A New Way of Reading
Here at Stanmore School we understand the importance of reading for pleasure and want to encourage our children to read as much as possible. As well as exposure to high quality texts at school, we want our pupils to be able to access texts at home and also on their electronic devises.
Through the School Library Service, we are delighted to be able to introduce the new SORA app, your child’s own virtual library. With one-tap reading, fun reading achievements, quick access to assignments and tools to track reading progress your child can enjoy an array of texts on their phone, computers or tablets.
Children can access SORA using their google classroom log in details.
Using practical work to embed our understanding
Maple
Maple class have been incredibly engaged in Maths this week, utilising a range of resources to help their understanding of either Shape or Mass and Capacity. They've all worked tremendously well both independently and in groups. Not to forget the brilliant number formation practise in Year R and Year 1's wonderful presentation when recording in books!
Rowan
Exploring Erosion
This week in Geography we have been exploring erosion and how it affects the UK coastline. We completed an experiment where we investigated the effects of waves and rain on a cliffside that was unprotected, versus one that is protected by a coastal defence (a sea wall). We saw the effects in action as the unprotected cliffside collapsed after only a few waves. but the protected cliff survived for several minutes on onslaught by the waves and rain.
Birch
Birch Class have had an extremely busy week again! In maths, they have been learning to divide including remainders and used cocktail sticks to create 2d shapes to help with their understanding of this concept. We started off out new topic, Rocks, Relics and Rumbles by learning about the different layers of the earth and making our own labelled models. We think that they are great!
Sycamore
Sycamore used a marbling technique in RE to produce art work inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi. We also made healthy snacks. We made hummus with vegetable sticks and fruit kebabs.
Year 5
Y5 have continued their PHSE lesson in first aid by learning to place a casualty in the recovery position.
Year 6
This week Year 6 have been practicing their Inuit artwork carving skills on blocks of soap. They have been exploring how different tools can create different patterns and affect the precision of their lines!
Marmalade Sandwiches
Maple
After watching Paddington bear meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Maple class made marmalade sandwiches. They were delicious (although a little sour for some) and the children wrote instructions in case anyone else wanted to try. They also made new crowns for the King in case Paddington should pop in for tea again!
Rowan
Fantastic Freeze Frames!
Rowan class have been loving their new English text, Clem and the Crab over the last two weeks. We have been learning about protecting the environment and cleaning up litter that may affect the animals. We created freeze frames of scenes within the book so we could get into our characters shoes and understand their thoughts and feelings. We used our Confidence to perform our freeze frames in front of the entire class. Amazing as always!
Birch
Children in Birch Class enjoyed a chilly walk around the local area this afternoon as part of their geography topic. With a focus on land use, the children used a 'Stanmore Spotter' to find places on their route, which included a break at the outdoor gym at the Carroll Centre! They will be using this knowledge to create a display of the different ways in which land is used in Stanmore.
Sycamore
Sycamore Class have been studying 'King of the Cloud Forest' by Michael Morpurgo. We have enjoyed the first part of the story, but we left it on a cliffhanger, where Ashley has been found in the middle of the Himalayas by some strange, hairy creatures...! This has stimulated high quality descriptive writing and means that we can now create our own endings to the story.
Aspen
This week in Aspen, the children wrote a narrative using our current book "The Misadventures of Frederick" for their SOA. The focus was to use speech to advance the story.
Year 6
In year 6, the children have put their best feet forwards and have showed flair in their musical dance abilities, whilst planning and teaching sequences from famous musical theatre shows in PE.
In science, they have worked together to create and analyse series circuits using a range of different electrical components.
First week of Spring
Guinea Pigs
This week we welcomed a temporary new member to our school - Wilma. She has come in to keep Oreo company while Bubbles has treatment for a sore eye. She has been a delight to have at school and we hope to see her again soon.
Maple Class
It has been lovely to see the children after Christmas and to hear all about their time with family. Mrs Cooper has loved getting to know the children and is already very impressed with their manners and friendliness. This week the children have been exploring the story of the Gruffalo and they have worked hard on sequencing the story and writing key sentences using their phonics.
Birch
Birch Class have returned refreshed and eager to learn after the holidays. In Geography, they learnt about some European countries and made a poster about one, featuring key human and physical features, capital city, population and language. We have started a wonderful new book in English and on Thursday, used a 'Conscience Alley' to discuss if the Queen of Darkness should keep her child in the ice cavern.
Sycamore
Year 4 have been busy this week learning how to weave! The children showed all our keys to success to master this tricky skill.
Aspen
Year 5 were practising a primary survey in PHSE. They learnt to ensure the site was safe before helping a casualty and then using LIONEL ( location, incident, other services, number of people, extent of injuries and location repeated when calling for help). The children remained calm when handling an unresponsive casualty and used clear communication to explain.
Year 6
Year 6 have been learning about the effects, risks and legislation around different drugs in PHSE. The presented their findings to the rest of the class using clear communication and confidence.
Christmas week
Maple
Maple class have been really busy this week performing their nativity to the whole school and friends and family. They were excellent and we are all incredibly proud of them.
Rowan
Christingle Service in Rowan was calm and peaceful. The children were excellent at making their Christingles and sang beautifully.
Birch
Children in Birch Class loved participating in the Christingle Service on Thursday. They made their Christingle oranges beautifully, sat respectfully and joined in with the singing enthusiastically!
Sycamore
The children in Sycamore loved making their Christingles and also taking part in the Christchurch service.
Aspen
The children in Aspen have been making their Christingles and also exploring the phases of the moon.
Twas the week before Xmas....
Maple
This week in Maple class the children have been busy practising for their nativity. We also had a very cheeky elf come and visit us in school, and as well as searching for him everyday, the children have made wanted posters, written him letters and even wrapped him presents.
Rowan
Marvellous musical morning!
Rowan class had their Listen2Me ukulele concert on Thursday and did such an amazing job. They performed twelve songs to their adults and impressed everyone in the hall. They have been learning for eleven weeks now and have made such fantastic progress. I know that the audience was impressed by their performance. Thank you to everyone who came and watched and I can say that we are very proud of them.
Birch
Birch class practised their culinary skills this week by cooking ratatouille, Parmentier potatoes and a vegetable taco in DT.
The results were delicious!
Sycamore
Minstead Residential!
The children have all had an amazing time on their residential this week, despite the rain. They went on a long, wet walk and even saw some New Forest Ponies. The children have loved taking part in the activities such as den building and it has been wonderful to see the team work and enthusiasm of everyone there.
Aspen
This week, we have been learning how to locate specific features on a map.
With a range of Ordnance survey maps, we learnt how to read and locate a six-figure grid reference, identify human and physical features and explain how the contour lines look different across a locations. We even began to look at main roads, and how varying transport links connected us to the local area.
Year 6
Year 6 have had a busy week completing their culinary DT projects by making bread and pasta sauce. They also presented the culmination of their work on Frozen Kingdoms to the children of Maple Class.
The beginning of Christmas.
Christmas Fair
A huge thank you to everyone who supported the school at our Christmas fair this week, The FOS did an amazing job at transforming the school and Mrs Jones made a very fetching elf. It was wonderful to see so many faces, old and new and the children’s painted faces looked really festive. Well done to everyone involved.
Maple
The children in Maple have been braving the cold and enjoying our fantastic outdoor learning. We have used positional language such as under, over, above and have also created masterpieces with mud painting and den building. The children have been able to be creative in a safe environment and extend their vocabulary and problem solving skills.
Rowan
We adapt and survive! This week Rowan class have been exploring animal adaptations in science. We explored what camouflage is and how some animals use it to survive in the wild. We investigated our local environment and researched what colours and textures were in our woodland. We then went back to class and created two moths each. One camouflaged, that would ideally remain hidden from the predators, and one bright and colourful, that would draw predators attention. We then hid these moths in the woodland and unleased some Year 3 moths predators to try and find as many as they could! They only managed to find 31/56, so our camouflage must have worked!
Birch
Children in Birch Class performed beautifully at the Beyond the Beat Concert on Thursday afternoon. They showed off their skills on the violin and cello, including plucking and using the bow. In addition, they were a respectful audience to the rest of the performers in the concert. Well done, everyone!
Sycamore
Sycamore class have been learning about the ear and how we hear. We conducted an experiment to muffle sounds (make them quieter). The thicker the material to cover the sound, the quieter it became.
Aspen
Aspen class had an incredible school trip this week! We visited the Winchester Science Centre to learn about all things space. On our visit, we had plenty of time to explore both floors, which were full of hands on exhibitions. We even had the chance to wear an astronaut suit.
As part of the trip, we had a session in the classroom where we looked at how the James Webb telescope works and tested why it was covered in gold with the use of an infra-red lamp.
In the afternoon, we headed for the planetarium where we immersed ourselves in an out of this world show! We looked at all of the constellations in our night sky and had a close up view of the eight planets in our solar system.
Year 6
In year 6, the children have taken to the headlines, whilst taking on the persona of a newspaper journalist writing superb articles for the paper, based on their rich English text-Pig Heart Boy. They then analysed their report and from that developed ideas further in the form of a balanced argument, in preparation for writing a letter to the Prime Minister, as their main learning outcome.
Year 5 and 6 Musicians
Year 5 and 6 were fantastic this week and showed how far our musicians have come since they started. All the practise at home and school was evident for all to see and hear. Well done.
House competition
The House Captains challenged the pupils to design Heron, Buzzard, Kingfisher and Lark emblems for each house. The entries were of a very high standard. Well done to Georgina, Tiana Rose , Jamil and Dexter for drawing the winning designs.
Hard at work at Stanmore Primary School
Maple
Maple class have had a busy week exploring the four countries in the United Kingdom. The children labelled maps using a key, created their own flags and even painted the four national flowers. In RE the children have been learning about Harvest festival and have drawn their favourite meals and thanked the farmers.
Rowan
Rowan class practised their sketching skills by drawing a still life composition of a selection of fruit. They used hatching and cross hatching to shade their still life drawings.
Birch
Birch Class have been learning about the validity of historical evidence and the true facts or assumptions that we can gather from it. We used these skills to discuss evidence about the Amesbury Archer, a Bronze Age man, recorded the facts and explained our views on what we might assume about him.
Sycamore
Sycamore class have been studying Angels in RE. They acted out the annunciation and performed to the rest of the class. They have also been looking at using speech marks accurately so that they can include speech when they create their own Viking Saga.
Aspen
This week, to finish off our inspirational writing journey, we wrote a biography based on one of the four ladies who made up Hidden Figures.
With the use of fronted adverbials, cohesive facts and a range of technical ( tier 3) words, we were able to portray these remarkable women brilliantly.
Year 6
Y6 learnt all about how a virus can spread through a population and the impact of vaccination in stopping the spread of disease through an immunisation game in PHSE.
Exploring our world through our curriculum
Maple
This week we have been exploring the world through our topic - It's a wonderful world. They used positional language in Forest School re-enacting the bear hunt and used words such as over, under, behind, in front of and next to. They also explored what the equator was and how countries that were closer to the equator where hotter than those far away.
Rowan
Rowan class made pinch pots in art. They handled the clay with great care and used a variety of tools to pattern the pots.
Rowan class have also been practicing their ukulele skills for the past few weeks. Every Thursday the Hampshire music service provide the children with some expert tuition. They have been thriving on this opportunity. Their teacher taught them a technique today where they had to switch chords during the song. She said that she rarely does this with year 2 classes this early in the year, so we were both amazed at their skill! They are practicing for the Listen 2 Me concert on the 7th December at 9.15 in the hall. If you can make it, please come along, and support them and enjoy an amazing performance.
Birch
In PE this week, children in Birch Class have been using their gymnastic skills to create a short routine including mirroring. They have been working hard to ensure that they show extended hands and pointed toes too!
Sycamore
Year 4 have been looking at the skills that you need to solve problems in maths as well as all of the jottings and visual representations that you might need in order to help you to solve a problem.
Aspen
In art, Aspen class are learning how Taoties were created during the Shang Dynasty. First, we explored the process of bronze casting, and how that has developed throughout time. To practise casting, we have been using a different method each week, so we can reflect on the processes, difficulties and successes. Last week, we used silicone moulds with a skin-safe casting plaster called Alginate.
This week, we used clay to create our own moulds. With plastic animals, Lego and 2d shapes, we pressed images into the clay and poured the Alginate into the clay. Once they are dry, we are going to carefully remove them from the clay and paint them.
Year 6
In year 6, the children have been measuring their heart rates using different techniques in science, which led to their key investigation ‘Do children with lower resting heart rates, have faster 100m sprint times?’ The children enjoyed ‘running’ their experiment and drew scatter graphs and made conclusions from their results.
Our amazing school choir
This week our fantastic choir sang at Winchester Cathedral in honour of the latest graduates. They sounded beautiful and were an absolute credit to the school.
