Perfect pirates, Pocahontas and plays!

The Christmas festivities are always an exciting end to an action-packed term. The Lower School corridors are a hive of energy and excitement as Christmas assemblies and plays are performed and we celebrate as a school. It has been a busy and successful term and although we look forward to the longer days and warmer weather our curriculum has inspired all children, whether they are learning inside the classroom, or outside in our incredible school grounds.

Reception children have made the transition from nursery and preschool into Copthill School life with enthusiasm and enjoyment. They have shown great pride in being allocated to a house and embraced all the team events on offer to them with the rest of the school. They were thrilled to be teamed up with the Year 3 children as their buddies and are looking forward to spending as much time as possible with them in the future.

The topic ‘Help is at Hand’ was a super start to the year. Learning about different professions and dressing up as vets, chefs, paramedics and teachers, to name just a few, was highly entertaining and informative.

They flew on a virtual magic carpet for the next topic ‘Come fly with me to Asia’. Some of the items they packed for their journeys were rather endearing, including a carrot, some hot chocolate and a teddy bear. During their time in Asia they celebrated Diwali by making decorations, jewelled Diya lamps and decorative Rangoli patterns. Their Diwali dancing was impressive and extremely energetic!

The next flying carpet stop was China. All the children enjoyed learning about different languages, writing and speaking some Mandarin and talking about Chinese food. We explored some Chinese festivals, making decorations and looking at traditional clothing.

Year 1 children started the term with their topic ‘Unity in the community’. They were excited to look at aerial pictures and maps, following a few trails in the school grounds along the way. Both classes were involved in the creation of a three dimensional model of their own imaginary village using recyclable materials. They all thought hard about the facilities and housing that the people of the village would need. Everyone considered how the community would have to come together to ensure that it was a lovely, tidy and clean place to live.

The next topic involved the interesting studies of Powhatan people. Learning truly came to life when the children were involved in their ‘Pocahontas Day’. Everyone dressed up for the occasion and embraced the experience with great enthusiasm. They ventured down to the teepee area for a variety of activities including making their own headdresses and necklaces.

Year 1 made a fabulous aeroplane which is on display in their corridor to fly them all the way to the Arctic. Their knowledge of the polar regions is incredible. They have been enjoying icy artwork and researching many different animals that can tolerate low temperatures while thinking about how these creatures' bodies are adapted to survive in extreme temperatures.

Year 2 launched into a ‘Pirates’ topic at the beginning of the year. They learnt some exciting facts about the history of pirates across all areas of the curriculum. Their ‘Pirates Day’ was a particular highlight for all our Year 2 children as many roguish pirates turned up at the school that day. It was hard to recognise the children with their flamboyant outfits, painted faces and cutlasses.

The children were thrilled to sail in a pirate boat down a stretch of river at Copthill. This was a definite ‘awe and wonder’ moment for all our children. The day continued with treasure trails using pirate maps, scavenger hunts and an array of pirate themed crafts and activities.

As if that topic wasn’t exciting enough, the next was all about dinosaurs! Several trips to the library and online learning helped all our children to explore many dinosaur facts. The children had the opportunity to fossil hunt and draw realistic dinosaur eyes in art lessons!

The final topic this term has been studying the life of different famous people. Hannah Cockcroft and her amazing achievements were explored to begin with. The children were full of admiration and inspiration as a result. Walt Disney was an interesting character to learn about as all the children have loved his work and were keen to investigate his life further. Thomas Edison the prolific inventor who designed the light bulb, phonograph and motion picture camera was of great interest to everyone.

What an action-packed term of exciting activities.

As we near the end of the term everyone is full of excitement and high spirits. We want to thank all of our staff, parents and children for a successful, happy term and wish everyone a restful Christmas and a Happy New Year, with more inspiring adventures to come next term!