Weeks and weeks of fun learning

Laura McGregor, Deputy Head Teacher, shares all the details in the first instalment of news. 

Primary update 

Pupils in the primary provision visited Legoland for a reward trip which had to be postponed from the summer. It turned out to be a wonderful way to start the year as the pupils had a great time exploring the park and going on the rides; lots of memories were made with each other and the staff. Therapists also joined in the fun and joined the group, and it was a great opportunity for them to support pupils to use strategies and skills they have been working on at school.

The school has managed to secure some pool session at Egham Orbital. Visionaries Class are taking part in the first wave of lessons taught by TA, Juliette Piesley who was a swimming teacher for many years. The children were split into two groups based on their current swimming ability and completed a range of activities so that Juliette could assess their proficiency in certain areas. All the children showed great enthusiasm and swam a range of strokes and used a variety of equipment.  

We were all so proud and impressed by how well the children listened to instructions and their effort into their swimming. We are looking forward to going again next week.

Staying with Visionaries Class, this term, they have been learning about the digestive system. Pupils researched and discussed all the organs that are part of the digestive system and their functions. We then built a skeleton out of lollipop sticks and organs out of air-dry clay. Next, we positioned the organs in their right position to understand the importance of how they are all connected and why a healthy diet is important for a healthy digestive system.

A panel of pupils from the school’s primary provision were involved in the interviewing process of potential members of staff. They asked very important questions and were able to feedback to staff on their impressions. They showed maturity, confidence and spoke very highly of the teachers that currently work with them. 

Secondary update 

Innovators Class have been learning more about negative numbers – something that they had started learning last year. The pupils started the lessons with a practical activity where they started placing positive and negative numbers above or below zero. The class even brought up the concept of ‘infinity’, and we concluded that infinity does not exist, but massive numbers or spaces (e.g. the universe) can appear ‘infinite’.

Year 7 pupils from Nightingale Class have entered their third week on a positive note. Transitioning into a new phase in their lives is going extremely well, with new friendships forging and Class Councillor nominated for School Council. Well done Erin! 

 Year 10 and 11 pupils had their first trip to an offsite gym for an enrichment option available to them this half term. The pupils and staff worked hard and enjoyed the session immensely.

Pupils, Zak and Noah, have had a fantastic start to the new academic year. They have chosen ICT as a GCSE and are excelling with great contributions to the class. The current topic they are working on is Networking in which they are learning about linking of computers to allow them to operate interactively.