Body, Mind and Spirit
As we conclude another busy term, I am doing what all teachers do and reflecting on what has gone before, as well as planning for what will come next. We teachers are a curious breed. We know a little about a lot, we must adapt every hour of every day, we strive to inspire and we are our own worst critics.
Listening to Radio 4's Thought for the Day, last week, I heard the Anglican Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, speaking about teaching and it truly resonated. He explained how teachers do not simply teach but rather fulfil the expectation that children not only learn but are ‘nurtured mind, body and spirit’. I particularly recognised his description of teaching as ‘not about force feeding information into soon-to-be economically viable receptacles but opening up the world, curating character, shaping a world view and stimulating curiosity.’
I could not have expressed it better myself. We strive daily to inspire, engage, entertain and inform our children. We wish to light the fire of learning and harness their natural curiosity, allowing them to explore, investigate and discover the world for themselves. Our curriculum promotes inquiry. Through concepts we encourage children to make their own discoveries and to drive their own learning.
The educationalist Kath Murdoch uses the expression ‘curating curiosity’ and it is an expression that I love. Our children are the future. Our children have thoughts, ideas, imaginings and creative solutions that are at times both fascinating and profound. We, as teachers, are honoured to work with such open-minded, free thinking, curious, creative thinkers and problem solvers. By allowing our pupils the time and space to explore, investigate and challenge, we are indeed curating their curiosity; we are empowering them in their learning and we are encouraging them to bravely explore in all areas. In this unsettled world, what we all need is clear and curious heads, dedicated to solutions and packed full of resilience.
We are all privileged to be working with these young minds who will one day achieve their full potential unfettered by pre-programming and liberated by the opportunity to explore themselves and the world through our IB curriculum at St Leonards.
We wish you and all our inquirers a restful half term.
Claire Boissiere, on behalf of the PYP Leadership Team
Island of the Week
As we lead up to the beginning of Half Term, we celebrate a three-way tie, with Lewis, Mull and Skye all with equal Island Points! Well done to our Islands, who raised their flags together with pride.
Thinker Certificates
During Tuesday’s assembly, ‘Thinker’ certificates were awarded to those who have excelled in this Learner Profile Attribute. A big well done to Enzo M, Anya M, Poppy R and Abigail W in Year 1 who have been fantastic thinkers in class, using the number line and Numicon to solve maths problems up to 20.
Congratulations to David H-S and Patrick M in Year 2 who demonstrated the Learner Profile Attribute during their topic on Simple Machines.
Well done to Julia M, Isobel M, Hrian M and Bertie P in Year 3 who have all displayed the Learner Profile Attribute of ‘Thinker’ this term.
Congratulations to Year 4 pupils Raphi K and Albert Z for their exceptional work when problem solving in Maths.
Certificates were awarded to Priya M and Maryam A-S in Year 5 for thinking carefully during their Literacy and Numeracy lessons.
In Year 6, Rodrigo I-H and Maya Z-C were awarded Thinker certificates by thinking outside of the box when solving riddles and puzzles.
Well done to all our brilliant thinkers!
Years 1-3 Concert
It has been a wonderfully musical week this week with both our Years 1-3 and Years 4-6 Informal Concerts. Well done to our budding musicians in Years 1-3 who performed to an audience of peers, parents and staff members this morning. It was wonderful to see some of our students perform for the first time, overcoming their nerves and building confidence. A highlight of the event was the group performance, with all pupils rounding off the event by singing two songs in the Music School Auditorium. The students received Island Points for their fantastic effort!
For those unable to attend, please use the link below to watch back the recording of the Year 1-3 Informal Concert:
Years 4-6 Concert
The Years 4-6 Concert was a joy to watch as our young musicians performed in front of a busy audience in the Music School Auditorium. There was a wonderful array of instruments including the flute, guitar, clarinet and piano as well as beautiful singing from Bella H in Year 5 and Elena S in Year 6. A big thank you to the Music Department for organising this wonderful event and for their tuition and support for our pupils.
Please use the link below to watch back the recording of the Year 4-6 Informal Concert:
Year 1
French Greetings
A big well done to Year 1 this week, who have been learning about the various French greetings. The children designed their own French monsters and gave them all a suitable greeting!
1C
Fan-tastic Dragons
This week, 1C rounded off their Chinese New Year celebrations with the help of Ms McIntee. The children used great dexterity to fold paper into fans and make fan-tastic colourful dragons. A big thank you to Ms McIntee for all your help!
Nothing Beats Playing with Friends
Having time to play is so important in early years, building friendships, communicating and problem solving. Without knowing, these children are using the IB Learner Profiles;
Thinkers - when building with Duplo, how to fit pieces together or with shapes, making pictures.
Risk Taking - trying new things and not giving up when it doesn’t work out.
Inquiring - asking questions to each other.
Communicators - sharing ideas and listening to each other.
Reflective - finding ways to improve their constructions through communication.
Open-minded - respecting each other and their ideas.
Knowledgeable - making connections with the world around them.
1P
Double Digits
What a busy week 1P have had exploring the connection between counting in 2s and doubling numbers. The children have been learning to count in 2s and Victor had a eureka moment, realising that "counting in 2s is the same as doubles!". The students then started to explore doubles using materials, with some pupils even exploring past double 10.
The children also explored the concept of symmetry by creating butterflies with symmetrical wings. 1P then investigated to see what doubles they could find in their patterns!
Little Glow
As part of 1P's Unit of Inquiry they have been using a book called Little Glow which covers a variety of celebrations. At the end of the Lunar New Year, Little Glow brought the class a red envelope known as a hóngbāo as a gift for the beautiful letters the children wrote to explain the celebrations that take place over the Lunar New Year.
Chinese New Year
What a great time the children had last week having a Chinese New Year meal together. The pupils used their resilience to try and use chopsticks as well as the Learner Profile Attribute open-Minded to try new food. Well done 1P!
Year 2
Castle Drawbridges
As Year 2 come to the end of their exploration of Simple Machines, they have used their understanding of pulleys to design castles with moving drawbridges. As the children completed their castle, they began to collate them on an ever-growing map. Roads and rivers were drawn, connecting the buildings, while each castle's lands were demarcated by moats, gardens and walls. Playmobil and Lego models were introduced, and props and characters created from paper and junk modelling materials. The children collaborated in a very spontaneous, but organised manner to create a shared narrative. Child-led learning at its very best!
Year 2's Model Village:
Patrick's Drawbridge:
Archimedes Screw Pump
Year 2 have been learning about the Archimedes Screw Pump as part of their exploration into how people depend on simple machines to perform tasks more efficiently. Having watched the Archimedes Screw Pump in action at Cragside in Wensleydale, the children decided to create their own hydroelectric power, by making their own screw pump in the classroom from an old pringles container. The container acted as their cylinder, wrapping vinyl tubing round it and rotating the cylinder to scoop up water from one container to another. All of the pupils had a go at the rotation, using force to make the cylinder turn, seeing a screw pump in action!
Year 3
Playtime Fun
Our Year 3 pupils have been having lots of fun during playtime, with Kostas, Rory and Zachary making a cannon in the Colonnade! Aliya, Julia, Chloie and Isobel have also been using their imagination to create a wonderful house for some of their toys in the playground.
Solar System
A big thank you to Ms Neave for leading an art workshop on space and the solar system. Our children created a beautiful display of the planets in our solar system, categorising the order of planets and ensuring their colours made them distinguishable.
Verb Charades
Year 3 enjoyed some verb charades this week as they explored what we can 'do'. The activity became increasingly dramatic!
After this, the students explored the creation of some silly sentences, understanding how a verb is vital in any sentence.
Creation Stories
Using the key concept of perspective, Year 3 has inquired into how the Universe was made. They learned about various creation stories; Ancient Egyptian, Maori, Big Bang theory and the Hindu story. The children used stories and videos as their sources to answer questions like what happened and how did it happen? They came to the conclusion that they are left with more questions than when they started as this is such a huge topic. The students were open-minded in their approaches to the various points of view and showed great respect to what others might believe.
Year 4
Light and Shadow
The Year 4 children made the most of the winter sunshine by using their bodies to create interesting shadows to convey their understanding that opaque objects do not allow light to pass through them. The children have actively explored transparent, translucent and opaque objects in class and will continue to investigate how to manipulate light.
Great investigative skills - well done Year 4!
Gymnastics
During breaktime this week, some of our Year 4 pupils have been choreographing, practising and performing an amazing gymnastics routine!
Difference in Time
Year 4 have been expanding their understanding of time and the difference in seconds and milliseconds. The students took turns timing one another using stopwatches, recording the results and identifying the differences in times. Thank you to the sunshine for bringing their lesson outside!
Year 5
Something Beautiful
Year 5 have been thinking about what it means to be open-minded. They read a book called Something Beautiful where beautiful is defined as "something that when you have it, your heart is happy." The pupils all wrote down something that they find beautiful. They then shared with the class and considered their peer's ideas, appreciating that everyone has a different perspective.
Ad Vitam
During Ad Vitam this week the class played a board game called Getting On. The children had to answer questions to a range of scenarios, all centred around cooperation, empathy and solving problems. Everyone worked very well in their groups and gave their answers careful consideration.
Celebrations
A big well done to Thea this week who was awarded a medal for her core skills at her gymnastics club!
Congratulations to Bella who won a cup trophy at her swimming club for the most improved pace, over a 100m distance!
Year 6
Entrepreneurship
Year 6 have been learning about Entrepreneurship in their Unit of Inquiry. In groups, they have created a business, a product and a pitch which they presented to their fellow 'Dragons'. In order to look professional, they dressed in their business wear. Their classmates, 'the Dragons' chose which business to invest in. Well done Year 6!
Creative Thinking
Year 6C loved participating in a creative thinking task this week, whilst speaking about being open-minded. It was a short, simple task, which they enjoyed between their Writing and Reading rotations, with the pupils sharing what they had created with their peers at the end. You can see some of their work below.
Craft Club
In Craft Club, the children started to create their own paper animals using a variety of paper rolls, coloured paper, pipe cleaners, feathers, googly eyes and more! The children used their thinking skills to what materials they wanted to use and the steps they needed to take to create the animal of their choice. Thank you to the Year 12 pupils who came along to help!
Birthdays
Rory H-S and Olivia R, we hope you have a wonderful day!