Month: May 2020

Message from Mrs Smith:

Good morning everybody! 

I hope that you all enjoyed your Bank Holiday weekend and that many of you were able to join in with the VE Day 75th Anniversary celebrations. During the celebrations you may have seen a few faces that are familiar to us all at this current point in history but who also had a vital role to play 75 years ago too, including Captain Tom and Her Majesty the Queen.

I am sure that if you did get a chance to join in or to watch the celebrations, that you will have found many links between the care that was shown within communities during a time of global conflict 75 years ago and what is happening in our world today. Two very different events, but two significant points in history when communities have witnessed ‘Oneness’ first hand and have seen acts of bravery, sacrifice, strength and resilience all around during the most difficult of times. 

During the celebrations I am sure that you will have heard stories of ‘Hope’ and just as the rainbow is our current symbol of hope, in 1939 a popular singer, Dame Vera Lynn, released one of the world’s most popular wartime songs ‘We’ll Meet Again’. This became a source of optimism, strength and hope for many during wartime broadcasts and has become popular again during the Coronavirus crisis. You may have seen this performance of the song on Friday which beautifully draws the links between the two points in history and also celebrates many of the key workers who are currently showing their care for others through the work that they do every day.

I know that as a result of the work that some of you were doing on your class blogs last week, that many stories of ‘unsung’ WW2 heroes emerged such as the story of one of our friends’ great grandfathers Kenneth Sanderson, who played an incredible role on the frontline during the war. These stories remind us that the true heroes in difficult times aren’t always the most celebrated or the most famous but that their contributions can make such a difference to the lives of many and their worth will live on in the hearts of others forever. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

This week, I would like us to think about and celebrate all the ‘real-life’ helpers and heroes that are caring for us during the current crisis. Real people who are showing true bravery and sacrifice, taking increased risks to keep others safe. 

Do you know of someone within our community who is going above and beyond to look after or care for others at this time? Maybe you have someone in your own home who you are bursting with pride for and want to tell their story? Maybe you have noticed someone who is quietly helping others without being celebrated or noticed? Our very own ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

I know that I am surrounded by many unsung helpers and heroes at the moment. I see school staff in school every day, willing to do anything that is needed to support our role within the community response to Covid 19 without question. There are also staff who are now based at home but are working incredibly hard to ensure that they are still supporting children, families and colleagues relentlessly during this difficult time. I get to see some of our key workers every day too, all smiling and all doing their absolute best to keep so many of our vital care and support services going at this time. And then my own very personal heroes – my treasured family.

So – your task this week is to share with me an image or a drawing of your ‘real-life’ hero or helper that you feel should be celebrated at this time and the reason why. You may have seen the piece of artwork above by Banksy that appeared in Southampton Hospital last week, beautifully depicting the role of ‘real’ heroes too.

I can’t wait to ‘meet’ your own personal heroes and who knows, in 75 years time when our own grandchildren and great-grandchildren are marking this point in history, they may be telling stories of the actual heroes and helpers that made a difference in 2020, so let’s start telling those stories now. 

I think Her Majesty The Queen summed up our celebration of helpers and heroes beautifully at the end of her speech to the nation on Friday.

‘But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other. And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.’

Enjoy your week and your reflections on your very own ‘real-life’ heroes and helpers, people that we possibly took for granted before but now see in the light that they have always deserved. A huge thank you to all our key workers and unsung heroes from us all!

With warm wishes and my heartfelt hope that you too will ‘keep smiling through, just like you always do, til the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away …’

Mrs Smith 🦋

Message from Mrs Smith:

Good afternoon everybody!

I have loved hearing about your ‘Lockdown Legacies’ this week and seeing your words presented in such creative ways.

Inspired by the wise old words of Master Oogway you have told me about …

• The greater value that is now placed on the simple things in life. Hugs with grandparents, aunts and uncles  now feel like gold dust and even the less exciting parts of the school day are desperately missed 
• A greater appreciation of the natural magic of the outdoors
• The love of family and how we are all learning to accept the diversity that exists within our own homes more
• A greater understanding of the school’s ethos and its invaluable role within the wider community
• The importance of patience and how it feels to live through and find peace within a significant challenge
• The innovation that has resulted from our need to live life in a slightly different way for a while 
• The enhancements to life, such as family zoom/skype sessions that are bringing us ‘together’
• The strength that has emerged within our community and the neighbourhoods that we live in as people talk and look out for each other more
• A recognition that nature often mirrors the feelings and experiences that we have too – the joy of a new moorhen brood and signs of ‘healing’ all around us and all over the world
• Relationships with brothers and sisters that have grown stronger
• The increased opportunities that you have had to become more mindful of the changes in nature, birdsong, the names of flowers
• How one of our friends’ name was chosen because it means ‘present’ or ‘gift’, fitting beautifully with this week’s theme
• The absolute joy of a great board game
• An appreciation of a new found ‘togetherness’
• And how you really want all these positives to remain with you, long after the lockdown ends

As always, I have loved hearing all your other updates too, especially seeing all the newly hatched chicks that you have shared with me this week (I shared your photos with the chickens and they got very excited too!). Joe shared with me his idea of another symbol of ‘Hope’ – the daisy. Joe felt that daisies were hardy, survive under the harshest conditions and always bounce back. And Benji, Hugo and Ella reminded me of one of my favourite books ‘The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse’ and how relevant the beautiful words in this book are at this particular time (I’ve included one of their favourite quotes above).

Thank you once again for all of your wonderful thoughts and messages this week. I hope that you enjoy the images and words as much as I did  … 

https://youtu.be/GyJTMyZIKk8

Along with your legacies we also wanted to share with you the first part of our Damers Recipe collections. Miss Barnes has been working incredibly hard in the background, as many of you will know, collecting all the information and images she needs from you following your recipe emails and is creating four recipe collections as a lasting community legacy. Here is a wonderful insight into her amazing work so far, and my favourite one – the Veggie Collection!

https://bit.ly/2YJOI9d

I’ve chosen a book this week which shows us the power of ‘yet’ and how we may think we can’t do something until the conditions are just right  …

https://youtu.be/OSXST7QnvAw

So many parents have told me that ‘today’ has gifted them something that they didn’t have enough of before lockdown – time. As a result of this families are enjoying some of the simplest things in life much more than they were doing before as they now have time to do them more often and without other distractions. The music has changed and we are all recognising that we have always had the ability to ‘dance’ we’re just so much better at it now!

Here’s to your role in recognising the power that you have to keep all of these wonderful legacies alive, long after the lockdown ends Team Damers!

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend and your VE Day celebrations. I will leave you with Ellie’s beautiful poem today …

With warm wishes until we meet again soon,

Mrs Smith 

Symmetry in Nature Nature is full of symmetrical patterns. It follows geometric laws. By looking closely we can learn about the relationship between beauty, harmony and geometry.   Can you find some more animals with symmetric patterns? Have a look in magazines or newspapers for symmetrical pictures that you can draw on the line of symmetry or cut it in half. Make a collage of all the symmetrical pictures you find or draw or paint some in detail?  Have a go at this symmetry painting game to get you started… https://pbskids.org/peg/games/symmetry-painter Us humans are also symmetrical in many ways. We have a line of symmetry that can be drawn straight down the middle of us. On either side of this line we have an eye, ear, nostril, half of our lips, an arm, a hand with five fingers, a leg and a foot with five toes!  Draw a picture of yourself or someone in your family, making them as symmetrical as possible. Do some baking or use playdough to make gingerbread men or other symmetrical shapes! Remember to make sure their decorations are symmetrical too!   Listen and watch this fun symmetry song for even more symmetry ideas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJlhywRfvh8

Maths

Double and Half 

Let’s warm our brains up with a doubling song! 

You have been learning a lot about doubling and halving. Below are links to halving and doubling stories. 

True or False

Play a game with your families! Adults, prepare some real and fake doubles and halving facts on sticky notes to stick around your house or outside.

They might include…

double 5 is 10

half of 8 is 4 

double 2 is 5

double 1 is 2

half of 4 is 1

Make sure that your children are familiar with the words double and half. Let the children explore the room/outside area, find the sticky notes and bring them back to you when they are found. Once you have them help the children to read what they say and then work out together if they are true of false statements. 

Phonics 

Have a go at the below games for quick recall of sounds and tricky words. You may need a login in order to play the games however phonics play has provided parents with a free one for home learning which you can find here …

https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/

Recall games can be found here … 

https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources/phase/2/grab-a-giggling-grapheme

https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources/phase/3/tricky-word-trucks

Digraph hangman

This is a favourite in the classroom! To help the children recognise where a digraph is to go in the word you can use a longer line or different colour line where the digraph goes.

Example words you could use:

farm, goat, duck, chick, duckling

boat, chip, mash, shark, car/park

Animal to animal

This is a ‘full circle’ game, you start with a word and change one letter at a time eventually making it back around to the word you started with however this version has a twist! For this game we start with a farm animal and finish with a different farm animal! 

Round 1:  goat

                 boat

                 boot

                shoot

                sheet

                sheep

Round 2: chick

               chip

               cheep

               sheep

Literacy 

Think back to the story of ‘The Little Red Hen’. If you would like to you can watch another version here ..

Use tricky bugs together to form the sentence … 

The little red hen had

Discuss with your child the different things the little red hen had in the story to complete the sentence  e.g. bread, corn, water,etc. (If you made a story map you could use this as a guide) Have a go at writing the complete sentence. If you wanted more of a challenge you could add an adjective such as;

The little red hen had lots of corn.

The little red hen had cold water. 

Try to focus on letter formation, finger spaces and full stops while you are writing. 

Doubling and Halving 

Click on the link below to play Hit the Button. Choose from number bonds, doubles and halves. Choose the number range up to 10 for any of the games. 

Hit the Button – Quick fire maths practice for 5-11 year olds

Look at the pizza problems belows. Use your knowledge of doubles and halves to solve the maths problems. You can draw out the problems on your own paper or if you have any paper plates why not use those. You can cut up the paper to help or try and work out the problems from your own drawings. 

ANIMALS

Patterns and shapes

Look at the grid of pictures.

Who’s who? Can you guess? What shapes can you see in the animal patterns? 

What other animals have lovely patterns?

Can you think of other animals with spots?

What about animals who flutter which we find in our garden?

Or those that swim in the sea?

Can you draw 3 more amazing patterns you find on animals?

Don’t forget that today is PE day! 

Following on from our ball skills session last week have a look at these short videos for a guide to building on balls skills successfully.

Use a washing up bowl or washing basket to help with this first game. Move further away from each other for more of a challenge. 

If you don’t have a ball try using a balloon, a rolled up pair of socks, a teddy bear or anything you have that lends itself to throwing and catching

You can get the whole family involved in a game of throwing and catching. We’d love to see how you get on so why not upload a 30 second clip onto EExAT so we can see you having a go? 

Have fun!

Message from Mrs Smith:

Good Morning everybody! 

I thought we’d start this week’s theme with a few words of wisdom from Master Oogway in Kung Fu Panda.

Kung Fu Panda – Today is a Gift

As our lockdown continues, it can sometimes feel tricky thinking about how things were before the lockdown or what things will be like in the future when we return to our ‘normal’ lives again. So for this week I would like us to think in particular about that one line from Master Oogway that reminds us that ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present’.

One of the Harmony principles that we think about in school is ‘Oneness’ and the importance of finding our place and our peace within the world. We are all part of a very big ‘whole’ and now more than ever, we are hopefully all able to see clearly the many connections that exist between ourselves, our families, our communities and the world around us.

So many positive things are happening to make those connections even stronger, resulting in healthier communities and a healthier world. You may have heard the word ‘legacy’ being used a lot at the moment and most of you will know that a legacy is a kind of stamp on the future which shows the meaning of the past. In the future, when we look back on 2020, I am sure that we will talk about many ‘lockdown legacies’ but for now I would like us to really think about what these might be at a time when we are living and breathing their meaning.

What are the gifts that have been given to us during this time which have made us happier as a family or stronger as a community?

If you were only allowed to use one single word to describe the most positive ‘Lockdown Legacy’ for you, what would that word be? Maybe ‘gratitude’, or possibly ‘community’ or ‘family’? I am sure that you will have lots of ideas of your own and if you struggle to think of just one word, this will be a good problem to have and I will allow you a bonus one! 

I have plans for these words and something that we could create together when we all return to school – a new garden in our school grounds. I am hoping that this will become a visual reminder of this time and will provide us all with the opportunity to remember the positive gifts that we have been given right now, that will hopefully stay with us long into the future.

At the moment my plans are vague and I need your help! We have been given a very kind donation from Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots Foundation to get us going and I now need your thoughts and inspiration to help my initial ideas to grow. My thoughts so far are that we could take over an area of the school grounds and create a garden that is both inward facing and outward facing, allowing us the chance to look at what we have but also to look towards our community as we are all doing right now. Our new garden could involve some topical rainbow planting reminding us of our current symbol of hope … 

Our garden could also include the important words that you choose this week in a piece of artwork. I have shared a poem with your grown-ups that we may be able to include, but I have a feeling that one of you could create something even better. Our garden could provide a chance to sit, to reflect and to remember. And of course our garden needs a name … I have a few ideas so far, but I’d love to hear yours.

Once again an opportunity for you to remember your important role as agents of change and to sow the seeds of our very own lockdown legacy. 

I can’t wait to hear the word that you have chosen, maybe each member of the family could choose one too? The more visual that you can make your word the better. You could simply create a work of art using the word or incorporate the word into a picture that illustrates its meaning. You could create your word out of objects or using a collage of different letters. 

Some of you may also want to have a go at creating a poem or short story that will form a centrepiece in our new garden, using the Kitty O’Meara one as a starting point. You may also have some further suggestions for our garden design, or elements that we will need to incorporate. I can’t wait to hear your ideas. I will reply to any messages that come in and I will share all the highlights in our Celebration Assembly on Friday.

Enjoy a week where you are well and truly focused on the present and all that it is gifting you Team Damers! Hold on to those positives while you can genuinely feel them because if anyone can ensure that they become a lasting lockdown legacy, you can!

Mrs Smith 🦋

May the 4th be with you …

The Little Red Hen 

Listen to the story of The Little Red Hen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E72TZy0LNo

Discuss whether you think it was fair that the hen ate all of the cake at the end of the story and didn’t share. Explain why you think that. 

Have a look at the story map picture below. 

Write some labels for some of the different pictures in the story map that you can phonetically sound out to spell correctly (hen, seed, sack, mill, plant). You could even draw your own story map and include the animals too!

Message from Mrs Smith:

Good afternoon everybody!

Well in a week where we have been talking about what we do to ensure fun, relaxation and wellbeing, you have all topped up my wellbeing-ometer to the ‘full to bursting’ level once again! I have the loveliest evenings hearing your news, sharing your adventures and seeing your beautiful creations like this ‘Covidinsky’ …

… this beautiful rendition …

http://www.damers.dorset.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/VID-20200430-WA0002.mp4

… and our much missed teachers also sharing their relaxation fun …

Your grown-ups at home are doing an amazing job at the moment, as teachers, break and midday supervisors, sports coaches, learning mentors, mediators, counsellors, first aiders, after-school provision leaders, cooks, entertainers and all round good eggs! I hope that when you get the chance you will give them a great big hug and a heartfelt thank you!

This week you have shared so many top tips for fun and relaxation. You have told me about  …

• The diversity that exists in your homes and amongst your interesting new classmates
• Family sleepovers in the aptly named ‘Kindness Hotel’
• Undercover walkie talkie missions in the Borough Gardens
• Kite flying on windy walks
• The card and board games that you are becoming unnervingly better than the grown-ups at
• The joy of connecting with nature on walks and how this makes you feel so much more positive
• Creating works of art together inspired by Pop Art, Andy Warhol and Kandinsky, Apollo 13 inspired crafting, sewing and screen printing
• Gardening and its link with mindfulness
• Cooking and the memorable sights, tastes and smells of joyful family gatherings
• The wonder of miniature steam engines
• The joy that comes from dancing and singing your hearts out to timeless Kylie classics and one dad performing ‘Shiny’ from Moana
• How great exercise can make you feel – whether this is a family bike ride, the exhilaration felt on a water slide or the excitement of trying to empty or reload a ball-filled trampoline in competition with some rather red faced grown ups
• Your reading adventures and the feelings that come when you realise that a book like The Secret Garden is coming to an end
• Den building indoors and outdoors and the construction of a very impressive ‘Technology Den’
• Trips to the beach inside your own living rooms
• Decorating the house in preparation for a religious celebration
• The joy of creating all kinds of music together
• Caring for treasured family pets and creating stylish feeders for wildlife
• Snow White themed adventures
• Garden camping … outdoor film nights … sleepovers in the tree house …

I genuinely feel like one of the luckiest people in the world doing my job at the moment – thank you for continuously providing a fantastic source of lockdown wellbeing, for each other and for me!

And so, time to share some of the gems that have been sent my way this week  … 

https://youtu.be/1K-Q6u58sB8

And finally, one of our Year 3s introduced me to her little friend ‘Guppy’, the tiniest of frogs, this week. Ella has been nurturing Guppy since he was a tadpole and wanted to relocate him to our school pond. This reminded me of one of my favourite fun activities as a child when I was lucky to spend what felt like everlasting summer days outdoors with my brother and cousins, nurturing all kinds of pond and woodland creatures, creating stories about them and building many a magical kingdom (that they rarely stayed in!).

Hence my choice of story this week …

https://youtu.be/WrzmfsBFuWo

You’ll be pleased to hear that Guppy is having a lovely time and was last spotted an hour ago basking in the sun on the top of one of our lily pads. Thank you Ella!

Don’t forget the big squeeze and heartfelt thank you for your grown-ups this weekend. Time for a Friday dance-off in the kitchen I feel …  

I am missing you all desperately!

Mrs Smith 

Spirals

As part of our harmony learning last half term we looked at circles in our environment. In school we drew around circles of different sizes and explored patterns and pictures that we could create. At home you explored circles in your homes, gardens and on your walks. This half term Mrs Bearwish has asked that we explore spirals and you could start with listening to this story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xwkUvtxobU

Explore these spiral pictures below, what are each of these spirals made from? 

You could explore spirals further by using some of the following questions: 

Where else in nature could you find spirals?  

Explore pictures of the galaxy, can you find any spirals amongst the stars and planets? 

Can you or could find some on the beach? 

You could search the garden.

How about on the end of your fingers?  

Any in the fridge?  Or the kitchen?

How many things can you make spirals with?

Choose a spiral in nature to draw in great detail or …

If you have an old ‘spirograph’ at home you could use that to make some spiral pictures, if not check out this video below about making your own! (Will require adult to make it!)