Week Ending 6th May 2016

A short week this week, because of the Bank Holiday, but a busy one nonetheless!

Children in Year 6 have been working hard this week, getting ready for their SATs tests next week.  Happily, they are all demonstrating a lovely positive attitude towards these tests, and seem to be looking forward to showing the world what they can achieve!  Year 2 children are also preparing for SATs tests - of course with lots of playtime and fun activities going on between practice papers.

Year 2 work

This week, children in Otters Class have been investigating leaflets and brochures, looking at the language used to give information and the presentation style.  They have planned, designed and written their own leaflets for the Bucks Railway Centre, which will be emailed to the museum staff, together with a big "thank you" for the lovely day they spent there last week.

In Science, Otters Class have been looking at potatoes!  The children have been investigating the different uses of potatoes, and found out how potatoes grow.  They have planted their own crop in large pots, which have been placed outside the classroom, and the children have been taking it in turns to water them daily.  Hopefully they will be ready to harvest before the end of term, so that our school cooks will be able to use them in one of their delicious meals!

Rabbits Class have also been investigating things that grow in their Science lessons.  Their task was to discover what a plant needs in order to thrive.  A tray of pansies was placed in a dark cupboard, another in the fridge, and a third was left without being watered.  Each was monitored over the course of a week, and their condition noted.  Rabbits children concluded that plants require light, warmth and water in order to bloom!

Day 1

Day 6

Year 5 EBA Enterprise children had a "Wrap Challenge" on Wednesday - of the food kind!  They chose their own ingredients, and created tasty fillings, both sweet and savoury, to go inside tortilla wraps.  The finished products were taste tested by Mrs Van Den Bergh from the school kitchen, and the winning dishes will be added to the school dinner menu.

The children were given feedback on what they could do to tweak their recipes, and make the wraps even more appetising, and Mrs Van Den Bergh was delighted when on Thursday morning, one of the Enterprise team presented her with a freshly made wrap, with a new improved recipe, based on her suggestions!  (This one will be going on the school menu as well.)

 Our youngest children, in Hamsters Class, have been cooking too.  Their book for this week is "The Little Red Hen", so their activities have been based around this story.  They had a lovely time mixing together flour and water and other ingredients, which were then (with the help of the kitchen staff) baked into a loaf of bread.

They have also enjoyed plenty of outdoor play in the glorious sunshine, and went on a Bug Hunt around the school, and in the Forest School area.

Our older children enjoyed quite a treat on Thursday afternoon.  A local amateur dramatic theatre company came to school, to perform scenes from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", for children in Badgers, Foxes and Deer Classes.  The children seemed captivated by the classic story being played out in front of them, and we hope that they enjoyed this cultural experience!

The full production is being performed by the Tads Theatre Group, based in Toddington, and tickets are available from their website www.tadstheatre.org.

Children from Reception to Year 4 continue to enjoy Choices on a Friday afternoon, and the activities on offer this term include: Storycraft, Golf, Pottery, Construction, Recorders and much more.  Year 5 and 6 children meanwhile use this time for Science and Art.  This week, Foxes' Class started a mask making project, and we look forward to seeing how their artwork will progress!

A busy week of Key Stage 2 SATs next week, and we look forward to Friday afternoon, when the hard work will be over!  Thank you to the parents of our Year 6 pupils, for all the support and encouragement they have been offering their children, and giving to the school, while they prepare for these tests.