We will be learning about different artists that use nature and natural objects to create fantastic three dimensional art masterpieces. We will also be creatin
g masterpieces of our very own.
Nature and Art
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Role Play
We have a Nature Zone to explore different creatures, identify trees from their leaves and make detailed observations.
There will be other activities to do throughout the half term.
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Autumn
We have been learning all about Autumn and looking for signs that Autumn has arrived!
We went on an Autumn walk around the village to look for changes in the leaves and trees.
We have been using the ipads to create Autumn tree pictures.
We collected a lot of objects and have been making Autumn sculptures using the things we have found!
We made lots of leaf animals using the leaves that we found:
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Fireworks and Diwali
We have come back from half term straight into an explosive week! It’s Bonfire night and Diwali! Our classroom is full of firework themed activities and we will be learning a lot about bonfire night and firework safety!
We have been making lots of our own firework pictures as well! Next we will be learning all about Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.
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GB Athlete Visit
On Wednesday 7th November, we were very lucky to have a European Gold Medalist , Rion Pierre, join us. He gave us an inspirational talk about his life, struggles and success. We were also put through our paces as he taught us some of his warm up drills.
[See image gallery at www.astonmarys.herts.sch.uk]↧
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Egyptian Shadufs 14th November 2018
Today we designed and made Egyptian shadufs. This linked our learning in dt, history and science. We have been studying the Ancient Egyptians in history and have found out about why shadufs were needed to get water from the River Nile.
In science last half term, we learnt about forces. We had to apply our understanding of how a lever can be used to reduce the force needed to lift a load when designing and making our model shaduf.
Success Criteria
- Stable structure
- Lever able to balance load
- Authentic in appearance
- Can explain how a shaduf was used and why
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Nativity
Come and have a look at our new role play area. This will help with our learning of the Christmas Story which we are looking at in R.E
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Nativtity Day
Today the children took part in a Nativity Day. In mixed age groups they traveled around the school meeting some special visitors…… characters from the nativity story,
[See image gallery at www.astonmarys.herts.sch.uk]
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London Transport Museum
On Thursday 13th December Haffydown visited the London Transport Museum. The class enjoyed exploring the “old and new”. In the workshop session the children had great fun becoming engineers. They problem solved ,designed and planned how they would’ve built the first underground in Victorian times.
[See image gallery at www.astonmarys.herts.sch.uk]↧
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Has your business outgrown your processes?
Your database is one of your most valuable business assets. With the ever-increasing social media channels and multiple platforms upon which to make an enquiry do you really know how to best manage this “data” so that your business can better understand and know who your customers really are?
Perhaps when you started your business you created an Access database or you managed your marketing communications with Excel spreadsheets but as your business and customer reach has grown have your data management processes grown with you? A few more questions to consider: Is your business experiencing data sharing blockages from too many users? Are data capture errors becoming more frequent? Are you experiencing process repetition and duplicated data capture and reporting among co-workers? Do you have a robust data recovery plan?
Identification of where your data has become “blocked” is the first step. Understanding your business processes and recommending the right data management solution for your business is the next step and where we come into the equation. If your business is currently experiencing a “blockage” why not give us a call to see if we can help, or why not arrange a free, non-obligatory consultation to discuss your data concerns in more depth?
The post Has your business outgrown your processes? appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Keeping things simple and “Suite”!
When it comes to business database solutions and customer management systems (CRM) we are used to seeing that all familiar fearful look and the mild hyperventilation that goes with it when it comes to people finding out the cost of building a custom solution for them. They’d be right to be afraid as these type of technology systems can run into tens of thousands of pounds what with software fees, licensing costs, etc, etc. etc.
For years we have been and still are supporters of open source software that has already been tried and tested by thousands of developers around the world and deployed by businesses of all shapes, sizes, demographics and locations. The one we will be focusing on in this blog article is a system called Suite CRM, a system that is currently being used by 4 million+ users worldwide that will enable you to grow your pipeline and increase revenue while staying in full control of your own data. Key features include:
- Lead management
- Control over your accounts and contacts
- Data workflow automation
- Sales reporting
Software features include:
We were recently contacted by a company who had been quoted over £20,000 to build them a CRM database system with customised reports and were contacting several companies, including us, for estimates. When we explained that there was actually no need to invest in software costing the sums of money they were quoted we could see that all too common look of fear subside as we explained that our fee would be a fixed fee for installing and customising an application that was already available as an open source program – yes that’s free! It did take a bit of reassurance with legitimate concerns over whether the system would tick all their boxes about functionality, ease of use, reporting and the all-important “well how come you’re not charging £20,000?” question! Having answered all these queries the system is currently being customised after a process identification meeting to thrash out how staff need the system to work, how data will be processed and managed etc.
As for price, our fees are based on the time taken to install and configure the system and build the customised reports. We aren’t building the system from the bottom up, neither do we have large licence costs so our fee is a fraction of the cost of what they had been quoted which was completely out of their price range.
If this sounds familiar then give us a call, our job is to advise on finding you the right technology solution for you and if that happens to be an open source software system then it’s a win-win outcome for you, you get the system you need AND save money and we gain a new client!
Want to test SuiteCRM right now? Simply create your instant Free SuiteCRM account.
The post Keeping things simple and “Suite”! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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To the Moon and Back!
Our latest eCommerce website shop for Moon Creations has officially gone live! Market leader in Neon Cosmetics, based Moon Creations specialise in a wide range of UV makeup from Neon and Glitter Face/Body Paints, to UV Hair Gel and UV Lipgloss.
With their HQ in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, we built and customised the new website for Moon Creations after they contacted us to re-design their existing website that required advanced features and functionality to promote and sell their extensive range of products.
We look forward to building our working relationship with their design and web team to expand the website as the business continues to grow.
The website can be viewed at: https://www.mooncreations.com
The post To the Moon and Back! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Staying Alive website is now live!
Team IceStar are happy to start the week off with another website launch! Our latest website for Stevenage based First Aid Trainers Staying Alive is now live, featuring a calendar of training course dates as well as detailed information about what is covered in each course this is website launch 107 for us! The website also includes a First Aid Requirements Calculator for employers.
Our client contacted us to re-develop their existing website that needed a makeover and we look forward to working with them to grow their online presence as we are also managing their social media marketing for them.
The website is available at: https://www.stayingalive.training/
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Fully re-charged after a great summer!
A happy first day back to all the school children who started their new classes today and hope everyone had a great summer break. Over the past few months, we have been busy working on various new projects including various new features and functionality and the latest theme for our client Moon Creations which was launched recently and can be viewed at https://www.mooncreations.com/.
We’ve also got a custom CRM system nearing completion and are just about to get cracking on a new website for our newest client, a Stevenage based company so watch this space for more details about this exciting project!
The post Fully re-charged after a great summer! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Google announces it’s “mobile-first” indexing algorithm change
Google is now using the MOBILE versions of websites to index sites in searches before the desktop versions (where desktop/mobile are equivalents) as their users are primarily mobile users.
Information recently released from Google states:
“This means that you may see more traffic in your logs from Googlebot Smartphone. You may also see that snippets in Google Search results are now generated from the mobile version of your content.
Background: Mobile-first indexing means that Googlebot will now use the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking, to better help our (primarily mobile) users find what they’re looking for. Google’s crawling, indexing and ranking systems have historically used the desktop version of your site’s content, which can cause issues for mobile searchers when the desktop version differs from the mobile version. Our analysis indicates that the mobile and desktop versions of your site are comparable.”
So what does this all mean for website developers and businesses?
- That the majority of searches are coming from mobile – to say this means its significantly more – so to ignore or sideline the mobile view of your site would be pretty silly.
- They are promoting the mobile view over and above the desktop view – the trend to mobile first is going to get a huge boost because of this, so more than just having a mobile version of your site you need to pay more attention to it than the desktop version.
Overall it should be about a move from building a website and “checking” it on mobile to building a mobile website and checking it on a desktop.
The post Google announces it’s “mobile-first” indexing algorithm change appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Cavendish Accountancy website has lift off!
We’ve been juggling with quite a few websites over the past few months and all are near completion and one has just been completed so we are delighted to announce the launch of https://www.cavendish-accountancy.co.uk. Cavendish Accountancy is a firm Chartered Certified Accountants based in the lovely village of Tiptree just outside of Colchester in Essex. The company is a family run business started by Pat and Amanda Clark and they aim to offer an approachable, courteous and efficient service to a wide range of clients both. Their services include accounting services, business compliance, tax planning and business start-up advice.
Pat and Amanda have been our accountants for over 10 years and we feel proud that they employed us to build their website for them and we wish them the best of luck and giving us free rein over images and design!
The post Cavendish Accountancy website has lift off! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Milebay Consultancy website is now live!
We are very happy to have lift off with the newly re-designed website for Milebay Consultancy.
Based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire Milebay specialise in driver and transport manager training, compliance and consultation services to the transport industry and are the only FORS Gold Accredited Consultancy in the UK.
Visit the website at https://www.milebay.co.uk/.
The post Milebay Consultancy website is now live! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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Happy Xmas and New Year!
With 2019 approaching it’s time to take a few moments to look back and take stock of all the great people, projects and websites we have worked on in 2018. Out clients come from various business sectors and we have worked with many different companies over the years and this year has been no exception! From re-developing a new website for a local Church of England Primary School in Aston to the development of a large scale eCommerce system for a client in Stevenage who sell a wide variety of face and body makeup we have enjoyed sinking our technical and creative teeth into each of the projects we have worked on this year.
From the custom database systems side of things we have just released a pretty cool (if we do say so ourselves…) CRM system using Suite CRM for a client who had been quoted sums like £20,000 before they came to us. We integrated the system, customised the reports, etc at a fraction of the price they had been quoted so we have one extra happy client there, not to mention like most of our client feedback, they appreciate being able to spread the cost of the system on a monthly basis that helps with cash flow.
2018 has been no different when it comes to client satisfaction and retention and we feel very proud to see the results of our hard work and dedication towards them as their businesses expand as our success relies on theirs.
We love doing what we do and can’t wait to get cracking on a new series of projects in the new year but now it’s time to wind down for a bit and take some time out to breathe, reflect and appreciate what really matters in life, spending time with our loved ones to make happy memories to store into the ultimate storage device – the heart.
So we’d like to take a moment to wish all of our customers and work colleagues whom we have worked with in 2018 a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May 2019 be filled with success and happiness in business and in life, and above all we wish you good health so enjoy your mince pies and the overindulgences over the next week but make sure you get out and exercise a bit, go on a long walk with the family, get your running shoes on or get on your bike, it’s like business in a way, earn the calories through being active then spend them! Have a wonderful time in the most wonderful time of the year.
HAPPY XMAS FROM SERAN & MARK AT TEAM ICESTAR!
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Time to Spring clean?!
Happy new year everyone! We hope you had a great time over the Xmas holidays – yes back to reality but the days are getting longer, spring bulbs are starting to pop out from their warm hiding place over winter so there are signs of life once again. We are working on some new and exciting projects involving the development of custom database systems with integrated booking and event facilities.
New websites under development at the moment include Aston Village Hall in Hertfordshire. Having re-designed the Aston St Mary’s Primary school website last January we were recommended to the committee to re-design the website for the village hall so as always we would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients who recommend us and introduce new business to us.
FREE WEBSITE REVIEW!
If you’re in the process of reviewing your web systems we would be happy to assist! Give your web systems a spring clean in 2019 and from just £50 + VAT per month we can help with your cash flow this year too and spread the cost of your website and on-going maintenance on a pay-per-month basis. From as little as £12.50 a week, it’s cheaper than your daily Grande Latte from a certain high street coffee house!
Either email us at info@icestarmedia.com with your domain name or give us a call on 01438 894 776 to talk through your requirements or to arrange a meeting.
Wishing you all a very happy and productive January – let’s make it a great one this year!
The post Time to Spring clean?! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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To the Moon and Back!
Our latest eCommerce website shop for Moon Creations has officially gone live! Market leader in Neon Cosmetics, based Moon Creations specialise in a wide range of UV makeup from Neon and Glitter Face/Body Paints, to UV Hair Gel and UV Lipgloss.
With their HQ in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, we built and customised the new website for Moon Creations after they contacted us to re-design their existing website that required advanced features and functionality to promote and sell their extensive range of products.
We look forward to building our working relationship with their design and web team to expand the website as the business continues to grow.
The website can be viewed at: https://www.mooncreations.com
The post To the Moon and Back! appeared first on IceStar Media Ltd.
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