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Sisters Emma and Chloe celebrate Dia de Muertos with traditional festivities

As part of the end-of-term halloween celebrations we were delighted that sisters Emma and Chloe brought the traditions of Dia de Muertos to HCH includng festive party bags, brighly coloured dress and costumes. Hampton Court House has students and families from a variety of cultures and backgrounds and... Emma and Chloe were able to discuss Dia de Muertos with their friends and teachers as part of the school-wide celebrations on Friday.

Dia de Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because their loved ones awaken and celebrate with them.

Emma was dressed as Catrina, a traditonal Mexican character based on the original drawings by Mexican illustrator, José Guadalupe Posada. Emma’s Catrina costume featured the recognisable ‘sugar skull’ makeup. Chloe brought beautiful, brightly coloured celebratory party bags for all her friends in Nursery which she had made with her parents at home.

HCH Wellbeing Day 2020

As we draw this half term to a close we have hopefully given our students some lovely experiences and happy memories today to take with them into the two-week break. The students have spent some of the day off-timetable to enjoy a range of ‘feel-good’ physical and outdoor activities as part of HCH...

Y6 CNED group create their own Dada poems

Y6 CNED (Alice, Lili and Zoe) have had a go to write their own Dada poem by following the instructions of the French-Romanian poet Tristan Tzara. They cut some words in a newspaper, mixed them up and randomly picked them out and stuck them in on a piece of paper without changing anything. They created... some unique and inspiring pieces of work amongst the weird and wonderful!

To construct a Dada poem, the language should be broken into syllables and individual letters, and then reconfigured as meaningless sounds.

Year 4 compete in an action-packed running race…in slow motion

In year 4’s drama lesson this week they were asked to compete in an improvised running race which took place over a mere 3m distance. The twist was the children needed to complete the race in slow motion. “On your marks…Get set… GO!” but not too fast or you will be disqualified! If a pupil... crossed the finish line, they were asked to dramatically act as if it they had lost the race of their life. By focusing intently on stretching and extending every limb, the students will have felt a clear connection to their bodies and to where they were in the space in relation to their rivals. Having this high level of physical connection and spatial awareness is a vital skill for all performers so, out of what was a light-hearted and slightly ridiculous exercise, valuable insight is gained.

Yoga in Year 1

Year 1 learned some basic yoga poses and breathing exercises in their movement/dance lesson today. The poses and movements Steph taught them are very beneficial for developing strength and flexibiity as well as giving the children some time to pause and focus on their breathing and thoughts in their... otherwise busy day! As we have a slightly adapted timetable at the moment, our lower years pupils are having sport and movement lessons every day.

Chinese calligraphy and brushwork in Year 7’s art immersion day

Year 7 were joined by visiting artist Qiong Wu today for their art immersion day. Qiong Wu, our art teacher Rachel, and Mandarin teacher Feng worked with the pupils on Chinese calligraphy and brushwork techniques. The students’ work was full of life and expression and their understanding of Chinese... art, narratives and the origin of some letter forms has been enriched by today’s experience.

Here they are exploring the way that the image of a bird on a branch has evolved into the character for “bird”.

Year 5 computer science wish lists

Year 5 have been creating their own wish lists using their MS Office skills in their Computer Science lessons. Computer Science is a new subject for all of Year 5 and the first half term is spent gaining better understanding in typing and navigating their way around different software packages. We felt... particularly inspired by this wish list created by Paige in Year 5:

For earth: l wish it will stay safe
The seas will stay clean.
And no more animals will be extinct.

For my friends:l hope they stay safe

For my teachers: l hope they have a good career

For my parents: I hope they have a healthy and happy life

For my brother: I hope we stay as close as
we are now when we’re older

For me: l hope that all these wishes come true
and I hope l will have a healthy and happy life