We have had lots of external visitors in school this week for a variety of reasons and they have all commented on how well-behaved the children are and what a happy atmosphere there is in school.

Some of our school Governors and an advisor from the Diocese were in school mid-week to undertake interviews for the recruitment of our Deputy Headteacher for September. I am delighted share the news that Mrs Vikki Richardson, our assistant Headteacher was appointed. Mrs Richardson has a wealth of experience and expertise across the primary phase and is passionate about the next steps for the school’s journey.

Please note: It is a bank holiday on Monday 6^th May, there will be no-one in school. We will look forward to seeking you on Tuesday. The term ends for children on Thursday, 23^rd May, school re-opens on Monday 3^rd June.

Inset and Academy Days:

Monday 22nd July - INSET day, children not in school

Tuesday 23rd July - INSET day, children not in school 

Monday 2nd September - INSET day, children not in school 

Tuesday 3rd September - INSET day, children not in school 

Reception were flying high this week as they continued their learning about transport linked to air travel. The children were particularly inspired by hearing about the achievements of Amelia Earhart. This amazing, American female was the 2^nd pilot to fly solo (nonstop) across the Atlantic Ocean!

Talking of flying high – both classes writing is really taking off and this week was no exception. They were given the challenge of drawing a form of transport of their choice and then writing sentences about their picture.

The children followed the instructions to fold and create their own aeroplanes and enjoyed testing their aerodynamic capabilities in the outside area! Who could build an aeroplane that would go the furthest? This also developed and enhanced their estimation and measuring skills alongside having great fun!

Creative challenges included; drawing an aeroplane, creating a hot air balloon design and inventing their own air transport for the future.

During maths the children were exploring how to add more and take away using loose parts to represent their own ‘first, then and now number’ stories. Representing how many people started on a bus journey, then either got on or got off and finally finding out ‘how many now?’ A good starting point for this was the story of ‘Mr Gumpy’s Outing’ by John Burningham. Singing number songs and rhymes also helped to consolidate the ideas of adding more or taking away to leave less.

To round off the week, Reception had the exciting opportunity to meet Captain Mason, a pilot from Easyjet to find out more about flying an aeroplane and how to make the plane take off and land. It is always an invaluable experience for the children to meet and quiz real-life experts!

Another fantastic week of learning – well done everyone. Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend and we will see you all on Tuesday!

This week Year 1 have wowed us with their story writing as they followed their story maps to retell ‘Orion and the Dark’. We were so impressed with how well they remembered the story and the independent work we saw.  In Science, we took a closer look at some plants to identify the roots, stem, leaves and flowers, and learn about the important job each part plays. We noticed how different each part can look from one plant to the next and realised that some of the vegetables we eat are the roots of the plant. In Maths we have been comparing and measuring length and height. We practised using words like  taller, tallest, longer, longest and measured objects from around the classroom using cubes . Well done Year 1 for all your super work this week!

On Monday year 2 visited Beggar Bush for a day of forest school activities. There was lots of excitement on the coach as we travelled to the site. When we got there the children participated in a range of activities including den building- where they were tasked with building a forest home for a woodland animal. We saw a range of amenities in and around the shelters including see-saws, swimming pools, zip-wires and even a secondary structure for a holiday home! There were certainly some pampered rabbits and foxes by the end of the day.

The children also went mini-beast hunting where they carefully captured a range of creepy-crawlies which they then identified and categorised before releasing them back into their environment and sharing some fun mini-beast facts. 

The third activity of the day consisted of sitting around a campfire and toasting marshmallows. We re-capped how to stay safe around fire and we also talked about the 'fire triangle'. Why not ask your child if they remember the three points? 

Finally we'd like to give a big thank you to the parents who accompanied us on our trip.

We have loved this week in year 3, it has been very hands on and varied! Firstly, we have finished Wild Robot and what an emotional ending it was. We have all been completely hooked and have been persuaded to read the second book now as well! We celebrated our Wild Robot journey by embossing our own robot designs into metal and they looked so effective.

We have started our science topic for this term this week which is ‘light’. The children really impressed us with their existing knowledge and we have thoroughly enjoyed turning off the lights and playing with shadow and materials to deepen our understanding.

Year 3 has been learning about the work of Claes Oldenburg, an artist known for his larger-than-life sculptures of everyday objects. Oldenburg takes ordinary things like a hamburger, a shuttlecock, a clothes peg, and an ice cream and transforms them into enormous sculptures. His playful and imaginative artworks make people see everyday objects in a whole new way. Year 3 have been using his sculptures of food as an inspiration for their work. They have started to make giant doughnuts of their own. This week, they designed how they will paint their doughnuts. Next week they will finish their papier mâché models.

Year 4 have been working hard in Literacy this week writing their news articles about Spy Fox saving the world! They have written catchy headlines, hilarious puns, insightful reported speech and effective fronted adverbials. They are all budding journalists! 

In Science we have been learning about the digestive system and things got messy! To help us learn about the functions of the digestive system, we mashed up food and used different implements to recreate the foods journey from the mouth, down the oesophagus, into the stomach, through the small and large intestine and finally into the rectum where it leaves the body as poo, yuck!

This week in art we had great success showing texture in our drawing – well done Year 4!

In our latest classroom project, the children embarked on an exciting oral retelling task centered around Helen Ward’s captivating book, "Varmints." This task was designed to deepen the childrens' understanding of the story while honing their storytelling and public speaking skills. The children were asked to internalise and remember the story through active participation and creativity. Engaging with the narrative visually and textually enhances both recall and comprehension of the text.

This oral retelling task was not only a fun and educational activity but also a heart-warming display of our childrens' growing confidence and creativity. It was a wonderful opportunity to see them engage with literature in a personal and dynamic way, and we look forward to more such enriching activities in the future.

Stay tuned for our next creative classroom adventure! 

As we approach the final week before SATs, Year 6 has revisited key concepts in maths and spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  In reading, we have been honing in on the ability to locate evidence in a text and provide evidence in inference questions. Everyone has been incredibly focused and we are very proud of their commitment to learning.  In PE lessons, we have continued cricket and, if not swimming, athletics. In athletics this week 6ED has been improving their start for a short sprint, by learning the sprint start technique to increase our running speed.

PTA Quiz Night

Two weeks to go until the PTA QUIZ!! We would love for you to join us for a fun filled night with drinks, nibbles and plenty of trivia!

Please click the link to sign up! Quiz Sign Up Form

All proceeds are going towards a better space for our kids to play.

We really appreciate your support!

Years 3 and 4 are racing through their time in Mr Eades’ Computing Club and are having so much fun! 

This week, Mr E set the challenge for them to create a digital game of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’. First the children had to examine the code provided and use the iPads (and Micro:bit app) to write their own version. Then they transferred the code to their Micro:bits in order to play the game with their friends. It has been wonderful to see how much their perseverance has increased in just three sessions! I can’t wait to see what they create in the next session.