Pupils at The Mount Junior School got into the carnival spirit after exploring Brazil, discovering more about the country and its customs, and creating their very own Rio carnival!  

Themed around ‘Explore, Discover and Create’, The Mount Junior School’s exciting creative curriculum encourages enquiring minds. This bespoke curriculum is tailored to motivate and enthuse girls, taught by a dedicated team of Primary specialists who understand the mind-set of young girls. Lessons support girls’ natural curiosity and stimulate their creativity. Through this curated programme, Junior girls access a deep foundation of skills, knowledge and attitudes that will equip them to thrive at senior school, university and long into their careers. 

This half term, Mount Junior girls were transported to Brazil for Rio De Vida (meaning ‘river of life’) across their creative curriculum lessons. In Geography and Science, they became intrepid explorers, investigating the Amazon rainforest, learning more about human and physical features of the Amazon and the lives of Brazil's indigenous people. In Music, girls discovered Latin sounds and created their own samba rhythms on percussion instruments and then recorded them using GarageBand. In Outdoor Education lessons, the children created headdresses out of natural materials found in the School’s Forest area. They took these skills even further in Art and Design Technology, making their own musical instruments and fashioned Carnival costumes from plain white t-shirts, which are now no longer plain, nor white!

Their Rio De Vida topic culminated in a fantastic Samba Carnival. The children from Early Years through to Year 6 performed their own Samba percussion rhythms, exquisite Samba dance moves and even staged a fashion show to showcase their intricate carnival masks and costumes! Observing social distancing measures, the Carnival was held in three separate 'bubbles' but the spirit of celebração alegre lived throughout each performance. The huge smiling faces and enthusiastic dancing on display was infectious and staff could not resist joining in with the Brazilian beats! 

York Press:

“Although we were unable to invite parents in to watch the carnival as originally planned, the girls took great delight in knowing it was being recorded to create a video of their carnival to share with their families and friends,” comments Rachel Capper, Head of The Mount Junior School. 

“At The Mount, we are very lucky to benefit from a spacious campus providing girls with a safe secure place to learn whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines. Our bespoke curriculum allows girls to keep exploring, discovering and creating new learning experiences, as our Brazilian adventures showed! They have just begun their new topic, ‘Fingerprints of the Gods’, exploring the world of the ancient Mayans and I can’t wait to see how this ignites their creativity! If the weather is kind we hope to end the term celebrating a socially-distanced Mayan-themed feast in our onsite Forest School.”  

The Mount’s thematic approach is supported by an emphasis on the importance of learning skills. English, Math, Science and Computing skills are embedded within the curriculum. Additional specialist teaching takes place in Music, Sport and Modern Foreign Languages. Digital Competency is developed within all curriculum areas.  

“The Mount School York are leaders in educating girls and understanding their needs. Although this year has been a little different due to Covid-19, we are confident that we have the space to evolve. Our aim will always be to ensure Mount girls are equipped with the skills, ambition, and courage to succeed, in everything they aspire to do and anything they aspire to be,” adds Rachel Capper.  

To arrange a visit to explore The Mount School or to find out more please contact Nicola Craig Admissions, admissions@mountschoolyorkco.uk