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Maths Day - Time Tables Rock Stars

Thu 25 Nov 2021 Amanda Hopwood

Maths Day - Times Table Rock Stars

On Friday 22^nd October 2021 the school had a maths day. The theme was multiplication and the schools online support Time Tables Rock Stars (TTRS). The pupils and staff dressed as their favourite Times Table Rock Star avatar. They looked fabulous.

In advance of the day, pupils were challenged to get sponsorship to complete multiplication challenges on TTRS. There were prizes for the class with highest average point score, as well as for the three most valuable players.

In the morning, Year 3 and 4 parents were invited into school to play multiplication games with their children. It was lovely to see an amazing 71 visitors support their children and learn how they learn the multiplication tables.

During the day, pupils identified how multiplication facts can be used in everyday life by a wide variety of people in their occupation. Then each class created their very own music video for a given multiplication table. The end of the day assembly, included performances of their music video live on ‘stage.’

***NEWSFLASH Maths Day raised a huge £1469.90 thank you all for your generous sponsorship***

Vive La France

Fri 19 Nov 2021 Amanda Hopwood

School was buzzing with activity on Friday 19th November as we had 'France Day.' French is our chosen modern foreign language, but with lock downs and a kerb on travel we decided to bring France to The Grange. All eight classrooms had different activities. These included:

French cafe
Where in the world is France?
Landmarks and physical geography of France
Some French history - Bastille day
The composer De Bussey
The sculptor Melanie Bourlon
The artist Monet
French mime in true Marcel Marceau fashion

Talking of fashion, the pupils (and staff) dressed in all things French. Take a look!

Un temps merveilleux a été passé par tous!

Spring Rolls with a chef

Fri 12 Nov 2021 Amanda Hopwood

The Grange Academy welcomed Uli, a chef from Chartwells (our school catering company), on Monday 8th November 2021. Each year group had a workshop which consisted of:

Where in the world is Vietnam?
Wraps made of rice
What are the different food groups and why we need them?
Assembling a spring roll.
It's good to try new foods.
Tasting
Soya sauce dipping

A fun and educational time was had by all.

World Science Day

Wed 10 Nov 2021 Jenny Burr

As part of World Science Day and to launch their new science topic, year 3 visited the Airbus Discovery Centre in Stevenage.

As well as seeing the prototype Mars Rover in its simulated environment, the children were also treated to a light show and made periscopes! They learnt and saw that light travels in a straight line until it hits a mirror or prism. The children also discovered that the more coloured lights you mix together the lighter it gets, not darker like with paint. The children experimented making rainbows on CDS with torches by separating the colours within white light.

Making periscopes was so much fun and again highlighted the way in which light moves and that you can’t see without a light source.

Of course, a trip to the STEM centre would not be complete without time in the Funzone where the children gave each other electric shocks, completed circuits, discovered the gravitational pulls of different planets, investigated magnets and went on the spinney thing that makes you feel sick (centrifugal force demonstration!)

Year 3 Stone Age Day

Fri 05 Nov 2021 Amanda Hopwood

Today was Year 3 Stone Age Day and the hall (decorated in all things stone age) was full of stone age people dressed in animal prints, with fur and prehistoric bone and tooth necklaces carrying clubs. The children completed activities to learn about the Stone Age. Activities included:

Fruit Gathering – hitting a fruit target
Hunting with Spears - throwing a Javelin as if hunting for woolly mammoths
Making a stone age shelter
Tracking signs- laying a trail to get from their camp to the mammoth herd and then the fruit orchard.
Moving the stones to Stonehenge
Looking at timelines
Cave paintings
And not forgetting dissecting the human poo!