Every brick counts!

 Two teams of Newport's Year 6s  got a taster of the vast array of career opportunities available within the construction industry. Tim Seed, an electrical designer, and Jim Gibb from MUJV (Multi- Utilities Joint Venture) based at the Garrison in Aldershot spoke to the ten  school teams participating in the Building Challenge about infrastructure planning . The importance of  what to do to with the rainwater that flows down our drainpipes to avoid flooding and ensuring that a new house has all the correct links to the national gas and electric supplies was highlighted. The two engineers also described their very different career paths-one the university path, the other the vocational training route. Tim emphasised that the construction industry probably had a job for every young person what ever their qualification  Pupils also got  a taste of what it was like to wear all the safety clothing that are needed on a building site-from thick soled ,steel toe capped boots, bump cap and very fetching florescent green jacket!

Once briefed about the industry, the teams were set the tough challenge of completing a building on budget and time.Taking on a variety of roles, each member of the team of six played a vital part in ensuring the model was exactly as seen in the architect's office-an extremely very tough challenge!
Newport's teams were enthusiastic and showed brilliant team work under pressure. Sadly, Hawking team lost by just a brick and Team Newton paid a heavy price for over ordering a semi circular brick.
Mrs Fieldgate was very proud of the brilliant team work shown by every single pupil
 and how well the pupils represented Newport Junior at this event. Well done

Memories of the Titanic.

This week some Year 4 pupils had a rather watery themed week , not only did they participate in their swimming lessons at the Aldershot pool but they also travelled to Cherrywood Primary School to find out  more about the maiden voyage of  R.M.S Titanic. Along with able writers from six other schools, Newport pupils learnt some fascinating facts about what an amazing ship the Titanic was when it was set sail  on April 10th 1911 on its maiden voyage to New York. Using archive photographs, pupils and staff were amazed at the luxurious facilities available to the first class passengers, and the reasons why so many third class (steerage) passengers perished when it collided with an iceberg in the mid Atlantic. Imagining that they were one of the youngest members of the passengers on that fateful night of 15th April, each pupil wrote a moving diary entry about the events on board. Here is an example of their wonderful work:

I shudder to think of the events as I write this now. At the dead of night, I was awoken by shouting. Quickly, I rushed up on deck. A terrible thing had happened.We had struck an iceberg!
Immediately, I started to panic,noticing how many lifeboats were already afloat.Through the screams, I heard the sweet melody of the orchestra.Yet this didn't calm me. Now the boat was tipping at a steep angle and people clawed desperately at the cold metal railings, while the Captain barked out orders.

Arthur Cooper 4J

A big thank you to  Cherrywood  Primary School staff  ( Miss Hammond and Mrs Gregory) and Year 4 pupils for hosting  this very interesting Rushmoreable able workshop coordinated by Mrs Fieldgate.

Animation magic.

Have you every wondered what it takes to create an animation movie like Wallace and Gromit or Toy Story? Well, some pupils from Year 3 and 4 had the exciting opportunity to use some computer programmes that help create stop action animation movies. Light Bot was used to practise writing precise computer code using protocol procedures.( This could be frustrating at times when the robot didn't behave as you thought it might!). Hollie showed an excellent programming approach in ensuring she tested out each stage  before moving on. Working alongside other able pupils from the Rushmoreable cluster, Newport's ICT wizards used both Pivot and Zimmer Twins  to create their own  exciting, action packed animated movie. " It was a fantastic morning", commented Krish . A big thank you to Hawley Primary for hosting this half term's  Rushmoreable workshop co-ordinated by Mrs Fieldgate.

Newport pupils work with celebrated children's writer,G.P Taylor.

Talented writers from Newport had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day working with the celebrated children's writer G.P Taylor. Critics have proclaimed this talented author as the next C.S Lewis (The lion, the witch and the wardrobe ) and a worthy successor to J.K Rowling (Harry Potter ) so it was fabulous for Jonny, Thea and Arthur to work with Graham on getting to grips with creating new and exciting characters. A master of suspense , this New York Times acclaimed author shared his tips on how to quickly get started writing. Reading extracts his own work, Graham gave an insight into how he gained inspiration for intriguing situations that are full of twists and turns as well as creating  interesting characters from the world around you. A big thank you to Mrs Brierley, Newport's English curriculum governor, who accompanied the children on this memorable day. GP Taylor signed several copies of his latest book, Mariah Mundi The Midas Box which are now available for all pupils to borrow from the school library.

Maths is everywhere!

Have you ever wondered what hurricanes, the galaxy and the number of petals on a flower have in common?  Well, some mathematicians in Year 4 spend an extremely interesting and practical afternoon finding out the link between maths and the world around us.  As part of our regular Rushmoreable workshops organised by Mrs Fieldgate, Newport children worked alongside pupils from six other schools to examine number patterns. Using the playground as a giant piece of paper, the patterns were represented in a series of golden rectangles-expertly linked together by Alfie using brightly coloured chalk. Everyone was amazed at the wonders of the Fibonacci sequence and everyone agreed that “maths is everywhere!”.  A  very big thank you to Cranford Park for hosting the workshop and more events are planned for the coming year.

We do like Mondays....

Monday was a little bit different for Newport's Year Six pupils this week as they had the wonderful opportunity to  experience  drama, music and modern foreign language workshops at The Connaught school. Leaving Newport shortly after assembly time, pupils walked  the short distance to our local secondary school. The whole day was spent enjoying the delights of drama which included a variety of great games including "What are you doing? "and "Animal antics" that really helped listening, concentration and performance skills. Miss Clements led two great sessions that enabled every pupil to become more confident in their  own performance. ( Ideal timing for Newport pupils as the play scripts for the Christmas extravaganza have just been issued by Mrs Austin).

 
 
 
 
 
 
Miss Hardiman, from Connaught's music department, led an African  themed  workshop in which  pupils learnt  that over 54 countries make up  this  amazing continent! Focussing on South Africa, pupils  warmed  up  with a  variety  of  fun musical  games including" The musical lift" and  "Clap that one out"  before performing close harmonies to  the folk song, Wimoweh.

The afternoon was spend with the modern foreign languages department where pupils had great opportunity to practise their French and German in a carousel of activities that helped widen vocabulary in both these important languages.

Further workshops have been planned for the 2015 Spring term and both pupils and staff had a great time working together on this project.

 

Brilliant book week

As part  book week celebrations, Newport warmly welcomed back Bigfoot theatre productions to help springboard their creative writing ideas. Every class had a specially tailored drama workshop with the actress, Miss Sanderson; pupils in years 3 /4  examined imaginary/fantasy settings for their stories whilst years 5/6 were looking back in time with stories in a historical setting. Using drama games and the powerful technique of freeze framing, every child created their own story.

Back in class, Newport pupils eagerly mapped out their story plans . Letting their imaginations fly, the children  wrote an  amazing range of stories. On Friday, many pupils shared their stories with the rest of the class. Some of the historical settings chosen by year  six pupils included Tudors, World War II , Victorians and  the 1950s was popular. One Year six pupil wrote a story about how our greatest playwright, William Shakespeare overcame writer's block (when you can't think what to write next). Well done to everyone involved and a special thank you to Mrs Shuttleworth for organising such a wonderful week of activities.

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Fabulous fun with forces.

This half term's topic for Year 6 is the excitingly titled  "What goes up!". Pupils have been getting to grips with all the different types of forces we encounter in everyday life- gravity, friction, air resistance and up thrust to name but a few in their science lessons. However at Newport we like to make learning active and fun so what better way than a visit to Chessington World of Adventure.

During the visit, all the pupils participated in an interactive workshop on forces held in the Education Centre. The importance of forces in the design of a thrilling ride were highlighted using the actual rides in the park. Throughout the morning, pupils  participated in quizzes, carried out experiments and learnt about other types of forces such as centripetal which keeps the water in a beaker when you spin it at high speed!
After lunch pupils were split into small groups to explore the rides that were appropriate to their height. It was an afternoon of firsts for many, including the staff, not just having their first ride at an adventure park but also overcoming their fears. Encouraged by their fellow pupils, in a very kind and caring way, many of Newport's pupils found they actually enjoyed rides that they might not had had the courage to go on alone. Mrs Wiseman's group loved the  Bubble Works ride so much they had four goes on it during the day! Vampire, Kobra and Dragon's fury were sampled by our more confident thrill seekers including Mrs Fry however Scorpion Express was a favourite with Mrs Fieldgate's group. Some  pupils also  managed to visit the Sea Life centre with fish of all shapes and sizes including stingrays and sharks.

Newport SOCOs solve baffling case!

Today some pupils from Newport got a taste of what it is really like to be a  scenes of crime officer (SOCO)  or crime scene investigator(CSI).  As part of the Rushmoreable programme coordinated by Mrs Fieldgate, the children were given a fabulous  "hands on" opportunity to learn about the  key forensic techniques used to locate, record and recover evidence from crime scenes such as  chromatography, fingerprint identification, alongside footprint and chemical analysis . Dressed from head to toe in  the protective clothing needed to avoid disturbing evidence, the young SOCOs were briefed about the crime (The theft of a lap top from a staff room), visited the actual crime scene and then given a raft of evidence to sift through.
"It really made you feel as if you were really were a SOCO", commented Pippa. Jack appreciated that the evidence had to be carefully analysed, " I had to make sure there were no absolutely no loose ends so the right person would be prosecuted for the crime!" . Brianna liked the very practical nature of this very important job.

Ipads were used to present the SOCO's findings , take pictures without disturbing the crime scene and taking notes whilst analysing results back in the laboratory. After a busy morning, the criminal was successfully identified by each of the teams and a folder of overwhelming evidence presented. A big thank you to Tower Hill Primary for hosting this wonderful workshop.

 

 

 

 

Bringing Shakespeare up todate....

This morning Newport Year 5 pupils were joined by talented writers from four other schools across the area to explore some of the works of two famous and hugely talented writers. The workshop, run by Mrs Fieldgate, examined in detail John Lennon's iconic peace anthem, Imagine. Using the lyrics as a framework pupils produced  their own poems detailing how they would make the world a better place.The importance of improving your initial ideas was stressed and everyone gave constructive criticism on their peers work.After break, Shakespeare's Seven ages of man was bought up to date by this team of talented writers. " It was great working with other children from other school" , commented Mitchell from Cranford Park Primary . Newport pupils were brilliant hosts and pupils are very  much looking forward to their visit to Tower Hill Primary next week. Well done: Oliver, Billy,Amy, Isabelle, Alex, Charlotte, Pippa, Leanne, Jonny and Jodie

Here are some of their modern interpretations of selected verses from The seven ages of man from Shakespeare's  play "As you like it".

First comes the infant wailing like a police siren.

Snuggled up in his mother’s arms makes him feel warm and cosy.

Looking everywhere wondering how the world works.

 Endless nappy changing and milky bottles fill his day.

 

 

The final showdown!  

Pottering around the minute   garden , visiting the doctors almost every day.

Aimlessly wandering around the shops until  closing  time.

Waiting patiently in a daze for the ghost of death to come and take his soul.

The ancient have lost their own teeth, their once eagle eyes, their terrific taste buds and now all their possessions.

Performance poet gives pupils top tips

Neal Zetter, a professional performance poet, passed on his top tips for writing both poems and raps to some of Newport's talented Year 5 writers. During the day long workshop, held at William Cobbett school in Farnham, pupils worked extremely hard to polish their own poems under Neal's expert eye. He also enthralled the audience with his own poems; Devon, Isabelle and Alex especially enjoyed I wish I was a Sumo wrestler , I'm a bee and The detention rap.  
Pupils from schools across Hampshire were astonished to discover that it takes Neal about 40 minutes to write a poem however he spend up to a day editing it! He also encouraged the workshop's budding poets to experiment with words and take risks , avoid using rhyming words and establish a beat to a poem using a repetition of a word or  short phrase.

 
Poetry fans can read more of Neal's latest poems (he has produced 800 poems since  the tender age of eight!) in his new book "Bees in my bananas-lots of funny poems". A copy of which will be in the school library for everyone to enjoy.

Living the dream!

On 9th June twenty six children from across the Newport and Belle Vue Federation visited the Farnborough Wind Tunnels  to learn more about flight and how these special buildings have shaped the world we live in today.These magnificent , listed buildings haven't ever been open to the public until today.

Pupils from Yrs 2-6 learnt about how aircraft work and are tested for safety (air worthiness). Will Avison, from Surrey satellites based at Surrey University, gave a fact filled talk on how satellites are manufactured and launched into space. Satellites can be used as surveillance cameras enabling photos to be taken to see how people or natural events such as a  tsunamis have affected the earth. Did you know that satellites can travel at 17,000 mph? To round off the morning's talks Russ Allchorne, Vice President of TAG Aviation, gave a presentation about his spectacular,high  flying career. He wanted to be a pilot at the age of seven; joining the RAF at seventeen he flew an amazing array of aircraft-Typhoon, F15 throughout his RAF career.Russ even flew a Spitfire ( the only one left in the world that capable of flying) over Buckingham Palace.He now flies jet setting celebrities and business people around the world in luxury jets from Farnborough airport! Every single pupil was inspired by him. He finished his talk by saying, " Don't give up on your dream job.Someone has got to do that job so why not you!" This certainly made everyone think about their own dream books back at school.

An action packed afternoon consisted of creating  basic rockets and firing them up into the air. "I really enjoyed this workshop and found it fun playing with forces", stated Molly, a year six pupil. Practising take off /landing in a Piper Tomahawk simulator also proved a memorable experience.

Mrs Fieldgate, Miss Moody and Mrs Pearce were immensely proud of the all the pupils who asked some very interesting and thoughtful questions throughout the day.

Dancing in the rain.

This week some of Newport's extremely talented dancers from Years 3-5 travelled to Farnborough with Mrs Fieldgate  to participate in an exciting dance workshop organised by the Rushmoreable cluster. After a  thorough warm up,  pupils were put through their paces by Clare Barratt , a lead teacher in dance at Cherrywood Primary, who introduced the children to the phenomenon  of flash mob dance.

 Based around a modern re mix of the classic " Singing in the rain", pupils were taught a challenging dance routine using a  rainbow coloured umbrella as a prop. Working with pupils from four other cluster schools, Clare set the tough challenge for the pupils to choreograph and perform the rest of the routine as an ensemble.
Everyone communicated their ideas to the other members of their dance teams and throughout the frantic rehearsals everybody  worked brilliantly to involve every single member of the team. "I loved the workshop so much I didn't want it to end", commented Joseph Lucking.

The final dance routines were amazing and here is just a snippet of video of the earliest stages of the workshop-the full version of the final performance will be upload within the next week. 
Well done to Maisy, Joseph, Phoebe, Maddie and Charlotte who definitely have the potential to be dancing stars of the future. Flavia and Anton , Strictly Come Dancing stars,better watch out.....

Brilliant builders learn a costly lesson!

Both pupils and staff are eagerly awaiting completion of the new Y4 classrooms and i library at Newport school .This week a group of Year 6 pupils experienced the real life pressures of  completing a building project to time, budget and most importantly to the client's exact specifications! Chris and James, management trainees from Charles Church Construction briefed the pupils from eight Hampshire schools on the tough task ahead. Team work  and effective communication were essential in order to replicate an extremely complicated model hidden in an architect's office. Cassandra and Stanley were only allowed four minutes to absorb all the intricate details of the project. They then had to communicate what they had seen to Owen, Newport's planner. Stress levels were rising as time ticked by. Ethan and Katelyn, acting as general foreman and builder, did a brilliant job of translating Owen's plans into an identical replica of the model. However, despite James' excellent accounts produced as part of his vital role as quantity surveyor , the Newport team were narrowly  beaten by Elevetham Heath Primary who managed to complete the project under budget.
Many congratulations to Cassandra , Katelyn , Stanley , Ethan Owen and James whose team work and communication skills were highly praised by the judges.

Newport Puzzlers

Following on from the summer term's successful maths puzzle day, a group of Newport pupils from Years 3 to 5 accompanied Mrs Fieldgate to the first Rushmoreable workshop of the academic year. The workshop, held at Hawley Primary school, enabled pupils to road test some exciting new logic and thinking skills games. Playing alongside a partner from another school, the pupils were asked to evaluate the games and chose which they felt was the most challenging and enjoyable.

After a hectic morning of gaming the following were highly rated by the pupils:

• Forbidden Island -Strategic thinking fantasy game
• Make 'n' break-Observation hand eye coordination
• Zeus on the loose-Strategic thinking and mental addition
• Count the nines-Puzzle with place value
• Cart before the horse-Brain teaser and consequences

With Christmas fast approaching,  these great games would make great presents for parents and children alike.