As you will see within this newsletter we have been using and developing our map skills across the school this week the children have really enjoyed the practical activities and especially helpful was the sunshine to enable us to get outdoors. Artist Liz Hunter returned for 2 days of workshops in the outdoor classroom, we hope to adorn the corridors with the children’s pieces.

Thank you to the parents/carer who were able to attend the coffee morning with the school nurse team and parent’s forum. These are a new opportunity for our community and we hope to continue with these sessions next year.

There are numerous trips next week and the school office has sent information and reminders to support with the preparations for these. Please ensure your child is prepared for whatever the weather may bring; coat, sun cream (applied at home) and sun hat, water bottle- please see the Szapp messages.

It is the time of the year when are preparing for the next school year. To assist with our planning if you know your child will not be returning in September please could you email the school office to let us know.

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 

Just three weeks to go until Camp Fest 2024!  

Sign up by clicking the link below, or scan the QR code on the poster.

https://forms.gle/afQfQL7sEhGXcWtm6 

We’re  also looking for volunteers to help the event run smoothly, so please do click the volunteer sign up link below and help the PTA!

https://doodle.com/sign-up-sheet/participate/45930f22-c194-458e-8324-462a74054c3c/select

We cannot wait to see you all there!

This week in Reception, there was certainly no snail’s pace! Our exploration of snails and ants introduced us to even more incredible facts about minibeasts. Taking advantage of the lovely weather, we extended our learning outdoors, eagerly searching for bugs and constructing bug houses.

Using our own designs, we crafted fantastic 3D minibeast gardens, impressing all the adults with our creativity!

Our excitement grew as we observed our caterpillars, which have now significantly grown and begun forming their chrysalises!

In addition to our minibeast adventures, we continued to excel in independent writing, using our skills to write about our weekend news.

This week also marked mapping week across the school, perfectly complementing our math lessons. We explored different maps, discussing their purposes and the information they provide. We had fun creating our own maps of our journey to school and revisited the beloved book "What the Ladybird Heard," expertly recreating the map from the story.

As we transition into our "Under the Sea" topic next week, we anticipate crafting and exploring many treasure maps!

Reception Team

This week was Christ Church’s whole school Maps Week. Our enquiry question was how can we get to the pirate ship? so we completed a series of activities to improve our map skills and make a route from Year 1 to the pirate ship. We started the week by locating important Clifton landmarks on the map such as the suspension bridge, the Downs and Christ Church. We then learned all about aerial maps by making our very own ‘messy map’ of the classroom using everyday resources like Numicon and pencils to represent the items in our classroom from an aerial perspective. Finally, the children applied their refined map skills and drew an aerial map of our school and playground including a key to represent the location of ‘landmarks’ such as the pirate ship, court, classroom and woodland area.

For map skills week year 2 have been thinking carefully about which animals live in our school environment. We used our prior knowledge and field work skills to locate insect and animal habitats around our school, we then took pictures using ipads. When we returned to the classroom we identified where these places are on a map and then plotted and annotated the locations on our own maps.

What a beautiful sunny week it has been! Finally the summer has arrived and it has put us all in a good mood. We celebrated ‘Map skills’ week across the school this week and it meant we could get outside and explore our school site. After looking at a range of maps we began to plan and draft our own for own school site. We discussed ‘birds eye view’ and how important that perspective is when reading and drawing maps.

We were also very lucky to have Liz come into our school to run an outdoor art workshop with the children. It was so successful, peaceful and engaging. The children absolutely loved it and we can’t wait to send home their beautiful finished pieces. Roll on the rest of this sunny weather!

Year 3 have finally finished their fantastic sculpture Claes Oldenburg-inspired doughnuts. We think you’ll agree - they look good enough to eat!

Science investigations, Geographical studies AND an art workshop?

Year 4 have thoroughly enjoyed them all this week. We absolutely adored our time in the outdoor classroom earlier this week, where Liz led us to create some magnificent landscapes using a vivid and exciting colour palette. Following that, we looked into volume and pitch in our Science ‘sound’ unit. The children had to work together to record sounds using a decibel meter and plot their findings on a graph. They then explored how a sounds pitch is changed and made their very own set of pan pipes which worked (eventually) very successfully! Finally, year 4 have been challenged to create a theme park for ants using natural materials and then plot the attractions onto a map. Wow, well done year 4!

This week, Year 5 embarked on an exhilarating and highly anticipated trip to Beggar Bush, where they delved into a Sensory Trail, experiencing the forest through touch, smell, and sound. They sharpened their navigation skills in an Orienteering Challenge, and crafted their own creations in a hands-on Dough Making Activity. The day was not only about exploration but also about connecting deeply with nature and enhancing environmental awareness.

Returning back to school, we completed a brilliant workshop with artist Liz Hunter in the outdoor classroom being inspired by the artist Emily Powell. We also thought about the need to be sustainable during our fieldwork enquiry and investigated where the best place to install solar panels would be in the playground. Watch out Mrs Jones and Mr Campbell, you have lots of solar panel recommendations heading your way!

It was a week of joyful learning and artistic expression, truly a memorable experience for all involved!

Following on from our visit to Lifeskills at the beginning of Year 6, the children had a follow up activity this week that was led by Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

They looked at a variety of life threatening scenarios and, as a team, explored what they would do to remain safe. It was a brilliant extension to the knowledge they already had and behaviour was impeccable. Well done Year 6.

The children learnt the ‘stop, drop and roll’ technique to put out clothes that may be on fire.

The sun shone during our artist workshop with Liz Hunter. We loved working in the outdoor classroom creating landscapes inspired by David Hockney and other landscape artists such as Liz and Emily Powell. We can’t wait to display our finished vibrant mixed-media pieces so that a wider audience can admire them. Thank you Liz for working with us and sharing your wonderful work too.

A small number of children from Years 5 and 6 went to Bristol Beacon this week to play their instruments at the Primary Orchestra Workshop. They had a great time performing on the big stage, even though it was a little bit daunting at first. The children had a run through of three pieces as a whole orchestra first, before splitting into sectionals to practice the trickier bits. These sectionals were an hour of hard graft: counting, playing, watching the conductor and listening to the same instruments playing different parts. On returning to the big stage, the children had a final run through before performing to the parents/carers who came to watch. Bristol Beacon is an amazing venue and the acoustic was fantastic. Moreover, the performers were fantastic! They played three pieces on the theme of fire: extracts from music from the Royal Fireworks, The Firebird and Chariots of Fire. Well done to the violinists and flautists who attended this event.

If your child plays an instrument at Grade 1 or above, look out for the next Primary Orchestra sign up – hopefully in the Autumn term. Also, Bristol Beacon run ensembles for children learning instruments. These are a lovely way to introduce children to playing together. Further information can be found at: bristolbeacon.org/join-an-ensemble