Does Crew Stop at the School Gates?

29th August 2025Lauren Gate

What an amazing first week in Class Six!

This week we dove head first into crew, and have been thinking all about how we can help ourselves and each other be the best versions of ourselves. As part of this, we have been thinking about the question “does crew stop at the school gates?”. We put together little gift packages, and this morning we went our of school and delivered them around Norton.

It has been lovely getting to know Class Six this week, and we cannot wait to start our new expedition next week!!

Year Two: Does Crew Stop at the School Gates?

29th August 2025Laura Parsons

This week, Year Two have been exploring our new guiding question: “Does Crew stop at the school gates?” We began the term by thinking carefully about what it means to be part of a crew, not just in our classroom but in our wider community too.

Throughout the week, children took part in a range of activities designed to reconnect us as a crew after the summer break. We shared stories, took new crew photographs, created self-portraits for our classroom displays, and agreed on norms to help guide how we want our classroom to look, feel and sound. We also enjoyed team-building games and challenges, reminding ourselves that we are always stronger when we work together.

A real highlight was our work on kindness. Each child wrote a thoughtful kindness poem, which was carefully packaged alongside small treats into gift bags. In the afternoon, we set out together to deliver these kindness bags around Norton. The children were so proud to share their poems and gifts with members of our local community, showing that acts of compassion can travel far beyond the school gates.

This project helped us to see that crew is not just something that happens inside the classroom – it is about how we connect with and care for others wherever we go. We are excited to continue exploring this question throughout the year.

Our First Day Back at School

26th August 2025Laura Parsons

What a brilliant first day we’ve had back at school today! It was wonderful to see all the children arriving this morning with big smiles, smart uniforms and lots of excitement (and a few little nerves too – which is completely normal!).

The children have settled back into school life so quickly. We spent time getting to know our new classroom, reminding ourselves of our routines and expectations, and most importantly, enjoying being back together as a crew.

A big focus for us today was on the character trait of Craftsmanship and Quality. Using the artist Piet Mondrian as our inspiration, the children worked carefully and thoughtfully to create some beautiful pieces of artwork of their own – we were so impressed with the pride they took in their work.

We also shared the story Our Class is a Family. Together, we thought about our families at home and then reflected on what will make our classroom feel like a family too. The children came up with some wonderful ideas about kindness, teamwork and looking after one another.

There were also plenty of opportunities for fun games and team challenges to help everyone feel comfortable and confident. It was lovely to see new friendships beginning to form and old ones picking up right where they left off.

We are so proud of how brilliantly the children have started the year. This is going to be an exciting term filled with learning, discovery and new adventures – and today was the perfect start!

Well done, everyone – we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Mrs Parsons and Miss Tinker xx

Stay and Read in the Sunshine

17th June 2025Laura Parsons

This morning, we had a wonderful Stay and Read session in the sunshine, and it truly was a lovely way to start the day. It was so special to see children reading to adults, adults reading to children, and everyone enjoying a quiet moment surrounded by books.

A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us—it was extra special as it marked the final Stay and Read for your child at Norton Infant School. We’re so grateful for your continued support and for sharing these moments with us.

Feely bags and the match box challenge

4th June 2025Claire Goodyer

Crew Goodyer enjoyed taking part in some fun crew sessions outdoors this week led by Mrs Jackson. We began by using our senses to explore and describe objects found out in our school grounds.

We then took part in the matchbox challenge to see which team could fit the most objects into a matchbox. Frankie and Eliza were excited to be named champions!

Friendship blocks

22nd May 2025Sarah Winkley

This mornings Crews in Nursery were spent thinking about the building blocks of friendship and being kind. Each crew member were given a block or brick and encouraged to think about what would a kind friend do to help make their friends happy? How can we play nicely together? How can we make sure everyone feels included? How we can manage our feelings if our friends don’t want to play at that moment?

Some of the thoughts that the children offered were; “Be kind”, “Share toys or food?”, “Ask someone to play with you too”, “Give them a cuddle or a kiss”, “Be nice”, “Sharing”, “Ask them to play” and “Play with someone else”. Good thinking Nursery, we’re all friends in Nursery.

Mindful Monday

12th May 2025Sarah Winkley

Today in our “Mindful Monday” Crew the children checked in with their zones of regulation to see how everyone was feeling, using our monsters to identify and name their emotions. We then took turns with a partner to draw something which happened during their weekend on whiteboards. I was amazed by some of the beautiful drawings in our crew circles, with the majority of children now using lines and circles with a clearer vision of their representations.

The children then took turns to talk about what they had been doing during the weekend with their partner and then recall this to other Crew members. The drawings really helped to bring their recounts to life and both Crews were very respectful of each other whilst they shared their stories. Well Done Crew Winkley and Crew Mortimer!