On 25th November we launched our St Mary's Growth - make a difference days. We will be holding these events termly, and working with the children to look at differences we can make to our environment and ourselves, which improve our health and wellbeing. This can be as small as turning off lights and computers when we leave the classroom, to walking a daily mile, and exploring the idea of a biophilic classroom (identifying that we all seek connections with nature, and learn better when we have plants in the room, which also improves air quality). The children will debate current issues such as climate change, healthy lunchboxes and keeping fit. 

More news to follow.....

Year 4 began a project to support our school to become carbon zero. In aid of this project, we have planted 30 tree saplings behind our school to create our own outdoor learning space and forest school area which will be enjoyed in years to come. The children loved planting their trees and enjoyed predicting what they may look like as they grow taller and stronger. We discussed the importance of planting trees and why it is so good for our well being and the planet too!

For our Growth Day this term, we focused on the 6 Principles of Nurture. These are:

1.       Children's learning is understood developmentally

2.       The classroom offers a safe base

3.       The importance of nurture for the development of well-being

4.       Language is a vital means of communication

5.       All behaviour is communication

6.       The importance of transition in children's lives

Ref: Lucas,S., Insley,K. and Buckland,G. (2006) Nurture Group Principles and Curriculum Guidelines Helping Children to Achieve, The Nurture Group Network.

Each class focused on one or two principles and completed an activity relating to it.

Nursery E2 focused on the Nurture Principle: The Importance of Transition in Children’s Lives. They mixed paint to learn how change can be positive.

Nursery focused on the Nurture Principles: The Classroom Offers a Safe Base and All Behaviour is Communication. They made nests to keep a ladybird safe. They also played an emotion game where they had to cheer up someone who looked sad. They talked about ways of being a good friend.

Reception focused on the Nurture Principle: The importance of Nurture for the Development of Well-being. They took part in a circle time, thinking and saying positive affirmations aloud to themselves. They then made posters of these with KS1. Reception took part in mindfulness activities. They spoke about their morning volleyball workshop and what it takes to work as a team.

Year 1 focused on the Nurture Principle: Children’s Learning is Understood Developmentally. They created a rainbow with different ways that we learn. They shared a skill with their friends such as juggling and tying shoe laces. They discussed how differences make them all special.

Year 2 focused on the Nurture Principle: Language is a Vital Means of Communication. Together they talked about how we communicate through words and the emotions that we show. Together they created an emotion alphabet, each time they thought of a word they talked about what might make us feel that emotion. It was very tricky when they reached the letters X, Y and Z! After this they created an emotion poem called "Any Way I Feel" to explain to people how we might act when we feel different emotions.

Year 3 focused on the Nurture Principles: The Classroom Offers a Safe Base and The importance of Nurture for the Development of Well-being They discussed ways of making the classroom a safe place and created a table on how to make the class a safe space for everyone.  They made self-affirming flower pictures to identify things they feel grateful for.

Year 4 focused on the Nurture Principle: The Importance of Transition in Children’s Lives. They talked about the changes they go through as they get older. They created fact files about Year 4 for the next year group to look at before they move up so that they know what to expect.

Year 5 focused on the Nurture Principle: The importance of Nurture for the Development of Well-being. They talked about what nurture means and what they understood that to look like at home and school. They discussed the changes that we expect and those that are unexpected, thinking about how we feel about these. Then they used watercolours to illustrate these feelings.

Year 6 focused on the Nurture Principle: Children’s Learning is Understood Developmentally and Language is a Vital Means of Communication. Children with a particular skill in origami taught other how to make an origami flapping bird. They also played a game of pass the whisper around the circle to explore how important is is to communicate clearly.

After our first 'growth-make a difference' day, the pupils requested that we develop the idea of an allotment on school grounds. We had raised beds that we grew strawberries and potatoes in, but the pupils wanted to look at developing this further and growing food that could be used, for lunch, in the school kitchen.

The first phase of this work has now started, with thanks to Swanley Town Council, and we have been donated seeds by Tesco in Sidcup.