For the first half term we will be studying the Anglo Saxons  and our Mantle of the Expert (MoE ) Drama promises to be as exciting as ‘A Game of Thrones!’

A team of history researchers are commissioned by the BBC to do the background research for a series of programmes  inspired by Tony Bradman’s book ‘ Anglo Saxon Boy ‘ and to tell the real story of the Anglo Saxons from the 1st invasion of Britain up to 1066.
They learn the villagers were part of a civilisation which was displaced from their homeland, settled in Britain, and created a culture which thrived for over 500 years before being destroyed by defeat at the battle of Hastings.

​CLASS READING MASTERY BOOK
Our class book, ‘Anglo Saxon Boy’ by Tony Bradman follows the dramatic story of Magnus Godwinsson , the son of the famous King Harold Godwinsson who was killed at the Battle of Hastings.

The mind map below shows the key areas of knowledge we will be learning. ( A PDF can be downloaded from the website history page) 

In our PSHE lesson we talked about smoking tobacco; why people do it; why it is addictive and what damage it does to people's bodies. Below are some children's drawings illustrating the negative effects of smoking.

In our Mantle of the Expert drama our team of tour planners from RED BUS HOLIDAYS researched and planned a drive through tour of Europe, stopping off at some of the most important and famous areas of physical and human geography. We then planned a detailed tour of the cites, landmarks and natural sites in Italy. We drew a map of Italy and marked on our route to some of the famous cites (e.g Milan, Naples, Rome) We marked on physical geography which would feature in our tour ( mountains, rivers , lakes) We took 'photographs' for our advertising holiday brochures ( made drama representations) of landmarks of interest and specific cultural and culinary activities which would be included on our tour. ( e.g visits to the Colosseum, Vatican City, Pompei, Milan Cathedral....Eating Italian foods: pasta risotto , gelato, and ( for adults ) sampling wine!!)   
We incorporated all these details in the persuasive holiday brochures we wrote about the planned trip. ( literacy )

Our tour took a dramatic turn when on the northen border of Italy, the team discovered two stow-aways on board their bus. There was a woman and a child. They were both pale and scared looking. They had only a small bag with them. The woman spoke very little English. What should be done? 

We discover that these are a Ukrainian grandmother and her grandson, fleeing form their bombed home in Mariupol. They have hidden on our bus because they are trying  to  get to their family in England. The team must decide what to do...
Our of the drama we found out about the terrible conflict in the Ukraine and the work that aid agencies and governments across Europe are doing to help the refugees.

Roses PSHE 16.3.22.
How can we feel safer in school ?
We talked about ways people can feel safer in school.  
Here are the Roses’ ideas:-
 
What the adults can do:-

• Re-introduce the buddy stop on the playground again, repair it, brighten it up and have an assembly to explain how it works
• Have more adults outside at break and lunch times and more adults in the dinner hall
• Appoint prefects who can be on duty and look out for problems, help other children and take children to adults when problems arise.  These prefects could wear a high-vis jacket so that everyone can spot them on the playground or in the dinner hall
• We need more colourful games and markings on the playground or more equipment to play with outside
• Have more assemblies to promote kindness, being considerate and caring for others
• Have a Happiness Club where children can go if they are feeling unhappy – children could draw, colour, chat, tell jokes, do mindfulness activities
• Adults could fill the planters with bright, colourful flowers and the children could be responsible for watering them and weeding them.  The flowers would be bright and cheer everyone up and the children would enjoy doing the gardening

 
What the children can do:-

• Look out for children who are alone or sad and go over to talk to them, include them in your games or take them to an adult
• Children need to try not to leave anyone out
• If you see someone who is sad, talk to them, listen to what they say, give them a hug, try to make them laugh

 

The Roses class took part in a training session with Tanya Pyburn where we learned to understand our feelings as being in different zones and we learned strategies to calm ourselves and get back into the 'Green Zone'

We talked about how we find information - in non fiction books and how it is similar / different from researching information on line. 
The aims of the lesson were:

• To understand that not all information on search engines is valuable
• To explain how a search engine works
• To understand whether information will be useful or not

We began our MoE drama. An eco-tourism company, inspired by Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' film,  have commission our team to create a bespoke bus tour through Europe to Rome in the Mediterranean. The tour company want to provide an exciting but eco-friendly holiday experience for eco-tourists who wish to from getting a better understanding of the area and its history - landscape, culture etc.

We began by creating the bespoke hotel bus in our drama. We highlighted all the fantastic features on our bus and wrote a persuasive brochure for the Red Bus Holidays. 

 In our MoE drama we became Roman soldiers on Hadrian's Wall. We took part in training; marching 30km wearing heavy armour ; we learned how to use a sword, spear and fight mock battles; practising working as a team creating special Roman army defensive and attack formations like 'The Tortoise' 'The Wedge' 'Repel Cavalry' and 'The orb'  ( see photos below)  
We imagined what it would have been like in our down time, and how we would have missed home. Outside the drama we studied some of the Roman tablets found at Vindolanda and wrote our own letters home to family and friends about our life as a Roman legionnaire.  

We talked about privacy and the difference between secrets and surprises 
We though about the difference between a secret and a surprise
We thought about the difference between information that is public and private 
We talked about who we could talk to if we were worried or uncomfortable about something an adult does.
We looked at the

• ‘NSPCC’ presentation Talk PANTS and stay safe’ and practised saying 'NO!' and asking a trusted adult for help if we were uncomfortable about something.

We discussed the activities below and thought about at what age would we be able to do these activities. We all wrote down our guesses and then found out the legal age limits : we were quite surprised by some of the age restrictions. We talked about whether it was fair to have these restrictions; the importance of keeping safe on the internet and why there are legal age restrictions on creating a Facebook page, Snapchat account or Instagram account.  See if you know the ages you can do the activities below. ( The answers are underneath)

​ANSWERS : 

• Drive a car – 17
• Open a bank account – 18
• Get married if your parents/carers agree – 16
• Signing your own passport – 12
• Be convicted of a crime – 10 (the age where you would have full criminal responsibility)
• Get a part-time job  – 14
• Buy a ticket for the National Lottery – 16
• Buy a pet – 16
• Vote in a general election – 18
• Create a Facebook/Snapchat/Instagram account – 13
• Watch a video on YouTube – any age
• Have a YouTube account – 13

       Did you know ? Were you right? Were you surprised by any of these ages ? 
 
​