In Year 1 we thoroughly enjoyed an interesting day learning about a few aspects of Japanese culture. We started by learning some interesting facts about Japan: did you know the tallest mountain in Japan is mount Fuji and the longest river is called Shinano? During the day we learnt to write our names and count to ten in Japanese. We also played sudoku and followed a drawing workshop which demonstrated a unique style of Japanese animation known as anime. We explored the Japanese art of paper folding and created origami fish. In the afternoon, Willow class found out about the traditional toy known as a kendama and each child crafted their own version out of a toilet roll tube, card and paper.
In Year 2, we learned about Poland. We started the day by answering the register in Polish. At Forest School, we made potato pancakes with grated potato and cooked them on the fire pit. They were delicious! Back in class we learned some facts about Poland. We listened to some Polish folk music and tried to dance! Did you know that Marie Curie and Frederic Chopin were Polish? In the afternoon, Hubert’s mum very kindly presented a powerpoint with facts about Poland and we made flowers in the style of Wycinanki. Then we tasted some delicious dry pork sausage and some pretzels and crisps.
In Year 3, our chosen country was Brazil. We started the day by finding our about the Brazilian flag, we learnt a little about what the stars and colours meant. After watching some videos of the carnivals held in Rio de Janerio and the rest of Brazil we designed our own masks that could be used in one of these carnivals. We had to think carefully about the colours we would use and the decorations we would add. Once we had completed our designs we then started to make our masks following our designs as carefully as we could. At the end of the morning we held our own carnival wearing our masks and dancing to Samba music. In the afternoon we were very pleased to welcome Camilla’s mum and dad into school to find out more about Brazil. We listened to a presentation which talked about the capital city and the Amazon rainforest. At the end of the quiz, we played a true and false game which showed we had all been listening very carefully to the presentations. They also kindly brought in some Brazilian food we got to taste truffles and acai samples. Everyone enjoyed trying these different foods. Whilst the children were tasting the food we listened to some Brazilian music played by Camilla’s dad on his guitar. Thank you to Camilla’s mum and dad for coming into to school and helping us with our Languages Day.
Spanish Day in Year 4
We had a fantastic day in Year 4! To start the day, we learnt our Spanish numbers to 10 then used this new-found knowledge to play a game of Bingo, Haced grupos de… (make groups of…) and Sapo (choke the frog - no frogs were harmed during this game). After break, we put on our dancing shoes and learnt a short Paso Doble routine and some classic playground games of Mar y Tierra (sea and land) and Frío o Caliente (the Spanish version of Hot or Cold). In the afternoon, we learnt about the famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and used his artwork to inspire our painting challenge. First, the children span the wheel to give them a select few shapes that they were allowed to use on their pre-drawn faces. Next, the wheel gave them specific colours which were only allowed to be used 3 times. The children were then given additional time to fill in and complete their paintings. They turned out so well and would have definitely made Pablo Picasso himself proud.
Year 5
On Friday, Malena's Mum, Alexandra, visited our school to teach us all about Greek life. We all wore Greek inspired costumes or dressed in the colours of the Greek flag which are blue and white. Our first activity was learning about a famous temple in Athens called The Parthenon. The building had a frieze on the wall which depicted Greek gods and goddesses and the story of the country. Some of this picture has been taken to the British Museum in London. Our first task was to design badges and plates using Greek writing to fill in the missing parts of the story.
Before breaktime, we tried different food and drink from Greece. This included: feta pastry, spinach pie and cherry juice.
After break, we started learning about the history of the Olympic games. The first Olympic games where held in Greece and were the only time when different city states stopped fighting and competed. The modern games have taken place since the 1800's and this year they are being held in France. We learnt about the Olympic torch relay and how this always starts in Greece before traveling to the host country and being carried by thousands of local people.
In the afternoon, we wrote words about the Olympics to throw into the opening ceremony fire as an ancient prayer was said. We ended our Greek day with our own Olympic torch relay around the field with the rest of the school spectating!
In Year 6, our country was Italy! Iris in Poplar class very kindly put together a PowerPoint all about Italy to share with both classes. We learnt about some of the monuments in Rome, what an Italian primary school is like and practised how to say some greetings. Some children practised their colours in Italian while others made models of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We tried some tarallucci and abbracci biscuits – they were delicious!
Languages Day
