On Thursday 26th September we enjoyed welcoming Year 5s from St George’s School Windsor for 3 different STEAM workshops. The children chose between Sustainable Cookery, Design Technology and Drama, each building on the lessons they’ve been having at school about values, belief systems and perseverance.
The Sustainable Cookery Workshop was led by Food Tech teacher, Karen Hicks, who taught the students to create a tasty crumble with Apples foraged from the Leighton Park. Students spent the morning collecting apples from under the trees by School House, learning how to prepare food safely using the ‘Bridge and Claw’ method and reflecting on the sustainability of growing and eating your own food rather than importing or buying it. The workshop aligns with the Quaker values which fully embrace sustainability. Our School’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised across many awards, including winning the Green Senior School Award 2023 by Citykids magazine.
Meanwhile, students in the DT and Engineering learnt about Iterative Design by building Lego cars then testing, evaluating and modifying their designs in order to successfully drive them up our purpose-built ramp. Competition was high and the children enjoyed coming up with some new and innovative ideas to maximise friction and benefit from rear wheel drive, pulleys and load. Expertly led by Mark Smith, Head of DT, and Adam Hewitt, The Year 5s built on their current core value of ‘Perseverance’ in order to learn from their mistakes and re-build their vehicles to cope with the increasing steepness.
Finally, our new Director of Drama, Jessica Wittert van Hoogland, created a bespoke workshop based on the Year 5’s current studies of World War Two and Friend or Foe. The children participated in a series of exercises to develop their understanding of WWII evacuees. Following warm-up exercises, the group explored the relationship between evacuated city children and those living in the countryside. They focused on the emotions of both groups, acting them out through dramatic scenes as well as presenting them in tableau form. The session culminated in the students having some fun learning the ‘4 Stages of Stage Fighting’.
The children all appeared to have a great time, with Aleenah exclaiming “Today was one of the best days ever!” and Sid agreed saying “Leighton Park is the best! And the food is awesome.” Hannah Crowe, Year 5 teacher at St George’s Windsor, said her “students have learnt new skills and been able to apply their knowledge practically” as a result of the day.
For more photographs from the day, visit our online photo gallery.
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