This week we are going to think the days of the week. This is a lovely story that illustrates the order of the days of the week.
Here is some fun days of the week songs we listen to at school –
Can you get your mum or dad to take a photo of you doing something at home and write a caption for it. For example: On Monday I played in the garden wioth my football., On Tuesday I had an ice lolly, On Wednesday I built a lego model etc. At the end of the week you can out it together as a booklet. You can send your photos and sentences to office@damers.dorset.sch.uk if you would like us to share them on the blog. We would love to see what you get up to in your week.
Good morning everyone! We hope you have all had a good weekend!
This week we would like you to enjoy some more minibeast stories!
We think you will enjoy these……
Today we would like you to tell a story. Choose a minibeast, perhaps a spider, or a beetle or a snail maybe. Can you make up a story about them?
Remember you will need to think about
Who is in the story
Where the story takes place
What happens in the story?
Think of your ideas and then perhaps your grown up will write or type the story. Think about the words you use to make your story really interesting and fun!
This week, as part of our focus on ‘Changing Me’, we will be looking at how we express how we feel when change happens. One of the best ways that we can do this is to immerse ourselves firstly in our growing understanding of all the cycles that happen in nature and all around us, all of the time.
I thought that we would start with a mindful moment. For those in school at the moment, you may want to use your time by our school pond to think about cycles in nature. Those at home may also have a garden or a pond space where you could enjoy a moment of awe and wonder or alternatively you might want to join the BBC Springwatch team for some beautiful ‘Pond Perfection’.
Cycles in nature can teach us so much. Within these cycles there are times of new life, growth, beauty and abundance, and also times of die-back and decay. Each stage has a critical role to play in maintaining the cycle. Cycles are the beating heart of sustainability.
When we look at nature we are reminded that this time of year is a time of awakening, a time of new life, and the signs of new life around us can give us a strong sense of hope, especially during the trickiest of times.
I wonder how many cycles you can think of in nature which teach us about re-birth, starting all over again and transformation into something breathtakingly beautiful? Have a look at the images below and share what you already know about these cycles. Do these cycles ever end?
I know that many of you are also already experts when it comes to the life cycle of plants. At the beginning of lockdown, many of you planted seeds and looked at transforming a part of your home or garden by growing your own flowers, fruit or vegetables. The keen gardeners amongst you have already told me about the excitement that you have witnessed in your pots and growing spaces.
Harry in Foundation practically burst when he realised that these …
turned into these, due to his nurture and careful watering.
And some of you are also experiencing your first sweet and juicy harvests!
I would love to see what has happened in your pots and gardens over the last few months. I wonder if you have managed to grow something that you’ve been able to include in a meal or whether your efforts to attract bees and other pollinators have been successful?
During lockdown and this current time, we are all experiencing many different emotions. At times we may feel excited about life returning to ‘normal’ again but we may also be feeling anxious about change and whether things will still feel the same.
Cycles remind us that there’s always a second chance and that we have endless opportunities in life to start all over again. As we emerge from lockdown, it’s starting to feel a little like that. In some ways we have a chance to start all over again, returning to some of the really good bits that we genuinely missed but maybe replacing some parts of our life that weren’t missed with something much more enjoyable, healthy and worthwhile.
We’ll finish today’s assembly with a story that involves one of the life cycles that you may have talked about today, and one that we talk about ALL the time in school – the butterfly.
You will know that caterpillars can struggle to emerge from their cocoons. This struggle is what gives them their beautiful colouring and wings that make them strong enough to fly. If we were to poke the cocoon, to let the butterfly inside out, it would simply emerge as a limp and colourless butterfly. If we allow nature to take its course and for changes to work their magic, the beautiful butterfly will have wonderful days ahead, soaring in summer breezes and flitting from one beautifully scented flower to another.
It is the same for us, making a new start is always worth it and like the caterpillar we will change in the process. There is no limit to the new starts we can have or the beauty that can emerge if we allow a struggle to work its magic and change our future.
So – your task this week is to focus on cycles in two places.
I would love you to share an update on your growing projects and it would be wonderful if you could include your ‘before’ alongside your ‘after’ photo
Or;
You may want to share some of your learning around nature’s cycles this week.
Enjoy your week, wherever you may be learning. Here’s to a celebration of cycles in nature at the end of the week and a chance to catch up with your green-fingered transformations.
I look forward to seeing some of you in school and also want those at home to remember that any temporary struggles are sometimes just what we need to make those wings strong and colourful. I can’t wait to see you soaring in Liscombe St again soon!
Thank you for sharing all the wonderful learning that has been happening this week, both in classrooms and in your homes. It has been great to see that our love of learning still shines bright, wherever we may be.
I have also really enjoyed reading your reflections on this week’s assembly and talking to parents about it on the gate. So many people have acknowledged how important it is to talk about diversity and have recognised that within our own community, diversity is the absolute glue that holds us together and makes us even stronger as a whole.
This week we have celebrated …
A chance to focus on the ‘unique’ and ‘special’ positives within us at a time when some of us are feeling a little uncertain about what is going on around us and how we feel about ourselves
Children who have two beautiful different coloured eyes … that match their cat’s different coloured eyes!
Children who recognise their own distinctive creativity, humour and kindness
Freckles! – A sign of true beauty
Our hands as a reminder about diversity – one child explained that all our fingers belong to one hand but aren’t the same. Divided they can’t perform any task completely but together everything can be done
Children who are able to read and speak Slovakian
Recognition of the diversity that existed amongst dinosaurs
One child’s ability to always make others laugh, including the time that he dressed up as a chicken and danced outside his granny’s window during lockdown to cheer her (and other passersby) up
Children who are experts on the monkey bars who can dangle for longer than any other member of the family
And people who have actively supported other people’s rights. Dorothea and Orson reminded me that at the start of Mary Poppins, Mrs Banks comes back from a march with a Votes for Women banner, singing “Well done, Sister Suffragettes” and Rosie told me about one of her favourite quotes reminding us of the need to always show kindness to others …
Thank you once again for all of your lovely images and emails. I hope that you can now sit back and enjoy a celebration of everything that makes us unique and special, as well as the learning that we are all particularly proud of this week.
Another piece of work that I am particularly proud of this week is Miss Barnes’ final Damers recipe book – the Damers Sweet Treats! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to these recipe collections and a huge thank you to Miss Barnes for creating such a beautiful legacy of this time within our community.
Our story today is ‘The Lion Inside’. I wonder if you can work out why I chose this story today and how it fits with our theme this week?
Look after that mouse and that lion inside you and make sure that you use them as best you can, especially if you think anyone is being treated unfairly.
I hope that you have all enjoyed this week as much as I have, seeing our new arrivals in school and also seeing all of the amazing learning that is still happening in homes has filled my heart with joy I have to say. Keep up the good work Team Damers as we all gradually steer our way back to our Damers home.
Choose some of the key words that you have been working on or test your sound knowledge. Make a set of bingo cards and call out the sounds to your family. The first person to fill their card is the winner. You can download phonics bingo cards from the link below if you have a printer and this site let’s you customise the cards to use phonic sounds or words you like. Alternatively you can create your own using pen and paper.
