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Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Class 4 children held a coffee morning yesterday in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support featuring cakes they had made. This term their topic has been ‘The Great Upham Bake’ and they have done lots of cooking, partly to explore the chemical and physical changes in materials for science. This event was an opportunity for them to show off their skills to families and raise a bit of money for a good cause at the same time. It was lovely to have so many parents and grandparents attending and enjoying being in school. Thanks to everyone who came along, for the extra cakes and the generous donations – we raised over £350.
On Sunday it was World Mental Health day and inspired by this we discussed mental health this week in assembly; specifically when emotions get out of control. We explored the idea that negative emotions can build and grow until they get out of control and we do things we didn’t mean to as our emotional brain takes over our thinking one. It’s like a monster within us being set free so we used the imagery of ‘our monster’. We used the thermometer to discuss this idea and I encouraged the children to even use this language with each other. For example: ‘I want to be on my own as I feel at a three and I don’t want to lose control’. Ask them what they can remember and to tell you!
Strange weather at the moment, but the still, slightly foggy conditions yesterday had the beautiful effect of revealing spider webs everywhere. Children all over the school discovered them at playtime and enjoyed observing and discussing them. It was a real moment of ‘awe and wonder’ where everyday things suddenly took on a surprising, noticeable quality. A good reminder that in our technological world, simple things still stop children in their tracks and make them question the world around them with curiosity.
Class 1 children are settling into school life well. They have now got confidence in their classroom and know where toys are, how to get them out and how to tidy them up too. The first term for Class 1 involves a huge amount of social learning where children learn to share, take turns, not be first and compromise in ways they perhaps haven’t had to before. This is all part of learning to be a member of a ‘class’. They have made a great start and seem to particularly like social play together, which is lovely to see.