Next Stop Half Term…
Nursery Staying Healthy In The Great Outdoors
To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, our Nursery children have been encouraged to think about how being outside in the fresh air makes them feel. Having a superb natural outdoor environment provides a continuously evolving and changing space to explore; seasons come and go, the weather varies, and shadows, seed heads, puddles and ice can appear and disappear rapidly. The children love this unstructured environment where they can try new things, safely take risks, make mistakes, and make their own decisions… especially at Forest School. The positive impact of spending time outside on children’s mental health is well documented and we see the benefits of this each and every day. Exposure to outdoor green space, which the school has in abundance, results in a calmness in their play as well as lowering their heart rate and blood pressure. For the children, Forest school is a major motivating factor for physical activity. Climbing, rolling, running, bending, stretching and balancing are just a few examples of the exercise the natural ‘gym’ encourages; something we have again seen regularly in Nursery this week. Our children have this week played freely, kept healthy and learned about the natural world around them while out in the woods but, just as important, confirmed that Forest School is fun!
Kerry Chapman, Nursery Class Teacher
Reception Revel In The Wonders Of Wellbeing
Linked to Children’s Mental Health Week, Reception have focused on taking care of their well-being. This has offered a vital opportunity to talk about the importance of looking after ourselves and the people around us when life gets very busy. In class, the children have discussed some of the things that they do which make them feel happy and warm inside; with food fairly high up the list! We reminded each other how much we enjoy eating good food and, as a result, we decided to bake some lemon and raisin cookies. First, the children weighed out the ingredients which allowed them to practise the skills they had been learning in maths this week; the topic being ‘weight’. The children collaborated on dishing out different roles for the baking project; the children adding, sieving and mixing the various ingredients while diligently following the recipe. The teamwork paid handsome dividends as a batch of delicious treats came out of the oven and, as we ate them, we discussed how working together can be another great way to relax. As well as baking, another firm favourite in Reception is painting and crafting. And as we were pondering what makes us happy, we decided to get busy with arts and crats; to make a thank you card for a loved one to make them smile too. Using a template of a tree, the children carefully painted their fingers and dabbed it on the card to produce an array of colourful leaves. Inside, the children wrote messages of appreciation to accompany their handiwork. As a year group, Reception wanted to make sure that anytime someone was feeling sad, we all had the power to quickly make them smile. To that end, the thoughtful children created a happiness jar filled with positive drawings and messages for a friend in need. And the considerate children finished the week by joining their prep school friends for a relaxing wellbeing walk around our beautiful grounds. After such a calm and refreshing week, we hope that the children remember to take time out to relax and consider their own well-being during the half-term holidays.
Hannah Feery, Reception Class Teacher
Year 1 On A Symmetrical Mission In And Out Of The Classroom
Year 1 have looked at symmetry this week and learnt how a pattern needs to be the same on both sides. The children enjoyed painting patterns on one half of a piece of paper and opening it up to see the amazing pattern they made. To enhance their understanding of what they had learnt in the classroom, the children decided to look at symmetry more closely in the woods at Forest School; making symmetrical patterns out of natural things they could find, including leaves, sticks and chestnuts. Year 1 also had fun trying to find sticks the same length and shape. Continuing our outdoor theme, the children rounded off a brilliant week with a special wellbeing walk around our wonderful grounds. What made it extra special is that the Year 1 children were joined by the older prep school children, and the bond between the different age groups was incredibly heartwarming on a cool winter’s morning. All that remains now is to wish you all a fabulous half-term break!
Rachael Berry, Year 1 Class Teacher
Year 2 In Rude Health After Rugby And Wellbeing Walk
Year 2’s successful rugby competition at Churcher’s College on Monday gave any Six Nations match a real run for its money in terms of pure entertainment. Basking in welcome winter sunshine on a cloudless afternoon, our legion of supporters savoured this sensational sporting event. They enthusiastically applauded the children for their ball-handling skills, turn of pace, tenacity, competitiveness and sportsmanship. And there were excited whoops of joy as tries were scored by the visitors. Given that this was their first tag rugby tournament, it was unsurprising that there were a few wobbles as the children arrived in school, but a quick equipment check ensured that everyone was prepared for the occasion. Playing during Children’s Mental Health Week gave the children the perfect opportunity to express any concerns and share any worries – and fear of dropping the ball featured highly. But taking our lead from professional sportspeople, we concluded that people don’t berate their teammates when they make a mistake, instead they support, encourage and motivate, and that’s exactly what Year 2 did. The children were also reassured that the purpose of the tournament was for them to learn to play tag rugby in a fun, friendly environment. After a relaxing and mental health-boosting walk to Churcher’s Junior School, it was enlightening to see the fleet footwork and evasion skills that players exhibited as they ran with the ball and beat players with skill, pace and panache. Year 2 should be commended for their brilliant positivity, relentless running and teamwork. After their afternoon of sport, Year 2 wrapped up a great week with a wonderful wellbeing walk with the older prep school children; chatting, laughing and learning together as they explored our beautiful grounds.
Shirley Jervis, Year 2 Class Teacher
Safety First As Diligent Year Tackle Web Security
As part of Safer Internet Day, Year 3 eagerly took part in discussions around the theme ‘Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online’. Using scenario cards as a starting point for online safety, the children thought about how they used the internet. Knowing what to do, should certain situations arise, empowered them to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively, while keeping safe and thereby increasing their resourceful learning power. The use of digital technology has also been a feature in a number of topic talks where the children take turns to give a presentation to the class, based on our current topic. As well as acquiring some impressive PowerPoint skills, Year 3 have revelled in developing their oral presentational skills by focusing on speaking audibly and succinctly, while also learning to gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener. Undoubtedly a highlight of the week, the children listened avidly to one another and were always bursting to ask relevant questions at the end.
Henrietta Platt, Head of Year 3