Over the Autumn term the school utilised its sports premium money to enhance the PE dance curriculum offer. We invested in seven weeks of Street Dance teaching which ensure that every child had 7 hours of quality dance tuition. The children learnt to improve their teamwork skills, perseverance, performance as well as their agility, balance and co-ordination. It was not only the children who had this opportunity though! Staff took part in training to deliver street dance lessons as well as putting together their own performance which the children loved watching. As you can see from the photo staff loved the opportunity to get their groove on! At the end of the seven weeks classes and freestylers had a virtual competition. We even had over 20 children enter a national virtual freestyle competition with one child being crowned National 8 and Under Champion.

Over the course of the seven weeks it was fantastic to see the children’s confidence and concentration improve. They relished the practice each week and even started dance battles in the playground using the choreography or their own freestyle. It was great to see how many of the children engaged with the home learning of embedding the choreography which helped keep them active at home as well as at school. I think it was clear to see how this project changed the way children view dance now and cannot wait for it to start again next year. All this would not have been possible without the help of Lucy from Elevate Arts. She has ensured that children and staff both enjoyed the training and learning. If you would like to see the highlights of the project then log into our Class Dojo School story page or follow this link. https://www.berrymede.com/teaching-and-learning/dance-and-physical-education

What happened:
7 weeks of whole school focus on Street dance Every child received 7 hours of high quality tuition.
230 children
10 classes
Home learning set and followed-
Targeted groups used to support learning and team building CPD for 2 staff curriculum delivery.
9 teachers participated in a wellbeing class Five Intra school team competitions One Intra school solo freestyle competition Inter school virtual national freestyle competition 26 entries One National Free style champion!

Outcomes
Children’s confidence grew
Abilities were found which children didn’t know they had 100% participation
30 individual freestylers identified by their peers Teamwork improved Concentration, improved Perseverance, improved Impromptu Playground dance battles. The profile of dance was raised across the whole school. The stereotypical view of curriculum dance was changed.

This week has been Road Safety Week.

This years focus has been ‘No need to speed’
Children have been looking at the 20 mph speed limit in areas such as, built up residential areas or near schools and discussing why its important for drivers to acknowledge the speed limit and the potential consequences if they don’t.

If you would like to look at some short videos the children have been looking at and discuss them again with your children then please follow the links below.

mobile phone link

No need to speed explanation video:

A big thank you to Mr Gavin for organising all the activities for the children.

Well done today to all those children who came in wearing odd socks to support anti-bullying week this week. This years theme is ‘united against bullying’. Again our children have shown their clear understanding of the topic during the lessons. They have been able to demonstrated fantastic empathy and understanding in the anti-bullying role plays and activities.

Thank you to Mrs Mangat for organising all the activities for children to take part in.

10 Pupils from Y5 and Y6 took part in the Primary Maths Challenge. This is a small quiz which is designed to push our pupils further through problem solving.

Shout out to Mehdi Dawish in 6M for getting the highest score of 22/25.

Well done to all who took part!

Thank you to Mr Craze for organising the whole event!

The Autumn Studio: Belinda Zhawi

Last Autumn, Art club had the pleasure of visiting the The Serpentine Gallery for a workshop based on an exhibition from artist and poet Belinda Zhawi.

The children spent the morning walking around the exhibition and sketching their favourite artworks, some had never visited an art gallery before and so it was a very exciting experience.

Later in the workshop, the students worked in groups with Belinda to create a sonic poem that drew connections between their experiences, ideas in the exhibitions and her artistic practise.

We have acquired HEALTHY SCHOOLS GOLD Status again!

To continue our promotion of Healthy Eating, our first trip for 2020 – 2021 at Berrymede was to The Kids Cookery Club in Acton, where pupils form years 4 and 6 were provided an opportunity to use simple recipes to create enjoyable, healthy meals. Children experimented with a variety of vegetables, learning how to cook safely and whilst observing social distancing.  The results were delicious savoury cheese muffins fit for a king! The children had a fabulous time!

Berrymede’s More Able Gifted & Talented Students (MAG&T)

‘Gifted and talented’ describes children with the ability or potential to develop significantly ahead of their peers:

• ‘gifted’ learners are those with abilities in one or more academic subjects, such as maths or English
• ‘talented’ learners are those who have practical skills in areas such as sport, music, design or creative and performing arts

Skills and attributes such as leadership, decision-making and organisation may also be taken into account.

At Berrymede Junior School, once students have been identified as MAG&T, they will be provided with greater challenges in lessons, and provided with further opportunities outside of lessons to further develop their talents.

Each term, MAG&T students are expected to teach mini lessons, to class across the school. This helps the students to develop their planning skills and research skills as well as build confidence. The student will also attend school trips: a visit to Roehampton University. The purpose of this trip is to give students exposure to further education; thus allowing them to start making informed decisions about university through higher education talk, workshops and university tours.