Transition week was a huge success at Seaton Sluice Middle School. Staff were delighted to meet the new pupils who will join us in September. The week began with a trip to Warkworth Castle which provided the opportunity for Y5 staff to meet the children. Even in the heat, all of the children had a wonderful time completing tasks which allowed them to learn about the history of the castle; to carry out fun scavenger hunts and to use their artistic skills. The trip also provided the stimulus for the week ahead.
The following day all of our Year 5 staff visited each of our feeder schools and worked with the children on various activities related to our topic. Staff were very impressed with the enthusiasm and enjoyed meeting the children in their classroom environments.
On Wednesday, the children attended SSMS and many had a 'practice run' of walking to school by themselves! After some tearful arrivals (from the parents - not the children!), the children were placed in their new form classes and spent the morning getting to know each other as well as their new form teacher. Once everyone was settled there were ice breaker games and the chance to meet the rest of the school at break time. Upon returning to their classrooms, the children discovered that a clue had been left which led to a treasure hunt around SSMS Castle!! This gave the opportunity for the children to tour the school whilst solving riddles and enjoying the 'sweet' treasure at the end!
The rest of the week included a range of activities in which the children experienced learning in the specialist areas of the school. A medieval bread making opportunity within our Food Technology department provided the chance for them to show off their baking skills with a delicious result! The mystery of the poisoned drink enthused them to use their scientific knowledge and use of the apparatus to save the King! In the art room, they were inspired by artist Paul Klee and using the media of their choice, they produced some brilliant castle creations! Our ICT Quad provided an opportunity for the children to use such a range of skills to retrieve, save, edit and use a paint program to turn themselves into a character who may live in a castle!
After such an exciting week, we had to end with a BOUNCY CASTLE! Of course, we invited an ice cream van to cool off such a hot week and there were other castle themed activities, including; archery, 'Bomb the Castle' game, 'Four Kingdoms' game, 'Messenger' Run and 'Castle Character (Teacher)' Hunt.
Everyone enjoyed the week and we expect the transition from first school to middle school in September will run smoothly after such a positive experience. After our restful break, Y5 staff are really looking forward to working with our new Year 5 in September.