Turquoise learning this week, written and photographed by Seb (year 5) and Iris (year 6).
Antarctica Day Poster
As part of our geography, English and art, in November the children designed flags for Antarctica to celebrate Antarctica Day “in the interests of all mankind”. We chose one flag to represent our school. This week we received a photograph of our flag in South Georgia, held aloft by a scientist there, watched on by penguins.
English – The Christmas Star
HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=8PSTSITCK74
In English we wrote the short story of The Christmas Star – a BBC Christmas animation (see the link above, though it’s not as a good as our stories). This one is written by Cora and Iris.
Jasmine burst out of the the school, beaming, laughing and leaping, swishing and sashaying. It was like she was made out of music. Dad was waiting. Dad was constantly waiting. Dad was constantly waiting in the cold. Dad was pacing up and down looking at his watch. He thought she looked like a dazzling, diamond-like star shimmering in a distant galaxy.
As she enthusiastically handed him the flyer for the Christmas talent show, she crossed her fingers behind her back.
“Please Dad, please say yes,” she muttered under her breath. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Work was calling him yet again. He picked up the phone.
“Dad?Dad?! Are you even listening?”
As he wandered off to take the call, Jasmine’s heart sank dejectedly. Her eagerness had gone like a popped balloon as she pulled on her headphones and followed his footsteps.
During the following days Dad seemed more and more stressed, more frazzled and more worn-out than ever. Go! Go! Go! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Work! Work! Work! Jasmine just wanted a fraction ofDad’s time but he was working 24/7. Bang! Jasmine slammed the office door against its frame.
Dad thought that his own little star was losing her spark.
Jasmine continued to dance to her favourite song.The harmony energised her heart; the rhythm encouraged her choreography; the symphony created her steps. Springing and spinning, swirling and twirling, flouncing and bouncing. Jasmine was practising. Jasmine was practising endlessly. Jasmine was practicing 24/7. She lifted her headphones to connect to the real world, to talk to dad.
But he was working. Busy! Busy! Busy! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! Jasmine felt non-existent. Dad kept on working as the flyer for the Christmas talent show floated down from the notice board like a feather. Jasmine kept on practising until the crucial night finally arrived.
Little by little, inch by inch the velvet curtains opened revealing an ocean of expectant faces. Under the spot light her time to delight. The lime light.
Dad stood up excitedly with his phone camera zooming in on his little star: Jasmine. She froze on the stage – shuddering, stuttering, sweating. Hoping. Struggling. Wishing. Trembling. Praying. Her breathing was shallow.
“What can I do?” mumbled Dad. He always knew how to help, but how?
He weaved through the audience. Jasmine met his eyes then he began to dance. Jasmine began to dance. They danced in union, they danced as one. They danced to the beat of their hearts. On the stage they were great. They became greater. They were the greatest.
There was a sparkling expanse of stars that were luminous and lustrous at the talent show, but Jasmine was the brightest of them all.
Written by Cora and Iris; edited by Cora, Iris and, mostly, Mr Weinberger.
Maths – Christmas Co-ordinates
RE – How can we make the world a better place; the kingdom of God.
We thought about all the ways in which we could help the planet and make it better. We thought about the Kingdom of God which is what Christians believe is what Jesus was sent to Earth to help with- to help people be good so that they go to heaven and make the world better too. We made board games where good choices and bad choices for our planet help you to win (or lose).
Christmas Treat Day
We saw an entertainer called Mr Wow. He was pretty great. He started by doing little tricks such as throwing and catching then he balanced his umbrella on his finger and his chin (that was really cool). Each time we said, “Wow!” he did more tricks. He made some bubbles using bigger and bigger sticks. There was this huge bubble made using sticks that were twice as big as fishing rods!
We walked round the track and saw two reindeer. They were pretty awesome.
We watched the play for Peter Pan. It was live from a theatre in Cirencester. It was good. There was only one person and he told the story. We also got ginger bread men from a local bakers. They were delicious.
Merry Christmas from the Year 5/6 Team
With COVID restrictions making even the giving of cards and gifts difficult this year, we decided to give a gift from all of us to all of the children in year 5 and year 6: the adoption of a penguin through the WWF. A fitting end to our learning about Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition, and a little bit of positive action to make the world a better place – something we think about a lot in school and have been discussing as part of our RE.
Merry Christmas