Principal’s End of Year Update SHIRELAND TECHNOLOGY PRIMARY

Nursery: Theme - Let’s Explore

We have had an amazing time this term focusing on our “Let’s Explore” theme! We have talked about places we have visited and looked at photos sent from home. We explored and identified various types of clouds and how they are connected to different types of weather. Finally, we spent lots of time in our wonderful role play area being “explorers”, looking at different famous buildings and making our own replicas.

Reception: Theme - Ahoy all at sea

This half term we have enjoyed our E3L theme ‘Ahoy all at sea’. We have learnt about rockpools and how they are formed and how there are habitats for sea life like crabs and starfish. We have even explored the Mariana Trench, what creatures are beneath the sea and have enjoyed discussing about dangerous sea creatures and interesting facts. From a range of sea creature stories, we have had lots of discussions and learnt all about pollution and discovered ways to look after our oceans by recycling and reducing the use of plastic.

We also explored maps and created our own of our outside playground as well as maps of our journey to school. We have been using technology such as Google Maps to navigate our way to and from school and finding local places in Smethwick. We then extended our learning and made comparisons from our local area to different places such as the seaside.

Reception Dudley Zoo and Castle Trip

As part of our ‘Into the Wild’ theme in E3L, Reception visited Dudley Zoo and Castle. The children had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of animals, some of which are endangered species include Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, Bornean orang-utans, Tibetan red pandas, Rothschild giraffes, Madagascan lemurs and Humboldt penguins. All children in Reception were complimented by the Dudley Zoo staff how well behaved they were on the trip; they said they were some of the best-behaved children they had ever come and visit!!! We were very proud and all had a fantastic time.

Year One: Theme - Dinosaur Discovery

This half term Year One have really enjoyed our E3L theme ‘Dinosaur Discovery’. We have learnt about different dinosaurs and their diets, habitats and skeletons, as well as important palaeontologists such as Mary Anning. We have used this knowledge to become dinosaur experts and find clues in fossils and bones about how dinosaurs lived and the food they ate. Pupils have also developed their art skills and created different teeth, bones, and fossils using different clay modelling techniques!

All the children have also produced some wonderful writing linked to our E3L Theme! First, we created dinosaur fact files with lots of information about their chosen dinosaur. Later pupils wrote ‘thank you’ letters to West Midlands Safari Park, describing what we did on our school trip and how we felt during the day.

We are so proud of how hard the children have worked throughout this theme – they have shown so much enthusiasm and have thoroughly enjoyed their learning! I am sure we have a few future palaeontologists in Year One!

Year One West Midlands Safari Park Trip

Earlier this half term Year One set off on their second trip of the year to West Midlands Safari Park! All the children were on their best behaviour, and it was a delight to see the excitement on their faces! First, we revisited our earlier theme ‘Amazing Animals’ as we ventured though the drive-through safari! Here we saw giraffes, lions and rhinos among lots of other wild animals! Later we visited the amazing dinosaur exhibition where we could see our E3L learning come to life, before visiting the penguins and red panda.

It was a terrific trip, and all the children were fantastic representatives of Shireland Technology Primary School! Well done Year One!

Year Two: Theme - Shipwreck!

This half term in Year Two, we have thoroughly enjoyed our E3L theme – ‘Shipwreck.’ We worked hard to name and locate the seven continents and five oceans on a world map and used this knowledge to plan and describe routes around the world. We learnt about the lives of famous ocean explorers throughout history and compared the experiences of historical and modern-day explorers. We researched famous shipwrecks, designed and built models of survival shelters and learnt about how to contact the coastguard in case of an emergency at sea. We also learnt how erosion changes the shape of the coastline and could name a variety of physical features.

Year Two children particularly enjoyed learning a sea shanty - ‘Wellerman’ - and performing this in our musical showcase assembly! It has been joyful ‘plain sailing’ this half term and a pleasure to end the year so successfully with our Year Two ‘crew!’

Year Two Sealife Centre Trip

In the penultimate week of term, Year Two went to the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham. We had a terrific time learning all about different ocean habitats and observing the animals you might find there first hand. We also spoke about ocean food chains and learnt about the impact of global warming on our seas. The highlight of our visit was the ocean tunnel. Being surrounded by a selection of fish, sharks and sea turtles was an unforgettable experience! All pupils behaved exceptionally well and were a credit to our school. An enjoyable day was had by all!

Year Three: Theme - Catastrophe!

On 24th August 79AD Vesuvius began rumbling and soon, the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by a violent volcanic eruption without warning.

In the summer term of 2022, Year Three began to learn about the range of natural disasters, from volcanic eruptions to hurricanes to earthquakes.

We learnt about the layers of the Earth and how tectonic plates cause natural disasters through their movement and identified the fault lines between them where volcanoes form and earthquakes occur. Through research we identified the effects of natural disasters on people and physical geography of the areas nearby, before finding out more about measures to reduce their impact and organisations who can help when things go wrong. We’ve also loved seeing the amazing volcanic eruptions you’ve been creating at home and uploading to Flip!

Such an exciting theme to finish Year Three!

Singing Our Hearts Out in Year Three

Our Music Focus Day saw us exploring our voices and how they can be used as an instrument. Mrs Shaikh from SIPS Music supported us throughout the day, as we sang parts, sang in the round, explored different musical genres and performed together. We were able to add dances and actions to each of our songs too and practised singing at different pitches and following sheet music while singing. What a great way to round off a brilliant year of Song and Music for Year Three!