Year: 2020

7th February 20

We explored the latest innovation in VR technology this morning. Thank you to Mr Ruparel, governor and parent at Finton House, for a fascinating assembly about 360º immersive photography. It was captivating to listen to his talk about bringing virtual reality to the remote refugee camp Kakuma in Kenya. In a mission to enable children in the camp to experience a ‘school trip’ to the National Gallery, the 360º camera was used to show engaging gallery workshops to the children. The children described the experience with only three letters ‘WOW’, which pretty much describes how they must have felt when experiencing virtual reality first hand. Referring to this term’s Finton Goal, Mr Ruparel went on to highlight that technology makes communication happen instantly all around the world.

7th February 20

A wonderful occasion, the Poetry Celebration and Sign2Sing performance was an absolute success. Thank you to all families for their generous donations towards Sign Health Charity. Your support for this worthwhile cause is much appreciated.

Sophie, School Reporter writes: “On Monday morning the whole school assembled in Trinity Road Chapel for the poetry celebration and the sign 2 sing performance. After Mr Ben’s speech, it was time for the first half of the poetry winners to recite their poems to the school; they were all very funny! After a while, we had a break from the poems, and the choir sang the song “Stand by Me”. There was a loud round of applause, followed by the second round of poetry winners. My favourite recital was William Ryan’s: ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’. We finished with our Sign2Sing song ‘Joining hands today’.”

31st January 20

“Poetry week was jazzed up by our visiting poet Joseph Coelho! He started his assembly off by talking about a useful method that he uses called MORERAPS, which stands for M-metaphor, O-onomatopoeia, R-rythm, E-emotion, R-repetition, A-alliteration, P-personification, S-simile. Then he read from some of his books and poems. Apparently he even has a poem that’s an hour-long! He explained that he writes novels, poems, non-fiction, fiction and picture books.

Later on the School Reporters, well two of us, had the opportunity to interview him. When asked what advice he has for future writers, he replied that he recommends always carrying a notebook for ideas, getting into the habit of observing what is around us and asking lots of questions. Joseph told us that science and non-fiction museums had a big influence on his writing, but he also got inspired by lots of other poets and writers, like Michael Rosen. We asked what he would do if he felt uninspired and how he gets his creativity flowing. He recommended to do something completely different and to take your mind off writing with for example gardening, watching a documentary or cooking. Lastly, he explained that the whole process of writing a book can take around 2 years.

We enjoyed the assembly and especially loved interviewing him.”
By School Reporters Sicily and Rosie (Year 6)