There is a lovely new shed on our playground this week. Mrs Hawkes is delighted to have somewhere new and secure to store the PE equipment! Thank you to Mrs Cooney for donating the shed and to Mr Wise for building it.
It has been a relatively quiet week, as we count down now to the end of the school year, with report writing on everyone's mind, and various training courses and assessment moderation meetings for teachers to attend.
On Monday we were delighted to be able to confirm that Mrs Van Den Bergh is to be our new permanent Kitchen Manager, so we are happy that lovely EBA dinners will continue! The whole kitchen team were awarded an "Ambassador Award" by our Year 6s, for the delicious buffet they provided last week.
Most classes have been completing their work on their Olympic topics, learning about Brazil in geography and Ancient Greece in history. Rabbits Class have been writing postcards home from Brazil, describing the Amazon rainforest and the carnival in Rio. Foxes have finished their wonderful colourful carnival masks, which are now on display in the classroom, and Badgers have created an informative display about Greece. Otters Class have been looking at the modern Olympic Games and have enjoyed making a model of a running track and long jump pit complete with mini athletes!
Hamsters Class have enjoyed Forest School this week. The children made and decorated flags, which were used as boundary markers, allowing them to move freely within the nature trail area whilst keeping within hearing distance of their teachers. In the classroom, they have been continuing their work on the Queen's 90th birthday, making crowns and party invitations, and counting the candles on the Queen's birthday cake!
On Friday, we were lucky enough to have a visit from the popular children's author, Julia Jarman. In preparation for the visit, all the classes have been reading her books, which appeal to a wide range of ages and reading abilities, from pre-schoolers right through to teenagers. The children have been enjoying activities based on her stories, exploring her writing style, and thinking about questions to ask a successful writer, so they were very much looking forward to meeting her this week.
The day was enjoyed by all: in the morning the younger children in Key Stage One took part in a "Join with Julia" session, where they were entertained by the author reading from her books (and doing all the voices and actions!) The older children in Key Stage Two had a question and answer session and a "How a Book is Made" workshop, where they were given all sorts of interesting information, as well as hints and tips to encourage their reading and improve their writing skills.
After school, parents had the opportunity to come in and meet Julia, and purchase a book dedicated to their child, and signed by the author. The session was very busy, with parents and children keen to take advantage of this opportunity - we do hope that everyone enjoys reading their special personalised Julia Jarman book!
