We’ve all been on one steep learning curve this week, but what a success so far! I am so impressed with every single pupil in the Upper School, who this week have all embarked upon a very new learning journey. The key thing here is that despite being apart, we’ve all been on the same journey together, sharing the ups and downs as one team!
Your eagerness to learn, your perseverance and maturity (not to mention your patience with my lagging internet connection) has shone right through - and the staff members I have spoken to have echoed the same message. I cannot emphasise enough how much your tutors and teachers have enjoyed seeing pictures of you being active in the outdoors, keeping fit and playing games as a family. Not to mention embracing the current half termly Flourish focus ‘give’ - well done Kush for preparing a delicious BBQ for your family.
Thank you to Riley for sharing a lovely video of his fantastic rendition of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, performed outside his house on Thursday evening as neighbours gathered for the NHS clap; a wonderful example of sharing joy and giving within the local community.
Keep sharing your lovely pictures - another way we can all keep as close and connected as possible!
In the virtual classrooms this week…. 8T enjoyed the board game bonanza this week and we enjoyed hearing about the games they dusted off to play with their families. Uno remains a firm favourite with the classics of Ludo, Chess and Chequers making an appearance too.
In Geography, year 8 are now working on a new topic - population and development. This is very relevant to the current situation we find ourselves in and we will be looking at present population figures and the types of strains the world may be under if the figures continue to rise. This past week has been a refresher as to what the study of demography really means and why it is important.
Year 7 are starting their coursework related topic, ‘Rivers and Coasts’. This topic links to their coursework completion which can be done virtually, thanks to the FSC if need be. In preparation for (hopefully) our excursion, the children need to learn the theory behind the water cycle, how rivers work and how we can manage them. This week we have reviewed the hydrological cycle and processes within the river.
In Maths, year 7 red have hit the ground running with their new topic algebra. They started the week recapping expanding single bracket algebra before progressing on to two brackets and collecting like terms. They have even had to learn shortcuts for typing indices which is brilliant; true evidence of learning beyond the maths curriculum.
In year 7 French this week pupils have been discussing where they live and where they would like to live in French. This means also that we have revised the present tense of regular -er verbs, reviewed adjectival agreements and have highlighted those adjectives which come before the noun - here is a rhyme which I was taught at school which helps:
Mauvais, méchant, vilain, beau Petit, haut, vieux, joli, gros Nouveau, gentil, jeune et bon Grand et meilleur, vaste et long
The extension challenge was to describe a character’s home so that I could guess who lived there. Who lives here?
Pendant les vacances il habite dans un placard sous l’escalier dans une assez petite maison. Il habite avec son oncle, sa tante et son cousin Dudley.
The year 8 Spanish Baccalaureate Challenge continues! The learning objective for this week was to say who is in your family plus their name and age. The pupils have been quick to pick up the new vocabulary although a lack of discernment when reading the questions about how old people are means that some of the parents ‘tienen trece años’!
The answers to the question ¿Te llevas bien con tus padres? were heartwarming, however, with pupils describing their parents as ‘cariñosos, generosos y simpáticos.’