“I really liked the dance, the reading, the artwork and lovely pictures. Everything related to ‘Ice Palace’ and it was excellent.” Areena’s mum

“The effort we put into our dance to make it special.” Niamh (Y3 DC)

“Niamh’s descriptive writing and diverse vocabulary.” Niamh’s dad

“I loved the dancing. I loved the Rocky Road-better than Costa Coffee!! Well done to all the teachers and Mrs Johnston. Excellent work. I really enjoyed today.” Stathis’ mum

What a whirlwind of a month. Creativity, imagination, performance and teamwork have all been drawn upon in Year 3 during their ‘Arts fortnight’ and the results have been fabulous.

Energy and exuberance, the challenges of working as a team and retaining a difficult routine as well as conquering fear of failing are the testimonials from the dance. Thank you Miss Allison for believing in us and choreographing a dance where being team mattered. The music and dance brought a smile to everyone’s faces.

Observational drawing, painting and drawing were the challenges in the art sessions. However, in listening, daring to have a go, really concentrating and a willingness to go again, the end products showed imagination, exploration, energy and colour. As a cohort, we appreciated the need to really focus and take pride in our creations.  The art studio looks wonderful at the moment as their art brings colour, life and beauty to the room.

In addition, acting out the story and creating our own worlds through small world resources, wonderful descriptions were written. We learnt the importance of listening to feedback, using our learning environment and word mats for spelling as well as understanding why carefully reading back our sentences encourages us to take ownership of our writes. Well done Year 3 for being responsive and understanding why self-regulation matters.

Over their ‘Arts’ fortnights, both Year 6 classes have been introduced to lino printing. Initial drawings were transferred onto lino and then carefully carved with cutters to create Arctic/Antarctic inspired designs. Cutting away from hands was the most important rule and although there was a splattering of blood, on the whole this rule was adhered to! Carving the design did require control and concentration. However, once inked up the sense of achievement in producing a recognisable print often resulted in spontaneous applause.

Through dance, Year 6 explored the Arctic and Antarctic theme. Both performances cleverly captured the prey and the predator, the awe and the wonder of the Poles, with collaboration and cooperation essential in the choreography. 6MJ had the opportunity to work alongside our new dance coach Miss Allison and her expertise was welcomed.

The successes and challenges of the fortnights were shared with interested adults. Below are some of the comments written in response to Friday’s celebration:

“I liked everything!!! The dance was amazing. The art studio fab. I’ve seen so much happiness on the kids’ faces!! Good to know Hanna is looked after so well.”            Hanna’s dad

“The freedom and access to teachers, and the work that the children have done made it very welcoming and easy to understand what the children had been doing.”                         Anton Hamilton

“The dance production was fantastic! The children have obviously worked very hard. It is lovely to see them working so well together.”                                                                          Isobel’s mum

“The performance was very good. Proud to see such quality in the written and lino (art) work. Well done.”                                                                                                                      Harneeka’s dad

This week, twenty two UKS2 pupils participated in a photography session led by John Sherbourne- one of our school governors. ‘The rule of 3’, reflections, line and composition etc.which were shared by John were then put into practice on an exciting trip to Stratford Upon Avon. Using disposable cameras,the challenge was to record the day through just 26 photographs. Bold and strong compositions of the sights of Stratford, the afternoon at the Mechanical Art and Design Museum as well as the inspired technological and creative production of ‘The Tempest’ were taken by the students.

Reflecting on the exercise, we all agreed that digital photography was easier. However the anticipation and apprehension felt in opening the envelope containing the developed photographs taken on the disposable cameras was exciting!

Here are just a few of the students comments about the trip:

‘A unique experience, as I doubt I will ever do something like that again with school or in the exact same order.’

‘Amazing technology brought ‘The Tempest’ to life.’

‘The museum was fantastic because you could make your own marble run.’

Please drop in to the art studio to see the pictures taken of the day and read the reports written by ACE’s ‘Junior Journalists’. 

This Greek Myth was brought to life through story, drama and art and then recorded through narrative, poetry and a news report. There was big play,wing creations, swimming across Lino, hot seating and even a press conference. Who would have thought a cleaner could become an accomplice to a father and son in their pursuit of freedom?
Thank you Year 6 for your bravery and enthusiasm in your learning over the fortnight. Your ability to work collaboratively was wonderful to see as was your pride in all that you created.

What a lovely afternoon with 2MS, celebrating their fortnight’s learning with parents, interested adults and the staff and pupils from Askrigg Primary! Hopefully the photographs capture some of the ‘happiness and joyfulness’ experienced by all who could attend.

The dance, choreographed by Mr Spink, flowed from the stream to the bucket to the trickle of the water from the ‘cracked pot’ and was beautifully performed. Meanwhile in the art studio, 2MS were sharing how to batik as well as showcasing their clay pots, silk screens and watercolour resists. It was so lovely to hear 2MS sharing their learning and for all to see their writes. In addition the café was open so that 2MS could share the tasty biscuits they’d made with Mrs Walker, as well as sipping some Indian tea!

Here are some of the comments from the afternoon:

‘I found the whole experience extremely informing. The children all performed the dance really professionally. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my time with the kids and seeing their art work. Also, the biscuits were divine. Well done Year 2!’

‘I am feeling happy and joyful-thank you!’

‘I liked the dance and Joshua and Thalia showing me all their work and the pots. We all loved the biscuits.’ Auntie Tamriss

‘I really liked the dance Y2MS children did. And I really enjoyed looking at the artwork they have done!’

Thank you 2SB for immersing yourselves in  ‘The Cracked Pot’- a beautiful story from India. Through role play, oral story telling and dance you learnt the story off by heart and then created your own version of ‘The Cracked Pot’ using the story sentence openers!

The photographs in the gallery below share some of the art processes you were exploring as well as the celebration of learning shared on Friday afternoon with parents and other interested adults!

Here are just some of the written comments from the celebration of ‘What was really liked’:

“The way the children were able to tell/interpret a story but not just by oral and written means. The children really showed how immersed they were in the whole performance/project.”

“-watching the children perform and how well they worked in their small groups; their storytelling; the classroom where all their work was displayed was inviting and inspiring. The children obviously loved showing the adults their work.” Nekoh’s Grandma

“The freedom offered to the children to express themselves…Being invited to take part in an afternoon is such fun and really helps in appreciating what the children do.”

This Autumn term has celebrated so much within the arts at Allerton and we are only eight weeks in!
The hook for Year 5 was Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The opening scenes inspired the ghoulish witches, battle scenes, facial features and ambitious yet cruel Lady Macbeths. These were depicted through the mediums of paint, weaving, clay and modroc with puppets from scrap materials breathing life into junk!
Dance and drama immersed Year 5 into the first few Acts, with 5LM using their arts fortnight to cast the initial characters within the play. Little did they know that the Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds would be their stage-and they certainly owned it! Along with three other schools within Leeds, they took part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival and performed Macbeth to a paying and appreciative audience! Photographs depicting their performance will be uploaded very soon…
Aesop’s fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ provided the hook for 2HS. A treasure hunt introduced facts about hares, whilst dance and drama combined with oral storytelling inspired stories, paintings and press prints. ACE’s art studio looked fantastic and was appreciated by so many parents, grandparents and interested adults!
Here are just a few of the comments shared in our celebration fortnights when asked to comment on what was really liked:
“The creativity behind the learning – Emily has loved the past two weeks and has talked non-stop. The best bit for her was the press print. I thought the clay work was excellent. The cafe and art studio are fab!”
“I loved the dancing and the colourful prints. Seeing the children’s pictures and what they’ve been up to is really valuable as a parent.”
“Michael’s improved painting and his amazing enthusiasm for this project.”
“The enthusiastic way the children talked about their learning. How they could identify not only what they found challenging but how they overcame their challenges-love it!”
“I enjoyed the dance and thought that the children interpreted the music really well. The masks are also wonderful, very different to each other-all very unique.”
“I loved the weavings and their use of colour. The children have embraced Shakespeare language!”