P4C

Source: clipartpanda

Yesterday, we had another fantastic P4C lesson. St. Clare's are getting very good at listening to each other carefully and building their opinions based on what others have said.

Our stimulus this week was this poem by Edgar Albert Guest:

It Couldn’t Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

      But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

      On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

      At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

      And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

      Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

      There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

      The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

      Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

      That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

By Edgar Albert Guest

The enquiry questions each group came up with were:

1. Is anything impossible? 

2. Why don't some people always believe in others?

3. Why do some people think some things are impossible?

4. Why do some people think that you can't do something if they can't do it?

5. Why do some people make assumptions?

We spent some time looking for any assumptions or generalisations in the questions and edited them before voting.

The question that the class voted to discuss was:

4. Why do some people think that you can't do something if they can't do it?

  

We had a very interesting and grown up discussion, well done!

A Fabulous First Week!

What a wonderful first week we had! It was fantastic to get together as the new St. Clare's Class and settle into our classroom together.

We've completed some beautiful artwork this week, to make our mark on our new classroom. We each designed a stunning circle design, before chopping them up to make this beautiful collaborative mural:

Every child in St. Clare's put their best foot forward into the new year by designing a creative trainer. Which is your favourite?

On Wednesday, we received a very strange notice about Hula Hoops! The children in St. Clare's all had to come up with a theory, or story, about why this might be and what could have happened for Hula Hoops to be banned. There were some fabulous pieces of writing (click on the pictures to make them larger and easier to read):

On Thursday, we needed to work together in teams on a special rescue mission! Poor Fred the worm had been out sailing when a storm struck and he was trapped on top of his boat, with his life ring underneath! The teams had to work together to rescue him- but they could not touch him, the boat, or the ring with their hands (or any part of their bodies). They could only use the paper clips and couldn't let poor Fred touch the water- or puncture him or his life ring. It wasn't as easy as you would think- it took some serious thinking, planning and teamwork!

On Friday, we enjoyed a fantastic afternoon with Bassistry- singing and dancing along with the rest of the school. What a wonderful way to end a lovely first week!

Welcome to St. Clare's!

Welcome to St. Clare's Class 2016-17!

We are all so pleased to have you with us. Here's some important information:

On Monday and Tuesday, Mrs Hopkins will teach St. Clare's, with Mrs Cook.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Mrs Parrott will teach St. Clare's with Mrs Cook or Mrs Brand.

You will go swimming on Monday morning, leaving school at 10:30am. We will need parents or carers to help us every week, otherwise we won't be able to go. Please do sign up on our list which will be outside the classroom door at the bottom of the stairs, or find Mrs Cook in the playground when she has her swimming clipboard!

P.E. will be every Thursday afternoon. Please bring your P.E. kit in on a Monday and leave it in school all week, in case we need it for any unexpected fun events! You can then take it home on a Friday to be washed and ready for the following week.

Homework is likely to be going out on a Friday, to be returned on Tuesday or Wednesday, but we will let you know the precise details as soon as they are confirmed.

Wear it PINK day!

 Today, St. Anthony's went pink! Everyone came into school wearing something pink to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer Care. Every member of St. Clare's brought in a donation of at least a penny. We looked absolutely marvellous today- here are some pictures of us having lots of fun in pink today- you can't see our faces, but you can see our fab outfits, wigs and accessories!

 

A Fabulous Trip!

Yesterday we had a fantastic day at Dulwich Picture Gallery! We spent the morning with an artist called Jo, who taught us all about M.C. Escher. Jo told us about Escher's interest in Arabic tile prints, particularly inspired by the tiles of the Alhambra Palace in Spain. We learned that Escher used tessellations and metamorphosis to create some of his artwork.

We made some beautiful prints of our own, in the style of Escher.

We began by drawing our design onto a polystyrene tile, then had to use a biro to press hard and make grooves in the tile.

Next, we used rollers to roll out the printing ink onto a plate. We used the roller to transfer the ink from the plate onto our tiles;

Then we collaged some coloured paper and carefully lined it up with our tile.

The next step was to use the printing press, which was lots of fun!

Finally, we peeled the paper off the tiles to see our completed prints! They were beautiful!

In the afternoon, we were very lucky to be given a guided tour of the special M.C. Escher exhibition and to have the opportunity to discuss some of the other paintings from the gallery's main collection.

After half term, our prints will be put together to make one big Escher-inspired piece of art, which will be proudly on display in our classroom. Come and take a look soon!