All Change

A new year, a new set of students and, if you’re observant, you’ll have noticed we have a new blog name. Due to many changes within the school we’ve been thrown out of the old, much loved LA14 classroom and we’ve made our new home in LA01 (LA simply means Learning Area – classroom to us oldies). Not that this is really going to change anything, my new students will still be working their little fingers to the bone with their squidgy noses pressed firmly to the grindstone. Anyone who has followed this blog for any amount of time, though, will know that the new students will also have lots of fun as we work our way through this exciting new year. Hopefully, they’ll have their own new blogs up and running very soon and they’ll be able to spread their thoughts and learning to the world.

The Best Yet?

What does a good class really look like? To compare two different classes is a bit like comparing apples and oranges (to quote a famous phrase) – they may both be fruits, but the differences are greater than the similarities. Sometimes a class can stick in our memories because they simply sat and absorbed everything we gave them, although this has never been my personal experience. Some stick because thay made us laugh, some may have made us sad, some may have tested our dedication to the job we’ve chosen, and some may have left us with a sense of loss as the door closed behind them. This year, personally, has been great. Of course we’ve had our challenges, after all we’re only human with all the strengths and frailties that humans possess. But this particular group are soaked in personality, dripping with so many different traits and quirks that my days have been a mixture of smiles and successes, hard work, new experiences and real friendships. These personalities, which are all very different, have worked so well together, and that’s totally down to the great students who’ve not only felt free to express themselves but have completely accepted each other, quirks and all. Has this group of students been the best yet? That’s too hard to say, but one thing’s for sure, they’ve been the best that they can be!

Disaster Zone!

The scene was one which wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Hollywood disaster movie. Bodies everywhere! Students, strewn across the paved area, being revived and helped by their friends. Just check the photo’s below. Terrifying! In truth, I had Ibu Nettleton to thank for this heart stopping, hysteria inducing vision. Ibu Nettleton is our fabulous Indonesian teacher, and she’d arranged a great activity for the students. They got into groups and went outside armed with chalk and their knowledge of the Indonesian terms for parts of the body; clearly they needed a body first which is where the disaster-like scenes originated. After drawing around a friend, the students wrote the words next to the relevant body part. The results were very edicational. If they’d drawn around me they’d have had to draw my heart in my mouth!

“All The World’s A Stage…”

Grab your popcorn, find the best seats and get ready for the curtains to part. Our very own Spielbergs, Burtons, Disneys and Parks have been allowing their creative talents to flow by making stop-motion animations. Anyone as old as me (very old) will recall the old stop-motion special effects in movies such as Jason and the Argonauts by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. As a kid, these movies were thrilling, state-of-the-art masterpieces that wowed audiences and had us mesmerised. Following these early great movies came the likes of Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit, still created using the “old”, hands-on process, handling and moving the modelling clay in slow, step by step movements to create a smooth animation. The kids of today are probably more familiar with animations created digitally such as the Toy Story movies, amongst many others. This term, as part of our design and technology learning area, the students of LA 14 have completed work on their own stop-motion animations: they’ve collaborated in groups to make plans based on the school values; they’ve used their English knowledge to create scripted, sequenced storyboards; they’ve used their artistic skills to make the characters; finally, they set the lights, focused the camera and filmed their masterpieces. Who knows, we may yet have another Ray Harryhausen or Nick Park just waiting to take the movie world by storm. Make sure you reserve your seat here in order to catch the upcoming LA14 blockbusters!

Tee Time

Some days it just feels like we haven’t quite gotten into the swing of things. The drive just seems to be lacking, rather than soaring like an eagle it feels like we’re carrying an albatross around our necks. However, the students in LA14 never give up and this week they had a wonderful lift when they had an opportunity to try their hands at golf. One or two had previously played golf, or had at least tried it before, but for most it was their first time. In true LA14 style they dived right in, gave it their best shot and had lots of fun. Not everything went well, but they putt their mistakes behind them, avoided any hazards and took the rough with the smooth. LA14 are easily on a par with any class I know, and when they chip away at their challenges and keep their eyes on the ball they sink their troubles like a hole in one. It was great to be in the sunshine watching them – all that was missing was a nice tee. Yes – that was dreadful!

Fish in a Tree

Dragging a class, kicking and screaming, through a full novel study can be as much fun as teaching a duck to herd cats. It can be a very tricky balancing act to find a novel that is not only interesting to bith boys and girls, but also contains the necessary topics and depth of literary content to be of educational value. Well, in my humble opinion, I found just the perfect novel for the job – Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. The novel tells the story of a year 6 student who faces difficulties and challenges, particularly at school. However, her journey becomes an inspiration to readers and, just as important to me, the literary content provides so much material to help move the students forward with their reading and comprehension skills. It’s too difficult to list all the work we’ve done on this great novel so , if you’re a parent, please discuss this post with your child.

Who’s In Charge?

“What are they teaching the kids in school these days?” Ahh, yes, that old chestnut. The famous question that instantly erupts everytime society takes a tumble and topples into into a muddy mess that begs, hungrily, for someone to be blamed. Sadly, this type of comment actually does our wonderful students a huge disservice in failing to recognise the hard work, effort and energy they pour into each day. Kids are kids (obviously) and they’ll make mistakes, but with our help our young buds will grow and blossom. I see it already. The other week I sat with a student, one so keen to learn she’d asked for help (like so many). I rose from my knees and smiled to myself. A student had risen from her chair and had walked to ask another classmate for advice – not a bestie, just one who she knew could help. He was happy to share his learning. Two others were working intently, quite naturally, on a personal project. Three boys were gathered around their books working on a problem, concentrating, talking it through. One girl had risen and walked to support another she knew was confused. I had to grab my camera; it was a great moment. We’d become the type of class where learning was real, where asking for help was natural, where students wanted progress, and where the kids were in charge of their own growth. When the kids take charge, society can brush the mud from its knees and pick itself up – it isn’t about what the schools teach the kids, it’s what the kids are doing for themselves!

QR = Quality Revision

Teachers never switch off! It’s just our nature, whenever we’re walking around (or doing pretty much anything) we always have our job at the back of our minds. Quite a few years ago I started using QR codes, a Japanese technology which was invented for tracking automobile parts during the manufaturing process. The original purpose was quite dull, but in the hands of teachers they can have a much more enjoyable role. This week the students were allowed to run (well, walk quickly) around the school on a treasure hunt. Not that there was any treasure at the end of this particular hunt, just the satisfaction of completing a revision exercise on our previous Math concepts. A number of QR codes were placed around the school with a selection of questions covering the topics we’ve covered this year. The answer to each question was a clue to the location of the next question. The students carried their Math books with them so they could refer back to jog their memories. The students all had fun (with a little frustration added in) and learned, at least remembered, what they’d forgotten they’d done before!

Dress To Impress

One of the favourite parts of the classroom for the younger kids is the dress-up box. They love feeding their imaginations by diving into the box, dressing up and taking on the roles of different characters. Dressing up as a character is what the big kids also did last week as we had our book week. It was great to see the enthusiasm the students had for this day and the imagination they used to in creating their characters. It wasn’t all down to ready made outfits, some of the students improvised with whatever they had in their wardrobes and they did a fabulous job. However, book week wasn’t the only chance the students had to feed their love of dress-up, the previous week saw three of our mini Einsteins host the science assembly, and do you reckon they could resist the chance to dress up? Check out our impressive three mad scientists and our book week characters below.

Take A Break

This year is flying by so quickly, to think we’re over half way through the third term already is almost alarming. The passing of time is relentless, but so is the learning. This term has seen our focus change to our novel study of the excellent Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. It’s a novel filled with symbolism, imagery and characterisation, and our studies have taken us deep into a complex analysis which will enrich the comprehension skills of the students. However, it’s not all about sitting at our desks and being serious (although we do need a healthy amount of that), but term three has also included a great deal of hands-on fun. We’ve got down on the carpet to check our knowledge of capacity; we’ve worked in friendship groups to construct rockets for science week; we’ve had our faction carnival following a lot of training and sports lessons; and this week we have book week and will attend a talk from a visiting author. We haven’t taken a break from our learning to fit in all these activities, rather, they are a vital part of our teaching and learning – we’ve simply taken a break from our desks.