Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
-
Aston Arrows - January 2023 update
Fri 20 Jan 2023Aston Arrows Update January 2023
Our club feels fully established now and we are making great progress. We have had another expert join us from our local community, which has meant that the building of the car framework is almost complete. The teams are becoming more fluid so everyone who wanted to build part of the framework has had a chance. We have made some mistakes, but this is part of our learning curve!
We are now turning our focus onto the bodywork design. As with any project like this, we cannot afford to make up a full- sized prototype of every bodywork idea the children have so we are making models to share idea and will decide on the final design as a team.
Please see Issue 17 of the Friday Flyer Newsletter for photos for both the December and January update
-
Aston Arrows December 2022 Update
Fri 20 Jan 2023Aston Arrows Update December 2022
This term has been very busy for Aston Arrows. We have continued to build the car framework whilst fundraising for much needed equipment and resources. We have also had some weeks where we have taken a break from the car in order to learn about one element of science and technology related to the car.
Our fundraising team have been working very hard sending out letters to local companies for sponsorship. They were thrilled when they received an email from our local engineering company, De Souter, with an offer of funding to help our project. We are so grateful to them for showing interest in what we are doing, and we are hoping to show them exactly what we have achieved next term.
The fundraising team expanded in November to plan activities to raise money and awareness of our project at the school Christmas Fair. They came up with some wonderful ideas and in the end we occupied a whole classroom and the corridor outside, making over £250 on the day! This also gave the children a great opportunity to tell the community about the project.
STEM activities
We had a pause from the building and fundraising to explore how electromagnets are made. Andy explained the difference between permanent and temporary magnets, how electromagnets worked and demonstrated making one from wire, a large nail and a battery. Then the children worked in groups to create their own and test the magnetic force. They even found out that the nail remained magnetic for a while after the battery was removed! Andy blew their minds by showing how a baked bean can is magnetised if it sits in a cupboard for a long time!
On our final meeting before Christmas, we challenged the children to make the tallest tower that could support a using only paper and tape. It certainly tested their knowledge of strengthening structures!
-
GB Hockey Star Visit
Fri 02 Dec 2022Last week, the fantastic Jo Pinner came into the Year 6 classroom to tell us about her life and career. She plays hockey for Great Britain along with her husband George Pinner - an ex GB hockey goalie. Unfortunately, she's not playing hockey at the moment as she's recovering from an injury and she's also pregnant but she's still training! Jo talked to us about the many ups and downs she has been through; she has shown real resilience as she never gave up. There was even a time when GB ladies hockey team won a gold medal at the Olympics and Jo wasn't picked for the squad. Even though this was hard for her, she supported her team and she continued to train and better herself and she still carried on. She's an amazing woman and the moral of the story is 'if you get knocked down, get back up and try again - believe in yourself and don't give up. We also all had the opportunity to have a coaching session with Jo where we learnt new skills.
-
Author Visit - Nizrana Farook
Tue 22 Nov 2022Nizrana Farook did a writing workshop with Year 4 and Year 5. She taught us (Year 5) how to start a book in her style. Her way is to have a picture in front of you and visualise the setting. She also taught us that to make a book starter you have to make it sudden and make it tense by starting in the middle of the action! To describe the setting, Nizrana encouraged use to use our senses to describe the setting rather than saying where we were. As reading and writing ambassadors, we were able to interview her. Nizrana shared with us that to publish a book, it takes one to two years but it depends on the book you are writing. At lunch time, Nizrana did a book signing and signed our books and writing. In assembly, she told key stage two how her life was in Sri-Lanka. We did a quiz with her and she played a video of elephants swimming in the sea because she was proving that elephants can swim. Nizrana likes to use facts about the animals in her story as a way of informing children about the animal. She also told us why she moved to the United Kingdom because of the war but it wasn’t in her area but she wanted to be safe and write books here. In assembly, she also said that leopards can carry two times its weight up a tree. We learnt lots of things at assembly and we really enjoyed it. It was a really fun experience.
(Liam, Writing Ambassador and Laura, Reading Ambassador)
‘ I really enjoyed having Nizrana Farook come to our school! She taught us how to write a story in three stages. Number 1 senses, number 2 the worst possible thing that could happen and number 3 writing it. I thought it was very fun!’ Iris (5P)
-
Cross Country Inter Schools Competition
Tue 22 Nov 2022On Saturday 19th November 28 of our Key Stage 2 children participated in Turnfurlong's Inter-School Cross Country competition. It was a tough competition and a challenging course but every single one of them did an amazing job and we are so proud of all of them for taking part and representing our school. Well done to:
Year 3
Ellis S, Alistair S, Jack N, Edward C, Fergus S, Johnny D, Oscar B, Toby M, Marnie K, Bella S, Issy R, Olivia F, Elsie W
Year 4
Lachlan W, Charlie P, Lily N, Lucy W, Lois G
Year 5
Wilbur S, Arthur A, Zach H, Archie W, Cole S, Jack B, Isla H
Year 6
Sonny K, Ben P, Sammy A,Thanush M, Diana B
A special mention to Lachlan who came 3rd place. Isla H who came 4th place. Lucy who came 8th place. Ben who came 6th place. Marnie, Bella and Elsie who came 3rd place for Year 3 girls team and Zach, Archie and Jack who came 3rd Place for Year 5 boys team.
Miss Lyons PE Lead
-
Ranvir Singh visits Aston Clinton School
Sat 19 Nov 2022Last Friday, Ranvir Singh came into the Year 6 classroom to talk to us about her life and career. She is a presenter and journalist. She presents on ‘Good Morning Britain’ and the ‘Lorraine’ show and now also on her own quiz show called ‘Riddiculous’. Ranvir has been on many celebrity quizzes herself and donates the money that she wins to charity. This is important to her as she grew up in a poor family, her father having died when she was 9 years old. She described how she loved English and Drama at school and this was perfect for a career in journalism.
As a journalist, Ranvir has travelled to many countries and met many important people. She described how she interviewed the Prime Minister, Theresa May, on a flight to USA in her first day as a political journalist. She said it was exciting as she got to fly on RAF Voyager, the Prime Minister’s aeroplane! She also described how tired she was so that when she was presenting live on TV later, she forgot Donald Trump’s last name and was standing in silence for a while!
Ranvir explained how she works very hard; for ten years, she woke up at 3am every day to get to work. She did not mind as she enjoyed her job. So, her wise words to us were:
‘Don’t get a job just for money, you spend a lot of time working so you need to enjoy it and be happy!’
Do you agree with her?
The Year 6 Writing Ambassadors
-
Year 4 Trip to College Lake
Tue 18 Oct 2022I liked the bird watching. I used binoculars to look for different birds and watched whether they were eating, flying or perching. Florence 4MW
I liked when we were bug hunting. We had pots, trays and spoons to try and collect different bugs from the grassland habitat. Georgia 4MW
My favourite part of the trip was the bird watching and looking over the actual lake! Jack E 4MW
I really liked using the binoculars and looking over the views. Leo S 4MW
I really liked the exploring and the bird watching. Milla 4OL
In the Nature Detective Zone, I was in the Bat group and we had to find bones, footprints, fur/feathers to decide which animal lived in our zone. It was a badger! Ava 4OL
I loved the Detective Zone because we got to find skulls, bones, footprints and even holes in the ground! We found out that a deer lived in our zone! Amelia 4OL
I liked the bird watching because I saw some of my favourite birds and I even saw a pheasant! Leah 4OL
-
Year 5 Trip to the Living Rainforest
Mon 10 Oct 2022This week, Year 5 had a fantastic day at The Living Rainforest learning about how different animals have adapted to their environment in places such as the Amazon, Madagascar and other countries on the Equator.
We saw all sorts of colourful birds, mammals and reptiles. Some comments from the children are included below:
I like the sloth high up in the tree! Morgan
I learnt about lots of cool animals and plants. Charlie H
I learnt a lot about toucans and how they have adapted in the rainforest. Akiraa
We learnt that there are 4 layers of the rainforest. Charlie B
I loved seeing lots of different species of animals including sloths, armadillos and poison dart frogs. Tessa
I loved learning about how snakes move and how long alligators stay still waiting for their prey. Damian
I learnt that toucans hop more than fly for some odd reason and they come in groups too. William
I loved the Living Rainforest. It really really felt like I was in the real rainforest. My favourite bit was the Iguana. I learnt that Iguanas have a long tail to whip predators and they’re herbivores. Archie
Lizards can use their tails as a whip. Oliver P
Year 5 went to the Living Rainforest in Newbury, and I really loved it because all the animals were really cool. My new interesting fact is that poison dart frogs get their poison from animals that eat poisonous plants in the rainforest. Freya T
I thought the school trip was very fun because I learnt about all the different creatures like frogs and birds. I had a wonderful time and now I want to go back there because I love learning about the animals in the rainforest. Laura
I really liked our school trip to the living rainforest. We saw animals like turtles and a sloth. We learnt that poison dart frogs get their poison from bugs that eat poisonous leaves and then the frog would eat the bug. They had some cool snakes as well and we saw the sloth sleeping in the trees. Aimee
I love the school trip and I learnt that there are gummivores. I also loved seeing the sloth in was so cute. Dylan
We went to the Living Rainforest in Newbury. We learnt that plant grow big leaves in the rainforest to catch as much sunlight as possible. We also learnt that gummivores eat tree sap. Olly
-
New Website Launched!
Fri 25 Mar 2022Welcome to our brand new school website! We have created the website to keep parents up to date with school news and notices, and to showcase some of the great things our pupils are achieving. The website is extremely easy to edit by all staff at the school, so check back soon for new updates!
-
Year 5 - Living Rainforest Trip
Fri 08 Oct 2021Our Year 5 Journey to the Living Rainforest
Last Wednesday, Year 5 got up very early and set off for the Living Rainforest to learn all about different animals and how they have adapted to their environment in places such as the Amazon, Madagascar and other countries on the Equator.
When we arrived, as we were the only school there, we had plenty of time to look round in our four groups. (Group 4 had an extra VIP guided tour!) As we wandered along the Forest Floor, we saw some attractive, colourful birds including a Toucan and an amusing black bird called Rory.
There were animals that lived in the water that had adapted to their changing environment. It was interesting that the Piranha’s cousin’s teeth were like human molars because they did not eat other fish. A bit further along, we saw stingrays and turtles.
All along the path there were examples of different plants with amazing leaves that got rid of the water quickly so they kept dry. The Pitcher Plant even had a flower that trapped insects which fed the plant.
Nearby, there was a beautiful iguana (dragon). It had a colourful neck to attract the females. The python was in a cage resting but we were told interesting facts about it.
Here are some examples of what some of the children thought about our trip:
“We had a good day out at the Living Rainforest. I enjoyed looking at all the animals and I learnt that spiders shoot out their hairs into monkeys’ eyes so they don’t eat the spider.” Ethan
“We had a great day at the Living Rainforest, we enjoyed the sloth and the armadillo. I learnt that adaptions can be very important to animals and birds.” Kian
“We had an amazing day at the Living Rainforest, the amazing thing is that I never knew that some plants are so big and they even look poisonous, but aren’t. I learnt that some fish have teeth.” Chloe
“My favourite animal was the iguana because it was extremely beautiful and I learnt that poisonous dart frogs need to eat poison to be poisonous.” George
“I loved seeing the terrific turtles and the perfect, poison dart frogs. I found out that sloths are nocturnal.” Isla
“We had an extraordinary day at the Rainforest. My favourite part was when we saw the turtle and the tortoises. I learnt that snakes don’t actually suffocate their prey, they actually cut the blood circulation from going to the brain.” Mya
“I really enjoyed seeing the bird eating tarantula and the caiman!” Ruby-Mai
“I dearly enjoyed the blue poison dart frogs. I found their colour mesmerised me, they were blue with black dots, but there are also many other frogs with different colours. I also loved the toucan even though it kept ‘squarking’” Kacie
“I enjoyed seeing the sloth and the tortoises. I also enjoyed playing at the park. But my favourite part of all was seeing the sloth” Sasha B
Overall, it was fantastic to go on a school trip again and we learnt a lot about rainforests for our topic. A massive thank you goes out to all the adults who took us.
By Isla & Chloe