Year 7
Please scroll to the bottom of this page to see the latest correspondence for Year 7.
This term the Year 7’s have been exploring Judaism in Religious Education. We have been having so much fun learning about Synagogues and the stories of Abraham and Moses. We have also had a look at the importance of God to Jewish people. As part of our learning experience, we were given the challenge of creating our own Synagogues, using the knowledge we learned in lesson. Write up by Niamh Musson, Year 7.
Please enjoy a selection of our creations.
Year 7 Christmas Fayre
Year 7 students in collaboration with the school's PSA organised a very successful Year 7 Christmas Fayre in December 2021 which raised an amazing £1500 to share between the school and the students’ chosen charity - Camp Mohawk. Each tutor group worked hard to plan and set up their stalls which included Guess the Christmas song, Splat the Santa, Lucky Dip and Chopstick Challenge to name but a few! The cake and hot chocolate stands run by the PSA were also a big hit.
A big thank you to students, staff and parents for their help in setting up this school/PSA event.
Our youngest footballers showing great promise for Piggott
Another excellent football performance from Year 7! Both teams reached the final of the Wokingham Schools 5-a-side tournament. POM Eva & Bella. Well done girls!
Creation Myths
In RE this term, the Year 7’s are studying Creation Myths; exploring origin stories from around the world, from the Biblical account of Genesis, the Hindu account of Brahman to the Australian Aboriginal myth. We believe a diverse, cross-cultural and thought-provoking curriculum is the most effective for developing holistic, well-rounded students.
Whilst studying the Aboriginal creation myth, students delved into the spiritual and mystical significance of Aboriginal music and artwork. The students showed incredible enthusiasm for this topic, so their homework task was to produce Aboriginal artwork to represent elements of the Dreamtime creation story we read through in lesson.
We were extremely impressed with the level of effort, creativity and interpretation that the students portrayed. Some of which are shown below:
Off to the regionals!
A huge well done to the year 7 girls this evening, winning their indoor futsal tournament! Unbeaten and didn't concede all tournament Brilliant achievement, off to regionals we go!
What a start to Year 7
Not all scientists wear white coats competition winners
Congratulations to the winners of our 'Not all Scientists wear white coats' competition researching a science career beyond the 'white coat' stereotype. 1st place Erin G, 2nd place Emily B and 3rd place Freya M.
Island of Values Project, Religious Education
In RE this term, the Year 7’s have been exploring the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in the gospel of Luke 10: 25 – 37 and was originally told by Jesus. The parable underpins our schools’ Christian vision and values, as such we believed it was a great place for Year 7 to begin their RE learning journey. We explored the meaning of the parable, for roles of the individuals within the story and its impact for readers today. We explored the themes of showing compassion for others, having an awareness of those around us and having the courage to ask for help in times of need. We believe it’s vital that the students have the words to ask for help in vulnerable situations, so they realise they aren’t alone.
In response to learning about the Good Samaritan, the students created an ‘Island of Values.’ They had to imagine an Island that was grounded in the same 6 principles as the school:
Love, Honesty, Dedication, Courage, Respect & Equality. They could design their Island as they saw fit but they had to ensure their governing principles encouraged the citizens of their Island to be ‘good Samaritans.’ Some groups valued reconciliation over punishment whilst others favoured ideas of restorative justice and community service. Some groups rewarded citizens for demonstrating the values whilst others used education and community projects as means by which these values could be taught.
We were really impressed with the variety of ideas and the overall effort the students put in. The groups had to stand up and present their Islands to the rest of the class, we know this is difficult for some students, so we’d like to applaud their courage in speaking in front of their peers. Well done Year 7!
A selection of the ‘Islands’ are below.
Activities Day at Marwell Zoo - 14 October 2021
215 Year 7 students visited Marwell Zoo and were mostly excited about the freedom they had to explore the zoo with their friends. I enjoyed “getting to go around the park with my classmates and having some freedom over what we did over the day.”
The giraffes and sloths were a particular hit. “I enjoyed seeing lots of different animals but especially the sloths and the giraffes. Sloths are my favourite animals” and “I enjoyed the rainforest section because it was realistic, and I saw a really cool sloth!”