Stanford Junior and Infant School
Living together - Learning together
On this page you can see updates over the term of our activities and learning.
PCSO Marc Island and his colleague came in to talk about hate crime to Key Stage 2. They discussed how we should respect everybody is different and treat everyone the same no matter what their gender, disability, religion or race.
During Science week, Mr Amos who is an Engineer came into school and did bottle rockets with Star Anise class. Each group planned their investigation considering the variables they would keep the same and those they would change. E.g the bar and the amount of water. Groups went outside and Mr Amos had brought in his rocket launcher. Each person in the group had a job. E.g timing the rocket, estimating the height of the rocket and filling the bottles with water. We collected our data and then worked out average times and what we had found out. It was fun.
By JAMES
Look carefully can you see the rocket in the sky they went very high and one even got stuck in the tree!!!!
As part of our continuous drive to raise awareness of diversity at Stanford, we held an assembly to support World Down Syndrome Day.
We enjoyed this video clip of some children singing with their parents.
They are singing alongside using Makaton, we had a try at following the Makaton signs too.
We learned that Makaton is sometimes used to help people with Down Syndrome to develop their communication skills alongside their development of speech.
At Stanford we believe that this image illustrates our attitude to diversity very well.
One pupil was already supporting World Down Syndrome Day by wearing a pair of odd socks in recognition.
Juniper and Star Anise Class had a real treat with their learning this afternoon. We went in the hall and were greeted by Fun into Food team who explained the cooking event. They were 2 pupils and a teacher in each team and the rest of us were the audience. Each team had 15 minutes to prepare a healthy meal. Green team cooked Mexican bean Burrito with a Tomato and Cucumber Salsa. Red team cooked Thai Green Curry and Aromatic rice.
We were reminded about healthy eating and the main food groups.
After the cooking we all got to sample the food. Following this everyone voted. The Green team’s recipe was most popular.
Year 5 are very proud of their Viking Invasion Dance and wanted to share with the rest of the school! We are extremely proud of their hard work, creativity and teamwork too! Well Done Star Anise!
We were very grateful that Dr Wilton, Chloe and a group of International Ambassadors from Caistor Grammar School joined us in Year 5 today to lead workshops about ‘International Science.’ The pupils learnt more about re-cycling and global issues – they really enjoyed working with the older pupils too as part of the Science Week in school.
Star Anise were very lucky to meet local musician Mr. Amos today. Mr. Amos gave an inspirational talk and demonstration of some of the instruments he can play, including the harmonica and the acoustic guitar. Mr. Amos also spoke about the band he plays bass in and how music has enriched his life.
George M- I have just begun to learn the guitar.
James B- I would like to be able to play drums in a band.
Jacob- I liked the sound the harmonica made.
Mrs. Brady- While the children played a jazz piece on their glockenspiels, Mr. Amos joined in on his harmonica. It was great when he started to improvise!
James said ‘I’ve really enjoyed working with the younger children and from my perspective it would certainly be something that I would like to do more often. I was really impressed with Y2 comprehension skills.’
Abi added ‘I think that I have helped to broaden the younger children’s vocabulary.’
Alfie ‘This collaboration has meant that I could inspire younger children to read and that opens up a whole new world for them.’
Our School Nurses came in to talk to Star Anise and Barley class about Mental Health. We discussed being mentally healthy and how keeping active and healthy will help keep our minds well.
We learnt the 5 different things to keep our mind well:
Star Anise Class have been learning all about jazz music and improvisation. They have listened and appraised music by Stan Getz. They have learnt how to play 'The Three Note Bossa' by Ian Gray on their glockenspiels by reading and following musical notation. They improved their performance of this piece with improvised sections, a percussion section and a melody which was played on glockenspiels and violas.
The Greater Depth learning here was where some children could read and play music using both the alto clef (viola) and the treble clef (glockenspiel)!!!
As part of our Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons learning, we were very lucky to have a special visit from Miss Ryley from Access Cambridge Archaeology. We spent the morning finding out about the role of an archaeologist, looked at specialist tools and took part in a variety of exciting and interactive activities.
We had a fantastic morning! Thank you Miss Ryley!
"It was amazing to be able to touch the artefacts and the animal skulls, I’ve never done anything like that before" - Alfie
Well done to Stanford house who managed to score a tremendous 562 points across the different year groups!
Mental Health and Well-Being of children and staff at Stanford School is very important to us.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Day, each class participated in activities that were age appropriate to discuss how we can help to look after ourselves and each other. FS looked at people who we can talk to and look up to as role models, KS1 discussed different feelings and how 'It's Ok!' to feel certain ways. KS2 discussed different types of mental illness and how we can support one another.
We presented our work and ideas in a whole school assembly, the key theme that we are going to continue to focus on is "It's Good to Talk!".
Today we have all been learning about how to be safe on the internet and most importantly to be SMART
PCSO Marc Ireland came into school and lead an assembly about being SMART, social media and the sites that we should be very careful of using. It is really important that we take care when using the internet and it is used sensibly and responsibly.
Carl Wheatley from Radio Humberside visited school to speak with the pupils about all the exciting learning that goes on at Stanford. As always, the pupils did us proud and were very articulate, as you can hear in the radio broadcast:
Children in Star Anise Class wrote special poems for World Dignity Day. Three representatives from the class were lucky enough to perform their thought-provoking poem at Cloverdale Residental Home in Laceby. The residents and staff were really moved by what they heard. Here is their special poem:
Two words, two different meanings,
But they are often used wrongly,
Dignity is the ability to stand strong and tall,
In the face of your troubles,
Always have your head held high,
Keep fighting for your dignity,
A lesson that everyone should learn,
It can’t be ordered,
Only given as a gift,
Respect is the anchor that keeps a person well grounded,
But most importantly,
Give it to get it
We are not perfect human beings,
Nor do we have to pretend to be,
Respect and dignity is the
Thing that keeps the world well balanced,
Death with dignity is better,
Than life with humiliation,
You should never sacrifice,
Four things,
Your family,
Your heart,
Your dignity,
Your respect.
We had a lovely Community High Tea Thank You Event yesterday – we wanted to let all the volunteers who help our school know how valued and special their contributions are. Thank you to all the pupils and staff for making and serving the refreshments. All the guests enjoyed the performances and entertainment. Special thanks to the year 6 helpers -Joe, Jessica, Lucie and Harvey who helped make sure the event ran smoothly.
One visitor commented," A lovely event. Pupils were very welcoming and friendly – they entertained us with a wonderful variety of well-rehearsed, interesting and fun performances. A very special afternoon."
Year 5 have been learning about Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. We have researched how they came to England on longboats and pillaged their way through different villages and towns, taking wealth and land. Our PE focus this term is dance, so we decided to perform a Viking invasion! We have really enjoyed working as a team and choreographing our dance routines. In fact, we have enjoyed it so much that we even made props at home to use in our routines!
Premier Sports came in and delivered an assembly on tolerance and what should and shouldn't be tolerated. Pupils used different coloured cards to represent how they feel about different aspects and scenarios.
Well done to the pupil voice group in year 5 who led a ‘Toy Appreciation’ assembly this morning to the whole school about sensibly looking after our playground equipment. The group also shared ideas for new games and used role –play to support this. The group will be monitoring and rewarding improvements during break times.
Well done to the Litter Picker team for motivating and encouraging others to take part – excellent team effort. Thank you to Jessica for organising cards and rewards as a treat for the team!
Year 5 and 6 Carol Concert at St Margaret’s Church was a beautiful community event – the pupils retold the Christmas story in word and song helping us remember the real meaning of this special time of year. Thank you to those who attended. Merry Christmas.
Star Anise and Poppy Class joined together this afternoon for some ICT collaboration. Pupils from Poppy visited Star Anise. We worked together as buddies. Helping others to improve their editing skills.
Debbie from The Ryan Smith Foundation came to talk to pupils about the importance of wearing a helmet. She spoke about Ryan and how his life has changed dramatically, all because he didn't wear a helmet. She used eggs to demonstrate what can happen if a helmet is not worn. It was a very informative assembly and the pupils really enjoyed this.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the parents, grandparents and family members that came to our Learning Share last week.
We really enjoyed showcasing the wonderful learning that has been taking place this term in Year 5. We were also very excited to welcome you into our classroom and to give you the opportunity to participate in some of the exciting activities that take place in our classroom.
We hope you had as much fun as we did!
As a part of our activities during the day we had a 'Mix it up' lunchtime. The tables were given names using words that encourage tolerance such as: peace, happiness and love.
The children had to pick a card and sit at their chosen table. This was to encourage them to socialise and share lunchtime with different children and to give them an opportunity to make new friends.
The children enjoyed this change to the normal lunchtime routine.
Charlie (Y1) 'I met a new friend called Azem. We chatted together.'
Oscar (Y1) 'It was exciting to find out which table I was going to go to.'
Betsie (Y2) 'I met a new friend and we talked about friendship.'
Anthony (Y2) 'I was excited to sit with someone new.'
Ryan (Y3) ' People were nice on my table.'
Amelia (Y3) 'I enjoyed talking to someone new.'
William (Y5) 'We interacted with new people and made new friends. I think we should do this every day.'
Rebecca (Y5) 'It was really fun. It was good to sit with people we don't normally talk to.'
As you know this week has been Anti- Bullying Week. Star Anise have been discussing acts of kindness and have been busy making kind hands. We thought about people we could trust who we could tell if we are being bullied and wrote their names on our cut out hands.
We created a paper chain of kindness, we had a strip of coloured paper and wrote our kindness pledge on it. We also looked at the "Be Kind Campaign" which has been launched by the TV programme This Morning hosted by Phil and Holly.
As Holly said " How much better the world would be if everyone was just that bit kinder to each other?"
Written by Mareen, Darcie and Rebecca
Our local PCSO Mark Ireland came into school to lead an assembly on respect and how the police deal with bullying behaviours in the community. The children listened to how bullying can affect the community in many different ways such as through anti-social behaviour, and how bullying can not only impact on the victim, but their friends and family too.
Star Anise have enjoyed investigating which materials are the best electrical conductors and Insulators. The children made a complete circuit, tested which materials are better conductors than others and which materials made their bulb shine the brightest.
In English we have been discussing and debating if this quote from our book " Floodland" is true
"They're just people. They're not good or bad. It's just these are bad times and it makes people do bad things". said by a character from our book, who's name is William.
We have written a debate letter to a place in our book, Eels Island, we are writing as the main character, Zoe.
By James Marsden
Pupils in Star Anise and Barley class wrote short poems and thoughts for our Peach reflection. We laid our peace pebbles down, around the Dove, as we read out some of our poems. We had a few moments quiet reflection thinking about the importance of peace within our own lives, in the community, in the country and in the world.
In Star Anise we have been learning about rivers - focusing on how they are formed, why they are important, how materials are transported, deposited and eroded, the causes and effects of pollution and we will also be choosing a river to create a case study about. This cross curricular project is also enhancing our online research and multimedia skills. We are selecting key pieces of information, pictures and even producing videos, then presenting using Microsoft PowerPoint. Although we have only just begun this project, we already have some fabulous information and are really enjoying creating our engaging, attractive and informative presentations!
Our Community ICT Workshop has been very successful and well attended. Pupils supported community members who were keen to develop their ICT skills in an after-school club at school. Pupils explained how to use power point and helped the group develop their understanding. Thank you to the pupils who were the ICT teachers for the evening and to Mr Hawkins for facilitating the event.
Great to see Year 5 (Group 2) enjoying their viola playing. They are learning about staff and musical notation and trying hard to improve their technique. Well done everyone!
In English today we worked in small groups imagining if we were Eels on Eels Island. We considered the following questions; What rules will they need? How will they organise themselves, or distribute food? We designed a list of rules for life on Eels Island. This work is linked to our Power of Reading book' FLOODLAND' by Marcus Sedgwick.
Great to see Year 5 (Group 1) enjoying their viola playing. They are learning about staff and musical notation and trying hard to improve their technique. Well done everyone!
Pupil Voice is really important to us – groups of pupils led interesting assemblies today in school. The Litter Picker team praised pupils for using the bins and encouraged them to join their team. The Play Leaders led an assembly all about the games and equipment we use at break times and introduced all the Buddies and Play Leaders by name – everyone is there to help make our playtimes fun and engaging. Well done everyone.
We had a great Halloween activity event this week – pupils enjoyed ‘Thriller’ style dancing, pumpkin biscuits, ghost bananas, ‘severed finger’ hot dogs, lego lanterns, craft and balloon games! Everyone was smiling and having fun – the behaviour and atmosphere were excellent. We also managed to raise some funds for school too!
Year 5 pupils took part in the Bikeability scheme to develop their skills and knowledge to ensure they are safe on the roads
<Barley, Star Anise and Poppy Class joined together this afternoon for their reading collaboration. Pupils from Barley visited Poppy, Pupils from Poppy visited Star Anise and pupils from Star Anise visited Barley. We worked as reading buddies to inspire others and improve our reading skills but most of all because we simply love to read.
Thank you for your support for the MacMillan Coffee Morning held at Stanford Centre today. The pupils performed lovely songs and poems. Everyone enjoyed the cakes and refreshments. Thank you for your donations towards this worthwhile cause.
Thank you Mrs Wink for leading the Summer Reading Challenge – so many pupils have impressed you with their holiday reading! The pupils received a certificate of congratulations and Juniper class received a set of books – they were the class who had the most reads. Mrs Wink says 1750 books have been read by Stanford pupils over summer from the Stanford Library - wow! Children at Stanford have a great love of reading and we are so proud of them. Well done.
Star Anise class have been getting to grips with our new sets of Numicon maths resources. We have been seeing if we can use them to help us solve some tricky subtraction problems and to show what really happens when we exchange (borrow) from one column to the next.
Councillor Hasthorpe visited school today to lead an assembly about British Values. The pupils listened really well and discussed values, respect, tolerance and equality. Councillor Hasthorpe explained how Parliament works and the importance of us all working together as one big family to make positive changes for the world. Our pupils felt inspired and classes will be doing more follow up learning on this in their SMSC and Philosophy for Children work. Thank you Councillor Hasthorpe for your time and support.
Steve from the County Asset Team visited us to lead an assembly all about the roof building project at school – he talked about the equipment the builders use and the importance of safety. The pupils all listened really well and it seems quite a few family members are working on the roof!