THEECHO ECHO ECHO
Christmas 2013 Edition
LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS St Margaret’s enjoys a rich and varied Performing Arts curriculum, through which the children are taught not only Music, Drama and Dance, but also an ever increasing range of life skills. What better way to facilitate self confidence and enhanced communication, than performing to an audience, either in the classroom, on stage at school, or to audiences further afield. Even better, as the children at St Margaret’s grow older they work towards advancing their skills through the medium of competition and in this past term, there have been some notable successes to celebrate. The Chamber Choir hit all the right notes when they were named the Winners of the Choir Class in the 2013 Devizes Junior Eisteddfod. Initially, the Choir made up of children from Year 5 and Year 6, won the Choir 11 and Under Category and was awarded the highest accolade of ‘Honours’. The children then went on to win the Choir Class overall, retaining the Bob May Memorial Plate, which they also won last year. Other outstanding
performances by St Margaret’s pupils came when the Recorder Ensemble won the Recorder Group 12 and Under Category. Additionally, children were successful in a range of other classes including News Reading and Art. The Chamber Choir children have enjoyed an extraordinarily busy term and, as well as opportunities for competition and performance, they were especially delighted to support a charitable initiative when they were invited to perform in a concert to an audience of more than 300 people in the Chapel at St Mary’s. They sang with the Warminster Military Wives Choir and the Chamber Choir of St Mary’s, and in excess of £6,000 was raised in aid of the Armed Forces Fund, established to support the secondary education of children who have a parent, of any rank, killed or wounded in active service. The Chamber Choir concluded its outstanding term with a Christmas performance in the Chapel at Bowood, as well as singing in the Carol Service.
Welcome to the Christmas Edition of The Echo The school term which stretches from September to December is extraordinary in so many ways. Not only is it the longest term, during which we see a great deal of change, having returned during the late summer days and not ending until well after the final autumn leaves have fallen, but it is an exciting time of change for the children too. A term during which much learning takes place, both academically and socially, and when we see the excited, but slightly apprehensive pupils from twelve weeks ago starting to gain in confidence, and take increased responsibility for facilitating their own knowledge and understanding. Alongside this we have enjoyed seeing them shine on the stage, both within school and further afield. Sporting achievements have been enjoyed by many, and every child at St Margaret’s took part in the wide
range of activities on offer during Culture Week. So it is with a great sense of pride that we reach the end of this first term, secure in the knowledge that the children have had every opportunity to be the best that they can possibly be, and that they in turn have grasped those opportunities with determination and the desire to succeed. Next term we look forward to all of our pupils continuing in this positive way, and especially the children in Year 6 as they prepare to take their 11+ examinations in January. We wish them every success and, in the meantime, I send you and your families my good wishes for a blessed and joyous Christmas, and a peaceful and happy 2014.
www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Kindergarten Enjoy the Park Kindergarten have been using their imaginations to explore a variety of role play ideas this term, one of which has been Percy the Park Keeper’s hut. After listening to some stories about Percy the Park Keeper, the children decided that they would like to have both a home and a shed for Percy, and so worked together to create two role-play areas. It would seem that two areas weren’t enough for Percy and his Kindergarten team, and so the children used the big blocks in Kindergarten to build a garden so that they could plant seeds for Percy to then plant in the park. As good workers do, they made sure that they remembered to stop for refreshments mid-way through their work!
Skeletons in Reception HC! Reception HC have been learning all about the body. The children decided to turn their role-play area into a hospital and had great fun taking turns to be the doctor, nurse and patient. Everyone thought carefully about what they wanted in their hospital and had a go at making slings and putting bandages on each other. As part of their creative work, the children collaged a big body and tried their best to write the labels for the different body parts. The class had a visit from a nurse at St Mary’s who taught them how to wash their hands properly and why it is so important. The children really enjoyed looking at a skeleton and learning the names of different parts of the body they even had some real x-rays to look at!
Family Fun in Reception KC Reception KC enjoyed experiencing their first ‘Reception Open House’ this term. The children enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate their progress with family members. Each child took great pride in sharing the contents of their Learning Journey. They also enjoyed sharing examples of their team work by looking at photos and words in their Class Shape Book and Class Senses Book. Each of these books encouraged the children to freely comment on their achievements and engage in detailed discussions about their learning. ‘Reception Open House’ was also a great opportunity to introduce family members to different areas within their classroom and Reception KC were keen to demonstrate how to access and use a wide range of resources independently. The children loved leading the event. Thank you for your support!
1J and Their Toys This term the children in 1J have been finding out all about toys. They had great fun performing all that they had learnt in their assembly. They thought about their favourite toy and talked about how they play with it and what it looks like. In ICT the children used Revelation Natural Art to draw their toy and also took photos of their toy doing all the things they like to do at the weekend. They then used these photos to write a diary in school. This was very exciting! In Science the class has been looking at materials and their characteristics and have found out that toys are made from lots of different materials. In History they have thought about how they could tell whether a toy is old or new - they looked at what different toys are made of to help them decide and then placed these into chronological order. Everyone had great fun learning songs about teddy bears in Music.
1T Post it! The children in 1T have had an amazing term linking Geography, English and Cooking. The children enjoyed writing invitations to their favourite toys inviting them to a tea party. They learnt their addresses and then explored their local environment by walking into Calne to the Post Office. The children proudly bought stamps and popped their invitations into the post box. They then eagerly waited for their invitations to arrive. Thank goodness all the toys were available on the day of the party the children made delicious rice crispy cakes. Perhaps the best part was sharing their crispy cakes with their toys. Yum!
Budding Designers in 2B In Design and Technology this term 2B have been looking at playground equipment. A survey designed and carried out by the class revealed which equipment is the most popular in school. Alongside a discussion of these results the children thought about the materials used, how the parts moved and the joins for each piece of play apparatus. Then they went on to think about their own model they would like to make. They experimented with different methods of joining and a variety of materials. Following their trials each child carefully drew their design and labelled how their own models would work and which materials they would like to use. Then they started on their own constructions. Most managed to put their models together independently, although some advice was needed on making the structures sturdy and stable. After construction the models were painted to finish them off. Fantastic design work 2B!
2H’s Electrifying Science!
Year 3 Visit Avebury
The children in 2H have been very busy in their Science lessons learning all about electricity and the ways to stay safe around electrical items. They have learnt all about circuits and the fact that a complete circuit is needed in order for the current to flow from the battery to the bulb. Everyone loved the chance to become electricians for the morning and build their own circuits! They assembled a complete circuit and even put wire in a switch to break the circuit and turn their bulbs on and off. Whilst 2H have been excited about working with electricity, they have also made sure to think about how important it is to be safe around it. They have learnt some important lessons about being sensible and what not to do around electricity. To inform and warn people of these dangers they created some very eye-catching posters. We are sure you will all agree, Year 2H is buzzing with electricity!
The huge Iron Age circular banks and ditches of Avebury hosted a visit from the Year 3 pupils earlier this term. They learnt about the intriguing history of this ancient site and discovered the purpose of the four causewayed entrances. The children listened intently to the possibly gruesome original purpose of the inner circle. The later history also featured in their guided tour and the pupils discussed various theories about why many of the great stones were once buried or destroyed. Ask them who Alexander Keiller was and they will surely reply that he was the heir to a fortune made from the famous Keiller marmalade, who bought the site and cleared away buildings and re-erected many stones in the late 1930s. Many pictures of the family can be seen in the site’s marvellous interactive museum. This visit provided the children with an invaluable opportunity to examine a range of artefacts and theories to support their classroom learning about the Celts.
THEECHO ECHO ECHO CHRISTMAS 2013 EDITION
Celts Come to Calne!
4NC Create Animals!
3R have been learning about the fantastic fearsome Celts. The children have researched facts, made roundhouses for their class hillfort, acted out famous battles and imagined what life would have been like if they were in the Iron Age. Their work culminated in an exciting workshop with Devizes Heritage Museum, where the children were lucky enough to handle real artefacts from the Celtic time and make replica coins and jewellery so that they could look even more like Celtic warriors. The children commented: ‘I loved hitting the pattern onto the coin with the hammer.’ ‘Wow, my torc really looks like a Celtic one with the right pattern.’ ‘It was heavy turning the quern to grind the corn, but we managed it!’
Strange animals have been seen in 4NC emerging from the mountains, beach and sea in the corridor! Having learnt about habitats, the children were asked to design their own animal, thinking about what it looked like and its needs, including food, shelter, moisture, warmth, safety from predators, the food chain it belonged to and how its habitat might be destroyed. Some exciting animals came to life with very detailed requirements, such as rainforest leaves as snacks! The class saw an animal that ate rock to generate heat, others absorbed moisture from their food and one had a snake predator that could detect movement. No-one is sure how long the sandwich-shaped crab living on a beach would last during summer!
4B Enjoy the Vicious Vikings! 4B have had a fantastic time learning all about the Vikings. The children particularly enjoyed writing their own name plates using Viking runes. It was quite challenging for children with a ‘u’ or ‘w’ in their name, as the symbol was the same for both letters. The class also looked at the type of clothing worn in Viking times and the children drew a man or woman on card, cut it out and then collaged it using fabric. But perhaps the most enjoyable activity was learning ‘Viking Rock’ from the ‘Sing Up’ site. The lyrics to the song reminded the children where the Vikings came from and why they settled in Britain. The children in 4B were fortunate enough to be invited by 4NC, with whom they learnt the song, to perform in their class assembly.
The Bible is Brought to Life for 5B! Year 5 were delighted to be invited to visit the Bible Exhibition at Calne Free Church this term. The children were told stories from the Bible with actors telling them their own tales as Biblical characters. ‘Biblical food’ was available for the children to try; dates, dried fruits, honey and flatbreads as well as evocative spices to smell. A tank of locusts brought the Old Testament plagues vividly to mind! Finally the children were invited to use the information around the room to answer quiz questions about the Bible stories that they had heard. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Year 5 Visit Calne Year 5 have thoroughly enjoyed investigating their local area this term. Initially, communities in general were looked at and discussed. The children then prepared a list of the facilities and amenities that should be found in a ‘perfect’ town, comparing these to what they thought Calne offered. Topics such as traffic density, leisure amenities and types of shops were hotly debated. The next step was to prepare for their field trip into Calne. The children used Microsoft Excel to write a traffic survey, as well as using a database to produce a detailed questionnaire. The day of the trip proved to be extremely wet, but this did not dampen their enthusiasm! As well as asking local residents and visitors for their views about Calne, everyone completed mapping activities covering different parts of the town, and carried out a detailed analysis of the traffic issues in the area.
On their return to school, the children spent some time discussing both their views and the town residents’ views; the traffic spreadsheet and database were completed and used to inform their views further, and then compared with the Calne Town Council website. Finally, everyone wrote their own report in which they made recommendations on how to improve Calne. These are now ready to be sent to the Town Council for further comment. Overall, it was lovely to see everyone getting so involved in the future of our local community.
Year 6 Program for Success The children in Year 6 have been combining their DT, ICT and Maths skills in building, then programming a LEGO robot to compete at this year’s LEGO League South West Regional event in Bristol. The task this year was to complete a series of missions based around the theme of ‘Nature’s Fury’. The group was given 9 natural disaster areas to study, which they then researched and came up with an innovative solution to help people caught in a natural disaster. Their solution was to create an App for a mobile phone that would give people advice prior to going on holiday to a potential danger zone and also to help people who were caught in a natural disaster. As part of their research, the children used Skype to contact the Disaster Co-ordination Manager for ComputerShare in the USA and an App Software designer for advice on how to design the App. The team were questioned by judges throughout the day about their robot design and co-opetition (friendly competition!). The group enjoyed the challenges posed and worked well together in producing a high quality set of programs. We are delighted to report that the team came third in the league stage, qualifying for the quarter finals they should be very proud of what they achieved.
6G Experiment The laboratory sessions at St Mary’s are a hugely popular part of practical Science for the older children. This term 6G have particularly enjoyed testing the viscosity of different liquids. To do this the children timed how fast a marble travelled through washing up liquid, treacle, baby oil, water and body wash. They found that the thicker and more viscous the liquid, the slower the marble was able to move. In the conclusion to the experiment the children related the viscosity to how much a liquid needs to stick to a surface; for example oil needs to stick to the moving parts in a car to lubricate it. A very important experiment used limewater and cobalt chloride paper to identify the waste products of burning: carbon dioxide and water. When limewater is added to a jar containing carbon dioxide in high quantities, the limewater goes milky.
Cobalt chloride paper is highly sensitive to the presence of water and changes colour from pale blue to pink. Even holding it in damp hands can make the change. The experiment proved what compounds are created by burning and led to some children investigating the equation for burning using some simple chemical symbols.
www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Stir Up Tuesday! Traditionally, the last Sunday in November is Stir-Up Sunday, when families gather together to make Christmas puddings and have a wish with a stir. Cookery Club at St Margaret’s takes place every Tuesday lunchtime in Maggots and the last Tuesday in November is the Club’s ‘Stir-Up’ time. The children in Cookery Club eagerly dusted down their mixing bowls, tied on their aprons and made Christmas cakes! The budding masterchefs frantically chopped, sieved and stirred. They learnt how to marzipan and ice their cakes and transformed them into magical winter wonderlands! Here are some comments about Cookery Club: Max said ‘The teachers do demonstrations to show you just how it’s done, this is a super club!’ Archie said ‘The food we make is delicious and it tastes even better than you can think.’ Tom commented that all the ingredients are mixed together at school, ready to take home and bake and Charlotte reported that she made some ham and cheese spirals which were devoured by her family in just two days!
A Huge Thank You! St Margaret’s is always truly grateful for the generosity shown by parents each time we have a fund-raising initiative at school. We are acutely aware that this term has been exceptional and we have asked for your support for an unprecedented amount of causes. We would like to take this opportunity to say ‘Thank You’ to the school community for their boundless efforts and generosity in terms of time, and financial donations. This term alone, the charities that have benefited from your generosity are: The Devizes Food Bank, The Armed Forces Fund, Operation Christmas Child, Philippines Typhoon Appeal, Afghanistan Winter Clothing Appeal, Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, and our school charity for 2013 - Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
Spirited Performances at Football Festivals This term has proved very prosperous out on the games field, with excellent results against some strong opposition.
U11B Goal Keeper and Mickey who moved up to the U11B team from Year 3, and scored a hat trick.
To conclude the term’s busy fixtures programme, the boys and girls in Year 5 and 6 attended the Bath Schools’ Football Festival.
The U10 and U11 girls also played in the Bath Schools’ Football Festival for the first time. They were all excited to play in the fixture and relished the new challenge.
The Year 5 boys proved themselves keen and eager to get stuck into football after their successful term on the rugby field. At the King Edwards Festival, highlights included wins against Monkton Combe and The Paragon. There were exceptional performances from Archie in Year 5 (the U10A football Captain) and Jackson who stepped up from Year 4 to represent the U10B team scoring a fantastic penalty kick. The Year 6 boys competed in a Festival hosted by Kingswood and displayed spirit and commitment. The determination that they show on the rugby field was ever present in all their football matches, resulting in a fantastic win against Monkton Combe. There were notable performances from Ben in Year 6 who played as the
The U10A team had great wins against Kingswood, Westonbirt Prep and The Paragon and only conceded 4 goals in the entire Festival. Particular mention has to go to Amy B, Jemima and Isabella C from Year 5 for excellent attacking play and accurate shots on goal. The girls really supported each other on the football pitch. The U11A team were keen throughout their matches and drew against Monkton Combe, Kingswood and The Royal High. They developed their attacking skills throughout the Festival and Maisie and Lily from Year 6 had some excellent shots on goal. Fiona also made some great saves to prevent the opposition from scoring.
St Margaret’s Preparatory School, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF Tel: 01249 857220 Fax: 01249 857227 Email: office@stmargaretsprep.org.uk Website: www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk