Sutton Valence Primary School,
North St, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3HT

01622 842188

office@sutton-valence.kent.sch.uk

Sutton Valence Primary School

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Our mission is to ensure we all participate in the constant quest of knowledge, learning and adventure so that each individual can build upon their core strengths to aspire to make a real difference.

Earth Class

 

In September, our school was asked to take part in a promotional video for Wilder Kent Awards. Please take a look at the video!

Forest Blog

Year 3 week 3

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This week there was a focus on our badges: gardening and indoor cooking.

Some children chose to dig up the last of the produce from our allotment and prepare the beds for winter.

A few vegetables had bolted and were not suitable for eating as it they were too fibrous so the children hung the curly kale up for the chickens to peck on.

Chickens are naturally inquisitive, but they don't have arms and hands to inspect things.

They use their beaks to explore instead and they like to have a variety of things to do.

Nothing is wasted; the rest of the veg was composted to make ‘black gold’ compost.

The morning group used the squashes to make butternut squash soup and they also made herby braided bread which was shared with the whole class at the end of the day.

The bread went down really well.

The garlicy, honeyed soup was less popular but all the class tried it, which was great.

  

 Jessica: I enjoyed being able to cook because I rarely do it. I didn’t mind getting filthy hands because the most important thing is to have fun!


Year 1, Week 2

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What a lot of fun exploring, building, creating, making and using their imaginations!

The children navigated their chosen activities with a lot of thought, a lot of talk and even more laughter.


Year 3, Week 2

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We played Fox the Fox to help develop our nature awareness, listening skills and move us from the head zone to the heart zone.

The children’s class topic is the Stone Age, from hunter gathers to farmers.

In this session the children consolidated their knowledge of tools and also made a club.

We held flint arrow heads but used slate for our club.

I held a knife across the diameter of the hazel stick and the children struck this with a mallet, splitting the wood.

They then lashed the slate securely in place with string.

As usual the children also directed their own activities, choosing their own resources.

They said curiously, “What is eating the apples?” and agreed we need to get the nocturnal camera out again!


Year 1, Week 1

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The children are already working towards their badges: gentle hands, scratches and scrapes and dirty knees.

Being pooed on by a chicken is indeed good luck, everybody agreed, laughing!

As the leaves of the deciduous sycamore tree fall into the shelter area, the children worked really well together collecting them to use in a few years as leaf mould on the trees and shrubs.

The compost from our hot box was ready to use and the children learned about bulbs and how their scales contain the food, so that they can survive in adverse conditions.

Flowering cyclamen was planted for immediate colour, bulbs for spring and early summer and sweet williams for summer. 

The flowers have definitely brightened the place up!

This term we will also be learning more about our senses and learning from nature to help us develop our skills such as: deer ears and owl eyes, the fox walk and sit spot as well as developing our language skills. 


Year 3, Week 1

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On this beautiful autumn day, with the golden sunshine warming our faces, the children shared their Halloween stories and I shared how the tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

Meaning summer’s end’ it is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the coldest part of the year.

It is also a time of reflection and for some, a time to think of those who have passed away.

To honour this we created a Circle of Life using various foliage and woodland treasures.

We also spoke about the symbolism of different plants, such the oak which represents wisdom and strength.

The children also considered their own meanings.

They listened intently to one another as they shared their stories.

Some chose to then recreate this circle with as a group and make a bowl or heart afterwards.

These will be varnished and painted next week.

Aiden: Sticks represent our long journey through life. The white feather because birds fly in the air and it’s like sprits flying.

Eden: I put the holly around as the red berries remind me of the birth of Jesus.

Archie: The white hydrangea could be dead souls. When a person’s family dies, if you close your eyes, it feels like their spirit and soul fuses together to make it easier to feel them going through you. The soul is your heart and the spirit is all around I think”.

Jessie: My brother died when he was a baby. Every year we go to a wave of light. We sit and remember our Joshua. We have a special box with things like teddies that we keep in Mummy’s room.

A child commented that this is really sad. Jessie agreed that it is very sad. She smiled as explained that a wave of candle light is passed around the world and this is very special as parents in many countries are thinking about and remembering their baby.

Koko: My sister died at four days old. Every day we get memories of her spirit.

Victoria: My grandmother had white on when she died of cancer. This hydrangea makes me think of her.

Frankie: The white hydrangea reminds me of my grandfather who died in the war. He had white on

Romi: My great grandpa, I never met him, but my dad said he was a lovely man.


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