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Incredible Illustrations with Liz Million

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We were thrilled to welcome Liz Million to our school this week for a fun and inspiring visit. The day began with a whole-school assembly where Liz introduced herself and shared the story of how she became a professional illustrator. Liz’s energy and enthusiasm were infectious, and the children were fascinated to hear about the books she’s worked on and the creative process behind her illustrations.

Throughout the day, each class took part in hands-on workshops led by Liz, where they learned some of her top tips for drawing. With a theme of ‘All God’s Creatures,’ the children explored how to bring animals to life on the page using simple shapes (like tacos, potatoes, and door arches) as the building blocks for their drawings. It was incredible to see how quickly Liz could create a character and even more exciting to see the amazing artwork the children produced using her techniques.

The day was a wonderful celebration of creativity, and it was clear from the smiles and laughter that Liz inspired a lot of budding young artists!

Easter Mystery

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On the last day of term, children in EYFS and KS1 will be given a copy of The Easter Story to share with their families at home.  KS2 children will be given a copy of the Stations of the Cross, with images drawn by the Mini Vinnies, to take home to share with their families also.

By sharing the Easter story and the Passion of Christ, we remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  As a family, please take time to stop and think about the true meaning of Easter.

We wish you all a happy, healthy and holy Easter!

Year 5’s Shakespearean Library Visit

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Did you know?

Shakespeare Week is celebrated during the spring term, 24-30th March, while Shakespeare Day takes place on 23th April each year, considered by many to be the anniversary of both Shakespeare’s birth and death.

 

Year 5 took part in a Shakespeare scavenger hunt at their recent visit to The Word, where they explored the library to find clues and answers to quiz questions about the famous playwright. The helpful staff also told us some fascinating facts about Shakespeare’s life and works, including some of the many phrases he introduced to the English language that we still use today. The visit sparked a real interest in his stories and some children even chose to borrow Shakespeare-themed books to enjoy back at school!

Year 5 Star Bakers!

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Year 5 made some delicious bread rolls as part of their DT unit recently. They carefully considered which additional ingredients they wanted to add to a basic bread recipe to give their design a flavoursome, well-balanced taste. Year 5 worked very well with our wonderful kitchen team, leading to fantastic results. Many pupils rated their design 10 out of 10!

Good work, Year 5!

Year 5 Raingarden Sessions with Durham Wildlife Trust

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Climate Change & Raingardens @ Durham Wildlife Trust

John from Durham Wildlife Trust recently visited us for two days to work with Year 5 on a practical solution to surface flooding from heavy rainfall. The project led to the building of a raingarden on our school site. You can spot it near the main entrance of our school. Year 5 pupils worked well to learn the instructions and follow them successfully.

What is a Raingarden?
A raingarden is a simple and effective way to help avoid surface flooding due to heavy rain. It also provides a micro wetland habitat for wildlife.

How does it work?
Rain water run-off from the down pipe of a gutter is diverted to a container which houses layers of filtration materials. The rain water works its way through the layers and then returns to the drainage system via an exit pipe.

Why do we need one?
This process slows down the rate of water flow into the drain system, thereby reducing the risk of sewers becoming overwhelmed and flooding the surface during times of very heavy rain.

Take a look at Year 5 in action:

Sharing stories for Storytelling Week

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Storytelling Week

During Storytelling Week, our pupils teamed up across different classes for some shared reading. Children of different ages took turns exploring exciting tales together. It was a wonderful way to spend time together and celebrate the joy of books. What lovely reading we heard, too! 📚✨

 

Our New Peer Mentors

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A huge “well done” to our fabulous Year 5 pupils who recently completed the Peer Mentor programme.

The children recently took part in a series of workshops with Marie from The Healthy Minds Team. Marie was very complimentary about our wonderful pupils and the brilliant work they had produced. We are sure they will make excellent Peer Mentors, promoting wellbeing and positive mental health in our school.

Y5 Library Visit

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Year 5 enjoyed another trip to The Word this week for our library session. The children made lanterns to celebrate Chinese New Year and browsed for new books to loan. This time, it seemed to be all about ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ books, with many pupils choosing to take one of these titles back to school. I think we might have borrowed all of them from the library!

It’s wonderful to see the children engaged with some lovely non-fiction books. The library staff said it was lovely to hear the children talking so enthusiastically about their book choices, which put a huge smile on my face.

Keep up the brilliant reading, Year 5!

Mrs Usher

 

Y5 Computing at OpenZone

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Year 5 visited OpenZone @ The Word this week to take part in a computing workshop. We had the exciting task of creating film trailers using video editing on iMovie. The children did a wonderful job of working in their groups to record footage, select clips and edit their trailers together. I think we have some mini directors on our hands! Take a look of them in action in the photos below. We hope to also share their trailers with you soon.

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