Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC): Blog items
Date: 5th Nov 2024 @ 2:16pm
This week we have introduced Remembrance Day to our class, focusing on why we have a Remembrance Day and why poppies are used to symbolise this important day.
Children in Year 5 produced a range of beautiful poppy art to decorate a fallen soldier. We had to use special techniques to create the different drawing and sketching techniques.
This is the start of a two-week period we have in school to remember and honour members of the armed forces.
Eco- Welcome to our new Eco Warriors.
Date: 4th Nov 2024 @ 5:43pm
It was the first meeting of the school year with our new Eco Warriors.
We chatted about how we can have an impact on the school with our environmental action and learning and that we need to keep thinking about new ideas to discuss at our meetings. In November, there will be Switch Off Week to get ready for and also planting trees at @thegrange with Treescape to create a micro forest.
Watch this space for more environmental work and ideas.
Date: 1st Nov 2024 @ 12:05pm
This week in Reception our classroom have enjoyed lots of different Halloween themed activities. We have been reading the story 'Room on the Broom' and labelling the different characters in the story using our phonic knowledge. The children have been making spooky potions outside, collaging pumpkins and bats, ordering the pumpkin number cards, making silly soup, having a monster party in the home corner and making repeated patterns on the witches hat.
What a fun filled week we have had!
Date: 1st Nov 2024 @ 9:20am
Acorns have been reading Room on the Broom, while exploring Halloween this week. We have enjoyed our sensory story, using props and puppets while listening to the story.
We have participated in lots of spooky activities to support or learning.
We loved using our sensory and messy trays to support and engage with maths activities, develop our fine motor skills and developing our social skills alongside each other.
During Arts and crafts we created pumpkins and ghosts.
Date: 1st Nov 2024 @ 8:37am
This term Arcons are focusing on developing their running, jumping and balancing skills during PE.
Acorns enjoyed balancing and moving along the benches in different ways, including sideways, backwards and crawling.
We explored running back and forth between coloured hoops with quoits.
We even brought our physical activities into our outdoor area with new climbing equipment and had great fun.
PE also enables pupils to explore and develop waiting and turn taking skills.
Year 5 - African Drumming 2024
Date: 29th Oct 2024 @ 4:16pm
Today, all of the children in Year 5 were given an amazing opportunity to take part in an African drumming workshop. Pupils learned about the different percussion instruments from west Africa and had a go at playing a djembe - an African drum. We learned different dances and rhythms and performed what we had learned in an assembly at the end of the day to parents and carers. It was an amazing experience!
Date: 28th Oct 2024 @ 4:51pm
To finish off our Ballet workshop, Year 3 invited people from home to come and watch them in action. They were very excited to show what they had learnt including, spotting and jumping. The children even showed off their Stone Age dance that had linked to our History topic. We incorporated key facts from our History lessons about how people from the Stone Age lived and created key movements to represent these facts.
Date: 28th Oct 2024 @ 11:05am
Today in Year 6, we had a visit from someone who works for Lancashire County Council - Tim. His workshop focussed on the 5 British Values: Rule of Law, Mutual Respect, Individual Liberty, Tolerance and Democracy. We talked about how we can all demonstrate the British Values in school and the wider community. It was a really informative workshop and the children gave some excellent answers to questions posed. We are very proud of how mature Year 6 were during the session.
Reception Music this Half Term
Date: 20th Oct 2024 @ 5:08pm
This half term we have enjoyed singing Nursery Rymes and Action Songs. We have learnt a 'Hello Song' using Makaton to support our communication.
We really enjoyed learning the 'Owl Song' and 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow' to help our learning across the curriculum.
We can now start and stop all together using instruments (Maracas and Claves) and we are beginning to find a steady beat.
What a fantastic start to Music in Reception!
Date: 18th Oct 2024 @ 5:29pm
Acorns have been exploring their senses over the past couple of weeks as part of our topic marvellous me! We have been focusing on our touch and smell in particular and have enjoyed lots of sensory experiences to support our understanding.
Acorns loved having surprise cups to sniff. We didn't know what was inside them but all had a good sniff. Some were definitely much nicer than others, especially the garlic, yuk!
Acorns enjoyed exploring a variety of textures through touch. We especially loved our sensory walk without our shoes and socks on, so we could experience touch in different ways.
We can't wait to explore sight and sounds of Autumn next term.
Date: 18th Oct 2024 @ 10:40am
On Thursday, Reception visited Forest School with Jenna and Emma.
We had a great time listening to a story, searching for bugs and making homes for them using leaves and twigs that we found. All the children worked together, helping each other and sharing what they had found.
"I can't believe we have found slug eggs!" Kevin.
"Worms come up through the soil" Dennis.
"Look! I've found a bug under the log" Harley.
"I made a house for my bug from leaves and some mud" Hazel.
"I've found a secret path in the trees" Harry.
Date: 18th Oct 2024 @ 8:13am
This week Acorns have been reading the Colour Monster. We have had lots of fun exploring colours, colour mixing and emotions linked to our story.
Pupils have explored colour sorting and matching in maths, learning new makaton signs for colours and looking at their faces in mirrors, making different emotions.
Year 6 - Symbolism and words used in Christian ceremonies
Date: 17th Oct 2024 @ 3:40pm
In our latest RE lesson, we explored how words and actions can convey meaning in Christian ceremonies. We looked at the words used in baptism, the symbolism used in holy communion and the symbolism of the rings in mariage ceremonies. We worked in small groups to answer questions about what we had learned.
Date: 17th Oct 2024 @ 9:47am
In RE we have been learning all about Christianity (God) and we focused on the question of how (and why) have some people served God? We began thinking of what makes a good leader and discussed different famous people that have been leaders and role models to people in the past. We shared our opinions with one another and created a booklet for the qualities that makes a good leader. We recapped what is the bible? What is the old testament? We then read and understood all about the two stories, ‘story of the Moses’ and ‘Noah’s Ark.’ In pairs we shared our ideas as to what do we learn from the stories? Why do you think Christians follow God? We then compared the two stories thinking about how people felt when they heard God? As a class we discussed what life of service means and then looked at three Christians who have served a life of service. We thought about their role, the impact they had on other people and how they had a positive effect on others by being helpful. We discussed what the word vocation means and linked it to the role of a church leader. We researched how a church leader serves in church, but also in the community. We then carried our research as a class to find out about The Salvation Army and how it links to how Christians serve others? We shared ideas as to what Christians do for the community and the positive impact the Salvation Army has on the world. We applied everything we have learnt to then our personal life to think, are we good examples to others? Also, who inspires us?
Date: 17th Oct 2024 @ 8:22am
In RE this half term, we have asked ourselves ‘Why is it sometimes difficult to do the right thing?’ and considered this question through the teachings of Christianity. We have thought about the meaning of temptation, sin and forgiveness. To aid our understanding, we listened to the parables, The Fall and The Lost Son from the Bible and challenged ourselves to compare how forgiveness was shown in both stories. In class, pupils role –played the parts of Adam and Eve and were subjected to questioning by their peers about their actions. We also thought about the metaphorical and literal meanings of the story of The Fall and the children gave some very thoughtful answers. To try to answer our question, we discussed the temptations in the modern day world and how this may lead Christians to commit a sin. We looked at how Christians seek forgiveness through various practices in the Protestant and Catholic churches and compared these. Finally, we thought about what right and wrong looks like for us as individuals and created a moral compass poster to demonstrate our beliefs.
Year 5 - Active Listening - PSHE
Date: 16th Oct 2024 @ 1:54pm
This week's Skills for Life and PSHE focus was Active Listening. In Year 5, we looked the importance of active listening linked to the British Values of respect and tolerance and to friendship here at school and at home. We talked about the importance of active listening not just when adults are speaking but when our friends and adults at home are too! Finally, we put our skills to the test. In pairs, one person had 2 minutes to tell their partner facts about themselves or about their day so far; while this was happening the listener had to show their active listening skills (and ask any clarifying or probing questions). At the end of the 2 minutes, the speaker had to ask the listener 3 questions to test their skills - we decided that Year 5 are very good at Active Listening!
Date: 15th Oct 2024 @ 8:03pm
Acorns have been enjoying the book 'You Choose' to explore and develop their understanding about choice and making a choice.
We have encouraged Acorns to make different choices throughout the week in all aspects of their learning and play.
Acorns have enjoyed a multi-sensory approach to making choices. We loved choosing different hats to wear, different outfits, especially super hero's, to dress up in and different tools to explore with in art and mark making.
We also used visuals to support our choice making during snack and lunch times.
Reception learn about Nocturnal Animals
Date: 14th Oct 2024 @ 10:07pm
This week we have been reading the story Oliver's Wood'. It is all about a little owl Oliver who stays up late on night. He stays up so late he see something strange that he has never seen before 'the big, round, warm sun'. Oliver is so exvited to tell al his friends but when he goes to find them they are all asleep.
The children have been identifying different nocturnal animals sich as bats, hedgehogs, owls and badgers. They have been exploring what it means to be nocturnal animal and how they have adapted to being awake a night like having excellent eyesight and hearing. They also found out what the animals look like, and what they eat. We were even lucky enough to be visited by Carolynne from Blackpool's Hedgehog Rescue who brought '---------" the hedge to meet us.
We have completed lots of different activities based around this theme including; labelling animals, sorting animals and even using different materails at the creative table to make them. What a busy week!
"Bats have very good hearing' Dennis
"Owls have good eye sight so they can see in the dark' Lily-Mae
"My nanny has a hedgehog and it eats the worms and slugs in her garden" Freyja
"Nocturnal animals sleep in the dark and wake up at night" Kevin
Date: 14th Oct 2024 @ 2:32pm
To start our Black History Month learning, we used our previous knowledge and online resources to create a PowerPoint slide about what Black History Month is, when it is celebrated in the UK and why we celebrate it. When looking at sporting achievements, we focused on the Men’s England National Team. We first looked at all the players heritages and we were surprised to find 8 out of 11 players heritage is black. We imagined what the England time would be like without them – we would only have three players!
Year 4 focused on sporting achievements for Black History Month and we are linking this to our Reading into Writing non-chronological report writing. We will be writing about Jude Bellingham, but to start our journey of non-chronological reports we have been looking at lots of WAGOLLs.
Year 2- Final Forest School Fun
Date: 11th Oct 2024 @ 3:44pm
This week, we enjoyed our last forest school session. As it was a chilly day, we did some fun exercises to warm up before making our own journey sticks using loppers to make twigs smaller and collecting items from the garden, wrapping them onto the stick using threads. Some of us created fishing rods and tried to catch fish in the muddy puddles. Finally, we made a fire and toasted a selection of breads before enjoying them with butter and jam! We have loved our first three sessions and cannot wait until our final three sessions later next year!
Reception - The Owls Visit EYFS
Date: 11th Oct 2024 @ 9:57am
Everyone was very excited to have a special visit from the owls.
We watched them fly around the dance studio, listened to their wings as they flapped and watched how they enjoyed eating their snacks, They were called Pike, Bugs and Midge.
We also learnt that owls have incredible hearing and can spin their head around to be able to hunt for mice and other small animals. Everyone then had a turn at holding the owl on their arm.
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 4:23pm
Acorns have been reading Owl Babies. We have had lots of fun engaging with the sensory story.
Acorns have enjoyed the owl theme running through their learning experiences in maths, mark making and even developing their cutting skills. We even made our very own owls in art.
The best bit was getting to meet the owls when they came to visit!
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Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 4:06pm
Acorns have been exploring and celebrating Harvest. Today we have been making bread.
We had lots of fun mixing the ingredients and trying to knead the dough.
Our bread rolls turned out great. Have a look.
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 12:32pm
Our Year 1 children were very excited to recieve our Dazzle pack today! We are looking forward to reading our new books.
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 11:34am
We love a museum here at Boundary! This week, our loan box from the Heritage Museum arrived and we set up Redcliffes as a Roman Museum for the children to explore. We looked at Roman Army uniform and lots of other artefacts. The uniform was very heavy!
