A unique Primary School, offering a British based, child centred education in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Fabien Cousteau, world-renowned conservationist and environmentalist and the grandson of Jacques Cousteau, visited the Turks and Caicos Islands last week. The Turks and Caicos Reef Fund organised an Educational Outreach event for the TCI Student Community and our Year 4, 5 and 6 students attended an inspiring presentation by Fabien about the importance of protecting the marine environment.
Year 5 , along with all the other classes in the school, have been preparing for our Maths Calculation Showcase on Friday while having great fun exploring different areas of maths. We have got so into our ‘Maths Week’ children have been coming in with ‘psychic maths problems’ where they can guess the number you have in your head! Pretty impressive!
What was really nice to see was how we could all work together to create some giant graphs for us to plot information on for a line graph on Friday. It took some careful measuring and some good teamwork! We have also been having a great time, creating our own range of word problems based all around our topic ‘Lifesmart.’ We have thought carefully about the different operations involved and how to make an easy question turn into a more challenging one with more than one step or calculation. Why not come along on Friday and see if you can solve them!
A new sport has been added to the school’s PE curriculum this year. Year 5 and 6 students recently got to show off their newly acquired Field Hockey skills in a round robin tournament held for parents at the Graceway Sports Centre. Led by Mr. Jason and Miss Cara, the four creatively named teams battled for goals that proved very hard to come by due to strong defence and strict refereeing – sticks had to remain below the waist, only the flat side could be used to move the ball and shots on goal had to be made behind a certain line. Utilising every player and passing the ball were keys to victory, important concepts that are carried over to and from other team activities the students engage in, both in the gym and the classroom.
As flashbulbs and cheers erupted from the bleachers during some exciting plays, it was clear the parents had almost as good a time watching the Field Hockey tournament as the children did playing in it.
Give and Take
I give you dolphins that leap through the seas. You give me deforestation and wipe out the trees.
I give you lightning that powers your house. You give me traps that kill a gentle mouse.
I give you flowers that feed the bugs. You give me factories that make stupid mugs.
I give you land that is so grand. You mow it down and leave it quite bland.
I give you life with air and tree. You give me strife and care, but not for me.
I give you more than enough. You give me worse and worse.
I give you another chance. You give me excuse after excuse.
Written by one of our amazing 5 students (MC).
Year 5 are knee-deep in their new topic for this term- Life Smart which is all about making ‘life smart’ choices in life. We have started with the more obvious focus of healthy diet and exercise but later on in the term we will be looking at being ‘life smart’ in terms of happiness, emotional health and the health of our planet too.
We began by learning all about the different food groups and how we balance our meals in a day. We even did this in Spanish too! We have gone onto discovering what we can lack when we miss certain food groups and then branched into looking into food poetry using our five senses. This is a class poem we whizzed up in one lesson. Each child has taken a line and described a food they enjoy with as much descriptive detail as they could.
As another angle, we have been investigating healthy baking and have already reduced sugar and fat in differing cookie recipes with amazing results. After taste testing them all, the firm class favourite, would you believe it, was the reduced fat cinnamon biscuit with almonds! We are definitely enjoying our progress in becoming ‘life smart’!
Recently in our Literacy classes, the Year 5s have been learning about persuasive techniques. People use these skills to persuade others in different situations, for example, from children persuading their parents in their home life, to candidates in a presidential campaign! We have had fun making persuasive posters, selling different products. We also created conversations to exchange items in shops.
We are now focusing on a very famous man and his very famous speech – Martin Luther King Junior. We spent a long time listening to his speech and looking for the persuasive techniques he used. We discussed and wrote down how we felt listening to this speech and the issues it brought up. We then thought about what we ‘have a dream’ about in terms of the world. We had some really great discussions about this! We have now began to write our own powerful ‘I have a dream..’ speeches, thinking about what is really important to us and what we might like to change about the world.
Last Friday witnessed T.C.I. Smile visit Provo Primary Year 5 and 6 students. They presented a terrific presentation regarding the physical features of teeth, the importance of dental hygiene and the purpose of the orthodontist. T.C.I. Smile were impressed with the knowledge that our pupils already held regarding teeth and good oral hygiene, due to the responses given from our students to the questions asked from the team at T.C.I. Smile.
The session was extremely beneficial in demonstrating how an orthodontist can repair unaligned teeth, reshape gums and other problems that can occur with the structure of our teeth and gums. The students were left in awe at the computer technology that the orthodontist used in order to repair these issues and enjoyed watching the clips that showed before and after shots.
A great outside visit that was both valuable and complementary to what we promote to our children about healthy lifestyles.
As we start a new school year, Year 5 have been getting their teeth into a brand new topic – Space, Segregation, the final frontier! This involves a focus on Space exploration starting from the 1960s moon landing. As we are looking at this period, we are also exploring what else was happening at that time with a particular focus on Martin Luther King and the effects of segregation.
As part of this term’s ‘Keeping Healthy Week’, nutritionist Tamika Handfield came in to teach Nutrition classes to all the children from Year 2 – 6. Some classes made egg and vegetable burritos, while others made fruit kebabs. The children learned about how whole-grain foods and fruits and vegetables are healthy, the importance of looking at the labels on food packaging, washing hands before cooking, safety in the kitchen and that washing up is part of the cooking process! PTV came along to video for their news programme. Click on to see photos and to learn more about our nutrition classes.
Last Wednesday and Thursday (15th and 16th May)Year 5/6 set off on a fabulous adventure. We started our day travelling across the beautiful ocean on the ‘Caribbean Cruisin’ ferry to North Caicos. On arrival we headed straight for Wades Green Cotton Plantation where we were lucky enough to have a guided tour around the ruins by an amazing local lady Alveira Duncan.
Year 5/6 have been learning about how we describe clothes in Spanish, with not only colour and size adjectives but also using qualitative adjectives too. The children have become so confident describing people and their clothes that we decided to have a mini-fashion show. During the show, the children described the clothes the models were wearing, adding some of their own opinions about them.
What is truly impressive is that the children all created and wrote their own part of the fashion show in Spanish, independently beforehand. Moreover most of them were comfortable reading these parts out in front of a camera. What superb Spanish accents everyone!
Years 4, 5 and 6 carried on from a superlative Science Week with a superb visit to the British West Indies Collegiate School. Year 3 had been visited by two of their pupils during Science Week.
Head of Science, Mrs Nicola Haynes, welcomed the children and introduced them to Science at KS3 and 4. The children had the opportunity to see what the fantastic laboratories at the school are like and carried out their own scientific investigation.
Using Bunsen burners for the very first time and a range of chemicals, the children learned the different coloured flames metals produce when burned. They also learned lots about the etiquette of working in a laboratory and even got to quiz a few A-level pupils on what it’s like to learn science at such a high level.
It was a spectacular scientific afternoon and Mrs Haynes was a wonderful science teacher! Thank you for allowing us to visit.
This term and throughout Science Week, children in all classes from Year 2 – 6 have been busy observing, experimenting and reflecting on all kinds of scientific knowledge. Now, through our Science Fair, it was the turn of our young scientists to share their discoveries with their fellow students, parents and visitors!
In science, in addition to discovering a great deal of new information about a topic, children are encouraged to develop their science enquiry skills (the scientific method). These skills underpin the essential processes required for carrying out investigations, drawing conclusions and forming scientific understanding. The children were encouraged to communicate these skills through their Science Fair activities.
We hope that through watching this short movie, you will see how practical investigation and developing an understanding of scientific enquiry skills is a huge part of our science programme here at Provo Primary School.
If you fancy singing along to the background music as you watch, and learning more about elements of the scientific method, you can print out the lyrics here. It’s such a catchy tune!
As part of World Book day, Year 5/6 took on the challenge of working in teams to complete a specially designed non-fiction quiz. The quiz was organised to ensure the children had to think carefully about how a library references its books. They also had to focus on key words in each question to work out where they would find the answer. The children worked together superbly and used their solid understanding of how to approach a non-fiction book (using contents, glossary and index) to identify the page/s needed. It was a really close competition with teams finishing just seconds after each other!
The parents in Key Stage Two were in for a fantastic treat this Thursday, the 14th of February. Children from Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in a gymnastics presentation that was truly breath-taking!
The children had spent the last eight weeks working hard to create and perfect an individual gymnastic routine based on balance. They had to include at least ten balances, at different levels, including simple, complex and yoga style moves. Their focus was primarily on how they could use their body to hold, balance and most importantly control their movements in these positions.
It was a big step-up from last year’s routines as the children all had to perform their routines individually this year. Moreover they had to include at least two challenges. These could be anything from forward rolls, high dives, cartwheels, handstands, headstands to backward and forward walkovers. The children had to select the challenges they felt most able to carry out independently in a routine.
On the day the children were absolutely amazing. They performed their routines showing off a huge range of skills and ability levels. They all performed to music and did so with grace, poise and a superb effort to control and really hold those balances!
Thursday 14th Feb, 9:15 – 10:15am @ Graceway Sports Centre
All children in Key Stage 2 will be participating in our Spring Term PE Showcase next week.
Gymnastics showcase: This term, our gymnastics unit has focussed on balance and all presentations will exhibit an array of skills linked to this theme. Children in Years 4, 5 & 6 will be presenting their routine individually this year!
Handball showcase mini-tournament: We are pleased to introduce this new sport to our PE curriculum this year. Children in Years 3 & 4 have been refining the skills required to play handball, from positioning and passing to travelling with the ball and shooting. Children have been divided into 4 teams for the mini-tournament. Each team will participate in 3 games, following a round-robin league format.
The showcase will also be an opportunity to learn more about our second new sport that has been introduced to our PE curriculum this year – squash.
We look forward to seeing as many parents and supporters at the event as possible!
We are learning all about Space in Year 5/6 and we decided to take on a bit of a challenge! The children were set the task of designing a lunar satellite model to understand how NASA actually collect data on exploratory missions, using these satellites.
The models had to be designed to very specific requirements to ensure they would be able to launch and also withstand crashes. They had to weigh no more than 100 grams in total with 10 grams of sensors, probes and cameras included. The children worked superbly well in their teams ‘Shooting Stars’, ‘Starstruck’ and ‘Star Wars Is Jealous!’
They spent time considering the best choices of material in terms of strength and weight and debated for a long time on how to best secure their satellite so that in a one metre drop test it would survive! They also exchanged information amongst teams to confirm everyone was following the same rules, keeping the investigation a fair test. We created some fabulous models!
Year 5/6 got super festive in the last week of term and cooked up a storm… a snowstorm!
The children spent a careful two days creating their melting snowmen masterpieces. They started by making cookie dough which then had to be refrigerated overnight. Once chilled the children set about moulding their snow puddles and cutting some festive cookie shapes. Finally they were able to ice them and add the melting marshmallows before adding an array of chocolate chips and other decorations to create a crowd of Melting Snowmen.
I’m sure that you won’t be surprised to hear that they didn’t stay melting for long!
Year 5/6 have been working hard since September learning all about the impact Martin Luther King had on how we live our lives today. We have studied his life and the sacrifices he made and how he carried this all out peacefully.
As we have been studying how people in the past affect the way our lives are shaped today, we decided to take on a challenge. The children were given the task of choosing someone in the past who they felt had made an important difference. They then had to use their imagination to present in a vivid and persuasive way their findings on their chosen person to the rest of the class.
Year 5/6 had the great pleasure of spending some time with Kindergarten one Thursday afternoon and what an afternoon! Each Year 5/6 pupil ‘buddied’ up with a Kindergarten child and they then moved around a round-robin of activities. The children went from solving jigsaws to reading together to creating beautiful butterflies! It was a great learning experience for both age-groups. Year 5/6 are always eager to spend some time with the younger children, they are a caring and thoughtful group and they don’t often see the Kindergarten with break and lunch timetables differing. This was a fantastic opportunity for the Year 5/6 children to not only practise patience and listening skills, but also to hone their teaching skills and perhaps most importantly make new friends! It was so interesting to see the interaction between each partnership and how positively the younger children responded to their older peers. It also took the Year5/6 back to their days in Kindergarten and lots of fond memories for all. We went away with big smiles and a keen interest from all the Year5/6 to return… and soon!
Our first science topic this term is Healthy Lifestyles and Year 5/6 have been investigating just how we find out what different foods and drinks do to our teeth. We didn’t want to do the experiments with our actual teeth, so we used eggs as their shells are similar to the the materials found in the enamel of our teeth. We decided to look at the effects of acids on our teeth. Acids are made by plaque bacteria, which cause tooth decay and cavities. Some foods are acidic too, like vinegar and soda. We immersed an egg in vinegar and… after leaving it for just a little bit, we could already see some results! Our ‘vinegar’ egg was on the point of turning transparent and it felt more than a little soft! Scary results indeed!
Year 4, 5 and 6 students had an opportunity to participate in an owl pellet dissection lesson using laboratory sterilized barn owl pellets. Owl pellets are neat little packages of mostly fur and bones that are regurgitated by an owl after it has finished digesting everything else. The students worked together to discover what the barn owls had been eating by dissecting their pellets. By carefully sorting and organizing the bones they found, students were able to reconstruct a skeleton of a rodent, in this case a vole. Thank you Miss Bonnie for providing such an interesting lesson.
Photos of our Year 5’s recent kayaking trip to Little Water Cay.
Many thanks to Big Blue Unlimited.
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Yes, you have read the title correctly; Year Five at Provo Primary have built their own salt water cars. This term we are studying sources of renewable energy, as our fossil fuels one day will be gone. Did you know that magnesium +salt water + air = electricity?
Each child was given a salt water fuel- cell car kit to assemble and then they added salt water to watch their cars race. After about 10 minutes the cars begin to slow down and all they needed to do was add more salt water and the would start up again.
What a great classroom project to learn about a potentially new way to fuel cars and they could even test different ratios of salt to see which mixture yields the greatest efficiency.
Who knew the solution to our energy needs was a simple as a trip to the beach.