On Sunday, children from our school choir sang at St Mary’s Church for a special Mothering Sunday service. They sang a combination of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and the modern song ‘Mighty to Save’. Their singing was beautiful and everyone was very impressed!
We had an incredible collection of costumes today as children and staff celebrated World Book Day. In Years 1-6 children dressed up as a word for our Vocabulary Parade; children in EYs dressed up as book characters.
This morning, we held an assembly where all the children shared which country they came from, and showed their traditional costumes.
Each class also explained to the school the work they had undertaken about the countries they have studied this week.
This week is International Week at St Mary’s. Each class is learning about a country represented by children in our school. This year, we are mostly focusing on countries in the Middle East and North Africa. We are also learning about caring for and celebrating people who have a different faith or different beliefs to us (one of the ‘British Values‘).
Year 1 have been learning about Morocco. They have been painting tiles with Moroccan patterns, and Adam’s Mum visited the class to talk about life in Morocco.
On Tuesday, Year 6 were invited to spend the day at Wetherby Prep School, sharing their Classics Day. Students from the Classics department of Oxford University led workshops on different areas of classical life, such as theatre, gladiators and writing in Greek. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning about different cultures and languages. They also behaved extremely well and were a real credit to our school. Huge thanks to Wetherby for this fantastic experience!
Today, Year 3 dressed up as Greeks to learn more about life in Ancient Greece. They found out about the Parthenon in Athens, and made their own versions out of junk modelling materials. Theme days are a key aspect of our Topic learning, as they help the children to immerse themselves in a different time and/or culture. Children spend time at home making their costumes and researching the topic beforehand for homework.
On Friday 26th February, we will be holding our annual International Day. Each class will be learning about a different country and will present their learning in an assembly at 9.15am. There will also be the opportunity for children to show their clothing, as everyone has the chance to dress in their national costume or colours.
After school, the Friends will be running an International Evening, with stalls set up to share food and information about many of the countries represented in our school.
Please let us know if you think you might be able to help, and do join us. It is always a lovely occasion!
Today, Year 1 became a winter wonderland!
The children wore winter clothes to keep themselves warm, and activities included: exploring an igloo in class, researching polar animals, polar shape maths challenges, making a magnetic fishing game, melting ice, making penguin beaks, making hot chocolate and tasting it (of course).
It was a great day, with lots of fun and deep learning about this term’s ‘Frozen Planet’ topic.
The Governors are holding a meeting about the admissions consultation on Tuesday 12th January at 9.00 in the school hall. This is open to all parents. There will be Arabic translation available. Please come and ask any questions you have about the proposed changes to the admissions criteria.
The Chair of Governors, Jon Ward, has written a letter to clarify what the proposed changes are attempting to achieve. This is available in English and Arabic:
Yesterday, Year 6 started the new term with a Citizenship workshop at the London Transport Museum. The children took part in 7 sessions about bus safety, road safety, train safety, first aid, dealing with strangers, cyber safety and fire safety. They really enjoyed themselves and were extremely well behaved! Everyone learnt something new, including the fact that a bus weighs 18 tonnes!
