Page 26 - Phonebox Magazine July 2011

News from Lavendon School
Newton Field Centre Visit
In April Class 4 enjoyed a visit to the Newton Field Centre. We were lucky enough to have good weather for the visit and arrived early in the day by coach to begin our study of the local countryside and river. We were met by Mrs Hand who is a teacher at the centre; she read through the safety regulations and explained what our visit would include. We were given equipment to use at the river to assist in our measurements and observations followed by a pleasant walk across the meadow from the Field Centre to the river bank. When we arrived at the river we set up measuring equipment and measured the meander of the river, the fast and slow flow
Sierra Leone
The headteacher of our partner school, Mrs Fatmata Sheriff, visited us for ten days in May. She brought beautiful drawings made by the pupils in her school, which our children were delighted to receive, and she worked with each of our classes, finding out about school life here and answering our questions about life in her school and village. When our teachers were in Sierra Leone they were impressed by the racial harmony, especially the way Muslims and Christians worked together – and the independence of even very young children, walking miles to school on their own. Mrs Sheriff said that she was impressed by the rapport between teachers and pupils in our school and by the varied teaching styles used. She will also tell her staff about the way children here are disciplined by discussion and reminders and not by the stick.
During a special School Assembly attended by all three headteachers from Sierra Leone, Ron Blomfield and Mike Burgess of the Royal British Legion presented Amelia
and the depth of the river at different points, we then displayed this information on a chart. The children’s favourite river measurement was the river depth as this involved standing in the water holding a long measurement stick, without falling over! We collected river water and on our return to the classroom we enjoyed looking at the river life using petri dishes and microscopes.
Enjoying the outdoor area
Classes 1 & 2 enjoyed working in our outdoor nature area as part of their Art lessons. They did some observational drawings of natural objects including plants, shells, fossils and even a dinosaur bone! The children enjoyed being in the fresh air and made the most of
Jackson Waite and Luke Smith (2011 winners of the Michael Farrer Award) with a framed photograph of Johnson Beharry receiving his Victoria Cross. The photographs were addressed personally to each child. We were delighted that Johnson sent the signed photographs to the children, Amelia and Luke were very happy to receive them.
Lifepath Elstow
Class 3 had a fantastic day at Elstow, Bedford, we were fortunate to have a sunny day for the visit. As well as children and staff from Lavendon we were also joined by the visiting teaching staff from Sierra Leone who enjoyed the day with us. The day was organised by scripture Union and Bridge Builder Trust. We learnt about the life of John Bunyan. During the day we enjoyed a range of fun activities including hand bells and visiting an old fashioned fair. We even reinacted the journey made by Christian in Pilgrims Progress.
West Lodge Farm Park
Classes 1 & 2 thoroughly enjoyed visiting
the lovely weather we have been having recently. We have also been using the nature area as part of our science lessons where children have been hunting for minibeasts.
Visit from the Safety Centre
Year 2 recently had a visit from the safety centre - Hazard Alley. The focus of the session was using the emergency services which included giving the children the opportunity to make calls to report an emergency. The children had to ask for the fire brigade, police or ambulance depending on the situation they were given.
The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves - especially dressing up in the clothes that the different emergency services wear!
West Lodge Farm Park on 16th May. Our current learning theme is ‘changes’ and the farm visit was a valuable part of our Science learning as the children got to see firsthand how animals change and grow. They had the opportunity to take part in lots of engaging activities that included feeding lambs, stroking ducklings and rabbits. We even had a trailer ride around the fields to see some of the larger farm animals like cows and horses. In addition to the farm area we were able to take part in a nature trail at the park where children looked for clues left by wild animals which we could then compare to the domestic animals we had seen cared for on the farm.
OPEN MORNING AT LAVENDON SCHOOL
You are most welcome to attend the open morning for parents and children who will be starting or changing school in September 2012.
The open morning will be held on Thursday 29th September 2011 from 9.30a.m. until 10.30a.m.
26 Phonebox Magazine