6 Spring ‘10 Issue 14

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Spring ‘10 Issue 14 7

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Infants

This term we celebrated the opening of the new Infants’ School as 13 very excited and energetic young people joined BGS.

A shining start

Heavy snowfall in January set the scene for an action-packed term for children starting in our new Infants’ School and, despite the thaw, the excitement has continued to snowball.

Full of bright ideas

T

he learning journey began close to home with a trip to the SS Great Britain, a great ship which inspired lots of big ideas from the children which they shared through writing, artwork, songs and music, finding out about Bristol and Brunel. Since then they have expanded their horizons and discovered Australia, experiencing Aboriginal art and stories and getting into the swing of things, trying their hand at the didgeridoo.

Music is an important part of the fun of learning and every child has been discovering how to play the violin. This term they’ve been thinking about how they should stand and hold their instruments, something that also helps develop listening skills and a little bit of patience.

Every Tuesday morning the children head for the School sports grounds at Failand on a weekly voyage of discovery, as teacher Ben

Whitehead explains. “It’s such a great space, both outdoors and indoors. We’ve all been enjoying exploring what we can do. When you add the imagination of children, it’s unlimited.”

Armed with clothes pegs in lieu of beaks, the children have learned about nest building, using the forest resources. They’ve experienced hands-on mathematics, learning about division with Rugby balls.

“On Friday we all go swimming in Henbury, where there is an excellent infants’ pool,“ adds Ben. “With no two days the same, we have a hugely varied and jam-packed week. I think it’s true to say the children are pretty exhausted by end of day, although some still have the stamina for after- school Art Club, French and even Keep Fit. I think it’s possible they have more energy than their teachers!”

Says Head of the Infants and Junior School Dr Alison Primrose, “It has been

the most exciting first term, almost exhausting to see just how many different and wonderful activities our young learners have thrown themselves into. It’s been lovely to see how quickly they have all settled in.”

...f

or our Juniors on an outing to Swindon Steam Museum, famous as the

place where many of the best steam locomotives in the world were built. They seized the opportunity to discover

They got rhythm

A chance to find their feet with the beat, children in Years 3 and 4 spent a day going ‘Drum Crazy’ enjoying a wild day of African drumming in partnership with children from St Michael’s-on-the-Mount.

They made their own instruments, participated in drumming workshops and learnt an African drumming song to perform at the end of the day. Cameron Littlejohn in 4P reports.

“On the drum crazy day Mrs ‘Drum Crazy’ came to BGS Juniors. St Michael’s School came too. We all

BEND IT, SHAPE IT

Year 5 had an opportunity to discover the secrets behind some of their favourite Wallace and Gromit characters, spending a whole day

split up into three groups for three activities, building drums, singing and making up rhythms with the drums. I really enjoyed making up my own rhythm on the drums and I found out lots about different types of drum. My favourite were the Turkish ones. You can sit on them while playing!”

all about day-to-day life in the age of steam, for the men and women who worked there. Suitably dressed and labelled, they experienced a little of what it would have been like to be part of a wartime evacuation.

Juniors

Full steam ahead…

PITCHING IN FOR NATIONAL RUGBY

It was a full house for our teams in the National Rugby Finals at Epsom College in March. All four Junior School age-groups were represented and pitted against some of the strongest schools in the country.

The U11s started with a bruising encounter against Cheshunt, drawing 0 – 0 but made it through to the quarter-finals. Despite valiant efforts from captain James Dun and his team, the boys were unable to score and lost 7 – 0, but they and coach Jim Buck can be immensely proud of their performance, not only on Sunday but throughout their whole Junior School careers.

The U9s won their first game but were unable to keep their winning run. They and the U10s and U8s each got through to the Plate Competition. It was a great day out and loads of experience for our developing teams.

A right song and dance

All our juniors proved just how much fun can be had with music and drama in a day dedicated to the performing arts.

making their own plasticine models with expert help and instruction from of a team from Aardman Animations. They developed models based on their study of the Tudors and characters from

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, adding

up to a thoroughly magical day.

There were musical performances as diverse as classical Chopin and contemporary Queen, and drama that showcased a wide range of talent, from Shakespeare to pieces that the children had written themselves. Our dancers were equally versatile, performing classical ballet, reeling to Irish jigs and thrilling us with the popping moves of Michael Jackson. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11