We were very delighted to welcome Mr West to our school, who led a wonderful assembly all about the Harvest Festival. We had a fantastic time learning about the importance of Harvest and why we celebrate this special time of year. The children joined in enthusiastically with lovely Harvest songs and shared some thoughtful comments and ideas. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the importance of kindness and helping those in need.
Year One have had an amazing morning taking part in lots of exciting sensory play activities. We had so much fun squashing, squeezing, touching and exploring a variety of different textures. The children were curious and enthusiastic as they used their senses to discover how different materials felt. Sensory play also helped us to feel calm, relaxed and happy!
This week, our Wise Wednesday theme in Crew and our KS1 Community Meeting was all about people who help us.
We started thinking about the people who help us in our everyday lives, and we were surprised to discover just how many helpful heroes are all around us! From the people we see at school to those who help us in our communities, there are so many people who make a difference to our lives every single day.
During our Community Meeting, we put our spotting skills to the test with a special Helpful Heroes spotting game. 👀 We had to look carefully and see just how many people we could spot who help others.
It got us thinking about an important question: Who are the helpful heroes in your life?
Why not have a look around when you’re out and about and see how many you can spot too! 💙
As part of our expedition, The Power of Play, we have had a fantastic time taking part in our Construction Crew! We stepped into the roles of builders, designers and inventors, using our creativity and imagination to bring our ideas to life. We worked together as a crew, taking turns and supporting our friends to solve problems. We showed teamwork and craftsmanship and quality as we designed cars, castles, houses, airplanes, spaceship and rockets.
This week, we completed our first Crew walkthroughs of the year — and what a wonderful opportunity it was to see our children and Crew Leaders already building such positive, caring and purposeful Crew communities.
Across NIS, we saw lots of examples of children belonging, caring for one another, working hard and growing their character. It was fantastic to see the care and attention being given to Crew time and the way our children are already beginning to understand what it means to be part of a Crew.
Our Care Bear Crews showed some wonderful examples of positive communication, kindness and support.
We saw Crew Leaders using thoughtful prompts and communication to help children share their ideas and participate, alongside lots of kind, caring and supportive interactions. These small moments are so important in helping our children to feel that Crew is a safe and welcoming place where they are valued and listened to.
Crew Backshall showed a fantastic understanding of what makes a beautiful Crew circle.
The children were encouraged to think carefully about how they sat together and how they could make sure everyone could see and hear one another. One child explained:
“If our legs are crossed and knees are slightly touching we can make a perfect circle where we can see each other.”
What a brilliant explanation! 🌟
This is exactly the kind of ownership we want to see developing in Crew — children understanding not just what we do, but why it matters. The children were also encouraged to think about the care and attention they give to themselves, each other and their Crew.
There was a lovely warm and welcoming feel in both Crew Nightingale and Crew Earhart.
We saw children making clear connections between their actions, our character traits and HoWLs, with these being explained and discussed in a way that helped children understand what they look like in practice.
We particularly loved seeing children writing Golden Tickets for one another, celebrating the amazing character traits and HoWLs they have already seen their friends demonstrating this year. ✨
What a wonderful way to notice the positive things happening around us and remind each other that our character is something we build together.
In Crew Parks and Crew Simmonds, we saw children being encouraged to work hard and take pride in creating beautiful work.
It was lovely to see children being supported to think about the quality of what they produce and to recognise that beautiful work doesn’t happen by accident — it takes care, effort, perseverance and pride.
Our first walkthroughs have given us lots to celebrate. Most importantly, they showed that our children are already beginning to understand that Crew is about more than sitting together.
It is about listening to one another, caring for one another, celebrating each other’s strengths, working hard, showing our character and making sure that everyone belongs.
A huge well done to all of our Crew Leaders and, most importantly, to our wonderful children for the fantastic start they have made to Crew this year.
We get Crew right, we get everything right. 💛
We have had an amazing week exploring our guiding question ‘How does what I do impact my Crew and others?’ We spent time discussing what it means to be kind and thinking about the different ways we can show our kindness. We decorated biscuits and gifted them to our Reception classes as a special act of kindness.
What a beautiful way to begin our first Community Meeting together! Our children sat so beautifully, listening carefully and modelling our character trait of respect. It was lovely to see them showing each other that they were ready to listen, learn and share.
We shared the wonderful story Try, which reminds us that things don’t always work the first time. The message is simple but powerful: when something feels difficult, we don’t have to give up — we can keep trying, learn from what happens and have another go. 🌱
This led us into a conversation about heroes. At first, our heroes were the ones we might expect — Hulk, Superman and other superheroes with incredible powers! 🦸♂️🦸♀️
But then our thinking began to change…
We wondered: Does a hero have to have superpowers?
Could someone be a hero because they are kind? Because they help someone? Because they keep going when something is tricky? Because they stand up for someone else? Because they make a difference in their community?
And perhaps most importantly… could we be heroes too? 💛
It was wonderful to watch the children move from thinking about heroes as characters with superpowers to recognising that ordinary people can do extraordinary things through their choices, their courage, their kindness and the way they look after others.
What a lovely first Community Meeting — and what a brilliant start to our year together. 🌟
In crew this week, our Year 1 children have been busy preparing for their Student-Led Conferences by practising how to share their learning with confidence. They spent time showing their chosen pieces of work to their friends, explaining what they had learned and why they were particularly proud of each piece.
The children worked hard to speak clearly, listen carefully to one another and celebrate each other’s achievements. It was wonderful to see their growing confidence as they reflected on their progress and practised talking about their learning. We are so proud of the enthusiasm and pride they have shown, and we look forward to seeing them share their beautiful work with their families next week!
The rain certainly didn’t stop Crew Nightingale from enjoying their outdoor learning this week!
Wrapped up and armed with their colour charts, our Year 1 crew set off on a colourful adventure around the playground. Their challenge was to find natural and man-made objects that matched each colour on their chart. From bright green leaves and brown tree bark to colourful flowers, the children became excellent colour detectives.
It felt especially fitting that we were hunting for the colours of the rainbow whilst exploring in the rain! Although the sun didn’t appear to create a real rainbow for us, the children discovered plenty of rainbow colours all around them.
The activity encouraged careful observation, teamwork and discussion as the children shared their discoveries with one another. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and determination, even with the drizzle falling around them.
In Crew Nightingale, we know that learning can happen anywhere, and our outdoor sessions with Mrs Jackson provide fantastic opportunities to explore, investigate and connect with the world around us. The rain simply added an extra layer of adventure to our day!
Well done, Crew Nightingale, for embracing the weather and becoming brilliant rainbow hunters!
Class 4 have been working incredibly hard on their home learning projects this term. The children created some fantastic under the sea habitats and spent some time researching interesting facts about different sea creatures. They were super proud to present their work to the class. We have also been producing some excellent recount writing based on our fieldwork visit to The Deep.
