This week it has been Career’s Week AND World Book Day, so we have been very busy!

On Monday morning, it was time for our Entry Level Functional Maths exams for some of our learners. The remainder of 11G and 11R pupils congregated together in 11G’s classroom for some speaking and listening games. We were all given a photograph and had to take it in turns to add to a story using our photograph for inspiration. We had a story about an astronaut and a clown who made friends and went on a treasure hunt where they met a lion, a shark and found the treasure- a very special tiara. It was really good practice of speaking in full sentences, giving enough information to people who are listening and using a loud and clear voice so that everyone can hear us.

In the afternoon, we all walked into town for some Community Access. We split into two groups where half of us used a shopping list to buy the ingredients that we needed for cooking on Tuesday whilst the rest of us were continuing our work for Chorley in Bloom by taking part in litter picking around the town centre. We found lots of interesting items and nearly filled a full bag with rubbish!

On Tuesday it was our next English lesson on Wild Isles. We learnt about willow trees that give off their pollen which looks like a cloud of smoke, meaning that people sometimes think that there are fires happening in the forest! We also learnt about capercaillie birds that live in Scotland and watched two male birds fighting each other to gain the attention of the female birds. We talked about how important it is that the capercaillies mate so that the breed doesn’t become extinct. We used the video as a stimulus for writing again, practicing building sentences that make sense and making sure that we write down all of the words that we need to.

In the afternoon we split into two groups as usual. Mrs Cobham led a Good to Be Me session in class which built on last week’s work about worries. The group continued to speak about worries, thinking about what happens if you don’t talk about your worries and that a little worry can become a big worry. They made a Venus worry trap showing their worries and next week they will talk more about what they can do to help when they are feeling worried about different things. Mrs Fisher and Mr Crofts took a group at a time to the food tech room to bake millionaires shortcake whilst Miss Greenwood took a pupil out at a time to practice their independent travelling.

On Wednesday morning, Mrs Mahood was in class and the group were exploring other ideas that they can use for an enterprise project in order to raise money for prom. This week they tried out making bacon butties and hot cross buns, as well as selling the millionaires shortcakes that we had made in cooking the previous afternoon.

In the afternoon, we all went into the hall to take part in our first Alumni session of the week. 3 ex-pupils came into the hall to speak to us about their journey’s since leaving Astley Park School. It was so nice for our learners to hear real-life success stories from ex-pupils and to help to inspire them for their futures. The final speaker was Karen Bamber from Runshaw College who spoke to us all about college life and how it might be different to school. She spoke about the expectations of college and about the opportunities that everyone will get whilst at college.

On Thursday it was World Book Day so we did not attend Chorley in Bloom. We had a variety of costumes in class including the Incredibles, Edna Mode, Joker, Harley Quinn, The Hat, Spiderman, Veruca Salt and a super villain. We had lots of fun taking part in different activities in class, then in the afternoon we went into the hall to take part in a Superhero themed drama workshop. We ran around the hall dressed as our favourite superheroes, worked together to make a superhero potion, decided on our unique superpower then ended the session with a game of What time is it Mr Wolf? Finally, we all took part in a virtual costume parade on Teams where all classes could share their costumes with the rest of school and Mr Welsh.

On Friday we took part in our final Alumni session of the week in the hall again. This time 2 ex-pupils came to speak to us about their experiences since leaving Astley Park School, as well as Mrs Cobham’s Dad Frank who came to talk to us about his career and his valeting job that he does now.

During Golden Time, some of 10A came to join us so we played a mass game of Kahoot! It is safe to say that everyone was very competitive so the noise levels became very loud!

A big well done to Clayton who is our Star of the Week this week. Clayton has been honest about his feelings this week during our Good to Be Me session, sharing with Mrs Cobham and his peers about what worries him and how he can help himself when he is feeling worried. Well done, Clayton!

Next week we will be back at Chorley in Bloom on Thursday and swimming again on Friday.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mrs Fisher, Mrs Cobham, Miss Greenwood and Mr Crofts

11G Week 8 Spring term