www.abingdon.org.uk 21 Abingdon School in Partnership Primary science club The Lent term saw a record 30 pupils from 6 different primary schools attend our Primary Science Club. Towards the end of January, our youngest trainee Science Ambassadors held a session on ‘dissection’. Showing great leadership and practical skills, they enthusiastically enjoyed helping the younger pupils find and extract important organs from the mackerel and sardines they were given to work on. Throughout this term, a group of students have run a book club for pupils at Carswell Primary School. They have discussed their favourite books, helped the Carswell pupils create a fictional character and listened to them read. One particular highlight was sharing their knowledge of different alphabets by looking at stories that have been translated. Preparing for puberty In January, and as part of Relationships and Health Education, Natalie Hunt visited Leafield and St Peter’s CE Primary schools to continue her series of workshops for children in Years 4 to 6 on ‘preparing for puberty’. These workshops enable the children to learn about the physical and emotional changes in puberty in a safe and fun environment. In February, 100 students from Larkmead and John Mason Schools were welcomed to the Amey Theatre for the 1st dedicated arts partnership National Theatre Live screening. Students sat spellbound as they watched Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’, as well as an interview with designer Es Devlin and composer Caroline Shaw about the making of the production. The number of students in the Abingdon Film Unit (AFU) Other Half slot has been bolstered this term by the addition of new members from the partnership schools of Larkmead, Fitzharry’s and St Helen and St Katharine. All these students are utilising their time after the end of their official school day to explore more about filmmaking. The work they are producing will be screened at the British Film Institute Southbank, London in September at a private event which is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the AFU. Managing BIG feelings As part of a series of wellbeing assemblies for Caldecott Primary School, Natalie Hunt spoke to children in Key Stage 1 on how to manage big feelings. By recognising and labelling feelings in our bodies (from tummy aches to feeling shaky), we can decide if the feeling is helpful and choose a strategy to manage it, such as taking some deep, controlled breaths, doing some star jumps or calmly colouring. The children enjoyed sharing some of their feelings from the day and gave examples of strategies that helped them. Book club NT live screenings
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