Welcome Autumn
Early years
What a great week we've had! We have been continuing to learn about Autumn and we have made some very interesting 3D model trees using toilet rolls, pipe cleaners and real leaves! This was a good opportunity to practise our fine motor skills by threading the pipe cleaners into the 'tree trunks’. We are continuing with our Personal, Social and Emotional Development work on Feelings and we are doing very well with expressing how we feel, taking turns in games and also sharing toys with each other.
We also enjoyed tracing in salt to help our fingers for pre-writing and letter direction.
Year 1 &2
We enjoyed starting swimming again this week! We’ve also been busy working on writing descriptions, making sure we use capital letters and full stops as well as adjectives. We practised our punctuation by writing cards to Nico, who now has his arm in a cast - hopefully he can come back to school next week! We hung up our bird feeders after finishing decorating them, we now need to observe closely to see if we can encourage any more birds to come to our garden (but we’re probably too noisy!). We’ve done number work with David this week, mainly looking at number patterns and place value to consolidate previous knowledge.
Year 3 & 4
This week students have been busy developing their maths skills, focusing on place value and partitioning of numbers. Literacy has focused on developing sound sentence structure with correct punctuation. We will be using aspects of the ‘Kung Fu Punctuation’ program to assist students to learn grammar in a engaging and dynamic way. Today, Friday sees us visiting the Egypt Museum and finding out more information about a fascinating and awe inspiring era of ancient history. Also in news, swimming lessons started up this week, and apart from a forgotten bag, everyone had a great time!
Secondary
It’s such a delight to teach the Secondary school pupils. They have taken onboard, even further, the team spirit.
They have learned to take responsibility for their actions, by admitting something which they had done. Rather than try to cover it up, or deny it. Some adults could better themselves by following this admirable example.
They have began preparing their projects, as one team with two missions. When you see the final presentation, you will be amazed by the research and uncovering of the truth. They have learned, this week, about how dangerous everyday practices can make bacteria flourish, which bacterias are lethal and how to prevent them flourishing in the home, at school and in everyday life.
They have also looked deeply at Space Science. The different parts that constitute our atmosphere and the effect of the sun reaching its solar minimum and how it is affecting the upper thermosphere. The cycles of gravity, temperature, winds and currents and their implications to the world as a whole reinforce the sense that we are not nations, but citizens of the world who must work together.
On Thursday we had a birthday of a special student, who supports and encourages all the pupils at the school. I brought in tiffin (made by my wife!), a mouth-watering combination of chocolate and biscuit laced with fruit, a delicacy from Scotland. The students and staff loved it.
On Friday we went to Montjuic Castle on a privately guided tour to see the history of the castle, visit workshops and see areas of the castle which are normally restricted to the public. The reality of Catalan history and the Civil War, was brought to life with vivid displays, lectures and being able to touch, feel and see the places, such as the dungeons and the execution yards, first hand. I myself was incredibly moved and shall return there soon, to study it in depth. The feeling that we all had, of the suffering that occurred there. Also, the maltreatment of hundreds of people shall never leave us. It is a wonderful place to visit with a family and is a must see for anyone who does not understand the tyranny, depression and removal of freedom of thought, that the Catalan nation suffered.
