Simon de Senlis Primary a great start to the new year

It has been a fantastic start to 2023 at Simon de Senlis with wonderful learning opportunities and experiences filling the school. Each January, we begin the learning with our whole school unit on a Shakespeare play and this year, the chosen play was Romeo and Juliet. We know from experience that the children love the elaborate texts, the complex plots and the intriguing characters and Romeo and Juliet did not disappoint! Throughout school, from Reception to Year 6, the children developed their reading and writing skills whilst developing their knowledge of the play. In addition, children used their art skills to create carefully detailed images linked to the play. Throughout the unit of work, we worked closely with our performing arts teacher to develop dance and drama linked to the plot and to explore the characters. Developing our creative skills has included working with the Northamptonshire drama group, Silhouette, who have developed the children’s drama and musical skills. At the end of this wonderful unit, the whole school was turned into a Shakespeare showcase where every child’s final piece of work was displayed and on Friday January 27th, we welcomed parents and families to view the children’s work. The whole school was filled with children, staff and parents brimming with pride.

During their visit to London the children were given a tour of Westminster Abbey and saw the 700 year old Coronation Chair

After the excitement of the showcase, the term has continued with more exciting experiences for the children. Year 3 have started to learn to play the recorder and Year 5 have started to learn to play the violin and the cello, both with music teachers from NMPAT. Children in Year 6 had an unforgettable day on Friday February 3rd, when we were invited to visit The Houses of Parliament by the MP, Dame Andrea Leadsom. During our visit to London, the children had an amazing tour of Westminster Abbey and were privileged to see the 700 year old Coronation Chair and the 800 year old Cosmati Pavement where King Charles III will be crowned in May. During our visit to the Houses of Parliament we were thrilled to be able to watch a debate in the House of Commons and later step into the house itself, along with the House of Lords. All were aghast at the beautiful chandeliers, paintings, murals and sculptures that we saw in such a historic place. We know that this memory will stay with the children for their lifetime.

Following on from this, we will be welcoming Laura Kuenssberg, previously the BBC Political Editor and now the host of the Sunday morning Politics Show, to a zoom interview on February 21st with our school council. We hope to find out more from her about politics, democracy and her experience working at the BBC.

As the winter turns to spring, we know that life at Simon de Senlis will continue to be exciting and engaging.

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