This week we took part in a very meaningful Remembrance Day celebration. We spent time learning about the importance of remembering the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for us, and we worked together to remember them in many ways. One of our favourite activities was creating a poppy collage.
Today, the children in Key Stage 1 enjoyed a very special visit from St John’s Ambulance. Julie and Deborah from the team came in to talk about the amazing work they do in our community – helping people stay safe, teaching first aid, and supporting those in need.
The highlight of the session was learning about their much-loved mascot, Bertie Badger! The children were interested to hear how Bertie helps teach young “Mini Badgers,” some as young as five years old, the basics of first aid. Through stories, activities, and fun demonstrations, the children discover how even little helpers can make a big difference.
To thank them for their visit and all they do for others, we presented Julie and Deborah with one of our special Community Champion awards recognising the respect, compassion and courage they show every day.
Over the past few weeks, we have been exploring what makes us the same and what makes us different from one another. The children have loved discovering the unique qualities that make each of them special, as well as the many things they share with their classmates.
As we move into the final part of our learning journey, we will be widening our lens and looking at how we are similar or different to people around the world. To spark excitement for this new case study, we began with a vibrant and energetic Indian dance workshop!
The children were introduced to a traditional Punjabi folk dance and were completely captivated by the rhythm, the movement, and the joyful atmosphere. One of the highlights was dancing along to the beat of the dhol drum, feeling the rhythm build as they learned new steps and patterns.
This workshop has already opened up wonderful discussions about culture, music, traditions, and the ways people express themselves around the world. We can’t wait to continue exploring and discovering more together in the weeks ahead.
The children showed real courage when performing their final dance to the year two children at the end of the day!
Crew Share Bears enjoyed an outdoor crew session this morning. We reminded ourselves of our crew norms before the session and all made a pledge to follow the norms by printing our handprint onto our crew tree. We then used microscopes to look closely at and describe different things we find outside. What a great start to the day!
This week Nursery are thinking about cultural celebrations/traditions and have been exploring Diwali and Remembrance Day.
We began the week by hooking the children into Diwali, the Hindu celebration of light, by immersing the children in special Indian music and entering Nursery in the darkness, lit only by Diya lamps. The children were so excited and soothed by the atmosphere as they drew pictures of the diya lamps. They listened carefully to our key text “Binny’s Diwali” by Thrity Umrigar and learned that the lamps are traditional and used as decorations to guide in luck and light and warn off any darkness.
We have also paused to remember and celebrate the fallen and serving armed forces on Remembrance Day, by listening to an age appropriate story “Lest We forget” by Kerry Brown during our Tranquil Tuesday Reading Crews. The children came to school dressed in patriotic colours to show their support for the cause and made donations to the British Legion. Nursery have drawn some beautiful pictures of Poppy’s using their observational, considering shapes and simple details including colour.
We learned why Remembrance Day is so important, and Keith and Dave shared stories about local heroes from Doncaster who were awarded the Victoria Cross — the highest military honour for bravery. We even got to see a real Victoria Cross medal, which was a very special moment for everyone!
Dave also told us fascinating stories from his own time in the army, helping us to understand the courage, teamwork and sacrifice shown by so many.
We were all left feeling inspired to remember and honour those who have served — and we can’t wait to share some of our own Remembrance projects over the next few days.
To thank them for their visit and all they do for others, we were proud to present Keith and Dave with one of our special Community Champion awards. It was hard to choose which character traits they showed because, quite simply, they are wonderful examples of them all — courage, kindness, determination and respect.
Thank you, Keith and Dave, for reminding us what it truly means to be a hero. ❤️
Find out more and apply here to #JoinOurCrew – https://xptrust.org/were-looking-for-a-cleaner-at-xp-doncaster/
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Reptile Rendezvous @ Norton Juniors
Poetry Superstars in E29 Pioneer @ XP East
Weekly Update for Families @ XP Gateshead
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
Find out more and apply here to #JoinOurCrew: https://xptrust.org/green-top-send-learning-coach/
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Two NJS Teams enjoy success! @ Norton Juniors
Expert Visitor – Ed Miliband @ Norton Infants
Crew Peake – Shining stars! @ XP East
Congratulations to Hannah in G28 Crew Frank! @ XP Gateshead
