3 minute read
News from Roecroft Lower School
Welcome to this month’s news from Roecroft Lower School.
I think it is important to mention again that schools are still having to function under rather challenging circumstances, our main priority continues to be to make school as normal for all our children. They have shown huge resilience over the last 22 months and continue to fill us all with pride. We continue to strive for academic excellence and want to ensure all our children are given the tools to reach their full potential. Before Christmas we had a visit from Dr. Neil Hawkes, the founder of the Values-based Education system and an ex headteacher and Ofsted inspector. He spent most of a day in school and awarded us the highest possible recognition for Values-based culture and ethos in schools. He said the school models values with ease and conviction; that staff are all welcoming and show sincerity in the work they do; the extra demands the pandemic had bought were not apparent around the building; that the children were relaxed and alert in their learning and the schools amazing attention to detail was apparent everywhere. The full report is a joyous read and really reflects the work that goes into life here at Roecroft. Thank you to my team and the children for all of your hard work and dedication.
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This month we have an update from our phase leaders in Years 3 and 4. The Year 3 children returned to school in January after the Christmas break full of enthusiasm and looking forward to the Spring term. We started the term by reading some classic myths and legends, such as Robin Hood, and the children enjoyed writing their own story based on the key themes found in many myths. Our Science topic this term has been ‘Forces and Magnets’ . We identified different forces used in everyday reactions and spent time studying gravity and air resistance. The children created different parachutes to test air resistance and had great fun dropping them from the classroom balcony! In Art, our topic has been based on artwork from the Stone Age period, namely the amazing caves in Lascaux, France. We studied the Stone Age during our history topic last term so the children have enjoyed bringing this period to life through their artwork using paints made from natural materials. In computing, the children have been learning to code using computer software such as ‘Scratch’ and ‘Turtle Logo’ . Using the basics of coding, the children were able to program computer avatars to move and complete tasks. Creating their moving characters was a real highlight for the children!
We have had a busy start to Spring term in Year 4. The children have thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to venture out on school trips once again. Firstly, we visited Hazard Alley in Milton Keynes as part of our PSHE curriculum to learn first-hand how to manage hazards and stay safe in real-life scenarios. Then as part of our local history study this term, we visited the Welwyn Roman Baths to discover what was found at the site and how the Romans impacted modern day Britain. We were also lucky to have a programming and building workshop, where the children were able to use their coding and engineering skills to build their own robots from LEGO.
We are now going to put these skills into action in science and DT lessons making cars and switches.
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