Our Fantastic Children

Another amazing performance

Our fantastic choir took part in a very special performance this week at the Anvil in Basingstoke. This choir spectacular included 6 schools from around Hampshire and we were the only school chosen from Winchester! There were 452 children singing at the event and our 19 brave children looked and sounded amazing! 

Maple

Children in Year 1 have been concluding their science topic of Seasonal Changes. This week, they learned about the importance of weather forecasting. They gathered information from a weather forecast and then wrote and presented their own. 

Their science investigation this week was prompted by a question 'Can you get burnt from the sun if it is cloudy?'. The children used UV beads to see if they changed in the cloudy conditions and discussed their findings, suggesting further questions about sun safety to explore. 

In Year R, children have loved our book this week, 'The Disgusting Sandwich'. They enjoyed making jam sandwiches, learning how to be safe when handling food and equipment. They also wrote instructions for others about how to make a delicious sandwich.

Rowan

This week Rowan class have begun to build beach huts as part of their design and technology unit this term. They have been measuring, sawing and glueing to make a box frame. They have been safe and sensible and have really enjoyed the process. 

They also took part in their termly Listen 2 Me concert where they performed the recorder to a packed hall. Thank you all for coming. 

Well done Rowan! 

Birch

In forest school, Birch have been determined to make a hammock that lifts off the ground. The children worked incredibly hard to solve various challenges along the way (like creating steps so they could reach the hammock), but felt really proud of their end result!

In class this week, Birch learnt about tsunamis. The children saw how the sudden movement of tectonic plates caused the ocean water to be displaced and destroy buildings close to the sea. The children then used their knowledge of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis to become scientists, geologists and volcanologists to investigate the dangers of tectonic activity in Quito (the capital of Ecuador).

Sycamore

Sycamore class have been learning about how to construct high quality paragraphs. They have been ordering them and ensuring that any points build on the information given, rather than repeat the information. 

Elm

This week the children in Elm have been working hard on their practise SATS and have shown excellent resilience. They have also finished their environmental art project and are looking forward to showcasing their work to the year 5's this afternoon. Each of their piece is made from recycled products and the children have though carefully about the message they want to send through their work.

40 years of comic relief

Thank you to everyone who came in their colourful 80’s clothes and accessories this week and joined in with our 80’s theme danceathon. Everyone looked amazing and it was great to see so many family member joining in or cheering the children on. Thank you also to Mandy for our delicious breakfast cake and for Mr Foard for taking on the role of resident DJ.

On the day we managed to raise over £80 which will go to Comic Relief and will make a real difference to people’s lives here in the UK and world wide.

Enjoying time outdoors.

Stanmore Football Team

This week was the turn of the girl’s football team to take part in a tournament at Nightingale Primary School. This was the first time the team and played together and as well as scoring two goals, they showed excellent sportmanship and some fantastic football skills. Well done everyone.

Maple

In Maple Class this week, Year R children have continued their work on 'Journeys' as part of their 'Big Wide World' learning. Children have been looking at the world map and exploring different locations. They chose which location they would like to visit and wrote a postcard to a friend or relative to tell them about it.  In Year 1, children have continued their work on measure in maths, focusing on capacity and volume. They loved using the sand to show their understanding of volume.

Rowan

Pondering Plants

This week Rowan class have started their new science unit 'Plant Survival'. They have been looking at seasonal change in plants and went on an exploration of our school grounds to look for plants that were starting to grow. They worked together and used their spotting sheets to see what they could find. 

Birch

In science, Birch conducted an experiment to find out which magnet was the strongest. The children had to make predictions about how many paperclips each magnet would pick up before conducting the experiment. They then worked hard to put their results into a bar graph. Birch also had lots of fun in Forest School taking part in a den building competition. The teams had to work together to build a den that would fit all of them inside - one den even had a working hammock!

Sycamore

Sycamore class have been working with the Wessex River Trust to learn all about our local river, the River Itchen. They learnt about the vocabulary and what happened in each section of the river and then they went on a local visit to carry out some geographical research. Luckily, they found out that the River Itchen is a healthy river! 

Elm

Elm class have been studying digital wellbeing in PHSE. They designed  and created  posters to explain to others in school what digital wellbeing is and how they can stay healthy when spending time online and using other digital technology.

Their top tips included: treating others with kindness and respect when using digital technology; telling a trusted adult when something frightens or worries us and make sure we watch or play games which are age appropriate.

Year 6 have also been looking at environmental artists and how they use recycled products to send a message about the importance of looking after the environment. The children then designed their own art pieces and began to build them. We can’t wait to see how they look when finished.

Creativity shown throughout the curriculum

Maple

We have had another very busy week in Maple Class. Children in Year 1 have been learning to measure the weather, including the outside temperature, rainfall and windspeed. We have made a windsock and rain gauge and are checking them daily. We will be presenting the data gathered in a simple chart. Unusually, there has been no rain so far!

Children in Year R have been learning about length and height. They have loved reading about Superworm and found lots of string worms in the outside provision areas. 

We all loved World Book Day - what a fantastic class of explorers we have! The children enjoyed reading abut 'Maya's Walk', and learnt about the different senses that she used as she explored her local area. The children created their own maps of the school grounds, observed the signs of spring using telescopes that they had made and created nature bracelets to develop their sense of touch

Birch

This week, Birch have started a new unit in maths. The children have been looking at unit and non-unit fractions and how to identify which fraction is larger. Birch then had to think about whether they would like 1⁄8 or 1⁄3 of a cake.

Birch have also really enjoyed starting Forest School this term. The children have worked as a team to build dens and solve problems like untying knots and moving large branches. On Friday, the class worked together to make a volcano and then watch it explode. They were able to apply what they had learnt in geography to notice that the eruption was effusive, not explosive.

Sycamore

Sycamore class have been getting creative this week, composing narrative poems to tell the story of the water cycle. We have also been focusing on using legible, joined up handwriting. 

Aspen

Aspen class brought their art installations to life using lollipop sticks, sticks, straws, rocks and clay to produce an art piece with a message behind it. They varied from wooden photo frames to ‘always live in the moment’’ to clay steps to ‘remember to try your best’!

ELM

Amazing 1st person narrative written by Elm class, retelling the narrative of Jack Driscoll challenging  King Kong when he escaped with the heroine, Ann, on Skull Island. The children have also been investigating environmental art and thinking about how they can use recycled products to create art with a message.

A Big Thank You

Today we say a huge thank you and goodbye to lovely Jackie, our crossing guard. She has helped thousands of children cross the road safely and we wish her all the best for the future. You will be missed.

Chicks, Computers and Football

Maple

Maple Class have loved having the chicks to look at and hold this week. As you can see, they have really grown and are very busy cheeping and eating all day long! We have been using the Living Eggs to remind us that Christians believe that eggs are a sign of new life, and how that relates to the Easter story. This week, children made Easter cards using eggs to symbolise the new life. 

Rowan

Remarkable Roses

This week Rowan class have been creating some beautiful paper plate roses in their Flower Head art unit. They created patterns on the plates and then carefully cut and rolled their plated into a rose design. Well done Rowan class. 

Sycamore

This week Sycamore Class have been enjoying programming in Computing. We used ‘Turtle Academy’ to write instructions to create a shape. Once we mastered this, we started to make more challenging instructions to make more complex shapes or designs. 

Aspen

The children thoroughly enjoyed World Book Day, Aspen class were ready to explore the day and took part in the Footy and Booky Wooky Quiz, BBC live lesson and designed brochures for a holiday to the Arctic! We even had Paddington Bear join us for the day!

Football Team update

This week 8 boys in Elm class took part in a tournament at Nightingale School. The team played fantastically throughout the group stage and made it to the final through penalties. Unfortunately we were just pipped at the post in the final through penalties again! As always the children showed brilliant sportmanship and team work. Thank you to the parents who were able to help with transportation and cheering us on. Lets hope the girl’s continue our good form in a few weeks time.

Spring has Sprung

Maple

This week, Maple Class has welcomed the arrival of 10 eggs that we will be hatching out. The children did not notice much of a change to the eggs on days 1 and 2, but when they arrived on day 3 (Wednesday), they were greeted with the arrival of a new chick! We are looking forward to more of the eggs hatching this week. We are so eggcited to see how the chicks grow and develop over the next two weeks. 

Inspired by the chicks hatching in Maple Class, the children used a range of junk modelling resources to create homes for the chicks. Some even included Netflix and a sand pit!

Children used a variety of resources to join materials, including different tapes and glues. What a cracking job they did!

Rowan

Marvellous measuring!

This week Rowan class have started their new math unit, length and height. They have been measuring in centimeters and meters. They measured lots of different things in the classroom to the nearest meter. They then went outside and measured lots of things in the playground. They worked together to find out the length of the entire playground, discovering that it was 13m wide and 68m long. Great curiosity and teamwork which are real character strengths of all the class. 

Birch

In maths, Birch have been working really hard to add and subtract lengths. The children have had to think carefully about how to convert each length so they are the same unit of measurement before they start adding and subtracting. The children have also been enjoying the chess and Spanish clubs run by Winchester College every Wednesday.

Sycamore

This week, Sycamore Class have been learning about the water cycle. To help to bring it to life, we made a water cycle in a bag. This meant that we could understand each part of the water cycle and how the water changes state. We had to relate this to our scientific knowledge that we developed last term in our ‘States of Matter’ science unit where we learnt about how water can change from a liquid to a gas (evaporation) and a gas to a liquid (condensation). 

Aspen

This week in Year 5 we have been thinking about how we can use our actions to portray our emotions. Aspen class are part of a 'Move Well' project which offers then a weekly journalling session, reflecting and target setting. This week we were focussing on a physical move that shows 'joy' the children had to showcase their move, and the rest of the class copied. By the end of the session, everyone was smiling!

Elm

Elm class have been busy producing some wonderful information texts on the Inuit, explaining all about the indigenous people that live in the arctic.

They also painted some lovely watercolours in art and in computing the children used their knowledge of circuits and programming to create light sensors using micro bits

Forest School

This week at forest school R2L used the palm drills to make medallions and used the new digging tools to make a stream and a pool.  

Loving to learn new things

Jag Tag

8 children in year 6 took part in the very first Jag Tag tournament, help by Activ 360 and Winchester University. The team were fantastic and showed all the school spirit that we value. We won some, drew some and lost a couple but above all we tried our hardest and had fun! Well done everyone.

My Happy Brain

The children and staff would like to say thank you to FOSPS for purchasing one Team HAP per class to support our weekly Happy mind sessions.

In our first unit 'Meet your brain' the children have learned that the brain works best when Team HAP - the Hippocampus, Amygdala and Prefrontal Cortex - work together. We have learned how 'Happy breathing' sends oxygen to the brain when we may be feeling upset or worried. This helps us to make decisions and ask for help. You can find out more about Happy Breathing by downloading the logging into the free My Happy mind app.

Forest School

This week in forest school some children used the saw to cut pieces of wood which we then used to make butterflies, other played nature bingo or made an Oreo mud cake. 

R2L

Sometimes, it can feel difficult to ask for help because we may feel that we might look silly, others might laugh at us, or we fear being told off.

This week, the children in R2L have been learning that it is ok to ask for help and that everyone needs help sometimes. Sometimes it might be for a little thing, like asking someone to hold a door open, or it might be something bigger like helping us with a tricky task or even helping us to manage uncomfortable thoughts.

We have spent the week trying new things - some things we could do easily and yet other things were more tricky. We learnt how to make a paper aeroplane, how to make an origami snake, and some of us even used a saw to cut wood in Forest School.

The most important lesson that we learnt this week is that using our words, rather than our actions, are the best way to ask for help.

Maple

Children in Maple Class have been proudly wearing their brain hats made as part of their 'My Happy Mind' learning. We think they look great! Children in Year R have been learning numbers 6, 7 and 8. They made a teddy bear's picnic with 6, 7 or 8 guests, plates and food items. Delicious!

We are also drawing to the end of our programming unit in IT. The children have been learning how to plan, programme and debug routes using their BeeBots - they are doing brilliantly!

Rowan

Times Table Rowan Stars!

This week the Rowan class have been enjoying playing on Times Tables Rockstars (TTRS) for the first time. Now they have completed their multiplication and division unit in maths they are ready to rock out and earn some coins. TTRS is a great maths game for the class to play and practice their 2-, 5- and 10-times table facts. The more they can practice at home the better they will get at remembering these facts. Miss Evers is also starting a TTRS house competition, so the more points they score the more they contribute to the competition. If you need any help logging into TTRS please don't hesitate to ask. 

Birch

This week Birch conducted research into different types of soil - the children really enjoyed getting their hands muddy to test whether the soil was silty, sandy or clay. The children also put their basketball skills into practice by playing a game of basketball. They tried really hard to dribble the ball across the court and some even managed to score a goal in the hoops!

Sycamore

This week, Sycamore class have been working really hard to improve their handwriting. We have been learning all about Mount Everest which has resulted in a number of really high quality survival guides. For those of you looking for a new challenge, why not read some of these and see if the challenge appeals to you! 

Elm

This week Elm class finished their Inuit art topic by creating prints in the style of Kenojuak Ashevak. They built on their learning from year 3 and 4 and developed the idea of creating two tone prints. They were really effective as you can see.

Being creative and curious.

My Happy Mind

The children have enjoyed learning more about the brain this week and how we can look after it using as variety of techniques, such as Happy Breathing, exercise and a healthy diet. Here are some of our children showing us the HAP team.

R2L

What a diverse and enriching week in R2L! Our target this week was  to use our words when we need some help. Through a range of different activities including acting out different emotions; being emotion detectives; making anger fireworks; we understood that it is not always easy to know how someone else is feeling. However, by using our words such as "Please can you help me?" "Are you ok?". "I'm feeling in the yellow zone." and by recognising when we are starting to feel uncomfortable emotions, adults can then offer a variety of strategies to support moving from uncomfortable to comfortable emotions.

Can you guess how some children are feeling from their body language?

Maple

Following an assembly on the 'Power of Words' , the children completed a task in class where they thought about how once spoken, words cannot be taken back and can have a lasting impact on the recipient. 

The House Captains announced a whole school challenge to nominate adults and children who have used words kindly which will be published in assembly on Friday 15th February. If you would like to nominate someone in school, please collect a slip from the school office and return the nomination via your child's teacher of the office.

Rowan

Remarkable Recorders! 

This term Rowan class have been learning to play the recorder with the Hampshire Music service. They have been really enjoying learning how to create different notes with the recorder and create different tunes. They are a big fan of the song 'Spy Cat' where they have to play gently to create a secret spy atmosphere. We are all looking forward to their concert next half term. Well done Rowan class. 

Birch

Birch have had a busy week this week!  In science, the children looked at magnetic fields - they were very excited they could see the direction the fields were going in! In art, the children started printing their ammonites. They had to be very careful so they didn't rip their tiles and thought carefully about how their prints would look with more than one colour. 

Sycamore

Sycamore Class have been learning about the different types of mountains and how they are formed. They then had to match photos of the world’s mountains to the mountain type. 

Aspen

This week in Aspen class we have been looking at administering first aid when faced with a choking incident. The children learnt about the three ways to help: cough it out, slap it out and squeeze it out. The children then practiced their hand placements on parents to learn how to administer first aid and what to do if these methods do not work.

Elm

Having studied Inuit carvings in art, Elm class drew simple designs to carve out of soap. They needed lots of patience and the resilience key to success to produce beautifully carved figures. Continuing the theme of art, some pupils in Elm class used pastel and watercolour paint to produce these outstanding paintings which brought a touch of spring to the class. These were inspired by the work of a local artist Jenny Muncaster.

Happy Lunar New Year

Maple

Children in Maple Class love learning about how their brains work. In this week's 'My Happy Mind' session, they were learning how their brains make new connections when they learn. To illustrate this, the children started to make brain hats with different coloured 'connections' to show learning and growth. 

Maple Class have also been finding out about Chinese New Year. They have made beautiful lanterns, mosaics, tried writing their names and numbers in Chinese and heard about the different activities that are used to celebrate this important even. Today, we enjoyed using chopsticks to try Chinese food including prawn crackers, Singapore noodles and fortune cookies. 

Birch

This week, Birch continued their 'Chinese Lanterns' unit in music and started using glockenspiels to play the pentatonic scale. They worked really hard to remember which notes they needed to play and what order they needed to play them in. 

Sycamore

Sycamore class had a great opportunity to work with our caterers (Caterlink) and make pizzas. We took part in a game and a quiz all about the different food groups and then got to choose our toppings and make our dream pizzas! Best of all, we then got to eat them! 

Aspen

In Aspen class's PSHE lessons the children were learning about head injuries, they learnt about mild and severe, how to assess for both and how to administer first aid. They also took part in a scenario task where they had to assess who had suffered a head injury, how it might have been obtained and each character's role in the accident.

Elm

In music, Elm class have been learning about calypso music and are practising the typical 8 beat rhythm with added embellishments. In Geography, they also been exploring all the different land features that can be seen in the Antarctic and reminding themselves that polar bears live in Arctic and Penguins live in the Antarctic. This links in well with their current text: ‘Shackelton’s Journey.’