The Year 4 Celebration of Learning will certainly live long in the memory of the parents who attended. Not only because of the enthusiasm, expertise and love of learning demonstrated by the students, but also because many parents will have left the event with thigh muscles burning, their strength and endurance tested to the limits and their heart-rates through the roof!
The Year 4 students have been inquiring into the idea that “Our bodies are made up of interrelated systems, which need to be maintained for healthy functioning.” Throughout the unit, the students took the role of ‘Research Scientists’ with a brief to find out how different parts of the body work, how they are connected to each other, and the responsibility they can take to keep their body systems healthy. They carried out research on different body systems from a variety of sources such as presentations and practical demonstrations, case studies and a variety of media. Through their PE lessons, the students thought about the importance and effect of exercise and it’s role in a balanced, healthy lifestyle. The intrepid researchers then developed a deep understanding of one specific ailment that affects our bodies, producing a detailed information report and taking action to communicate advice to others on how to avoid their chosen ailment. The students selected from a variety of forms of communication, including comics, posters, slideshows, brochures, puppet shows and websites. Throughout the unit, students also completed a number of practical experiments connected to the body. From these experiments they collected data and learned to organise and interpret it and to draw conclusions from the results.
The Celebration of Learning represented the culmination of the whole unit – a wonderful opportunity for parents and children to celebrate the considerable knowledge and skills the students have gained throughout their learning as well as their determination, responsibility, independence and organisation. But the parents’ role involved much more than mere spectators, as the students used the opportunity to continue their experiments, gathering data about their parents’ lung capacity, strength, reflexes, flexibility and many other attributes in a series of gruelling physical tests such as wall-squats, planks, star jumps and balance exercises. Many thanks to all the parents who engaged so enthusiastically in the event, being subjects not only for their own children’s experiments, but for many others as well. We hope your recovery doesn’t take too long!
