June 2022

As always, our wellbeing day was the highlight of our month; it was filled with sunshine, fresh air and relaxation.

We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing walk next to the Jubilee river and it gave us renewed appreciation of this little natural gem that so often goes unnoticed in our busy lives. The children had the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning linking back to our PBL unit. Children continued their study of biodiversity and took their quadrats to take samples from the Jubilee river walk to enable them to make comparisons with the biodiversity found at school. In turn, this is going to help us improve our school eco-garden as we will take what we have observed from Jubilee river and make our improvements to the school. It once again confirmed our suspicions: Mother Nature is a worthy teacher.

In school we had further opportunities to explore how to look after our mental health. We completed a craft activity with geography links to show our place in the world: first we fit in with our family, then our community, followed by our local area and so forth; the circle ripple out until we realise that we are all global citizens. Last but not least, we made our own 3D paper models of our ideal community centre, together with a firm plan of how it would serve the community. This tied in nicely with our support network for our wellbeing and also gave us a new avenue to explore to find new interests and people to enjoy it with.

At the end of the day, we were tired but at peace.

April 2022 - Not at school

March 2022

This wellbeing day was not just pleasant, it was convivial and lively. Our school values came into play throughout the day by applying teamwork and curiosity. A system of round robin, gave each class the opportunity to join into the fun and excitement of all three experiments.

In class 1 the children designed and constructed a space lander to allow aliens to land on earth without ricocheting back into the sun, this required the process of patience and reflection when approached with a challenge. Class 2 made rockets and courageously sent these rockets off to space with a chemical reaction. Class 3 had fun by solving problems and building constellations. In all three experiments the pupils had to use resilience and ambition which enabled them to strive to do their best.

February 2022

In Year 5, we investigated perimeter as part of our maths curriculum focus. The children designed their own gardens after they worked out where the perimeter fencing should go and then allocated parts of the garden to either a flower garden or grass. This challenging activity encouraged children to approach the investigation with resilience, patience and positivity. We then investigated growth mindset by comparing the power of positive versus negative statements and the effect they have on us and the situation. We looked at different scenarios and we changed our mindset to become more positive, by asking reflective questions. To consolidate this learning, the children designed caps with a positive slogan.

In the afternoon, the children had the opportunity to take part in yoga and meditation. A very important strategy that would help to relieve stress and anxiety by employing breathing techniques to stay calm and positive. The Year 5 also partook in confidence booster activities. They recognised that confidence can look different in different people according to personality. They learnt how confidence can boost self-esteem and how they can boost their own confidence.

It was a successful and enjoyable day, just what we needed to reboot our system and tackle our work with renewed energy and confidence.

January 2022

At WHA, we always have a finger on the pulse of Mother Earth and we strive to increasingly minimise our impact, not only on our local environment but also spread the word through the wider community by setting an example. Therefore, this Wellbeing Day was very important to us. Year 5 children learnt how farming techniques developed through the ages and by comparing the development of technological advances as well as the growing demand on food resources could see the advantages and the shortcomings. 

We looked at intensive farming versus organic farming. We decided, both have their merits. We came to the understanding that farming is not merely about providing food; it also warrants a closer look at: the impact of chemicals on our health and the impact of our needs on the wellbeing of animals. We gained an understanding of the responsibility we have towards our planet and all living creatures. We put our knowledge into practice by creating our own model farms by considering its purpose, the execution and the wellbeing of the animals. Our skills in teamwork helped us to gain a deeper understanding and also to create a better project.

In the afternoon, we also learnt how to be more resilient when faced with a challenge. This is a very important skill because we face challenges every day. Through resilience, we give ourselves the chance to learn from new situations that will support us in the future..

December 2021

Year 5 had a big discussion on what makes a good friend and the qualities they'd want in a friend, which gave them some time to reflect on their own choices. Throughout the day, Year 5 took part in making Pierogi- a Polish dish. This allowed children to gain a great insight to some of their peers culture and ignited their curiosity to learn more about others whilst trying something new. For some of our children, the sensory kneading of the dough provided a real calming effect. Year 5 also made some Christmas cards with kind, uplifting messages written inside as we thought about how for some people Christmas can be a lonely time and how making others happy can improve our own well being; these have then been taken to a local care home to spread the joy. We finished the day by drawing then painting a winter scene as another idea for self regulating ourselves when we feel like things our building on top of us as it distracts our minds to the scenes in the painting. Overall, another positive well being day for Year 5, which we hope the children can refer back to.

In Computing we thought about 5 Steps to Wellbeing and created a personalised MAGIC recipe to help us with our own wellbeing.