Kingston Primary School

SAVING OUR OCEANS

Some of our children took part in filming to support the reduction in single use plastics and to support keeping our oceans clean. The article and video can be found below:

School children were invited to draw pictures showing what they think the world’s oceans would look like in the year 2070, and they make for disheartening viewing.

The children filled the images with plastic and rubbish, as well as creatures consuming the waste in the sea. It comes after research of 1,091 children aged 7-11 found six in 10 are 'worried' about the future of the ocean and 58 per cent want to do more to protect the planet. And two thirds (62 per cent) of those who are worried about the ocean are scared fish will die out if we don’t do anything to save our seas and a further 52 per cent are frightened whales will fall ill.

The research was commissioned by BRITA in collaboration with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) to launch Dougie Poynter’s newest children’s book, The Whale Watchers. The book is set to educate children on the importance of whales to the ecosystem, and show small steps everyone can take to help – such as reducing single-use plastic.

Other top concerns shared by children are the ocean flooding us (51 per cent) and not being able to see a certain species before they die (46 per cent). And youngsters are already highlighting the changes they want to see to save the seas and the planet - with 54 per cent saying we should stop dumping waste into our waters. Others think we should make electricity from wind and water (41 per cent) and learn about the importance of the underwater ecosystem in school (39 per cent). Furthermore 59 per cent are worried about plastic pollution affecting whales. This comes as 85 per cent believe the giant underwater mammals are important to the ocean’s ecosystem. Stopping use of single use bottles, taking part in beach cleans and reusing plastic items are among the ways the kids think they can save the whales from plastic pollution. Musician and children’s author Dougie said: “It’s great to see so many children want to be like Finn, which is character I really relate to. Finn gets quite down about the plastic pollution problem, which I do too and need a little picking up every now and again like he does. But it’s the small stories of triumph and helping to guide change which really restore my faith. “I wrote this book because I really wanted to create a fictional story with facts that the reader could absorb, learn and carry them on into the rest of their lives as that’s how I learnt about the natural environment when I was growing up, and I hope this story will inspire the future change makers of this earth.”

The survey also found those who are worried about the ocean think it will be an average of 26 years before it’s too late to save the sea from permanent damage. With half feeling frustrated that they can’t do more to help the planet. The feelings of concern are further validated as children reveal that they have found plastic bags (59 per cent), plastic bottles (57 per cent) and food packaging (48) when visiting the beach. But encouragingly 63 per cent have learned about climate change, 35 per cent in school and 23 per cent online. And one in 10 have even learned about the issues in a fictional story book. Children are most likely to chat to their parents about climate change and 42 per cent have asked them to recycle more, use less plastic (40 per cent) and take reusable bags shopping (38 per cent). A third even want their parents to change what they eat, according to the OnePoll data. Rebecca Widdowson, a spokesperson for BRITA UK added: “We are really passionate about reducing single-use plastics and supporting a more sustainable reuse culture, so it’s encouraging to see so many children are learning about climate change in school. “We want to continue to inspire children in a meaningful and engaging way and to raise funds for our long-standing charity partner WDC and support them in their vital work to protect the oceans for generations to come.”

LUNCHTIME SEWING CLUB

In the Autumn and Spring term a lunchtime club was run by Mrs Smith. Year 5 girls enjoyed making sock monkeys developing their sewing skills to create a toy stitched by themselves.
Skills taught were:
• Threading a needle and tying a knot at the end of the thread.
• Pinning fabric together.
• Oversew stitch
• Back stitch
• Attaching accessories.

District Sports 2022

Kingston Primary School came 1st in District Sports this year. This is an amazing achievement and the children showed incredible dedication and teamwork throughout the day. All of the children gave their all in their events. Well done to our team!

Platinum Jubilee Picnic

We celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a whole school picnic. The children absolutely loved the event. We studied what life was like in the 1950s and families shared pictures from this time. We played games, had a lovely picnic and enjoyed singing the National Anthem. After school, we invited all of our families to join us for tea and cake and had the most amazing day.

Tree Planting Day

To launch the Jubilee celebrations we had a whole school tree-planting event. All of the children in the school helped to plant trees all around the school to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Not only was this a memorable event for the whole school community but it will be a lasting legacy for all of our children. They will be able to see the trees grow and even when the children are all grown up they will be able to see the trees they planted because they will be here for many years to come. Our Eco Warriors have helped to offset our carbon footprint by introducing these new trees onto our site. What a day!

WORLD BOOK DAY 2022!

What a wonderful day celebrating books! We all love reading and getting into books - they often open unexpected doors! We started the day with a huge celebration assembly talking about our costumes and books. We then listened to the amazing World Book Day 2022 song together with a story by the the author Joanne Nadin - 'The worst class in the world'. The school then spent time reading their favourite books. Throughout the day, teachers went into different classes and shared their favourite books with the children who learnt about some of our most amazing authors. What a an incredible day!

Here are some pictures from the day:

Siobhan Meade, a Blind Vlogger Visits Kingston Primary School

On the 1st February 2022, Siobhan Meade, a blind vlogger came to Kingston to speak with some of our children about what it is like to be blind. Siobhan was amazing and welcomed all types of questions from our children. Helping to educate them about visual impairment. This was a great learning experience for the children and it supported our passion for diversity and mutual respect. The filming was such a success that the Guide Dogs charity posted on their social media about it, which helped to raise awareness of such an important topic. The story even made several major news companies and even appeared on Sky News. What a way to spread an important message and what amazing stars we have at Kingston Primary School.

See the videos and pictures below:

Some of the news artcles can be found here:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/school-kids-questions-blind-vlogger-26254055

https://nypost.com/2022/02/17/blind-woman-reveals-she-still-dreams-in-color/

Max Whitlock Visits Kingston Primary School

On the 18th June, Max Whitlock, the double Olympic champion, came to Kingston to speak with many of our young children about sports, healthy living and their future goals.

Max was absolutely brilliant with the children and asked them lots of questions but our children were just as amazing and asked him lots of hilarious and probing questions. Max shared his Olympic medals with the children and even showed them some of his amazing gymnastics. Two of our lovely children even got to have lunch with him!

See the video and pictures below: