Science through Oreos and light!
Maple
Maple have made sure NOT to let the pigeon drive the bus in our classroom! We have explored the pigeon's expressions carefully and thought about using the zones of regulation to both describe his feelings and how to manage them. We have also built our own lollipop stick buses, created our own dream vehicles to drive, as well as drawing and painting the pigeon.
Rowan
This week Rowan class have been busy learning their 10- and 5-times tables in maths with lots of practical resources and exploring recycling in science by sorting materials based on if they can be reused or recycled. They have also been enjoying their visits to the Library lately and picking out new books to read based on other children's recommendations. We have had some children already begin their Stanmore Top 30 book challenge as well!
Birch
This week in geography, Birch Class have been learning about how earthquakes and volcanoes are formed. They discovered that tectonic plates move in different ways, causing weaknesses in the earth's crust. To demonstrate their understanding, the children used Oreos to model divergent, convergent and transform plate boundary movements. Of course, the 'tectonic plates' were eaten afterwards!
Year 6
As part of our hook lesson in Science, we were each given a question (in groups) related to our new topic of light that we researched and presented as a scientific information poster to the rest our year group.
Stanmore Top 30 books
At Stanmore we believe reading is the cornerstone of all learning and our approach enables children to become fluent readers who harbour a love of reading. As well as our sequenced English curriculum we encourage our children to read at home, both independently and with the support of adults.
Welcome to the new Stanmore Top 30 books - a selection of books, linked to our school BEST values and all available on SORA, the online library app.
The children have been tasked with reading all 10 books for their age category (KS1, Lower KS2, Upper KS2), recording what they have read in their reading diary and completing two of the suggested tasks.
They can then show their work to Mrs Atkins and put their name on a star in the library next to the book they have read.
Read all 10 books and they are officially a READING CHAMPION. When they read all 30 they become a READING AMBASSADOR
6 Ways reading benefits children:
1) Reading increases creativity and imagination.
2) Reading together expands a child’s vocabulary.
3) Reading promotes thinking skills
4) Reading exposes children to new and exciting experiences.
5) Reading help promote positive communication.
6) Reading is fun and helps children relax at the end of the day.
Irresistible Learning
Maple
Thinking creatively, Maple class took on the challenge to make props to help them discuss the different types of weather we see throughout the seasons in the UK. They have also been both immersed in learning and excited in anticipation of the Chinese New Year. The classroom has been full of decorations to celebrate!
Rowan
In Rowan class we have been testing the properties of different papers, looking at their strength texture and absorbency.
Birch
As part of our 'Rocks, Relics and Rumbles' topic, children in Birch Class have been learning all about soil. After learning about what is in soil, they used the 'Soil Hand Texture' chart to discover what the different samples of soil types we had were. Use a glass jar, the children examined what was in the soil and recorded it as a diagram.
Sycamore
Sycamore Class have been writing Survival Guides, all about how to survive life on Mount Everest. We had to learn lots of facts in order to give the reader some top tips for survival.
Aspen
Aspen class spent the day at Winchester College doing a variety of team building activities. They made and tasted soup which was delicious. Visiting the boat house, they assembled a single skull ready to row down the River Itchen. In the science lecture theatre, they saw a variety of skulls, including a 2-million-year-old woolly mammoth tooth, and felt the sharp teeth of a Nile crocodile. The college staff all commented on their respectful behaviour and excellent attitude to learning. Well done Year 5.
Year 6
This week Year 6 enjoyed a special RE Q&A with a member of the New Life Church. The children have been exploring sacred places for different religions and came up with their own questions to ask - they were very insightful and thoughtful! This gave then a chance to deeper their understanding of sacred places and the importance they can have on their community!
WINNER announcement
Speak competition results
Well done to : Emma, Ellie, Millie, Caoimhe, Raysa, Jamil and George for winning the SPEAK competition to design a new sign for your classroom door.
Maple
Maple class had a brilliant afternoon of teamwork, taking on the challenge to use sticks to create a trail for the Jolly Postman to ride his bicycle on. Throughout their trail they created human features (houses, shops, post office etc.) using leaves, stones, shells and more to mark where they would be and took compare bears for a stroll around their pathways. They have also created many postcards, letters, stamps and envelopes, all inspired by The Jolly Postman story.
Rowan
This week we have started our new book for English, 'The First Book of the Sea'. A poetry book of sea themed poems. We discussed as a class what performance poetry was and watched videos of Micheal Rosen performing his poetry. The children loved it and then chose poems from our book to perform to the class. They worked so hard at learning their lines and using their voice, tone, intonation and actions to bring the poetry alive. They then performed to the entire class, really showing their confidence and co-operation.
Birch
As part of their new topic, Birch class have been experimenting with making their own crystals this week and are excitedly waiting for the results. Birch Class also loved their first session using Oxford Reading Buddies. They quickly navigated their way around the website, selected a book from their 'shelf' and had fun reading it. After each book there is a quiz to check that the children have understood what they have read, and a 'badge' awarded once this is completed. The children are excited to log in at home to continue their reading.
Sycamore
Sycamore have started their art project called ‘Vista’ which focuses on landscapes. They had to look at a range of famous paintings and have a go at recreating them using shading techniques, such as crosshatching.
Year 6
As part of our school expectations around fluency and independent reading, year 6 have spent a session exploring our new program Reading Buddies this week. They were able to access books that were suitable for their age and could also check their understanding with a short quiz at the end.
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
We were delighted to welcome the Young Shakespeare Company into school this week to perform A Midsummers Night’s Dream. Children from Year 2-6 all took part and there was plenty of audience participation and laughs. Exposing our children to the experience of watching plays being performed is very important and if your child’s interest was peaked then there are child friendly version of Shakespeare’s plays to read and listen to on our new SORA app.
Maple
Maple class have continued to explore our class MAPS book, filled with beautiful illustrations which highlight similarities and differences in physical features, landmarks, animals, vehicles and much more! They have been hunting in teams for parts of maps before sorting them, creating their own maps, building puzzles of physical features, taking Paddington for a walk around London maps and even becoming pirates.
Rowan
Maths and Marbles!
This week Rowan class have made some amazing marble art based on the sea for their topic lessons. They used a combination of blues, greens and white to create wave patterns by rolling marbles in paint and creating marks on the paper. They have also been amazing with their maths, starting their multiplication and division unit. They have been doing fantastically and are making great links between repeated addition and multiplication.
Birch
To celebrate the start of our new topic, 'Rocks, Relics and Rumbles', as well as out new writing text, 'The Rock Factory', children in Birch Class have enjoyed a crafty week! On Monday, they used written and pictorial instructions to make their own crystals, and evaluated the effectiveness of the instructions given. On Tuesday, we discovered different rock types and how they are formed. We had great fun creating sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks out of chocolate; we enjoyed eating them at the end of the day!
A New Way of Reading
Here at Stanmore School we understand the importance of reading for pleasure and want to encourage our children to read as much as possible. As well as exposure to high quality texts at school, we want our pupils to be able to access texts at home and also on their electronic devises.
Through the School Library Service, we are delighted to be able to introduce the new SORA app, your child’s own virtual library. With one-tap reading, fun reading achievements, quick access to assignments and tools to track reading progress your child can enjoy an array of texts on their phone, computers or tablets.
Children can access SORA using their google classroom log in details.
Using practical work to embed our understanding
Maple
Maple class have been incredibly engaged in Maths this week, utilising a range of resources to help their understanding of either Shape or Mass and Capacity. They've all worked tremendously well both independently and in groups. Not to forget the brilliant number formation practise in Year R and Year 1's wonderful presentation when recording in books!
Rowan
Exploring Erosion
This week in Geography we have been exploring erosion and how it affects the UK coastline. We completed an experiment where we investigated the effects of waves and rain on a cliffside that was unprotected, versus one that is protected by a coastal defence (a sea wall). We saw the effects in action as the unprotected cliffside collapsed after only a few waves. but the protected cliff survived for several minutes on onslaught by the waves and rain.
Birch
Birch Class have had an extremely busy week again! In maths, they have been learning to divide including remainders and used cocktail sticks to create 2d shapes to help with their understanding of this concept. We started off out new topic, Rocks, Relics and Rumbles by learning about the different layers of the earth and making our own labelled models. We think that they are great!
Sycamore
Sycamore used a marbling technique in RE to produce art work inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi. We also made healthy snacks. We made hummus with vegetable sticks and fruit kebabs.
Year 5
Y5 have continued their PHSE lesson in first aid by learning to place a casualty in the recovery position.
Year 6
This week Year 6 have been practicing their Inuit artwork carving skills on blocks of soap. They have been exploring how different tools can create different patterns and affect the precision of their lines!
Marmalade Sandwiches
Maple
After watching Paddington bear meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Maple class made marmalade sandwiches. They were delicious (although a little sour for some) and the children wrote instructions in case anyone else wanted to try. They also made new crowns for the King in case Paddington should pop in for tea again!
Rowan
Fantastic Freeze Frames!
Rowan class have been loving their new English text, Clem and the Crab over the last two weeks. We have been learning about protecting the environment and cleaning up litter that may affect the animals. We created freeze frames of scenes within the book so we could get into our characters shoes and understand their thoughts and feelings. We used our Confidence to perform our freeze frames in front of the entire class. Amazing as always!
Birch
Children in Birch Class enjoyed a chilly walk around the local area this afternoon as part of their geography topic. With a focus on land use, the children used a 'Stanmore Spotter' to find places on their route, which included a break at the outdoor gym at the Carroll Centre! They will be using this knowledge to create a display of the different ways in which land is used in Stanmore.
Sycamore
Sycamore Class have been studying 'King of the Cloud Forest' by Michael Morpurgo. We have enjoyed the first part of the story, but we left it on a cliffhanger, where Ashley has been found in the middle of the Himalayas by some strange, hairy creatures...! This has stimulated high quality descriptive writing and means that we can now create our own endings to the story.
Aspen
This week in Aspen, the children wrote a narrative using our current book "The Misadventures of Frederick" for their SOA. The focus was to use speech to advance the story.
Year 6
In year 6, the children have put their best feet forwards and have showed flair in their musical dance abilities, whilst planning and teaching sequences from famous musical theatre shows in PE.
In science, they have worked together to create and analyse series circuits using a range of different electrical components.
First week of Spring
Guinea Pigs
This week we welcomed a temporary new member to our school - Wilma. She has come in to keep Oreo company while Bubbles has treatment for a sore eye. She has been a delight to have at school and we hope to see her again soon.
Maple Class
It has been lovely to see the children after Christmas and to hear all about their time with family. Mrs Cooper has loved getting to know the children and is already very impressed with their manners and friendliness. This week the children have been exploring the story of the Gruffalo and they have worked hard on sequencing the story and writing key sentences using their phonics.
Birch
Birch Class have returned refreshed and eager to learn after the holidays. In Geography, they learnt about some European countries and made a poster about one, featuring key human and physical features, capital city, population and language. We have started a wonderful new book in English and on Thursday, used a 'Conscience Alley' to discuss if the Queen of Darkness should keep her child in the ice cavern.
Sycamore
Year 4 have been busy this week learning how to weave! The children showed all our keys to success to master this tricky skill.
Aspen
Year 5 were practising a primary survey in PHSE. They learnt to ensure the site was safe before helping a casualty and then using LIONEL ( location, incident, other services, number of people, extent of injuries and location repeated when calling for help). The children remained calm when handling an unresponsive casualty and used clear communication to explain.
Year 6
Year 6 have been learning about the effects, risks and legislation around different drugs in PHSE. The presented their findings to the rest of the class using clear communication and confidence.
Christmas week
Maple
Maple class have been really busy this week performing their nativity to the whole school and friends and family. They were excellent and we are all incredibly proud of them.
Rowan
Christingle Service in Rowan was calm and peaceful. The children were excellent at making their Christingles and sang beautifully.
Birch
Children in Birch Class loved participating in the Christingle Service on Thursday. They made their Christingle oranges beautifully, sat respectfully and joined in with the singing enthusiastically!
Sycamore
The children in Sycamore loved making their Christingles and also taking part in the Christchurch service.
Aspen
The children in Aspen have been making their Christingles and also exploring the phases of the moon.
