Cultural Development

Cultural development is achieved at Ellwood by:

  • Celebrating and respecting diversity in local, national and global communities.
  • Knowledge of Britain's democratic parliamentary system.
  • Participating and responding to cultural opportunities.
  • Recognising the things people and communities share in common.
  • Understanding different cultures essential for life in modern Britain.
  • Providing children with opportunities to explore their own culture and local culture and how this has shaped our local environment. 
Gloucester Cathedral Visit
 
On Monday 18th March Year 3, 4 and 5 visited Gloucester Cathedral. We had a lovely day touring the Cathedral and identifying features of religious places. We were inspired by the Stained Glass Windows, stone work and art within the building. 
Dean Heritage Centre
Year 1, 2 and 3 visited the Dean Heritage Centre.
We have written letters to our pen pals in France. Take a look below for letters from Beech, Sycamore and Willow.
 Africa Day
 
Iain Baird helped us today with our Africa topic. We started the morning ‘building Africa’ and then found out some very interesting facts about animals. Iain showed us how tall a male giraffe is and the size of an elephants foot. We then had a Kenyan wedding and the children played instruments whilst singing ‘Jambo Bwana’ ‘Jambo Bwana, habari gani? Nauru sana, hakuna matata’ which translates to “how are you doing? Very well. No problem, no worries”
King Charles III Coronation Art Exhibition - Friday 5th May 2023
 
We are so proud of the children for their hard work and creativity on their Coronation artwork. The art exhibition looked fantastic with all of the children's brilliant arts and crafts. Thank you all to parents and carers who came to view the children's artwork on Friday afternoon, we hope you all enjoyed the afternoon and had a great weekend celebrating.
Remembrance Sunday
The whole school reflected on events of WW1, WW2 and the efforts still going on today to protect our country. We discussed the things that all communities share in common during war and how different countries supported each other. KS1 Art club commemorated Remembrance Sunday by creating Flanders Field artwork.
Children from Sycamore and Willow went to visit Majid E Noor Mosque and Gloucester Cathedral. 
 
We enjoyed a talk from Imam Hassan then we learnt how Muslims wash before praying, what clothes they wear and how Muslims pray. Imam Hassan spoke about the Five Pillars of Islam and tested us on what we knew. 
 
After our visit to the Mosque, we visited the Cathedral. We had a tour of the Cathedral and learnt about its history through time. Then we got involved in craft activities which were set up to help us remember key points in the Cathedral's history.
Beech class: Maasai African Necklaces
 
The children in Beech class have been exploring the topic of 'Africa' within their art lessons. They have learnt about the skills of colour mixing and different patterns to reflect the African Maasai culture. They then used this to make their own Maasai necklaces. They look fantastic!
The children at in KS1 and KS2 learn about lots of different artists within their art lessons from different cultures and backgrounds. They take inspiration from these artists and their styles such as Elma Thomas and Sokari Douglas Camp.
History of the Local Area
Through our history and geography topic we learnt about the culture and history of the local area and how that impacted on wider Britain. Chestnut and Beech enjoyed a fascinating school trip to Goodrich Castle. 
Gamelan Project 
The year 4's were invited to the Gloucester music school to play on the Gamelan. The children engaged in a 10 week project where they learnt how to play Indonesian music. 
Trip to Elm Residential Home
We have been over to the residential home to do singing, art and crafts, games and chatting. 
Science week!
 
we had a scientist come in for science week, it was very exciting she came in and spoke about working in a science/lab environment. She came and did some experiments with the children. They were full of questions and really enjoyed the day.