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Global Poverty and Our Actions

Scott Grason-Taylor

Hello Visitors,

This week, we came together as a whole school to think about those in need and discuss the global issue of poverty.

Here are some staggering facts about poverty, and the responses that the children gave:

World poverty affects 330,000,000 people.

Beth told us that everyone matters.

International and global response is important.

Ava told us that it affects people all over the world.

Coco told us that when it’s the whole world that helps, it benefits more people.

Nobody should be starving.

Dignity for all – clean clothes, toilets.

As we work together, as a whole school, we hope that we can help change this disaster!

To help make a change, we have been raising donations to be delivered to the local food bank. 

If you can help, please do.

Autumn days

Scott Grason-Taylor

Learners have been learning about seasons this week in Science. We have been identifying each season and ordering them as they fall through the calendar year. We thought about weather patterns and the clothes we wear in summer compared to winter and how family activities  vary through the seasons.

In maths we have come to the end of the place value block and are set to begin addition and subtraction. Our daily key skills have enabled us to have plenty of prior learning.

We are continuing to enjoy cricket with Owen from Yorkshire Cricket and delighted in a fun team game this week, using the bats and balls. Our skills are improving and most importantly we all enjoy the sessions.

 

We are busy preparing for our Harvest service in church on Wednesday 25th October  at 9.30am and hope to see you there.

 

 

A busy timeline of events.

Scott Grason-Taylor

Wow, what a busy week in Learners Class.

On Monday, we were lucky to have a visit from Louise from the Red House Theatre Company. who took us on a whistle stop tour of the past. We  used drama to become Vikings, Romans, Whitby Abbey and even a Roman Road. It was such a fun way to learn more about history. Back in the classroom we  thought about ‘chronology’ and used our knowledge to create timelines of our own lives by ordering specific events.

It was delightful to welcome parents into school on Monday and Tuesday evening and be able to share each child’s achievements and successes so far. 

In art, we have been learning how to draw and shade, using the techniques of hatching, stippling and scribbling. Art is a firm favourite in Learners Class.

On Thursday we visited St John’s Church for our new starter service, where we also welcome Sleights’ new Vicar. Learners spoke about their inspirations and aspirations for their new class this year. Learners class sung beautifully in church, it really was very moving.

In computers, Learners have been learning more about online safety, where we carefully decided what could and could not be shared online.

Learners class love to learn 🙂

 

Learning Outside

Scott Grason-Taylor

The Pioneers have so many wonderful places to learn. We step outside the classroom into a wonderful space surrounded by green. There is always sand and water to explore and lots of things to climb on and to build with. This week we worked under the canopy to explore printing and colour and to get our acorns ready for their “hibernation” to plant next spring. We used a story map to remind us of what we needed to do and this included words that we could segment and blend.

Later in the day we walked around the edge of the field and the forest looking closely at the colours around us. The selection was fabulous. The Pioneers noticed the different shaped leaves and the changes that have happened since we returned to school.

 

What is History?

Scott Grason-Taylor

Learners class were keen to find out the meaning of the word ‘history’ this week. We had wonderful discussions about the past, present and the future and could identify experiences in our own lives from each of these categories. Next week, we will learning how to plot these experiences using a timeline. 

In English, we are continuing to prepare our explanation texts answering the question ‘what is a global neighbour? We reflected on the school visit from the Zambezi Sunrise Trust earlier in the year and could articulate and write about the wonderful charity they run.

We have really enjoyed mark making this week in Art, in the style of Pablo Picasso. We used pencils, wax crayons and charcoals to draw zigzags, curls and lines in our sketch books. I think Learners are definite artists in the making!

We enjoyed computers with Mrs Gurney on Thursday and learned some key E-Safety rules. Learners created a paper chain of  5 trusted adults that they could talk to and ask for help from if they needed to. Learners had great fun making these and ended the session with a game of  ‘Does Sid say yes or no?’

We finished the week with a fun PE session, perfecting our throwing and catching techniques. There was a lot of concentration in the room as we raced each other while balancing beanbags on our heads.

Another busy week of learning in Learners Class 🙂

 

Out and About with the Pioneers

Scott Grason-Taylor

The Pioneers spent the day outdoors exploring our wonderful site. We packed up our trolley and took responsibility for the kit we needed. Some helped to carry some very heavy buckets. We talked about looking after ourselves,looking after others and looking after our environment.

As we went along we pointed out hazards like nettles and thorns and big holes in the ground. We speculated that these could have been made by badgers.

Our first Forest Find was a sycamore tree and it’s seeds so we stopped to take a look . We walked the boundaries and discussed where it was safe to go. We then set up camp next to the Oak tree and had a good rummage around. Lots of ladybirds were relocated and acorns and leaves made their way into the treasure boxes. We shared a good book before moving up onto the field to explore.

We had snack in our outdoor area and a good phonics session before lunch.

In the afternoon we headed back to the forest to look closely at leaves,selecting some to press for printing later. One Pioneer suggested this.
We pulled some vegetables which was very exciting.  One Pioneer could identify the vegetable from the leaves.

To finish the day we repeated our bread dough making from last week with greater efficiency and a different kind of mess!

It was glorious.

Sleights Strikes Again

Scott Grason-Taylor

Welcome to another week in Discoverers’ class 😀

This week it started in style, when we held a KS2 cross country within our grounds. We ran around the front and back fields, and even into the forest. 

After battling across the different terrain, we cheered on the other classes, watching everybody finish with a huge smile of pride on their faces.

A whirlwind week.

Scott Grason-Taylor

Learners  Class’s feet haven’t touched the ground this week, we have been SO busy!

We started the week with cricket sessions with Owen from Yorkshire Cricket. We REALLY enjoyed this and had lots of fun practising our throwing and catching skills. There was a mention that cricket bats may be coming out in session 2, so we are very excited about this.

Also on a sports theme, Learners visited Caedmon College Whitby on Thursday afternoon and took part in a town multi-skills event. Learners were awesome, we ran, we balanced, we caught, we threw, we jumped over and we crawled under. We thoroughly enjoyed it and  gave it everything we had!

In the classroom, we have been consolidating tricky words in phonics sessions and revisiting Phase 3 and 4 words and sentences. Learners class love to read and Little Wandle phonics sessions are invaluable in building our skills.

In geography we have been looking at our location using google earth. We have been labelling features around our school grounds using an aerial photograph of the area. We were very interested in aerial views and proceeded to draw a map of our own classroom. We had a good look around and identified where things were. Then, carefully using a ruler drew our own maps. Learners worked with great focus and the finished maps were wonderful.

We finished the week with an Open Morning for our families. Learners class was a hive of activity, with a huge parent turn-out. Learners and visitors enjoyed learning together and the classroom had a very happy buzz.

Learners love to learn! 🙂