The Roundup - Edition 93

This week, Monte (Nursery) children have been enjoying a variety of activities inspired by World Book Day, particularly through stories about Paddington Bear. They carefully followed instructions to make marmalade sandwiches, created Paddington-themed crafts, and had great fun dressing up as their favourite characters.

During Forest School, Monte (Nursery) spent time exploring the orchard, where they used willow to create bubble blowers and experimented with how wind and movement could make bubbles. The session sparked plenty of creativity and curiosity, with children engaging in imaginative play, problem-solving, and even outdoor maths as they compared the lengths of sticks. It was a wonderful example of how Forest School nurtures exploration, creativity, and learning through play.

This week, K Group (Reception) have been using the story You Choose to inspire their imaginations in literacy. The children created their own characters and storylines, developing ideas for their own individual stories.

To celebrate World Book Day, K Group (Reception) came to school dressed as their favourite book characters and enjoyed a day full of imaginative activities. During independent learning time, the children shared stories, created drawings of beanstalks with characters climbing them, talked about magic potions, designed pirate ships, built a chocolate factory inspired by Willy Wonka, made pancakes for a princess, and even used train tracks to imagine Neil Armstrong’s journey into space. It was a joyful and creative day filled with storytelling and exploration.

J Group (Year 1) have had a busy and varied week of learning. They took part in a Scholastic Book Club webinar, Once Upon a Remix: Meet Goldilocks!, where they listened to an alternative version of the well-known tale and followed along with the illustrator to draw their own bears.

At Forest School, J Group (Year 1) spent time in the vegetable garden planting broad beans, learning how to space seedlings carefully, dig appropriate holes, and water plants gently. The group also practised tying knots to make pretend fishing rods and discussed how the pond is gradually becoming a habitat for wildlife, prompting thoughtful conversations about caring for living things.

In science, J Group (Year 1) explored the topic of birds and reptiles by dissecting owl pellets and identifying the bones they discovered inside. For World Book Day, the children created origami flowers, wrote acrostic poems, and produced observational drawings outdoors. After reading The Flower Thief, they went on a walk to find the St Chris roses before returning to the classroom to discover clues and maps left behind by the mysterious Flower Thief.

H Group (Year 2) began the week at Forest School, where they planted three rows of potatoes and explored the orchard on a beautiful spring morning. The discovery of a newt in the pond was particularly exciting and a positive sign for the developing habitat. The children also enjoyed child-led play and practised safely managing sticks during games before carefully packing away ropes at the end of the session.

For World Book Day, H Group (Year 2) explored the beautifully illustrated story The Tin Forest. The children produced imaginative creative writing inspired by the book and accompanied their work with detailed illustrations. They finished the day by making dream catchers, bringing together creativity, storytelling and craft.

G Group (Year 3) started the week revisiting the use of apostrophes for possession in English while writing in the style of Little Flame and the Great Queen. In maths, they practised calculations using the four times table.

In their topic work, G Group (Year 3) explored the structure of Celtic society and investigated the roles of different groups, including warriors. The children analysed non-fiction texts to gather clues and organise these roles according to their importance, helping them deepen their understanding ahead of their upcoming visit to Celtic Harmony.

For World Book Day, G Group (Year 3) focused on The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson. They began the day by sharing the story, followed by writing thoughtful book reviews. The group also enjoyed shared reading time with H Group (Year 2), completed book-themed spelling activities, and finished the day with a drawing tutorial to create their own illustrations of the Detective Dog.

F Group (Year 4) began the week with a lively Forest School session, where they helped care for ladybirds and planted onion seeds. The orchard was full of wildlife, including a newt in the pond and a diving beetle, which made the afternoon particularly exciting. Children took part in a variety of activities across the space, demonstrating kindness, collaboration, problem-solving and impressive knot-tying skills.

Midweek, F Group (Year 4) enjoyed an inspiring morning with two authors. They listened to a talk from Catherine Wilkins about her experiences as an author and comedian, including readings from her Cafe Chaos books. The group also joined a live Scholastic Book Club event with conservation expert and author Sarah Roberts, who shared stories from her global adventures and spoke about the wide range of careers connected to science, conservation and writing.

World Book Day brought a creative twist when the class discovered that their colouring crayons had “quit”! Inspired by The Day the Crayons Quit, F Group (Year 4) chose their own crayon characters and completed a series of creative activities based on the story, including writing letters explaining why their chosen crayon had gone on strike.

E Group (Year 5) recently enjoyed an enriching trip to the Hindu temple in Neasden as part of Faith Week. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to learn more about Hindu beliefs, traditions and places of worship.

Earlier in the week, E Group (Year 5) also attended a long-awaited Star Party hosted by the Letchworth and District Astronomical Society. Using a number of telescopes set up on the Junior School playground, pupils and their families were able to observe Jupiter and some of its moons, view our own moon in close detail, and identify constellations in the night sky.

To round off the week, E Group (Year 5) celebrated the Hindu festival of Holi as part of their India topic. In the spring sunshine, the children enthusiastically took part in the colourful tradition of throwing powder paints, celebrating the arrival of spring and the themes of joy, renewal and the triumph of good over evil.

D Group (Year 6) had the exciting opportunity to take part in an inspiring author event with Catherine Wilkins. During the session, she shared extracts from her book Cafe Chaos and spoke about the creative journey behind writing and publishing a book. The children were fascinated to learn about how stories develop from an initial idea through to publication.

D Group (Year 6) listened attentively, asked thoughtful questions and engaged enthusiastically throughout the session, making the most of this special opportunity to hear directly from a professional author. It was a memorable and inspiring experience that highlighted the creativity and dedication involved in bringing stories to life.