Theme Week: Embracing Rise Park’s School Community
From the 7th of July, our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils took part in an inspiring theme week centred around “Embracing Rise Park’s Community.” It was a fantastic opportunity for our children to explore and celebrate the importance of community, and they fully immersed themselves in a wide range of creative activities designed to reflect the connections we share within and beyond our school.
In year 2, we focused on the second part of the Nottingham Games Project. We began the week thinking carefully about what skills were important for effective and enjoyable play. We made some posters to put up around the school playground to remind others to promote positivity at playtime and to assist other children with conflict resolution.
Secondly, we invited members in of our community and learnt all about the games that they used to play when they were children. Some of the games that we learnt and enjoyed were Piggy in the Middle, Marbles, Father Neptune, Shipwrecked, Knucklebones, skipping and Bobby Bingo.
We enjoyed playing these games so much that we finished the week creating an informative book of instructions to display at dinner times with the middays so that other children could learn how to play them too.
Creative Collaboration: Exploring the Meaning of Home
As part of our ongoing partnership with the Nottingham Schools Trust Art Network and Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design, the children in Year 1 worked on a collaborative art project entitled “Home.” This project invited pupils to reflect on what home means to them—exploring themes of safety, comfort, and belonging. The children contributed to this project by printing their ideas onto card which were folded into birdhouses, transforming their thoughts and feelings into unique, heartfelt artworks. These pieces were then displayed as part of a wider exhibition alongside work from other Nottingham city schools.
The completed artworks were beautifully arranged and hung on trees, creating an immersive and thoughtful display at DADA (Digital Arts and Design Academy), located in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design on Shakespeare Street.
The exhibition was open to visiting schools during the day, with a special public preview held on Tuesday 22nd July from 4–6pm, where families and community members were invited to experience the powerful and moving collection of student work.
For those who missed the initial exhibition, there’s another chance to view this remarkable project. Throughout August, the exhibition will move to the former Disney Store in the Victoria Centre, where five schools’ contributions will be displayed on a weekly rotation across three weeks. This provides a fantastic opportunity for children, parents, carers—and the wider community—to enjoy the exhibition during the summer holidays. Just drop in and be inspired!
