Michaelmas Term in the Junior Department

An A-Z Poem of the Michaelmas Term in the Junior Department

Assemblies daily in the Junior Hall, Birthday parties for one and all, Christmas productions did enthral.

Donating goods – food-banks to fill, Everyone here is learning a new skill, Fireworks night – what a thrill!

Girls and boys playing – friendship sounds, Hello Yellow – sunshine all around, Illnesses this term abound!

Junior children are sublime, Keeping going – they always shine, Learning, laughing all the time.

Maths mastery – digging deep, Number bonds in our minds we keep Odd Socks because we are all unique.

Power Pets help us find our way, Queen’s funeral, a sad day, Reception settled well – hooray!

Stories read at three fifteen, Trees planted on Orchard Green, Umbrellas were often seen.

Values reinforced all the while, Windsor Castle enjoyed in style, Xmas jumpers made us smile.

Year 1 enjoyed their trip. Now off to the holidays we all skip

It has been another very busy term in the Junior Department. Reception pupils have settled into “big school” life brilliantly, Year 1 have adapted to their new more structured approach, and Year 2 pupils are taking on new responsibilities and flourishing in their roles as the oldest children in the Department. Learning has continued apace, both in the classroom and beyond, and Year 1 and 2 have also managed to get out and about on school trips to Wardown House and Windsor Castle respectively. We have enjoyed taking part in a number of school-wide activities and events, such as the European Day of Languages, which we celebrated together by learning to greet each other in a wide variety of languages. The children embraced this wholeheartedly and tried to impress teachers with their different greetings as they met each other around the School. This provided an useful opportunity to talk about differences and similarities and the multi-cultural society we live in. Pupils whose birthdays fall in September, October, November and December have now all attended a birthday party with Mrs McIntosh to mark their special day - of course, those with a birthday in the Lent Term and then Summer Term will be receiving their invitations when their month arrives! The highlight of the term for many will have been the fabulous Christmas productions that all three year Junior Department year groups put on in the last weeks of term - what a wonderfully festive celebrations they all were. Here is a round up of some of the activities and lessons that have been taking place in the Junior Department during the Michaelmas Term:

Reception

The first few weeks of term for Reception were spent getting accustomed to their surroundings, routines and teachers. A tour of the School introduced them to many members of the school community, including the school nurses and librarians, and visits to new part of the School such as the Boarding House. Pupils also enjoyed a range of specialist lessons such as Drama, Music, PE and French. Pupils were introduced to Forest School, learning or reminding themselves of the Forest School rules before exploring the woods, playing in the mud kitchen, hunting for conkers and finding the “owls” dotted around. Pupils have also all been enjoying swimming lessons - they all seem to have taken to them like ducks to water!

As well as building on their literacy and maths learning, Reception pupils have been learning how to use iPads, understanding that they are used for so many more things than “just” games and watching films! As pupils move through the School, they become more accustomed and increasingly confident with the use of different forms of computing and technology – this is just the start! So far this term the children have learned the basics of using tablets; this has included using a variety of different apps and websites to work complement classroom maths and literacy skills, developing the children’s fine motor co-ordination, and taking photographs – and we had lots of fun too creating artwork.

Understanding the World is integral to Early Years learning and pupils been explored the natural world, talking about what they can see, hear and feel outside and understanding the changing seasons. As part of this work, Reception have been busy planning for spring! Every pupil has been in the garden to plant a spring flowering bulb such as narcissus, allium, muscari, crocus and tulips. We can’t wait to see our garden transform in the new year!

Year 1

Starting Year 1 spells a change for pupils, with newly created forms, and for those in IO a brand new teacher! They have all settled into the new routines, and are all enjoying no longer being the littlest in the Junior Department!

Year 1 pupils were the first to enjoy a school trip this academic year, and headed to Wardown House where they experienced a day in the life of a Victorian servant.

They tried a number of different chores and tasks, which included lighting the fire and heating the stove, making breakfast, washing and drying clothes, ironing, and sweeping the floors. After all that hard work, they loved looking around the museum and spotted lots of old-fashioned toys as well as some sneaky mice hiding around the house.

One topic Year 1 have been studying is ‘Light and Dark’, and they have read a story called ‘Sparks in the Sky’, which is all about Bonfire Night. This fuelled a discussions about our senses, and pupils then thought of some fantastic adjectives to match to them, which they then used to create an acrostic poem, which they thoroughly enjoyed. To accompany their writing, The children also created a pastel firework display and made model rocket fireworks.

In the final weeks of term, Year 1 put the finishing touches to their fabulous Christmas production, A Miracle in Town. What a fabulous show it was, we hope that parents enjoyed watching it as much as the children enjoyed performing it! You can see more photographs from all the Junior Department productions on pages 20 to 26. Towards the end of term, Top Form pupils visited Year 1 to talk about how the transition from Reception to Year One went, and if there was anything the School could do to make the experience easier. The children came up with some great ideas, and they are really looking forward to working with the Top Formers next term. See more information about different academic subjects on Pages 44 to 66

As the “senior” children in the Junior Department, Year 2 have taken on some new responsibilities this term and have led an assembly on the subject of responsibility, with one class performing the story of ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’ during which they talked about different ways they are responsible at school and home. Another class presented “Tough Tortoise and Wise Owl” and talked about how we should never give up introducing the younger Junior Department pupils to the magic word ‘Yet’. This is the idea that just because you can’t do something ‘Yet’ , you should keep persevering and you willget there eventually. The Year 2 teaching team are extremely proud of the writing progress that the children have made so far this term. Hallowe’en inspired the children to write magical potions filled with descriptive adjectives. If you fancy knowing how to become invisible, need to speed up, go through walls or teleport then you just need to ask Year 2! Writing isn’t just reserved for our Literacy lessons but features in most of our lessons. Before half term, the children created chatterboxes during their PSHE lesson when they were thinking about mental health well-being. The children had great fun coming up with useful suggestions for when they needed some downtime. Year 2 also enjoyed a day trip this term, visiting Windsor Castle to complement their topic ‘Celebrate Britain’.Walking through the entrance gate, the children enjoyed spotting the castle features they have learnt about in lessons, including the arrow slits, battlements and the moat. The pupils thoroughly a session in the castle’s new learning centre called ‘Meet the Monarch’, where they learnt all about King Charles III, including his numerous grand homes and his many roles, including farming, weekly meetings with the Prime Minister and of course spending time with his family. The children enjoyed re-enacting a coronation, a dubbing ceremony and the King inspecting his guards. As with Reception and Year 1, the end of term brought the excitement of the Christmas production, this year a nativity with a twist as Year 2 performed “Lights, Camel, Action”. . Year 2 pupils also made and decorated some fabulous Christmas cakes - we hope you enjoy eating the fruits of their hard work!