Tuesday 30 September 2014

Riley's Amazing Models

Riley has been busy finding out about facts to do with insects... and constructing models of them. Did you know that Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings? With two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them they are well equipped to watch out for both prey and predators!


Aboriginal Art

Pupils in Year 5&6 had great fun exploring the technique of finger painting - which is used to great effect by Aboriginal tribes in Australia. With just simple blends of colour and dots they created some stunning images.

"We really had to concentrate to get the picture we wanted. It was quite hard when you are only doing a dot at a time!" - Toby Smith

"I really liked the colours that Tolu used. It made the picture of the sunset very warm to look at." Lucy Lockhart











Monday 29 September 2014

Fact Hunters: China, hippos & C S Lewis

Jessica Simpson 
Hippopotamuses are found in Africa. Were you aware that the name hippopotamus means ‘river horse’ and is often shortened to hippo?

Bobby Wicks 
Incredibly China has the largest population in the world, with over 1.3 billion people. It is also the 3rd largest country by area at 9,706,961 sq km

Razvan Gabreanu 
Did you know that C S Lewis studied at Oxford University in England. He was a soldier in World War I (1914-1918). For most of his life, he worked as a professor. He married in 1957, and died in 1963


KS1 Review The Princess and the Peas





Star Award: Samson collects his trophy!

Tracker Awards:
Isaac Wright has collected his golden bookmark. Sam Murcia & Holly Maskell have managed to finish their Platinum trackers and move onto Diamond! Samson Wright has earned his Star Award and will soon have reached the end of his journey!



Art of the Brick - Look Where We're Going!

This year Mrs Caccavale is leading an exciting project to promote art and design within the school. At the moment the children are working on a project connected to environmental art. In the second half of this term they will begin to look at 3-D modelling. What better inspiration than Lego?

It's quite likely that you spent hours playing with Lego as a child. It's also possible that you are about to wish you'd kept going. Former corporate lawyer turned master of tiny bricks, Nathan Sawaya never stopped. His touring show 'The Art of the Brick' has visited Asia, America and Australia and is now making its way to Brick Lane (where else?) for its UK debut at the Old Truman Brewery.

Collectively the artworks, which are all made of Lego, took a painstaking 4,188 hours to build. Sawaya's colourful large-scale sculptures include recreations of famous artworks such as Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo as well as many original pieces including a six-metre long T-Rex skeleton constructed from over 80,000 bricks. It would be a bit cruel to expect children (and most adults) to explore without the promise of getting hands-on at some point so, after gathering inspiration from Sawaya's creations, visitors can head to the Interactive Zone to build their own mini masterpieces.

Our children will be going to visit the exhibit as part of their project. We can't wait to see their creations!




Sunday 28 September 2014

Scottish Independence Vote - Cedar Class

This week pupils at Broadford Primary School have been looking closely at the Scottish Independence referendum as part of the topic about the United Kingdom. In order to get a better understanding of all the issues, the Year 2 pupils have been watching Newsround, listening to the news and reading their pupil newspaper. It has led to lots of interesting thoughts and questions.

"I don't think that they should leave, because it means we might have to compete against them at the next Olympics. They have Andy Murray and he won us a gold medal last time!" Finley Livingstone aged 6

"We would like to go on holiday to Scotland, but if they become independent we might have to get passports to go there." Cruz Carey aged 6

"I think it would be quite exciting as there would be a new flag, new money and a new leader." Brooke Atkinson aged 6

"If they vote yes, does that mean a huge gate will be put up? I don't think I would like that." Maison Sherriff - aged 6

Having thought about lots of different reasons for and against Scottish independence the pupils organised their own ballot to see what the opinion of Cedar class was. A ballot box was created and children voted Yes or No as a finale to the debates. Results by Friday afternoon were 66% of Cedar Class said No it should stay within the UK with the remaining 34% agreeing it should be its own country. Following on from their first Geography lessons, where they secured knowledge their knowledge of the countries of the UK, their capital cities and famous landmarks this was a great, topical way to explore the challenges of living in a Kingdom made from many different parts.

"It has been great to hear our pupils - who are only aged 6 & 7 - discussing some quite complicated issues with real insight. I hadn't thought about losing Andy Murray as a national asset. Who would we have to win Wimbledon if Scotland became independent? Although it is a question for the Scottish, the excitement that the ballot box caused and the passion of the debate showed that our Harold Hill children care very much indeed about the future of our country." Mrs Gemma Foulser - class teacher.





Saturday 27 September 2014

Leigh Hobbs - Author Visit

On October 14th we have Leigh Hobbs - author and illustrator - coming to visit the children. He will be holding workshops where the children will get to see how he draws his characters and hear how he comes up with his stories.

Miss Sparkes has made sure that we have added several of Leigh's books to the library so that the children can read them before he arrives. Some of the funniest tales are based on a class of unruly children - 4F!

This year we have several writers visiting: Leigh Hobbs, Anne Fine & Louise Yates are already booked in. These visits should inspire the children to try writing their own short stories and encourage them to visit Miss Sparkes to borrow the books from the library.




Super Fact Hunter: Paige's Gruesome Facts

Shockingly, 772 incidents of foreign objects left in patients between 2005 and 2012 have been reported! Equipment like sponges, towels, needles, instruments, retractors and other small items and fragments of tools have been found in patients.


Friday 26 September 2014

Art Club Masterpieces

Here are some of the latest masterpieces from our Art Club. The children were experimenting with colour blending using water colours. This was combined with a study of insects... and a bat! Well done on creating some stunning results.

This was also a great way for our pupils to apply their learning skills. Reciprocity to work together to mix the paints and give each other feedback. Resourcefulness to have the grid lines to help make the drawing easier and reflectiveness to notice how the paints could be mixed more effectively!

"I found it hard at first. It was very easy to add too much water and find that the paper quickly became too wet. Once I had practised a few times I was able to blend the colours more effectively." Deborah Mushonga

"Using a grid made it much easier to draw the insects. We then used the lines to allow us to vary the colours we used." Holly Maskell

"I liked the painting of the dragon fly best. The lightness of the paint made it look similar to a dragonfly's translucent wings" Kie Purse








New Teaching Staff 2014-15

The Parent Council asked if photos could be posted of new members of staff. We apologise for the delay, but we have finally captured the faces of our new teachers to share with you on the blog.

L-R Mrs Foulser (Cedar), Mr Lander (Ash) & Miss Connell (Rowan)

L-R Miss Barron (Head of Upper School), Miss Mezbourian (Pine) & Miss Porter (Coconut)

Fact Hunters: Crocodiles, footprints & volleyball

Paige McGeoghan
Shockingly, 772 incidents of foreign objects left in patients between 2005 and 2012 have been reported! Equipment like sponges, towels, needles, instruments, retractors and other small items and fragments of tools have been found in patients.

Alex Wicher
Were you aware that Poland dethroned Brazil as monarchs of men’s volleyball at the weekend with an epic victory in four sets In fact, more than a half million fans – 563,263 – watched the matches during the 18-day event, smashing the previous records in the competition.

Martin Wicher
Did you know that a crocodile can't stick out its tongue? This is because of a membrane which holds the tongue in place.

Finley Livingstone
Amazingly the first footprints on the Moon will be there for approximately a million years. There is no wind to blow them away!



News & Next Week

Fire Alarm:
Thank you for your patience this morning while we waited for the fire alarm to be turned off. I appreciate that you all have places to go once you have dropped the children and you were all very understanding. It was a false alarm and the issue has now been addressed.

Diary Dates:
We would like to remind you that clubs will be starting from Monday. Please check your child’s book bag tonight for their club letter. Next week we have a Dragon Dance workshop for the Year 5 pupils studying China. Our Year 6 children are off to Queen Mary’s University for a Science workshop. On Thursday 2nd we have the SEN Coffee morning, hosted by Mrs Hoffman. We have the next cycling club for pupils on Friday afternoon.

Sharing Assembly: Willow 9.05am Wednesday 1st October
We look forward to welcoming parents and friends from Willow class to their Sharing assembly next week.

End of Half Term Date: Thursday 23rd October
A reminder that all children are expected to attend for every day of the school term. There will be another INSET day on Friday 24th October – when the school will be closed.



http://www.broadford.havering.sch.uk/index.php?page=calendar



Year 6 McMillan Coffee Morning

Thank you to all the parents, carers, friends and relatives who were able to attend the McMillan Coffee morning this week. Our Year 6 pupils had prepared all the refreshments and were responsible for serving customers, caring for toddlers and dishing out the cakes! This year the children ran two competitions: Guess The Double Espresso & How Many Hundreds & Thousands.

With donations, sales and the proceeds from the games, the children managed to raise over £300! Well done to the Year 6 team and thank you again for supporting this event.











Thursday 25 September 2014

We're In The Paper

This week we have been featured twice in the Romford Recorder. Our Year 2 pupils had their Scottish Independence referendum highlighted - it turns out that their prediction was fairly accurate. There was also a feature on Mr Drakes and what a typical day is like for a Headteacher.

It is great to have the opportunity to share what we do with your children at Broadford with the wider community. The coverage over the last three years has really helped to raise the profile of your children's achievements!




October Treat: Census day menu

Mandy will be rustling up a special menu for the Census day to promote our school lunches. This year has seen a dramatic rise in the number of meals being served - 220 is the peak so far. If you are a Junior pupil Y3-6, then you can buy a ticket on Mondays and Wednesdays. For all of our Reception and KS1 pupils, schools dinners are now free for all... everyday!