March 2014 – Lansdowne School

Year 7 Music Video

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 7 are feeling extremely confident following our recent successful performance at the nearby Lark Hall Primary School. The Lansdowne School Choir was invited to perform at the local Stockwell school to show what we can achieve with our singing and signing.

Many of the Lansdowne Choir members are made up of Year 7 pupils. Lark Hall is also a former school for some of the children. This was a great opportunity to go back and show our friends what we have learnt.

This enthusiasm has been carried forward during our recent music lessons. Year 7 are continuing to learn the challenges that Coldplay’s Viva La Vida presents. Having mastered the words and signing actions, the pupils are now paying particular attention to some of the key changes. We have been talking about what is meant by a musical pitch and key, and how we can physically use our voices to change these.

We finished off a recent music session by showcasing our talents and singing Count On Me – another Year 7 Lansdowne favourite. Drums, signing and plenty of dancing were added. Great fun – as you can see from the video above.

Year 7 RE Video

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 7 are currently looking at the Islamic faith as part of our study of the major world religions. We have started our work by researching the five pillars of Islam. The students have been seeing how faith, prayer, charity, pilgrimage and fasting.

Each class has read out an information sheet explaining a little more about these five central beliefs. Communication in Print was used heavily to help the pupils with some of the Muslim ideas. We then matched up each belief by selecting a picture that related to the message.

Our knowledge was boosted by also answering a True or False statement about the Islamic faith. An example might be that Muslims pray twice a day. From our research we have seen how Muslims pray five times a day, and so this statement is false.

Our understanding of the five pillars of Islam has been backed up by a useful class discussion. We encouraged each pupil to participate and offer some possible reasons or meanings behind the beliefs that we have been learning.

You can watch a couple of the Year 7 pupils read out their work on the five pillars in the video above.

Year 8 English

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 8 have advanced their recent work on advertising to help come up with a sales pitch to launch their products. The pupils have been learning how to recognise various advertising messages and techniques during out literacy lessons. We have seen that the use of words is very important in putting across a powerful message.

Each class member has come up with an idea for a unique drink. We asked the students to think about the taste of their drink, and then devise a unique name and an advertising message. Fizzy coconut juice was one example offered by a Year 8 pupil.

Once the product was in place, our next task was to organise the production of the drink. Year 8 have written formal letters to a hypothetical drinks manufacturer, stating why they should invest in the idea of our drink.

The pupils have been asked to think about the power of persuasive language for this exercise. We have also been able to offer some advice to the drinks companies about how they might like to market the drink.

What media would be best suited for the sales pitch? What strap line can be used? What is the overall theme that we want to create around our product?

This literacy work has also looked at the formalities of how we can write a structured letter. Attention has been paid to having an introduction, a main message and then a final request to invest in our work. Year 8 have also designed a poster to accompany our sales pitch.

You can listen to some of the ideas being shared in the podcast below.

listen to ‘Tyrese Selling his Z Lemmon Drink ’ on Audioboo

Y9 Volleyball Video

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 9 have been learning the skills and techniques needed to succeed in volleyball throughout the spring term. The pupils have advanced their knowledge to the stage where we are now able to set up a full-scale volleyball match.

Much of our learning has been based around the three key shots that we need to make when playing volleyball: serving, digging and the set pass. Plenty of tuition has been given to help improve these techniques. Year 9 are now in a position to make a decision as to which shot is the correct one to play in a competitive game situation.

We set up a full on game in the school gym. Each player had the opportunity to try the different positions as we rotated our roles after each point. It was great to see that Year 9 are not only skilled players, but also thinking about how they can influence the game by making the correct decision about which shot is required.

Year 11 Drama Video

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 11 have been looking at the art of improvisation during our weekly drama sessions. The students have been learning how the ability to think quickly on the spot can be a good life skill for us in many different social situations.

We started off a recent session with a slight warm up ahead of the main drama. The headband game is always a favourite with Year 11. Each class member takes it in turn to wear a headband, and then a card detailing either an animal, an object or a type of food is placed on the front of our head. The wearer is not able to see the card.

The task is to ask questions and work out what the card reads on our forehead. This is a great activity to help the students feel confident in asking questions, and thinking logically by using the skill of deduction.

The next activity involved mimes. Each class member is given the choice of a number of roles to act out. Using actions only we perform this task, and then invite our friends to try and guess what we are doing.

With the warm up now complete, Year 11 were ready and focussed for the main activity of improvisation. The teaching staff set up a tough challenge. Working in pairs we were given an opening sentence and a closing sentence. An example might be: “Are you enjoying the heat wave?” …and “They say that we are moving closer to the sun.”

Each pair then had to improvise out the possible conversation that took place in-between these two sentences. We spoke about how the art of improvisation is very much a social skill. If we can make clear conversation around a given topic then we will feel a lot more confident in many different social situations.

Finally we finished off our Year 11 drama session by playing the trail game. This involves a series of three coloured trail stages that each student tries to complete. To advance along the trail we have to correctly answer three general knowledge questions.

Toe by Toe Literacy Programme

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

We have recently introduced the literacy programme Toe by Toe at Lansdowne School. This is a daily activity that helps autistic students with their reading and speech development.

Toe by Toe is a recongnised learning resource, which aims to connect individual letters to words. Repetition is an important part. We build upon the achievements each day, as well as re-capping on the knowledge that has been learnt so far.

Once individual letters have been confidently recalled and recognised, we then blend in other letters to help with word formation. The final stage of Toe by Toe is to enable students to feel confident when reading out a short passage.

We are already seeing some positive outcomes for this programme at Lansdowne School. Individual subject teachers have noted a reading improvement in the pupils taking part. The students themselves have stated that they really enjoy taking part in Toe to Toe.

We have started off this new way of learning with a small group. There are plans to expand Toe to Toe after the Easter break to larger number of pupils. Course tutor James explains a little more about the scheme in the short recording below.

listen to ‘Toe By Toe at Lansdowne’ on Audioboo

School Council Updates

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

The Lansdowne School Council is continuing to meet each week with Executive Head Teacher Mrs Adams to discuss any issues raised by the class friends of the Councillors. This is always a wide-ranging meeting and the opportunity for the pupils to help influence decisions that take place throughout each year group.

Our recent meeting started with a conversation about the funds raised as part of Comic Relief Day. All pupils were invited to wear their own clothes from home for one day, all for the small price of £1. This was an idea that was first suggested by the School Council. The Councillors have asked for the final figure raised to be clarified so that we can share this news back in class.

A useful suggestion then came from one of the Councillors with the possibility of having stress balls available in each class. All pupils at Lansdowne School have the availability of the Quiet Room if they are in need of some time out. It was mentioned during the meeting that sometimes a pupil may not need to the lesson, but might need a physical resource such as a stress ball to help maintain their concentration.

Mrs Adams then spoke about some of her observations after spending a considerable amount of time in the school playground. Skipping ropes appear to be very popular. School Council decided to invest in some more of these.

It was also mentioned that basketball appears to be not as popular as School Council first thought it might be. One Councillor spoke of how the availability of balls is sometimes an issue. New basketballs have also been added to the resource list.

A thoughtful contribution from another School Councillor was that some of the younger school pupils perhaps might not play football inside the court because the game can often be quite fast-paced. After considerable discussion it was decided that it would be a good idea to section off some of the grass area to form a second space for football.

An ever-present theme at School Council meetings is the construction of the new Lansdowne School building. Councillors made it clear that they would like to see the trees and gardening space retained in the new school design. This is something that Mrs Adams believes is possible.

Likewise keeping the Quiet Room was a popular choice. This is a much-valued space that the students greatly appreciate.

The school Councillors will now report back to their class friends and inform them of what has been discussed. Another wide-ranging, open and valued School Council discussion!

Lansdowne Wildlife Garden

March 30, 2014Lansdowne School

The Lansdowne School garden is about to enter an exciting new phase of development as we have just received a large polly tunnel in which to continue with our growing. Last year the pupils were able to harvest carrots, potatoes, courgettes, strawberries and peas in the garden. We are optimistic of improving on these results when work starts on sewing the seeds in the new polly tunnel.

The Lansdowne Garden is a wonderful space where all year groups are able to learn about gardening. As well as the new polly tunnel we also have some raised beds that are great for the veg. The idea is to grow the seeds first under the protection of the polly tunnel, and then transfer our harvest to the raised beds once they start growing.

You can enjoy a guided tour of the Lansdowne School Garden by one of our keen Year 11 gardeners in the video above.

Y7 Concert Rehearsals

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 7 are preparing for a very special concert as part of our current music lessons. Many of the Year 7 pupils are part of the Lansdowne School Choir. We have received an invite from our friends at the nearby Lark Hall Primary School to perform at their school and showcase our singing and signing skills.

This should hopefully be a rewarding experience for the pupils, many of whom are former pupils at Lark Hall. We are keen to go back to our old school and show them what we have learnt at Lansdowne.

Our keyboard work is also continuing as part of our music learning in Year 7. The pupils were inspired following our recent trip to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Royal Festival Hall.

Much to our surprise the orchestra played the Star Wars theme, a composition that we have been learning ourselves on the Lansdowne keyboards. The pupils were able to recognise the heavy use of brass, as well as the timpani drums.

Year 8 Drama

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 8 have been using drama to help improve our friendships and general group dynamics as we work together as a class. We are currently looking at the world of advertising during our literacy lessons. The pupils have been learning about the role of alliteration and how this can be used to put across a powerful message or meaning.

We used this theme as part of our drama learning. The students sat in a circle, and then had to complete and add to the sentence:

“I put inside my shopping bag…”

Each pupil had to think of an adjective and then a noun beginning with the same letter, as well as keeping the growing list in alphabetical order. Examples included an angry ant, a buzzing bee and a cuddly cat.

This activity than built into a storytelling session. We encouraged an open ended approach, with each class member contributing a short verbal passage to a story, before then handing over the narrative for a friend to continue with.

Finally we finished our Year 8 drama session with a memory game. Each pupil added to a list of items as we went around the circle. We talked about techniques to help with our memory, such as associating an item with each class friend.

Year 9 VolleyBall

March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 9 are continuing to improve their techniques whilst playing a variety of net sports. Volleyball is proving to be a popular sport within Year 9. Having mastered the individual skills that we need, Year 9 are now working together as a team to put in place some volleyball game situations.

We started off a recent session by seeing how many times we could keep the volleyball in the air working as a group. The students were reminded of the difference between pushing the ball and hitting it. If we hear a sound when our hand makes contact with the ball then we are hitting it. Pushing is a key skill in volleyball.

Our lesson continued by setting up a series of block shots. The players advanced close to the net, and then blocked the ball and sent it back over when it came to them. We took a step further backwards each time we became more confident with this approach.

A game situation was then set up. Our focus was to work collectively as a team to help set up a winning volleyball shot. You can see some of our PE work being shared in the video above.

Year 10 WW2 Research

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 10 have been covering a great amount of detail as part of our humanities research regarding World War Two. The students have been learning how the conflict started with the rise of Hitler within Germany.

Our work has then started to understand how it must have felt to live in London during WW2. Year 10 have been learning about the Blitz and how people living in London managed to cope with this constant threat. We have also been looking at the important role played by women on the Home Front during the War.

As part of this project we have introduced the students to the concepts of primary and secondary sources. Year 10 are now able to identify different types of evidence. This is an important skill for any historian. It allows us to make a decision about how authentic information sources might be.

Year 10 have identified that primary sources for WW2 may include coins, maps or letters. A secondary source could be a modern day film that has been made about WW2. Venn diagrams have been drawn. We have seen that very few sources are both primary and secondary.

Our WW2 work is now coming to an end with the pupils looking at VE Day. We have been understanding why this was such an important occasion for people living in London, and how it was celebrated.

All pupils have designed a poster in the form of a newspaper report to capture the mood of VE Day. We have also put together a WW2 timeline starting with the outbreak of War, all the way through to VE Day.

You can listen to the thoughts from a couple of Year 10 students in the recording below.

listen to ‘Year 10 Humanities’ on Audioboo

School Council News

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

The Lansdowne School Council are meeting weekly and coming up with plenty of ideas to help further improve our school. Each class has representation on the council. The role of a Councillor is to pass on the views from their class friends, and then to provide feedback from the school management.

All staff and students at Lansdowne are looking forward to our contribution for Comic Relief Day. School Council came up with the idea of inviting everyone to wear their own clothes for the day on 20 March. A small charge of £1 will be made for this. All money collected will be donated to Comic Relief. This is a great example of the Lansdowne School Council is helping to make real change around the school.

Our recent meeting also came up with plenty of ideas for future change around the school. The Councillors have come up with a list of possible after school clubs that some of the students would like to see introduced. These include a Cookery Club, a Table Tennis Club, a GCSE Revision Club, a Book Cub and a Cricket Club. These ideas will now be passed on to the school management to see if it is possible to introduce them.

Many other issues arose during the meeting. These were the result of class members asking their Councillors to lobby on their behalf. The students are keen to see some replacement pool cues and balls to be made available. There is also an ongoing problem with footballs becoming stuck on the school roof. The water fountain is in need of repair. Pupils would also like to see more drinking cups to be made available.

Our School Council meeting finished with a couple of curriculum suggestions. Some of the students are interested in tie-dye being introduced to art sessions. There was also a useful discussion about possibly organising more class trip for the summer term.

All of these ideas will now be passed on to the school management to explore.

Building Castles in Year 7

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 7 are putting the finishing touches to building some amazing 3D models of castles. We have been learning about the history of castles as part of our humanities work. Year 7 have seen how the design of castles has changed throughout the historical timeline, but the purpose has always been one of defence.

We asked the pupils to consider the idea of attack and defence in the design of their models. These themes were then incorporated into our models. Each year 7 group has given great thought as to how their castle can be defended. Catapults draw bridges and moats have all been built into our designs.

Our castle work will continue in Year 7 with some storyboarding work around our models. We want the pupils to think of a story that takes place in the setting of their own castle. Words and images will be added to help tell the story.

We are proud to present a look at the varied range of Year 7 castles in the video above.

8DL – Class of the Week

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

The Lansdowne School Choir are continuing to help other pupils to learn some new songs as part of our weekly singing and signing assembly. The Choir has recently been introduced to the song Consider Yourself from the Oliver soundtrack. This is a lively song to sing, as well as containing many new signs to learn.

Our weekly singing and signing assembly led by Miss Shelton helps all pupils to feel confident with the signing. This was also a good opportunity to recognise the achievements of Alex, the Star Signer of the Week.

Alex has described how he really enjoys learning new signs and keeps on practicing during his spare time. He feels proud to be given this weekly award, as he explains in the recording below.

listen to ‘Alex – Star Signer of the Week’ on Audioboo

Alex’s reward for being the Star Signer was to choose the next song to sing and sign during our weekly assembly. Alex chose Walking on Sunshine – the perfect choice to match the bright start to the day.

listen to ‘Signing and Signing Assembly’ on Audioboo

Certificates of achievement were then handed out across all subjects that we study as part of the Lansdowne Curriculum. Miss Tovey then awarded the trophy for the Class of the Week. This is a special award that recognises full participation and learning from all students in a particular class during the past week. Class 8DL celebrated their fine achievement.

listen to ‘More Singing and Signing’ on Audioboo

Slider

March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Slider

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

Slider

Year 9 Volleyball Video

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014Lansdowne School

A game situation was then set up. Our focus was to work collectively as a team to help set up a winning volleyball shot. You can see some of our PE work being shared in the video above.

Y7 Assembly Work

March 4, 2014March 4, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 7 have been putting in a great deal of preparation ahead of their forthcoming school assembly. This is an exciting time for the pupils, but also one that could lead to a few nerves. Miss Mitchell and Guy have been helping out to make sure that all Year 7 pupils feel happy when presenting their work to the older children in the school.

We held a class vote to decide upon the theme of our assembly. Two topics received a joint top billing: our favourite animation film, and our favourite song. Fortunately these are subjects that the students know plenty about!

Year 7 are keen to present their assembly using both interpersonal skills and new technology. We have spent a large amount of time filming each pupil using the school iPads, talking about their favourite film or song. These clips will be edited into one film, and then screened during our assembly to accompany our work.

The pupils are also now well settled into the end of week routine of holding an open and honest conversation together as a class. We are keen for each class member to share their thoughts about the past week of learning at Lansdowne School.

Miss Mitchell and Guy ask questions such as what has been a success for you this week? What has made you unhappy? How can we find a solution so that this doesn’t happen the following week?

These sessions are proving to be highly successful. All pupils are now confident to step forward and speak openly about their feelings. This has helped to strengthen our class friendships as we continue with our learning.

Y8 Habitats & English

March 4, 2014March 4, 2014Lansdowne School

Year 8 have been learning about different types of animal habitats as part of our science topic for the spring term. The pupils have completed their work learning about how animals that are native to the United Kingdom live.

We have now moved around the world to look at the habitat of the rain forest. Mr. Peters introduced this session by sharing a short video with the students introducing them to the rain forest environment.

We then watched it a second time with plenty of pausing and asking of questions to help us recap with our new knowledge. The pupils found out some of the names of the animals such as the gibbon, tree frog or sloth. We also learnt why the rain forest is the ideal habitat for these animals, rather than the UK landscape.

Each pupil then completed an individual worksheet as part of their table work. Different challenges were set, depending on the targets and expectations from each class member.

We finished our session by having a visit to the Lansdowne School pond. This is situated in a quiet, closed square within the school grounds. We asked the pupils what they could see in the pond, and how they would describe the habitat.

You can find out some further thoughts from four of the Year 8 pupils in the video above.

Our English work in Year 8 has started to look at the advertising world and the idea that different products have different slogans. The pupils interact with these everyday both at home and whilst out in the community. The aim of the session was to help Year 8 to become aware of the power of slogans, and to recognise them when they are presented to us.

We started off our work by staging a class discussion asking what do we mean when we talk about a slogan? The pupils then found out how a simple message is often the most effective when used in advertising.

A wonderful example is the Lansdowne School slogan: Home, School, Community. This is a slogan that we see everyday on our school jumpers and blazers!

We played a group game on the class whiteboard by matching up well-known slogans with some product trademarks. Year 8 were surprised to see just how well they can identify and remember the slogans being used by the likes of Nike, Burger King and Tesco.

With the theory now learnt, Year 8 were ready to create their own slogans. Each class member was presented with a worksheet showing a picture of different products. Our task was to create our own creative slogan to match the product.

Year 8 were encouraged to use adjectives to help describe the product that was being sold. Some of the students were also able to offer a play on words and add a little hmour into their advertising sales pitch.