World Book Day

​

Today we enjoyed World Book Day with the children, who were all dressed up in great costumes. We wrote book reviews, had a special guided reading session and showed off our costumes in assembly. Congratulations to Olivia, who won the best costume book prize in Year 6.

The Mighty Mayans

​

This week we started to learn about the Ancient Mayan civilisation who lived in Central America from around 1000BC to about 900AD. The children did some research and produced a short information text on what they've found out so far. An example one can be seen below.

Elizabethan Naughty Cake

​

Continuing our lessons on making Tudor food, this week we began making Elizabethan Naughty Cake. This cake was similar to the flapjacks that we eat today and is made from mixed fruit, cherries, butter, oats and honey. We had great fun making them and everyone seemed to enjoy the finished product!

Getting Mean!

​

During our Working Together morning, children and adults got into groups to work out the mean (average) height of the people in her group. We used a tape measure to measure each person's height and then added and divided to find the mean. We also practised converting the measurements we took from centimetres to metres and millimetres.

Tudor Cooking

​

As part of our Tudor topic, we are learning about some of the food Tudors ate and having a go at making some ourselves. This week, half of us went to the kitchen area to make Tudor Knots. These are made from a dough, tied into knots and then covered with honey and poppy seeds. Everyone seemed to really enjoy them and next week the other half of the class will get to make theirs.

Christmas Party

​

This week we enjoyed a range of unconventional Christmas games and races in the hall. Mayhem and chaos ensued as you can see in the photos below!

The Digestive System

​

In our science lessons we have been learning about the digestive system. We modelled the way food passes through our body using food made from bread, oats and chocolate brownies, recreating the enzymes with food colouring. Children learned a lot by exploring the digestive system in this practical way.

Crucial Crew

​

We recently visited Hertfordshire Regional College to take part in the annual Crucial Crew event that is held there. This event is designed in conjunction with local firefighters, police officers and paramedics to teach children key messages that will allow them to make good choices to stay safe in all aspects of their life. There were around eight activities this year, each focusing on a different safety scenarios. Children all enjoyed their afternoon and learned many important lessons.

eSafety Assembly

​

This week, we were lucky enough to have representatives from Google who visited our school to do a special e-Safety assembly for us. This covered lots of different aspects of how to stay safe and use the internet responsibly. The messages were presented in a clear and entertaining way and everyone was able to get involved with their special green and red hands that were given out as they entered the hall. Everyone had a great time and learnt a lot from these important messages. Maybe you could have a chat with your child about what they learned.

Chexs Assembly

​

This week, the children had a special assembly with visitors from CHEXS, a charity that helps support families in the local community and provides extended opportunities in schools with a range of interesting activities. The children were engaged in discussions around aspirations, expectations and achievement. CHEXS shared other local children's stories of perseverance to encourage pupils to follow their dreams, even if this means stepping outside their comfort zone and pushing themselves to get there.

Grafham - Tuesday

​

So we arrive at our final Grafham website post, as we will be heading home tomorrow. Today both groups have been motor boating, steering around a slalom course and learning about orienteering on the water. In addition, Mr Cox's group have done crate stacking and Jacob's Ladder, whilst Mrs Kanuni's group tackled archery and the climbing wall. It's been another great day and we are all looking forward to dinner and a movie night. Tomorrow we have one last activity before lunch and our return to school. Assuming the children are able to fit their belongings back into their bags and cases, we aim to be back at school around 4:00pm, traffic permitting. School will keep parents notified of our arrival time once we are on the road. 

Grafham - Monday

​

Although the weather hasn't been quite as good today, it has not dampened our spirits. There have been lots of water based activities today, with Mrs Kanuni's group doing canoeing and kayaking and both groups doing stand up paddle boarding. Mr Cox's group have also done archery and scaled the climbing wall. It's been another great day, with children trying out activities they've never done before and learning new skills, whilst testing the limits of their capabilities. Everyone has been sleeping really well, so although we're all getting slightly exhausted, a good night's rest leaves us ready to face whatever the new day brings. We will soon be going for dinner before our last activity of the day, which you will be able to catch up on in tomorrow's post. 

Grafham - Sunday

​

Today has been another action packed day. Mr Cox's group has spent most of the day on the water, doing funboat sailing this morning and canoeing and kayaking this afternoon. Mrs Kanuni's group cycled 10 miles around the Grafham lake this morning, taking in the amazing views and spectacular sights on the way. There are a few tired legs and aching bottoms after that one, but everyone felt a great sense of achievement when they completed the ride. This afternoon, Mrs Kanuni's group did high ropes and this evening all the children did low ropes as a group. We have been well fed again, with a fantastic cooked breakfast, a range of rolls and home-made soup for lunch and a roast dinner this evening. Check out some of the photos from today's activities below.

Grafham - Saturday

​

We have all arrived safely at Grafham and had a huge amount of fun on our first day. The food has been amazing, the staff have been brilliant and the children have had a wonderful time. Even though we only arrived at lunchtime, we have already done play-boating, high ropes, power kiting and football rounders. We've had two lovely meals together and finished before bed with a hot chocolate. In the morning we're looking forward to more action-packed excitement, but for now, have a look at some of the photos from today's activities below.