What a lovely Halloweeny time we had in music this afternoon!
We listened to a piece of classical music called ‘Night on a Bare Mountain’ by the Russian composer Mussorsky. It depicts the gathering of spirits and witches on a bare mountain top. They have a chaotic, wild party, dancing and shrieking. At dawn, a church bell chimes with the first rays of the rising sun, and the spirits flee as the quiet daybreak arrives.
We started by watching an orchestra playing the piece. Then we watched an animated version. At first, we watched this silently, and noticed that it wasn’t scary at all! Then we watched it with the volume turned up and realised how well the music helped to create a spooky atmosphere.
We warmed up with body percussion, using our hands and voices to make some spooky sounds. Next, we used percussion instruments to build a crescendo to represent the witches wild dancing and the after the church bell rang, made softer calmer sounds to represent the break of dawn. A few of the children had a go at conducting the whole class. I was really impressed at how all of our musicians kept their eyes on the conductor and followed their instructions. It was lovely to see the concentration on the musicians’ faces and the excitement of the conductors as they controlled the sounds!
Next the children worked in small groups to compose their own piece of spooky music inspired by Mussorsky’s piece. Each group practised and then performed to the class. I was super proud of how well the children worked together in groups!
Happy Halloweeny half term to everyone!
Friday 16th October
Year 3 - Pedestrian Training
We have just completed 3 weeks of pedestrian training.
The first week was classroom based and the trainers introduced basic safety language, traffic rules, and the importance of wearing visible clothing.
During the second and third sessions, the children went out of the school gates in supervised, small groups to learn in real-world environments. They learnt on quiet residential streets near school.
The core of the curriculum revolved around teaching The Green Cross Code and specific roadside problem-solving strategies, for example:
The children really enjoyed the sessions, and although they know they should still be crossing roads with their adults, they can now begin to practise these skills with them.
This week, all of our English lessons have been inspired by the wonderful world of poetry! We explored a range of different poetic forms, including acrostics, haikus, kennings, riddles, sense poems and free verse. We read and listened to examples of each type, discovering how poets use words, sounds and ideas to create different effects.
We also took part in National Poetry Day’s World of Wonder competition, using one of four exciting themes as inspiration:
The children then used their imaginations to create their own poems, choosing a style and theme that inspired them.
As a class, we also created a shared Harvest poem, which we learnt to recite using actions. The children performed their poem beautifully and with great confidence to the other year groups during our Friday assembly. We were incredibly proud of their creativity, enthusiasm and performance!
Friday 25th September
A Wonderful Rainbow Run in Memory of Ozzy
What a wonderful Rainbow Run Day we have had in memory of our lovely Ozzy.
The children arrived at school dressed in bright, colourful clothes, creating a fantastic rainbow of colour around our school!
In the morning, it was Year 3’s turn to take part in the Rainbow Run. It was wonderful to see the children cheering each other on, encouraging their classmates and celebrating one another as they made their way around the course. Our lovely Year 2 children were fantastic spectators, clapping and cheering loudly to help Year 3 reach the rainbow balloon finish line!
In the afternoon, Year 3 became the spectators as Year 4 took on the challenge. They did an amazing job of supporting and encouraging the Year 4 children — all while enjoying a well-deserved ice lolly!
It was a truly special day filled with colour, smiles, laughter, encouragement and wonderful memories. We are so proud of all the children for taking part and supporting each other.
A fantastic Rainbow Run Day was had by all, and it was a beautiful way to remember our lovely Ozzy.
Friday 18th September
PSHE - Being me in My World
As part of our 'Being Me in My World' topic in PSHE, we have worked together to create our very own class charter. We made promises about how we can help each other to feel happy, safe and ready to learn.
Here is our class charter, showing the promises we have made together.
Friday 11th September
Computing: Staying Safe and Smart Online
This afternoon in our Computing lesson, we were learning all about online safety and how important it is to think carefully about the information we see and read on the internet. We discussed how the internet is a fantastic place to learn, explore and communicate, but also that we cannot always believe everything we see online.
We learnt about the difference between a fact and an opinion. A fact is something that can be checked and proven to be true, whereas an opinion is what someone thinks, feels or believes. We explored different examples together and talked about how some information online can be presented as if it is true, even when it may simply be someone's opinion.
To put our learning into practice, we worked in pairs to complete a sorting activity. We carefully read a range of statements and decided whether each one was a fact or an opinion, discussing our ideas and explaining our reasoning to our partners.
It was a great opportunity to develop our critical-thinking skills and remind ourselves to be curious and thoughtful internet users. We are learning that before we believe or share something online, we should stop, think and check!
Friday 4th September
What a Wonderful First Week Back!
What a wonderful first week back we have had! The children have been absolutely brilliant, and we are so proud of the positive start they have made to the new school year.
I was particularly impressed with their discussions in Art this morning, where we explored some of the work of the artist Paul Klee. The children made some fantastic observations and confidently shared their ideas about what they thought the artwork might represent. They also discussed whether they liked the artwork and, importantly, explained the reasons for their opinions.
I was especially impressed by the children's Oracy skills. They listened carefully to one another and showed great respect for each other's ideas. They agreed with, built upon and, when they had a different viewpoint, politely disagreed with their friends. Even more impressively, they were inviting one another to contribute and making sure everyone had an opportunity to share their thoughts.
It was wonderful to see such thoughtful, respectful and confident communication taking place so early in the year.
Well done, everyone! What a fantastic start to the year!