Curriculum In Action

As part of their history learning, Year 1 have been finding out all about Pablo Fanque. Children have enjoyed learning about how he was born in Norwich and changed his name to Pablo Fanque when he joined the circus. He became the first black circus owner in the 1800s. The children were amazed that he could teach horses to dance and even ride 12 horses at once! We discovered that some children hadn’t been to a circus, so we made our own with stilts, tightropes, juggling and a big top!

On Thursday, Year 3 kicked off their history Stone Age topic with an action-packed experience day. They spent the day working as historians, using different replica artefacts to help them learn about what life was like during the Stone Age and test different theories using the evidence we have. After meeting some Stone Age people, children travelled through a time portal in their classrooms to go back in time. They learnt all about jewellery and used clay to make their own. They worked as archeologists to dig for artefacts and had a go at cave drawings. They also learnt about different pre-historic animals, measured their footprints and dissected their poo to identify whether they were herbivores, carnivores or omnivores! In the afternoon, children also learnt about hunting and gathering and found their own sticks to make spears, needed for hunting animals for food. A fantastic day was had by all, the children learnt so much and there were some amazing costumes too!

As part of our Design Technology lessons, children have been learning about the design cycle – Design, Create, Evaluate. Alongside this in Geography, we have been thinking about food and where it comes from. To bring this learning together, we decided to make our own fruit kebabs. Children designed their fruit kebabs, then made them in the Cookery Room. They then got to eat their fruit kebabs with their friends before writing about what they liked about them, and what they would do differently another time. The group verdict was “Yummy!”. Next week, we will be looking at where the food we used in the fruit kebabs was grown.

Block printing with string is an easy, textured printmaking technique where string is glued onto a block in a specific pattern, to act as a raised, inked surface. The string-covered block is inked with paint and stamped onto paper to create a unique design. Year 6 used their creativity and challenged themselves to incorporate some traditional Maya designs into their block to reflect the ancient civilisation’s culture.

We started by designing a range of prints that we could use and then chose a specific design. The children considered the integrity of the pattern and how difficult it might be to make.

Then, the children chose paint and complementing colours to print their block!

An excellent art project, Year 6. Well done!

This week, children in year 3 had the fantastic opportunity to go to the newly refurbished Norwich Castle to learn more about the Ancient Egyptians. During the day, children learnt about the different Egyptian gods and spotted their trademarks on real artefacts, many of which were over 3000 years old! They also learnt what everyday life was like and were introduced to some of the foods they would have regularly eaten, such as pomegranates, dates, olives, figs and cinnamon. During the day, they also heard about ancient Egyptian beliefs around the afterlife and explored the discoveries of Ankh-Hor’s tomb, housed in the Egyptian display at the Castle. As a take-home, all of the children made their own Egyptian collar, carefully considering the different colours they used and what they would represent in ancient Egyptian jewellery. A truly wonderful day was had by all with lots of new learning and experiences.

Learning about the different inventions of the Ancient Maya civilisation, Year 6 created a visual map filled with lots of important information. We showed curiosity and concentration to find out information about the invention of spicy chocohlaa, their number and letter system and their famous calendar. All of this information will then be used when we begin writing a non-chronological report!

This week, Year 3 have been continuing their exploration of Ancient Egypt by considering who built the ancient pyramids in Egypt. They had to hunt for different historical evidence around the classroom and decide whether it supported or opposed the common idea of slaves being the pyramid builders. As a class, these ideas were discussed and debated.

Children also learnt all about the purpose of pyramids and why they were built. As a challenge at the end of the lesson, children worked in pairs to build their own pyramid structures using marshmallows and spaghetti. Some children even chose to make tombs and chambers inside their pyramids!

Reception have continued to learn about the world and this week we have been looking at volcanoes. We learnt about where we could find volcanoes and how they are formed. We made some class volcanoes using junk modelling and papier-Mache and then did an experiment of a chemical reaction to make the volcano explode!

Year 6 had a fantastic trip out to Great Yarmouth to visit the Time and Tide Museum. We travelled back to 1941 when Great Yarmouth was in the thick of the action as a ‘front line town’. Year 6 discovered how the war affected people on the home front and met an ARP warden, housewife, shopkeeper and Home Guard soldier. We explored how to stay safe in an air raid and took cover in a Morrison shelter. Children in the year group tried on gas masks, counted rations in the wartime shop and learned how to ‘make-do and mend’.

At school, the children finished off their Second World War unit by creating a double page spread on all of the information that they have learnt. A brilliant term of learning, completed with some excellent presentation!

In year 1, children have been learning about cold climates. They have learned about Antarctica in the South Pole and how penguins have adapted to live in the Antarctic conditions. They then compared this to the Sahara desert and looked at how camels have adapted to live in the hot desert. By using venn diagrams, they were able to think about what was the same, and what was different between these cold and hot climates. Finally, they learned about how the Arctic is an ocean at the North Pole which freezes over. Alongside their learning of cold climates, they made moveable penguins in DT and painted digital penguins in IT.

This week, Year 3 have been inspired by their topic on Stone Age and artists Hannah Hansen and Laura McKendry to create their own cave art. In true Stone Age style, they created their artwork on the walls, using earthy colours of charcoal and pastels. What do you think?

Year 6 explored the work of Gustav Klimt, focusing on his use of pattern, colour and decorative detail. They created their own artwork inspired by his style, incorporating bold shapes, gold tones, and intricate designs. Through this project, pupils developed their creativity and gained an understanding of how artists express ideas through texture and symbolism.

On Thursday, Year 3 kicked off their history Stone Age topic with an action-packed experience day. They spent the day working as historians, using different replica artefacts to help them learn about what life was like during the Stone Age and test different theories using the evidence we have. After meeting some Stone Age people, children travelled through a time portal in their classrooms to go back in time. They learnt all about jewellery and used clay to make their own. They worked as archeologists to dig for artefacts and had a go at cave drawings. They also learnt about different pre-historic animals, measured their footprints and dissected their poo to identify whether they were herbivores, carnivores or omnivores! In the afternoon, children also learnt about hunting and gathering and found their own sticks to make spears, needed for hunting animals for food. A fantastic day was had by all, the children learnt so much and there were some amazing costumes too!

This half term, Year 3 are learning how to work with charcoal as an art medium. This week, they learnt about artist Laura McKendry who creates gestural drawings of animals using charcoal. She uses chiaroscuro (light-dark) to add detail to her illustrations. We also learnt that Laura likes to work from the floor, so when it came to creating their own illustrations, children worked from the floor too!

Take a look at some of our work:

Year 5 have designed and created their own Greek pots out of clay this term.

Today, they were able to paint their intricate designs on and begin to evaluate their work.

This week, Year 4 were inspired by the work of Gillian McFarland to create their own unique artwork. The children began by drawing abstract designs onto cartridge paper, before carefully using sharp pencils and drawing pins to punch holes at regular intervals.

When the artwork was turned over, it revealed a beautiful, Braille-like pattern. This process was not only satisfying to create, but also enjoyable to explore through touch. The children found the activity calming and therapeutic, and were delighted with their finished pieces.

As part of our Design Technology lessons, children have been learning about the design cycle – Design, Create, Evaluate. Alongside this in Geography, we have been thinking about food and where it comes from. To bring this learning together, we decided to make our own fruit kebabs. Children designed their fruit kebabs, then made them in the Cookery Room. They then got to eat their fruit kebabs with their friends before writing about what they liked about them, and what they would do differently another time. The group verdict was “Yummy!”. Next week, we will be looking at where the food we used in the fruit kebabs was grown.

Year 5 went to the outdoor classroom today as part of their seed dispersal learning.

They enjoyed searching and finding different types of seeds and predicting how they may have been dispersed.

This term, Year 6 are basing their writing and art work on the graphic novel by Shaun Tan. The children showed creativity, curiosity and teamwork as they immersed themselves into the story. This included a scavenger hunt, a suitcase conundrum and exploring illustrations!

This week in Art Year 2 have been exploring the work of two different artists and made visual notes in their sketchbooks. First they looked at the work of Marela Zacarías and recreated her geometric painting style. Then they looked at the work of Charlie French and painted using his freer and more fluid style of working.

As part of their history learning, Year 1 have been finding out all about Pablo Fanque. Children have enjoyed learning about how he was born in Norwich and changed his name to Pablo Fanque when he joined the circus. He became the first black circus owner in the 1800s. The children were amazed that he could teach horses to dance and even ride 12 horses at once! We discovered that some children hadn’t been to a circus, so we made our own with stilts, tightropes, juggling and a big top!

This term, Year 6 are basing their writing and art work on the graphic novel by Shaun Tan. The children showed creativity, curiosity and teamwork as they immersed themselves into the story. This included a scavenger hunt, a suitcase conundrum and exploring illustrations!

This afternoon Year 2 and Year 5 met with their buddies to share picture books and celebrate Read Aloud Day. They had a great time listening to each other read!

To end Book Week, Year 3 participated in one of Scholastic’s Book Club events with author and illustrator, David O’Connell. Having been introduced to O’Connell’s work earlier in the week, children heard all about how to plan a story, followed along with a draw-along of a treasure map and one of the main characters from his new book, Captain Slugbeard. They also listened to David O’Connell answering questions about his journey to becoming an author and where he gets his inspiration from.

As part of world book week, Year 5 were lucky enough to have a visit from author Vanessa Taylor.

They explored her book ‘Baller Boys’ and created a peaceful protest to help save their football grounds.

It was also great to have a surprise visit from Marley the mascot!

Year 3 have just begun their new writing unit where they are looking at scripts. This week, they have explored what scripts are and how scripts differ from narrative writing. As part of their lessons, they have learned about stage directions and how they are used by actors and actresses to bring scripts to life on stage and screen.

On Thursday, Year 3 learned all about using stage directions to reading with expression. They listened to some examples and then practised using expression when reading to bring scripts to life and add meaning. There are some great voice actors among Year 3!

This half term, Year 3 have been learning all about the Ancient Egyptians in their History lessons. As well as a trip to Norwich Castle, they also learned all about what life was like, how important the River Nile was, religious beliefs around gods and the afterlife and about the significance of the pyramids. With all that amazing knowledge, in writing lessons, children then wrote their own non-chronological reports to share their learning!

Here are just a few, but you can spot them all outside the Year 3 classrooms – see if you can learn something new!

Year 5 have produced some fantastic biographies all about Katherine Johnson.

They focused hard on using relative clauses, fronted adverbials and parenthesis.

We are proud of their progress and of their grit and determination when using cursive handwriting.

Thank you to the parents who dropped into school on Friday morning to share a reading book with our pupils. We heard some interesting conversations: children speaking about the books they love, retelling stories from picture books and some of our EAL pupils translating stories into their first language. It’s excellent to see Year 6 finding a pleasure in reading!

We look forward to hosting this event again!

Year 2 had a big shock when they came into school one morning last week and all of their chairs had been taken away! In Writing they have been learning how to be persuasive so they used these skills to create posters and letters for their class teachers convincing them to give back the chairs. Luckily it worked and everyone was able to sit down at their table comfortably again.

This week in year 4 we completed the maths school fair necklace investigation. We had to use systematic recording in order to find all the combinations of symmetrical necklaces you could make using four red and four yellow beads. The children used coloured counters and recorded their ideas as they progressed until they found all six solutions.

On Thursday, Year 3 kicked off their history Stone Age topic with an action-packed experience day. They spent the day working as historians, using different replica artefacts to help them learn about what life was like during the Stone Age and test different theories using the evidence we have. After meeting some Stone Age people, children travelled through a time portal in their classrooms to go back in time. They learnt all about jewellery and used clay to make their own. They worked as archeologists to dig for artefacts and had a go at cave drawings. They also learnt about different pre-historic animals, measured their footprints and dissected their poo to identify whether they were herbivores, carnivores or omnivores! In the afternoon, children also learnt about hunting and gathering and found their own sticks to make spears, needed for hunting animals for food. A fantastic day was had by all, the children learnt so much and there were some amazing costumes too!

Year 5 completed the whole school maths investigation today.

They explored how different many ways they were able to make a symmetrical Incan necklace, using 9 beads of only 2 colours.

Year 5 have enjoyed learning about perimeter and area. They even got to go outside to explore the skill!

Children in year 1 have been exploring measure this half term. They compared length and height, before measuring with cubes. They then measured in centimetres, carefully using a ruler. Some children even measured the length of the carpet! They have also explored mass using balance scales. They used the language of “heavier than” and “lighter than” to compare different objects. They then used their reasoning skills to try to work out the mass of new objects based on the mass of other objects.

Year 5 have been exploring fractions and decimals.

Today, they looked at thousandths as decimals and showed fantastic grit and determination. They successfully used place value counters to help them and we are proud of their progress.

Year 5 enjoyed completing the whole school maths investigation today. They showed great grit and determination and teamwork.

In year 1, children have been learning about cold climates. They have learned about Antarctica in the South Pole and how penguins have adapted to live in the Antarctic conditions. They then compared this to the Sahara desert and looked at how camels have adapted to live in the hot desert. By using venn diagrams, they were able to think about what was the same, and what was different between these cold and hot climates. Finally, they learned about how the Arctic is an ocean at the North Pole which freezes over. Alongside their learning of cold climates, they made moveable penguins in DT and painted digital penguins in IT.

This week in Reception we have been learning about Remembrance day and the meaning of poppies. Children did a range of poppy themed activities including counting, playdough and art.

We have also been concentrating on our balancing skills both inside and outside. Some children even made their own obstacle course to challenge themselves.

Year 5 enjoyed the whole school maths investigation, seeing how many shapes they could make out of 4, right angled isosceles triangles. They had to work systematically and showed great concentration and grit and determination!

Last Friday, the whole school took part in the Schools of Sanctuary: Day of Welcome. During the day, they learnt about the lives of refugees and how we can make our community in Queen’s Hill welcoming. This years theme was ‘Community is our Superpower’.

Children in Year 1 learnt about different playground games that children play from around the world. They played ‘Chinlone’ and ‘Oon’ from Myanmar and ‘Cossak’ from Ukraine. They shared these games with their buddies in Year 4 too.

Children in Year 3 & 4 took part in a live lesson with schools across the country to hear stories from Dina Nayeri about her own personal experiences of being a refugee as a child and fleeing to the United States of America. As part of the lesson, children had the opportunity to try some Taekwondo moves, as taking up this sport was something that helped Dina feel part of her new community when she moved to America.

In Year 5, children designed and wrote postcards to refugee children, welcoming them to Queen’s Hill. They explained how they would be welcomed into the community. Collaboratively, Year 5, along with their buddies in Year 2, designed houses for Moomins after reading about the displacement of the Moomins in ‘The Moomins and the Great Flood’ by Tove Jansson.

Year 6 enjoyed playing a game in their Mandarin lesson this week and keeping score, noting down the correct Chinese characters!

This week in Reception we have been learning about the celebration of ‘Lunar New Year’. We learnt about what foods people eat to celebrate and how they decorate using colourful decorations- we even made our own Chinese Lantern. Children explored different resources and really enjoyed learning about this celebration!

Year 5 enjoyed joining in with a live BSL lesson today. We learnt how to sign our names, the signs for greetings, animals and family members. 

This week, in Mandarin, the children had a tasting session and had a go at using chopsticks, to celebrate the Chinese New Year!

Year 6 have enjoyed beginning to look at languages and their fascinating and fun connections and roots. They have started to see that words and languages from different countries are closely linked and that by looking for clues and cracking codes, understanding other languages is easier than we think!

Year 3 began this term’s French topic on food today using Languagenut to learn the names of fabulous fruits. They extended their language learning to create colourful fruit bowls which they labelled in French! Bien fait tout le monde (well done everyone)!

To celebrate Languages Day Y5 explored the Greek alphabet. We learnt that we use lots of Greek words in English today. Some say there are over 150,000 English words that come from Greek words! Once we learnt the Greek alphabet we used it to have fun cracking linguistic codes. When we joined up with our Y2 buddies we taught them how to write their name using the Greek alphabet and then used what we had learnt to play hangman.

Year 6 have been using ‘World of Languages, Languages of The World’ resources to discover the fascinating etymology of our days of the week. Children compared our days of the week to French and German days, looking for similarities and differences. We explored and investigated the links between Norse and Roman Gods and thought about the connections between languages throughout the world. Children loved looking for clues and cracking codes in order to understand other languages as well as finding out about how many different languages are spoken amongst the year group!

Inspired by the rest of the school’s Curriculum Day, we also had our very own Year 6 Art Challenge linking to Belgian artist Ben Heine’s pencil versus camera work and using the base of the Eiffel Tower as a starting point. It was great to see the creativity of the children and see them engage so well with this task.

Year 2 have enjoyed learning some British Sign Language today during our Languages Curriculum Day. They learnt how to introduce themselves and fingerspell their name. In the afternoon they shared what they had learnt with their Year 5 buddies.

On Thursday, Year 3 kicked off their history Stone Age topic with an action-packed experience day. They spent the day working as historians, using different replica artefacts to help them learn about what life was like during the Stone Age and test different theories using the evidence we have. After meeting some Stone Age people, children travelled through a time portal in their classrooms to go back in time. They learnt all about jewellery and used clay to make their own. They worked as archeologists to dig for artefacts and had a go at cave drawings. They also learnt about different pre-historic animals, measured their footprints and dissected their poo to identify whether they were herbivores, carnivores or omnivores! In the afternoon, children also learnt about hunting and gathering and found their own sticks to make spears, needed for hunting animals for food. A fantastic day was had by all, the children learnt so much and there were some amazing costumes too!

This week in Reception we received a letter from Stick Lady. She said that Stick Man had gone missing and asked if could we help her! Children thought about what we could do to help and made wanted posters for him- we even put some up around school! Children have been painting using watercolours, creating their own stick men and searching for Stick Man outside.

We have been learning all about the seasonal changes which come with Autumn. The children have been reading the story “The Leaf Thief” and have learnt about what happens to the leaves in Autumn and why. We have learnt about the vegetables and plants which grow, the animals who hibernate and created pictures inspired by Autumnal colours. The children even got to visit our on-site outdoor classroom for an Autumn hunt!

Today, Year 3 have been learning about botanist and photographer Anna Atkins. She is considered the first person to publish a book of photographs.

Inspired by her work, Year 3 collected natural materials to create their own cyanotypes.

They layered their gathered materials onto the special paper and laid them in the sun for around 15 minutes.

After rinsing their paper in water, their final cyanotypes were revealed.

We have been learning about the life cycles of plants. As part of this topic, we have planted a Sunflower seed. We have been looking after them and look forward to taking them home to plant!

Reception had a wonderful time on our trip to Gressenhall. We met Fairy tale characters, such as Cinderella and Jack. We helped them find their magical objects the Wicked Witch had stolen. We particularly enjoyed the tractor ride on the farm, helping the Ugly-Stepsister with her chores and sliding down the beanstalk slides.

Today year 4 were excited to have a visit from polar explorer Adrian Hall. He spoke to us about his expeditions, showed us all the equipment he packed in his rucksack and shared lots of photos at the start of the day. After this, he worked outside with every class, teaching them about map reading and compass skills before they completed a treasure hunt around the school grounds. We had a great day and now feel we know a lot more about the life of an arctic explorer.

To kick-start their new English unit: Romeo & Juliet, Year 6 enjoyed participating in a variety of Shakespeare-related activities! Children took part in a scavenger hunt, collecting the answers to questions about the famous playwright and his works. They had to match symbols on their sheet to answers hidden away all around the playground. They discovered Shakespearean language and had to decide if phrases given to them were Shakespeare or ‘Fakespeare’. They explored the ancient grudge between the two feuding families in Romeo & Juliet: The Montagues and The Capulets and learnt about their household crests. Children were then tasked with creating their own crest, focusing on the significance of its design, colour and symbols. It was great to see how enthusiastic everyone was about our new topic and we look forward to seeing how they get on with their writing over the coming weeks.

This week Year 1 went to the woods to create Easter Gardens. We have been thinking about why The Cross is important to Christians and learning about the Easter story. The children confidently applied all of this knowledge to create some wonderful Easter Gardens! Great work Year 1!

Over the past two weeks Year 6 have been learning about butterflies. They all had some great questions and wanted to learn more about different species of butterflies! Children had a trail quiz to complete and were challenged to find out the answers to their questions. Upon their trail, they found a peacock butterfly in the grass. They were able to get really close up to it and see the beautiful colours of its wings. Some children even got to hold it! 

Today, children in Year 3 visited Norwich Cathedral to learn about Advent and the Christmas Story.

They talked about Advent meaning ‘getting ready’ and all the things we do to get ready for Christmas.

Children also heard about the prophet, Isaiah, foretelling the birth of Jesus before decorating their own matchbox manger and ‘Bethlehem’ sign.

They heard different parts of the Christmas story from some of the characters and had the opportunity to dress up and get involved – from finding lost sheep to following the star and taking gifts to the manger.

A great time was had by all. Thank you to the Cathedral team for a fantastic day!

This week the children have been learning about how people celebrate Diwali and Bonfire night. They have been making firework pictures and learning about Rangoli patterns, Mendhi patterns and made Diva lamps using salt dough.

This half term, Year 3 have been learning all about rites of passage in different religions. They have learnt about infant and believers’ baptism in Christianity, Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Judaism and the Amrit ceremony in Sikhism.

Today, they recapped all their learning by comparing the similarities and differences between the 3 religious ceremonies.

Year 3 enjoyed a trip to Norwich Cathedral today.

We were so proud of how ready, safe and respectful they were.

They learnt all about what advent is and journeyed through the nativity.

Reception have been learning about the festival ‘Diwali’. We learnt about how people celebrate Diwali with fireworks and food. We made Diva lamps using salt dough and created firework pictures too!

Year 2 have continued learning about why light is important for different religions. This week they have learnt about Hinduism and Diwali. They learnt about the story of Rama and Sita and then created their own rangoli patterns.

Year 2 have started learning about why light is an important symbol for different religions. This week they have been learning about the Jewish festival Hanukkah and understanding how a Menorah is an important part of this celebration.

This week, Year 6 have been starting to plan their discursive RE writing to answer the question, ‘Creation or Science: conflicting or complementary?’ Classes began to unpick the structure of the writing and considered lots of elements in order to make the piece cohesive. Children concentrated very effectively to discuss the purpose and audience, the effect they want to have on the reader, the grammatical and punctuation features they need to include and the topic-specific vocabulary. All their ideas are on the classroom working walls to reference throughout the unit. Children also began to think about the main ideas to include in the introduction and worked collaboratively to shared write this section using great communication.

This week Year 1 went to the woods to create Easter Gardens. We have been thinking about why The Cross is important to Christians and learning about the Easter story. The children confidently applied all of this knowledge to create some wonderful Easter Gardens! Great work Year 1!

Year 3 enjoyed learning all about advent at Norwich Cathedral this week.

They were able to hear the Christmas story as well as complete craft activities!

Thank you for having us!

Year 5 explored sun safety today. They were able to explore different SPFs and predict which bead would turn purple the quickest.

They were able to see the effects of the sun and think about how they can stay safe.

Everyone was shocked how quickly the bead without any sun protection turned purple and how the factor 50 sun cream kept the other bead from turning purple at all!

The children in Nursery planted their own bean seeds. They watered them carefully and are looking forward to watching them grow over the coming weeks.

This week in science year 4 investigated how pitch varies in instruments and what causes this. We used shakers, rubber band guitars and glockenspiels in our science lesson to help us. We discovered that longer thicker objects have a low pitch and thinner short objects have a high pitch.

Year 2 had a brilliant time on their trip to Snettisham Park this half term. They had a busy day filled with lots of great activities. They went on a deer safari, they collected eggs, groomed horses and fed goats and lambs!

We have had a very exciting 2 weeks in Early Years with the arrival of some eggs. Children guessed what animal would be inside the eggs- some who were hoping for a dragon or dinosaur were a little disappointed when chicks started to hatch. Children then observed the changes from egg to chick and recorded these in their own egg to chick diary. We learnt about how baby animals grow and the things needed to help keep animals happy and healthy. Children helped feed the chicks and even got to hold one with very gentle hands, we also did other chick themed activities and made our own chick biscuits.

The Nursery children went to visit the chicks in Reception. All ten have hatched and they were lucky enough to hold and stroke one as well as see them in the incubator.

Year 1 had a great time on Friday, taking part in three experiements as part of our Science curriculum day. After our Mad Science assembly, we were all thinking like scientist and ready to experiment!

Experiement 1 – Teamwork!

Children were challenged to copy a drawing in teams of four each holding a peg attached to the same pen! Children were not allowed to talk for the first experiment. The results were ‘interesting’! The next time, children were allowed to talk and their end result was much improved. Children agreed that talking and listening to each other definitely helped!

Experiment 2 – Crafty Rafts!

Children were given an A4 sheet of paper and challenged to build a raft. The raft that held the most marbles would be the winner. Children designed their rafts, built them and then tested them. The winning design hed a whopping 63 marbles before sinking! A flat sheet of paper held 59..

Experiment 3 – Solivng a crime!

During lunch there was a theft from the classrooms! Clues left behind included a ransom note and four different black pens used by four suspects. Children solved the crime by testing the inks on cartridge paper and discovering which pen had been used to write the ransom note.

A fun-filled day spent thinking as scientists!

This week year four have enjoyed taking part in a number of practical science investigations as part of British Science Week. We looked at properties of materials to see which would make the best handkerchief. At the end of the week, we melted butter, chocolate and cheese to see which had the highest melting point. The children had to put all of their scientific skills to the test during the past 7 days and have increased their passion for scientific experiments as a result.

Year 5 went to the outdoor classroom today as part of their seed dispersal learning.

They enjoyed searching and finding different types of seeds and predicting how they may have been dispersed.

Year 6 celebrated Science Week by completing a range of tasks which required them to utilise their teamwork skills.

We know that scientific discoveries are never just one person, but instead a group of people who all bring a different set of skills and ideas.

Year 6 were challenged to write their names and draw a picture with a pen that they could only control using pegs. A fantastic afternoon, well done Year 6!

Golden Eagles went one step further and decided to try the challenge blindfolded!

This week during their Outdoor and Adventurous Activities session, Year 4 used their teamwork skills to tackle a range of challenges. They worked together brilliantly while completing hoop activities, playing bacteria tag, and finishing with a rope challenge where they created shapes while blindfolded.

A fantastic session full of communication, cooperation, and problem solving.

This week in Reception we have been learning about Remembrance day and the meaning of poppies. Children did a range of poppy themed activities including counting, playdough and art.

We have also been concentrating on our balancing skills both inside and outside. Some children even made their own obstacle course to challenge themselves.

Today, a small group of children from Year 4 spent the morning at Taverham High School participating in a Panathlon event. They competed against 8 other schools from the local area in a series of sporting challenges, including: standing long jump, outdoor bowling, cricket and many more. They all showed huge amounts of grit and determination to have a go at each of the activities and represented the school brilliantly. Each child was awarded a medal at the end of the morning for all of their fantastic efforts.

We had so much fun during our Big Toddle! We completed different Physical Development activities such as ‘Balance Along the Tree Branches’ and ‘Don’t Fall in the River’. Parents and carers helped us raise £150 for Bernardo’s- well done Nursery and Reception!

Last Friday, the whole school took part in the Schools of Sanctuary: Day of Welcome. During the day, they learnt about the lives of refugees and how we can make our community in Queen’s Hill welcoming. This years theme was ‘Community is our Superpower’.

Children in Year 1 learnt about different playground games that children play from around the world. They played ‘Chinlone’ and ‘Oon’ from Myanmar and ‘Cossak’ from Ukraine. They shared these games with their buddies in Year 4 too.

Children in Year 3 & 4 took part in a live lesson with schools across the country to hear stories from Dina Nayeri about her own personal experiences of being a refugee as a child and fleeing to the United States of America. As part of the lesson, children had the opportunity to try some Taekwondo moves, as taking up this sport was something that helped Dina feel part of her new community when she moved to America.

In Year 5, children designed and wrote postcards to refugee children, welcoming them to Queen’s Hill. They explained how they would be welcomed into the community. Collaboratively, Year 5, along with their buddies in Year 2, designed houses for Moomins after reading about the displacement of the Moomins in ‘The Moomins and the Great Flood’ by Tove Jansson.

Year 3 had a fantastic time at Whitlingham Adventure.

They tried paddle boarding and canoeing and also completed many different team challenges.

The children showed great grit and determination throughout the day and all were safe, ready and respectful. Well done Year 3!

This week year 1 started practising the different activities that they will complete during our sports morning. The children were really excited to try something new.

Year one have made a fantastic start to the year. They have spent the first week exploring the new outside resources. They have created delicious food in the outdoor kitchen and building hand eye co-ordination playing tennis. Children have enjoyed having a go at writing and phonics is underway!

This half term Year 2 have been enjoying developing their throwing, aiming and agility skills in PE. This week they took part in a carousel of activities to practise what they’ve learnt. They even challenged themselves to adapt the activities to make them trickier!

Year 6 have been enjoying their weekly cricket sessions through Norfolk Cricket’s ‘Chance 2 Shine programme’ this half term. They have been developing concentration, focus, hand-eye coordination and throwing and catching skills. Today the children focused on the accuracy of their bowling and, with grit and determination, many managed to successfully knock down the wickets!

This week in science year 4 investigated how pitch varies in instruments and what causes this. We used shakers, rubber band guitars and glockenspiels in our science lesson to help us. We discovered that longer thicker objects have a low pitch and thinner short objects have a high pitch.

Year 5 have enjoyed learning new notes on the glockenspiel. They were able to recall last weeks notes D and B and add in note A today.

Nursery have been enjoying playing some instruments this week and listening to their friends’ music.

Year 4 had their first recorder lesson this week led by the music hub.

We were very impressed with their grit and determination and listening skills.

Miss Peek was super excited to have new musical stave whiteboards arrive today!

Year 5 were able to learn how to write down the notes they had been learning through the Charanga scheme of work on glockenspiels.

This week, Year 4 practised playing along to a hoedown piece using boomwhackers. They worked hard on keeping in time as a group and reading the musical notation. Next week, the class is looking forward to starting a some Christmas carols.

Year 5 have enjoyed learning guitar this term. They were able to build on their learning from last year and learn new chords and perform different songs.

Some children were able to go to Norwich Cathedral today for a concert by some Norwich School scholars. The children enjoyed vocals and piano pieces by a range of composers. They particularly enjoyed looking around the cathedral before and after.

Some children went to Norwich Cathedral with Miss Peek and Mrs Forrest today for a musical art experience. They were able to listen to a range of instruments and watch as artwork was created alongside each piece.

Thank you to Norwich School for hosting us!

Year 3 have enjoyed using ‘Scratch’ as part of their computing unit.

Today, they were able to code different instruments to create their very own band.

Miss Peek enjoyed hearing and seeing lots of different performances!

Year 5 have been working hard on scratch to program different sprites.
They were able to explain how selection directs the flow of a program

Look at some of their creations!

A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our Year 6 Breakfast Coding Café on Wednesday 18th March. It was wonderful to see so many families taking part.

Pupils had the chance to explore a range of exciting activities, including AI coding challenges from the AI Hour of Code website, hands‑on tasks using Micro:bits, and creative projects on our Chromebooks. The pastries and juice were very popular too!

Mr James also shared an update with families on the latest guidance around mobile phones and technology, including practical tips on how to help keep children safe online and when using digital devices.

Thank you again for your support — events like this are made even more special when our school community comes together.

This week in Year 5/6 Coding Club, pupils explored a range of coding controls, including joystick, tilt and slingshot functions, to manoeuvre their Sphero BOLTs around a challenging obstacle course. Some pupils organised races and designed their own courses, while others created a golf-style challenge using the Spheros.

In addition, several groups practised using the Sphero as a controller, competing to achieve the highest scores in a variety of games. The session was filled with creativity, problem-solving and teamwork, as pupils enjoyed applying their STEM skills in a fun and engaging way.

In year 1, children have been learning about cold climates. They have learned about Antarctica in the South Pole and how penguins have adapted to live in the Antarctic conditions. They then compared this to the Sahara desert and looked at how camels have adapted to live in the hot desert. By using venn diagrams, they were able to think about what was the same, and what was different between these cold and hot climates. Finally, they learned about how the Arctic is an ocean at the North Pole which freezes over. Alongside their learning of cold climates, they made moveable penguins in DT and painted digital penguins in IT.

Year 3 have enjoyed using ‘Scratch’ as part of their computing unit.

Today, they were able to code different instruments to create their very own band.

Miss Peek enjoyed hearing and seeing lots of different performances!

This week, year one and year four pupils buddied up for an afternoon session of African animal research on the iPads. It was wonderful to see such polite and caring partnerships between our older and younger students. Our year ones went away with lots of interesting and useful facts about meerkats, lions and giraffes which they will use to help them with their writing next week. We look forward to them sharing this work with their older buddies at the end of term.

This week in year four, we have been learning to code and write algorithms using repeated instructions. Using the free Turtle Academy software, the children were able to create different patterns and shapes, exploring the effect of changing line length, angle and the number of repetitions. They were very excited to see their images appear on the screen as you can see below.

Year 6 got to grips with using a micro:bit this week – a tiny programmable device that enabled children to understand how computers work and learn to code using the language of computers. They familiarised themselves with the device itself and the programming environment before creating their own programs. They then ran their programs on the device. We were impressed by everyone’s curiosity and concentration!

Year 1 were lucky to have some Y6 ambassadors join us for our computing lesson. They showed us how to use a keyboard to type. The children then had a go at writing some sentences.

We have been using micro:bit in our computing lessons. We have enjoyed exploring how to program the controller and designing our own moving icons.

Year 5 explored sun safety today. They were able to explore different SPFs and predict which bead would turn purple the quickest.

They were able to see the effects of the sun and think about how they can stay safe.

Everyone was shocked how quickly the bead without any sun protection turned purple and how the factor 50 sun cream kept the other bead from turning purple at all!

In RHE this half term Year 2 have been learning about positive affirmations and how they can give themselves compliments. They thought carefully about all the positive things they could say to themselves and wrote them down to remember later on.

Year 6 welcomed visitors from a local NHS Mental Health team who encouraged us to think about our emotions and personal coping strategies. Although all of the Year 6’s are showing brilliant resilience and rising to the challenges of the year, it was excellent to reflect on our ‘strategies toolkit’ for times when we feel overwhelmed, confused or nervous.

Each class had a fantastic time and came away feeling positive and well-equipped!

Year 6 came together as a year group to learn about diversity, individuality and the impact racism can have. We discussed a range of scenarios and reflected on how this might affect how someone feels- learning how the way we communicate with each other matters. In groups, we worked to create poems on this topic using creativity and teamwork.

This afternoon Year 2 and Year 5 spent some time with their buddies as part of Anti-bullying Curriculum Day and designed a pair of odd socks together. They worked really hard on the designs and used excellent teamwork.

To celebrate Antibullying curriculum day we have been concentrating on the qualities needed to be a kind friend. Children made friendship bracelets, worked on our fine motor skills, friendship pictures and wore our odd socks! We also have learnt about floating and sinking and using the phonics we know to begin to write words.

Today Year 2 children took part in a ‘Big Emotions’ workshop. They learnt about what it feels like to have a worry and what to do about it. They also practised some breathing and relaxation techniques. Finally they created a hand picture full of people who can help them and things that make them happy.

Exploring rationing during the war, Year 6 learned about the “Make do” attitude that everyone had to adopt when resources were limited. We look at the books that everyone, even babies, were issued with the amount of food they were allowed each week. Because some items were unable to be imported into the country, due to the Axis targeting vessels and airplanes, people started experimenting and making their own versions of their favourite foods. One of these was “Sweet Potato Mash” which replaced chocolate spread.

We had a fun afternoon recreating this interesting topping; only a few in each class enjoyed it!

Reception have been settling in to starting school and looking at the topic “All about me”. We have been sharing facts about ourselves and drawing self-portraits- noticing lots of our facial features. This week we have been learning about the story “And Tango Makes 3”. In the story, Tango lives in the zoo with two daddies. We have been talking about all of our families and who we live in a house with. We have discussed that every family is special and unique, but the thing that they all have in common is that there is lots of love! Children made marks as to who lives in their house and if they have any pets.

A warm welcome to all- children and parents 😊 We have had an excellent start to the year, starting with nominating and democratically voting for our class representatives for School Council. The children were creative when writing their speeches and showed excellent teamwork when preparing.

It has been great to see everyone engaging in the process!

Year 6 welcomed visitors from a local NHS Mental Health team who encouraged us to think about our emotions and personal coping strategies. Although all of the Year 6’s are showing brilliant resilience and rising to the challenges of the year, it was excellent to reflect on our ‘strategies toolkit’ for times when we feel overwhelmed, confused or nervous.

Each class had a fantastic time and came away feeling positive and well-equipped!

Nursery have been using mirrors to see what colour eyes and hair they have before completing their amazing self-portraits.

Year 6 came together as a year group to learn about diversity, individuality and the impact racism can have. We discussed a range of scenarios and reflected on how this might affect how someone feels- learning how the way we communicate with each other matters. In groups, we worked to create poems on this topic using creativity and teamwork.

Year 5 had a great time with their Year 2 buddies on Friday designing odd socks as part of curriculum day.

They worked hard together and showed good teamwork skills.

In RHE lessons Year 2 have been looking at different emotions and how their body feels when they experience each emotion. They each chose one emotion and created a feelings monster to show that emotion. They thought carefully about the expression on their monster and used this to decide what their eyes, nose and mouth might look like.

In RSE today, Year 3 looked at what it means to be proud of ourselves and they shared some of the things that they are proud of. 

Then, they identified what others are good at and gave compliments to one another. They discussed how it made them feel to receive a compliment. Common feelings were happy, calm, valued. 

As a class, they discussed what self esteem means and thought about what high and low self esteem looks like. 

As part of the lesson, Year 3 read some positive affirmations that could help boost their self esteem: “I am a good friend.”, “I am smart and capable”, “I am proud of who I am”, “I am unique and special”. 

They discussed the power of the word ‘yet’ when thinking about what we can and can’t do e.g. I can’t ride a bike YET!

To end the lesson, they each wrote 3 goals of things they would like to achieve that would make them feel proud. They made these into a paperchain. 

In RHE lessons Year 2 have been learning about celebrating themselves and others. They have discussed what makes a good compliment and then spent some time writing compliments for their classmates so everyone was able to take home a page full of positive messages!

Year 1 have been helping to keep our school tidy during busy time. Some children chose to use litter pickers to pick up any rubbish that they saw.

During our first full week back in school, year 5 have been campaigning for their school council representatives. We learned about democracy and how we keep things fair. The children worked together on their campaigns and made compelling speeches. Well done to all our school councilors who were elected on polling day!

This week, we have been exploring sun safety. In RHE, we have been learning about how to keep safe in the sun and the effects of UV rays. In science, we learnt about processes involved with testing sunscreen and used UV beads to test the effectiveness of sunscreens with different factors. It helped us to understand the importance of wearing sun cream.

On Thursday, Year 3 kicked off their history Stone Age topic with an action-packed experience day. They spent the day working as historians, using different replica artefacts to help them learn about what life was like during the Stone Age and test different theories using the evidence we have. After meeting some Stone Age people, children travelled through a time portal in their classrooms to go back in time. They learnt all about jewellery and used clay to make their own. They worked as archeologists to dig for artefacts and had a go at cave drawings. They also learnt about different pre-historic animals, measured their footprints and dissected their poo to identify whether they were herbivores, carnivores or omnivores! In the afternoon, children also learnt about hunting and gathering and found their own sticks to make spears, needed for hunting animals for food. A fantastic day was had by all, the children learnt so much and there were some amazing costumes too!

Year 2 had a brilliant time on their trip to Snettisham Park this half term. They had a busy day filled with lots of great activities. They went on a deer safari, they collected eggs, groomed horses and fed goats and lambs!

To end Book Week, Year 3 participated in one of Scholastic’s Book Club events with author and illustrator, David O’Connell. Having been introduced to O’Connell’s work earlier in the week, children heard all about how to plan a story, followed along with a draw-along of a treasure map and one of the main characters from his new book, Captain Slugbeard. They also listened to David O’Connell answering questions about his journey to becoming an author and where he gets his inspiration from.

As part of world book week, Year 5 were lucky enough to have a visit from author Vanessa Taylor.

They explored her book ‘Baller Boys’ and created a peaceful protest to help save their football grounds.

It was also great to have a surprise visit from Marley the mascot!

Year 6 welcomed visitors from a local NHS Mental Health team who encouraged us to think about our emotions and personal coping strategies. Although all of the Year 6’s are showing brilliant resilience and rising to the challenges of the year, it was excellent to reflect on our ‘strategies toolkit’ for times when we feel overwhelmed, confused or nervous.

Each class had a fantastic time and came away feeling positive and well-equipped!

This week, children in year 3 had the fantastic opportunity to go to the newly refurbished Norwich Castle to learn more about the Ancient Egyptians. During the day, children learnt about the different Egyptian gods and spotted their trademarks on real artefacts, many of which were over 3000 years old! They also learnt what everyday life was like and were introduced to some of the foods they would have regularly eaten, such as pomegranates, dates, olives, figs and cinnamon. During the day, they also heard about ancient Egyptian beliefs around the afterlife and explored the discoveries of Ankh-Hor’s tomb, housed in the Egyptian display at the Castle. As a take-home, all of the children made their own Egyptian collar, carefully considering the different colours they used and what they would represent in ancient Egyptian jewellery. A truly wonderful day was had by all with lots of new learning and experiences.

Thank you to the NHS team who came in to teach the year 4 children about big emotions and how to manage them this week. There were also some excellent relaxation techniques shared and the pupils were all given a helpful booklet to take home.

Children had a fantastic day at Thrigby Hall this week. They enjoyed watching the animals ‘in action’ at Thrigby – especially the gibbons swinging around their area. They were keen explrorers, even able to spot Raja the tiger using his stripes to hide in the bamboo. As scientists, they were able to use their science learning to help them identify if animals were Birds, Mammals, Fish, Reptiles or Amphibians. They met Scott, Zoological Director, who explained about the different animals at Thrigby and how Raja had been transported to the zoo. A fantastic day of fun learning!

Year 6 had a fantastic trip out to Great Yarmouth to visit the Time and Tide Museum. We travelled back to 1941 when Great Yarmouth was in the thick of the action as a ‘front line town’. Year 6 discovered how the war affected people on the home front and met an ARP warden, housewife, shopkeeper and Home Guard soldier. We explored how to stay safe in an air raid and took cover in a Morrison shelter. Children in the year group tried on gas masks, counted rations in the wartime shop and learned how to ‘make-do and mend’.

At school, the children finished off their Second World War unit by creating a double page spread on all of the information that they have learnt. A brilliant term of learning, completed with some excellent presentation!

Year 5 had a fantastic Viking day today.

They were able to row, try on outfits, explore artefacts and decide if they wanted to trade or raid!

All children showed great curiosity and grit and determination and we are very proud of them.