Archived Amethyst Learning Zone

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2022-2023

Teaching Team

Mr. C. Storey (Lead); Ms. S. Ingwersen; Mrs. C. Heslop-Stead

Planning 2022 -2023

Stanhope Barrington Reception – Long Term Plan

To find out more about the impact of our learning please visit Our Curriculum section.

Community Project

For our community project the Opal and Amethyst Learning Zones have joined forces. Working together we have made links with Cross Hill Nursing home. We are aiming to create and sustain strong community links whilst providing the children with added life skills. We have planned to visit the Nursing home every half-term with a different focus each time.

The benefits of this project include:

  • Children visiting a different environment
  • Children gaining respect for the elderly
  • Children having more exposure to language
  • Increased understanding of empathy

We will provide regular updates on the website over the academic year. Stay tuned for our first visit.

Autumn Treats – The news filtered back to us that Cross Hill Nursing Home had a few residents that were under the weather. It was decided that we would utilise the falling leaves to cheer them up. Each child created an autumn hedgehog that was delivered to the Nursing Home last week. We hope our creations cheered you all up, we are all hoping you get better soon.

Memories – After the residents at Cross Hill Nursing Home received their autumn creations, they decided to return the gesture. The residents have sent the children memories from their time at school which date back over 80 to 90 years. The children had great fun reading the memories and were baffled to hear about fires in classrooms. It is excellent to compare the differences that have transformed education over the last 100 years. Thank you again to the staff and residents at Cross Hill Nursing Home, we have created an excellent link in the community.

Superpowers in Action!

Community Co-operation – To introduce our superpower of co-operation we decided to venture into the community. The children shared ideas of how we could help support Stanhope Show. We concluded on a banner which contained handprints from pupils across the school. We made excellent community links with Lisa who is the Chairperson of the event, who was delighted to receive the banner. On Friday we braved the torrential rain to deliver our school banner which was displayed over the action packed weekend.

Amethyst Learning Zone Stay and Play (Autumn Term) – The Amethyst Learning Zone hosted their first parent / carer engagement session of the year last week. The Reception and Year One parents had the opportunity to come in and view a Little Wandle Phonics lesson, followed by exploring with their child around the unit. The children had a wonderful time showing off how they access the unit. Thank you to all that attended, it was great to hear all the positive feedback.

Christmas Co-operation – The children in the Amethyst Learning Zone are provided with many opportunities to enhance their co-operation skills. Recently, the children have showed how much progress they have made with their superpower. The children showed superb co-operation as they decorated the Learning Zone Christmas tree as they shared and used their communication and language skills perfectly. Although the school year is only one third of the way through, all the children are exceeding expectations.

Amethyst Learning Zone Stay and Play (Spring Term)- It was fantastic to welcome the Amethyst parents / carers into the Learning Zone to see learning first hand. The session began by recapping the core text of Jack and the Beanstalk before providing children with their own magic bean which they had to plant. The children showed their adult the continuous provision and explained the rules and expectations of the unit. Thank you to everyone who attended our second Stay and Play session. We look forward to hosting you again in the Summer term.

Fire Service Visit – As part of our Local Community topic we had several visits and trips into Stanhope. This afternoon we had a number of Fire Fighters who answered a number of questions and allowed all the children to see and feel the fire equipment. The children also received an important message regarding smoke alarms in their homes. All children were set a challenge to identify that they have a working smoke detector in their household.

Awards

Pupils grow, learn and thrive within the positive, nurturing learning environment at Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School. Celebrating success and effort is an important part of creating a positive and reflective school community and links to our core Christian values (KFC).

In the Amethyst Learning Zone, award certificates are given weekly and include: The Ambassador Award (awarded to the pupil that stands out for demonstrating a skill linked to the Superpower), the Dojo Award (awarded to the pupil that has made the most consistent effort during the week) and the Extra Special Award (awarded to the pupil that has stood out for the right reasons such as showing kindness, academic effort and persistence). In addition, every pupil across the Learning Zones is also eligible for whole school awards. Please visit our Celebrating Success section to find out more and to see the weekly winners of each award.

 

2021-2022

Teaching Team

Mr. C. Storey (Lead); Mrs. J. McArdle; Mrs. J. Humble; Ms. L. Wilkinson; Ms. S. Ingwersen; Mrs. C. Heslop-Stead

Planning 2021 – 2022

 

AMETHYST – Summer1 2022 – The Big Top

AMETHYST – Spring2 2022 – Pirates

AMETHYST – Spring1 2022 – Polar Regions

AMETHYST – Autumn1 2021 – All About Me

Superpowers in Action!

Gem Power Treat Afternoon

This afternoon the Amethyst Learning Zone celebrated achieving their gem powers with a trip to Freddie’s Fish Shop and a stop off at Riverside Park. Each time a child displays our superpower of co-operation they are able to place a gem in the jar. When this jar is full we then have the opportunity to enjoy a treat afternoon. Today we visited Gillian at the Fish Shop, who very kindly allowed us to see the inside of the shop and even help serve. Following this, we continued our walk to the river where we enjoyed our feast. We finished off a wonderful afternoon with a visit to the park. The feedback from Gillian and the community was exceptional, all commented on how well the children behaved and their brilliant manners!

Egg Jarping Day

As we roll into the Easter break, the Amethyst Learning Zone continued a local tradition. Today was Egg Jarping Day! Each child was given an egg and had to attempt to smash their opponents egg with a slight tap. All of the children showed excellent co-operation as they portrayed exceptional sportsmanship. You could say we had an EGG-cellent time. Denver was crowned the winner and received a prize and certificate. Well done to all of the children in continuing the Stanhope tradition!

It’s a pirate life for me!

This week we have been transforming our Learning Zone to get ready for our new Topic. We are excited to learn all about Pirates and find out what they got up to. The children have helped create a number of role play areas including this pirate ship which will be placed in the indoor sand area.

Working together to learn about penguins…

Weardale Adventure Centre – The Weardale Adventure Centre provided a wonderful test of our Superpower with activities that allowed the children to enhance their co-operation skills. The children accessed a number of practical tasks in a stimulating outdoor environment. Some of the activities included an assault course, orienteering and a camp fire. After the event, the children were asked to summarise the educational visit:

“The assault course was the best. I did it very fast and got muddy.” Isaac

“I was with Abel and we found all of the animals on the field. Some of them were hiding under things.” Owen

“We had hot chocolate with marshmallows in. I love hot chocolate.” Rubybec

Harvest Festival – What a fantastic adventure we had with our Harvest Festival. This was the first opportunity we have had to host parents for an event for over 18 months. Prior to the event we received donations from the community as we collected for our local food bank. We teamed up with the Opal Learning Zone and the Sapphire Learning Zone to learn a number of songs which we performed at the Methodist Church.

Our Community Project

This year the Amethyst Learning Zone have been challenged to complete a community-based project which will have a positive impact on our local community. In December we reached out to Cross Hill Nursing Home and established a link which has greeted by fantastic enthusiasm by the staff and residents. Prior to Christmas a group of children performed a selection of Christmas carols for the residents, which was met with amazing feedback. In addition, we created Christmas cards and crafts for the residents. We have also arranged a swap-service where we swap colourings. We have created a display board where we are going to publish the wonderful creations from the residents. This project again reflects our superpower of co-operation and allowing the children to become vital members of the community in the midst of a pandemic.

Awards

Pupils grow, learn and thrive within the positive, nurturing learning environment at Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School. Celebrating success and effort is an important part of creating a positive and reflective school community and links to our core Christian values (KFC).

In the Amethyst Learning Zone, award certificates are given weekly and include: The Ambassador Award (awarded to the pupil that stands out for demonstrating a skill linked to the Superpower), the Dojo Award (awarded to the pupil that has made the most consistent effort during the week) and the Extra Special Award (awarded to the pupil that has stood out for the right reasons such as showing kindness, academic effort and persistence). In addition, every pupil across the Learning Zones is also eligible for whole school awards. Please visit our Celebrating Success section to find out more and to see the weekly winners of each award.

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