I think it most weeks but will say it out loud this time – WOW!! These children never cease to amaze me – what a fantastically productive week we have had at Spring Brook Primary.
Abu is one of our Year 6 pupils and to say he doesn’t really enjoy writing is an understatement. I was surprised therefore when he came to find me to share something he had written about a subject that’s close to his heart. Abu had read about somebody from the LGBTQ community being bullied and felt compelled to write down how it made him feel. A photo is below, but here is a transcript of it too:
No matter what you are, you are not weird or strange. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re different, you are brave and strong. You told people what you are and that takes courage. I’m proud of you. If people bully you they are just mad that you’re so brave.
Very well said Abu! He has also asked if he can do an assembly about the subject to share with the rest of Key Stage 2, so I’m looking forward to that.
Class 4 have been embracing the new iPads that have arrived in school. They have been learning how to use Pages, and have loved taking selfies, inserting photos, changing the font and colour of the text and then sending their work to Mrs Makin. They really are doing well. The photos here show them playing a phonics memory game. It can get quite competitive, I can tell you!
I think I told you last week that Class 2 had been up on the moors above Dove Stones. As well as going to find some landmarks they had found on maps using the iPads, they also took the opportunity to use Mr Cruz’s storm shelters. Some passing hikers stopped to see what they were doing and remarked to Mr Cruz that it was so lovely to see “children being children” as they were having a whale of a time. The photos in the viewing frame are lovely aren’t they? I particularly like the quote at the bottom, “Many people look but only a few see” – how true. We should all take the time to “see” more often. Whilst on their trip, they also had some delicious hot chocolate and were lucky enough to see the pheasants too – they came so close that Conor could almost touch them. Conor and Emily were fascinated by them, so much so that they have spent lots of time researching them and making posters about what they have found. I’m sure they will be back to visit them soon..
[fvplayer src=”http://newbridgeschool.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/caves.mp4″]
In Class 1, the boys have become Scientists. They have been looking at the opacity of different materials and have also been investigation the magnetic properties of different solids. To do this, they have had to design an experiment that would test their hypothesis and then carry out the test in a fair and controlled way. It certainly kept them quiet!
Class 1 have also been watching the Blue Planet Live programmes that have been on TV this week and this led to them discussing once more the shocking state of pollution in the sea. The children wrote a poem about it and Kyle’s is here for you to see:
Class 7 have had a super week. They have spent time in the Forest School where they lit their own fire to toast marshmallows and they’ve been back out there today. They had already created recipes for burgers, so it was only fair that they went outside to cook them. School smelt so lovely all afternoon.
Just before half term, we signed up to the National Breakfast Programme. They are funded by the Department of Health and are committed to ensuring that every child can have a healthy breakfast. We have made this a learning experience by involving the children in taking orders, serving the food after having laid tables….and definitely by doing the washing up! Mr Bright timed his visit just right and Class 7 were keen to invite him to share a cuppa with them! I think he may become a regular..
In Science, Class 7 were looking at the changing states of different substances and did this by making some honeycombe. They were keen to share it and were able to comment on what they had done and why.
They have also been to visit the Library at The Gallery in Oldham and learned how to take out their own membership. Abu came back and read a whole book in a day – he was completely engrossed!
Class 2 have been busy too. I can’t stress enough how much the iPads, after only two weeks, have taken the learning for our pupils to a new level. The pupils and staff are learning lots and having lots of fun finding out about the various functionality of them. Emily had been learning in class about making iMovies and then downloaded the app at home. She has made a fantastic (and funny) movie trailer about George – her lovely dog who idolises her. You can watch it below. Emily is only in Year 4 and she did this completely independently.
[fvplayer src=”http://newbridgeschool.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/George.mp4″]
Class 2 have also been learning about persuasive language so that they can write some Travel Blogs. They have researched an area, then visited it using the Google Maps flyover function, and then edited all of this into a short clip and added their own narrative. Here is Caitlin’s about Acapulco – I’m so pleased that she was able to show this to Mr Quinn when he called in with some visitors today. I think he was convinced enough to book a trip!! Well done Caitlin, you have produced some excellent work..
[fvplayer src=”http://newbridgeschool.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/flyover.mp4″]
All of our children have been busy making cards for Mother’s Day and there will be some very happy Mummies and other special ladies in their lives opening those on Sunday.
You can also see Mr Cruz with Jayden, writing stories on the iPad..
All of the children have been so much keener to edit and improve their work since we’ve had the devices as it’s just so easy to do. What’s great is that the different versions are not lost so our teachers are able to see the progression in learning that takes place at each stage and feed this into our assessment measures. They are just brilliant. I must say once again that our staff have embraced them wholeheartedly and are keen to share in our de-brief at the end of the day what they have tried out, or found out that is new. Mrs Makin, Mrs Shortall and Miss Wright have also been great iPad champions, helped by Mr Dec and Mr Bright. We couldn’t be doing this without you all, so again, thank you.
I’m going to leave you today with our very own “masterchefs” from Class 4, Kobi and Calvin, making biscuits. Don’t they look lovely!! They were able to follow a recipe, weigh out ingredients and then follow the method too. I’m sure they will enjoy eating them as well..
That’s all from me for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend and we will see you bright and breezy on Monday for our last week before we break up for Easter. Don’t forget that it’s our Good Work Assembly on Friday morning at 10.15am. It would be great to see lots of you there, the children really look forward to sharing their learning with you.
Miss Thomason
Head of School
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