Expert Visitor – Ed Miliband

This week we were very lucky to welcome a special expert visitor — Ed Miliband! Ed came to talk to us about his job as a Member of Parliament and to share his passion for helping people and protecting our planet.

He explained what it’s like to work in government and how he represents people in our local community. The children had the chance to ask him lots of brilliant questions, from “What made you want to be an MP?” to “How can we help stop climate change?”

Ed spoke about the importance of looking after our world and gave us some simple but powerful ideas about what we can all do to make a difference — like walking or cycling instead of driving, recycling properly, and reminding our families to save energy at home.

We were proud to present Ed Miliband with our Community Champion Award for showing compassion towards people and the environment. His visit reminded us that everyone, no matter how young or old, can make a positive change in their community and in the wider world.

Class Six March Around Norton

As part of our expedition “How can I be a superhero where I live?” we have been looking at the book Let The Children March. We decided that we would host our own KS1 march in aid of Askern CRY Foodbank.

We have spent lots of time creating our pop art inspired signs, choosing slogans, colouring, designing and painting.

This afternoon, we went out into the community and marched in aid of the foodbank. We were showing off our amazing signs and chanting all about helping people and supporting the food bank.

Reception Community Meeting

We had another lovely start to our day today celebrating a wonderful week in Reception. We talked about our learning in maths and lots of children were keen to talk about how they created repeating patterns using different equipment and resources from inside and outside the classroom. Children were also excited to talk about how they have been writing amazing words in our message centre using what they know from phonics lessons. It was great to hear children talking with such enthusiasm about their learning. Keep up the super work everyone.

Expert Visitors: Community Heroes in Doncaster

This morning, we were very lucky to welcome more expert visitors to help us answer our guiding question:
“Not all heroes wear capes – How can I be a hero where I live?”

We were honoured to be joined by Ros Jones, the elected Mayor of Doncaster, Jackie Dudley, the Deputy Civic Mayor, and David Milnes, who is the Mace Bearer and official chauffeur to the Civic Mayor.

Our visitors spoke to us about their important roles in Doncaster and the ways they work to make a positive difference in our community. We learned all about the Mansion House — one of only a few remaining in the country — and discovered how special it is to have one right here in Doncaster!

Ros shared her CBE medal, which was incredible to see up close, and David gave us the chance to look at the official Mace, which was fascinating to learn about.

They also spoke about what inspires them in their roles and how proud they are to serve the people of Doncaster.

To say thank you for their time and the compassion they show every day towards our community, we were very proud to present them with one of our Community Champion Awards.

What an inspiring morning learning from real-life heroes who make Doncaster a better place to live!

Our Stars of the Week!

Today in Reception, we enjoyed another successful community meeting, where we came together to celebrate the wonderful achievements of our children. It was a special time to reflect on all the hard work, kindness, and determination shown across our classes this week.

Well done to all of our stars — you truly show us what it means to Be Kind, Work Hard, and Get Smart!

Turning Pages and Counting Collections: Class 1’s First Experience…

This week, Class 1 have done an amazing job exploring their brand-new books. The children have been so enthusiastic, showing great focus and excitement as they read together in class. It has been lovely to see their confidence grow and their joy in discovering new stories and ideas.

The best part is that the children are now looking forward to taking their books home. This means their reading journey can continue from school to home, giving them the chance to share their stories with family and keep practising every day.

This week, Class 1 took part in their very first Counting Collections session — and what a success it was!

Working with a partner, the children began by choosing a collection of objects to count. Together, they thought carefully about which strategies might help them — such as grouping, sorting, or counting in different ways. With lots of concentration and teamwork, they counted their collections carefully, making sure not to miss or repeat any items.

To finish, the children even had a go at recording their mathematical thinking, showing the strategies they used and the numbers they discovered. It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm, collaboration, and persistence in action.

Well done, Class 1 — you are already becoming brilliant mathematicians!

KS1 Presentation of Learning Invitation

This term, our Year 1 and Year 2 children are going on an incredible learning journey through our Autumn expedition, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, guided by the big question: How can I be a superhero where I live?

From creating their own superheroes inspired by Supertato, to marching for justice after studying Let the Children March, to meeting real-life heroes from our community, the children will explore what it truly means to show courage, compassion, and kindness.

We would love to invite you to join us for our Presentation of Learning:

  • Tuesday 2nd December
  • 3:00pm – 5:00pm
  • School Hall

You don’t need to stay for the whole time — please feel free to drop in at a time that’s convenient for you between 3:00pm and 5:00pm.

This special event will take the form of a museum-style gallery walk, where you’ll be able to see:
– The children’s artwork and writing
– Photographs and memories from expert visitors
– Pop-art placards from our peaceful march
– Reflections, pledges, and our very own expedition book
– Introduce some of the real-life heroes they have met, who will be joining us to help demonstrate their skills

It’s really important that the children come along too, as they will be your tour guides — explaining their learning, sharing their work, and showing off everything they have achieved.

Friends of Norton Campus Association will also be supporting us by selling refreshments during the event — so you can enjoy a drink and a treat as you explore the children’s fantastic work.

This is a celebration of your children’s hard work, character, and creativity — and a chance to see how they have discovered that not all heroes wear capes… sometimes they live right here in our community.

We can’t wait to share this with you!

Key Stage One Crew

A Visit from Stuart – Learning About Helping Homeless People

This morning we had a very special visitor in school. Stuart came from an organisation called Starting Point. He spoke to us about his important job supporting homeless people across Doncaster.

Stuart told us that his role is to make sure people who don’t have a safe home can get the help they need. He explained that this could mean finding them a safe place to stay, helping them get food, clothing, and health care, and supporting them to make positive changes in their lives.

We asked him lots of thoughtful questions, such as:

  • What is your favourite thing about your job?
  • What can we do to help?
  • How do you get donations to help people?
  • Where do you take people to be safe?
  • How many people have you helped?
  • How many homeless people are there in Doncaster?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What inspired you to help homeless people?
  • How can you help people stay clean and healthy?
  • Do people volunteer to help homeless people?

Stuart said that one of the best parts of his job is seeing people smile again when they feel safe and supported. He told us that anyone can help by being kind, donating food or clothing, or even just raising awareness about homelessness.

We learned that there are many people involved with the work Stuart does. Together, they make a huge difference to people who might be going through very difficult times.

At the end of Stuart’s visit, we were proud to present him with one of our special Community Champion Awards. The children thought carefully about the character traits Stuart shows every day in his work. We agreed that he demonstrates compassion, respect, and integrity in all he does.

Meeting Stuart made us think about how important it is to help others in our community. We left the session inspired and ready to play our part in making Doncaster a kinder place for everyone.

Celebrating Our Uniqueness Through Self-Portraits…

This week in Class 1, we have been busy exploring art as part of our current expedition. To celebrate everything that makes us special, we created our very own self-portraits. Using a mix of oil pastels and watercolour pencils, the children experimented with colour, line, and texture to capture their individual features.

We are so proud of Class 1 for their creativity, focus, and confidence in expressing who they are…

RE in Year One

This week  we have been reading some stories from different cultures and looking at the deeper meaning of them. We read the story of ‘Duni Chand and the silver needle’ and discussed how to be kind and generous to others. We made an anchor chart to list our ideas and then we added a cup of water to a class bowl and explained what we would like to add more of to the class.