Samoa – Miss Gibney

Our Class Team

Teacher HLTA TA
Sophie Gibney Hannah Delaney Deirbhile Macdonald

Contact the teacher at Sophie.Gibney@abbotsleaschool.co.uk

Our Weekly News

In the boxes below, you can read about our best moments in school.
We are sharing our weekly news every Friday.

Week 23+

This week in Samoa class, the students worked really hard, as always!

In Science, the class explored what a genome is and why it is so important in the human body. They also learnt all about DNA, and looked at different environmental and genetic characteristics that make you, you! They also learnt about X and Y chromosomes, creating punnet squares to show the inheritance of an individuals sex.

In English, the class have been exploring an article about cotton production, and explored its links to the Aral Sea basin drying up. They discussed the advantages and disadvantages of fast fashion, and how it effects the environment.

They have also been practicing answering questions using the Statement, Quotation and Inference method in preparation for their exams.

In Maths, Samoa worked on converting different units, including centimeters to meters, millilitres to litres and currencies. In PE, the class had a visit from LFC, and had an amazing workout with some competitive basketball games.

For life skills, the class focused on health and safety.

They looked at different safety signs and discussed their meanings, and then made a PowerPoint on the meaning of health and safety, accidents that can happen at work and how they can be prevented.

For employability this week we have focused on our my world of work accounts and began to discuss and role play mock interviews.”

Week 22+

This week Samoa have been working really hard! In Science the class have been exploring DNA, chromosomes and genes .They have been learning what characteristics are genetic, like natural hair and eye colour, and what characteristics are environmental, such as tattoos and piercings. They also learnt that some characteristics can be both genetic and environmental, how interesting! In our minibeasts project, the class have been exploring different deadly creatures and their features. They also took a trip to the forest school to check out if any bugs have moved in to their bug hotels, and they have! They also made creative comic strips depicting the adventures of different bugs around the world.
In English, Samoa class have been reading the extract by Samuel Bamford, “the Peterloo Massacre”. They explored the different feelings being portrayed in the extract, read aloud and used the SQI method to answer questions about the extract. In Maths, the class have been solving problems with direct proportion and practicing their timetables to get ready for end of year exams. In life skills, the class are getting prepared for their future workplace by exploring health and safety at the workplace, learning how to identify health and safety signs and when accidents may occur. In employability, the class took part in National Apprenticeship Week 2 webinar. They explored the benefits of apprenticeships, and then they met different apprentices and listened to their experiences of their course. The class also enjoyed their enrichment clubs. Some broadened their creativity in arts and crafts club, some learnt new skills in jiu Jitsu club, and others began making necklaces out of stone in outdoor learning club, how exciting is that!

Week 21+

Samoa class have worked really hard this week.

We are into our second week of swimming lessons at Halewood swimming baths and the pupils in Samoa have shown great progress.

We are continuing our topic of mini beasts in project, this week we have researched and presented a deadly mini beast of our choice in pairs.

Samoa have been working on their spelling and grammar in English and focusing on how to include this in our creative writing tasks.

Week 20+
Samoa class have had a very exciting yet tiring week this week! The students started their swimming lessons this week and had a blast! They focused on different swimming strokes and had tons of fun.

In English lessons, the class focused on using full sentences, correct punctuation and accurate spelling in their answers. They explored their creativity by using similes and metaphors.

In maths, the class learned about imperial units and in science they continued to explore the human reproductive system, and explored how a baby is conceived and develops in the womb.

In employability, the class explored their dream job, what qualities they need and what their next steps must be. They explored different colleges and the courses that they offer.

In ICT the class have continued to increase their skills at Microsoft excel, by practicing using the autosum button to calculate the value of different cells.

For project lessons, the class visited the forest school to find the perfect location for their bug terrarium. They found the best place for wildlife to survive and thrive.

This week we have began to work on our praise and appreciation wall, the students have been writing notes of appreciation to their classmates throughout the day. This helping Samoa class to adapt  to a positive mindset throughout the day, and also be reminded of their own qualities that others are appreciative of!

Week 19+

This week in Samoa was jam packed with activity! Monday was World Religion Day, and the class explored the six main religions around the words; Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism. They discussed different facts about eat religion, discussed similarities and differences and created their own Christian church stain glass windows. For our project of “mini beasts”, we built insect hotels to explore the different habitats the bugs live in. On Thursday we went to the museum to see the bug exhibit and get more information about the different creatures roaming the earth, how they survive, what they eat and more! In PE we took part in invasive teamwork games with LFC. Continuing on with our topic of pleasing pasta, we will be taking over our math’s skills of converting units to measure out ingredients. In science we continued to explore the human reproductive system and puberty, exploring the different changes that happen between a male and female body during puberty. We also looked at different contraceptive methods and the stages of conception. In life skills we are looking at the world of work, and explored different skills that the class has which they can transfer to the workplace of their choice.

Week 18+

Samoa have started the new year with a bang! We have begun our new topic of City vs Country in English. As part of this we have been comparing and contrasting images of different cities and countries, we have also been focusing on our vocabulary and how to project our ideas into writing.

In Math’s, we have been working hard to convert measurements. Samoa class have discussed where we would use grams, kilometres and metres. We are going to put our knowledge to the test this week in Food Technology when we are measuring ingredients.

Samoa class have been designing their very own insect hotel as part of our new topic of ‘minibeasts’. Throughout the week we are going to collect different materials such as plastic bottles, bottle lids and tin foil. Next week, we are going to build our very own insect hotel from our design.

Samoa have had a very busy first full week back! This weeks focus has been on our manners, as always, the class team are so impressed and proud of all the achievements made. We are so excited to see the progress made by Samoa in 2022.

Week 17+

Samoa have begun the new year with a bang! We have worked extremely hard in our new project ‘ beast creators’ completing an outdoor scavenger hunt to see what beasts we could find. In Food Tech this week, we have begun to complete tasks more independently and began to learn how to manage time in the kitchen. Samoa faced the challenge of setting their very own egg timers from the recipe, to determine when the pasta was ‘al dente’.

All members of our class are working extremely hard on their own personal targets this week e.g keeping desks tidy, washing dishes and facing money challenges independently. We have also welcomed a teaching assistant in our class this week called Miss. Delaney.

We are working extremely hard on the run up to our mock exams in February!

Week 15+

This week in Samoa class we have completed lots of fun activities to celebrate Christmas.

We have researched how different countries around the world celebrate Christmas day and tried some new games to work on our Oracy.

We have spent time recapping what we have learnt this term and worked in pairs to go over our past paper questions to see our areas for improvement.

We have taken part in a Key Stage Four carousel taking part in different activities within our class.

On Friday, we went to the Epstein Theatre to see Beauty and the Beast.

Week 14+

This week in Samoa class we have worked extremely hard in all subjects. We have been focusing on our new topic of decimals and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000. Samoa class have had fun in outdoor learning this week hunting for QR codes in the forest area, these enabled us to answer the questions we were given.  We have been able to spend time on our newly opened play centre at break times which we have all enjoyed a lot. In PE this week, we have worked on our badminton serving and practiced rallying with our partners. Samoa even beat Miss. Gibney in a game of badminton killer!

We are looking forward to our Christmas activities and the pantomime next week!

Week 13+

This week in Samoa class we have experienced a wide range of activities.

In math’s, we learnt how to divide decimals by 10, 100 and 1000, and practice made perfect!

In English we focused on improving our independent reading skills, by taking a trip to the library and choosing a book of choice to dive into.

For our project lesson, we built Myan pyramids out of clay, and explored different facts about Myan traditions. In food tech we started December off with a bang by making Christmas biscuits, a perfect snack for these cold winter nights!

 

This week was also full of adventure, as the class went on two school trips. The class went to Myerscough college to help decide their steps for the future and we took a trip to the Mexican restaurant Chiquito, to enjoy some authentic Mexican food for our Hola Mexico project topic.

In RE we have been exploring different Christian relationships and in PE we enjoyed a session with LFC playing a game of basketball.

In science we continued to explore the digestive and circulatory system.

Week 12+

This week in Samoa all pupils have worked extremely hard. In English this week, we have focused on the comparison between 19th century and 21st century mysterious creatures.

We have been working really hard in Math’s on our brand-new topic of decimal places, we took to the outdoors with chalk to create our very own decimal and fraction number line.

In PE this week, we practiced our motor skills and practiced serving and rallying in Badminton. We worked in pairs to practice our serve, before competing against the teachers in a game of Badminton killer.

We are looking over our mock exams from last week and discussing in what areas we can improve and what areas we were successful!

Week 11+

This has been a very rewarding week for Samoa, as they have worked very hard to complete their mock exams in English, math’s and ICT. In project lesson they explored the historical Maya civilization, researching their amazing architecture and ball game, the Pok-A-Tok. They explored Christian marriage and compared it to other religious cultures and we worked on our motor skills, team work and movement when playing basketball in PE.

Our class enjoyed a variety of enrichment clubs on Friday, with our very own director in training going on a trip to film an interview with the Anfield Wrap! In employability we researched different colleges, how to get there and what courses are of the most interest.

Week 10+

This week in Samoa class we have worked extremely hard across all topics. We have celebrated World Science Day on Wednesday and completed a number of different activities such as; placing organs on the human body, reactions tests and a Kahoot to test our knowledge on the role of the organs in the body. Samoa have also researched and understood the importance of poppies on remembrance day and how this flower is connected to the war.

 

In Food Tech this week, we have worked alongside Australia class to create our very own delicious Jewish Honey cake. Samoa class are working hard in ICT, Math’s and English to prepare for the upcoming mock tests that are taking place next week. We are still focusing on our topic of Fractions in math’s, this week has been developing our knowledge in subtracting mixed number fractions.

 

The class team are extremely impressed with the efforts of Samoa class this week.

Week 9+

This week Githan  is our pupil of the week, for always being a positive member of the class and bringing smiles and laugher every day. He has also worked hard to participate in all class activities and discussions, sharing his views respectfully.

Samoa class have been very busy this week, getting stuck in to the new term. We have begun our new project, Hola Mexico!, where we have explored various Mexican festivals and traditions.  In food tech we made Mexican pockets, matching in with our project theme, how delicious! In Math’s the class have been practicing everything fractions, learning how to add improper and mixed number fractions, with different denominators to make things a bit more exciting!

In English the class have been exploring extracts from famous literature, including the 19th century novel Dracula. They have explored the descriptive language used to describe the character of Dracula, and had a go ad drawing their own version of the famous villain. In PE the class took part in multisport, including sitting volleyball and bocce, showing off their teamwork skills.

Week 8+

This week has been a busy one in Samoa.

Not only have we been preparing for Halloween with some pumpkin carving but we have been finishing off our biology topic in science.

We learnt about the reflex arc and our motor responses by giving Githan a big fright and watching his reaction!

We also demonstrated how our brain processes information and translates sensory information into a response by holding our hands up and seeing if we could get a high five from our classmates.

In English we have been reading Oliver Twist and looking at poets such as Benjamin Zephaniah. Our maths work has been about converting fractions and finding common denominators. On Thursday we visited Anfield for a career fair. There were some useful companies there with plenty of information about future jobs.

From the entire class team of Samoa we wish our class a happy and restful half term break.

Week 7+

This week in Samoa the class have been working very hard exploring black lives matter in English through poetry and identification of similes and metaphors, solidifying our fraction knowledge in math’s and looking at the processes of the digestive and nervous system in science.

We have also been exploring the “Dia de Los Muertos” day of the dead, looking at all of the different traditions that are involved in the celebration and creating our own sugar skull day of the dead masks, including creating clay versions on trees!

In PE the class took part in basketball and have had a very respectful debate about the £20 universal credit cut which is a current topic of interest. The class have also been working as a class to decipher riddles in their morning activity, and the class have been focusing on perfecting their interview skills in employability to become the next Lord Alan Sugar! Our focus in life skills is personal development and they have focused on improving their independent reading.

Week 6+

This week in Samoa we have been busy working with fractions in maths, looking at the digestive system and the way our food is broken down in science and continuing with similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole in English.

We have been discussing whether we thought that social media should be turned off for a certain amount of time after the recent social media outage shut down WhatsApp and Instagram amongst other sites.

We are continuing to look at personal development in Life Skills and also looked at interview techniques during employability.

 

Samoa class working on the respiratory system in Science, using a red and blue ball to represent the pathway of Oxygenated and Deoxygenated blood.

Working on our chopping skills in Food Tech.

Some of Samoa class chose to spend their break a little differently, creating  their favourite characters from a book out of pipe cleaners.

Samoa class completed an experiment on Wednesday to show the different stages of the digestive system.

Samoa class spent their Maths lesson outdoors to consolidate our learning in Fractions.

 

 

 

 

 

Week 5+

We have worked extremely hard in Samoa class this week.

On Monday we celebrated European Language Day and created a travel brochure to help Miss. Gibney decide on her next holiday. A pupil in Samoa class was also able to read and speak in Russian, to show us what travel brochure’s may include. We also introduced our new topic of fractions in Maths. We have been working on our times tables knowledge to help us gain confidence in calculations.

Samoa have begun to think about what life after Year 11 may hold and how we can achieve our next steps in Employability. It has been a great week for progress across all subjects and we have really enjoyed working on our kitchen skills in Food Tech making roasted parsnips.

Week 4+

We have been working on our inverse operations in Maths and pushing ourselves to understand how they might be asked in word questions.

We have also worked hard in English comparing and discussing articles related to the environment. Samoa have discussed what we think the planet may look like 100 years from now and really concentrated on listening and turn-taking. On Wednesday we celebrated National Recycling Day, we spoke online with Gilmoss Recycling Centre to discuss materials we should and should not recycle, we also learnt all about what we can do to help save the environment.

We took part in a grid reference hunt all around Abbot’s Lea School, Samoa class had to work in teams to see how quickly we could identify and find all of our coordinates. After all this hard work, Samoa class made some delicious beef samosas that could’ve earned us a place on The great British Bake-off!

A fantastic week for Samoa class and a very happy and proud team.

Week 3+

Samoa class have had a very positive week settling into the new academic year.

 

The pupils have worked extremely hard this week across all subjects and the class team are extremely proud of all the pupils have achieved. During this week we have carried out scientific investigations measuring our pulse before and after exercise.

We have also learnt all about figurative language in English and how to respectfully debate a topic and respect others opinions, when they are different to our own. The class project is looking at Alchemy Island and even though this quest is just beginning we have already deciphered a riddle and worked as a team to locate key features.

 

This week, we have focused on finding inspiration for our very own magical portal and using photo editing software to make it our own! Samoa class are looking forward to developing our subject knowledge across all topics over the next term.

 

Week 2+

It has been lovely to welcome back Samoa class to school this week.

We have been working hard in every lesson, from looking at adjectives and comparing poems to paintings in English, working on column addition and working out missing numbers in maths to looking at our project topic, ‘Alchemy Island.’ We have also been testing our fitness levels in PE, to measure some baseline stats to see if we can get more fit over the course of the year..

Links to open sessions at Hugh Baird College and Myerscough College for September.

https://www.hughbaird.ac.uk/events

https://www.myerscough.ac.uk/whats-on/online-course-advice-morning-february/

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