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This week we have been sharing our thoughts on what we know about Easter …
”The Easter bunny.” Faith C.
”Celebrating Jesus.” Mylie.
”Easter eggs.” Sara.
“It’s a special time of year.” Thomas.
“Going out for meals with our family.” Avie.
”Going to church.” Harvey H.
”Jesus was nailed to a cross.” Matilda.
”Hot cross buns.” Warran.
We then designed our own poster showing all the things that Easter is.
F2 had a wonderful time celebrating and learning all about the Lunar New Year!
We arrived to school wearing the lucky colour red and learnt that this year is the year of the snake!
We read the old traditional Chinese story of ‘The Great Race’ and how people all over the world celebrate the Lunar New Year with traditional festivities!
We had a marvelous time exploring traditional Chinese dancing and music and made our own decorations- lantern making and mark making Chinese symbols!
It was a great day for keeping our fingers busy as we practiced our cutting skills and eating with chopsticks at the lucky red Chinese cafe! Here we tasted some yummy traditional Chinese food which allowed us to use our senses to smell, touch and taste a variety of culinary delights- noodles, prawn crackers, fortune cookies, rice and sweet chilli sauce!
As part of our Mandarin music lessons this term. Year 3 were very lucky to learn about the Luna New Year from our Mandarin teachers.
We found out about how important the New Year is and how this special time is spent with families. We discovered the importance of red envelopes and how these are given to younger members of the family with a wish for health for the coming year, as well as containing money.
We also discovered how houses are decorated with lots of red decorations and lanterns and the types of food that are eaten. lots of families spend time making dumplings together before they have their special family feasts.
We were excited to find out that lots of us were born in the year of the Rooster. Did you know this year is the year of the snake?
Wow… what a performance.
The children did so well learning the songs, saying their lines and performing in front of the school and their families. We are so proud of each and every one of them for their hard work. It is quite tricky remember all the song words, where to go on the stage and all the while smiling and being the best angel or tree or hailstone!
A huge WELL DONE too all the children who took part in Foundation stage 2 and Year 1.
Here are a few photos of some of the the superstars.
This week we have been looking at promises.
First, we learned that a promise is an agreement to do or not do something.
The children spoke about some promises they had made. Some said they had made ‘pinkie promises’ to their friends, we also discussed school and home promises.
Then we listened to the tale of Abraham and Sarah which is a story from the bible. It tells of how God made Abraham a promise. He promised to give Sarah and Abraham a child and many descendants if they moved from where they were living to a new land. They did, and they had a son called Isaac.
God kept his promise to them, proving he was dependable and faithful.
Finally, the children made their own promise vouchers.
Myles promised to always love his family.
Isla-Grey promised to never hurt anyone.
Keigha promised to never jump on her Dad’s bed.
Forrest promised to always be kind.
Luna said that if promises are broken, there would be consequences, like having time-out or no tablet time, and Matilda said that people would also feel sad if you broke your promise to them.
All the children thought carefully about their promises and they understood the importance of keeping them. They were excited to take them home to share with their families.
Year 1 have been thinking about “how values provide rules for living”… but first we needed to find out what values actually were.
“Values are group of things that are important – such as honesty, good manners, kindness, determination.”
Many values come from holy books, like – the Bible which is a sacred text.
We looked at 10 Commandments last week and this week we listened to the story of The Good Samaritan, which is a story from the Bible.
The children were shocked that people just walked by the injured man, and that the good Samaritan (although he had different beliefs) was the only one to help.
We discussed hat we would do and how we would always help others when needed, it is important to remember that although we may have different beliefs and different gods, places of worship and bibles – we should be kind to everyone regardless of this.
In Year 6 this term, we have contemplated the times that we all say…
‘IT’S NOT FAIR!’
It all started with Miss Stewart treating just a few children to chocolate treats, dojos and special privileges, whereupon it was not long before many children became disgruntled and called out ‘IT’S NOT FAIR!’ We then had a class discussion as to why some children felt the injustice of Miss Stewart’s actions before everyone realised that it was all part of the planned lesson.
We then had the opportunity to share some of the injustices that we believe are not fair in our own lives…
From this, we then undertook a philosophical debate on the injustices specific groups and communities may feel within society today today…
Race
Gender
Religion
Disability
We established that whilst the trivial things in our own lives may not seem fair to us, that all people should be treated equally and with the fairness and respect that they deserve to ensure that there is justice and freedom for all in the world that we live.
To clarify – In order to make it fair…Miss Stewart did ensure that all children received a chocolate treat and a number of dojos!
This term the children in Year 5 have been exploring the ways in which people of faith express themselves. Through observation and discussion, we have identified that clothing, symbols, religious rituals, ceremonies and worship practices allow a person of faith to express themselves, their identity as well as their devotion to their faith. We then made comparisons in the way Autumnal religious festivals (Harvest, Diwali and Rosh Hashana) foster a sense of community, belonging and pride within faith groups. As a tasty treat, we tasted one of the traditional foods eaten during the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashana, which celebrates the beginning of the Jewish New Year in the Hebrew Calendar.
‘Apples and Honey’ symbolise the hopes for a sweet and prosperous New Year.
We have been looking at rules and why we need them.
We discussed that rules keep us safe and make sure that everyone is treated fairly.
The children shared their family rules. Forrest told us that in his house they’re not allowed drinks in bed and Matilda told us that in her house no outdoor shoes are allowed. We realised that all families don’t always have the same rules.
Myles told us that “we have golden rules at school” and we all agreed that these rules can also be used in family and a sports clubs.
We then listened to the story of Moses and how God gave him the 10 Commandments.
The commandments were the rules for all people to follow and live a good life by.
When we looked at the 10 commandments, the children could understand their importance in life today, even though they were from the Bible that was written a long, long time ago.
Year 1 then designed a poster of a rule which was most important to them. We decided that ‘be kind’ and ‘always try your best’, were the most important rules to follow.
Year 1 have previously looked at what belonging and faith means to ourselves and others.
We have discovered that there are different religions, with different gods, different places of worship, different festivals and different rituals.
Year 1 have already learnt that Christian’s celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day, so this week we looked at two different festivals from different faiths.
The Hindu festival of Holi –
The Muslim festival of Eid –