Prep and Pre-School pupils make hearts with icing, protractors and pom poms!
Love is in the air at Rydal Penrhos as pupils across the school marked Saint Valentine's Day festivities by making brightly-coloured cards and other heart-shaped treats and decorations.
Opportunities to get creative and express individuality are aplenty at Rydal Penrhos. These are not just limited to lessons in Art, Music and Drama, but rather span the entire curriculum and also include the multitude of extra-curricular activities on offer.
Focusing on creativity is not just something that is useful for those select few that might work in a creative field; for many more pupils, approaching everyday teaching and learning in a creative way can be far superior to textbook rote learning.
To mark the annual day of amore, various year groups across the Prep got involved in lots of good fun as they produces various delightful creation fitting the prevailing themes, colours and symbols of the day; not least, hearts!
Pre-School
Our youngest pupils helped to make some tasty treats as they iced heart-shaped biscuits in various colours. Clearly gifted with a considerable knack for baking decoration, the Pre-School's biscuits even held their own against those made by Jonathan Stubbs' catering team (below and right).
Key Stage 1
The Pre-School's slightly older peers in KS1 (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) made their own hearts in Pom Pom Club, a relatively recent addition to Rydal Penrhos' wide array of options for daily extracurricular time at 15:30.
Pom Pom Club began twelve months ago as a Lent Term only extracurricular option designed to bring some colour and fluffiness to what can (particularly in a North Wales winter) be dark, cold, wet afternoons!
As part of the club, each week pupils get to make pom poms using pom pom makers, then take them home to enjoy and show to their proud parents. On Valentine's Day, the club used pom pom kits to produce some impressive heart patterns!
Members of the club should be very happy with their fantastic creations which have been a real source of joy for pupils, parents and staff alike.
Year 6
Maths is a key focus for pupils in Key Stage 2, with Year 6 pupils taking part in five full lessons a week. Pupils learn to apply their fundamental maths skills to a range of different problems, building a fluency in the subject that should stand them in strong stead heading into Year 7.
A range of different resources are used to support and enhance maths teaching, from cutting edge online resources and subject-specific apps on pupils' iPads to far more traditional resources. Parents will be pleased to hear there is still an important role for the trusty tin-box maths set and its rulers and set squares.
To celebrate Valentine's Day, Mrs Pyves' Year 6 class used one of the key tools from those sets - the protractor - to cut precise heart shapes for their custom-made cards. Using instructions on their iPads, pupils worked with intense concentration as they produced some wonderful cards that will certainly have made someone's Valentine's Day very special!
