There have been a number of inspirational events happening in school recently. I am extremely proud of the work that has been produced by children as well as the efforts of staff who have organised the activities. The children have thoroughly enjoyed all of the learning experiences and it was wonderful to be able to involve parents and the community in a number of the events too. Below is just a flavour of life at Littleport Community Primary School over the spring term.
Anglia Ruskin University Visit
Year 6 visited Anglia Ruskin University to learn more about life as a student. They had the opportunity to meet and question some current students to find out about the subjects you can study, how often you go to lectures and the careers university might lead to. Later in the day they had the opportunity to explore the university campus. It was really exciting to see the new forensic science block, the art gallery and theatre. However, the wide range of cafes and restaurants caused the most excitement! After lunch, they designed their own universities and then presented them in a real lecture theatre. They really impressed the staff with their creativity and confidence.
Alison Hoal (Phase Leader)
World Book Day
During World Book Day, the whole school focussed on a beautifully illustrated book, The Lost Words, by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris. Many words which are used to describe the natural environment have been left out of children’s dictionaries in recent years to make room for new words. The book is a collection of acrostic poems in the form of spells to bring back words such as bramble, conker, adder, etc. Across the school, the children wrote their own poetry and created their own art and music.
Esther McLeish (Phase Leader)
Early Years Foundation Stage
Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are learning so much and growing both in stature and in confidence all the time. They are currently being inspired by tales, old and new. Stories are opening the door to new worlds where they discover exciting characters, real and imaginary settings and the many ways that stories unfold and impress themselves upon our lives and bury themselves in our hearts. The children have chosen their own favourite stories to retell either orally, through writing, drawings or using technology.
The spring term has also seen the introduction of ‘The Bookworms Club’ which gives a weekly opportunity for parents and children to spend time reading in the school library. It is well attended and both the children and parents are enjoying the time spent together.
Our own ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ celebrated the story of Alice in Wonderland – the range of imaginative hats was truly amazing! The children enjoyed the story and games, but especially the tea, with sandwiches, cakes and blackcurrant tea served out of real teapots into real cups and saucers!
Anne Ovens (EYFS Leader)
PE
Over the year, children at Littleport Community Primary School have taken part in a variety of sporting activities, not only in their PE lessons but also in clubs run by staff and children. In the Autumn Term, Year 5 children were trained to become Playground Leaders. They have started leading a variety of activities for younger children in the school: Football, Netball, Gymnastics, Dance, Multi-Sports and Speed Stacking are to name just a few. The children have also taken part in some inter school competitions in Football, Cross Country, Tag-Rugby, Hockey, Orienteering and Netball. Next term they will take part in Tri-Golf, Rounders and a Get Active Festival. There has been a large number of children in Year 6 wanting to support PE in school that the Sports Ambassadors manage a variety of sporting jobs: Reporters, Club Leaders, Change 4 Life, Digital Competitions and Playground Leader Manager. Last week saw the celebration of School Sport in the Key Stage 2 Games Day. They travelled to LECA to take part in some competitive sports against other children in their classes. Some local clubs also got involved in promoting sport and the children enjoyed taking part in Korfball and Taekwondo. KS1 children have their Games Day to look forward to next week. School Games Values are very important in school and the children are awarded bands when they show specific sporting values – these include: Teamwork, Honesty, Self-Belief, Passion, Respect and Determination. Children nominate others in their class and all are very proud to be awarded them.
STEM Week
STEM week has become an annual event in centres of education across the country: a time to promote exploration of Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths among our young students. Here at LCPS we grabbed the opportunity to exalt this area of learning with the young people we work with. We created a bespoke timetable of learning and exploration to engage and enthuse, excite and energise: learning begins with curiosity; we wanted to inspire the children to ask questions about the world around them.
Each class had a mission: Year 5 and 6 had to design the most aerodynamic, best looking and longest flying aeroplane. Year 3 and 4 had to create a boat from recycled materials and test whose would float the longest. Reception, Year 1 and 2 all worked their hardest to create an animal from recycled materials. The children had to go through rigorous design and testing stages in order to see who would be victorious.
In Chemistry the children took part in a range of activities from creating lava lamps, testing the acid/alkali content of various household items and solving crimes using forensic techniques. All of the children in the school had the opportunity to explore permanent change by tie dying a t-shirt. It was amazing to see the results of their experiments on the Friday! Assembly was a sea of colour!
Physics, Maths Technology and Design all came together in the Construction Room where the children had to create a marble drop…long and fast for the middle school; slower the better for the upper. The younger children had the challenge of bridge building: whose would carry the heaviest truck?
Our Biology focus was the digestive system
From there the children moved to an exploration the contents of owl stomachs! Our intrepid investigators got stuck in identifying bones and discussing diets. They also got to meet some feathered friends in real life: a bird of prey flying overhead proved an experience not to be missed! The older students also heard about what it is like to be a real-life archeologist!
The children had a terrific week full of opportunities to explore, ask questions and discover more from the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The culmination of their effort was enjoyed by the great swell of parents and carers who came to the museum that was open on Friday after school: this gave the children a chance to show what they had done and to look at what other parts of the school were up to!
Research School
Our status as a Research School continues to benefit the children through the professional development opportunities presented to staff. There has been a drive to improve standards in writing across the school using the Education Endowment Foundation guidance reports and we will be working with Alex Quigley, author of Closing the Vocabulary Gap to enhance writing even further. For more information on the role of the Research School, please visit https://researchschool.org.uk/cambsandfens/
I look forward to the exciting and engaging learning opportunities that lie ahead for the summer term!