Primary

Highlights Spring Term 2016

Eggcam • Rainforest Roadshow • Demolition Inspiration • New Building • Computing • WW2 Day • House Music

www.derbyhigh.co.uk

Primary

Highlights

Spring 2016

Welcome... I can’t believe it is only a few weeks ago that we moved into the new building. It feels like we have always been there and we all very much feel at home. The additional space has made such a difference and hopefully we will have the outdoor area very shortly. Despite all the excitement of the new building all our usual activities and lessons have continued so this term has been just as eventful as ever. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of what we have been doing and learning about this term. Happy Easter, Michelle Hannaford

‘Eggcam’ Enthralls Reception! We were all entranced by the ‘Eggcam’ at the beginning of the Spring Term and the chicks which emerged from the eggs had lots of visitors every day.   Children from all over the school came in to the Reception classrooms to visit the chicks and on one day alone 219 visitors from all over the world logged in to watch via the live webcam.

Hearing the chicks cheeping in their shells before breaking out and then watching them break free from their shells was fascinating. The opportunity to observe all this in the classroom also inspired some truly outstanding work from the children on their topic of ‘Nature Detectives’.   

Year 2’s Rainforest Roadshow As part of their ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ topic Year 2 were treated to a visit from Sue Shaw and her Rainforest Roadshow. The children had great fun looking at all of the interesting photos and items Sue brought in to show them. She described to them how tribes living in the rainforest hunt for their food and

showed them how they make their tools. A demonstration of using a blowpipe (on this occasion to burst a balloon) brought squeals of delight from the children. The children were very interested in the piranha fish that Sue had brought along to show them, they talked about what other creatures might live in the Amazon

River and why the children might want to avoid them! The Rainforest Roadshow also introduced living rainforest creatures for the children to observe. Most of Year 2 enjoyed having the opportunity to get so close and to even hold some of them – the millipede being a particular favourite!

Demolition Inspiration! The children in Year 2 have been watching the demolition of our old Kindergarten Building very carefully and with great excitement! As they watched the old building disappear in front of their eyes, they used their senses to think of descriptive language they could use to write a ‘Senses Poem’ based on their experience, pretending they were the ‘Nibbler’ machine! Here are a few examples of their fantastic sentences!

I a m a dust y Nibbler a nd I a m delig hted to sme of stag na nt wate r which sme lls like rotte n eggsll the pu nge nt sme ll . Y UCK! (Jamie) I a m a HUM ONGOUS Nibbler a nd I ca n hear of my crea king neck as it sque aks like a mou the sou nd se. (Olisa) 02

I a m a mon strou s Nibbler mu nchi ng mors els of mud like brea dcru mbs. (Haruka) I a m a dest ruct ive Nibbler with a mouth like Leg o ha nd chom ping bric ks gree dily. (Diwa) a 03

Primary

Highlights

Spring 2016

Our new Building!

I like the role play tent!

This term we finally moved into our fantastic new Infant and Nursery building! Having watched it grow, from the foundations being laid last spring, to the structure going up over the summer and the walls and roof being built in the autumn, both children and staff could not wait to get inside and start using it!

I like the coat pegs!

I love doing treasure hunts with the children!

Everyone is delighted with their new spacious classrooms and the new facilities. We asked just a few of the pupils and staff who now use the building to tell us what they think of it.

We have a special music room!

Lucas, Reception: We can make as much noise as we like!

I like my new classroom!

We have lots of space!

“The role play tent is fun! You can play with the masks and the costumes. There wasn’t space in the old classroom to play with all of the different things and now we have lots.”

Harjan, Y 2: “I like it when we play outside. I also like doing maths. I like that the coat pegs are now inside the classroom. I enjoyed watching the old building being demolished.”

Eva & Georgiana, Y 4:

Isabella, Reception:

Aarav, Wrens:

“I like the role play tent and painting and colouring. We do a lot of that. I also like the tree with leaves on it which show our targets.”

“I like my new classroom, I like to play with my friends in it.”

“I love doing treasure hunts with the children and now I have the space to do that and to do lots more creative things with them! The size of the new classroom means that we can have creative activities on offer at all times – they can just go and fetch what they need and get on with it! I love seeing the children thriving in this environment and being excited to do whatever creative activities they like. They can be much more independent in their learning and they’re not restricted through lack of space. It’s also warm and cosy in the new building – I love teaching in here.”

It’s made a massive difference for the junior pupils!

“We come into the new building for our music lessons now. Mrs Soutar has a special music classroom and when we come we get to learn lots of music with our teacher who we love! This classroom is a whole lot better than the old building. We can get all of the instruments out and we can make as much noise as we like!”

I like the wall display!

I like the creative area! We have lots of space!

Siy a, Wrens: “I love playing in the classroom. I like the wall display too.”

I like the space we have!

Sophie, Y 2: “It is a little bit bigger than our old classroom. We have lots of space to move around.”

Mrs Soutar, Primary Head of Music: Sand is fun!

Elizabeth, Reception: “I enjoy going in the sand. Miss Allen hides things in the sand and it is fun to play with.”

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Tia, Y 2: “I like the space, we have big displays where we can put all of our work on the wall.”

Miss Allen, Reception Teacher:

I like how it’s set out!

“The new building means that I now have a dedicated space for music. Somewhere to run the clubs and choirs, use the instruments and not worry about the noise disturbing any of the classes around us. Some days we can have 40 instruments all going at the same time but due to the design of the building this can’t be heard outside of the music classroom – brilliant! The new building has made a massive difference for the junior pupils as well as for the infants. The juniors love coming over here for their music lessons and into the hall for Choir and Theatre Club, it really has meant we can now do lots of things that we were unable to do in the old building. It’s just brilliant!”

I like the sticker chart!

Darcy, Wrens:

Rhea, Y 2:

Emilie, Reception:

“I like the sticker chart on the wall and I like the new sinks.”

“I quite like how it is all set out and where our drawers are. I also like to get the teddies out and snuggle them up!”

“I like the creative area because we can get whatever we want out. We can reach what we need and can use it and then put it back again.”

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Primary

Highlights Computing

Spring 2016 This term, the junior pupils have been amazing us with their computing skills! With Tilly Tweet always present to remind us to stay safe online we have put the pupils’ creative skills to work using a variety of different software applications. Here is a snapshot of what they have been up to:

Y ear 3

Y ear 5

Year 3 have been making narrated videos using Windows Live Movie Maker. They started this topic by looking at a variety of recorded media, ranging from Blue Peter to Match of the Day, in order to identify the different jobs that people do in order to produce a broadcast video. The pupils then used Flip-cams to record footage of House Tag Rugby fixtures and learned that it is really difficult to achieve a steady, well-framed video! These videos were then uploaded to the school

computers and the children practiced editing the footage using the Movie Maker software. Title screens, captions and end credits were added to give the videos a professional edge. Once Year 3 had produced their sleek and stylish videos they then used the ‘add narration’ tool to record a voiceover of commentary for the rugby action. Some of the children found it difficult to channel their inner sports-commentator and many initially

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Not only did Year 5 design the buildings using SketchUp, they also made short films

showcasing their designs using the Movie Maker software. A selection of the films can be found on the Derby High School You Tube Channel. Well done Year 5, we obviously have some budding architects in our midst!

Highlights

Derby High School

Highlights

Derby High School

Cadence Jones’s Hootingly Good Owl was designed to make children feel safe at night as it had security cameras in its eyes! The owl toy was programmed so that at the push of the sensor it would move its head from the middle, to the left, to the middle, to the right, and back to the middle gently, after which it would give a sweet hoot.

SketchUp is a programme which you can use to design in 3D. Here are some examples of Art Galleries designed by our Year 5 pupils.

With the footage and narration finished, Year 3’s videos were now complete – the only thing left to do was to show them off to their friends who provided constructive feedback of everyone’s efforts.

Y ear 4 Year 4 were given the brief to design a simple computer-controlled toy incorporating different forms of input and output (such as sensors, switches, motors, lights and speakers). They then

Year 5 have produced some amazing architectural designs using the SketchUp software.

buckled under the pressure but eventually they were able to use their knowledge of the software to make improvements and amendments and achieve a video they were happy with.

Y ear 6 used the Scratch coding software to create an on-screen prototype of their toy. One final element of the project was that the children then used the software to play with each other’s prototypes to

Eliza Walley’s Happy Dolphin was designed to teach young children how to interact with the dolphin and make it happy. Eliza programmed the dolphin so that when the pressure pad on the dolphin’s fin was pressed the dolphin’s cheeks would become rosy and the sound of bubbles being blown would be heard.

enable them to decide in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style which ones should win the investment needed to be put into production!

Esther Morris’s Great Gorilla was programmed to run through 4 different actions each at 1 second intervals once the sensor on its tummy had been pressed. Once combined, the sequence made the gorilla move in in a very lifelike way.

Year 6 have had lots of fun learning how to use the Flowol software. This allows them to set up sequences to be used in real life situations.

Alice Gray used the Flowol commands to operate a baby’s mobile. Pressing the green button makes the helicopter and plane propellers spin whilst pressing the yellow button makes the mobile turn. The blue button controls the sound, one push turns the hot air balloon on, two pushes and the mobile says a nursery rhyme and turning the blue button off makes the mobile say “Night night baby!”

Lauren Ferrie used the software to program in commands to a robot. On pushing the square button the robot opens its mouth and says “I like Coco Pops”, on pushing the triangle button the robot’s antenna goes up. Pushing the circle button makes the robot blink and pushing the star button makes the robot wink.

Priya Johal used Flowol to control a set of traffic lights on either side of a bridge. By setting times and delays for the red, amber and green lights to work on both sides of the bridge Priya could make sure that no collisions occurred on the bridge itself!

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Primary

Highlights

Spring 2016

World War 2 Day

I loved every bit of World War 2 Day, especially the air raid part when we had to go to the school’s ‘dungeons’ and stand in total darkness. I had so much fun taking part in the activities; I also got to understand how World War 2 evacuees were treated when they were in the care of their foster families.

Evie Karagkevrekis This is a day I will never forget, it was the most amazing experience. The day started with a drama activity where we were in the roles of evacuated children. Then there was a propaganda film to watch. After that I showed my real 1940 gas mask and my great grandparents’ ration books; everyone was so interested. We also made gas masks, learned 19301940 dances and pretended that an air raid siren went off. Finally we sang some cheerful songs from the time: ‘Hey Mr Miller’, ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ and lots more! I have never done anything quite like it!      

Megan Strange

World War 2 Day was a great experience! Everybody came to school dressed as evacuees – even the teachers got dressed up! To start off with, we did drama activities in the hall, followed by watching a government propaganda film about evacuation. Afterwards, we made model gas masks, as well as enjoying some singing with Mrs Soutar. After lunch, Mrs E-B taught us some World War 2 dances, which everyone enjoyed! Finally, the day ended with an air raid drill, when we all had to evacuate the building and head to our shelter. Overall, World War 2 day was brilliant and I really enjoyed it!

Isabel Scott Our World War 2 Day was the most enjoyable day I’ve had in Year 6 so far! We came to school dressed as evacuees and did many different activities throughout the day. My two favourite activities were dancing and singing. The dancing was so action-packed, along with the singing which was lively and energetic. The day whizzed by successfully and I would love to do it again!

Eshaal Hassan

Junior House Music Competition! A huge well done to all those who took part in this year’s Junior House Music Competition! St Andrew won the competition overall but all of the performances were excellent and the children who took part should be extremely proud of themselves!

Derby High School, Hillsway, Littleover, Derby, DE23 3DT Tel: 01332 514267 [email protected] www.derbyhigh.derby.sch.uk