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As part of the 'Va Va Voom!' vehicles topic, the Key Stage One children participated in a vehicles themed music workshop. Teachers from the Gateshead Music Service planned songs and activities all about opposites in music; loud and quiet, fast and slow, high and low, long and short. The children had a fantastic time and all had the opportunity to play some instruments.
The children in Year One and Two performed separate versions of 'The Sleepy Shepherd'. The play told the story of a shepherd who didn't do any work because he was always busy sleeping. One day, he got woke up by the other shepherds snoring. While he was awake, an angel came to tell him about a special baby being born in Bethlehem. He then made a long journey to visit the baby and meet Mary and Joseph.
Continue reading "Key Stage One Performance - The Sleepy Shepherd" »
The Children in KS1 were all very excited when a package arrived from our link school in Uganda. Inside the package was: local craft work, pictures of children who go to Kikajjo Junior School and a lovely letter telling us about what life is like for teachers in Uganda.
Now we have to think about what we can send to Uganda to tell them about life in England.
As part of the 'Va Va Voom!' transport themed topic, the Year Two children visited the Stephenson Railway Museum to find out about trains in the past. The children met a locomotive named 'Billy' which was built by George Stephenson nearly 200 years ago. They found out about how steam was used to power the engines. The children also got to sit in an old fashioned carriage. Here, they played a game where they had to guess a material when blindfolded, and then find the same material somewhere in the carriage. The children finished their workshop by designing their own trains.
Continue reading "What were trains and boats like in the past?" »
The Year 2 travelled up to Heworth Comprehensive School to attend a multi skills sporting festival. The festival comprised of the children using their running, jumping, catching, kicking, throwing and balancing skills. All the children were very excited as it was one of the first times they had all represented the school in a competitive event. The Wardley children were split into four teams and competed with eight other teams from Whitemere, Bill Quay, Lingey House and the Drive. The children throughly enjoyed the event and their behaviour was a credit to the school.
Children from Kikajjo Junior School, Uganda.
The children in year one and two are linked with three schools in Africa. Two of the schools are from Uganda and the other is from Ghana. The teachers have been exchanging information about their schools via e-mail.
Last year some of the children sent letters to Roman Primary School in Ghana and are waiting for a reply.
This year we are going to send a Christmas message to all three schools in the form of a big Christmas card.
We look forward to learning about what Africa is like from our partner schools.
As part of the 'Schools' topic, the Key Stage One children have experienced a victorian day to gain an understanding of what school life was like 100 years ago. The children dressed up in victorian clothing and carried out various lessons and activities just like victorian children.
As part of our schools topic, the Key Stage One children have been learning about different schools from around the world. During our studies, we found out about some schools which had been effected by earthquakes and tsunami disasters. The worldwide charity UNICEF support these effected areas by providing a school in a box kit which enables children to continue their education until their schools are rebuilt.
Click here to find out more and donate to the school in a box appeal
In glorious sunshine, the annual Key Stage One Wardley Sports Day was held on Thursday 2th July 2009. A fantastic time was had by the children, parents and all staff. There were five different races: Running, Skipping, Quoits Balance, Bean Bag Balance and Through the hoop. After the five competitive races, the Green team came out winners. The children were all very enthusiastic and brilliantly behaved.
We also had some individual 50m sprint races. Here are the results
Year One Boy Winner - Jay Hodgson
Year One Girl Winner- Heidi Cumberland
Year Two Boy Winner - Jordan Hutchinson
Year Two Girl Winner - Josie Ball
As part of the Key Stage One R.E topic, the children have been learning all about churches and synagogues. They have been finding out how these places of worship are important to the Christian and Jewish faiths. The children went on a visit to Jesmond Parish Church and went on a treasure hunt around the church to identify the different features. This was led by an ex-Wardley teacher, Mr Gawn, who now works for the church.
A few weeks after, the children visited the Newcastle Reform Synagogue in Gosforth. The children had the opportunity to see the inside of the Synagogue and some of the important artefacts that are kept there, for example, the torah and menorah.
The children enjoyed meeting the various people from the different faiths and seeing the respective places of worship.
Just like Phileas Fogg in the Jules Verne novel 'Around the World in 80 days', the Year 1/2 children were set a race against the clock. Mr Malik challenged two teams of children to travel all the way round the north east on three forms of transport in one day. The winner would be the first team back to school. Mr Evans and Mrs Starling' team set off in one direction and Mr Burfield and Miss Fraser's the other.
Mr Evans' team went on:
*Metro from Pelaw to Heworth
*Train from Heworth to Central Station
*Metro from Central Station to North Shields
*Ferry from North Shields to South Shields
*Metro from South Shields to Pelaw
Mr Burfield's visited the same places but travelled in the opposite direction.
After a fast paced day, with every second vitally important, Mr Evans and Mrs Starling' team arrived back at school to cross the finishing line 10 minutes before Mr Burfield and Miss Fraser's team.
The children were very well behaved and gained a real sense of what Mr Fogg must have experienced in the story.
Three children in Key Stage One loved the farming topic so much that they went on a visit during the half term holiday with their family. They visited Whitehouse Farm near Morpeth.
To find out more about the farm click here.
The key stage 1 children completed the sunflower competition. Mr Malik came to measure the sunflowers to see who had grown the tallest. After the competition, the children planted the sunflowers in the flower beds.
Here are the results. See if you can interpret the table to answer the following questions.
Who's plant was the tallest?
Who's plant was the smallest?
How many more cm was Jake's sunflower than Lee's sunflower?
Who's plant was double the size of Hannah's sunflower?
What was the sum of Emma's and Kai's sunflower?
Name Height of sunflower(cm)
Emma 33
Kai 35
Hannah 15
Lee 15
Jake 25
Nathan 17
Laura 33
Aaron 30
As part of the 'Old McDonald' topic, the Key Stage One children visited Bill Quay Farm. The children saw many different rare breeds of farm animals. They also observed some of the different vegetables that were grown at the farm. While the children were there, they heard a variety of farm yard noises. We recorded these sounds to use as a stimulus for our music lessons.
Listen to the sounds below and see if you can guess the farm animal.
![MPj04020300000[1].jpg](http://www.wardleyprimary.org/MPj04020300000%5B1%5D.jpg)
As part of the 'Old McDonald' farming topic, just like real farmers, we are learning how to grow different kinds of plants that we and other animals can eat .
The childern have planted sunflower seeds at school and have been set the task to grow the tallest sunflower at home over the coming weeks. It is hoped that once the sunflower plants are established, we will be able to plant them in the bird area so that the birds can enjoy the many seeds the sunflowers produce.
You can keep us informed about how your sunflower is growing by adding a comment on the website.
May the best farmer win!
During the summer term, the year 1/2 children will be learning all about farming as part of our topic. Click on the link to find out what the children will be learning about.
Children from Wardley Primary helped Go North East launch their special Red Kite Mark. At the launch, they met a Red kite and had their pictures taken by the local press.
To the celebrate the end of the 'Twitchers' topic, the children got to put all their bird spotting skills, knowledge and understanding into practise through our visit to the Derwent Park and Thornley Woods. The main focus of our visit was to see the Red Kites in their natural habitat. Thankfully, we were not disappointed. The children loved seeing the bird of prey gliding above the trees hunting for it's food.
To end the 'Twitchers' topic, the children have built nest boxes in an attempt to attract more birds to Wardley. The children went on a visit to Heworth Comprehensive School to use the woodwork classroom. A number of parents came along to support the children making the nest boxes. The children made nest boxes for blue tits, sparrows and starlings.
It was a great day, where the children got to practise DT skills they wouldn't normally do.
On Friday afternoon we are to sell the nest boxes for £5 to make a profit to buy a bird bath to place in the school grounds.
We are also going to donate two bird boxes to 'Priory Court' so that the local residents can enjoy the birds as much as the children have.
Throughout the Twitchers topic, the children in Key Stage One have been spotting different birds that have landed on or by our bird feeders. At the start of the topic, the children had a limited knowledge of the birds. Therefore, in our literacy lesson, the children have been research information texts to find out about the birds they have seen. The children have then created their own bird guide book, cataloguing the birds they have observed and some of their other favourites.
If you wish to read the guide book to find out about some of the birds in the local area, click on the link below.
The children in year 1/2 had a competition on who could throw a beanbag the furthest. The children enjoyed throwing the beanbags. The children had a winner! It was Jordan Hutchinson who threw the beanbag 11 and a half metres! Jordan Hutchinson was very proud of himself to win the class competition.
By Josie Ball and Shannon Mavin aged 7
Today we saw the first bird to eat from the new bird table that has been placed outside the Key Stage One classrooms. Some of the Year Two children spotted a collared dove sitting on top of the bird table roof feeding off the seeds the children had placed outside the week before. The children were extremely pleased to see the first bird feeding. Let's hope we attract more new species to the school grounds. Unfortunately, it can take up to four weeks for birds to gain the confidence to feed from bird tables and feeders. Fingers crossed!
![MCBD09151_0000[1].jpg](http://www.wardleyprimary.org/MCBD09151_0000%5B1%5D.jpg)
During the Spring term, the year 1/2 children will be learning all about birds as part of our topic. Click on the link to find out what the children will be learning about.
The Year One and Two children have been investigating different ways of attracting more birdlife to the school grounds. One method is to increase the amount of insects in the school grounds. With the help of Annette Morris, a nature expert from the Durham Wildlife Trust, the children went on a mini beast hunt. Using magnifying glasses, nets and sheets, the children gathered many creepy crawlies. The children had great fun exploring and discovering the different insects.
The children found:
*Snails
*Flies
*Woodlice
*Spiders
*Weevils
*Worms
In the afternoon session, Annette carried out a plant identification, so we could find out which kinds of birds would be attracted to the school grounds because of the variety of seeds and berries.
Continue reading "How can we attract more birds to Wardley?" »
As part of our "Twitchers" topic we are learning about how people look after their birds with care and sensitivity. Becky a local falconer came to visit us with her Harris Hawk Mort. She explained to us about birds of prey and how she looks after Mort. She told us that Mort needs daily exercise and about what he eats, he even had his tea before he left - a chick! We were able to get up close and touch Mort and some of us who answered Becky's quiz questions correctly held him, but only after wearing a special falconer's glove to protect our hands from Mort's talons.
To start our new 'Twitchers' topic, the children took part in a school bird watch to see which types of birds are located in the school grounds. Mr Evans' Dad, a keen bird spotter, came to school to demonstrate to the children how to be a good 'Twitcher'. The children had to guess what 'old' Mr Evans carried with him when he went bird spotting. Using a bird guide, binoculars and the help of both Mr Evans, the children identified the different types of birds. We had a very exciting afternoon as some the children saw a sparrow hawk fighting with a woodpigeon for some food.
Over the two hours we spotted lots of different birds. Click below to see the findings of our birdwatch.
Wardley Birdwatch Results
To carry out your own birdwatch at home, click here. Let us know what different birds you have spotted by adding to the comments.
To visit the RSPB website for more information and Bird games click here
Over the next few weeks, the children will learn how we can encourage different species of birds to visit the Wardley grounds. Check out the website to see what we find!
To end the 'Land Ahoy' Pirate topic, the children raced their pirate ships they had built during their design and technology lessons. After many qualifying races, each class had a grand final to see which Pirate was the fastest to sail the seven seas.
Here are the designers of the winning ships.
As part of the children's trip to Gateshead City Learning Centre, the children have dressed up as pirates. The children had to give themselves a nickname. To see the children's costumes and nicknames, click on the photograph above.
To find out and see what the children did at the Gateshead City Learning Centre click on the link below
The northeast of England is famous for its ship building past. The children in Key Stage One continued this tradition in their Pirate topic. The children were set the task of designing a new pirate ship for Captain Blackbeard. In their science lessons, the children had to investigate the properties of various materials to see which would be best for the hull of a model pirate ship. Using their findings, the children designed a pirate ship.
They were given a design brief of creating a pirate ship that would:
*float
*be waterproof
*sail
Once the children had completed their ships, they tested them to see if they met the design brief. To the delight of Captain Blackbeard, many of the models made fine pirate ships. However, some became shipwrecks!
Two members of the firefighters from our local community and their fire engine visited Year 1 and 2 for their annual fire safety talk. The children watched a video about the importance of not playing with matches. The children then had the opportunity to try on a firefighter's uniform and see what different equipment a fire engine has on board. The safety session ended with the children having a turn on the hose. Some of the chlidren expressed a desire to be firefighters when they grow up.
The children in Key Stage One have been learning all about the properties of different materials. Using a Pirate theme, the children had to sort which of the materials were magnetic. They were introduced to a Pirate called Major Magnet, who would only find treasure that was magnetic. The children had to help him find the treasure on a desert island by digging for the loot and testing whether it was magnetic or not. They recorded their findings in a table.
The Music Workshop teachers from Gateshead LEA invade Wardley for the afternoon. They came singing sea shanties, capturing pirates and telling tales of treasure. They taught the children all about keeping a steady beat and gaining a sense of melody. The children had a fantastic time. The Key Stage 1 teachers would like to thank the LEA music teachers as they prepared the 'Pirate' themed workshop especially for the beginning of our new topic.
During the Spring term, the year 1/2 children will be learning all about pirates as part of our topic. Click on the link to find out what the children will be learning about.
To end our space topic, the children from year 1 and 2 had their own space rocket launch competition. The children first of all designed a rocket and then worked in groups of three to build it. In our classes, we went outside and used a special pump to launch our rockets. The rocket that went the highest and furthest was chosen for the final. The finalists were Sputnik 3 from Mr Evans' class, Moon 2 from Miss Fraser's and Mars 5 from Mr Burfield's. Mr Malik came to watch the three finalists and had the tough decision of choosing the winner. The children really enjoyed the rocket launch and it was a fun way to end a topic that the children have loved learning about.
Using their experiences in the snow, the children in Key Stage One wrote stories with a snow theme. Many stories included adventures with snowman and sledging on gigantic hills. To read two of the fantastic stories created by the children, click below.
Throughout the Autumn term, the Key Stage 1 children have been learning all about space. They have been finding out all about the space race and the first lunar landing. As a stimulus for their artwork, the children had to imagine what Neil Armstrong could see from his rocket. The children created artwork which included the Sun, Earth and Jupiter.
Bob Tweddell visited Year One and Two to discuss what it was like in Wardley in the past. Mr Tweddell, local resident and Grandparent to a child in the school, brought in a time line to demonstrate the changes to the local area over the last 200 years. He also answered some key questions about the history of Wardley and also how his childhood was very different to the children's at our school today.
The Key Stage One children have been busy writing a song all about Wardley. Using places and things seen on their walk around the local area as their inspiration, the children produced their own song.
Walking Through Wardley Song
On Thursday 11th December, Key Stage One performed a Christmas Play called Donkey For Sale. The children performed magnificently in front of their family members. The teachers were delighted with the children as they all used clear and loud voices so that all the audience could easily follow the Christmas story.
Click on the gallery to see more photos of the fun in the snow.
As part of our topic on Baptism, year 1 and 2 went to visit St Mary's church in Heworth. The children really enjoyed listening to Rev. Val Sheddon explaining what happens during a baptismal service and even baptized little baby Mary in front of her proud parents, Liam and Bethany. The children enjoyed investigating the church after the talk and got to handle lots of the artifacts that were used during the service.
The Year One and Two children have been building models of houses in Wardley. After walking around Wardley to investigate the different types of homes found in the local area, the children had to design, build and evaluate a Wardley home.
In Key Stage One, the children have been finding out all about Wardley. After a walk around the local area, we decided what we liked and didn't like about the locality.
Continue reading "How we have made Wardley a better place to live" »
During our Be Healthy week, Stephen Turnbell, a professional footballer from Hartlepool United, came into Year One and Two to discuss with the children the importance of a healthy diet and doing plenty of exercise. He also delivered some coaching, wowed the children and staff with his tricks and skills, and refereed some 7 a side matches. The children had a great afternoon and discovered how much hard work and dedication it takes to be an elite athlete.