Culture and Diversity
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Catching up with Friends
Today we had a special Teams call from our friend in Australia. It was so good to see her and her family. She told us all about her new school and her new teachers. She also told us the weather was very hot and she has to wear a special hat when going to school. The children asked her questions and were very excited to see her.
World Down Syndrome Day
Reception have had a brilliant day learning about and celebrating World Down Syndrome Day. They have read some books, created colourful socks and played some games. Mrs C also taught the children how to sign a song.
Australia Topic
The children in Year 2 have been learning all about Australia.
Saturday 26th September is European Day of Languages
Miss Nixon has been working with some of her friends to produce this brilliant video
and a fun quiz.
Diversity Day
On Friday 22nd November we held Diversity Day in school. This was the first of a series of planned days to celebrate the diversity of our culture. Today we focused on family, relationships and identity.
Diwali
Diwali is the five-day festival of lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. The festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. In Enrichment we created our own Diva lamps to celebrate.
On Friday Reception enjoyed learning all about the festival of Diwali. The children enjoyed taking part in a range of activities including designing and making a Diva lamp, colouring Rangoli patterns, colouring characters from the story of Rama and Sita and using Numicon to make Rangoli patterns.
Mehndi Patterns
In Key Stage 1 we have been learning about the Indian tradition of henna painting. These Mehndi pattern are painted onto peoples hands during times of celebration like festivals or weddings. The intricate designs stay on the skin for about three weeks. We used face paints to create our own Mehndi patterns during Enrichment.
This Is Me!
Some of our Key Stage 1 children shared a class worship on the importance of celebrating our differences and not being afraid to be ourselves.
The Hatton Gallery
Our Year 2 children had a very interesting visit to The Hatton Gallery in Newcastle. They looked at works by famous artists like Sir Francis Bacon, Ellen Gallagher and Kurt Schhwitter. Our session was lead by Hazel who explained lots of different art techniques to us and lead us in a fantastic watercolour workshop.
St Davids Day
On the 1st March our Year 1 children celebrated St Davids Day by learning about the patron saint of Wales and by making daffodils.
All about India
Class 1X have been learning all about India. They shared their topic work during their Class Worship. It was a huge success with lots of clear voices and and some wonderful Bollywood dancing.
Hastamudras Dancing
The picture below shows the children learning hastamudras, Indian classical dance using hand gestures. This dance was all about animals.
Rainbow Flag Award
We are very pleased to announce that Cleadon Academy has achieved The Rainbow Flag Award, and was deemed "outstanding" in all areas. To read more about this award please click the link opposite.
Culture and Art
We love to explore different faiths and cultures though our art work.
Mandarin Lessons
The children in Years 2 and 5 are taking Mandarin lessons this year. Mrs Chang works with the children once a week to teach them basic greetings, numbers, food and pets. As the children grow in confidence they will also be learning how to write in Mandarin. Mrs Chang is also teaching the children about her culture. They have recently learned about the moon festival. Click here to watch an animated clip about this event.
B.S.L
British Sign Language is a visual language that uses hand shapes, facial expression, gestures and body language. BSL is a complete language with a unique vocabulary, construction and grammar. In Britain there are over 70,000 people whose first or preferred language is BSL.
Mrs Williamson has been teaching BSL classes during our Enrichment afternoons. The children have learned to finger spell their names,
Laygate Mosque
Our Year 5 children visited the local Mosque. We were shown around the different areas of the building and were told of the importance of each room. The children looked at Islamic artifacts and learned more about the culture. At the end of the visit the children were able to explore the faith further by taking part in a question and answer session.
Chinese New Year
We have been celebrating Chinese New Year in school. Our EYFS children and the members of Cleadon Owls have been enjoying some Chinese taste tests.
Sikhism
This half term Year 4's RE topic is Sikhism. We were visited by Mr Jagpal who talked to the children about the Gurdwara, the meaning of the 5 Ks and the first Guru, Guru Nanak. He told the children that turbans have different colours for different occasions, such as red for a wedding. The children learned a lot about Sikhism and discovered that our school values are very similar to the values that Sikhs live their lives by.
The Sedar Meal
In Year 4 we have been learning about Passover and the traditional Seder plate. We used some of the artifacts in school to make our own version and even tried some of the food.
To read more about the Sedar plate click the picture below.
Yoga
Some of our Key Stage 1 children are exploring their spiritual side through yoga.
Lions of Zululand
We enjoyed a visit from the Lions of Zululand. They shared a traditional African dance with us and ran workshops with the children.
