This year the children in Reception to Year 6 are participating in Redstart, a financial education programme. The children in Years 4, 5 and 6 got to be the first to experience this exciting new part of our curriculum on Friday 26th.

Exploring topics like spending, saving, debit cards, and financial planning, the children thoroughly enjoyed thinking differently about money.

Below are some suggested activities for families to do at home, in order to support the Redstart initiative and maybe raise some important conversations with the children too.

During our science lesson this week, we investigated the behaviour of reflection from a light source.

We used a torch, a mirror and a target board to find the best angle for the light to hit its target. Based on our findings, we found that light can only travel in a  straight line, and any form of reflection can change the direction of travel.  

To ensure this experiment was successful, we demonstrated great interpersonal skills by working collaboratively and taking responsibility for our learning. 

Below is a diagram of our experiment:

This week we had our first Nursery ‘come learn with me’. We had lots of families join us for the morning and share our learning on our theme ‘Winter’. We have been exploring ice and how it changes state.

Creating an artic small world in cornflour and making our own model igloos.

Thank you to those families that were able to join us.

The Year 6 children have been incredibly engaged during their maths lessons about coordinates. Using their iPads, they have practised their skills in translating shapes and were able to find the new coordinates. 

In Autumn 2, Shacklewell enjoyed learning all about how to embrace and value the differences that make each person special and unique in our schoolwide topic, Celebrating Differences.

Key Stage 1 learnt all about the similarities and differences between themselves and why it is our differences that make us all unique and interesting. A Year 1 child said, “I like coming to school as everybody around me is different and that’s fun.”

In Year 2, they learnt all about what makes boys and girls different and why we shouldn’t make assumptions based on gender. They were so excited to tell me all about their learning and that it’s not just boys who love football or girls that love the colour pink.

In Key Stage 2, Year 4 learnt why it is important not to judge a person by how they look and why doing this might lead to a missed opportunity of forming a great friendship! One Year 4 child said we mustn't judge people by how they look as it is ‘cruel and unkind’.

Lastly, Year 5 enjoyed learning all about community and why we should welcome everyone into our community, regardless of their race, gender, sex or age. They couldn’t wait to show me their work and spoke so passionately about how they all feel like our school in one big family. Take a look at the wonderful banners they made!

Bulletin - Week 1 - Spring 2024