The Magical World of Reading at RAPS
The wonderful world of reading and storytelling is an important key to unlock a child’s imagination – and Ramsgate Arts Primary hold a series of reading for pleasure sessions throughout the year.
The latest of these celebrated the 25th anniversary of World Book Day with children, families and staff sharing the joy of the written and spoken word through a structured programme of fun learning activities.
Head of School Nick Budge said: “The use of language is a central part of our learning and our focus on reading and the joy it brings is a way to explore so many different avenues for our children.”
Familiar colourful characters and costumes from a range of authors leapt from the pages of storybooks and into the classrooms and corridors as pupils and staff dressed as their favourites.
Teachers all dressed up as the Disney classic’s 101 Dalmatians with Mr Budge as their menacing nemesis Cruella de Ville.
Children of all ages enjoyed numerous book-related activities that not only helps develop their abilities to read but encourages their love of reading.
The special day included the chance for pupils to identify the masked reader as undercover teachers read stories and their listeners had to guess who was telling the tales.
National live workshops were screened online all day, while special bespoke
sessions pre-recorded for RAPS by authors and illustrators were popular.
Teachers swapped classes to read their favourite books to different children,. While class buddies of different age groups paired up to share stories from the school library and book corners.
Parents were invited into the school hall for a magical reading by torchlight on comfy cushions, beanbags and sofas; and all pupils received tokens to spend in national book stores or at the Moon Lane bookshop in Ramsgate.
One of the most challenging tasks saw pupils tasked earlier with reading stories to their pets and reading in the most unusual places, with the evidence photographed. There were a selection of interesting and thoughtful entries, with pupils Millie and Annie judged the winners.
Teacher Sophie Spurrier, who is Early Years Foundation Studies lead, co-ordinated the event. She said: “Our aim is simple – to highlight the love of reading every day.
“Our children are excited about
books and the amazing journeys that stories can take them on - we wanted to make sure our World Book Day was all about reading for pleasure to encourage our girls and boys to get lost in the magical world of reading.
“It was important also that this was not just a one-off activity but was an ongoing celebration of the written and spoken word. At RAPS we have lots of reading for pleasure sessions planned in for the rest of the year too.”
Mr Budge added: “It was a spectacular day as magical as the characters and stories that captivate us all. Loving books and being excited to immerse yourself in a thrilling story is the right of every child, and we nurture it from the youngest of ages.”
Ramsgate Arts Primary School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Upton Junior School and Chilton Primary School.
*For more information, contact Head of School Nick Budge on 01843 582847
A charter for safe internet use is to be drawn up at Ramsgate Arts Primary School. Children will play a large role in discussing and devising a simple and effective set of guidelines when using smartphones, tablets and computers to link into the world wide web.
She added: “We ask all parents and carers to reflect on the access their children have to social media and consider carefully monitoring the use of mobile phones, tablets and computers.”
It was all Greek to children at Ramsgate Arts Primary as they journeyed into the world of the ancient civilisation.
outfits and accessories on show as the day of fun learning unfolded.
In a drama session the children were transported to a Greek marketplace or ‘agora’ where they became buyers and sellers, haggling and discussing a variety of goods.
Greece.
The final experiences of the action-packed day was making wreaths and learning Greek writing.
on Junior School and Chilton Primary School.
Ramsgate Arts Primary went Maths Mad with special activities focussing on numeracy skills.
logic problems and magic squares, and took on ‘impossible Maths-related challenges’.
“It also offered them the chance to have fun with numbers and to work with peers in classes they would not normally work with.
Head of School Nick Budge was pleased with the enthusiastic response to the Maths activities. He said: “Although we celebrate the highly creative side of RAPS as the only arts specialist school in the area, we also enjoy and develop our core curriculum subjects such as Maths.
Young puppeteers at Ramsgate Arts Primary are creating their own special toy story.
“The children were then set the task to design and create their own puppet. This was a great cross-curricular process from learning the history of puppets, then designing their own puppet and considering what materials they needed.
skills, behaviours and language necessary for effective communication and collaboration.
Head of School Nick Budge agreed: “It has been interesting to see the variety of styles and materials the Year 1 children used to create their puppets.
Understanding feelings and emotions as you grow is a big task for small children – at Ramsgate Arts Primary young girls and boys are already involved in a range of initiatives to help them find out more about what makes them tick.
them to name different emotions. Then the pupils added all the different things that makes them feel emotions to ‘feelings jars’ graphics.
“We really enjoyed using the book called 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' by Carol McCloud which tells how we all have an invisible bucket and we need to help fill each other’s buckets by doing acts of kindness.
Our children feel safe and cared for throughout their time with us – helping them understand and identify the way they feel about themselves, their families and their friends, is a crucial part of how we support their growing up.”
Creating a mini Stonehenge from biscuits is a tasty way to build an ancient monument and discover more about its construction.
learning activities.
“Creating Stonehenge was fabulous inter-active start and our children were really engaged with the whole process of what the henge looked like and how it was laid out, particularly when they were cementing the biscuit building blocks into place using icing.
Ramsgate Arts Primary teachers Karen Vorst and Peter Campbell Saunders are inspiring their pupils who saw their works exhibited at Turner Contemporary in Margate.
goal.”
“After a further viewing of the artworks in the Turner, I've realised that my picture seems to be 'out of time'. Bygone eras are a typical theme in my art.
The true spirit of Christmas has been demonstrated in heart-warming fashion by children at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
continue buying classes gifts or whether the money might be better spent elsewhere.
Head of School Nick Budge said: “This is a brilliant initiative from Mrs Beech who came up with the Big Vote idea. It is heart-warming that our children are so generous and think of the needs of others more than themselves.
Learning through play activities is a cornerstone of early years education at Ramsgate Arts Primary School in Ramsgate.
Sophie Spurrier is Early Years Foundation Studies lead at RAPS. She said: “It was a real treat for our little ones. They have been learning about people that help us in the community through our topic ‘Our Heroes’.
Ramsgate Arts Primary School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Upton Junior School at Broadstairs and Chilton Primary School, Ramsgate.