This week we are learning about ladybirds and the different stages of their lifecycle. Look at our fantastic minibeast masterpieces!
This week in Reception, we have been learning about the coronation of King Charles III. We took part in activities covering many areas of the curriculum.
In History, we learned facts about King Charles and found out what a coronation was. We watched the coronation of the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In Literacy, we wrote facts about King Charles.
In Geography, we learned about the commonwealth and looked at the commonwealth countries on a map.
In Art and DT, we made decorations for our classroom and designed flags to represent all of the commonwealth countries. We even had a go at drawing King Charles!
In ICT, we used Google Earth to look at Great Britain and the commonwealth countries. We were very excited to see our school!
Today we looked at primary colours and Piet Mondrain. We looked at the shapes, patterns and colour themes he used in his artwork then created our own artwork inspired by Piet Mondrain using only primary colours.
In Reception we have been learning about the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. We explored his work and loved his painting of ‘Sunflowers’. We then became artists painting our own Sunflowers. Look at our fabulous work!
Clara Josephine Schumann was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Starting young, she was a child prodigy (a young person with exceptional qualities or abilities). Her father made her practise for two hours a day alongside her daily piano, violin, singing,
theory, harmony and composition lessons. Much of her childhood was spent travelling and performing with her father. In 1840, Clara married famous composer
Robert Schumann.
Clara Schumann’s Music:
- 1836- Piano Concerto- Her first piano concerto completed at the age of 16, filled with ideas and originality.
- 1836- 4 Pièces Caractéristiques- This was written for solo piano and was performed often during her early career.
- 1835- Drei Romanzen- Considered to be one of her finest works. This is a complicated with a range of musical styles.
- 1855- Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann- The Schumanns were very close and she kept a diary about their marriage. This composition explores her emotions within their marriage.
Interesting Facts!
- At the young age of just 13, Clara was one of the first pianists to perform from memory. This has now become standard practice for most professional pianists.
- Clara and Robert Schumann had 8 children together!
- Over her career, Schumann gave over 238 concerts with violinist Joseph Joachim in Germany and Britain.
Listen to Clara Schumann’s Music!
This week, Reception invited our adults into school to decorate an egg with us. Our creations were EGGCELLENT! We then performed an Easter concert for our adults singing lots of spring songs. Our adults were so proud of us!
Last week, Y6 took part in a Macbeth Workshop with Splats Entertainment. This was to help support the children with their creative writing around the play of Macbeth. The children acted out four scenes adopting different roles such as Macbeth, Banquo, King Duncan and the witches.
The children also helped to make make parts of their costumes including raven masks and helmets.
Henry in 6T said “I really enjoyed making the costumes and found doing the performance for Y4 and Y5 exciting and they all seemed to enjoy it”.
The group ‘Ladysmith Black Mambazo’ sings without musical instruments (a cappella) and they have a performance style which is a mixture of traditional South African Zulu songs and South African isicathamiya dance moves (a soft, shuffling style of dance with choral part-singing).
Their Music:
- 1973- Nomathemba- This means ‘Mother of Hope’ and was their first hit single.
- 1976- Wazithwal’Izono Jesu- Many of their songs became Christian after Joseph
became Christian himself. - 1999-I Shall be There- A pop collaboration with Irish group B*Witched.
- 2003- Selingelethu Sonke- The first song written by the group all about fair trade in
Africa. - 2006- Long Walk to Freedom- – A song about the struggles of apartheid.
Interesting Facts!
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo have made over 50 albums and are South
Africa’s best-selling musicians. - Group founder Joseph Shabalala retired from performing in 2014 and sadly died in February 2020 at the age of 78.
- Four of his sons still sing and perform with the group and they continue to perform shows around the world.
Listen to Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Music!
Before Christmas, Amazon UK contacted Harton Primary School to ask if we wanted some Christmas decorations that the children could use to create their own designs. Pupils in year 4 and 5 had the chance to create their own designs and there were even prizes for the top designs!
Joni Mitchell is famous for her emotional and musical range within her songs. Her voice forms part of this and she has influenced many female singers and musicians since the 1960s
and 1970s when she was at the height of her fame. Much of her music was folk in style, playing mainly guitar or piano, but she moved into more complicated jazz in the 1970s.
Joni Mitchell’s Music:
- 1969- Chelsea Morning- A folk song about living freely.
- 1969- Both Sides Now- Heart-breaking song about ambition and failure.
- 1970- Big Yellow Taxi- A song about looking after the environment but also about a
failed relationship. - 1971- River- This song has now become a Christmas classic.
- 2007- One Week Last Summer- An instrumental song which won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Pop Song in 2008.
Interesting Facts!
- The polio she contracted when she was 9 weakened her left hand, so she
created alternative tunings on her guitar to make it easier; she later used these tunings to create non-standard approaches to harmony and structure in her song writing. - Joni was well-known for her distinctive voice. She was able to sing in three octaves so her pitch could range from very high to low, although her voice has become lower in age.
- Joni studied art at college. She continued to produce artwork through her life, as well as write and perform music.
Listen to Joni’s Music!
