Animals Have Personalities!

Today we watched a demo sent especially to us from Nick Mackman, a real life Artist. She taught us that animals have personalities and to be a good artist, we have to look for these before we try to capture their likeness. We took some time looking at photos of animals to see what emotions and characteristics we could see before deciding if we agree with Nick Mackman… we did! We then sketched An animal sculpture and tried to capture their personalities through their expression and posture. Here we are being artists just like Nick Mackman.

Cutting Skills for a Healthier You!

Today Crew McLoughlin transformed their DT lesson into a hands-on celebration of wellness by learning how to safely and effectively prepare fresh fruit for a vibrant fruit salad. By mastering essential cutting techniques like the “bridge” and the “claw,” students not only gained confidence with tools but also deepened their understanding of our current expedition topic, “Keeping the Mind and Body Healthy.” This practical session highlighted how fueling our bodies with fresh, nutrient-rich foods supports physical vitality and mental focus.

Healthy Snacks in Crew White

After we bought our fresh fruit from the market during our fieldwork on Friday, Crew White washed, chopped and ate it!

There were juicy strawberries, marvellous melons and soft dragon fruit with an interesting texture and taste.

We had some downsides to our fruit preparation:

  • some of our fruit had gone mouldy because it had been left over the weekend;
  • some of the raspberries had turned into mush because of how we carried them back from the market;
  • many of the fruit was fragile and a little bruised

Overall, however, we were pleased with our purchases and enjoyed our sweet and healthy treats to kickstart our week.

Concrete Fun!

For our new unit about Fractions, Year 2 have enjoyed exploring the concept of wholes and parts by chopping fruit, deconstructing everyday objects and finally partitioning counters. We represented the whole and its parts by drawing pictures of a part, part whole model with the amounts!

Ready for F2.

During the Summer term, we place a strong focus on supporting our nursery children to develop their independence and resilience as they prepare for their transition into Reception. These are key aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly within Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development.

Throughout the year, we have been working hard to strengthen the children’s fine motor skills, and this term we have introduced a focused activity known as “apron entry.” During this activity, each child is given their own clipboard and a shortened pencil, which helps to support correct grip and control.

The children are encouraged to draw an object, letter or shape from the board, with a particular focus in this session on creating circles of their own chosen size and quantity. This open-ended approach allows the children to explore their creativity while also developing important early writing skills.

It was fantastic to see the children’s growing ability to concentrate, as well as their confidence in using an effective pencil grip and forming recognisable shapes. These small but significant steps are helping to build the foundations for future writing.

Well done, Crew Frost—keep up the great work!

Exploring Doncaster City Centre

On Friday, Upper Key Stage 2 visited Doncaster city centre. For half of the day, they learnt about the fascinating artefacts linked to the city. There were Roman shields and rings, stuffed animals, including Billy the Bear, and a variety of coins that had been dug up. This learning was linked to our history case study all about the Ancient Egyptians.

Then, for the second half of the day, they went on a shopping spree around the city centre’s markets. Raspberries, grapes and even dragon fruit were on the shopping list. All of these will be washed, cut up and then enjoyed as part of a fruit salad on Monday.

This fieldwork during hook week is linked to a new expedition where we will learn all about the brain, body and blood and specifically, how we keep our bodies healthy.

Some quotes from the children about their day:

“I thought the day was really fascinating” – Finn

“I enjoyed going to the shops and buying the fruit from the market.” – Rory

“I asked people at the market what they enjoyed about it and they said there used to be more stalls but they like the coffee shops, and that you can get everything you need” – Charlie