28 June 2024

Year 4 in Yorkshire 😎

      Year 4 have just spent two days in Yorkshire on a field trip which consolidated this term's learning about wetland habitats, and has prepared them for a coastal study in Year 5 which will look at the erosional processes that form cliffs, beaches, stacks, arches and stumps.

      All of our field trips and study visits are carefully very curated to support and extend the curriculum, and to provide girls with opportunities to widen their horizons and friendship groups.  Innovation for these experiences is a continuous process.  For example:

Vocal Works 🎤

      Well done to all of the talented vocalists from Years 4 to 6 who made this concert such a success, and thank you to the parents and other supporters who came along for the occasion.  Vocal Works concerts provide opportunities for girls to demonstrate EXCELLENCE and RESILIENCE in their craft, and to showcase the extraordinary progress which they make under under the guiding hand of their singing coach, Mrs Keys.

      This event was also attended by special guest, Deb Martin, from the Nottingham Society of Friends.  Mrs Martin hosts Year 6 annually at the local Quaker Meeting House as part of their Religious Education programme - and later this year we hope to repay her hospitality by sending a group of performers to help in a fundraiser for The Friary, a homelessness charity that works with Nottingham Quakers to assist newly-settled refugees.    Mr Rolfe, Mrs Keys and Mr Cox are very much looking forward to this collaboration!

Mad about Matisse! ✂️  

Mrs Crabtree

      Girls from Years 1 and 2 who attend this extra-curricular activity have been learning about the French visual artist Henri Matisse, looking carefully at his paintings and other art works.  He was especially famous for his collages, which he dubbed 'painting with scissors'.

      In the spirit of Matisse, the girls have produced their own collages using brightly coloured paper, and taking inspiration from shapes around them - they have enjoyed being creative and developing their fine motor skills with scissors!

Down on the farm  🐄

Miss Duce

      As part of their current farming topic, girls from Nursery visited Farmer Barnes' Dairy near Melton Mowbray on Thursday, with the objectives of finding out more about cows and calves, and exploring the milking process.  The girls enjoyed a trailer ride through a herd, and were also allowed to visit a state-of-the-art parlour to see where cows are hooked up, fed and milked.  They were also invited to have a go at fitting the apparatus themselves - but only on a cardboard beast!

      This was a fabulous experience which helped us to see where our food comes from and the hard work which happens on farms.

What a difference a term makes! 🌸

Miss Whitehead and Mr Cox

      Last December, girls from 5MC enjoyed an Outdoor Learning lesson in cultivating perennials, dividing and planting day lilies, geraniums, sedum, and shasta daisies in Upnah playground.  They saw how without spending money or travelling to a garden centre, new plants can be effortlessly created from congested clumps - and they were also able to take a close-up look at root balls, tubers and emerging new growth.

      Now - six months on - the girls are able to enjoy the fruits of their labours, and can see at first hand how easy it is to provide for pollinators.  An empty patch is now filling out with plants!

      Gardening is a healthy and inexpensive way for children to learn about sustainability and life cycles.  Research suggests that they perform better at school if they are involved hands-on with the care and cultivation of plants, and many children will develop a greater interest in healthy eating if they even get to grow or pick their own fruit and vegetables.  For more information and ideas about developing your daughter's interests in gardening, visit the RHS website:

Year 5-6 inter-house cricket 🏏

Miss Abbott

  This week, we held our first ever inter-house competition, with excitement and enthusiasm across the board.  It was a very tight finish, with two houses tied on points - and with Skeel pipping Bolton on run difference in the final reckoning.

Year 5 explore the work of naturalists 🐿️

      As part of their current Life Cycles science topic, Year 5 are studying the work of naturalists such as Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle and David Attenborough.

      By way of an introduction to the work of these scientists, the girls visited a local woodland habitat to test their own skills of silent observation.  It's amazing what wildlife you can discover when you simply sit still, watch and listen!

14:25 - two crows stand in a tree, wings outstretched

14:27 - an ant scurries across the forest floor

14:28 - two squirrels climb a tree trunk

14:30 - a bee collects nectar from a wildflower