🎉 KS1 Sponsored Dance-a-Thon – What a Day! 🎉

30th January 2026Laura Parsons

What an amazing day we had at our KS1 Sponsored Dance-a-thon on Friday 30th January! The children brought the energy, the smiles and some seriously impressive dance moves — and we are so proud of every single one of them.

Thanks to your incredible generosity and support, we are thrilled to share that we have raised an incredible £1,060… and counting! 🤩
This fantastic total will go directly towards the cost of producing the children’s very own KS1 Doncaster Board Games, helping us keep the final cost as low as possible for everyone. We are also continuing to work with sponsors and supporters to make this project even bigger and better.

💃 How did we dance the day away?

We kicked off the morning in style with a high-energy Zumba session in the hall, led by Mrs Ponsonby and Mrs Murray, which certainly got hearts pumping and feet moving!

Throughout the day, each class took part in a range of fun, creative dance activities, including:

  • 🧊 Ice Dancing and 🎲 Dice Dancing games in the classroom
  • 🖐️ Finger dancing to explore movement through different music styles
  • ✏️ Pencil dancing, where children drew how the music made them feel
  • 🤸 A dance–themed PE lesson to finish the structured part of the day
  • 🎉 And of course… party dances during Golden Time to end on a high!

Children took turns dancing so that every crew was represented throughout the day, showing teamwork, resilience and lots of encouragement for one another. We were also lucky to have some grown ups join in the fun, adding to the excitement and buzz around school.

🎲 Why it matters

All the money raised will support our KS1 Doncaster Board Game Project, where children are designing and creating their own board game inspired by local landmarks. The final game will be professionally produced so that all KS1 children can enjoy playing it — a brilliant example of learning, creativity and community coming together.

💛 Thank you

A huge thank you to all our families for your sponsorship, encouragement and enthusiasm. Every single contribution is helping to bring the children’s ideas to life — and days like this remind us just how powerful learning can be when it’s joyful, active and shared.

Well done KS1 — you danced your socks off! 🕺💃

Class 5 Artists: Using Critique to Improve

20th January 2026Laura Parsons

Today, Class 5 built on yesterday’s learning by taking part in purposeful critique. With sketchbooks open and first drafts in front of us, we carefully revisited our work and gave feedback that was kind, helpful and specific. Everyone listened thoughtfully, asked questions and showed real respect for each other’s ideas.

Using this critique, we then began our second drafts. You could see pupils making deliberate changes — adjusting shapes, refining lines and thinking carefully about composition. The improvements were thoughtful and intentional, showing just how powerful feedback can be when it is used well.

We also transferred these critique skills into our writing, as we began our non-chronological reports about Conisbrough Castle. Just like in our artwork, we edited and improved as we went along, rereading our sentences, making changes and strengthening our work in real time. This process required honesty and integrity, and the children supported one another brilliantly, offering feedback with care and respect.

Class 5 continue to show that critique isn’t about pointing out mistakes — it’s about helping each other grow, whether as artists, writers or as a crew.

Class 5 Artists: Learning to Draft, Critique and Improve

19th January 2026Laura Parsons

This week, Class 5 revisited Austin’s Butterfly, focusing on the power of critique and redrafting. We reminded ourselves what makes great critique truly helpful — it should always be kind, specific and supportive, with the clear purpose of helping each other improve.

Before putting pencil to paper, we spent time looking carefully at Conisbrough Castle through an artist’s eye. We asked thoughtful questions together:
What shapes can we see?
What do the lines need to look like?
Would our sketchbooks work better in landscape or portrait?

These discussions helped us slow down, observe more closely and make deliberate choices before we began.

We then got busy on our first drafts. They are strong starts — thoughtful, detailed and full of effort — but we know they aren’t perfect yet. That’s exactly where the learning lives. Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to giving and receiving careful critique, using each other’s feedback to refine our work and create even stronger second drafts.

Class 5 are learning that great art (and great learning) doesn’t happen in one go — it happens through reflection, feedback and the courage to improve.

Money in Maths

13th January 2026Laura Parsons

Today in Maths, we continued to practise making different amounts using coins and notes. The children worked together in pairs, exploring different ways to make the same total and explaining their thinking to each other.

There was lots of brilliant teamwork on show, with children showing respect by listening carefully and compassion by supporting their partners when they found something tricky. It was lovely to see everyone encouraging one another and celebrating success together. A great lesson full of collaboration and mathematical thinking!

Maths in Action in Class 5!

12th January 2026Laura Parsons

Class 5 have been working incredibly hard in Maths today as they consolidated their learning from last week. Using real coins, the children worked practically to make different amounts, discussing their ideas and supporting one another along the way. It was wonderful to see so much teamwork and resilience as they tried different combinations and checked their answers.

Later in the session, we used the iPads to continue our learning through a range of Maths games. The children showed great integrity by challenging themselves, choosing different games and levels of difficulty to really push their understanding.

A fantastic effort from everyone today – well done, Class 5! 🌟

Games Morning: The Perfect End to Hook Week 🎲

9th January 2026Laura Parsons

What a fantastic way to finish our Hook Week!

This morning we were delighted to welcome so many of our grown-ups into school to join us for a games morning. The children loved sharing their favourite board games, explaining the rules and, most importantly, playing together with friends and family. There was lots of laughter, teamwork and friendly competition – a really joyful atmosphere to end a busy and exciting week.

As well as being great fun, the morning also helped us begin important conversations about togetherness, fairness and belonging. Playing games gave the children opportunities to take turns, listen to others, negotiate rules and support one another – all skills that link beautifully to our new expedition.

Our guiding question for this expedition is:

“Diverse Doncaster – Where do I belong?”

Over the coming weeks, the children will be exploring what makes Doncaster special, the many different people and communities who live here, and how we all belong in our own unique ways. The games morning was a lovely starting point, showing how shared activities can bring people together and help us feel connected.

As the expedition develops, the children will be working towards a final product that celebrates Doncaster, our community and our sense of belonging. We can’t wait to share more details as their ideas and learning grow.

Thank you so much to all the adults who joined us this morning – your support really does make experiences like this extra special. It was the perfect way to round off Hook Week and launch us into an exciting new learning journey together.

An Exciting Visit from a Game Expert

8th January 2026Lauren Gate

This afternoon KS1 had a very exciting visit with a very special expert – a professional game designer and creator – who shared their fascinating world of board games with our students.

During the visit, expanded on their hook week knowledge and the children learned about the materials that go into making a board game, from the colorful cards to the intricate game boards and even the tiny tokens that make playing so much fun. Our guest also explained the step-by-step process of creating a board game, from the initial idea and design to the final product.

It was an inspiring visit that encouraged our students to think creatively, work collaboratively, and see the exciting possibilities in designing and playing games. We are definitely very excited to get stuck in with our product now!!

Thinking Like Scientists

6th January 2026Laura Parsons

This week, we discovered that for one of our case studies we are going to be scientists — and we wasted no time getting started!

Yesterday, the children took part in a materials carousel, exploring a range of different materials. We focused on developing scientific vocabulary and identifying key properties such as hard, flexible, waterproof and smooth. The children handled each material carefully, talked about what they noticed and began to explain why different materials are suitable for different purposes.

Today, we applied that learning in a more practical way. Working together, the children explored a variety of different games, thinking carefully about what materials they were made from and why those materials had been chosen. There was lots of thoughtful discussion as children justified their ideas using the scientific vocabulary they had been learning.

Class Five don’t know it yet, but all of this research is going to play a really important role in our next expedition — and in shaping our final product. An exciting start to our scientific journey!