Our Year Two Learners Started Off The Year With A Sweet Taste!
I was very impressed by some of the healthy choices and reasons behind their favourite foods.
Thabelo Magoro chose fruit for his presentation because “it helps you to grow and run fast” and came to class with lovely fruit kebabs which he handed out.
Sachin Gramoney thoroughly enjoys his grans dish because “it’s tasty and I like the cheese with the roti”.
Zach Gouws chose pizza as it is an Italian dish and his family is Italian and because “I like to put hot sauce on my pizza”
Tyler decided on banana bread because “it is nice to eat, the taste isn’t salty and I like it for breakfast”.
Joshua Gamanya chose steak and burgers because “it has BBQ sauce, burgers have lettuce on it and because I love meat”.
Willow Camara came with two lovely bananas and explained to the class that she loves them because “it has Vitamin B and C, it is very healthy and I can gum it”.
Khalid Al-Anazi came with a very interesting fruit called a mandarin and explained that “it is good for your heart”.
We had many other favourite foods and dishes which the learners went the extra mile to present to the class. Overall, a happy class and a proud teacher.
I look forward to our next “show and Tell” with 2EH.
Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher
What I Learnt In Year 1
In Year 1 I learnt literacy. I loved numeracy because we do sums. Caleb
In Year 1 I learnt numeracy and science. I loved our science theme about Sounds. Aidan
In Year 1 I learnt German, P.E. and science. I loved P.E because it is fun. Liam
In Year 1 I learnt how to be good. I loved P.E. because we get to play soccer. Fernando
In Year 1 I learnt maths. I loved learning lots of new things. Eshwar
In Year 1 I learnt German. I loved P.E. because we play fun games. Callum
In Year 1 I learnt how to be smart. I loved school because I like sport and my favourite is tennis. Zach
In Year 1 I learnt numeracy. I loved P.E. because we do exercise. James
In Year 1 I learnt numeracy because we learn letters. I loved golden time because we make our own stuff. Joshua
In Year 1 I learnt geography and numeracy. I loved numeracy because we do fun things and lern. Divyanshi
In Year 1 I learnt History and Geography. I loved learning Spanish. Sinddhi
In Year 1 I learnt to be kind. I loved my teacher because she is the best in the world. Kwanda
In Year 1 I learnt to read and write. I loved Spanish. Paige
In Year 1 I learnt how to play games. I loved golden time because we play games. Tyler
In Year 1 I learnt new sounds. I loved golden time because we have fun. Isabella
In Year 1 I learnt literacy and German. I loved Mrs Pani teaching me German. Sulafa
In Year 1 I learnt to be kind and not to be rude. I loved my teacher because she lets us have golden time. Macca
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
The 7 Habits of Happy Kids
In our class we have been reading stories all about the friends that live in 7 Oaks Village. We have been introduced to Pokey Porcupine, Tagalong Allie and Jumper Rabbit, to name a few.
Each week we read a different story that teaches the children a new skill or habit. These important life skills are beautifully presented in engaging stories to help students understand and learn these vital life skills.
Through these stories the students learn the importance of being themselves, listening to each other and working together.
The students love hearing the new story every week and it is lovely to see them trying to use their new skills in their interactions with their friends.
Monique Crawley
Reception Teacher
Electrical Excitement
The Year 2s are learning about electricity and simple circuits. Mrs. Baker’s class were guided safely to discover how electricity works.
The class was divided into four groups. They were given: a small light bulb, some wires, a battery, a battery holder, and a switch. Their task? Make the light bulb glow!
Much consternation, frustration and excitement followed. Each group was determined to be the first group to get the light bulb to glow. Mrs. Baker soon realized that a couple of tips were needed. The students got back on task, and before long, an excited shout could be heard as one of the groups were able to get their bulb to glow.
Why do such an activity in Year 2?
Science allows for many skills to be integrated in one subject. Students were expected to collaborate to complete the task. They had to problem solve and critically analyse what they were doing to change what wasn’t working and improve on what they had done so far. Once the students saw that all the wires and metal parts had to be touching for the light bulb to glow, immediate cohesion was seen in the group with each child having to hold a wire or a battery holder or the bulb to make sure everything was working in circuit.
I don’t think these Year 2s will easily forget this lesson! Hopefully this will ignite their curious minds to ask questions and discover new things daily.
Gillian Baker
Year 2 Teacher
From the Principal’s Desk, 17 October 2019
Dear Parents
I have just returned from a wonderfully informative conference in Budapest. It is always encouraging when principals from different corners of the world come together as it’s an opportunity to learn from each other’s different experiences.
I have also recently had a visit from Cambridge Regional Director, Juan Visser, on Wednesday the 16th of October. I am happy to report that as a Cambridge Registered Centre we are looking forward to continued support from Cambridge; their guidance with regards to university entrance, subject choice and compliance is invaluable.
Cambridge Primary has traditionally focused on Mathematics, Science and English as Core Subject Areas. However, effective from September 2019, the curriculum will be broadened. It is important that students are able to identify their favorite subjects early in their academic career and are encouraged to pursue the areas in which their natural talents lie. In order to accommodate the differing strengths and interests of the students, Cambridge has broadened its curriculum with the addition of Art and Design, Digital Literacy, Music and Physical Education. Their aim is to develop the all-important “soft skills” of teamwork, responsibility, leadership and resilience. Cambridge is constantly developing and revising its programs in order to offer the best possible education for the learners.
“In a fast-moving world, education needs to evolve.”- Dr. Judith Roberts
The focus of the curriculum for the various subjects are as follows:
- Digital Literacy aims to develop learners understanding of the digital world and celebrates the opportunities that technology offers. The aim is to increase the confidence in students while using technology.
- Physical Education focuses on developing movement skills.
- Music allows the learners to explore the subject as performers, composers and listeners.
- Art and Design encourages learners to express themselves as they experience and reflect on art.
We are incredibly excited about the broadened scope of the curriculum as we are now able to offer the above subjects to the standard which Cambridge requires.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Kind regards
Edna
Year 3’s are building bridges!
♫ London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My Fair lady! ♫
London Bridge may have been falling down, but the Year 3 bridges are most certainly not! And yes, you guessed it…. We even have a London Bridge of our very own!
This term, the year 3’s planned, designed, collected materials and built their own bridges for Design and Technology. The students studied different types of bridges and learnt what materials makes a bridge strong and stable and which shaped designs work best for real bridges. In pairs, they used the information to decide if they were going to build a wooden bridge, arch bridge, cantilever bridge or a suspension bridge. Once they had agreed on a type of bridge, the students started their planning process by drawing a design and then sourcing the right materials to make their bridge strong and stable.
Finally the day dawned and the students bought all their sourced materials to school. They built, painted, coloured, glittered, glued and even nailed their bridges. Eventually, after much deliberation, hard work and even some tears, the bridges were ready!
Besides the beautiful London Bridge, we even had an awesome draw bridge that worked!
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher
Creative Writing in Year 1
In Year 1 the students study a range of text types and genres in their English lessons. The texts are carefully selected to include an appropriate balance of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The students are encouraged to actively explore, investigate, understand, use and develop their knowledge of English and in particular reading, writing, listening and speaking skills through the use of regular, guided group and paired work, independent group work and individual work.
Our Year 1 students recently read the story of The Jigaree by Joy Cowley. After much discussion and a great deal of imagination, the students then wrote their own story about meeting an alien.
At this stage of the year the students are encouraged to use punctuation, full stops and capital letters, in their stories and apply their phonic knowledge to spell words.
These are some examples of the stories.
My alien’s name is Bob and he has an oval body. He has one eye on his forehead. Also he has two legs and two hands and most of all, fat wings with spots on his fat wings. I took him home.
Sinddhizhai Divakaran
Once upon a time I went to the moon and I saw an alien. She has two eyes at the top of her head and she has two wings. Her name is Shaldan. We went to the planetarium.
Ayaana Kuthas
I was at the moon when I saw an alien that cried because she had lost her mom and dad. So I helped her find her way back home. I loved her but I needed to let her go but she came back every time. She told me her name was Summer.
Isabella Heidmann
I saw an alien in the bin. He was peeking out the bin. I walked close then I went in his space ship. He drank juice. He had purple skin and he had a T-shirt with a skull. He went back to Mars and he went home. His name was ET.
Aidan Bezuidenhout
My alien’s name is Jasper. I met him at the park. We had an adventure. After that he went to his house.
Caleb Ajayi
Ann Cordner
Year 1 Teacher
Fairy Tales – A World Of Fantasy!
Our theme in Foundation for the past two weeks has been Pirates and Fairy tales. Magnificent castles, dainty princesses, charming princes, little elves etc – the world of make believe! Fairy tales can aid child development and help children develop into creative, intelligent and emotionally whole human beings. Read aloud Fairy tales can also instill a love of reading, improve vocabulary, develop the imagination and even increase intelligence.
I asked some of the students in my Pre-Reception class what their favourite Fairy tale was and why. These are some of the answers they came up with:
Hannah Baker (4) – “Cinderella because she has a pink dress and pink is my favourite colour.”
Keverne Paul (4) – “Jack & the bean stalk is my favourite because the giant comes down the stalk.”
Jaanae Pillay (5) – “Snow White & the seven dwarfs. She is beautiful and a prince comes.”
Tilda Rohlandt (5) – “Cinderella is my favourite because a fairy appears and she gets to go to the ball.”
Ruby Kiley (4) –“Snow White and the seven dwarfs because it just is!”
Allegra Schoeman (4) – “Cinderella is my favourite. I watched the movie and it’s nice.”
Lilia Blom (4) – ‘Rapunzel because she is beautiful!”
Kungawo Xhasa (4) – “Rapunzel is nice & I watch it at my home.”
Laila Zaki Ibrahim (4) –“Princess & the pea. I like the princesses.”
Keona Chukwuemeka (4) – “Rapunzel is my favourite. I Love her beautiful dress.”
Omar Zaki Ibrahim (4) – “Goldilocks and the three bears because the girl was inside the house.”
Yohann Lawrence (4) – “Jack & the beanstalk because my dad bought me new crayons and I use my imagination to draw.”
Cindy Nunan
Pre-Reception Teacher
Science & Sundials!
“Have you ever played outside all day and noticed that the length and location of your shadow changed as the hours went by?”
You probably also noticed that the sun changed location in the sky throughout the day too. The sun’s change in location caused a difference in the size, shape and direction of your shadow.
This week our Year 2’s grabbed the opportunity to work with a real sundial and see first-hand how it works.
We set up a “home-made” sundial on our tennis court using a bucket filled with sand, holding a tall stick in its center. Each Year 2 class was taken out to observe this “make-shift” sundial at 3 different points in the day. Every time a child is chosen to draw a line in chalk exactly where the shadow of the tall stick is at that point. The time of observation is written next to the drawing, for the next class to come out a little later to observe and record their results.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the realism and practicality of this experiment. They enjoyed being able to go back to class and record the data they had collected, drawing pictures for each observation taken. They have now seen, first-hand, the way in which a shadow moves throughout the day as well as how and why the sundial came about.
Sundial for Kids: Facts & History
https://study.com/academy/lesson/sundials-lesson-for-kids-facts-history.html
Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher
When Dinosaurs Ruled The Class
Our theme for the week in Foundation Stage was Dinosaurs. We started making a K-W-L chart during circle time. A K-W-L chart is a visual chart that helps students organise information before, during and after a new theme. We use it in our class to establish what we already know, what we still want to know and at the end of the theme we will discuss what we have learned. We wrote down what we already knew about Dinosaurs. We then as a group discussed what we wanted to know about Dinosaurs. At the end of the week we completed our chart by writing down what we learned about Dinosaurs.
We sang songs, read wonderful books about Dinosaurs and learned new words. The word list includes: extinct, prehistoric, paleontologist, carnivore, herbivore and fossil.
During Art the students had the option of making a hatching Brontosaurus or a Triceratops. We also used our fine motor skills to cut out Tyrannosaurus footprints. We went on an “Archaeological dig” in our sandpit. Using brushes, we acted like Paleontologists and uncovered Dinosaur eggs. We tried our best to piece the Dinosaurs back together. We also had to wait patiently for our Dinosaurs pets to hatch.
During our Numeracy lessons we played with a variety dinosaur counters to reinforce our sorting, adding and subtracting skills.
Learning about these amazing creatures from the past was a great adventure.
Martie van Dyk
Reception Year Teacher