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Academic

Academic
19
April
2019

Learning Walks

This term, as well as planned lesson observations, I am going on frequent 'learning walks' to see what is going on around the school at any given moment in time. This involves spending a short time with a class or group just to see what is happening. Over time, these 'snapshots' help to build up a broad picture of teaching and learning across the school on a day-to-day basis. 
 
During a single period, I saw Year 8 during an outdoor Art class, drawing local mountain landscapes with charcoal, and building on some monochromic work they had experimented with last year. Some Year 7 students were in an intensive English class for newly-arrived ESL students. The teacher was providing individualised learning related to each student's needs. Year 6 students were in a PSHE lesson. This was a whole class activity, based on an ‘Agree or Disagree?’ exercise about boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. This took place in a setting outside the classroom and the students participated with great enthusiasm. The students were asked to agree or disagree with a series of questions or observations about relationships.

Year 9 were in a busy Mathematics class, which involved a series of learning activities based on box plotting, related to quartiles and interquartile ranges. Years 1 & 2 were also working with numbers in a mental maths lesson. The class was subdivided for small group work, using flashcards to identify odd and even numbers, with a range of digits. The teacher was able to monitor the students’ understanding, by way direct observation and the accuracy of their explanation of why the number was odd or even.

It was a genuine pleasure to see the variety of learning activities that were going on simultaneously, the expertise of the teachers and the high level of engagement of all the students.

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Learning Walks

Categories: Academic

17
April
2019

Entry Points for the final IMYC units of this year

On Tuesday the students in Years 7, 8 and 9 went to Montreux for the Entry Points for the final IMYC units of this year. The students were required to complete a quiz and a photo challenge, as well as a task specifically related to their Big Idea.   
 
The Big Idea for Year 9 is based on Leadership. The students were putting their own leadership skills to the test. They had to make their own way to and from Montreux using public transport, accompanied by two 'passive' teachers who shadowed them for security reasons and also to observe and feed back on their leadership skills. In Montreux, their main task was to examine why and how Montreux maintains its position as a leading tourist centre. 
 
Year 8 were at looking at Communication - 'when information is shared accurately and clearly, the end result is more effective.' Their main task was to produce a group presentation on Communication in Action, based on their observations over the course of the day. They will be presenting this in a future assembly, communicating to their peers and teachers. 
 
Collaboration was the main theme for Year 7 - 'When people work together, they can achieve a common goal'. Collaboration in Action was the central idea of their main task and a future presentation at a Junior Assembly. They were also required to organise themselves and collaborate effectively in order to complete their tasks successfully.
 
The students and the accompanying teachers had a very enjoyable day, learning a lot about themselves, their peers and, of course,  Montreux!
 
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Entry Points for the final IMYC units of this year

Categories: Academic

26
February
2019

Studying Patterns and Animals

This term in Reception we have been studying Patterns and Animals. We have identified patterns in our environment and located these on a map of the school. We have created our own patterns using a variety of objects and artistic techniques. After reading the story of Elmer, the multi-coloured patterned elephant, we worked together to make our own Elmer using lots of patterned materials. We thought about the fact that Elmer was different to the other elephants because he was colourful. We though about our own differences and how these make us special. 
 
We have also been finding our about animals, identifying our favourite animals and finding out lots of interesting facts about them. We have looked at the patterns on their scales, feathers, skin and fur and thought about why these might be there. Finally we have worked together to build an incredible Zoo Role Play Area in the classroom where we can read and look after and sort the animals. We have been very busy!
 
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Categories: Academic

15
February
2019

Year 1 and 2

In Science we have been learning about light and dark as part of the IPC unit: Seeing the Light. We planned fair tests to find out what seeds need to grow into healthy plants and to investigate how important light is for plant growth. We loved seeing how our seeds grew and found out that the seeds did grow without light, but they did not look very healthy. We have also been finding out the difference a light source and reflection and testing different materials for their reflective qualities. In IPC we practised our mapping skills, drawing maps of the school grounds where we will record the light sources we have discovered in this area.

Our fractions learning in maths became a feast as we ‘shared’ cakes and investigated halves and wholes using cookies!

We worked in pairs to plan our own stories based on the Three Little Pigs and then we wrote our creative versions in Big Writing, Our characters included a range of animals including elephants, mice and even a rhinoceros.

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Year 1 and 2

Categories: Academic

14
February
2019

'A Journey to Space'

In Literacy, Year 5 have been writing stories entitled 'A Journey to Space'. This was a great way to link with our IPC topic 'Space Explorers', getting the children to imagine what it would be like as an astronaut and then to convey this descriptively in their writing. Their writing included some elements of fantasy, alongside real life descriptions of the planets and what it might really feel like to take this journey. They were also asked to use a wide range of vocabulary, including similes and adverbs for effect.

Eliza Arthur

Categories: Academic

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