the dough and recognised that using these forces helped us to form a new shape.

We then thought about our own daily routines, such as eating, opening doors, playing football and brushing our teeth. We could identify the forces that we would need to do all of these things without even realising we were. Learners were fascinated. What a wonderful week of science learning!

On Friday, we enjoyed our school sports day on the field. Many of our families were able to come and watch while we ran, jumped, threw and balanced our way through each event! What a lot of fun we had!

Keep an eye on our class page to see what we are learning in Learners Class.

Exploring friction.

Scott Grason-Taylor

In science this week, we have been finding out about friction. What better way to do this than to explore it for ourselves. We set ab out measuring how far an object travelled down a ramp while changing the material at the bottom to test varying friction. We made sure it was a fair test by keeping all the elements the same, such as the steepness of the ramp and the same vehicle each time. We tested furry material, smooth books, the hall floor, our school jumpers, sandpaper and carpet, Numicon boards and carpet. we measured how har the vehicle travelled each time. We found that materials with higher friction slowed the vehicle down, whereas the vehicle travelled much faster over a low friction material. Learners were fascinated by the results.

Learners had a lovely day in Whitby on Friday, looking for signs of Captain Cook to consolidate our history work around explorers. We visited the Captain Cook exhibition in Pannet Museum, stopped to sketch the replica of Captain Cook’s Endeavour, which resides in the harbour and visited the statue of Captain Cook, that stands proudly on the west cliff. 

We are looking forward to Sports day, which is coming up this week and are hoping for good weather.

Keep an eye on our class page, to see what we are learning!