This week in 1AM we have been working on our topic "Wiggle and Crawl" and have enjoyed being outside in the warm weather. Now spring is definitely upon us we have created a hedgehog house in the hope that we get some spiky friends to visit.
The boys have worked hard together to create the house out of different materials and have hidden it away in a sheltered spot on the farm. Watch this space!
1BS
This week in class we have further explored our new topic for this half term, ‘Wriggle and Crawl’. We have been starting to look at bugs and insects around us and completed a bug hunt in the school garden. This was quite difficult as it is still fairly cold and all the bugs are hidden away; however, we did find some and counted them for our data handling project in maths where we have started to create graphs before returning them to their habitat.
Also this week the class caterpillars arrived. We have got 5 giant butterflies and will follow their growth in the next few weeks before releasing them in the garden. At the moment the caterpillars are very small and sleepy. We will post pictures again when they are released!
It's a busy time on the farm at Joseph Norton Academy as we get ready for spring! We have been sowing our tomatoes and peppers, planting the lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower that we sowed during the winter and harvesting our winter salad for the school rabbits, Rebecca and Charlie.
Trees have been felled with some steely determination and gritted teeth in aid of the pigs too. We have also been wombling around for unused furniture, renovating and up-cycling it for use as vivariums in the animal care room.
This week in particular has seen a great team effort across all of Key Stage 3. They have been using left over timber from some work carried out in half term. We have been building a chicken coop so we can introduce some new ladies to the flock. All very exciting things on the farm and spring is almost here!
Over the last week, each group from Key Stage 3 & 4 has worked their socks off in the school kitchen. This was no simple task. Catering for up to 46 pupils each group has prepared a delicious, fresh meal of their choice that were all well received throughout the school.
Group 6 had the daunting task of been the first group to cook for the whole school. On Friday 10th they looked calm and composed and the difficult task ahead did not shake their confidence. Two hours passed like two minutes and with 10 minutes to spare they had worked well as a team to produce a traditional lasagne with garlic bread and salad. This was enjoyed by all pupils and even staff had the pleasure of trying some of the spare portions. Mr Lockwood the school caretaker had the following to say about the lasagne; “One of the best lasagnes I have ever eaten! And it was lovely and warm”.
Group 5 kicked off the following week in great style, with reduced numbers they still managed to plate up on time and the Chicken Tikka Masala was enjoyed by all; with the exception of a few of our younger pupils who found the curry a little on the hot side! But this made it all the more enjoyable for the older pupils who can regularly be seen sneaking extra chili powder into meals.
Group 3; the youngest group to don the aprons, had one of the hardest challenges. Their Toad in the Hole was the most popular dish and was ordered by 42 pupils. Served with mash and peas, this went down an absolute storm at lunch time. No leftovers could be found in any of the classrooms and this was a firm favourite with the key stage 2 pupils.
Group 4 took on a classic Italian dish in the form of spaghetti Bolognese. Despite cooking what seemed like a million strands of spaghetti, once again this went out on time and we even trialled a delivery service rather than having groups collect their meals from the kitchen. This added service element was greatly appreciated and a very nice touch, not to mention the dish was again very tasty and hot!
Group 8 are familiar with the school kitchen and have previously cooked Christmas dinner & Lasagne for the whole school. On this occasion they were tackling Burgers. With reduced numbers and reduced time, once again all pupils worked hard and the burgers were enjoyed by all.
Overall the week has been a huge success with pupils from all groups working hard and as a team to produce some great tasty dinners. We are already looking forward and planning for the next time!
Our trusty outdoor education bikes have come to the end of their life!
Pupils in group 3 have been prompted to consider ways of raising money to buy some new bikes for everyone to enjoy. Over the weeks they have been working hard during Enrichment sessions washing cars in the car park.
The school has now taken delivery of the new bikes and everyone has been enjoying the freedom of riding them and learning new skills on control and techniques of downhill mountain biking.
Joseph Norton Academy has been awarded Gold accreditation against the Investors in People Standard, joining the top seven per cent of accredited organisations across the UK, demonstrating their commitment to high performance through good people management.
Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry. Investors in People enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale.
Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate Joseph Norton Academy. Investors in People accreditation is the sign of a great employer, an outperforming place to work and a clear commitment to success. Joseph Norton Academy should be extremely proud of their achievement.”
Commenting on the award, Sarah Wilson, Head Teacher, said, “We are delighted to have achieved Gold level accreditation. The staff at Joseph Norton are our best asset. They are the glue that holds our school together and they work tirelessly for the children and the community we serve. Undertaking the journey towards accreditation has enabled us to reflect on our performance, gain new insights into our practice and consider future developments that will help ensure our fantastic team can adapt and thrive into the future.”
For more information about Investors in People please visit www.investorsinpeople.com
Group 7 have been working hard at On-Board to create artwork for the key stage 4 common room. Their work involved designing the logos, spray painting the boards and then working with paint pens to create the layered look of graffiti art.
This complex art form tests a range of skills including working out the measurements of the boards and the cost of the paint. In doing so, they also have to incorporate aspects of mathematics into their work to be able to achieve the end result.
Over the past four weeks they have really enjoyed using new materials and learning different ways of creatively expressing themselves.
We are proud to have been included in the Restorative Justice Council's winter newsletter as we work to achieve the Restorative Service Quality Mark. Please click on the image and turn to page 19 to find us :)
A restorative school is one which takes a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.
There is good evidence that restorative practice delivers a wide range of benefits for schools. A report published by the Department for Education gave whole-school restorative approaches the highest rating of effectiveness at preventing bullying, with a survey of schools showing 97% rated restorative approaches as effective. An independent evaluation of restorative justice in Bristol schools found that restorative justice improved school attendance and reduced exclusion rates.
If you would like more information about restorative practice in our school, please speak to Darryl Jones.
Students in Year 6 have taken up the challenge of designing a new football kit. They decided that the school needed to update the current design to reflect the new name and Academy status.
They spent a morning discussing aspects of a customised design and investigated a variety of colours and patterns. This allowed them to combine their ideas and come up with a winning style.
This week in English group 5 have been involved in a mini crime writing project. We have been creating imaginative crime scenes, inventing interesting characters and scribing a police interview with the main suspect.
Maths has seen us learn how to use lowest common multiples to create equivalent fractions with the same denominators and begin to use this to add and subtract improper fractions.
We have enjoyed learning about supply and demand, mental maths, geography of America, environmental protection and money management by playing the game Power Grid.
The pupils formed a good team when they helped each other prepare and carry out a treasure hunt in the school grounds, helping each other to find the hidden prizes.
Hello and happy New Year from group four!
We have been very busy since our last blog with visits to new places and challenging ourselves through our class work and experiences.
We have enjoyed learning about ourselves and how our actions have impacts on the people around us. We have enjoyed learning about keeping safe, especially with fire. We have used these new skills when in the woods and outside of school.
In our maths lessons we have stretched and challenged ourselves to gain some fantastic new skills. We have carried this enthusiasm for learning into our topic lessons where we have learnt about the Celts and crime in new ways. We have enjoyed the freedom to learn in our own way. We really enjoyed making rockets using coke bottles and mentos! Our rockets zipped across the tennis court!
We have a new system in our classroom where we have choice of work. We like to prioritise our own tasks and work through them at our own rate.
One of our favourite things to do is visit new places. We enjoyed a lunch out at Pizza Hut where the restaurant staff said that all of our class were polite and friendly.
Our visit to the Royal Armouries was very exciting. We were able to find the weapons that we have learnt about recently. One of the best parts was using a bow and arrow machine to test how strong real archers have to be!
We are looking forward to the new term and investigating the laws of the UK and setting up our own class court.... Judge Rinder style!
What better way to celebrate the festive period than to all work together to create something special, and what could be more special than a scrumptious Christmas dinner with all the trimmings!?
During the last week of term pupils from across the whole school worked tirelessly to make the Christmas dinner a success. Children from Key Stage 2 were given the very important task of making the cranberry sauce and the result was spectacular; a delicious and sweet accompaniment to the roast turkey!
Key Stage 3 had the trimmings to prepare. Combining fresh sage, onion, egg and breadcrumbs they produced some of the tastiest stuffing I have ever had the pleasure to eat. Throughout the week children could also be found carefully and delicately rolling the sausages snugly into their blankets. Producing in the process the pièce de résistance of any festive fare, the pigs in blankets.
On the eve of the ‘big day’ preparation was of the utmost importance. Peeling, chopping and washing, however boring these task may seem without the children who helped the dinner would not have even got off the ground. One child counted 216 potatoes, but had to be stopped short when he began counting the peas.
Show time. With help from members of staff and the pressure of the big day in the air the children in the kitchen looked calm and composed. Boiling the veg, roasting the potatoes, topping up the trimmings, not crumbling under the pressure of making the crumble, portioning the desserts and even having a brief sing song. Forgive the cliché but blood sweat and tears were shed in the kitchen on that day and we emerged triumphant! All the children from day one who helped make the Christmas dinner a success deserve a special thanks. Everyone said they really enjoyed the dinner and as you can see here only by all working together was all of this possible.
Merry Christmas!
Stephen (Instructor - Hospitality and Catering)
