Saint Christina’s School Bulletin

Friday 5th June 2020

Message from Headteacher I am very pleased to be writing this short piece for the bulletin this week. I think that the last few weeks have provided a really lovely contrast to March and April in the sense that the weather has been good and the level of optimism around the virus, rising. I have been delighted to see children returning to School this week, however, I realise that this is bitter-sweet, because, it is not everyone. It is encouraging to see the impact that the lockdown has had on the virus, but I have to say that I remain wary. It has not gone and the continuing improvement that we have seen over the last month is totally dependent on how people well beyond the bounds of our School behave. That said, Saint Christina's pupils have really risen to the challenge of lockdown. I am so pleased with how hard everyone has worked and I have enjoyed looking at some of the things that the children have produced. It has also been very good to see how creative many of you have been as you have sought to entertain or set a challenge for yourselves. I wonder if many of you have taken on the Rubik’s Cube Challenge? I hope that you are still making those eco-bricks - if your collection of completed bottles is anything like mine, we will have plenty of bricks to build with when we are all back in School! Don't forget, they need to be rock hard when they are full. I hope that you and your families have been able to stay safe and well throughout the lockdown. I know that some of our community will have been affected by the virus but hope that you have not suffered the loss of any of your loved ones. We need to keep our guard up as we go forward. As tempting as it might be, I do not think it is a good idea to go anywhere unless we need to and certainly, pictures of packed beaches over the last weekend have been really unsettling. We are seeing a rise in cases in countries where lockdowns have been lifted and so it is a real possibility that the virus may return for a second time. Whilst we cannot control the activities of everyone in the country, I am confident that we as a community will be considerate and sensible in the way that we maintain sensible social distancing over the next weeks and months. I would like to pass on the thanks of all the Staff in School for the way that children and parents have supported the protocols and social distancing and hygiene arrangements that we have put in place around School. Please do remember, however, that if we are going to keep Saint Christina's healthy and safe, it is essential that you speak to the School if you or your child are ill in any way and that you stay away until we establish that it is safe for you to come in. "May the Lord bless us and keep us, may the Lord make His face shine upon us, and give us peace". (Numbers 6 v 24-26) Alastair Gloag

Our NHS Run

On Wednesday 22nd April at 5:00pm we, (Izzy, Emily, Paloma and friends) did a 6 ½ km run. The charity we were fundraising for is Imperial Health Charity as Paloma’s mother works there - not for the charity but for the hospital.

It was not easy, to be honest, but it’s worth it to help the NHS as they are going through so much right now. At first, we were all excited and bouncing on our toes but at the end our personalities could not have been more different! Some people reacted differently than others - some feeling sick, some stopping for a drink every lap and others ploughing on without anything. Everyone completed this challenge in less than an hour - including a 6-year-old! Our original target was to raise £1,000 but in the end we raised an incredible £12,200!!!

Thank you to everyone who has donated - friends, family, teachers. You all made it possible.

Izzy, Emily and Paloma – Year 6

Reception Classes Fossils Study Reception has had a brilliant week catching up with friends, celebrating birthdays and exploring the dinosaur world! This week we put our Palaeontologist hats on and studied images of real fossils, which we learned give us clues about how dinosaurs looked and lived. We then got to work and made our own replicas using clay!

Miss Nunes – Reception Class Teacher

Year 6 Work This term, Year 6 have been studying Macbeth. Here a couple of examples of their wonderful work. Well done girls!

Stage Directions for Act Two Scene Two Summary of this scene: In this scene, Macbeth has killed King Duncan towards the beginning. Macbeth is feeling very guilty and wishes he hadn’t done it. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth is encouraging him and telling him not to think about it and that he is weak. Macbeth feels too responsible for his actions to go and put the daggers near the servants to put the blame on them, so Lady Macbeth does it for him. How I would like Lady Macbeth to act: She should act confidently that they won’t be found, unlike Macbeth. She should also behave a bit sadistic and cruel and not really feel guilty that they are murdering their own guest and King if it means her husband will become King and therefore she will become higher in rank. She thinks that Macbeth is weak and not living up to being a noble lord because he feels guilty. So, I think she should act like she’s better and be a bit snobbish. Overall, she should be the opposite of Macbeth. How I would like Macbeth to act: He is very scared that they will be discovered and he should jump at every little sound and will constantly be looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is there. He is very guilty and so every decision he makes should be hesitant or reluctant. Also, he may since he can’t face the dead body of King Duncan, so he may feel a bit uneasy. Overall he is acting in the opposite way of Lady Macbeth. Sound Effects: In line 6 I would put a snore to go with the text, as well as lines 7-8 to signify that someone is coming. In line 25 I would put an echoing laugh and in line 26 I would put someone shouting ‘Murder’ which echoes. This adds a spooky effect to the text and also affects the audience. Throughout lines 38-43 I would also make an echo for the same reason. It also adds a spectral touch to it. In lines 60-61, 68-69, 72-73 and 76-77 there is ‘knocking from within’ so I would add knocking to go with the text. Also, every sound that isn’t speaking should slightly resonate because this shows that the room is big and that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are alone. By Celine

Lady Macbeth: Lady Macbeth is manipulative and controlling, *Line 67-80 and evil. I know this because she is horrible to Macbeth, *Line 56-60 and she is the one who persuades him to kill King Duncan, and she does not even care how bad Macbeth was feeling. I think she should be played as an evil and horrible person, because this is how she acts. Macbeth: Macbeth is easily manipulated, and does not really think first. He is also less evil than his wife. *Line 77-78 I know this because he gets worried about what he has done, and says *Line 53-55 he cannot sleep for guilt. He wishes he can "wake Duncan up. *Line 44-46 I think he should be played as jumpy and frightened. By Claudia

Reflections by Year 6

When I was watching Boris Johnson’s announcement and he said Year 6 was going back, I was filled with excitement yet nerves. Online school and actual school are pretty different. I will tell you all about it. With online school, it was more stressful than normal school. It felt like you had more work and that you had the pressure to finish it in one day. Although I had more time to spend with my pets – sister included – and parents, I still prefer normal school. We had meetings on Google Meet and, although we heard and saw each other, it was not the same as actually, physically seeing each other. Another point is that our tech skills have, well… exceeded… our abilities prior to lockdown. Although Google Classroom can have some minor glitches, such as the screen would suddenly go black or frozen in the middle of Fr. Rudolf explaining a problem! I have learnt to become more independent as I have no one to help with a problem or comprehension. However, an advantage is getting up later which I enjoy very much! With actual school, it is so great to actually see each other in person, even though distancing! It seems as if we have less work as we are actually there. We have people to help us if we become really stuck in a class. We also have ‘PE with Miss O’, as we call it and, even though tiring, hilarious. We get to play in our school playground and chat with our friends in break, while when at home the closest we could get to that was chatting on slides or calling/texting each other if we had phones! We have fun lessons which we can all do together, like counting out rhymes. Also, we can walk to and from school with each other. I walk with Paloma and Emily to and from, which is good exercise. We had to run for the bus but, unfortunately, didn’t make it. Overall, online and actual school are different and with pros and cons. I like them both, just maybe actual school a teensy bit more. Everyone stay safe!

By Izzy

Advantages and disadvantages of home schooling and normal school

Home schooling: Well I think that home schooling has been an interesting and enjoyable experience so there are lots of advantages but also a couple of disadvantages. One of the advantages of home schooling is that you have more time to spend with your family. Another one is that you can do everything online and submit it super easily. Our school has handled the online schooling well, so it has been fun. However, one of the disadvantages of online schooling is that you can only see your friends virtually. Another disadvantage is that sometimes your Wi-Fi drops, and you cannot get onto a certain class. Lastly, a disadvantage is that some people cannot log onto a class because you do not have enough computers or maybe not any! Even with these disadvantages was still fun to do. Normal School: When you go to school it obviously is more normal and that is a good thing in these current circumstances. One of the advantages is that you can see your friends and you can play in the playground together. Another advantage is that people have the chance to ask the teacher directly and you do not have to wait for the teacher to answer on the class stream. A disadvantage of going to school is that you cannot see your family as much and you do not get away

with as much!!😊 By Constance

NHS Posters We were delighted to receive posters and artwork from so many Saint Christina’s children. We sent all the wonderful posters on to the Royal Free Hospital to decorate the hospital corridors. Thank you all so much for your contributions!

School & Home School Many of us have embarked on the journey of home school through this uncertain time. It might not be easy, but it is certainly a change!!! I am the daughter of two NHS workers so I have been at school throughout whole the lock-down period. At school we have some disadvantages; for example, the technology can sometimes fail us and Google Classroom can be difficult to use. There are no friends to chat properly, either! However, this experience has definitely made me more independent! But there are some handy advantages! For most, there is no commuting to school, which means waking up later! You can also do everything at your own pace, which is useful! Our technological abilities have improved too! Then we have normal school! I will start with the advantages! You can see everyone, chat, gain help more easily, and work together better. You can also do lessons, that involve rehearsal, like the Summer Production, Peter Pan, hopefully a bit easier! Some disadvantages are the agonising process of getting out of bed, and commuting can be annoying. As more extra-curricular activities are possible, it can mean more work. In both types of school, the teachers have been great! Thank you for trying to make this experience as good as possible for us! By Paloma