PREP SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS TERM 2 2018-19

Term 2a saw children in Year 3 learning all about “Super South America”. They’ve been exploring this topic in geography, science, and maths by learning about the environmental regions, and by creating bar charts showing the temperature in each South American country across the year and using these patterns to understand trends and predictions. In Art, children learned about colourful South American fabrics, colours, and techniques.

In term 2b children were learning about plants. We visited Metro Forest to learn more about how Bangkok has changed over time, including the loss of our forests and the pollution levels rising. The children learned how this company have planted a ‘forest within the city’, helping to preserve and improve the environment. They also did collage with leaves and developed their understanding of what plants need to survive.

In term 2a, Year 4 children studied Natural Disasters, examining disaster locations and how the local area can be influenced by the threat or impact of disaster events. Our artwork was inspired by Hokusai’s “Great Wave” whilst suspense and letter writing were our main literacy outcomes.

Fully Booked Week saw some incredible costumes and participation in a huge variety of reading-related activities. Our chosen text, “The Dragon Machine” by Helen Ward, linked wonderfully with term 2b’s Topic, which centred around Year 4’s Production of Dragon Days.

In Art, we created dragon eyes using clay, which were then displayed outside the Memorial Hall. During English, we have read the story of Krindlekrax, a strange creature which terrorised the inhabitants of Lizard Street…much like Gawaine and the villagers of Stumbledorf! Children also wrote dragon-related poems and scene summaries of which some were subsequently published in our show programme. Our Science learning has involved investigation on digestion and teeth, and we rounded off our learning by visiting the Science Museum.

Year 5 have been studying the topic of 'Detectives' this term.  We began by investigating the disappearance of the Shrewsbury House Trophy, which went missing in the first week of term.  Surprisingly, the suspects were all of the Year 5 teachers! The children learnt how to take fingerprints, watched CCTV footage and discussed the alibis of each potential suspect.  Using all of these skills, they caught the culprit! We have also been lucky enough to put our investigative skills to the test during our visit to 'Ticket to Mystery' escape rooms. Each group was faced with several problems, codes to crack and evidence to uncover; luckily they all managed to escape!

Term finished with potential Y5 candidates putting themselves forward in the Balloon-debate ‘hustings’ in a bid to represent their Houses in next term’s balloon debate finals; an event where they will take on the persona of a well know person from history, and try to convince the judges that their character is the right person to steer a crashing hot air balloon to safety!

Year 6 have studied the topic of ‘World War 2’ throughout this term from both a European and Asian perspective. The children learnt all about the Thai-Burma railway and the historical significance of Kanchanaburi prior to their residential visit there in January. The children thoroughly enjoyed their residential experiences, visiting several significant war locations and walking along the bridge at the River Kwai. The children behaved impeccably, showing great compassion to the people who lost their lives during this time.

During “Fully Booked” Week Year 6 enjoyed a wide range of different war experiences: being evacuees, experiencing an air raid simulation, cookery using rations and playing wartime games. That week proved really valuable in their personal understanding of wartime life. Proving that there’s no need to ration fun, Year 6 brought their topic to a close with a special ‘street party’ to celebrate the end of the War, with each class making some of the food for the celebrations!