After spending the year attending weekly swimming lessons, Reception have become confident and energetic swimmers. This week they had the chance to showcase everything they have learnt to proud parents on poolside who witnessed a display of fantastic swimming. Excited chatter filled poolside as the children got ready for their first front crawl race. Swimming in small groups, the determined children jumped in ready to tackle a width of the pool as their parents and friends cheered them on. Backstroke followed as the children showed off their newly-acquired skills before they got the chance to have some fun, laughing and smiling as they raced across the pool with a ball before shooting into a goal. The children clearly are a sporty bunch as many goals were scored, much to the delight of the watching parents. The final challenge was the trickiest – diving underwater for an object. But our brave and resilient children showed just how grown up they are as they submerged themselves under the water to reach down and grab the colourful object. What a tremendous achievement for some of those children who at the beginning of the year were afraid even to put their faces in the water. We are so lucky to have such a positive bunch of children who take everything in their stride.

Hannah Feery, Reception Class Teacher

Excited Year 1 were this week treated to a fascinating trip to Chithurst Monastery. The children were met by a monk dressed in special robes who showed them inside their amazing monastery. The children respectfully took off their shoes and sat in an ornate room where they were told many interesting things about the Buddhist religion before asking lots of intelligent questions of their own. From there, Year 1 made their way to the meditation hall where the children sat on individual mats to gain an understanding of how the monks meditate in silence before collecting their lunch. The monks demonstrated how they chant and show gratitude before they eat. The enthralled children then left the monks to eat in peace while heading off to have their own lunch. Fully satiated but hungry to learn more of the monastic way of life, Year 1 were given a guided tour of the beautiful grounds which were adorned with many statues of Buddha. The children found the experience incredibly enlightening and had a wonderful time as they learnt so much about Buddhism.

Rachael Berry, Year 1 Class Teacher

Year 2 this week continued their fascinating exploration of different spiritual and cultural ideals. The coronation of King Charles III offered the perfect opportunity for the children to reflect upon an ancient Christian ceremony, which our monarch chose to adapt to reflect modern-day Britain. The children learnt that while The Archbishop of Canterbury crowned King Charles III, different faith leaders participated in the service and greeted the king, making the ceremony more inclusive and more representative of British society today. Our children loved learning about the coronation and enthusiastically shared how they celebrated this momentous occasion with their peers, through their writing and drawings. Year 2 also marked the occasion by performing the poignant song ‘Sing For The King’ during a wonderful music concert on Wednesday morning, singing their hearts out in front of appreciative parents. And if that wasn’t enough culture for one week, our intrepid ‘Round the World’ explorers were treated to a conducted tour of Russia by one of our wonderful pupils. It was a sheer delight as he guided us through an assortment of interesting cultural and geographical maps to impart an amazing array of awesome, fun facts.

Shirley Jervis, Year 2 Class Teacher

Ushering in the new cricket season, enthusiastic Year 3 welcomed our friends from Edgeborough School on Thursday. In readiness for their first fixture of the season, the children have been outside come rain or shine honing their batting, bowling and fielding skills while fostering the key elements of collaboration and teamwork. Their undoubted resilience and ability was there for all to see in their stellar performances. Away from the cricket pitches, Year 3 have demonstrated bags of reflectiveness and resourcefulness during their Maths lessons. Building on their mathematical learning at Forest School last week, when the children used scales and familiarised themselves with key language relating to measuring mass, Year 3 had to work together and think together to solve mass-related problems, something they did with great alacrity. In Literacy, the children underlined their powers of reflectiveness by editing and improving previous written works involving adverbial phrases. And continuing to show their interest in becoming better learners, Year 3 have begun to create a sequel to the popular ‘Flotsam’ story.

Robert Grech, Year 3 Class Teacher

This term, Year 5 are ‘en vacances’ in French, and this week’s lesson was spent consolidating the children’s knowledge of transport vocabulary. They began by revising how to say ‘by’ in French, for example en voiture (by car) or à vélo (by bike). This was then followed by a listening activity and a fun game of battleships followed by the very popular game of the ‘secret signaller’. Language games are such a useful tool for reinforcing vocabulary and grammar learning, making it fun and accessible and allowing all children to get involved. Next week, Year 5 will expand on this subject by learning how to talk about different holiday activities. Vive les vacances!

Melanie Barnett, Year 5 French Teacher

In Year 6, Music lessons concentrate on performing, composing, listening and appraising. Following a composition focus last term, Year 6 are now working on ensemble performance. Everyone has a role in the class band whether they are one of the 70% in the year group having instrumental lessons or not. This week, the children worked on Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, made famous by the Rocky III film, learning the iconic opening riff, chords, melody and bass line for the verse and chorus. Instruments ranged from piano, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, guitar, drums, flute, recorder and xylophone. Each class performed the song with a great sense of timing due to the drumming skills of Jaime B, Freddie H, Jack H and Harry M. As with all ensemble playing, the musical skills of listening, staying in time and following a structure were the key focus. Beyond that, the transferable skills of self-discipline, communication and collaboration were stretched and strengthened.

Jess Harman, Year 6 Music Teacher

Year 7 have spent some time looking at the gory world of gladiators. As well as continuing language work – “pollicem vertit” – third declension accusative describing the turn of the Emperor’s thumb, “esuriebant” – imperfect, they (the lions) were hungry – pupils have been doing some research on this most morally questionable form of entertainment. Asked to create a poster advertising games presented by Emperor Claudius, Year 7 have looked at the different types of gladiators, the variety of matches, and the element of propaganda that saw these free events being used to satisfy the hungry masses. Thus far, we have stopped short of actually enacting some of the famous fights immortalised in history, but who knows how things might develop next week…

Alex Walker, Head of Classics

As our Year 8 contingent go through their final term with us before heading off to senior school, attention in PSHE has turned to managing change. They are all facing a change and transition in one way or another and we have been spending lesson time considering strategies to help manage this and make life as easy as possible. It has allowed the children time to think of the things they are looking forward to but also consider which bits may feel more daunting. Sometimes simply discussing this as a group, dispelling myths and realising that everyone has the same worries can be reassuring. Tasks have included looking at given situations and considering what advice they would give a friend and writing a letter to ‘Year 4 me’. This latter exercise is a time for self-reflection with the aim of helping the pupils to see all that they have achieved but also reminding them that they have been through change and ups and downs before. By thinking about what has helped in the past and the recognition that they have come out on top before, the children are able to grow and build on that essential survival skill of resilience.

Zoe Thesiger-Pratt, Head of PSHE