Week Ending 7th July 2017

Another successful week of rugby, with Year Fives triumphant in their tournament on Monday  Well done team!  Year Six's turn next week...

Rabbits Class have enjoyed the great outdoors this week.  They went on a bird watching adventrue around the school grounds and in the Forest School area.  They made a note of all the different species of bird that they spotted and identified, and are planning to upload their findings onto a database.

Hamsters children had a wonderfully fun and messy art session this week.  Working with Mrs Flitton, they created a huge colourful butterfly on their playground.  This followed on from the excitement of last week, when the caterpillars they have been looking after were released as butterflies on Friday afternoon.

On Thursday, Hedgehogs Class had a very enjoyable day out in Ashridge Forest.  The theme for the day was "Art at Ashridge" and the children took part in a colour treasure hunt, did some bark rubbings, whittled sticks, and painted a wonderful forest frieze.

The weather was absolutely perfect, just right for exploring the forest and playing some outdoor games in the meadow.  At lunchtime, the children were joined for a picnic by parents, grandparents and younger siblings, who joined in the fun, or were able to just relax in the sunshine.  It really was a lovely day out - please enjoy some photos!

Friday was the day of our Young Enterprise Fair, an event that the Year Six children have been working hard towards to for many weeks and months.  Back before Christmas last year, the children wrote to a number of local businesses, asking for sponsorship for their enterprise plans.  Thanks to the generosity of these benefactors, and following a visit from representatives from the "Young Enterprise" charity in January, the children were ready and able to start their own mini businesses.

The children formed four teams, and each devised a business plan, calculated their costings, and last month promoted their business to "EBA Dragons' Den."   Following useful feedback from the Dragons, they finally went into production, making goods to be sold at the Enterprise Fair.

There were several stalls on the playground, field and in the Hall, with many lovely items to buy on Friday afternoon.  These included scented candles, superb cakes, delicious home made lemonade, sparkly magic wands, beads and loom bands, and some cleverly designed paper planes and other toys.  There were also games and competitions that customers could pay to take part in.  Those local businesses that had so kindly helped the children were invited into school to visit the Fair, as were parents and children.

It was very busy, and plenty of money seemed to be changing hands, so the children are hoping for impressive profits for their endeavours!  Thank you to everyone who (once again) came along to support our school.

There's lots more to look forward to next week, as we rapidly approach the end of the school year.  Let's hope that the sun keeps shining so that everyone can really make the most of these lovely summer days!

Week Ending 30th June 2017

The very hot weather of last week turned a little cooler this week, which was probably something of a relief for Badgers Class, who enjoyed a day of rugby skills on Monday.

On Wednesday, thirty-nine children from Badgers and Rabbits Classes travelled to Aston Clinton, for an exciting overnight adventure at Green Park Activity Centre.

Over two days, the children took part in archery, mountain biking, zip wire, the giant swing, and lots of other fun outdoor pursuits.  They enjoyed a DVD evening on Wednesday night and dinner in an inflatable room!  The children were collected by parents on Thursday afternoon, exhausted but happy after a fun-filled couple of days.

Back in school, there was a lot of artwork being produced this week, for the carnival float.  Hot air balloons of all sorts of sizes and colours were created, as well as clouds, baskets and lettering for our "Up and Away" theme.  It's all now ready to be assembled on Saturday morning, when a team of volunteer parents will be at school bright and early to decorate the lorry ready for a great day of carnival celebration!

On Thursday, Squirrels and Otters Class spent a lovely day at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable.  They started out with a tour of the theatre, going backstage to explore the dressing rooms, and looking at the props and scenery for the theatre's current production of "The Wizard of Oz".

In the afternoon, the children took part in drama workshops, with a rainforest theme.  This involved becoming an animal, talking to one another in character, dancing, and singing songs from "The Lion King."  The children thoroughly enjoyed their day out, and found out a lot about performing, and what goes on behind the scenes in a theatre.

   

Year 6 Young Enterprise children have now almost completed their business projects, and next week, will be setting up shop to sell their wares on Friday afternoon.  There will be ice creams and home made lemonade for sale, scented candles, fidget spinners, model aeroplanes, a football game, lucky dip and much more, all devised, planned and created by the children.  Please come along and support their efforts!

Week Ending 23rd June 2017

The Year Six France trip was thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and staff.  A wonderful trip, made even more special by the beautiful weather that we all experienced over the weekend.  There are lots of photos on the school website, so just a small sample here...

Another lovely successful event last weekend was the Edlesfest, at Edlesborough Church, where our School Choir sang sea shanties with Edlesborough School Choir and Kimber's Men.  There were lots of positive comments about their performance, which was by all accounts one of the highlights of the festival!

Sports have been on the agenda again this week, with a Year Three rugby skills day on Monday, and the Key Stage Two cricket regional finals on Wednesday.  The cricketers faced some tough competition from the other finalists, but played well as a team, and enjoyed the experience of playing at county level.  Meanwhile, our Year Three Rugby "A" Team triumphed, coming top of the leaderboard in their tournament against other local schools!

On Tuesday, we were visited once again by Kate Radford, the potter who came to work with us before half term.  She returned with the completed fired and glazed pottery sculptures that the children had made, which they were able to take home.  All the work looked fabulous, and the children were very proud of their artistic creations - and all the adults at school felt very proud of our children when we read the lovely letter that accompanied the completed work:

It is nearly carnival time in Eaton Bray, and so all classes have been busy preparing artwork for our school float.  This year, the theme of the carnival is "Transport" and we are taking things to new heights, with a hot air balloon themed float, inspired by the film "Up."  There were lots of bright and colourful creations being made and painted in the classrooms, and on Thursday afternoon, a float building session took place in the school hall, with parent volunteers helping put it all together.  We look forward to a fun filled day and hope our floaty float really takes off!!

Friday was a day that all the children had been looking forward to!  Firstly, it was a non-uniform day, so everyone had the chance to dress in their favourite summer clothes, which is always exciting.  Then, straight after school, we held our "Friday Fun" extravaganza, which is our main summer fundraiser for this year.

There were lots of fun stalls, including a sweet tombola, face painting, arts and crafts, and the extremely popular "Throw a wet sponge at Mr Wise" stall!  Entertainment was provided by Badgers Class ukulele players (who were wonderful), and there was a mini football tournament on the field.  Pizza and chips were available in the hall, as well as teas, coffees, ice creams and a lovely selection of cakes.  There was also the opportunity to purchase summer plants in stylish planters made from recycled materials, and a raffle with wonderful prizes.

The afternoon was great fun for all, and well attended.  Thank you again to everyone who came along to support our fundraising - we hope you enjoyed all the entertainment on offer!

Week Ending 16th June 2017

Our Key Stage Two cricket teams have been superstars this week!  All three teams won their first round matches in the inter-schools tournament at Dunstable Cricket Club, and have got through to the regional finals.  These take place next week, so good luck wishes go to all our cricketers!

Year 6 Girls

Years 5 and 6 Boys

Years 3 and 4

We have had a busy week, with lots of visitors, including representatives from various Secondary and Middle Schools, who came to meet the new students who will be starting with them in September.  

On Wednesday, the "Dragons" came back in to give feedback to our Year 6 Enterprise children on their business pitches from last week.  They praised the children on their presentation skills and commented favourably on how their business skills have developed, giving lots advice and encouragement.  Thank you to Mr McDermid, Mrs Ross, Miss Beale for giving up their time to take part in EBA Dragons' Den.

On Thursday morning, our kitchen staff were up bright and early once again, preparing delicious cooked breakfasts in celebration of Fathers' Day.  Plenty of Dads and Grandads took the opportunity to come into school and enjoy eggs, bacon and all the trimmings with their children and grandchildren.  After eating their fill, some of our guests then ventured up onto the field to work off their breakfast with sports in the sunshine (cricket of course!).  It was a lovely occasion - thank you to all who came to join us.

Friday saw another early EBA start for some of us...  Fifteen Year Six children plus Mrs Slatter, Mrs Young and Mrs Flitton boarded a coach from school at 6.30am, bound for France, and a packed weekend of trips, activities and excitement at the Chateau de Chateraine, a Kingswood activity centre in Normandy.  

On the agenda is a trip to the town of Rouen, a visit to a chocolatier, a day visiting the WWI battlefields and war graves, and much more.  We can't wait to hear about all their adventures when they return on Monday afternoon!  

On Friday, we also welcomed more guests to the school.  We were visited by children from Edlesborough School, and by "Kimber's Men", a folk music quartet, who specialise in sea shanties and songs.

Our school choir has been learning a selection of sea shanties, which they will perform, along with children from Edlesborough School Choir, at the "Edlefest" Music Festival at Edlesborough Church on Friday evening.  The two children's choirs will be performing as "Kimber's Kids" alongside Kimber's Men.

Friday afternoon was a rehearsal for the evening performance, and the sound of song coming from the School Hall was wonderful, with the children's voices accompanied by the close acapella harmonies of the men.  It promises to be a fabulous night of music at the Church on the Hill, and a marvelous opportunity for our School Choir to sing in public alongside some talented professional musicians.