Dear Parents and Carers

Well done children! What a fantastic year you have had and we are extremely proud of you. I often talk about how urgent all learning is for every child and this is reinforced at this time of summer when we look back and wonder where the year has gone. Week after week we have seen the children develop and grow personally, tackle the many varied challenges in learning new knowledge and skills, and flourish as the heartbeat of Christ Church School.

My first-year impressions of our school. Christ Church School is special; it is a place where children feel safe, cared for and listened to. Children reflect the lives and values of their families and we see and hear this in their friendships, sense of right and wrong and their kindness to one another. Where the children make mistakes and the wrong choices in behaviour, they are able to reflect and reason with the help of an adult and they learn from this, growing in responsibility, while being allowed to remain beautifully imperfect.

As a community, Christ Church School is exceptional. The support that you as parents, carers and wider families provide, even when our own imperfections are present, strengthens the heartbeat of our school. The time that you give to support home learning is of enormous value and the help that you provide to enable us to broaden the experiences that bring learning to life for children has enormous impact on our curriculum offer. This combined with the generosity of giving, sharing and raising crucial funds, culminates in a thriving school community – thank you.

For our Year 6 children, the end of their journey has arrived. They are a shining example of just how society should work in our view. Some started their journey in Reception and have been with us for seven years, whilst others were welcomed along the way and equally some absent friends that have left already. An eclectic mix of backgrounds, languages, personalities and experiences, the children have worked hard to bond, understand one another and to accept their differences – a true credit to their parents. They have worked through some different times in recent history, with unprecedented Covid years and it would be easy to forget to recognise their resilience and determination. Children, you have been a pleasure to teach and you have brought so much to Christ Church School – thank you. I am sure that you will join me in wishing them every happiness and success as they take the next steps on to Secondary Education.

We also say a fond farewell to two members of our staff team. Alice Sattin has been with us this year as a member of our support staff team. She has worked tirelessly in year three and has been an essential member of our brilliant LSA team; she will be much missed as she heads off on a new adventure to Australia, especially by one of our amazing children who has formed a very special bond with Alice through their work together.

It is always with admiration that we thank colleagues for long service to our school. Becky Herbert has been with Christ Church School for 23 years! Sadly, for us she has made the difficult decision to retire and whilst we of course know that this is the right time to hang up her keyboard, she will be sincerely missed by all of us. More than a thousand pupils have passed through the school in her time with us and her wise, capable and caring work will have touched the lives of both children and families as she has played such a large part in keeping the school running smoothly for so long. We wish Becky the happiest of futures and of course hope that she will pop in from time to time to see her welcoming smile.

I would like to say a special thank you to our amazing PTA. When I first heard about their work in the past I was somewhat surprised at the ability of a group of volunteers to bring such an impact to the school. Having now seen their work, commitment and creativity in full swing, they are quite simply exceptional! Thank you for everything you do for Christ Church School.

Christ Church School has built, over the years a curriculum that offers children many different learning experiences. It is crucial to enrich learning, connect conceptual and theoretical knowledge to real life experience and to help children make those connections for themselves. The generosity that you bring, the contributions that you kindly give and the funds that you help us to raise are the only thing that enables us to provide the various trips, visits, immersive experiences and above all enjoyment for the children – thank you.

With the closing of one year, we are firmly fixed on our commitment to the years ahead. Despite the challenging landscape of education in the UK at present, Christ Church School is thriving. We are optimistic that we are a school of choice and with a full cohort of new Reception children joining in September, we hope that this will become a pattern and that we can grow and grow. Our vision is to see every child flourish and we know that to achieve this, there is much work to do, but as a community, we know that we can realise the vision.

Finally, on behalf of the staff, Governors and friends of our school, we wish you all a safe, happy and fun-filled summer.

Kind regards

Mark Oldfield

Headteacher

Inset and Academy days for the rest of the year (training for school staff - children are not in school on these days):

• Monday 21st July - Inset day
• Tuesday 22nd July - Inset day

INSET AND ACADEMY DAYS FOR NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR

• Tuesday 2nd September - Inset day 
• Wednesday 3rd September - Inset day

WOW! We can’t believe it’s already the last week! Time has whizzed by so quickly! We've enjoyed doing some of our favourite activities and being in our classrooms. Playing together and discussing our holiday plans has been so much fun. We also spent time reminiscing about what we have loved during our year in Reception and created some lovely writing pieces to capture these memories.

Linked to our maths learning this week all about mapping we decided to become pirates making flags, hats and eye patches to play the part properly. We then made our own treasure maps marking our chosen square with a big ‘X’ and learned how to give a coordinate to find it! We also got crafting to finish off our wonderful under the sea boxes.

On Thursday, we attended their leavers' assembly which was very funny and moving! We have each made a portrait of our buddy as a gift. We wish them all the best of luck as they go off on their new adventures; they will be missed!

We were also lucky to have our new teachers visit us. They shared a story and spent some time in our classrooms, which has been a great way to get to know them and feel ready for the next school year.

As we reflect on this incredible year, let’s remember the brilliant learning, fun and excitement of our time together. Well done everyone!

We would like to thank you all very much for your support throughout the year!

As Dr. Seuss wisely said in Oh, The Places You'll Go!:“You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!”

Here's to a fantastic year gone by and to the wonderful adventures that lie ahead!

Reception Team!

In Year 1 this week we had the highly anticipated talent show. We would like to wish everyone who auditioned a huge well done and a special congratulations to our winners: Miyara, Thea & Emmi, and Oscar. The children who took part showed such courage, creativity and passion for their talent. Thank you as well to the audience who were engaged, supportive and so enthusiastic to celebrate their peer’s accomplishments.

In art lessons we have been learning about Andy Goldsworthy, an artist inspired by the natural world. He creates clever sculptures from objects found in nature such as pebbles, leaves and even animal poo! We started by carefully sketching leaves from the playground, observing them closely with magnifying glasses. Then, we took to the playground to create our own Andy Goldsworthy inspired sculptures in groups.

Finally, we made it! We would like to say a HUGE well done to all of Year 1 for their hard work this year. We have celebrated the end of the year with a well-deserved movie and popcorn and an ice cream picnic!

The children have come so far since the start of Year 1, and whilst we are sad to see the children go, we are confident that they are ready for Year 2! Thank you, grownups, for your continued support this year, we couldn’t have done it without you. We wish everyone a restful summer break and look forward to seeing your faces around in September.

What a jam-packed last week it has been in Year 2! Children travelled back in time as they became explorers to the Isle of Mauritius in the 1600’s. They wrote diary entries where they described seeing the Dodo. They used a wonderful range of adjectives and verbs as well as adding beautiful illustrations of the landscape and the bird itself.

Children also took part in auditions this week for Christ Church’s Got Talent. Amongst Year 2 we had singers, magicians, comedians, martial artists, a plate spinner, gymnasts and musicians. We were so impressed with the variety of skills and the confidence of the children.

Year 3 have had a fantastic week exploring angles and shapes in maths. Using their angle-spotting skills, the children searched all around the classroom to find examples of right, acute and obtuse angles hidden in everyday objects. From table legs to bookshelves, they were amazed at how many angles they could find right in their own learning space!

They also enjoyed investigating the properties of 2D and 3D shapes, using practical resources to sort and compare them. With plenty of hands-on activities, the children confidently identified sides, edges, vertices, and faces, and worked brilliantly together to solve shape challenges.

It’s been a fun and active week of learning, full of curiosity and teamwork!

This week in Year 4 has been full of creativity, learning, and lots of fun! As part of our Design and Technology work, the children have been baking cookies – with a twist. They explored how to adapt a basic cookie recipe by adding exciting extras such as chocolate chips, cocoa powder, sprinkles, and marshmallows to make their treats even more appealing to a chosen target audience. We also set them the challenge of working within a budget, encouraging careful planning and decision-making. A huge thank you to Charlotte Fife, who joined us on Monday to share her baking skills – the children loved learning how to cream butter and sugar, separate eggs, and fold in flour. The results were absolutely delicious!

In Computing, the children became budding weather forecasters. They learnt the key features and structure of weather reports, along with lots of technical vocabulary to use in their presentations. After writing their own scripts, the class had a fantastic time filming themselves in front of a green screen, adding realistic weather maps in the background to make their reports look just like the ones on TV! This activity combined digital skills, geography knowledge, and performance confidence in a fun and engaging way.

This week we were also wowed by the KS2 Talent Show – and Year 4 truly dazzled! We were treated to a wide range of performances, including singing, dancing, drumming, guitar playing, some brilliant comedy and the winning act of animal facts from the encyclopaedic brain of Nicholas in 4RK. What a lot of talented kids you have!

What a wonderful week it’s been – full of talent, teamwork, and tasty treats! A great way to end what has been a fabulous year of learning.

This week, Year 5 had an unforgettable trip to Beggar Bush for a day of Forest School fun! The children embraced the outdoors as they took part in exciting geocaching challenges, tested their teamwork with creative problem-solving activities, and enjoyed an adrenaline-filled session of laser tag in the woods. Laser tag was definitely a firm favourite – especially when they got a chance to shoot their teachers! It was a fantastic opportunity to build resilience, collaboration, and confidence—all while having a blast in nature!

As we approach the end of our time at Christ Church, Year 6 have been making every moment count with a jam-packed week of painting, performing and preparing for our final farewell.

We enjoyed painting our silk mandalas, and glazing our Buddhist dragons I’m sure you agree they look spectacular!

After carefully constructing our model boats during last week’s Harbourside trip, this week we put the finishing touches to our designs with a splash of colour, creativity and care. Each boat was painted with individuality and flair — from stripes to sea creatures, bold patterns to team colours — and they’re now fully varnished and ready to race in our eagerly anticipated Bristol Regatta! We can’t wait to see how they perform in the water later this week.

In between our creative endeavours, we’ve had a chance to enjoy some brilliant entertainment. This week saw the return of Christ Church’s Got Talent and what an incredible range of auditions we had!

We loved performing our Leavers’ Assembly to the rest of the school and parents/carers— a chance to reflect on our journey, share memories, and leave with a smile. The performance gave us the chance to celebrate friendships, share memories, thank our teachers and look ahead to our next chapter.

Christ Church’s Got Talent was a fantastic celebration of creativity and fun, showcasing the incredible range of skills our pupils have to offer. After a series of exciting auditions, finalists took to the stage in front of four judges for a dazzling end-of-year house talent show. From singing and dancing to playing instruments, performing magic tricks, and presenting hilarious sketches, the children truly impressed the audience with their talent and enthusiasm. Congratulations to Brunel House for taking the overall win!

A big well done to everyone who auditioned and performed in the finals, and a special congratulations to our 1st place winners: Miyara (Year 1), Olivia (Year 2), Rohan (Year 3), Nicholas (Year 4), Neave (Year 5), and Raquel (Year 6). What a brilliant way to end the year!