" We are excited to be your Teaching Assistants this year! We're going to have an amazing time learning new things, discovering new exciting ideas and growing together. We can't wait to see all the progress you'll make and have fun along the way. Let's make this year the best one yet inshaAllah! " Ms Mahmood and Ms A Begum

Why This Matters

Events like this are brilliant for several reasons:

• Building Confidence: Speaking in front of nearly 200 people (including adults from other schools) is an incredible boost for a 9 or 10-year-old’s public speaking skills.

• Interfaith Dialogue: Opening your doors to local schools fosters a sense of community and helps neighbours understand each other better.

• Active Learning: There is an old saying that "to teach is to learn twice." By preparing a presentation for their peers, the Year 5 students also deepened their own understanding of their faith and the significant contribution Muslim Scientists made toward the field of Science and Medicine. 

We had lots of fun trying to identify the characters and the title of the book!

Hypothesis: Not all solids are irreversible when burned.

Predictions: I predict that the chocolate and candle will melt, and they are reversible changes while the wood and paper will burn into ashes/charcoal. However, the paperclips are composed of two different materials, so the outer layer will melt because it's plastic, while the inside will not burn because its metal. 

Results: The wood burned slowly and released some as it burned. The burst wood turned very quickly and quietly turned to a white, grey-coloured ash. Hudayfa K

We started by looking at real examples of Greek pots and vases. Many of them were decorated with pictures of gods, mythical creatures, and scenes from famous myths. Inspired by these, we designed our own pottery pieces.

Using clay, we shaped our pots carefully — though it did get a little messy (especially when we added too much water!). Some of us made tall vases, while others created small bowls. We finished them off with patterns and drawings just like the ancient Greeks did.

Everyone really enjoyed the activity and learned how art can help tell stories from the past.

"It was a lot of fun, even though it got messy!" – Isa A

The students dedicated a great deal of time to practicing and rehearsing, showing excellent teamwork and enthusiasm. Their hard work paid off with a fantastic performance that delighted their parents and showcased their talents beautifully.

The children took part in many exciting outdoor activities. The trip helped everyone build confidence, develop teamwork skills, and grow in independence. Evenings were spent around the campfire, sharing stories and enjoying time together.

We tested different materials to see if they changed in a way that could be undone (reversible change) or if they changed forever (irreversible change).

A reversible change means that a material can go back to how it was before, even after being mixed or changed.

An irreversible change means that once the material has changed, it cannot go back to how it was before.

From my experiment, I found out that some materials, when burnt, turn into something new and cannot change back - this is an irreversible change. But some materials did not change much when burnt, so their change was reversible.' - M. Ayyaan.H

"We learnt about Bosnia as part of cultural heritage week! We learnt about the various foods, clothing and language. Last week we had non-uniform day, and we dressed up in our own cultural dress! We had lots of fun!" - Aysha P

Some parts of the UK have many more people than others - Scotland's mountains and remote islands have very few inhabitants, while England is the most crowded country, with London being the largest city in the UK.

'In Geography we learnt about urban areas and greenspaces. Greenspaces are important for our environment to improve our health and our quality of breathing. Rural places are very calm and peaceful and there are many farm animals. Urban spaces are usually in the city area. They have many vehicles and very tall buildings. It is much noisier and more chaotic. I learnt that urbanisation is the increase of the population or the increase in building in a city. 

How can we save our planet and green spaces? We can save our green spaces by planting more trees and building less.' - Zahra K

- Maham I

Additionally, we have explored how these features work together to engage audiences and convey messages clearly. By analysing different types of videos, we can evaluate the techniques used to capture attention, communicate ideas, and enhance storytelling.

Did you know ageing is a completely natural part of the life cycle of humans, but there are lots of things you can do to slow down the process and stay fitter for longer? 

' In Art, we have been looking at the work of the artist Clarice Cliff. We drew apples, bananas, bowls and shields. I really enjoyed painting the bowls and shields and enjoyed drawing the mug' Sumayya S

' I have learnt in Art that Clarice Cliff was famous for pottery, and she used bright colours to draw fruits and other designs' Jeyhan

' I really enjoyed dressing up in a pilot hat and goggles' Ilyas

' I really enjoyed the loud air sirens and trying out an old telephone! They had a sofa that was made out of horse hair' Umer

' My favourite part of the trip was learning about Spitfires. We also got to pack our own suitcases. This allowed us to decide what was important for us to pack during an evacuation. We could only take 20 items with us. My other favourite part was hearing the loud air sirens, and we had to lie on the floor!' Mustafa

' We looked at all the plants and flowers that were grown previously in the allotment. We looked at how overtime tomatoes, courgette and sweetcorns grew'  Amirah ES

Pupils have been fascinated by the title and the theme of the book.  Here are some of their thoughts about the story so far and how they felt trying on an actual WW2 Air Raid Wardens' hat!

'This week, on Tuesday, we did some fitness exercises to help strengthen our bodies in Goodmayes Park with Coach Constantee. We did some burpes, skipping, star jumps and more. This helped our body experience a lot of exercise.' - Ayah A

Also, that week, the girls dived deep into the waters of the crystal clear swimming pool. The coaches put us all into three groups. I love swimming and can't wait to keep going swimming!' - Aaminah K

On Tuesday we had pyjama day. It made me feel uncomfortable wearing them to school, but seeing everyone else also in their pyjamas made it super fun!

On Thursday we had World Book Day. I was dressed as a solider from Micheal Morpurgos's book. Everyone dressed up super colourful and in different costumes! I really enjoyed this day because we got to discuss different characters and I learnt a lot!' -  Muhammed P

Did you know that some people are born with limbs and replace them with fake ones?' - Safwaan U

https://www.al-noorprimary.org.uk/blog/?pid=11&nid=22