Gayton Junior School Official

What a miserable week it's been weather-wise this week!

The rain did not stop Year 4 getting out to Peak Wildlife Park on Wednesday: they had a great time exploring the park and visiting the animals who live there, being allowed to enter many of the different enclosures and even feed some wallabies!

It was a great reward for completing their Multiplication Tables Check earlier in the week - something they have been practicing for since Year 3 and I know the children have all been trying hard to learn all of their facts in preparation for this.

In preparation for next week's Tudor workshops, Year 5 have been learning about Tudor houses this week in their topic lesson. Amongst other things, with Mr O'Donnell next week in the workshops, they will get the chance to build a rich and poor Tudor house, to scale, to compare the two. It really will give them the chance to imagine up close how the Tudors lived 500 years ago in Britain.

Year 3 have been creating shadows as part of their science lessons this week, using torches to create shadows and explain the effects of blocking the light travelling from the torches to other surfaces. See what your Year 3 child can remember!

Year 6 have completed their final pieces of writing for assessment this week: I was lucky enough to be able to read some of the work produced in Class 10 and it was really pleasing to see just how much the children have improved over the year with their writing skills. Their stories about 'unexpected visitors' were really clever and engaging to read!

Have a lovely weekend.

This week's newsletter is live

https://gaytonj.derby.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/Week-33-7.pdf

Details for J&J Sports summer camp can be found here!

https://j-j-sports.classforkids.io/camp/35

It's been a lovely first week back at school this week, despite the rain!

The Year 6 children have begun rehearsing for their end of year production of 'The Lion King Junior', which already sounds amazing! It's one of my favourite musicals, so I am really excited to see it in July!

As well as that, Class 10 and 11 have taken home some very fancy cheesecakes this week that they made as part of their DT unit. I hope you all enjoyed taste-testing them!

Year 5 have been learning about the Bayeux Tapestry and the Battle of Hastings and I spent some time this week in Class 7 whilst they were designing their own versions, using Tudor-style images.

Year 4 have been planning an investigation about woodlice habitats this week and were spotted outside exploring!

In Literacy, Year 3 have been busy immersing themselves in 'The Twits' by Roald Dahl - ask your Year 3 child what they can remember about Mr and Mrs Twit!

Have a good weekend.

This week's newsletter is live

https://gaytonj.derby.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/Week-32-3.pdf

With warm weather forecast this weekend and into next week, more of us will enjoy spending time in, on, or around water, so it’s important to stay safe.

Almost half (47%) of UK accidental drownings happen between May and August, with higher risks during warmer weather.

Keep yourself and your family safe:
• Check for hazards, including depth, currents, tides, and hidden underwater objects.
• Stay together and swim in lifeguarded areas.

In an emergency:
• Call 999 immediately
• If you fall in or become tired, stay calm, float on your back, and call for help

Take a few minutes to read our essential water safety advice:
👉 www.rlss.org.uk/water-safety-advice

It is Half-Term next week which means we have added extra family fun swims to our timetable! 💦

Our Family Fun Swims are a great way to spend quality family time together whilst building confidence in the water, getting plenty of exercise and making memories.

Visit our website and book your slot before they are all gone! 🏊‍♂️
https://gaytonpool.org.uk/bookings/

This week's newsletter is live

https://gaytonj.derby.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/Week-31-3.pdf

We've spent two days this week across the school celebrating the work of Henri Rousseau for our annual Arts Days. The children have researched the life of the artist, along with his style, the techniques he used and looked in depth at some of his most famous works, such as 'Tiger in a Tropical Storm' which many of you may recognise. After doing some fantastic creative writing, the children worked collaboratively to plan and create some larger pieces of Rousseau inspired work, layering each individual piece of landscape to hide animals, much like Rousseau did himself. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the artwork produced, we were unable to display our finished pieces outside the front of school as we usually do, so instead we are using this gallery to display a finished piece of work from each class.

Have a lovely half term.

Everyone is waking up to a beautiful morning over at the PGL site this morning. First stop, breakfast, and then time for a couple more activities before we head home. Thanks to Mrs Lim for the photo!