Year 6 pupils have been practising their sewing skills, looking at different hand stitches. These skills will be transferred to the creation of their own clothing item.

This morning as part of our writing learning journey on balanced arguments, children participated in a debate about the positives and negatives of screen use. After the debate, children had to write a paragraph explaining their viewpoint while providing evidence and statistics.

All day the children have been designing and crafting their very own Ancient Egyptian money container.

By using their sewing techniques, the children have beautifully decorated the containers, incorporating ancient Egyptian symbols and patterns.

Their attention to detail is astounding!

Over the past two weeks, our talented students have embarked on an exciting journey to Ancient Egypt through the power of drama!

They’ve explored the mysteries of the ancient world through techniques like still images, transitions, thought tracking, and role-play – been Howard Carter, the remarkable archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, delved into the world of Egyptian mythology’s deities and goddesses and explored the wonders of the pyramids!

Our drama based approach has provided a unique and immersive way for children to engage with history, fostering a deep understanding of the past and allowing them to embrace their creativity and confidence.

National Storytelling Week takes place every year and is a celebration of the power of sharing stories. This year it is being celebrated between 27 January and 4 February 2024.

Sharing and making up stories with your child is a great way to help them relax, develop empathy, and learn about the world. It also boosts their vital literacy skills. Dream up new worlds inspired by the everyday objects around you. Maybe a favourite teddy has unbelievable adventures whilst you sleep, or a pair of old shoes gives you magical powers when you wear them! The possibilities are endless.

We will be marking National Storytelling Week by encouraging the children to tell  their own stories.  Their stories could be as simple as what they had for lunch; or more imaginative, for instance telling us what they would see if they were an astronaut.  Storytelling is a great skill to develop, allowing children to use their imaginations and develop their communication skills.

Click on this link to discover a range of activities for your families to enjoy: https://wordsforlife.org.uk/themes/celebrate-storytelling-week-at-home/

Year 4 stepped into the shoes of the heroic lightkeeper Grace Darling as they explored the world of electricity.

The children rolled up their sleeves and explored household items to find out which ones conduct electricity (conductors) and which ones don’t (insulators). It was like being a detective in search of the invisible powers of electricity!

They not only grasped the fundamental concepts of conductors and insulators but also developed their analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. It was a true spark of inspiration! ✨⚡️

Year 1 continue to compare seasons in science. Children went outside and used a thermometer to check the temperature. It was 8 degrees at 2pm. Now it is winter. Brrr!

Year 3 pupils made their very own stained glass cross to represent what they had learned about Good Friday

Year 5 pupils filmed short videos using close up, mid-range and long shot techniques to introduce some of our top rules for succeeding at Southwold or top tip for new children to Southwold.

Year 1 pupils have been learning new sewing skills. They showed great perseverance and resilience practising the running stitch and over stitch. We are so proud of the skills they displayed. Well done class 1!

Today, children continued their website development learning by designing their own webpage. Children had to decide on a topic as well as the features they wanted to use. We’re excited to see them created in a few weeks time!

Today in Computing Class 3 have been learning more about making animations. We drew, then photographed images to create our frames. We saw how making more frames of a single movement made the movement much smoother.

We have been learning 2 new types of stitch in design and technology today. We have done a running stitch and an over stitch. It was tricky but good fun! 🧵

Class 3 have had another fantastic afternoon of drama with Susan from Creative Collaboratives. The children have used freeze framing techniques to portray Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. They worked in pairs to shoe Isis, the goddess of healing and then transitioned into Ka who represented the spirit of a person. Brilliant participation by everyone. Mrs Reddings even got to be an Egyptian pharaoh!

Class 3 had another fabulous afternoon doing Forest School! We made animal footprints in clay, threaded twig necklaces and used a flint and steel to create sparks. In the classroom, Ms Turner-Jones taught us how to tie different knots. We finished the afternoon off with apples roasted on the campfire and coated in cinnamon sugar!

Our enthusiastic Progressive Mini Leaders, enjoy leading sporting activities with our pupils. They are keen to promote exercise, teamwork and well-being, through fun games.

Year 5 and 6 pupils are learning to play floor hockey. They are developing this skills in stick handling, passing and receiving passes.

Our pupils displayed a lot of skills and talent!

Children in EYFS and KS1 enjoyed a visit from Tootie Fruitie this afternoon. The children become brave explorers in a tropical musical rainforest and make their way through the huge trees and leaves to the lion family’s annual big boogie bash! Children were invited to find all the essential ingredients for a huge smoothie (the lions’ favourite drink!) and play their African djembe drums along the way.

Class 3 started their Creative Collaboratives sessions yesterday. We are very lucky to be working with Susan Gardner who is teaching us drama techniques through which we are exploring aspects of Ancient Egyptian life.

This afternoon Year 6 began their ‘Fast Fashion’ Design & Technology learning by examining their own clothing and which countries their clothing has come from. After that children carefully looked at their coats to identify special features and a range of sewing techniques.

Our Year 6 pupils continue to develop their instrumental skills. Our guitarists were learning to play a Blues riff, whilst our flautists are working towards their Grade 1.

What great musical talent they have!

Our pupil Reading Rangers have a passion for reading, which they want to share with others. Today they launched their ‘Lunchtime Book Club’.

Pupils from each year group will be invited to the school library each week. Our pupils do love to read 😊

Class 3 have loved their first Forest School session! We have climbed trees, done bark rubbings, sawn wood, hunted for bugs and birds amongst lots of other exciting activities. Mrs Reddings loved the worm measurer! We finished the session around the campfire eating smores and drinking hot chocolate. We can’t wait for next week!

Class 3 have had a wonderful hook day learning all about the Ancient Egyptians.

We used clay to make a cartouche and wrote our names in hieroglyphics. We have used repeating patterns to decorate a an Egyptian collar or ‘wesekh’. We decorated a death mask based on the most famous  death mask ever found, that of the boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

Key Stage 1 returned to school after the holidays to CCTV footage of Santa losing control of his sleigh in the storm and a polar bear walking across the playground as he fell off the sleigh –    there were polar bear footprints all over the classrooms!!!  Children have been busy making a large igloo in the classroom for the polar bear to sleep in overnight, making small igloos using a variety of materials including sugar cubes and finding out facts about polar bears.  The children’s task this week is to not only think of ways to keep the polar bear cool, but to write letters to Santa to tell him where his polar bear is and to come and collect him.  I wonder how long the polar bear will continue to live at our school???

Class 3 have started their Design and Technology project, ‘How do I use different sewing techniques and fastenings to create a money container?’

We learned about the famous Louis Vuitton and afterwards we learned 3 new sewing techniques.

Year 6 launched their history learning on Ancient Maya by examining a timeline. Children learnt about the four periods of Ancient Maya civilisation before seeing what was happening in Britain and worldwide at the same time!

Congratulations to our winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Attendance Winner. Our pupil has attended school everyday since the start of term. Well done and enjoy your special reward.

This morning children have been experimenting with our new micro:bits. These are tiny programmable computers that can be used to play music and make games among many other things!