Category: Latest News

Chocolate Tasting

Scott Grason-Taylor

18th March 2019

As part of their Design and Technology topic Discoverers have been doing some product investigation.  This afternoon involved chocolate tasting – such a difficult afternoon!!

They investigated the difference in taste between bars with a small amount of Cocoa solids compared to others with less.

Lucas & Ruby

The 85% dark chocolate was revolting compared to the 0% of the white chocolate.

Lilac

I liked tasting all of the different chocolate although I didn’t like the dark chocolate.

Noah

I was surprised that the Milkybar did not contain any Cocoa solids, only Cocoa butter.

Rachael

I liked the 85% chocolate because it was spicy but I didn’t like the 0% Milkybar.

Joshua

I like the 85% chocolate because I don’t really like milky chocolate.

Discoverers were surprised to find out that the dark chocolate was better for them.

Juicing Oranges From Sunny Spain

Scott Grason-Taylor

 

After reading The World Came To My Place Today, we made some orange juice. Mrs McGill cut the oranges in half and everyone got to have a go with the electric juicer. some were fascinated by the bits that were left after juicing. We enjoyed our freshly squeezed orange juice at snack time. While we were drinking, some of the children acted out parts of the text we have been learning. Ask a Pioneer to tell you all about it.

Such happy learning.

Persevere Pioneers

Scott Grason-Taylor

Sometimes play happens on your own. Sometimes play happens in ones and twos but this week big play has been going on with everyone getting involved. The Pioneers have been building assault courses with prizes at the end. They can be seen helping each other across obstacles and making adjustments to equipment to ensure safe crossing. This play has been going on everyday and has not been curtailed by the bad weather. It has been a privilege to stand back and watch our school Christian Values in action.

Trust, Perseverance, Respect -Very Happy Learning

World Book Day

Scott Grason-Taylor

Pioneers delved into a selection of new and loved wonderful texts. This week we have been enjoying Dave’s Big Breakfast Blast Off and Dave-two books about a big fat cat and his adventures. It involves animals feeding him too many beans and the inevitable happens and Dave “blasts off” . We had great fun sharing the count down together, painting pictures of Dave and making a story map together. In the afternoon we visited our reading buddies in Discoverers Class. We brought the books and they helped with the big words. To end the day, we went into our new school library to share our last story of the day. Amelia finished the day beautifully by saying that it was the best story ever because it had a happy ending. So lovely.

Happy Reading

Spirituality Day

Scott Grason-Taylor

This was such a beautiful day. We discussed some huge questions and the answers really made me sit up and think.

Are you ever alone?   Does it matter what you do?  If you can’t see it,is it real?  What do we need to learn?  Are we part of something much bigger?

The children were given a selection of materials and they chose how they wanted to combine and arrange them. They were able to articulate why they had chosen the shapes and the colours. They talked about the circle of life,about all the pieces fitting and and resoundingly agreed that happiness was vital.

There was a quiet sense of purpose. Everyone worked together,helping each other and sharing. So good.

 

Making Patterns

Scott Grason-Taylor

Over the course of this week, we have been discussing shape and pattern. The children have been quick to spot repetition and can describe differences in size,shape and position. We used coloured rods,pegs and beads. The Numicon sparked new conversations about number patterns. They are very interested in odd and even and noticed the pattern with the Numicon and on the number square. This was very exciting work and I did say “Wow” quite a few times when they spotted and described patterns. That’s Maths Magic.

Swimming

Scott Grason-Taylor

15th February 2019

Discoverers enjoy going swimming every Friday morning, with Pioneers, and are nearly half way through their swimming sessions.  

The children were eager to get in the water in their first session but had to be split into groups first according to how well they would already swim.  All of the older children swam in the big pool, which took a lot of courage for some of our less confident swimmers.

Discoverers think that the pool is quite cold which helps them to swim faster to keep warm!

The children in the deep end are trying to perfect their strokes.

The children in the middle group are working on putting their heads in the water, learning a breathing technique.

The children in the shallowest part of the big pool are doing lots of activities to develop water confidence, including their ability to float in the water without moving.

Reegan

“Swimming is really fun.”

Max

“Swimming is active and fun.”

Tom

“I’d like to learn some harder strokes.”

Ruby

“I wish we could go swimming every day.”

Mia B

“I like to get dressed quickly to win the tokens.”

Scarlett F

“I don’t like getting in at the beginning because it’s cold.”

Chocolate Day! February 2019

Scott Grason-Taylor

This week began with a launch day to our new writing topic, investigating “How is chocolate made?” The whole school worked in mixed groups during the day to complete a range of activities based on making chocolate. We want our children to be able to write with real purpose and using experiences, so what better way to learn about making chocolate than by doing it!

 

Mrs Hann worked outside with the children on Monday, down in the forest. The groups worked hard to create their own mud chocolate creations, adding different textures and objects to give some added crunch to their recipes! The children hunted around the forest for interesting and unusual objects to add in. It was excellent to see all children of all ages supporting each other in this task.

 

To help our day be a success, we kindly received a donation of chocolate and materials for making our own lollies from Alex at Crofts Chocolates in Scarborough. With Mrs Roe, the children had the very exciting task of using this donation to make their own chocolate lollies. When I visited, each lolly was heaped with sweets and marshmallows, which made them look really delicious!

 

Mrs Walker and Mrs Exelby led the baking efforts on Monday. During the day, each child had the opportunity to create their own chocolate creations. Working together to carefully add the ingredients, mix them together and prepare them for baking was something that everyone enjoyed. If you were able to join us for the café in the hall during the afternoon, I am sure you will agree that they looked delicious!

 

Finally, with Miss Stubbs, the children created their own packaging for their chocolate lollies. After looking carefully at the designs of well-known chocolate brands, the children then came up with their own designs. It was fun to see how the children were using these brands to influence their own, with many adapting well-known chocolate names and designs.

 

At the end of the day, it was great to be able to invite so many families into school to see the children’s efforts from the day and read their stories in our chocolate café. The event was incredibly well attended, with it being said that the cake sale was “like a fair day!” This overwhelming support is amazing. Thank you to everyone!