GO FEST WEEK 7: CULTURE CRUSH

We have made it altogether to the final week of the school year! This week we have had a magic show, a Hunky Dory disco, The Steve Hewlett Ventriloquism Show (BGT finalist 2013)We are ready to laugh together, dance together, perform of the big stage together. We have finished our GO Ventures and raised loads of money for charity. We have 3 wonderful community nights with music, rides, entertainment, food and fun. Thank you all for coming and helping to end this year's GO Fest in such a Hunky Dory way! Many of our school community are also celebrating Eid together and with their wider families...we wish them an Eid Mubarak. We wish all our families and safe and happy summer holiday.

The school office is open through the summer if you need it. Back to school on Thursday 2nd September

GO FEST WEEK 6: WACKY WATERMELON WEEK

We will keep moving on to enjoy the last two weeks of GO Fest and our school term TOGETHER! Some changes this week but we are resilient and grateful so no water zone this year but Wacky Races instead! We welcomed Richard Jones - the military magician and mind reader who won Britain's Got Talent. He amazed us with his show and his talent. The Big Stage was up and ready for Friday when we watched our special guest performers Flawless and had a dance together outside to warm up for next week. Our 150 Y6 pupils Class of 2021 graduated with a beautiful outdoor ceremony on Friday evening.

And of course...we had watermelon!

GO FEST WEEK 5: BERRY SET GO

Some changes to GO Fest this week unfortunately, Big thanks go to all our families for helping this week, especially all those who completed 2 days of learning on SeeSaw and all those that watched the film and Mr F's message at the weekend and have helped get their children back to school safely for the last 2 weeks of term.

GO FEST WEEK 4: STRAWBERRY SCRUMPTIOUS 

Who doesn't love strawberries or a week of learning named after strawberries? In addition to our normal learning this week, lots of classes have been out on wonderful day trips. Y1, Y3 and Jets 2 enjoyed a day at the beach in Walton on the Naze. Y4 and Y6 have been den building and orienteering in Epping Forest. One of our pupils described his day out as "a dream come true!" We all had strawberries and ice-cream and Y6 had an extra ice-cream treat for just being Y6! At the end of the week Y2 camped out on the field in tents with a barbeque dinner, games and a camp fire! We have managed to "teem" without mixing up at all by having a Sing Up together outside on the playground. It was a joy to be together. Some children were able to see their siblings in school for the first time all year! Enjoy some snippets of singing captured below.

GO FEST WEEK 3: PINEAPPLE PALS

We keep on moving through GO Fest throwing ourselves into our Go Ventures, watching a spectacular show, experiencing Clay Day, Masterchef moments and trips to Epping Forest, We have performed some INCREDIBLE drama in the theatre - discovering and realising our talents again is one of the aims of this years GO Fest.

GO FEST WEEK 2 - GUAVA GOODNESS

Despite the Prime Minister's announcement that restrictions will not be completely lifting until the last week of our school year we are keeping upbeat and positive, in true Orion and GO Fest style. Community Evening WILL happen in the last week - we will be able to TEEM (meet up) This week we've tasted fresh guavas, Y6 have been out on an adventure day,  Y2 spent a glorious day on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze and we have all been country rangers learning outside and doing a cookout! Many of us have started our Olympic Torch Relay and taken part in MasterChef and many of us have started our Lego challenge. Many of us had done our National Duty and sent the Queen a birthday card! We've been entertained by some performers and their special talents. It is so great to see live events! Enjoy the photos of this week's learning.

One of our Go Ventures this week was Construction Kid. Huge thanks to Lego for donating nearly 60,000 pieces of Lego to us so we could complete this venture. Building Lego models takes good hand-eye co-ordination, concentration, patience and the ability to read and follow a visual set of instructions. 

GO FEST WEEK 1 - MANGO MOVES

GO Fest has begun in truly tropical style with some beautiful summer weather and an amazing week of learning! The Colour Rangers are helping to organise 20 GO ventures for all of us to complete over this half term, which include important life skills, outdoor learning, day trips out of school, singing, dancing, cooking and much more. Trips out this week included Woburn Safari Park, Elstree Aerodrome, Epping Forest and an Outdoor Adventure Activities such as zip wire and high ropes. Mango Moves week wouldn't be complete without a cool refreshing glass of mango juice on Friday!

Back in the I-Shine Theatre - 27th & 28th May

We were thrilled to get back into the theatre. We thought we were watching a film but had the best surprise to see the Do It Dude, the Colour Rangers and Yellow Man LIVE in person!

The excitement of Go Fest was truly felt by all...we can not wait to get back to school to start our GoVentures!

Word Up: Purple Week

It's the last week of a WONDERFUL Word Up. The world is definitely much more colourful and HUNKY DORY.  Tuesday was HUNKY DORY DAY.  We produced our own images of Hunky Dory World and exchanged the I Care bricks we have earnt over the last 8 weeks.

The Word Up Show Finale!

At 2pm Friday 21st May we finally found out what happened to Greytone! The films have captivated 1500 children across Orion and Goldbeaters from the youngest to the oldest. Thank you to the super talented film crew for your relentless enthusiasm and drive to entertain us with the incredible stories of  Vincent Van Gogh, Greytone, The Do It Dude and The Colour Rangers. We have loved every moment!

The Royal Mail Heroes Stamp Design Competition

We have entered some fantastic pieces of work for this competition. Children had to create a picture of their hero or heroes of the coronavirus pandemic that may be chosen for a postage stamp. Pictures included nurses, doctors, vaccinators, scientists, teachers, supermarket staff, bus drivers, carers and many more. We are proud of all of these heroes many of whom are parents of our pupils.

Word Up: Jungle Green Week

All through Word Up we have been captivated by The Colour Rangers, Greytone and The Do It Dude. Greytone went missing in Orange Week and this week every child at The Orion wrote a persuasive letter to him as to why he should come back. Will their letters make a difference to him? Will Do It Dude and the Colour Rangers find him? We'll find out next week...

The characteristic of green week has been dependability. Are you reliable? Trustworthy? Loyal? A good and true friend? Friday was a spectacle of green-ness is school, a perfect colour to celebrate Eid. We hope that all our school community who celebrated Eid this week had a very special time.

Word Up: Orangutan Orange Week

This week was not just about oranges but about showing our confidence. Being brave, being sure of ourselves, speaking clearly, standing tall and proud. You can see our confidence in some of the photos below. Thank you to all our generous families for your donations for our Friday Fundraiser. Money raised will be sent to the Covid Crisis Appeal in India and also for getting in a Friday Word Up spirit each week - sending your children to school in the colour of the week and often dressing in that colour yourselves. You are the best!

Word Up: Jam Red Week

Bringing stories to life improves our language skills and our imagination. This always shows in the quality of our writing. The theme of the week this week is being sociable. Talking well, choosing the best word to convey our meaning, being confident at making conversation. Workshops in school this week have included storytelling sessions and masked drama. Our after school Sunshine Club has started for all children to have the opportunity to be active and sociable together after the school day has ended. The week ended with Fresh Bread Friday served with...red jam of course!

Word Up: Space Cadet Blue Week

The theme for this week is all about being adventurous and having some fun. Y6 had astronauts day and we had a super boost event this week for Y3 and Y4 - a virtual reality space workshop. We were transported into space for an intergalactic adventure - you can probably hear in the video how excited we were!

True Blue Day - Friday 23rd April

Thinking about a quality of blue today - true blue can mean loyal, honest and committed. We reflected on the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, his incredible service to Great Britain and the Commonwealth and his unwavering care of The Queen for the last 73 years. We have also thought of some other heroes throughout this year, who have worked constantly throughout the Coronavirus pandemic to keep the country running and as many people as safe and well as possible. These people never gave up...doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, headteachers, teachers and support staff, delivery drivers, supermarket workers, cleaners, electricians, plumbers, farmers, police, firefighters, our parent community, and many many more We say THANK YOU!

Word Up: Chocolate Brown Week

We are feeling thankful this week - the third week of Word Up. Hunky Dory world is taking shape...things are more colourful, gorgeous and positive. We were so thankful for the sunny weather - and got plenty of fresh air and fun outside doing a chocolate challenge. Have a look below at some of the other things we appreciate. 

Word Up: Banana Yellow Week

It's been a sunny yellow and positive week of Word Up this week. Our awesome colour power is yellow which is helping us to be positive, smiley and encourage others and make a Hunky Dory World. Our classroom doors look POSITIVE, our learning is POSITIVE, our doodles are POSITIVE and we are POSITIVE.  We've eaten bananas for snack and enjoyed banana milkshakes. Did you know that the potassium ions in bananas carry a positive charge?  Make sure to tune in on Sunday to the Word Up Show Episode to find out our next awesome colour power! 

Word Up: Bubble Gum Pink Week

Everything about pink week has been GORGEOUS. Our awesome colour power has tinged our world with pink for kindness and helpfulness. We've done gorgeous reading and writing and plenty jibber jabber talking. We've even done GORGEOUS PE! This Friday we had a Gorgeous Clothes Day to raise money for Red Nose Day.  We are GORGEOUS!

12th March 2021 - Bringing it back - WORD UP 2021

The Do It Dude is back - he was rescued from the capture of the evil Grey Tone and together with the Colour Rangers and all the children of Orion and Goldbeaters (Team Awesome) Word Up 2021 is launched. 

Thursday 11th March 2021 

BBC London news piece filmed at Orion. All about children's mental health during and after lockdown. Thank you lovely parents who were interviewed, Mr Prince, Mr F and of course our gorgeous pupils. You can watch the clip below if you missed it!

Monday 8th March 2021 - Bringing it Back

We are thrilled to be back TOGETHER again. We are bringing back the smiles, the kindness, the friendship and the care. Well done children. parents and staff for a wonderful week Bringing it Back at Orion

Fabruary 8th - 15th - Children's Mental Health Week 2021

We all need to take care of our mental health - just as we try to keep our body healthy by eating well and exercising we need to keep our mind fit and well too. There are lots of ways to do this - have fresh air, get your heart beating by exercising, having quiet, calm time, being with a friend, doing something you really love, laughing out loud, doing something kind for others. Lockdown and home learning has meant that we haven't been able to do some of these things as much as we would usually. Have a look below to see what we've done this week to raise spirits and improve our mental health.

Tuesday 9th Fabruary 2021 - Safer Internet Day

Thanks to the very talented Mr Remnant and awesome children of Orion and Goldbeaters for this brilliant video released for Safer Internet Day. There are really important messages here - make sure you know how to stay safe online.

January 29th 2021 

To all of you fantastic children and parents who are learning together at home we say a huge WELL DONE! You have been trying so hard, your teachers have seen very impressive pieces of work uploaded to SeeSaw every day and those of you who have returned learning packs, you have done really well. It is really tough having to learn at home and you are making everyone proud. Parents, you are AMAZING! Have a look at some of the incredible home learning here.

The next 2 weeks of work (Week 5 & 6) are ready for you to collect and a new Do More Blue Pack to keep you awesome. We are here to help if you get stuck or need anything.

January 22nd 2021

After 3 weeks of term we are half way through our STAY AWESOME challenge. Children and parents home learning, you are doing brilliantly! Don't forget to check SeeSaw every day to see your daily timetable, tasks and teaching videos. Watch One Kind Learning on Mondays and Fridays and pick up the Awesome Sauce Pack. Keep up your hard work and keep busy We are here to help you if you need it. You are AWESOME!

Lots of children are also staying safe and staying AWESOME in school. It's strange to not be altogether but there is lots of learning, PE and happy playtimes. Thanks Mr F for the chocolate buns you gave us to celebrate Fantastic Friday. You are AWESOME too!

January 2021

Wishing all our community a happy new year. It's been a hard start to the year but we are here to help you. Make sure you are keeping up to date with Mr F's messages. There will be 2 One Kind Learning films a week to keep your children busy and your children's teachers will upload daily learning via SeeSaw every day. There will be a schedule you can follow. Not sure how? We will help. Need even more for your children - we will help.

Christmas Lunch 2020

A special treat for all the children this week. Festive lunch - American Diner Style, Children enjoyed a delicious burger and skinny fries with milkshakes, jelly and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. Thanks to the I-Shine Kitchen Team who cooked and served for 3 days in a row so that every year group bubble had a wonderful time.

StarLight Festival 2020

A very different Starlight Festival this year but very beautiful nonetheless. Every child created a scene within an individual box. Children worked hard to learn and develop new artistic and creative skills, including 3D sculpture, finger knitting, decoupage and pom pomming. The boxes were exhibited and buddy classes had a viewing. We hope you agree that they are really impressive.

Christmas Jumper Day - Friday 11th December 2020

Today was National Christmas Jumper Day and Orion kids and teachers as always did their best to come to school in something sparkly, christmassy or colourful. Smiles all round!

Hot Chocolate Friday - Friday 4th December

A hot chocolate treat for all the children who were able to step it up this week. The weather has turned really cold and the hot chocolate was perfect. Thanks Mr F and all the staff who made and poured it for us to enjoy.

GIVE IT - The Art of Kindness

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas! We are getting ready for Starlight and the Xmas trees are up. This year they are Kindness Trees. Have a look at the gorgeous decorations we have made for them - in the name of kindness. Can you see the gifts under the tree? There are 11. One for each day until the end of term...have a look at our nursery children opening the first one. It was the gift of fun! What will the next gift be?

Do More - One Kind Learning - Family Art Task

Well done and thanks to all the Orion families who spent some time this weekend creating a family portrait. The art brought back into school was stunning - we hope you had fun together!

Togetherness Thursday (26th November 2020)

We have been colouring our world with togetherness this week. Being together is such a great feeling. Together with our families, together with our friends, together with our teachers and classmates. It's been tricky to be together this year but we managed to meet some buddies across the school in some clever ways! We sent messages to each other, made films for each other, met via Zoom to play Bingo and do quizzes and even waved from a distance. We are always better together!

Year 1's Queen's Banquet - Wednesday 25th November

All dressed up in their finest to have tea with the queen this afternoon. The queen wasn't able to come today sadly but we had a great time anyway!

Cone Together - Friday 20th November

Celebrating teamwork

Teams come in all different sizes. In our year groups we are in teams of 120 plus our adults so that's a huge team all working together and helping each other. Some teams are just 2 people like Ben & Jerry, makers of delicious ice-cream. Not only did these 2 men work really hard to set up an ice-cream company but they also campaign against injustice and support lots of worthy causes. Peace, love & ice-cream!

BBC Children in Need 2020 - Friday 13th November

Wow! Huge effort from every single child today all dressed up smart or silly style and all bringing money to support Children in Need. Together, we filled our school with hearts, we learned the dance moves from One Kind Learning Special film, we got tricky with "in the bin" trick shots and we went to the One Kind Learning Pop Shop and filled a happy bag for home time. What a smiley school today and what incredible thanks our brilliant children and parents gave. We are proud to be TOGETHER!

Pop Up Art

We can't go to an art gallery this month because of lockdown so art came to us at The Orion and we viewed a pop up art installation. The weird and wonderful world of RED...

Half Term Food Hub

Over the week of half term footballer Mesut Ozil sponsored the cooking of delicious fresha dn healthy meals which were distributed from the food hub at The Orion for Goldstar families who could enjoy them at home. The meals were packaged to go with a selection of fruit provided by The BYT Project. Thank you to chef Stefan Pappert for cooking the meals throughout the night so they would be ready for each morning and to Mr F who made sure the food got to families who needed them. Thanks also to the staff team who volunteered time to help out.

Amazing first half term!

Thank you all for an amazing first half term of 2020/21.  Things have been a little different and there have been some changes but we're so glad we're all back at school.  Have a brilliant week and look our for a brand NEW episode of One Kind Learning. 

Let's Go Colour Our World with Art

During our new "colourful" day we get creative in the afternoons. Our corridors have been transformed into galleries with each class creating a large canvas full of colour. Check out our creativity in the photos below. 

Black History Month at Orion

This week every year group celebrated Black History. Children had some amazing debates, wrote speeches, poems and facts, Lots of children were inspired to do even more learning at home. We are so lucky to be a part of such a diverse school community where respect, and equality is part of our daily lives.

The Big Draw - Thursday 15th October

Today we had a special drawing morning - using shapes to draw a range of animals. Did you know that drawing  can really help establish and develop concentration, it improves hand eye co-ordination, fine motor skills and increases children's confidence. Look at the concentration, effort and skills that have gone into these pictures.

Apple Week - Celebrating Rocktober

We had a different variety of apple every day for 7 days! Red delicious, Baeburn, Fiji, Cox, Pink Lady are just some of the 7,500 apple varieties that exist worldwide. Did you know that apples are 25% air and that's why they float in water? Cut an apple in half to see the five seed pockets inside - they are called carpels. Eating 2 apples a day can really improve your health.

World Smile Day - October 2nd

Help Me Help You!

Easy home task for every parent today. Just say YAY! to your children and give them a huge smile. Even though it was raining heavily this morning parents and children came to school with huge smiles. Smiles are definitely contagious!

Macmillan Art Day - Friday 25th September

We all wore something green today and donated some money to say thanks and show our gratitude to the amazing Macmillan nurses who do such an important and difficult job. We did some green themed art to create a tree of care. Each child also took home today a gift for their family to show thanks to them too and to say well done for our first month back at school this year.

Peace Day 2020

We marked the International Day of Peace this year by being thoughtful and mindful about what peace means to us and to others round the world. We did some peaceful art in our classrooms

Quest 2020/21 - Lets Go Colour our World with our new Colourful Day

We have returned to school this year to embrace our new kind of learning - A COLOURFUL DAY. We have a BIG morning with longer literacy and numeracy sessions. This means we have time for new important learning and also to recap areas that we might have missed or not understood. We read and write every single day. We have a nurturing afternoon which includes art lessons, science, music, drama, PE and PSHE and a Zones of Regulation lesson. Afternoons are calm and creative and we love them!

Our quest this year uses colour to help us return to an I Shine way of thinking

Orange is for energy, excitement and enthusiasm

Green is calming and also says "Let's Go!"

Red is the colour of love - it symbolises our commitment to our friends and family

Blue is the colour of trust, unity, loyalty and confidence

Yellow is sunny, cheerful and positive

Pink is for putting your heart and soul into all that you do