Whole School

Woodmatters

 in Class One / Whole School by

Reception have enjoyed an incredible visit to the National Trust Footprint site today on St Catherine’s estate in Windermere. The day began exploring the woodland, finding leaves from different trees and collecting a range of different sized sticks. They found out about how to build a campfire safely, learning that fires need oxygen, fuel and heat. They used flints and steel to create their own sparks and mini fires before toasting apples dipped in sugar.

After lunch, they learnt about willow, used loppers to cut their own pieces which were whittled using peelers and added to the fire to create charcoal. Whilst the charcoal was on the fire, there was just enough time to learn how to use a saw safely to create their own keepsakes of the day.

I think everyone will sleep well tonight!

Challenge Climb!

 in PE / Sport / Whole School by

Class 3 have enjoyed the most amazing experience at Kendal Climbing Wall today, despite mixed feelings of nerves and excitement this morning!  Bouldering, Clip and Climb, Crazy Climb and SkyDive tested our resilience and determination to new limits but everyone overcame all fears and exceeded their own expectations.

For some, it was an introduction to a new sport whilst for others an opportunity to develop skills further with the support of our three amazing instructors: Ben, Jamie and Greg.

As well as climbing, we learnt how to trust one another; we developed our communication skills; and we encouraged everyone to do their best whilst celebrating our achievement.

Writing Instructions in Years 3 + 4

 in Class Three / English / Whole School by

Have you ever tried to follow the instructions for making a Lego model and faced all kinds of difficulties?

This week, Class 3 have been learning all about how to write clear, detailed and precise instructions so that the reader is able to follow the instructions and have a very successful outcome.  We have been talking though each stage of the process of making a jam sandwich so that the reader doesn’t make any mistakes like: butter both sides of the bread, or put a dollop of jam in the centre of each slice and not spread across the whole surface of the slice.

We have also talked about the key features of good instructions which has included using imperative verbs, adverbs and time or adverbial openers.  The instructions also need to be in chronological order.  Year 4 have extended their work to include modal verbs.  If you have any trouble understanding any of these terms – ask anyone in Class 3!

Here we are making our sandwiches – this is called ‘Talk for Writing’! it is where we rehearse our ideas with our talking partners so that we are ready to put our ideas onto paper.  Look out for our amazing written instructions coming very soon…..!

Super Sailing!

 in Whole School by

We did say Class 4 had a busy week last week, and the cherry on top was our fabulous sailing day on Lake Windermere! Pairs of students worked together to captain their boats across the lake, as well as completing some tricky challenges. Despite s rather feeble wind, everyone showed great skill and all stayed in their boats! At least, until we said they could jump in!

Massive thanks to the staff at Royal Windermere Yacht Club for a super day on the lake – your support and expertise was greatly appreciated!!

Giving thanks for our Queen

 in Church / Whole School by

We have been remembering our remarkable Queen in this national period of mourning during our assemblies this week.

What words would you use to describe our Queen?  We found there were many and so wide-ranging, including: fun, happy, kind, considerate, courageous, dutiful, constant, loyal, committed, determined, loving!

As we gave thanks for our Queen through our reflections, memories and prayers  in our assemblies, we have continued these discussions in our classrooms with our own special tributes and prayers.  These were shared by pupils from all over school at our final assembly of the week on Friday.

Community Art Project at the County Show

 in Art / Whole School by

This week, our collaborative art project based on the theme of community was celebrated in our display in the ‘Learning for Life’ tent at the Westmorland County Show’.

Huge thanks to the Michelle Jurd Trust for making this incredible opportunity possible for our all our pupils and to local artist, Sophie Martin, for helping us to develop our skills and experience art in the outdoors on such an exciting project.

 

Police Visit to Class 4

 in Class Four / History / SCARF / Whole School by

As Class 4 arrive at the end of their learning journey on Crime and Punishment this term we were all treated to a visit from the rural police.  James and Pete spent the morning in School describing what it is like to be a police officer in 21st century Britain; and this enabled our pupils to make some interesting comparisons with the first police known as the ‘Peelers’ or ‘Bobbies’ after Robert Peel.

The children had pre-prepared some interesting questions…….

Q: Have you ever been frightened?

Q: Do you think there are more crimes today than in the time of the Peelers?

Q:  Would you recommend a career as a police officer?

Q:  Do you have to always abide by the law?

Q:  Have you ever used your taser?

They explained and demonstrated the uses of their equipment and described the types of rural crimes or incidents that they might be called to.

A thoroughly interesting and informative morning.  Huge thanks to our visiting ‘Bobbies’ for talking to us this morning.  We learnt lots, but let’s hope it’s the first and last time any of us are put in handcuffs!!

 

Outdoor swimming in Lake Windermere

 in Class Four / PE / Whole School by

Fabulous day wild water swimming at Fellfoot for years 5 + 6 with Waterwise!

The day started with lessons about how to stay safe if you are swimming in any of our local lakes this summer.

There are lots of rules that are part of the code for outdoor swimming including: wearing a bright-coloured swim hat so that you can be easily spotted by boats, paddle boards etc; attaching a toe float as a buoyancy aid and another way of making you distinct whilst swimming; not going into the water to help someone else, but raising the alarm to attract attention and to get support; only swimming in the summer months when the water is not dangerously cold.

We were soon in the water putting some of this learning into practice and splashing around.  We had relay races to retrieve rubber ducks before getting on with some serious swimming and finally the opportunity to jump off the jetty for those brave enough!

Once we were dry and dressed, it was off for a lovely picnic in the grounds of the park and some fun exploring the playground and beautiful environment by the shores of Lake Windermere…

A visit from the vet

 in Class One / Science / Whole School by

Class One were very lucky to receive a visit from Jen the vet a couple of weeks ago. She came to tell us all about her job, the types of animals she cares for and why they might sometimes need to see a vet. We enjoyed looking at photographs of some of the animals she has treated and finding out about them. We also learnt how to care for guinea pigs, finding out what they need to have provided for them, what they like to eat and play with too. Our favourite part of her visit was getting to have a cuddle with Fudge and Brownie and feeding them strawberries and peppers!