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The Voice of st leonards

Endless Possibilities, Adventures and Wonder

Welcome back! The evenings may be a little darker but spirits could not be lighter after our refreshing break. Another busy half term filled with movies, parties, pantos, plays and plenty of learning awaits us.

With National Poetry Day coming up this Sunday we wanted to share this poem which we believe encompasses the spirit of the PYP curriculum. We are all always striving and we always shall. Striving leads to endless possibilities, adventures and wonder.

‘Do not ask you children to strive’ by William Martin

“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

Have a fantastic weekend!

The PYP Leadership Team

Back to School

It has been wonderful to welcome back pupils and families after the October Half Term holiday. There were lots of smiling faces on Monday morning and some spooky surprises in keeping with the Halloween celebrations.

Island of the Week

It was wonderful to head to the flagpole overlooked by Hepburn House, and raise the flag to celebrate the Island of the Week, Harris for their excellent effort before Half Term!

Year 1

1C

Bat Biscuits

The pupils in Year 1C had a spooktacular return to the second half of Autumn Term. Starting their first day back with a bang, the children got to work baking bat biscuits with Miss Barclay. Working together to mix the ingredients, form the dough and cut the bat shapes. The spooky biscuits were then placed carefully into the oven before being decorated with ghostly icing and sprinkles!

Munchkin Pumpkins

In the afternoon, the Halloween celebrations continued with the children decorating their own munchkins (mini-pumpkins)! There was lots of glitter, glue and smiling faces as the children got creative!

Remembrance Poppies

The pupils in 1C have been practising the ‘th’ sound alongside learning and preparing for remembrance week. The children created beautiful th-th-th-thumb print poppies in honour of members of the armed forces.

Guy Fawkes

The children have also been learning about Guy Fawkes and bonfire night this week, discovering the Gunpowder plot as well as Bonfire Night Safety. 1C had lots of fun painting with their hands to make flames for their bonfires!

Beach Buddies

The pupils have been enjoying being back with friends after the Half Term holiday, playing together on the exquisite East Sands Beach. The students had lots of fun digging in the sand and creating sand angels!

1P

First Week Back

Year 1P have had a fantastic first week of term and have been doing lots of wonderful learning. The children have been practising their phonics, learning to identify sounds, make words and read and write sentences. In Maths, they have been consolidating their addition skills and exploring measurement using non-standard units like blocks, pencils or scissors!

Year 2

Personalised Placemats

Wednesday brought great excitement to Year 2, as Mr Carstairs delivered personalised placemats to the children. Before the October holiday, each child prepared a slate by fixing backing to the underneath and oiling the surface, ready for etching. Mr Carstairs took their designs away and returned each placemat complete with an individual design etched onto the surface. The children were delighted with the results!

Year 3

Number Knowledge

Year 3 have been revising their number knowledge this week. Rolling the dice, they had to make the largest three digit number they could. They then used their knowledge on place value to partition their chosen number and compare their values with the rest of the class. The children then calculated which team had the largest sum, and ordered them from smallest to largest.

Hero Quality

The children have started to investigate their new Unit of Inquiry Heroes in the Transdisciplinary Theme of How we express ourselves. The pupils have been discussing the best qualities of a hero, writing their ideas in speech bubbles. A thought-provoking lesson, well done Year 3!

Year 4

IT Inquiry

The Year 4 children have been working on their IT skills by exploring the different uses of technology at home and at school during their ongoing inquiry. They did a super job of presenting their slideshows to the class!

Year 5

Beach Explorers

Year 5 have been getting stuck into their new Unit of Inquiry all about exploration. They travelled to the beach and became explorers, using their communication and thinking skills to complete a variety of challenges. Sledges were assembled and dragged along the beach on an 'expedition' and shelters were built. When an unexpected storm brought some very wet weather the explorers sheltered and amazingly they all stayed dry. They ended the day with marshmallows around a campfire. The teamwork and leadership skills throughout the day were a joy to witness and the pupils are looking forward to many more adventures within this new Unit!

Year 6

Greetings Galore

In preparation for International Day on Friday, Year 6 have been using their research skills to discover various greetings in different languages. Not only did the children learn the pronunciation to a variety of greetings but also learnt about the country the language was spoken in. Fantastic effort Year 6!

International Day

It has been wonderful to welcome a colourful array of national dress as we celebrate International Day today! The day is designed to celebrate different cultures and traditions, learning about where peers and families were born and raised. This morning was kicked-off with an International Assembly, decorating St Katharines Hall with a variety of flags from across the globe.

Food Bank Donations

Thank you to all who have been so generous with donations of food supplies for Storehouse St Andrews. The collection has now been delivered to the food bank. The volunteers there were especially grateful for the pet food that was collected as part of the Fun Run activities, and even had to open up their shed as there were too many donations for the main building! It has been wonderful to see the community come together in this community effort. All items donated by pupils and parents gave an Island point, keeping a tally as and when items were donated.

Birthdays

Albert Z, Meena D, Elena F and Dylan P-C. We hope you all have a wonderful day!