St Joe's Blog

St Joe's Blog

Tuesday 31 March 2009

A Winning Argument?

Ten minutes ago I was invited into Mrs. Bell's Class. The children in her literacy group had written letters trying to persuade me to allow them to have privilege time on Thursday instead of Friday. The arguments were clear and well organised. My decision is...

Yes, I agree, it would be a good idea to change the day of privilege time this week.

Monday 30 March 2009

Inside our 17th century house

Today we have written a description of what we could find in our 17th century houses. Here is what Laura wrote:
I can see my 17th century house. When I walked in it was very cold. I went into the living room. I saw a wooden table with a painting on it. There was a fire place. Then I went into the kitchen. It had a table and chairs and some food. Then I went into the bedroom. It had speaky beds, a wash pan and ripped sheets.

London's burning

In the last few weeks Year 2 have been using their design and technology skills to create a house in the Stuart style of 17th Century. The houses are now finished and look brilliant. Last week the children used their imagination and knowledge of the Great Fire of London to create the sounds of The Great Fire. Here is a short clip showing their houses and their sounds.

Year 1 Amazing Alliteration

Today in year 1 the children have been describing Spring using alliteration. They came up with some wonderful ideas...


'The shining Grass is Green' by Alfie

'Chirpy Chicks' by Connor

'Chicks are Cheeky' By Bethany

'Disco Dancing Daffodils' by Joseph

'Little Lambs' by Lara

'Lapping Leaves' By Izza

'Fluffy Flowers' By Charlotte.

During the lesson we also had a visit from Mr Condon who was very impressed with the children's work...well done year 1!

Friday 27 March 2009

Fire fighters in Year 2

Today Year 2 have been really lucky. They had a visit from Mr Walsh, who is a fireman. He came in to talk to Year 2 as part of their Fire and Ice topic. The children, who have been learning about The Great Fire of London, had all prepared questions to ask him and listened carefully as he answered them. Here are a couple of examples:

Have you ever rescued a cat?
By Ty

What do you like about fighting fires?
By Saul

Have you ever had a hoax call?
By George

What do you have to wear when fighting fires?
By Vivian

The children then had a chance to see the sort of clothes that firemen wear when they are dealing with fires.


After that, the children were taken outside where Speedwell Fire Brigade were waiting to show them round 2 fire engines and explain how important it is to stay safe. The children learned about all the different tools that are kept on the fire engine. Year 2 were then able to have a go spraying the fire hose and even Mrs Ford had a go! It was a great afternoon.


A big thanks to Mr Walsh and all the team from Speedwell Fire Station for coming in.

Thursday 26 March 2009

Year 5&6 Adverts

Year 5&6 have been looking at advertising. We have looked at the features of adverts and went on to produce our own. Below is Aaron M's fantastic TV advert. As well as showing an understanding of the features of adverts, he has brilliantly shown off his ICT skills.




We also looked at radio adverts. The task was to create an idea for a new toy and then to produce a radio advert to promote it. Below are some excellent examples.


Click here for Liam M's radio advert


Click here for Will B's radio advert


Click here for Yan's radio advert

Monday 23 March 2009

Super sentences!

Today Y2S have been editing and improving a sentence to create a super sentence about the Great Fire of London. They worked very hard. Here are some of the sentences that they created:
The fire happened in 1666 and the terrible, ugly fire destroyed the city but some people escaped from the fire.
By Saul

In 1666 on sunday the dreadful fire wrecked the old city and 300 houses dicapeared.
By Lewis

From Pudding lane in 1666 September 2nd after a long hot summer the dreadful fire wrecked the old city.
By Sydney

In 1666 the dreadful fire destroid the old city.
By George


Saturday 21 March 2009

Former pupil is a superhero!

A former pupil of St Joseph's school is a star of CBBC's Who Wants to Be a Superhero?


April who plays the part of superhero Pink Puffle Girl has appeared on the show for several weeks.
There were 13 superheroes in total; seven boys and six girls. The show is now down to the final four superheros. The winning superhero (announced in episode 14) travels to Los Angeles, meets Stan Lee and sees their character turned into their very own comic book strip.

Well done April!


To watch a previous episode click here

Thursday 19 March 2009

Fiendish Fencer in Fishponds!

A special person came and joined in Fencing Club this evening. Can you guess who it is?

Tudor Dress Sense


Today Kavita and Kamal showed me their designs for Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. I was very impressed with how carefully they had used different materials to create costumes for these historical figures. They have been very creative and had researched their ideas from historical books.

Wednesday 18 March 2009

ICT in reception

I was amazed to hear about the ICT work that has been happening in reception this week. The class have been adding to a plant diary using thier phonics and beginning to use a word bank. Here is an example of thier work by Jake:
18/03/2009 5 leisand smlroos (5 leaves and small roots)

Tuesday 17 March 2009

Cookery Club's Red Nose Day cakes

Last Thursday, the cookery club made special red nose day cakes to sell at the cake sale. They all worked very hard, and can be proud that they helped raise a lot of money for Comic Relief. The cakes were delicious and went like... well, like hot cakes! Well done everyone.

Sunday 15 March 2009

Red Nose Day Talent Show

The Red Nose Day celebrations continued on Friday with a talent show. The children involved worked really hard to organise and perform the show, which made for an enjoyable morning.

Well done!









Y5/6P Red Nose Day Assembly

On Friday Y5/6P produced a fantastic Red Nose Day Assembly. As well as being entertaining, the class reminded us of the important work being undertaken through Red Nose Day.





Wednesday 11 March 2009

Liam's animations

Liam in Year 6 continues to develop his ICT skills and has now turn his hand to animation. Below is a slideshow he has been working on outside of school. I think they look great!




Uploaded on authorSTREAM by kevintconlon

Year 5&6 Investigating sound

Here are some photos from our recent science lessons on investigating sound.


Maths Stars

It is great to hear how well the children are doing on their Maths Clubs.
Kavita & Rajan Sahota have in particular demonstrated what fantastic maths stars they are. Kavita is now working on the 75 division club, whilst her brother Rajan is on the 45 Mix-up Club. Well done!!





Friday 6 March 2009

During RE, Class Y5/6P have been looking closely at the words Communion and Sharing. We discussed 'Comic Relief'' and how it helps unite people to share what they have with those less fortunate. The class wrote letters to persuade people to donate whatever they could.

Dear People Who Care,

I am writing to remind you of the importance of Red Nose Day and to ask you to donate something – even a prayer. This will help care for those less fortunate who may not have a home or parents.

Your donation will help build houses for the homeless, care for orphans, help get people jobs and provide beds for those unfortunate. Just think; out there are more than 3000 who need help and you can help at least one of them by donating.

Your donation can stop diseases and save someone’s life. There are people who would be tremendously appreciative of whatever you give. I may be a child, but I believe even the smallest of children can make a big difference.

Red Nose Day is coming up so donate now and save a life.

Yours beseechingly

Elliott



Dear People who want to make a difference,

I am writing because Red Nose day is approaching and on behalf of everyone who isn't as lucky as us, please can you help by donating money to children and adults, who are suffering in some parts of the world.

Right this minute, young and old are dying or terribly ill because of the conditions they live in. Some children are left alone to look after their siblings but they don't have houses to live in. They live on the streetsand suffer ilnesses. Noone deserves this. Sadly, when they get ill, there is no medicine to cure them - they just have to get on with it.

Not everyone likes school or wants to go there, but for children who can't afford it, going to school would be a dream come true. It would allow them to get an education and provide for their family.

Please, you could save someones life, even a prayer would be wonderful and appreciated all over the world.

Yours sincerely

Lauren

Y5&6 geography

As part of their topic on Fairgrounds, Years 5 & 6 spent this afternoon researching where in the world all the big theme parks are. They had to work in teams to find the information and place it on maps of the different countries. They used Google Earth and internet resources as well as improving their skills in atlas work.