Week Ending 26th May 2017

It has been a glorious week weather-wise, just perfect for our Year Five residential trip to Lincolnshire.

Fifteen very happy children boarded the coach on Monday just after lunch, with one more following on later by car (thank you to his Mum for driving him - we're so glad he was feeling better!)  Their destination was Caythorpe Court, a PGL activity centre in the grounds of a former stately home near Grantham.

During their five day stay, the children took part in many exciting activities, including various climbing activities, archery, fencing, raft building, quad biking, zip wire and much more.  It really was an adventure packed few days for them!  The children all had a wonderful time, and really made the most of their experience - with one child taking part all the activities one handed, as his arm is currently in plaster!

A big thank you goes to Mrs Slatter and Mrs Lyons, who gave up their time to accompany the children this week.  They also did a great job of updating Twitter with photos throughout the week, so that parents and school staff could see how much fun everyone was having.  We were very impressed to see that Mrs Lyons conquered her fear of heights to tackle the zip wire - demonstrating the "British Values" of courage and determination!

Please enjoy a selection of photos from their week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at school the rest of the children have been making the most of the beautiful weather with lovely playtimes on the field, plenty of outdoor sports, and Forest School.

On Monday, children in Squirrels Class enjoyed a special post-SATs celebration in the play park next to school.  They had doughnuts with coloured icing, then played some games in the sunshine.

Children in Foxes and Deer Class also enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine.  They made their own sandwiches and were treated to cake, which they took out onto the field, as a special reward for all their hard work this term.

On Thursday it was Hamsters' turn to present their Class Assembly.  Lots of parents attended, and enjoyed listening to our youngest children talking about some of the work they have done this term, and showing a slideshow of photos.  The children spoke about their trip to Eaton Bray Nurseries, showed off their "Very Hungry Caterpillar" artwork, and related the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Badgers Class have been learning about the artist Claude Monet this week, studying his famous works including Water Lilies and Woman with a Parasol and have painted their own versions of these paintings.  Hedgehogs Class have also been looking at Monet's paintings this week, so on Friday, the older children invited their younger friends to their classroom to come and share their knowledge and admire one another's work.

Friday was a non-uniform day, in return for a donation for our summer fundraiser, which takes place on Friday 23rd June.  The children brought in bottles and sweets, and we now have a lovely stock of these that can be used on the tombola stalls, so thank you to everyone for their contribution.

It was another gorgeous day, ideal for cricket on the field, relaxing in the sunshine... and organising a litter pick!  We are very lucky to have such lovely grounds here at EBA, a good sized field and the wonderful Forest School area.  We all take great pride in our school, and do like to keep it tidy and litter free.  Please can we politely request that all visitors do the same, and ensure that all wrappers from Ice Cream Friday purchases are taken home or put in the bin.  Thank you.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful half term break, and we will see you back at school on Monday 5th June.

Week Ending 19th May 2017

What a very exciting week for the children!

We managed to pick the perfect day for our whole school Stockwood Park Sports Day.  Sandwiched between a drizzly and dull Monday and an excessively wet Wednesday, Tuesday dawned bright and warm, with just the right amount of breeze and cloud cover for a fabulous fun day of sport!

Every child from Reception to Year Six came into school dressed in their PE kit, and three coaches arrived to take them to Stockwood Athletics Stadium in Luton.  Once there, the children all competed in two races on the running track; one sprint and one distance race of their choice.  There were also field events, including shot put and long jump.  Those with energy left could also compete in the KS1 or KS2 relay!

The warm weather and enthusiastic support from friends and classmates must have contributed to the children's performances, because a number of school records and personal bests were broken!  For a full report and all the results, please visit the school website.

Upon their return to school, a special Awards Assembly was held, where the winners and runners up were presented with gold, silver and bronze wristbands.  There were also special awards, presented by our Junior Sports Leaders, to children who had shown particular determination, good sportsmanship and a positive attitude.  Over seven hundred and fifty wonderful photos were taken of the day - here is just a very small selection!

 

 

 

The day was superbly organised once again by Mrs Hawkes, whose enthusiasm for sports and PE over the years has inspired the children's enjoyment of all things sporty, and contributed to our many wonderful successes in local competitions and tournaments.  For such a small school, we really are big players in the local area, which is in no small part due to Mrs Hawkes' input.  This was her last EBA Stockwood Park Sports Day, so we are all really pleased that it was such a successful, record breaking and sunny day for her!

Back at school, the focus was on our Creative Curriculum topic "Art Attack".  On Monday and Wednesday, we were visited by Kate Radford, a local potter, who worked with the children to create clay sculptures, which will be fired and glazed.  Older children in Key Stage Two were given the task of recreating a hobby or interest in clay, and their model had to include a human figure.  Younger children in Key Stage One were asked to make their favourite animal.

The children all thoroughly enjoyed the activity, learnt a lot about sculpture and model making, and proved themselves to be very creative!  We are looking forward to seeing the finished products when they come back from the potter's kiln.

 

Meanwhile over in the Nursery, Hamsters children's learning has centred around the theme of Jack and the Beanstalk this week.  On Monday they were introduced to the story, before matching rhyming word leaves, and sticking them to a beanstalk.  As the week progressed, the children measured and recorded their height using a measuring beanstalk, made their own lacing card leaves, and in PE, manoeuvred large balls using their hands and feet around cones to reach the "top" of the beanstalk.  On Friday, the children made their own beanstalks with jelly beans at the bottom, and the giant's golden treasure at the top.

Children in Hamsters Class and in Rabbits Class have also enjoyed Forest School activities this week.  They have explored the concept of travelling on a journey, but instead of using a Satnav or a map, have followed an environmental trail, collecting leaves, feathers, moss and cones, binding them to a stick in order to tell the story of their journey.

"Journey Sticks" similar to this have been used for many years by cultures around the world to navigate unfamiliar routes, with symbols representing landmarks being etched into sticks to help the traveller find their way home.

The weather continued to be rather unsettled throughout the week, with sunshine alternating with heavy showers.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that next week, there will be rather more sunshine than showers, as some of our Year Five children are off on a residential trip to Caythorpe Court PGL Centre in Lincolnshire.

We know they are all very excited, and can't wait to come in to school on Monday morning with their bags packed, ready for five days of fun and adventure!