Today we have been learning all about Sir David Attenborough to celebrate his 100th birthday. We’ve learned about his early life and his extensive career. As part of the day, we’ve learned about wildlife that live in the oceans and seas around Asia. We produced some beautiful art work inspired by the creatures we’ve been learning about. We finished the day with a special visit from ‘Paws for Thoughts’ who shared some of the amazing conservation work they do. They even brought two baby seaguls.
This week we had a fantastic day at Jarrow Hall learning about Anglo Saxon Life. We learned about Saxon farmers, diet and their justice system. As well as this we learned about Saint Bede and his role in scripture writing. We even had a time for a visit to the park.
Outdoor play is essential for children’s health, development and wellbeing, but has almost disappeared from their lives.
Schools are well placed to address this. But even though playtime makes up 20% of every primary school child’s day, very few schools have a plan for play. Without a strategic plan, this time is wasted and often leads to problems.
Evidence from more than 2,000 OPAL schools shows that having a plan for play transforms behaviour, equality, wellbeing and learning.
OPAL believe that every primary school needs a plan for play.
“We call on the Government to require every primary school in England to publish a plan for outdoor free play at breaktimes and lunchtime, and for the Department for Education to produce statutory guidance defining what quality provision looks like, with Ofsted required to inspect against it.”
As a fellow organisation who recognise and value the need for play within our local communities, please support this campaign by asking colleagues and visitors to sign the petition to ensure all primary schools are required to demonstrate how they provide quality outdoor free play for every child.
Please show your support by:
– clicking this link to complete a quick online petition.
– sharing @opalnortheast social media campaign posts to raise awareness
This week, year 5 had the pleasure of visiting Chopwell Woods as part of our enrichment.
We had a wonderful day, exploring the woods and putting our survival skills to the test!
First up, we had den and shelter building; equipped with tarpaulin, tent pegs, string, rope, sticks and branches. Our aim was to build a structure that could withstand all weathers. The children had to work in teams and use their problem solving skills and communication skills to succeed in their task to build a sturdy shelter.
Then, we had to decide on different items we would keep if we were stranded in the woods, trying to survive. This followed into building our own SOS signals, using the resources around us so a helicopter could see from above.
We had a fabulous day, learned some new skills and took risks!
Don’t forget to sign up to the HAF summer activities from Monday 29th June. Limited spaces are available for all activities, don’t miss out!
Today we had the opportunity to take part in a renewable energy windfarm workshop in conjunction with Doggerbanks Windfarms and Science Buddies. The children learned about the important role windfarms play in our region and learned how they work. The children even designed and created their own wind turbines and looked at which designs would help to generate the most energy.
