Spring Brook Lower Catch Up!
Lots to catch up on in our first blog of the final half-term of the year – I swear they are going faster the older I get!
This few weeks always goes so quickly, as there seems to be so much to squeeze in. Although we’ve not been able to organise our week away in Wales for the Y6s, we have got an exciting last week arranged for them to celebrate finishing primary school. We have already started making plans for next year’s Y6 pupils to have a residential trip away, different to the usual kind of trip we do, but exciting none the less! Transition visits will be starting soon for all of our pupils moving to Y7 in September and we are looking at our class groups for next year too. The summer holidays will be upon us before we know it, I’m sure.
Class 2:
Mr Cruz’s class have been studying the rainforest. They found out about the climate and discussed different kinds of shelter that they may need there. Given a selection of tents, the boys had to work together to put them up, try them for size and then debate which, if any, would be suitable for a trip to the Amazon.
They also thought about the varying layers in a rainforest and the purpose each of them served.
They have been very welcoming to Tidiane, who has moved up from class 4 to join them for this final half term. He has settled in incredibly well and the other boys have made sure he feels part of their team. It can be tricky sometimes moving classes so late on in the year, but he has taken it in his stride. He has joined in with Yoga, accessing the full lesson for the first time ever and loved his PE lesson where classes 1 and 2 united for a game of rounders outside!
In Maths, they have been studying units of measurement. The class had to design their own table setting and measure the distance between each item, so that every other setting could be laid out identically.
In computing, the topic has been about animation. The boys have been able to develop their techniques using stop-motion, iMovie, Flipaclip and Keynote. Here are Kodey’s Flipaclip one and Henley’s animation video. Aren’t they fabulous?
Kodey – https://youtu.be/OGOaSu2tc5o
Henley – https://youtu.be/14CyoQJ4ogo
Finally, the boys wanted to share with you the creative Jubilee Collage that they made, using the profile of the Queen’s head. I think this is great and love how it is crammed full of traditionally British items.
Class 3:
Mrs Pulman’s boys have been gathering evidence to work towards an eco-friendly award in school. They have taken on many roles to show how we re-use and re-cycle things, and have been seen sticking up posters to remind us to turn off unused lights, collecting milk bottles and their caps to recycle, planting trees and many more.
As part of their RE topic, they had a visit to the wonderful Jewish Museum in Manchester. Having visited here myself with a class many moons ago, I can vouch for what a fantastic, informative experience it is. The class learned about different rituals, ceremonies and celebrations within the Jewish faith and all left much better informed than when they arrived.
Forest School has continued to play a big part in their curriculum, made all the more exciting by the grant that we were awarded by Jigsaw Homes. This has seen the purchase of many items of new equipment, including large tarpaulins for den making, additional cooking equipment, an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven, a hammock to sling between trees and most importantly, a robust new trolley for moving it all about in! Mrs Pulman has also found an exciting new Forest for the children to explore, over the hill in Holmfirth. This has increased the boys enthusiasm for all things forest school by 1000% after only one visit and they cannot wait to return! More photos to follow.
Class 4:
Team work has been the name of the game in Class 4, and we are attacking this from every angle! In Maths, the boys have been using a new lesson style that sees them using talking partners more, something that they have struggled with in the past, but are now developing new skills in. In PE, fun games where there are winners and losers are being played, again allowing the children to develop strategies to cope with being disappointed. Josh has loved his new reading book all about Penguins, his favourite animal and the boys investigated the differences between solids, liquid and gas by making some playdough and then observing what happened when they put one in warm water, one in ice and left the other at room temperature.
Another first for Spring Brook was a trip to Alexandra Park to use their Ability Wheelz facility. To say they loved it was an understatement! What a fantastic resource this is, and so close to school. It’s available at weekends and in the holidays too if you fancy having a go?
Class 5:
I have seen so much good work from class 5 recently, I think I need to fit a revolving door on my office! They have found the story about the Lazy Farmer really amusing. Each child was given an event from the story to re-write in their own words and these have been put together to create their own class book. Lots of activities have gone alongside this, from milking cows (not real ones!), making tractors, collecting eggs, digging up and planting their own vegetables. Kayne has amazed us all with his green fingers, he has been running down the corridor each morning to check on the progress of his crops!
They have been writing instructions in English, about brushing their teeth, playing lots of games that require them to work together, used the building blocks to build towers and mansions, played shop, learnt about why and how Christians celebrate Easter, made hot-cross-buns and even been on a nature hunt!
Phew, I think I need a rest now!
