Senior School Weekly News
News from Senior School this week: 19th January 2024
Mrs Séguier
Deputy Head of Senior School
It has been really lovely having the pupils back to school after the Christmas break. I hope you had a restful holiday.
This week during both our Year 3-6 and Year 7-10 assemblies, Jill from the Celia Hammond Animal Trust which is a charity Abercorn supports through the various fundraising events we put together during the academic year, came to talk to us about the work that she does.
She explained and highlighted the various jobs volunteers at the charity have to do.
She also inspired the pupils to think about the idea of volunteering, being kind to others and helping out to feel useful and make a difference to others.
Please note that on Friday 26th January, we will be holding a Careers Fair for our Year 7-10 pupils in the Theatre between 8.30am and 11.30am. Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to take part in this event.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want to find out more about this and/or would like to participate and tell our pupils a little more about the career that you have.
As always, thank you so much for your continued support.
I hope you have a good weekend.
"
Year 3
As we settle into the rhythm of the Spring Term, Year 3 have impressed us with their teamwork and effort in this first full week of lessons. The transition to new table and carpet seating spaces showcased their organisational skills as they collaborated with new talk partners.
In History, the children eagerly embraced our new topic, ""Ancient Greece."" They shared their existing knowledge, formulated intriguing questions, and explored our class library filled with ""Ancient Greece"" themed books. The exploration included sequencing key events on a timeline, testing their chronology skills.
Geography introduced our location comparison unit focusing on Greece and the United Kingdom. The children shared their knowledge, generated curious questions, and read fun facts, leading to interesting comparisons between these two contrasting locations.
Science class saw the children demonstrating a solid grasp of the ""Light and Dark"" topic, showcasing their understanding of natural and man-made light sources.
In English, the children thoroughly enjoyed exploring Roald Dahl's ""The BFG."" Analysing the first chapter, ""The Witching Hour,"" they discussed the elements that make a captivating story opening. The viewing of animated and movie versions inspired vivid descriptive skills which helped the children create their own word banks in preparation for writing their very own suspenseful narratives.
Looking ahead to next week, we have two exciting events coming up:
Forest School - Monday, January 22nd:
We will be heading to Holland Park for Forest School. Please ensure your child is dressed warmly, with an extra pair of wellingtons or boots so they can change out of wet or muddy footwear when they return to school. A healthy morning snack in a plastic or paper bag is advisable.
Houses of Parliament Visit - Friday, January 26th:
On this day, Year 3 will visit the Houses of Parliament, wearing their PE Kit as usual. It can be cold in these building so please ensure your child is wearing extra lairs. They should also bring a healthy morning snack in a plastic or paper bag. The day includes a workshop on democracy, refining debating skills, and understanding the legislative process. the children will return for lunch before departing for afternoon games.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Warm regards, Mr Ward
Year 4
Happy New Year! The Year 4s have made a super start to the new Spring Term. They have been busy this week familiarising themselves with the script of a musical play we will be performing in April. It will be performed to parents just after the Easter break, on Thursday 25th April, in the morning from 9.30am to 10.30am. We are excited to invite you, so please do keep this date marked in your diaries! The theme of the play has been specially chosen to link up with our Geography topic on rainforest habitats. The students have covered some aspects of this topic and will continue to do so this term. Work will culminate with a pop-up information book about the rainforest, and of course our show, The Emerald Crown. The play was written with the sponsorship of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and focuses on rainforest habitats. Importantly, it also highlights its damage and destruction by human activity, and the resulting consequences of that destruction for our planet’s climate.
In Science this week, we have begun our new topic on Electricity and Electrical Safety. The children were introduced to the topic by identifying objects around them that need electricity to work. We identified devices and appliances that use either mains-supplied electricity and those that are battery-operated. The students explored how electricity can be used to provide either light, heat, movement or sound. Next week, they will move around the school and identify electrical devices or appliances, and record how the electrical energy is used in these electrical items. Is it providing light, heat, movement or sound?
In English, the students have practised formal letter writing. They replied to a letter of complaint from a Mr.Jacobs. His experience with his family at Splashing Towers Water Park was most unsatisfactory. In the role of the leisure park manager, they had to address a number of separate complaints about long admission queues, rides which were closed and a ferris wheel that broke down with them at the top. Worse still, his son needed to visit the toilet!
Have a lovely weekend! Kind regards, Mr Robinson
From the Religious Studies department
Year 5 - Mr Hopwood
This term Year 5 will be exploring two topics in RS. The first is titled: Belief in our community.
This will look at faith and community groups, their shared and non-shared beliefs. How people can belong to an assortment of different groups from sports clubs to places of worship and schools, and how these paths cross over in our daily lives.
The second topic is about Buddhism. This is a religion studied in previous years and now looks deeper into who Buddha was, why he is important to Buddhists and their beliefs.
