Middle Department News 19 May 2023

Year 3

Wellyboot Camp 2023

What an amazing Wellyboot Camp we had last week! The children have been writing about their experiences and it is clear that this was a real adventure for them. I will quote from some of 3O and 3D’s work to explain what we did:

• Firstly, we heaved all of our stuff from the classroom to the pavilion on the front field. . 

• We had lots of fun playing the Roman Escape Room and our team of slaves did escape Rome first and got our independence and ended up with 55 coins! 

• We had doughnuts and then played some amazing games. My favourite games were ‘Splat’ and ‘Hit the Deck’ and I loved archery. 

• Then we had lunch. It was absolutely delicious! 

• Later we had to pitch our tents. I liked this because I liked the idea of being able to retreat into the tent when I wanted to. 

• I was very excited to pitch the tent and get all cosy. 

• I loved the survival game because I learnt some interesting facts and I loved trying to dodge the very annoying teacher water pistols. 

• Then we had dinner which was really tasty. There were hotdogs, burgers and fries and suddenly Bruce appeared and we gave him fun walks. 

• We had a campfire and in fire lighting Lila had a spark which didn’t work and after 100 times it lit. Yay! 

• I also really enjoyed toasting marshmallows and watching the flaming hot fire go out and have some chatting time with my friends. 

• Mr Darcy took us on a bat walk and I didn’t see any and my socks were wet. Before the bat walk I saw a rainbow which was so big! 

• I saw 7 bats and then we went into the secret passageways under the school.

• When it started raining we had to shelter inside the tents. This was quite scary as most of the tents were filled with sleeping bags. 

• I went to sleep and slept for a very long time. 

• My tent slept very well and they did not snore.

• When night fell we whispered in our tents and read a story

• Some people ate mealworms, they were disgusting!

• We did bat watching in the pouring rain, it was a real adventure

• One of our activities was archery, I became chief archer 
• The saddest part was leaving, it was a Jam packed 36 hour period that I will never forget 

I wonder if your children can find their quote? You can tell from these excerpts that the two days they spent outdoors were filled with activities and excellent opportunities to make new friends. It also gave them the chance to grow in confidence as they encountered new experiences and overcame their fears. We were incredibly proud of them all.  You can watch highlights from their camp out here

3P are busily preparing their assembly for next week. All parents are invited to attend, but it will be 3P performing. We would like to say an enormous thank you to all the staff who gave up their time to support us throughout the course of the two days and an especial thank you to those who gave up a good night’s sleep to help us create these memories for the Year 3s.    

We’re going on a Bug Hunt!

In Science this week we have been learning about the classification of animals.

We used Caroll Diagrams, Venn Diagrams and Decision Trees to help us sort in different ways. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and the beautiful woods to go on an invertebrate hunt (thank you to Micheal Rosen for his wonderful poem for our inspiration).

The woods were full of amazing creatures and the children and adults loved this activity. We worked in groups to gather, observe and sketch them and carefully replace them back into their environment. 

It is hard to believe that we only have one more week until the half term break and we have already packed in so much this term. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Home cricket matches on Thursday. 

Have a lovely weekend!

The Year 3 Team 

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Year 4

Forest School

Year 4 enjoyed their first Forest School sessions for the Summer Term.

They showed great skill when whittling a piece of wood to create a smooth spreader to use at home. The children also had to problem solve to create shelters using tarpaulin and rope, working out how to make a secure base. The third task was to collect two sticks, attach them together using pipe cleaners and then carefully weave wool under and over to make a colourful butterfly. Great fun and fantastic teamwork skills shown!

We hope you like our photos.

Viking Day Reminder

We are very much looking forward to our Viking Day on Friday 16th June, an email was sent out containing all the information, this can also be found on Google Classroom. We are looking forward to seeing all the children in their costumes ready to learn even more about the Vikings!

Have a great weekend!

The Year 4 Team

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Year 5

As I overheard one of the Year 5 children say this week in the corridor, “I can’t believe that we’re now coming towards the final half term of Year 5!”  

PSHE and Wellbeing

In the lead up to the forthcoming Year 5 exams, we are continuing to promote the importance of wellbeing with the pupils. In PSHE sessions this term, we have been focusing on how being physical active and leading a balanced lifestyle can impact so positively on our mental and physical wellbeing.   

We have been encouraging the Year 5 children to maintain a balanced lifestyle when it comes to revising. We have talked about the importance of being physical active, continuing with opportunities to maintain positive relationships, sleeping well and building resilience. We know that exercise encourages a positive mood and is a brilliant way to release stress, and we can certainly never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep! The ability to learn from mistakes and accept feedback, be persistent and not give up easily will also help maintain a positive wellbeing. This can help our children bounce back and move past mistakes and problems and develop a growth mindset.  

All of us in the Year 5 team hope that in the last week or so before the exams, the children can maintain this balanced lifestyle and use these exams as an opportunity to reflect on their learning and understand the motions of exam-taking and revising. Best of luck to all our Year 5 children for next week!   

Exams schedule for next week: 

Alongside preparing for the exams, we are still continuing with our topics and units of work across all curriculum subjects.  

In English, the focus has been on using the techniques of ‘DAFOREST’ to help write persuasive letters. Across the year group, sets have been writing to Mrs Cussons to persuade her to adopt two abandoned puppies and also why each class should have water coolers whilst others have written to the Head of Catering, Emily, to persuade her to use more organic ingredients in the cooking. 

5C even wrote Norfolk Country Council to persuade them to keep the funding going for Aylmerton Field Study Centre as they had threatened to stop it after a recent budget review. After much thought and some wonderful persuasive letters had been written, it soon became apparent that this was just a very, very, very late April Fool as the letter came from a very suspicious character called Mrs N.O.Treal!  

In Science, we have been continuing to have fun with electrical circuits a and then drawing them as electrical diagrams.

Hopefully you all received an email outlining final details for our residential trip which is drawing ever closer. If you did not, there is a copy in your child’s Google Classroom. If you have any questions, please do feel free to email me at ckneller@beechwoodpark.com. 

 

 

 

Norfolk Lakes Trip – Key Dates

Week beginning 22nd May – if you would like your child to have pocket money on the trip please could we ask you to bring this into school in a sealed envelope, named and with the amount enclosed. 

Week beginning 5th June – please send in any medication your child might need along with the ‘Administration of Medicine’ form is not already sent in. A copy of this form can be found in your child’s Google Classroom. 

Monday 12th June – we will be leaving school between 10:30 and 11am 

Friday 16th June – we are aiming to be back at school between 5pm and 5:30pm.  

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Message from Mrs Clarke

Please check your emails for a letter about the Senior Schools Information Evening on Tuesday at 7.00pm.

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From the Middle Department Library

The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton

The Stickleback Catchers is a story packed with empathy, heart and feeling. Mimi lives with her Gran who, being old, starts to develop dementia. Shortly thereafter, Mimi notices cracks developing in their house, but these are only visible to Mimi. It all feels very mysterious.  Mimi is determined to find answers and so sets out with her new friends Titch and Nusrat, the Stickleback Catchers. They regularly meet down by the river, and it is here that they find a stone speckled with stars.  It’s no ordinary stone, opening a doorway to another world with secrets, constellations and memories – more importantly it’s a chance to solve Gran’s mysteries.  

Well paced and with deep interesting characters, this book more than lives up to the expectations set by Auton’s debut ‘the Secret of Haven Point’

 

 

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Head’s Commendations

Congratulations to this week’s recipients of Mrs Cussans’ Commendations: