Before half term, Ducklings class were learning about Chinese New Year. They explored how this special festival is a time for family gatherings, food, decorations and wishing one another good fortune for the year ahead. The children learned about the Chinese zodiac story and discovered that some of us were born in the Year of the Rat and the Year of the Ox. We also found out that this year is the Year of the Horse. This supported our understanding of similarities and differen

Once again this term many of our children have enjoyed taking a trip to Glendale to read with our group of reading buddies. Depending on the age and ability of our children, each child reads their levelled book and then shares a picture book with the buddy or if a free reader, then the children take their chosen book to read aloud to a Glendale reading buddy. We are very grateful that they give up their spare time to listen to the children read and sometimes read to them, enc

This week, Year 6 took part in a live online lesson for 'Safer Internet Day'. The theme for this year was AI and how children can be aware of it and use it safely. They explored how to use certain tools safely, respectfully and responsibly. They then had a challenge to compare two images: one AI and one which was real. Some were very obvious and others not so much! Year 6 listened well and were able to take part in the class discussion well.

This week is internet safety week and year 3 got to watch the live lesson on BBC yesterday all about AI and Chatbots. We also joined in with the activities; answering questions and drawing what we thought the chatbot might look like. We explored the careful decisions behind responsible AI design, from selecting reliable, accurate and unbiased training data to writing system prompts that prevent bad AI behaviour. We then designed our own Chatbot and included them on to an int

This term, Year 6 had the amazing opportunity to take part in a series of squash lessons with a member of Folkestone Squash Academy. We have concentrated on a range of skills which included ball control skills, dribbling and rallying. Each week, the children perfected a skill and by the last week, they were able to take part in a timed mini tournament in their houses. The results were extremely close: St Augustine's came in third place, St Mary's and St Michaels in second and

Thank you parents for the AMAZING costumes and accessories! We had lots of fun today learning all about Victorian school rules before practising our handwriting in the Victorian style, both on paper and on slate with chalk. We drew and played hopscotch, a Victorian playground game still enjoyed today, and sampled some delicious Victorian sponge cake - named after Queen Victoria of course!

This term we have been investigating forces in Science. We have looked at push and pull forces along with whether or not they are a contact or non-contact force. We have also been looking at the different pulls of magnets. They can repel and attract as well as having a South Pole and a North Pole. We have investigated the different pulls of various magnets: horse shoe, bar, disc and spherical magnets. The findings were very interesting.

Ducklings class were very lucky last week to enjoy another exciting day at The Three Hills. The children took part in a wide range of fun sporting activities, including ball throwing and rolling, speed stacking, goal shooting and baton running. Each activity station was carefully explained and demonstrated by a play leader, helping the children understand how to take part safely and confidently. The children showed great enthusiasm, teamwork and perseverance as they moved aro