JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

Message from Mrs McIntosh

‘Being told you are appreciated is one of the simplest yet most incredible things you can ever hear.’  

On Monday, World Mental Health Day, I read the children the story ‘Have you filled a bucket today?’ by Carol McCloud. 

This simple book centres around the idea that the key to happiness is saying and doing good things to and for others. It aligns closely with the idea of Random Acts of Kindness but also promotes the daily practice of ‘filling people’s buckets.’  When we deliberately do something on a regular basis it soon becomes habit. I helped the children understand that by making others happy we also feel happier ourselves. The Mental Health Foundation research showed that ‘People who are kind and compassionate see clear benefits to their well-being and happiness. They may even live longer. Kindness can also help reduce stress and improve our emotional well-being.  

So, we discussed how we, as young children, might be able to fill the buckets of the people in our lives. Some of the ideas we came up with included: 

? Smiling at people; 

? Saying hello to shopkeepers, bus drivers and teachers;

? Making our bed or tidying our toys without being asked; 

? Writing notes to show appreciation; 

? Telling Mum, Dad, Granny, Grandpa why we love them; 

? Complimenting others; 

? Noticing when people are alone or not themselves. 

If you would like to know more about bucket filling (and bucket dipping!) then you can enjoy the story here

My bucket has certainly been filled over and over in the past six weeks. I have barely stopped smiling.

I hope that you all have a wonderful half term and I look forward to seeing the children, rested and re-charged, on Monday 31 October.  

Mrs McIntosh 

This Week in Reception

All of the Reception classes have enjoyed their first Forest School session over the last two weeks.

We found lots of signs of Autumn including acorns, colourful leaves, ripe apples, orange berries, conkers and chestnuts. We learnt that the owl pictures show us the edge of Forest School and went on an owl hunt to see how many we could find. After a drink and snack we had some time to choose our favourite activities such as the mud kitchen, bug hunting, writing and drawing, playing in the den and many more!

This Week in Year 1

Year 1 have concluded their topic with a range of different art activities linked to old and new toys. We have compared teddy bears from the past and present by looking at their features, we also discovered that a lot of toys in the past were made from wood or metal. One of our favorite stories this half term has been ‘Dogger’. It is about a little boy who lost his special toy dog at the school fair. With the help of his big sister, the little boy was finally reunited with his toy. This inspired us to create clay models of Dogger. It took a lot of concentration, careful molding and the use of small tools to add detail. We are all very impressed with our finished models, which we will be bringing home after half-term!

This Week in Year 2

2B Drama

After yet more reports of missing villagers (suspected to be eaten by a dragon) another Year 2 class were called upon to defeat the dragon and bring harmony back to the ‘village’ of Beechwood. Great work, 2B! Each stage of the story was clearly and confidently acted. Mrs Bloomfield loved watching.

2LW and 2CW Assemblies

On Tuesday 2LW treated the Junior Department to an assembly all about responsibility. They performed the story of ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’ and talked about different ways they are responsible at school and home.

They enjoyed performing the responsibility song with actions. Well done 2LW, what responsible rabbits! Mrs McIntosh commented on their great acting skills. Next stop the Christmas play!

On Friday, it was 2CW’s turn. They performed to the Junior Department alongside Tough Tortoise and Wise Owl and talked about how we should never give up. 2CW introduced the Juniors to the magic word of ‘Yet’. This is the idea that just because you can’t do something ‘Yet’ , you should keep persevering and you will get there eventually. They thrilled the audience with their dance to ‘The Power of Yet’ song.

Well done 2CW, you were all superstars!

Head’s Commendations

Congratulations to this week’s recipients of commendations from Mr Balfour:

From the Junior Library

Alcatoe and the Turnip Child by Isaac Lenkiewicz

Alcatoe and the Turnip Child is a fun book that combines features of a typical picture book with those of a graphic novel making it perfect for mature yet emerging readers.

Topically set in the Autumn, the children of Plum Wood are set to compete against the grumpiest old man in the vegetable growing contest. They enlist the magical help of Alcatoe, the only witch in the woods, and beg for a spell to grow the biggest turnip. But a lot can go wrong even with a perfectly simple turnip-enlarging spell…like growing a few arms and legs.

“Wonderful! Sumptuous, sweet and just the right amount of sinister”.