Parliament Visit – 8th November 2016

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Year 5 & 6 visited The Houses of Parliament on the 8th of November 2016. They learnt about the creation of parliament and how the monarchy gave up power of making certain decisions. Also, they looked at how members of the parliament voted for new laws to be passed and the voting system that was used by the MPs. Moreover, they learnt about the different

constituencies around England and how only one

person (MP) represents that area. The children had a wonderful experience touring the parliament building, they even got to see Queen Victoria’s throne!

 

Sleeping Rough Project with the Salvation Army

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10 children from Buttercup primary school will be swapping their beds for ‘sleeping rough’ to raise funds for a new scheme aimed at helping the homeless.

The Year 5/ 6 pupils  are bedding down in sleeping bags in the school hall in April for one night to get a taste of what it’s like to be homeless.

The sponsor money raised will go to the Salvation Army Project who  provide homeless young people aged between 16 and 25 with free, safe and secure emergency temporary accommodation.

To make Buttercup’s homeless experience as real as possible, heating in the school is being turned off,  local warehouses are supplying cardboard boxes as bedding and bread and water will be the only food on offer.As well as raising money for a very worthwhile cause, this is a great way for the children to explore issues around how people become homeless – often through no fault of their own  – the children will get an idea about how it feels not to have a comfy bed and home at night , and how this is a reality for many not only nationwide but globally.

Katy Hillary started the ball rolling with an interesting school assembly on Thursday 7th January 2016. This gave the children a head start into understanding the real issues some people in Britain are facing today and that having no home is not just an problem one may encounter internationally but may perhaps be near your doorstep.

The children and staff will plan the weeks ahead for attempting to address some of the issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eco Boat trip Years 5/6 : Hermitage, Tower Hill : 12th October 2016

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The children in Year 5/6 enjoyed the day out by the river, packed full of hands-on learning which links into the KS2 curriculum for science, geography, design & technology. They also had the opportunity to learn about the history of the river Thames and explore the  historic Dutch barge.  Children spent  the day as scientists  observing the urban river environment . They worked in teams to test the water for pollutants, their data  was then uploaded onto an online database for scientists, policy makers and academics to use to assess the health of the Thames: Freshwater Watch. They all explored the boat, water,  and explored further in depth as energy and waste detectives. Children got to learn and understand about local and international green inventors and exciting eco technologies of the future. The class split into teams where they used all of their learning from the day  to design their very own Eco Boat, and  presented  their finished designs to the class!   Everyone had a memorable learning experience by the Thames, and have been inspired to be the next generation of green inventors safeguarding  the health of the Thames for generations to come!   Here are the highlights…..      

 

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Black History week

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Black History Week Assembly

The children at Buttercup Primary celebrated Black History week

with a wonderful assembly. Each class shared stories, facts and historical events about their special person’s achievements and how they made a difference to the world. It was truly an

inspirational assembly ending with a famous quote by Malcolm X, ‘Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.’

 

Here are the highlights…..

 

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The Exploratorium – Materials :Monday 3rd October Year 5/6

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Year 5/6 were visited by a Eccentric Scientist. Children  took part in role play and  used tableaux to explore the topic.  

The children enjoyed showing off their knowledge and were very enthusiastic about science. they passed tasks like outwitting a disgruntled monster to save the Exploratorium science machine from imploding!

The workshop is very interactive.

 

Subject areas covered that day :

Properties of material

Investigating different materials

Absorbent and Waterproof materials

Liquid, solid and gas

 

Victorian Homelife and Toys for Year 1/2: 29th September 2016

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Year 1/2 were visited by a Victorian housekeeper

who worked using drama activities such as roleplay and tableaux to explore the topic with the children.  The workshop gave the children a chance to explore different aspects and chores of a Victorian household, as well as a chance to play with Victorian toys at the end. The day was very interactive.

Freshwater theatre company came in very early to recreate areas that represented the rooms that the children explored.

Rooms visited:

The Housekeepers Room

The Attic Bedroom

The Scullery

The Kitchen

The Drawing Room

The Nursery (with the toys)

Everyone enjoyed the day!

 

Parent E-Safety & Safeguarding ‎Workshop – Monday 26th September 2016‎

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Parents from each year group were invited to attend an important workshop covering issues on E-safety and safeguarding. The school shared the school policies and gave advice on how to keep children safe online. We had a great turned out.

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Victorian Schooldays for Year 3/4 – 27th September 2016

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History comes alive!

Years 3/4 were taught  by a Victorian schoolteacher who conducted an hour long session with the children in Buttercup.

The morning was spent covering different aspects of the Victorian curriculum and the cultural context of the time – Children discussing the fact that some children are not in school as they are working and so on. They will also get to see (and maybe even try out) some of the Victorian punishments for misbehaviour!

Freshwaters theatre company were invited to run a Victorian classroom session. The students were transported back to 1899 and were given a lesson they would never forget as the strict Victorian schoolteacher assessed handwriting, drill and arithmetic through role play of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 6 Graduation Ceremony -22nd July 2016

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Picture4It took place at the ELM. The children were presented with their certificates by the head teacher. They sang nasheeds and a song that they wrote together and shared their special memories of being at Buttercup. The parents were proud and we were proud!

 

 

 

 

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Visit to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

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Following on from the Science week that took place at the end of January 2016 and in continuing to with the schools longterm plan on developing skills , we programmed to join Winns primary school children at an exclusive workshop at the very prestigious Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in London Fleet Street.

Freshfields is a leader among international law firms, providing business law advice of the highest quality throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US.
The children worked as a team to use their problem solving skills in order to act as either the prosecution or defence for some of their favourite storybook characters in Harry Potter. This task required the students to analyse multiple pieces of evidence and to listen carefully to each other’s ideas in order to decide what the best arguments were and which pieces of evidence were most relevant to back up their case.
Teams aimed high to bring the best case to trial. Presenting their case in court, both defence and prosecution proved they had built strong arguments, making the task trickier than ever for the jury to come to a unanimous verdict. It is fair to say the adults in the room had nothing but praise for the students’ speaking and listening skills as well as their teamwork. Everyone had a great time!
Here are the highlights…

 

Science week 2016

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Science Week

Monday 18th January to Friday 22nd January 2016 was Science Week at Buttercup Primary School. All week, children from Early years to Year 6 took part in a host of different science experiments.

The following zones were created in school:

Years 1/2 – Chemistry

Years 3/4 – Biology zone

Years 5/6 – Physics

Early Years – Space

The week began with a whole school CSI investigation with our partners Enabling enterprise. The children looked into finger printing and forensics leading to a crime scene investigation ‘who done it?’ It was an amazing experience!

Throughout the course of the investigation the children also learnt about rules and how it needs to be obeyed and that there are consequences relating to certain actions. They learnt about the legal justice system and also why it is needed.

Everyone got stuck in on Wednesday as the whole school conducted a carousel of exciting experiments and experiences within their own zones . The whole school joined in, everyone took part in their house teams it was an amazing time. The whole school enjoyed taking part in a dressing up competition everyone including the staff had so much fun!

The week ended with a special assembly on Friday afternoon, where each year group shared some of the things they found out.