IN FOCUS 2021
Little School Highlights Home Learning and Class Dojo By Miss Harris, Head of Little School
What a year it’s been, but we can’t let the year end go by without looking at all the positive elements that have been achieved both by teachers and students. Eighteen months ago if we had even talked about Zooming or delivering an online curriculum I think I, as many teachers, would have screamed. It has certainly been a learning curve for all involved. I think at times the children have taught us, as their skills with modern technology, far outweighs ours. On a serious note, I would like to thank all of my staff for embracing the changes, getting stuck in and learning as we go along. I feel we can all feel a great deal of pride for the way we have conducted ourselves, and ensured our utmost that the children in Little School could still access the curriculum in a meaningful
way. This has been largely due to the introduction of a fantastic teaching and communication tool called Class Dojo. I am sure all parents agree it has been a fabulous resource to us all throughout the periods of lockdown and as an easy day to day resource to contact the teacher rather than emailing. We have been able to set and mark work, reply to messages almost instantly, and upload videos to assist with the teaching of subjects. We will be continuing to utilise this fantastic tool in future years and also continue to develop the ways in which we use it, as I know the children and parents love to see the children’s news as and when it is happening and enjoy seeing their children’s photographs from celebration assembly on a Friday. Thank you to everybody for the last 12 months, it has brought a whole new sense of meaning to the word ‘community’ for me. Here’s to a more ‘normal’ school year next year.
Year 2 Write to Chris Quirk In the Lent Term, Year 2 learnt how to write letters. As part of this, the classes read a story called ‘Alexander and the Curly Wurly Caterpillar’ by Christopher Quirk. Mrs Pye, Miss Harris and Mrs Pythian set the children the task of writing a letter to Mr Quirk asking questions about his book. The children then sent their letters via email to him. The children were delighted when he wrote back to them and it gave them a real purpose for writing.
Year 2 Go Back in Time The Year 2s enjoyed a fabulous day in November learning about what school was like for Victorian children. They all came to School dressed in traditional Victorian clothing and were met by their governesses for the day (Mrs Pye and Miss Harris) who were in full strict character! (Although they couldn’t maintain that for long!) The children experienced writing in slates, completed some arithmetic and copied lines in full cursive style. They also got to play with some Victorian toys and watch clips about what life was like in that era. It was a really fun and educational day for all involved.
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