Dear Parents,
It’s always a good feeling as we edge towards half term in this Spring Term and the evenings are getting slowly lighter, allowing a few extra minutes outside at the end of each day. Though we do like to moan about the British weather, we are lucky to have the rhythm of the seasons to guide us through the year, and we can be grateful that we do not experience (yet, anyway) any of the devastating extreme weather events that we read about and which seem to happen globally with greater and greater frequency. Fortunately this was not the case for the children of Mbopo School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who we were delighted to see wearing some of our old Dame Bradbury’s school uniform that was shipped out late last year #globaluniform. This links well with our focus on sustainability and helps our pupils to appreciate the global nature of our shared responsibility and that everyone can do their bit to help.
Closer to home, we enjoyed a great charity day led by Bradbury House in aid of RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association), with the £500 mark being broken for the first time ever!
With an equine theme, Bradbury House put together a whole host of fundraising activities, from plaiting challenges to a gymkhana assault course, all raising money for the local branch of Riding For The Disabled. Children had fun pinning the tail on a huge playground pony and making guesses as to how many polos were in the Pony Pot. A huge thank you to all who took part and donated! Together we raised over £500 which will go a local RDA stable.
Year 6 welcomed George Szirtes, who fled with his family from Hungary following the Russian invasion in 1956, as part of their preparation for attending the Holocaust Memorial Day service at St Mary’s Church. George, now retired, used to be a teacher and so was able to pitch his narrative just right. The children were intrigued and, as always, asked some perceptive questions as part of the session. This is part of their wider learning on the theme of Conflict, which has also led them to consider some current conflicts and to think about why conflict still happens.
This year for the first time Year 6 joined their Junior School colleagues in the SATIPS General Knowledge Quiz. This was entirely voluntary and just over half the year group had a go at answering the 100 questions across a range of topics, so well done to all of them. A copy of the quiz managed to make its way to the staff room afterwards and staff were struck by the variety and level of the questions asked!
The pupils in the Pre-Prep have had an exciting half term going ‘Into the Unknown’ where they had lots of questions they wanted to find answers to. Through Plan, Learn, Do, Review as well as thematic learning, the children decided to extend their personal interests in explorers, space, underwater creatures, extreme weather, and rock climbing among other projects. The children are developing their digital learning and collaboration skills week on week and many have been inspired to continue their learning at home. Using a thermal imaging camera, Pre-Prep were amazed to see how the cold and hot areas of the school were recorded. Further to this, they investigated which materials were good insulators.
In the Early Years, the snow became the focus of outdoor learning last week. Making snow angels was top of the list for some pupils whilst others much preferred making and throwing snowballs. Changes in the mud kitchen were quickly observed with water having turned to ice. Children excitedly discovered and described what frozen cushions look and feel like and what happens to puddles of water when it snows. Understanding the world through observing similarities, differences, patterns and change was at the focus of children’s learning!
Our new lunchtime cookery club is proving a real (healthy) hit! By following recipes, preparing a range of dishes and tasting new ingredients, the children are full of enthusiasm for food. Each week there is a star baker and a group of delighted children, full of pride in their creations. I’m sure their families are enjoying the ‘fruits' of their labour too!
Kind regards
Tracy Handford
Head of Dame Bradbury's and Vice Principal, 3-11
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