What a fun term it has been! We started it off concentrating on learning about animals but we also took some detours into our planting projects and transitioning into more outdoor learning activities.
Learning about the animal kingdom
We have noticed that the students have an interest for animals and so we created some learning activities that would address those interests. We took a trip through some of the world’s habitats and we learnt about the animals that live in them.
Our trip to Thoiry Zoo Safari
To complement some of our school learning about animals we decided to provide the children with the opportunity to see some of their favourite animals up close so, we visited the Thoiry Zoo Safari. We got to see many of the animals we have been talking about in class but we also got to see some new animals we had never heard about before. We started off walking around the park and we finished off the day driving through the safari. The highlights were: getting really close to the lionesses and finally getting to see our favourite classroom animal, the rhino.
Our planting project
We discussed about the way a plant grows and how fruits and vegetables are able to grow if we take good care of their seedlings and plants. We established what plants usually need to grow and thrive and we frequently checked on our plants to make sure they were healthy.
We used different methods to help germinate the seeds: One of our methods was to place the seeds directly in a pot of dirt, another method was to germinate the seeds in a wet cotton ball or towel and then plant the seeds in dirt after it had grown little roots. We have been observing both processes and next term we will determine what were the results of each methods used.
We learnt some more about composting as we visited the worms who are helping make some of the fertilizer at school. We also got to add our composting materials from home into our bog composting big.
We also learnt about how potatoes will grow in a bucket at school and we got to plant our own potatoes, which will will harvest later on in the year.
More outdoor learning in the Forest
As the weather improves we have been moving more of our learning to the forest. We have been observing nature changes as the spring gifts start to appear. We have been closely looking at all the trees budding and the ferns appearing from the ground. We have also noticed the sounds of the animals getting louder and the temperature rising.
We took advantage of a lovely sunny day to have a lesson that included reading the book “The Color Monster: A Story about Emotions” and discussing the different feelings we may experience. We complemented the discussion with Yoga and meditation, which explored the topics mentioned in the book and we talked about different breathing strategies that can help us when we are experiencing big emotions that may be at times overwhelming.
Easter
We had a lovely Easter celebration too! We made our own Easter baskets and then we got to use them to collect all of our chocolate eggs. The Easter bunny paid us a visit and we had so much fun seeing him and following him around; he took us to the garden so we could find all of the eggs he hid for us.
What is to come?
During Term 5, we will continue our learning about animals, the world’s habitats and we will also explore the life cycles of animals and plants. We will participate in the school egg project, which will give us an opportunity to see how germinated eggs will hatch and chicks will come out and grow. We will also be learning how to care for the eggs and chicks and about the importance of being kind to all living creatures.
We will also resume our swimming classes, which is very exciting!
Our Topic this term was all about ‘Recycling and Reusing!’ We learnt about how we can recycle materials and food waste, reuse unwanted things. We also focused on plants, seeds and growth. The children explored how things grow and how environments can differ from one place another. Walnut class became scientists and geographers in order to answer these questions.
Literacy
This term, the children have explored a range of different genres of writing. They have also developed their use of vocabulary through continuing to build upon their dictionary and thesaurus skills.
Fiction or Non-fiction?
Walnut class took to the library to investigate the vast range of books it has to offer. They were then set the task of orgainsing examples from each genre.
Once they had done this walnut class were challenged to find the different features used within an information text. They worked in pairs to find and discuss these features.
Editing and Improving
As part of a writers journey, the children learnt that it is important to review and change their writing to ensure that their ideas and thoughts have been expressed correctly. During this process, it is also important for the writer to share their work with others.
The children exchanged books and provided each other with feedback. Once the feedback session was complete they then used their peers notes to edit and improved their writing.
All the children were then given the opportunity to write up their pieces in a best final version.
Writing a letter
First, Walnut class learnt about the types of letters that are sent. From this, they looked closely at a range of different formal and informal letters. They discussed the features and made a table to support their future writing.
First, they wrote a draft and then they edited their work and wrote a final copy. Applying their knowledge and understanding of how to structure and write a letter they wrote letters to a chosen person detailing what they had learnt about compost.
Library Time
The children of Walnut and Birch Classes enjoy spending time in the library. They have had great fun this term exploring new books and reading to one another or to the whole group.
International Children’s Book Day
What great fun had celebrating the many different and equally wonderful characters from children’s literature. The children shared their favourite characters, with their peers, and discussed what they like about them.
Mathematics
During this term, in Maths, we have been learning about shapes and their properties. We learnt to identify and describe the properties of 2D shapes, including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line. We learnt to identify and to describe the properties of 3D shapes, including the number of edges, vertices and faces. Children compared and sorted common 2D and 3D shapes and everyday objects. We also learnt to identify 2D shapes on the surface of 3D shapes, for example, a circle on a cylinder and a triangle on a pyramid
We have also learnt about fractions. We introduced the children to one-third, three quarters and the equivalence of two-quarters with one-half. We explored these fractions and deepened our knowledge of halves and quarters with objects, shapes and quantities. We learnt to use fraction notation and discovered the role of the numerator and denominator. We learnt how to complete fraction sentences as we found fractions of quantities. We also discovered patterns as we investigated counting in fractions.
Science
This term, the children have been learning all about plants – germination, seed dispersal, pollination and the different parts of a plant as well as a flower.
Consolidating their learning the children were asked to make posters to teach others about the many different ways in which seeds are dispersed.
Re-new, Re-use, Recycle
We investigated all the different ways in which materials can be recycled and reused. Applying our knowledge, we began to orgainse bins around the school to help use become a more environment friendly place.
Science Presentations
The children worked in groups to construct interactive posters, leaflets and performances to show their knowledge and understanding of all things to do with plants and growing.
They were then asked to present their posters, leaflets and performances to one another.
Musical Fellows!
The children continued to develop their knowledge of tempo, beat and rhythm by applying their skills to compose their own pieces of music.
Topic
As part of our learning journey, this term, the children were set a half term challenge. They were asked to investigate measures taken to recycle and reuse.
They then learnt about all the different ways things can be recycled. The process which is taken and what happens as a result. Working as a group the class created a poster of different ways we can make a change.
The children then used their newly acquired knowledge and understanding to create a short video message.
The hope is that these video messages could be used in the future to support others learning about Recycling and the environment.
The children mapped, rehearsed and delivered their messages to ensure that it was clear.
Horse Visit
As part of our learning journey this term the children of Birch and Walnut classes paid a visit to Marianne’s horse. The children learnt about the important things needed to care for a large animal. Whilst we were there, the children worked as a team to collect manure so that we could use it as fertilister.
Amazing Artists!
This term, the children have explored many different mediums of art and applied this knowledge and understanding to their own art work.
Painting what we hear!
The children were asked to listen to different pieces of classical music. They were given three colours to use and were asked to paint what they hear. They used water colours to complete this task.
This allowed the children to express themselves in a different way. They enjoyed the experience and are excited to apply this way of painting to different genres of music.
Sections of the face
Walnut class, used their drawing skills to carefully draw the features of the human face. They learnt how to section the human face into four equal parts.
Spring has sprung
Inspired by the beautiful plants and flowers growing in the local area the children decided that they would like to copy them using water colours.
Ndebele Art
The children explored an art from that originates from South Africa. They learnt about the colours that are used as well as the use of straight lines to create amazing patterns.
Design and Technology
Wednesday Cooking Club
This term, we came together to explore a range of different recipes. The children worked in small mixed age groups to prepare lots of yummy things.
The children were able to apply their Mathematical and Literacy skills to successfully fulfil the instructions provided.
French Sessions
To ensure that every child develops their French language skills at their own pace, they are grouped into Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. This has allowed for children to have intense and focused language teaching.
Beginners
Vive le Printemps! This term we are all excited about spring and learning new vocabulary about gardening, growing fruits/vegetables/flowers and all about the different animals and insects we are beginning to see. We were particularly interested in learning about farm animals like the cow and all the products linked to cow’s milk. We learned about the different celebrations in March and April like La Saint Patrick & Pâques (Easter) and what people do to celebrate in different countries. We read books related to our topic and for each book studied the students very studiously worked on reading comprehension worksheets. The students also learned a new song (video hereunder).
les 4 saisons
what’s the météo (weather) today?
creating poster of the life of Saint Patrick
books we have read
Our song for the Printemps: Dans mon Verger
Intermediate
Back to school in March, together with our characters from the method ZigZag and some reading books, we spoke about sports they can practice at school or as a hobby. With the Gymnastic, we studied more in details the different parts of the body and some verbs of movement. They also enjoyed playing « Jacques a dit… » (“Simon says…”) as well as learning and miming the song « Vous savez faire du ski ?» (“Do you know how to ski”). It was also during this period that we learned how to locate things and people (how to say “next to”, “in front of” etc.) and started learning how to recognize the plural form in sentences. With the beginning of Springtime, they learned a song (see video) and expanded their vocabulary through exercises and did lovely cards for Easter. All activities allowed children to develop the four skills of the language (listening/speaking/reading/writing). In May, we will start the last school period by speaking about clothes and family.
Advanced
Durant cette quatrième période, nous avons approfondi les apprentissages de la langue française en grammaire et en orthographe.
Topic – French
This term our IPC French topic was linked to the whole school ‘Green Garden Project’ which we started in early spring. We read books related to growing plants/vegetables/fruits from seeds. We made posters and presented the topics to our friends while learning new vocabulary in French. We listened to different bird songs and how there are so many different sounds. We also learned two new songs all about spring and regrowth/revival.
books we have read
Ils ont appris la chanson “La vie c’est comme un jardin” des Enfantastiques:
Golden Time
Walnut and Birch class work extremely hard during the week and work towards having time were they can choose something to do. This can be something creative, active or just fun!
Sports
This term, we have learnt new gross motor skills and applied them to a range of different sporting activities. We have taken part in structured sessions as well as cycled in the forest.
Forest Exploration
We have explored, played, investigated and learnt new things during our time in the forest.
Cedar finished reading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and MrHyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The class held a debate on the character of Dr Jekyll, one side arguing that he is a sympathetic character and the other taking the opposing view. In pairs, they produced artwork depicting the book and presented projects based around the developments in art and science during the Victorian era, from psychology and criminology to the highly stylised manners and dress of the period, the literature and the appeal of the Gothic.
French (Intermediate Group with Christine)
During these last two months, Food and Television (stars and games) were our main topics. They gave them the opportunity to develop even more their oral expression which represented an important part of each lesson. Through these topics, they had to express their tastes, present a recipe of one typical meal of their country, present their favorite star, and present the job they would like to do later. Aside from this, we continued our Monday activity where each child has to speak about its weekend, answer and ask questions. All this developed oral interactions in French between them. Learning a poem and saying it in front of the others also had a part in this process of learning vocabulary and gaining confidence in speaking French in front of the others. Although the oral expression had an important part in this school period, children also had to work on grammar, verbs, the past tense, quantities, through written exercises to train them in building grammatically correct French sentences. In the last following months, we will work on the topics of Health and Jobs.
French (Advanced Group with Marie)
Cette quatrième période a été principalement consacrée à la mythologie grecque. En effet, les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français en articulant leurs apprentissages autour de cette thématique :
en grammaire: les natures et les fonctions des mots, les compléments de phrases (lieu, temps, manière)
en conjugaison: le futur simple et le plus que parfait (avec révision du passé composé)
en orthographe: le champ lexical, les familles de mots, les homophones grammaticaux, les mots invariables
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: la mythologie grecque avec lecture du livre l’Odyssée d’Homère puis différentes fiches de lecture.
2 dictées et 2 évaluations ont eu lieu pendant cette 4ème période.
French IMYC
We have had a very busy spring term full of different themes to explore. There were two very important topics that we discussed : Journée Internationale de la Femme on the 8/03 and Journée Internationale de la Francophonie on the 20/03. We had some very interesting discussions and debates around gender stereotypes; the pay gap between men & women in countries around the world and the students created posters around these issues. We found out some interesting facts about the French language and how many millions of people around the world speak it daily.
preparing posters
Cedar class joined up with Oaks and Elms for the last few classes of the term where they learned about different types of flour and how flour is milled. They tried grinding the grain using a traditional method (mortar & pestle) and then they used a grain mill and saw how much easier this method was. Three teams then made three types of ‘pain fait maison’ which the students got to eat on the last day of this term with their special lunch ‘fait maison’ too.
All three classes learned a new song celebrating spring: “La vie c’est comme un jardin” des Enfantastiques:
Geography
Cedar continued their study of Africa, presenting a country of their choice to the class. The class aimed to identlfy each country in the continent on a blank map, as well as to know the capital cities. Linking with the school Garden Project and the study of soil, the class looked at the issue of desertification around the world, its causes and what is being done to combat the problem. As a starting point, the class learnt about the devastation of the American Dustbowl in the 1930s and its causes, natural and man-made.
History
During this term the Cedar class began to look at the rise of dictatorships in Europe, focusing on Nazi Germany. The students looked at the Weimar Republic and at the ways in which Adolf Hitler managed to rise to the power in 1933. While focusing on this topic, the Cedar class continued to practice GCSE-style questions, working on paragraph structure and analytical writing.
While looking at the rise of Nazi regime in Germany, the Cedar class began to work on a project focusing on the experience of Jewish communities in France before and during World War Two. Within this project, the Cedar class had the opportunity of visiting the Jewish Museum of Paris, the neighbourhood of the Marais and the Shoah Memorial.
Art
During this term the Cedar class practiced drawing and painting to create the backdrops for their drama performance drawn on Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”. By looking at the different ways in which the play was brought on stage in the past, the Cedar students designed different backdrops aiming to recreate the sitting room of a 1950s manor house in the London area.
Creative Writing Workshop and ICT
This term the Cedar class worked on an integrated project that brought together creative writing workshops and ICT lessons. The Cedar students worked on the description of a setting, using pictures of natural landscapes as stimuli. By drawing on the chosen natural setting, the Cedar students developed a GCSE-style piece of narrative writing, developing a 500-700 words story that would include narrative conventions and would build a balanced plot.
During ICT lessons, each student transferred their own story into a storyboard, by using the programming language “Scratch”. While doing that, the Cedar students were able to recreate digitally the actions and the descriptions embedded in the story, working on the sounds, the images and the graphics needed to develop an animated storyboard.
Global Perspectives
During this term the Cedar class continued to work on the project “Europe in Schools” through which they will be able to put together a short documentary on migrations and to share it with a partner school in the Netherlands. The Cedar students looked at social research methods, learning how to create an interview questionnaire that could answer to their research question. As the class’s research is focusing on the experiences of foreigners settling in France, the students started to conduct interviews with staff members and parents to gather data about the topic under study.
The Cedar class – along with the Elm students – participated also in a webinar conducted by Adeline Barras, the project manager of the Belgian association “Hearth”. As this association aims to find solutions to local food waste, the students had the possibility of looking at the ways in which people in the food industry try to prevent food waste on a regular basis.
Science
Cedar class this term worked out about different concepts in physics , they learned about speed and the quantitative relationship between average speed, distance and time (speed = distance ÷ time), the representation of a journey on a distance-time graph and relative motion: trains and cars passing one another.
They learned about static electricity where they experienced the positive and negative charges when objects are rubbed together:transfer of electrons, forces between charged objects. As well as the idea of electric field, forces acting across the space between objects not in contact
Mathematics
During this term, Cedar Class practiced solving linear equations and then used gained knowledge while solving geometric problems where sides and angles were expressed algebraicly. Cedar students also dived into the quadratic equations and practiced using the quadratic formula while solving them. Linked to our Green Garden Project and D&T workshops we created and solved ratio, percentage increase and decrease, volume, area and perimeter gardening and farming problems
D and T
Planted runner beans,
In an old and cracked rainboots.
We are sure they will have some strong,
healthy roots.
Collected some stinging nettles,
And conjured our own plant food fertilizer.
No need to go to the Jardiland, parents.
We have a solution that is wiser.
Explorer Pythagoras,
Fibonacci and Newton,
Still plenty to go through,
Will start with Darwin’s evolution.
Found Mathematics present all around us in nature.
On the house of the snail or the beautiful sunflower.
Better start designing that
rain water collecting tower.
Compost box, windchime,
wormery and the birdfeeder.
Observed how seeds are growing
and my fingers get greener.
Trellis for the runner beans
and horse manure for potato.
Just wonder of Mona Lisa
knew about that Golden Ratio.
Green and brown for our compost box,
Apparently it is all about the balance of Nitrogen and Carbon,
Something important
like a pair of socks.
Types of soils
and different climates,
Greenhouse effect.
Ohhh no, I have cut my finger, not a big deal,
But I better wash it well and disinfect.
We are off on our holiday,
But plants shall continue to grow.
Automated watering system,
Will look after them,
And it should be quite easy,
Cos we planted those plants in a row.
Drama Workshop
During this term the Cedar class concluded their work on a scene drawn on Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”. After having edited the script, tailoring it to the characteristics of the audience and of the actors’ crew, the Cedar students worked on their own characters, studying them, and rehearsing their performances. At the end of the term, the Cedar students performed their scene in front of middle school students, adding backdrops, props, and costumes to their performance.
Elm class worked on an Elements of Drama unit this term, looking at how plays are written and presented and how playwrights direct their work through stage directions. The class read excerpts from plays and reflected on the purpose of instructions and what they added to the play’s meaning. We read the first Act of Our Day Out by Willy Russell, about a group of deprived children in Liverpool who go on a school trip to Wales. The class focused on the importance of tone of voice and how the manner of saying words can profoundly affect meaning.
The class were lucky to have a debating workshop run by class parent Annabelle Roberts (Oscar’s mother) who trains business people in the art public speaking. The class was split into two groups and debated the motion This House Believes that Zoos should be banned.
In the spirit of research, Elm enjoyed a bowl of Shreddies, the breakfast cereal eaten by young boy Ted, the main character in The London Eye Mystery.
French (Beginners Group with Joanna)
Learning a new language can definitely be more fun than one thinks. This term we worked a lot on what can be a rather daunting theme: telling time in French. We chose to make it more fun to learn by working in pairs and asking each other questions and also playing educational games to make the task less daunting. We also watched a report on the daily schedule of students in a French school and we were able to see the differences / comparisons with our school. The students learned and presented their Poésies de Printemps (filmed hereunder) and we also celebrated La Saint Patrick and learned how we celebrate Pâques (Easter) in France. The last day of term all three French classes got together to make their own ‘déjeuner fait maison’ including healthy starters, pizzas and cakes. We read instructions & recipes in French and had a déjeuner gastronomique all together.
French (Intermediate Group with Christine)
During these last two months, Food and Television (which included the other topics of stars and games) were our main topics. They gave them the opportunity to develop even more their oral expression which represented an important part of each lesson. Through these topics, they had to express their tastes, present a recipe of one typical meal of their country, present their favorite star, and present the job they would like to do later. Aside from this, we continued our Monday activity where each child has to speak about its weekend, answer and ask questions. All this developed oral interactions in French between them. Learning a poem and saying it in front of the others also had a part in this process of learning vocabulary and gaining confidence in speaking French in front of the others. Although the oral expression had an important part in this school period, children also had to work on grammar, verbs, the past tense, quantities, through written exercises to train them in building grammatically correct French sentences. In the last following months, we will work on the topics of Health and Jobs.
French (Advanced Group with Marie)
Cette quatrième période a été principalement consacrée à la mythologie grecque. En effet, les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français en articulant leurs apprentissages autour de cette thématique :
en grammaire: les natures et les fonctions des mots, les compléments de phrases (lieu, temps, manière)
en conjugaison: le futur simple et le plus que parfait (avec révision du passé composé)
en orthographe: le champ lexical, les familles de mots, les homophones grammaticaux, les mots invariables
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: la mythologie grecque avec lecture du livre l’Odyssée d’Homère puis différentes fiches de lecture.
2 dictées et 2 évaluations ont eu lieu pendant cette 4ème période.
French IPC
Cette période a été consacrée aux origines des céréales. En effet, les enfants ont étudié la manière dont elles ont évolué et voyagé au fil des ans.
Après avoir vu l’émission “C’est pas sorcier: du blé au pain”, les enfants ont répondu à un questionnaire puis ils ont produit leur propre farine à partir des grains de blé à l’aide de mortiers et de tamis:
Puis, ils ont fait leur propre pain:
Après avoir pétri la pâte, les enfants ont formé des “miches de pain”:
Et voilà le résultat:
Nous avons aussi abordé différents thèmes tels que la journée de la femme (8 mars) et la Saint Patrick.
Pour le dernier jour d’école, les enfants ont préparé leur repas (entrée salade de tomates concombres, plats pizza et desserts gâteau au chocolat et quatre quart aux pommes):
Geography
Geography this term focused on the world’s biomes and their characteristics. As part of the Garden Project the class also studied soil, what it is and why it is so crucially important to life on earth. The class experimented with soil from the school grounds, determining that it is predominantly clay with a proportion of sand. They conducted experiments to demonstrate the role of plants in soil preservation, showing how roots hold soil in place and prevent it being carried off by water or wind.
History
Over the course of this term the Elm class looked at the idea of “Renaissance prince”, exploring the life and the deeds of two important rulers like Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England. The Elm students began also to look more in depth at the reign of Henry VIII, exploring links of cause and consequence in relation to the Break with Rome. By working in different groups, the students carried out research on some of the most relevant advisors of Henry VIII: Thomas More, Thomas Cranmer, Thomas Wolsey, and Thomas Cromwell. At the end of the term, each group presented their own research to the rest of the class.
Art
During this term the Elm class looked at the abstract art of the painter Wassily Kandinsky. Students looked at colour theory, exploring how different colours could convey different emotions. By drawing on Kandinsky’s work, each Elm students worked on a grid composition of concentric shapes, creating different gradients of colours to paint the shapes that they created. As students work on a small canvas, they focused on the drawing of shapes and on the texture and effects created by different colours.
Creative Writing Workshop
During this term the Elm students worked on a story in which a garden should be the chosen setting. Each student created an animal character, working on descriptive language to look at the attitude and the physical appearance of their own character. The Elm students drafted, edited, and proofread their story, giving feedback to each other’s stories at the end of each session. At the end of the term, each student presented the story created to rest of class, explaining the rationale behind the description of setting and the creation of the main character.
Global Perspectives
During this term the Elm class explored the problems and the issues related to food production and food shortage. By drawing on national and global perspectives, students worked in different groups and carried out a different piece of research related to food production and food waste. Each group worked on a different topic – import and export of food, countries with high food shortage, gaps between production and consumption of food and ways to prevent food shortage – presenting their work at the end of the term.
The Elm class – along with the Cedar students – participated also in a webinar conducted by Adeline Barras, the project manager of the Belgian association “Hearth Project”. As this association aims to find solutions to local food waste, the students had the possibility of looking at the ways in which people in the food industry try to prevent food waste on a regular basis.
Science
Elm students get the opportunity to explore the forces as pushes or pulls, arising from the interaction between 2 objects, used force arrows in diagrams, adding forces in 1 dimension, balanced and unbalanced forces. they studied the forces associated with deforming objects; stretching and squashing – springs; with rubbing and friction between surfaces, with pushing things out of the way; resistance to motion of air and waters as well as forces measured in newtons, measurements of stretch or compression as force is changed.
They discovered non-contact forces: gravity forces acting at a distance on Earth and in space, forces between magnets, and forces due to static electricity and how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materials.
Elm experienced the effect of greenhouses gases on the global warming through many experiences and how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materials.
Mathematics
Elms worked on simplifying algebraic expressions, used simple formulae and wrote formulae from the problem to identify how they could be applied in real life. We worked on solving problems while substituting specific values into expressions and formulae and then probed further into algebra while finding solutions to some complex equations. Elms also worked on calculating the percentage of amounts and then solved percentage increase and decrease word problems.
D and T
Planted runner beans,
In an old and cracked rainboots.
We are sure they will have some strong,
healthy roots.
Collected some stinging nettles,
And conjured our own plant food fertilizer.
No need to go to the Jardiland, parents.
We have a solution that is wiser.
Explorer Pythagoras,
Fibonacci and Newton,
Still plenty to go through,
Will start with Darwin’s evolution.
Found Mathematics present all around us in nature.
On the house of the snail or the beautiful sunflower.
Better start designing that
rain water collecting tower.
Compost box, windchime,
wormery and the birdfeeder.
Observed how seeds are growing
and my fingers get greener.
Trellis for the runner beans
and horse manure for potato.
Just wonder of Mona Lisa
knew about that Golden Ratio.
Green and brown for our compost box,
Apparently it is all about the balance of Nitrogen and Carbon,
Something important
like a pair of socks.
Types of soils
and different climates,
Greenhouse effect.
Ohhh no, I have cut my finger, not a big deal,
But I better wash it well and disinfect.
We are off on our holiday,
But plants shall continue to grow.
Automated watering system,
Will look after them,
And it should be quite easy,
Cos we planted those plants in a row.
Team: Fantastic Four– Hydrator v2023
For Our Thomas Edison Pitch,
Our creative skills were put to the test.
We were just wondering what Nikola Tesla ,
Would have had to say about that.
Machine to make water out of thin air,
How crazy is that?
But Incas and Mayans were right,
About that.
Fog curtains & other contraptions,
Were used long time ago.
It is all about the condensation,
At least we think so.
Fish tank pump and some copper tubing,
A bit of duct tape and plenty of ice.
Run that water through the system,
And you will have some condensed water formed on the surface instead.
Gigantic solar panels
and ginormous Peltier Device,
Should solve the world water shortage ,
And it will be more than just nice.
We travelled to Egypt ,
On our pretend survival camping trip.
Didn’t bring water but learnt a lot and were creative,
And managed to condense some water instead.
Team: WOOFGANG–Animal food dispenser 2000
Where is my cat food???We are going away!!!
We’ve earn our holiday!!! Did you feed the dog?
What about the cat? Don’t know what has happened to me ,
But I just don’t remember that.
No need to worry, Your pets are in good hands.
Automatic pet food dispenser, Will surely take care of that.
A bit of SCRATCH and LEGO Mindstorm EV3.
Our software will scan their collar, And will carefully analyse.
And if your cat has a diabetes, It will get his or hers special type food,
So please don’t be surprised.
Drama Workshop
During this term the Elm students practiced script writing. By working in small groups, the students developed a script for a short scene, working on different scenarios and focusing on characters’ lines and stage directions. At the end of term, each group performed in front of the rest of the class, explaining their own rationale behind stage directions, movements on stage and the use of props and space.
Oak class have been celebrating the arrival of Spring in their Nature Journals. We have taken the time to stop and look at the growing world around us, the natural beauty we generally walk past without a second glance. We have been collecting quotations and proverbs about the season, as well as poetry.
We finished reading The Firework Maker’s Daughter, which besides being an entertaining story, led us to learn about the art of pyrotechnics and the beautiful islands of Indonesia and also tied in with our study of volcanoes in Geography.
As part of the school Garden Project, Oak class researched some of the common insects we find in our gardens and presented them, discovering that these often vilified creatures – such as slugs and beetles – have an important role to play in keeping soil fertile and flowers pollinated.
French (Beginners Group with Joanna)
Learning a new language can definitely be more fun than one thinks. This term we worked a lot on what can be a rather daunting theme: telling time in French. We chose to make it more fun to learn by working in pairs and asking each other questions and also playing educational games to make the task less daunting. We also watched a report on the daily schedule of students in a French school and we were able to see the differences / comparisons with our school. The students learned and presented their Poésies de Printemps (filmed hereunder) and we also celebrated La Saint Patrick and learned how we celebrate Pâques (Easter) in France. The last day of term all three French classes got together to make their own ‘déjeuner fait maison’ including healthy starters, pizzas and cakes. We read instructions & recipes in French and had a déjeuner gastronomique all together.
French (Intermediate Group with Christine)
Vega and Sophie went on working with their own learning supports such as books, texts with questions, grammar and writing exercices…. It allowed them to expand their vocabulary, master the structure of French sentences, understand, and apply the construction of the verbs, which help in speaking more fluently. That’s why one of them learned how to write and recognize the complex sounds, while the other trained to master one of the past tense, recognize the masculine form of adjectives from the feminine… Learning a poem contributes to expanding vocabulary and has it part in the oral expression. That’s why they learned the poem « Pique-nique » they say together as shown on the video. Aside to their own program, each Monday, they have the possibility to be part of the oral time of all the class, when each one speaks about his weekend and answers questions the others students may ask.
French ( Advanced group with Marie)
Cette quatrième période a été consacrée principalement à la mythologie grecque. En effet, les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français en articulant leurs apprentissages autour de cette thématique :
en grammaire: natures et fonctions des mots, les compléments de phrases (lieu, temps, manière)
en conjugaison: le futur simple et le plus que parfait (avec révision du passé composé)
en orthographe: le champ lexical, les familles de mots, les homophones grammaticaux, les mots invariables
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: la mythologie grecque avec le choix d’un livre de lecture (l’Odyssée d’Homère ou Ulysse et le Cyclope) puis différentes fiches de lecture, lectures silencieuses.
2 dictées et 2 évaluations ont eu lieu pendant cette 4ème période.
French IMYC
Cette période a été consacrée aux origines des céréales. En effet, les enfants ont étudié la manière dont elles ont évolué et voyagé au fil des ans.
Après avoir vu l’émission “C’est pas sorcier: du blé au pain”, les enfants ont répondu à un questionnaire puis ils ont produit leur propre farine à partir des grains de blé à l’aide de mortiers et de tamis:
Puis, ils ont fait leur propre pain:
Après avoir pétri la pâte, les enfants ont formé des “miches de pain”:
Et voilà le résultat:
Nous avons aussi abordé différents thèmes tels que la journée de la femme (8 mars) et la Saint Patrick.
Pour le dernier jour d’école, les enfants ont préparé leur repas (entrée salade de tomates concombres, plats pizza et desserts gâteau au chocolat et quatre quart aux pommes):
Ils ont appris la chanson “La vie c’est comme un jardin” des Enfantastiques:
Geography
In Geography, Oak class continued to learn about the natural phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes and the effects of these disturbances to the earth’s surface. They charted on a map some of the world’s most famous volcanoes, discovering them to be regular occurrences across continents. This term we also studied tsunamis, their causes and how they develop out at sea and present themselves on land.
History
During this term our Oaks had the opportunity to visit the Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre Museum, looking at many different artefacts created by the Egyptians, like jewellery, pots, and sarcophaguses! They had fun reading the hieroglyphs and acknowledging the precious materials with which the Egyptians artefacts have been made!
The Oak class also started to look at the beginning of Greek civilisation, looking at how Ancient Greeks settled in both the islands and the continental land. Our Oaks also began to look at the main events that characterised the Ancient Greek civilisation, discovering the importance of towns like Athens and Sparta. Oak students explored also the food eaten by Ancient Greeks, researching the products that they grew and the animals that they bred.
Art
Over the course of this term our Oaks worked on colour theory and explored the work of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Each student looked at the feeling and the emotions that different colours could represent, creating a small canvas with a grid composition of different concentric shapes. The students worked on the importance of shapes and experimented the creation of many and different colour gradients.
Creative Writing Workshop
Over the course of the term, the Oak students worked on a story set in a natural landscape. Each student worked on characterisation, creating their animal character, and working on the description of his emotional traits and physical appearance. After having chosen a picture of a natural landscape – mainly gardens and fields – in which their animal character could live, the Oak students developed their story, drafting, editing, and proofreading their work.
Global Perspectives
Over the course of this term the Oak class looked at different countries from around the world, researching their culture, their traditions, and their lifestyle. By looking at global and national perspectives, each student carried out research on a specific country, designing very creative posters to present the outcomes of their work.
Science
Oak students explored this term that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object . They identified the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction, that act between moving surface and recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect. They Also had the opportunity to look at a human food cell on the microscope and plant seeds.
Mathematics
During this term Oaks worked on solving different money and time word problems. We practiced adding up totals for our pretend shop and calculated given change. We matched time on the analogue and digital clocks and used the number lines to solve time problems. We dived into problems where the starting time, finishing time and the duration of our favourite TV shows had to be calculated. We also worked on multiplying and dividing whole and decimal number by 10, 100 and 100 and consolidated the written methods for addition and subtraction
D and T
Planted runner beans,
In an old and cracked rainboots.
We are sure they will have some strong,
healthy roots.
Collected some stinging nettles,
And conjured our own plant food fertilizer.
No need to go to the Jardiland, parents.
We have a solution that is wiser.
Explorer Pythagoras,
Fibonacci and Newton,
Still plenty to go through,
Will start with Darwin’s evolution.
Found Mathematics present all around us in nature.
On the house of the snail or the beautiful sunflower.
Better start designing that
rain water collecting tower.
Compost box, windchime,
wormery and the birdfeeder.
Observed how seeds are growing
and my fingers get greener.
Trellis for the runner beans
and horse manure for potato.
Just wonder of Mona Lisa
knew about that Golden Ratio.
Green and brown for our compost box,
Apparently it is all about the balance of Nitrogen and Carbon,
Something important
like a pair of socks.
Types of soils
and different climates,
Greenhouse effect.
Ohhh no, I have cut my finger, not a big deal,
But I better wash it well and disinfect.
We are off on our holiday,
But plants shall continue to grow.
Automated watering system,
Will look after them,
And it should be quite easy,
Cos we planted those plants in a row.
Drama Workshop
Over the course of this term our Oaks worked on drama scripts, learning how to write a collaborative script representing a short scene. By choosing between some different scenarios, students worked in small groups to write their own script, editing it while rehearsing for their performance. At the end of the term, each group performed in front of the class and explained how the script was developed from the chosen prompt.
This term our topic “Green fingers” refers to gardening or growing plants, and our ability to make plants flourish and thrive. So we worked on trying hard to get an affinity for working with plants and create beautiful gardens as well as indoor vegetation with ease.
We developed our understanding of soil composition and its effect on plant growth, knowing the correct amount and frequency of watering and feeding, pruning and shaping plants.
We worked on the process things take to grow from; planting, seeing the roots appearing and then plants and vegetables growing. We then proceeded to our own planting.
During these eight weeks we kept on talking about the environment and compost. Children were asked to bring some compostable items from home as we talked about matters (natural and non natural during the last term)
History
During this term, we talked about the very beginning of the Earth and the apparition of dinosaurs.
Children were taught that Dinosaurs were a group of reptiles that lived millions of years ago. They learnt that they were some of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, with some species weighing more than 100 tons. Dinosaurs were also incredibly diverse, ranging from small bird-like creatures to massive sauropods with long necks and tails. They lived all over the world and dominated the Earth’s ecosystems for millions of years until a mass extinction event wiped them out around 65 million years ago. Today, scientists study their fossilised remains to learn more about their anatomy, behavior, and evolution.
Science
During this term, we also worked on life cycles closely looking at bees, butterflies, plants and spiders from the very beginning.
We talked about photosynthesis, the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds, like sugars. This process involves the absorption of light by pigments such as chlorophyll, which facilitates the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen through a series of complex biochemical reactions. Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth as it produces oxygen, which is essential for respiration, and serves as the basis for most food webs.
As part of our project, we decided to build a scarecrow to keep birds and other animals away from our garden. The children used a saw with pieces of wood, old clothes and a marker to make him look like a human with arms and legs. Then children choose a site that provides a good view of the garden.
It has been an amazing experience.
Food Colouring Experiment During this term, we also conducted an experiment consisting of putting white flowers in food colouring in order to explain to children that water is absorbed by the plant (flower in this case) to its highest level. Our experience has shown that the flowers, initially with white petals, ,gradually after 3 days, become the coloured. Blue was predominant over red.
Practical life
Practical Life is a key component of the Montessori educational approach. It involves providing children with hands-on, real-life experiences that contribute to the development of physical, intellectual, and social skills.
During this term, we focused on skills related to self-care, such as, dressing and toileting. Care of the environment such as, cleaning and gardening and social skills such as, serving food and cooperating with others.
These activities help children develop their independence, coordination and fine motor skills. Along with concentration and a sense of responsibility. In repeating the same gestures children reinforce their self-confidence and acquire the necessary maturity related to their age and growth.
Sensorial life
Sensorial life refers to our ability to experience and interpret sensory stimuli from the world around us. We focused on using our senses. These senses include sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Our brain processes this sensory information and enables us to perceive, understand and respond to our environment. Sensorial life is crucial for our survival and helps us communicate, learn and connect with others. It is constantly evolving as we interact with the world, and can be enhanced or impaired by various factors such as genetics, environment and experience.
This was provided through a number of our activities related the them Green Fingers. By planting the seeds in the soil, the children developed their touching ability; the daily watering, keeping a log, is also part of the process and development of the sight.
Cooking allows the opportunity to develop our taste buds as well as our cooking and Math skills. We cooked chocolate and vanilla cakes during this term.
Crafts
Through creative activities, we have been able to develop our skills; cutting, sticking, bending as well as working creativity with different materials. Crafting used to make things for personal pleasure and it is also a way to express artistic abilities and create unique items.
During this term, children enjoyed crafting as they find it to be a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend time. They developed their imagination and created things daily, such as, amazing crafts related to insects such as bees, ladybirds and spiders.
Thanks to these activities, children have mostly improved their motor skills and are now able to develop their creativity by using the material they need for and comment this activity.
During this term, we also focused on improving how to use the different matters. This allows the children to be more creative they enjoyed creating insects, plants and diverse works of arts.
Numeracy
During this term, we have continued to work on understanding tens and units and practicing for the children to be more accumulated.
Children have also been strengthening their knowledge of addition and have continued to develop their counting skills by counting from one to hundred, two by two, five by five and ten by ten. The notion of substruction is now becoming more concrete and children have pursued their practice while counting.
We also worked on writing numbers and will continue on the next term.
Spelling/writing
This term we have continued to develop our knowledege and understanding of phonics. We have explored a range of new letters and sounds through actions, songs, story telling and games.
Jolly Phonics phase 4 introduces more new sounds, blends and letter combinations.
The sounds introduced in this phase are :
ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or /ai
Children will continue to use their knowledge of letter sounds to blend and segment words. They will also learn to read and spell tricky words such as “was”, “my”, “you”, etc.
In this phase 4, children learned to read and write longer words, sentences and stories. They have be encouraged to read with fluency and expression.
Children developed their ability to segment longer words, read and write sentences, practicing tricky words, and using the sounds they have learnt to read and write phonetically plausible words.
We are also focusing on the spoken language thanks to discussions during circle time, we talk about different subjects such as weekend activities, books we are reading in class, their interest in different subjects.
Book read this term :
How a seed grows
Supertato
Superworm
What the ladybird heard next
I don’t want to eat my dinner
The very busy spider
The Pout Pout Fish cleans up the ocean
FOREST/PE
During this term, forest activities included building, comparing, tool use, nature art, and wildlife observation. The approach is based on the philosophy that nature provides an ideal setting for children to learn and grow. The children benefit from the freedom to explore and create their own learning experiences in a safe and supportive environment.
Children intuitively explore the world around them and are more aware of how plants, insects, animals take birth, live and die, how they grow. Children also understood that some treasures were hidden in the soil such as seed, roots, insects they discovered that digging was the best way to learn about the local area.
The children also gained confidence in riding their bicycles and were capable of taking long trips.
Children have also worked on developing their ability of throwing and catching through a range of different PE activities and experienced some yoga in the forest.
Music
Music is a form of art that involves organised sounds and rhythms.
During this term, we practiced singing and playing instruments. This has been a way to express emotions, memories and moods through classical and children’s songs and yoga.
Special days
We have worked together with the Primary Section creating ‘Special days’.
In fact, we celebrated Easter by doing traditional activities such as dyeing and hunting Easter eggs , exchanging Easter baskets and preparing Easter activities.
International Forest Day
International Forest Day is observed on the 21st of March every year. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of trees and forests in sustaining life on earth. The day aims to highlight the significant roles of forests in providing environmental, socio-economic, and cultural benefits to people worldwide.
As a Forest school, we provided a full day in the forest, working, exploraing, understanding and offering recreational values to the children.
An International day has been organised at school with all the parents providing dishes from their own country and creating a very nice ambiance, linking the parents and families .
We celebrated this day with some costumes representing the different characters and offered the children more opportunities to know about the books they were representing.
Zoo
This term has ended with the visit of Thoiry. We have had a very nice walking through the zoo and discovering all these animals. It has been great fun:-)
French
Durant cette quatrième période de l’année, nous avons continué à lire 6 albums de jeunesse (en lien avec le printemps, Pâques…) :
De ces ouvrages, ont découlé différentes activités qui ont permis l’exploitation de ces histoires. Nous avons donné du sens à l’apprentissage, une façon plus ludique et une approche plus concrète.
A chaque début de semaine, vos enfants ont appris et chanté une nouvelle chanson (7 semaines = 7 chansons):
Le ciel est parcouru d’frissons, L’air du vent, Printemps, Le roi Jazz, Nous aimons vivre, Gentil coquelicot, Pirouette cacahuète.
Les objectifs de cette période ont été de :
– enrichir la langue française
– construire des phrases plus élaborées mais correctes
– s’exprimer en petit groupe
– tracer le bonhomme de chaque mois
– comprendre les histoires lues
– s’exercer au graphisme
– reconnaître et nommer des petits mots
– savoir dénombrer une collection
– connaître quelques notions spatiales
S’approprier le vocabulaire du printemps:
– faire des activités en lien avec les fêtes telles que la Saint Patrick, Pâques…
– cuisiner un quatre quart aux pommes
– mémoriser deux poésies (“En mars” et “Printemps)
– s’exprimer de manière artistique
– chanter collectivement une chanson
French IPC
Le thème de cette période était « Green fingers » à savoir en français “Avoir la main verte”. Nous avons principalement mis en lien nos activités avec la germination, le potager (fruits/légumes) et les fleurs. Au travers de 4 albums de lecture, nous avons étudié le cycle de vie d’une plante et la composition de la fleur et nous avons fait pousser des graines de lentilles.
Les enfants ont appris 3 chansons: Savez-vous planter les choux, La ronde des légumes et Fleurs des champs.
Ils ont chanté en forêt.
L’air du vent de PocahontasCoccinelle demoiselleAni couni en groupe
Forest Exploration
The time in the forest we utilized for all kinds of different activities. Sometimes we were deepening some numeracy skills by organizing a number line or collecting and counting a certain amount of nuts/sticks/leaves.
Often, we used the time to create beautiful nature art or build houses out of sticks.
And, of course, physical education was important for us! We went for bike trips, built , practiced our throwing skills, or went for a nice mushroom hunt.
Elm are currently reading The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd and have enjoyed trying to work out the whereabouts of Salim, the boy who went up on the London Eye and never came down. They have discussed the possibilities and written diary entries for the boy’s worried mother and for Salim himself, based on their theories for his disappearance. The book’s narrator is an autistic teenager called Ted who struggles with social interaction and whose attempts to decode language (he often takes idioms literally) as well as body language are both touching and humorous. The book lends itself to reflection and discussion about autism and a different way of seeing the world. The book has lots of cultural references for the class to explore, from the Tate Modern and Andy Warhol to Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the tower blocks that Ted’s father knocks down in his role as a demolition expert.
French
Beginners group with Joanna
We have been very busy this term in French class. The students have been learning new verbs such as avoir (to have) et étre (to be) au présent as well as learning about ‘les déterminants’ (determiners) those little words that are placed in front of the noun and that determine whether or not the noun is masculin/féminin ou pluriel (ex: le, la, les, un, une, des, mon, ma, mes, ce, cet, cette, ces). They have also learned a poem and presented it very successfully (videos hereunder). Since we are living in France ‘pays de la gastronomie’ we have also had the opportunity to celebrate La Galette des Rois & La Chandeleur by baking galettes and making crêpes with the two other French classes.
Intermediate group with Christine
From January to February we explored the world of collections and passions, with Antoine, one of the eight students featured in our study manual. As a reminder, in December we had spoken about the topic of houses with Manon. Through this new topic, we discovered the collections and passions of Antoine and then gave all the students the opportunity to give a presentation of their own collections or passions. By doing this, we learned that one of the students has a passion for shells, another for turtles, specific books, specific cats, dogs…
As each student gave their presentation, others were able to ask them questions about their passion (why, since when, how many…?)
In order to speak about their passions, they had to use some specific sentences such as « ma passion c’est… », « je suis passionné(e) de… », as well as specific adjectives (ce/cet/cette/ces). Those who asked questions also had to master questions « how many/combien de » etc.
In this lesson, we also had to master numbers up to 100 (orally and in writing) when speaking about prices or pocket money.
Alongside this topic, the class learnt a poem about Winter, and because of Epiphany in January and Pancake Day in February, we spent time reading and preparing two popular recipes « galette des rois » and « crêpes ». Cooking is appreciated by all the class and it was fun for us all to work together.
After the break, we will start a new lesson with Akiko who will speak about food, recipes, and healthy meals.
Advanced group with Marie
Cette troisième période a été bien chargée au niveau des apprentissages. Les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français.
en grammaire: les différentes propositions, voix active/ voix passive, les compléments de verbe (cod, coi)
en conjugaison: les temps du récit imparfait/passé simple, le passé composé, le participe passé/infinitif
en orthographe: le pluriel des noms et des adjectifs, le féminin des noms et des adjectifs, une dictée préparée
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture (Cheval de guerre de Michael Morpugo) puis fiches à rédiger en répondant aux différentes questions, étude du genre poétique et versification
en expression écrite: employer un verbe pour construire une phrase
2 évaluations ont lieu pendant cette 3ème période.
French IMYC with Marie
Durant ce terme, les élèves ont continué à étudier les explorateurs. Ils ont d’abord fait des recherches sur un des célèbres personnages (Zheng Hu, Christoph Colomb, Magellan, Vasco de Gama, Marco Polo, Jacques Cartier, Bartolome Dias), puis ils ont élaboré des affiches par groupe de 2 ou 3 enfants.
Ensuite, ils ont construit un des 3 objets utilisés par ces grands explorateurs
– le groupe des caravelles
– le groupe des globes
– le groupe des boussoles
Ils ont appris et chanté 2 chansons: Les petits souliers de Guy Béart et Aux Champs Elysées de Joe Dassin.
Geography
This term Elm learned to distinguish between physical and human geography. They learned that human geography involves trends and patterns in human population and the impact of human activity on the environment. They then learnt about land use and economic activity and trade links. As part of this, the class looked at the journeys that products, such as bananas and cocoa beans, take from farm to store, a multi-stage process more complex than they had imagined. This led to a discussion about Fairtrade and why this organisation had been set up. Working in pairs, the pupils chose a specific Fairtrade product and investigated the countries in which it is produced and the benefits (or not) to the people involved in the numerous stages of the growing, processing and transporting of these products to our shops.
History
The Elm class explored the changes and the great discoveries related to the Renaissance period. They looked at the amazing improvements that the Renaissance brought to Europe, looking at art, architecture and science. The Elm class analysed the extent of the change that occurred between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, looking also at how inventions like the printing press stimulated the circulation of new ideas in Europe. They also learnt about the developments in towns and court, getting familiar with figures of Renaissance princes like Francis I and Henry VIII.
Science
Elm students learned about material changes to help them remember information about acids and alkalis and how they work safely in the laboratory. We had the chance to create a universal indicator from red cabbage and test it on different solutions. Students learned about Litmus paper and pH scale to identify the acidity of different materials and planned a full investigation to neutralize alkali or an acid.
ICT
Elm class focused on the creation of websites for a chosen purpose. They identified what makes a good web page and used this information to design and evaluate their own website using Google Sites. Elm class started a simple program to build in and test within the new programming environment, before transferring it to their micro:bit. They used Scratch to create a ping pong game.
Mathematics
In Statistics:
This term, Elms constructed and interpreted various tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, stem and leaf diagrams and line graphs. We practised solving comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and line graphs. Elm students worked on solving different statistics problems where information had to be analysed in order to calculate the required average: range, mode, mean and median.
In Probability and ratio:
During this unit, we discovered vocabulary related to probability and know that Impossible, Unlikely, Even Chance, Likely and Certain relate to 0, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1, respectively. We then solved probability problems where we had to find all possible outcomes and calculate the probability of the desirable outcome. We then moved onto solving problems with ratio and now know how to simplify ratios and how to use ratio to compare quantities.
On the 2nd of February Elm and Cedar students participated in Les Concours Archimède. Les JEUX ÉNIGMES SOLIDAIRES pour collégiens francophones depuis 1989.
These puzzle games allowed children to highlight their knowledge, clearly express their mathematical thoughts and use their sense of observation.
37th International Mathematical Games
6 of our Elm and Cedar Mathematicians will participate in the 1/2 final of the 37th International Mathematical Games and on the 18th of March will proudly represent our school. Good luck with crunching those numbers and solving tricky logical problems.
Design and Technology
Elm students will proudly represent our school in the Thomas Edison Pitch Contest where they will present their prototype, explain how it works and what difference it will make. Most importantly, Elms will work in teams and will try their best to achieve their set goals collaboratively.
Helped out with the compost bin, And wormery contraption. Participated in “Thomas Edison competition”, And have acquired the DIY foundation.
Automated food dispenser for dogs Is under construction creation. And quite tricky system to create water Out of thin air is our ambition.
Measuring, thinking, designing and plotting . Think outside the box And nothing is blocking.
Will work hard on our projects, To make our future brighter. Do you know what was invented first, Matches or lighter?
Teamwork approach, And communication, We will pull it through even during our holiday, If we will find dedication.
Art
Over the course of this term, the Elm class explored the work of Pointillist painters, looking at the work of artists like Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. Each student focused on a different subject to portrait, creating different kinds of landscapes and using both their memories and their imagination to create them. By using paint, the students created their own Pointillist piece of art, working on the relationship between light and shades of colours.
Drama Workshops
Over the course of this term, our Elms practised improvisation and learnt how to incorporate body language, face expression and the use of voice in an improvised performance. Students worked in different groups, creating improvised scenes based on different stimuli, like a specific scenario or a group of objects. The Elm class also learnt how to give feedback when watching a performance, highlighting elements of appreciation, and providing suggestions.
Creative Writing Workshops
Over the course of this term, our Elms practised improvisation and learnt how to incorporate body language, face expression and the use of voice in an improvised performance. Students worked in different groups, creating improvised scenes based on different stimuli, like a specific scenario or a group of objects. The Elm class also learnt how to give feedback when watching a performance, highlighting elements of appreciation, and providing suggestions.
Global perspectives
The Elm class conducted research on different languages spoken around the world. They investigated the ways in which languages have been developed and linked to different cultures. They looked at very known languages – like German and Dutch – but also at languages spoken in smaller areas, like Maltese and Welsh. The outcome of their research was communicated through the creation of a short booklet that included all the most relevant information about the targeted language, including links to literature, movies and drama pieces produced in that language.
Cedar are currently reading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, their second Victorian novella following last term’s A Christmas Carol by Dickens. The class are building on their understanding of Victorian England, particularly London, which at the time of this story was the richest city on Earth, yet with some of the world’s poorest slums. Besides reading the book and interpreting the themes of duality in human nature as well as in society, the class are learning about the culture of the era with regard to science, religion, literature and art to gain an understanding of the world that Robert Louis Stevenson lived in and to put into context Victorian literature.
French
Intermediate group with Christine
From January to February we explored the world of collections and passions, with Antoine, one of the eight students featured in our study manual. As a reminder, in December we had spoken about the topic of houses with Manon. Through this new topic, we discovered the collections and passions of Antoine, and then each student had the opportunity to make a presentation of their own collections or passions. By doing this, we learned that one of the class has a passion for shells, another for turtles, specific books, specific cats, dogs…
While the students made their presentations, others were able to ask them questions about their passion (why, since when, how many…?)
In order to speak about their passions, they had to use some specific sentences such as « ma passion c’est… », « je suis passionné(e) de… », as well as specific adjectives (ce/cet/cette/ces). Those who asked questions also had to master questions « how many/combien de » etc.
In this lesson, we also had to master numbers up to 100 (orally and in writing) when speaking about prices or pocket money.
Alongside this topic, the class learnt a poem about Winter, and because of Epiphany in January and Pancake Day in February, we spent time reading and preparing two popular recipes « galette des rois » and « crêpes ». Cooking is appreciated by all the class and it was a nice opportunity for all of us to work together. After the break, we will start a new lesson with Akiko who will speak about food, recipes and healthy meals.
Advanced group with Marie
Cette troisième période a été bien chargée au niveau des apprentissages. Les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français.
en grammaire: les différentes propositions, voix active/voix passive, les compléments de verbe (cod, coi).
en conjugaison: les temps du récit imparfait/passé simple, le passé-composé, le participe passé/l’infinitif.
en orthographe: le pluriel des noms et des adjectifs, le féminin des noms et des adjectifs, une dictée préparée
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: étude du genre poétique et versification
en expression écrite: la phrase et sa ponctuation
2 évaluations ont lieu pendant cette 3ème période
French/English IMYC with Joanna
This term Cedar worked on a very important topic: the Student Council. They began the term by introducing the topic to Oak and Elm students showing their skills of public speaking, getting their points across, speaking in a clear & concise way to be understood by all. During these meetings the 0ak & Elm students voted for the person they wanted to represent their classes for the rest of the school year (Arwen for Elm and Chloé for Oak). In further meetings the aim was to brainstorm within each class (Cedar students being the activity leaders) on any suggestions students would want to present to the Head of School (they discussed various things such as the cantine, computers, field trips, equipment, craft workshops, fundraising etc). At the end of this term the Student Representatives held their very first & very successful Student Council meeting with the Head of School where all these subjects were discussed. The 3 classes also voted on a beautiful motto : Learning to Love and Loving to Learn and created a ‘Pass on the Positivity poster’.
Ils ont appris et chanté 2 chansons: Les petits souliers de Guy Béart et Aux Champs Elysées de Joe Dassin.
Geography
The focus this term was Africa and after testing our knowledge of the countries in this vast continent (by trying to identify them on a blank map), each member of the class selected a particular country to research. They looked at its geographichal location, weather and climate, population, physical and human features and, where applicable, tourism and its effects. They also researched historical facts about the country and changes in population, economy and migration over time. The class looked at the effects of climate change, desertification where relevant, rural to urban migration and the particular strengths and challenges facing their selected country.
History
Our Cedars have been engaged with the study of the struggles for civil rights conducted by African Americans in the USA between the 1950s and 1970s. The students looked at the life of famous African Americans, like Jesse Owens and Martin Luther King. They also explored how African Americans fought for their civil rights, looking at the different ways in which they protested over the course of twenty years. Alongside that, our Cedars practised analytical writing, getting more and more familiar with a paragraph structure used to answer GCSE style questions.
Science
Cedar students enjoyed learning about more chemistry concepts around the electron’s arrangement in shells; they learned about chemical and physical properties of group 1 and their reaction with water and metals. Cedar also explored the properties and trends of halogens and noble gases. Cedar students are now capable of naming metal-metal and metal-nonmetal compounds. They explored the different chemical bondings like covalent and ionic bonds.
ICT
In this unit, Elm students explored the concept of variables in programming through games in Scratch. First, learners find out what variables are and relate them to real-world examples of values that can be set and changed. Then they use variables to create a simulation of a scoreboard. They used the Modify-Create model in which learners experiment with variables in an existing project and then modify them before they create their own project.
Mathematics
In Statistics:
Cedar students constructed and interpreted various data tables, charts and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, line graphs, stem and leaf charts and scatter graphs (correlation). Cedar students can clearly distinguish between positive and negative correlation, identify if it is strong, moderate or weak and understand that all outliers are not taken into consideration while drawing the line of the best fit. We then dived deeper into the construction of pie charts and calculated desirable percentage and number of degrees for the specific group of data. We also solved probability problems where we had to find all possible outcomes and calculated the probability of the desirable outcome. We then moved onto solving problems with ratio and proportion and now know how to simplify ratios and how to use ratio to compare quantities.
On the 2nd of February Elm and Cedar students participated in Les Concours Archimède. Les JEUX ÉNIGMES SOLIDAIRES pour collégiens francophones depuis 1989.
These puzzle games allowed children to highlight their knowledge, clearly express their mathematical thoughts and use their sense of observation.
37th International Mathematical Games
6 of our Elm and Cedar Mathematicians will participate in the 1/2 final of the 37th International Mathematical Games and on the 18th of March will proudly represent our school. Good luck with crunching those numbers and solving tricky logical problems.
Design and Technology
So they say that I worked hard this term… I had better put my feet up then, I think I deserve it.
Mrs. Harrington would agree…
Art
Our Cedars looked at the life and work of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, looking at the links between art and music suggested by his paintings. Using Kandinsky’s art as inspiration, Cedar students explored the use of lines, shapes and colour to communicate different moods. Over the course of the term, each Cedar student chose an instrumental piece of music to be represented through abstract painting, using both water colours and paint.
Drama Workshops
During this term, the Cedar class began to work on Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”. The Cedar students started to read and perform the first act of the play, also doing significant work on tweaking and adjusting the play to the performance that they wanted to create. Our Cedars also worked on the study of their own characters, using the “hot seat” activity as a way to explore the background and the main characteristics of their own characters. The students designed their own questionnaire for the “hot seat” activity, reflecting on the best questions to explore the complexity of their characters.
Creative Writing Workshops
Over the course of this term, the Cedar class continued their creative writing workshops, looking at how to edit their own fictional texts. The students learnt how to make small or bigger changes to their own writing, making sure that their fictional piece of writing included the main elements of narrative conventions. By doing that, the Cedar students appreciated the complexity of the editing process, learning how to modify their text to convey a specific meaning.
Global perspectives
Over the course of this term, the Cedar class learnt how to create an academic poster to communicate the outcomes of their research. They focused on migrations – choosing case studies appropriate to answer their research questions. Working in two groups, the students designed their own posters, working on all the relevant sections, like the presentation of the research questions, the discussion of the methodology and the conclusions they developed from the results of their research.
This term’s lessons were built around the book The Firework Maker’s Daughter, which we will continue to read next term. The class have enjoyed meeting the characters in the book and discussing their personalities. The story led us to learn about fireworks, their history and the ingredients used to make modern day firework displays, not so different from when they were invented in China many centuries ago. The class learnt how different chemicals are used to give colour – copper, barium , strontium and sodium – and created their own firework recipes, giving step by step instructions, using the imperative form of verbs and relevant time conjunctions.
The class also learnt poetry this term, two poems by Christina Rossetti, ‘Who has Seen the Wind’ and ‘Hurt No Living Thing’ as well as ‘February’ by E N Bodecker. The class were able to recite these beautiful poems by heart and write them out, too.
Mount Merapi, Indonesia
French
Beginners group with Joanna
We have been very busy this term in French class. The students have been learning new verbs such as avoir (to have) et étre (to be) au présent as well as learning about ‘les déterminants’ (determiners), those little words that are placed in front of the noun and that determine whether or not the noun is masculin/féminin ou pluriel (ex: le, la, les, un, une, des, mon, ma, mes, ce, cet, cette, ces). They have also learned a poem and presented it very successfully (videos hereunder). Since we are living in France, ‘pays de la gastronomie’, we have also had the opportunity to celebrate La Galette des Rois & La Chandeleur by baking galettes and making crêpes with the two other French classes.
Intermediate group with Christine
These first two months of the year were much the same as the two previous ones in the organisation of lessons. Vega and Sophie take part in the calendar activity, the oral presentations of the older ones, and in the debrief of the weekend each Monday morning. After that, Vega and Sophie each have specific work according to their level. Each of them is developing their French reading and writing skills at their own pace. Two special events took place this term; in January, we prepared the traditional « galette des rois » for the feast of Epiphany, and in February we prepared « crêpes » for Pancake Day. The class really enjoyed this baking time, as well as spending time with the other students from all classes.
Advanced group with Marie
Cette troisième période a été bien chargée au niveau des apprentissages. Les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français:
en grammaire: phrase simple/phrase complexe, voix active/voix passive, les compléments de verbes (cod, coi)
en conjugaison: le passé simple, le passé composé, le participe passé/l’infinitif
en orthographe: les sons g/j, s/ss/c, k/q/c, le pluriel des noms et des adjectifs
en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées
en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture puis étude de différents passages du livre, le genre poétique et versification, lectures silencieuses
2 évaluations ont eu lieu pendant cette 3ème période.
French IMYC with Marie
Durant ce terme, les élèves ont continué à étudier les explorateurs. Ils ont d’abord fait des recherches sur un des célèbres personnages (Zheng Hu, Christophe Colomb, Magellan, Bartoleme Diaz, Jacques Cartier, Marco Polo, Vasco de Gama ) et puis ils ont élaboré des affiches par groupe de 2 ou 3 enfants.
Ensuite, ils ont construit un des 3 objets utilisés par ces grands explorateurs
– le groupe des caravelles
– le groupe des globes
– le groupe des boussoles
Ils ont appris et chanté 2 chansons: Les petits souliers de Guy Béart et Aux Champs Elysées de Joe Dassin
Geography
This term Oak learnt about the structure of the Earth and about volcanoes and earthquakes. The class learnt that the Earth has four main components: the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core and that each layer has a unique chemical composition and physical state and can have a dramatic effect on life on Earth’s surface. The class learnt about the theories of Continental Drift and plate tectonics as well as the Ring of Fire, a path along the Pacific Ocean characterised by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
History
During this term, our Oaks looked at life in ancient Egypt, exploring many different topics. They looked at the way in which ancient Egyptians settled around the Nile and built temples and pyramids. They also looked at the Egyptian religion, exploring the different gods and goddesses that were worshipped. They also worked on the Egyptian alphabet, learning how to write their own names with hieroglyphs.
Science
Oak class enjoyed learning about metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks and their properties. They had the opportunity to make an experiment about rocks’ permeability and test their hardness. They examined a set of rocks and named the most common, based on traits and criteria. They identified and displayed the rock cycle and classified rocks as natural and human made.
ICT
Oak students explored the concept of variables in programming through games in Scratch. They have to find out what variables are and relate them to real-world examples of values that can be set and changed. Then they use variables to create a simulation of a scoreboard. They created games and storyboards and applied their knowledge of variables and design to improve their games in Scratch.
Mathematics
Calculating, measuring and understanding shapes:
Oak students worked on measuring and drawing simple 2D shapes and then converting them into compound shapes. Students practised identifying the main properties of 3D shapes and looked for various 2D shapes present in them. Young Oaks then drew polygons and classified them by identifying their properties, including their line of symmetry. Students worked on visualising 3-D objects from 2-D drawings, made nets of common solids and measured their volume. To deepen our knowledge of 3D shapes, we experimented with cubes/pyramids and cones/cylinders and solved practical volume problems. We filled them with water and found out that the volume of a cone is 1/3 of the volume of a cylinder where the base and height is the same in both shapes.
In Statistics we solved comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and line graphs.
Design and Technology
As part of our collaborative project with Birch and Walnut Classes (and some Cedars came to help), we worked on designing our very own Compost Bin that we will be using next term. Linking our topics in Design & Technology and Mathematics, the children accurately measured the angles, calculated the distance between the planks of wood and used properties of 2D and 3D shapes on their designing journey. Oaks realised the importance of measuring angles and clearly saw that measurements have to be accurate in order for the different parts to fit together correctly.
So there we were, Cutting and drilling. Measuring, thinking Worked well as a team and were quite willing.
We will grow our own veg, That are very organic. Will get our hands dirty, But will wash them, don’t panic.
Compost bin creation, We have conjured together. Nothing could stop us, Even cold weather.
Greenhouse effect we have discussed in science. Picked up quite a lot of new things And self reliance.
Wormery we built, For our best friends worms. Amazing things they do, We hope everyone knows.
Raised beds, greenhouse And wormery construction. Enthusiasm was pumping, Like a volcanic eruption.
Still a long way to go But we will manage. Automated watering system, birdfeeders and scarecrow creature. Hey mum, do you know how to use a drill? Just look at this, I will teach ya.
Green Garden Project just started, But we are already delighted. If you would like to come and help, Don’t hesitate to come forward, you are invited.
Art
Over the course of this term, the Oak class looked at the Pointillist movement, exploring the work of painters like Georges Seurat and Georges Lemmen. Each Oak student focused on a different type of landscape – real or imaginary – and represented it through the use of Pointillism. Our Oaks mainly used paint and learnt how to create different gradients of colours, focusing on the way light may impact the choice of the colouring effects that they want to create.
Drama Workshops
During this term, our Oaks worked enthusiastically on improvisation, learning how to create short scenes based on different given scenarios. The Oak class learnt how to make use of different elements – voice, face expressions and body language – when improvising a short performance. Oak students continued to work in small groups, learning how to work with everyone in the class and creating a supportive and positive environment for performances.
Creative Writing Workshops
Over the course of this term, the Oak class looked at the editing process, learning how to modify the drafts of their stories and to develop the final version of their texts. The Oak students learnt how to modify their own texts, adding details or changing the way they have expressed a certain idea. The students enjoyed the writing and editing process and understood the importance of going back to their drafts before finalising them. By the end of the term, our Oaks had created their own book of fairy tales!
Global perspectives
Our Oaks researched about the prevention of food waste. The students have been very engaged, using personal and local perspectives when exploring the cause and consequences of food waste. While researching, the students made meaningful reflections, looking at the way food waste may happen and drawing interesting conclusions. The result of their research – that grouped very practical ways to prevent food waste at personal and local level – has been creatively presented in a very colourful poster.
We had a lot of fun this Term with our topic ‘Stories people tell’. We read many classic stories but we mainly focused on “The Hare and the Tortoise”, “Goldilocks and the three bears,” and “The gigantic turnip.” For Chinese New Year’s we explored Chinese stories that explain the festivities and the Chinese Zodiac and during Valentine’s day we read “Pete the Cat: Valentine’s day is cool.”
During this term we emphasized topics regarding environmentally friendly practices such as using our food and paper waste to make compost and we also discussed the process of planting and growing food, which we will continue through the remainder of the school year.
Making a compost bucket with the Maple, Birch and Walnut classes
We got together to introduce an important topic that will be a part of a big school project regarding composting and planting food. We made a compost bin using different materials that are leftover from our daily activities and snacks (e.g., paper, orange peels). We also made distinction between nitrogen and carbon and discussed how they go well together to make compost. We talked about what compost does for the earth and about being grateful for everything the planet gives us.
We identified the different materials that we dispose of on a daily basis and we discussed how they can be used to help the earth.
Nitrogen: We explored the different smells and textures of used materials like green tea leaves, coffee grains, orange peels, egg shells and , strawberry leftovers.
Carbon: We cut up our paper scraps and egg cartons into small pieces and mixed it with sawdust to help the nitrogen materials to decompose and to also help with the strong odours that come with rotting food scraps.
The Gigantic Turnip
During circle time we discussed more in depth about how the foods we have for snack will rot over time and we looked at some of our leftovers.
We complemented the composting lessons with this lovely story that is all about planting and farming vegetables.
We used different images and materials to learn about how we can plant seeds and roots to get food. We also use this as an opportunity to practice our math skills buy adding seeds then taking them away when we harvested them.
The Hare and the Tortoise
We had a lot of fun exploring this classic fable and understanding its message: “Slow and steady wins the race”. We also used the characters to learn more about biology and understanding the similarities and differences between a hare vs. rabbit and turtle vs. tortoise.
We also made hare and tortoise puppets, which gave us many opportunities to be creative when acting out the race and storyline.
We even took the hare vs. tortoise race out into the orchard and shared some fun times with our friends from the Maple class.
Chinese New Year
To celebrate Chinese New Year we cooked some traditional Chinese dishes with the Maple, Birch and, Walnut classes and we got to eat together with our older siblings and friends.
In the classroom we learned about the Chinese New year story, which taught us all about the Chinese zodiac animals and creatures. We also learned that 2023 is the year of the rabbit and we made our very own bunny ears using the traditional red and golden colours.
We played matching games, made lanterns, got our lucky money and our favourite, got to make our own dragon masks.
Goldilocks and the three bears
We used this version of the story because in the end Goldilocks helps the bears tidy up the mess she made in their house (instead of running away scared and never coming back to the forest, which is the original ending to this story).
We learned all about this fun story by using puppets, pictures, games and also by acting out the storyline with the Maple class.
We made some porridge together and we experimented with different spices and flavours. We used our sense of smell, taste, sight, and touch to really delve into our cooking experience. We made five badges of porridge: Turmeric, paprika, caramel, vanilla and cinnamon. It was interesting to have different preferences, some students liked the savoury porridge and others liked the sweet porridge. All and all we had a lot of fun making it and we learned even more!
We used the story of “Goldilocks and the three bears” to practice the sound ‘G.’ We also used our fine motor skills and sensory skills to place little paper balls and paper mache pieces on Goldilocks.
Valentine’s day
We made Valentine’s day cards for our friends, we had an epic “heart harvest” in the orchard and we learned so much about friendship. We had puppets shows in which the students were presented with different scenarios that can occur between friends when playing or interacting in the classroom. The puppets taught us to use our words and gave us tools to resolve conflict that may occur between friends and classmates.
We also made Vantine’s day cookies for our families and to enjoy amongst ourselves.
We are so excited for what is to come in term 4. We have noticed that the students are very interested in animals so our topic will be the animal kingdom!
