Week Ending 29th June 2018

What glorious weather we've had this weekend.  Just right for play times on the field, outdoor learning and summer sports!

The week started with a musical celebration, with singing, ukulele and cahon drum performances, violin and vocal solos.  This was all in honour of Mrs Copeland, who, after sixteen years of teaching music and singing at EBA, is retiring this month.  We will all miss her very much, and it will feel strange not to hear her joyous singing echoing through the corridors next term, but wish her a happy and relaxing retirement.  We hope she enjoyed her musical send-off!

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On Wednesday, a group of Year Four and Year Five children came into school very excited, as they were setting off on a three day residential trip.  Their destination was Kingswood in Staffordshire, where they were staying at an outdoor activities centre.

The itinerary for their stay included abseiling, high ropes, archery, obstacle courses, mini Olympics, orienteering and much more!  The weather remained warm and sunny, allowing the children to really make the most of their few days of fun and adventure, returning to school on Friday afternoon, tired and happy.  What a lovely time they have had.

 

 

 

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Back at school, everyone has remained very busy, with jobs in preparation for the village carnival float being distributed, and plans for the EBA Enterprise Fair, and our school summer fundraiser being finalised.  Don't forget to put these important dates in your diary: EBA Enterprise Fair - Thursday 5th July, 3.00 - 4.15pm; Village Carnival - Saturday 7th July; EBA Summer Fundraiser - Friday 13th July, 3.30 - 5.30pm.

The Badger and Foxes children that remained at school had a fun week.  One of their tasks was to plan an imaginary World Cup party!  They were given a hypothetical budget of £20, and had to research and cost out their celebration, make posters and then present their proposed event to the rest of the class.  

Squirrels Class had an interesting homework task this week.  They were asked to choose where they would most like to go in the world, and to write, draw or create a display about what they would see there.  They all put a lot of effort into the task, and produced some really impressive work which they shared with their classmates.  Several of the children expressed a wish to venture to places where they would encounter volcanoes, with a couple of children creating models of volcanoes which actually erupted!

Next week will be another busy week, with day trips planned for Squirrels, Rabbits and Badgers Class, Year Six children visiting their new schools, and a visit to school from a book illustrator on Wednesday!

Week Ending 22nd June 2018

Please enjoy just a small selection of photos from the wonderful weekend that our Year 6 children spent in France. They really had a marvellous time, enjoying informative guided tours of the area, taking in a market visit in Dieppe and a walk around historic Rouen.  They had the chance to sample plenty of French food, including "les fruits de mer", and plenty of opportunity to practise "la langue Francaise!"

The highlight of the trip, for many of the children, was their visit to the World War One battlefields, where they visited the museum in Albert, and the cemeteries and memorial in Thiepval.  They learnt a lot about the history of WWI - which they found greatly interesting, and very moving - and laid a wreath at the memorial in Thiepval.

The children all behaved superbly throughout the weekend, and Mrs Slatter, Mrs, Young and Mrs Barker, who accompanied the trip, were very proud of them all, and thoroughly enjoyed their company!

Calais:

Chateau de Chatereine Residential Centre:

 

Dieppe:

 

 
Rouen:

 

WWI Battlefields and Cemeteries Tour:

 

 

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Back in school, we have had a busy week as usual!

On Tuesday, a small group of Year Five children travelled to Wixams Academy in Bedford, to take part in the "Times Tables Rock Stars Wrangle."  This is an inter-school competition where children answer as many times tables questions as possible, as quickly as possible! 

The top three times tablers from twenty different local schools took part, and impressed all with their knowledge of multiplication tables from 2's to 12's.  Our children answered at a rate of seventy correct questions per minute, which is fantastically fast, but were not quite quick enough to get through to the finals... there's always next year! 

Very well done to the three EBA TT Rock Stars who took part - and keep an eye on the TT Rock Stars website, where photos will appear soon.

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On Wednesday, Deer Class children took part in EBA Dragons Den.  In their Enterprise groups, they each pitched their ideas to the "Dragons" (Mr Whall, Mr Meade, Mrs Lyons, Mr McDermid) who quizzed them on their business plans, checking that they had adequately carried out market research, assessed their profit margins etc etc.  

Each group was assigned £25 to put their enterprises into operation, and these will be open for business at the Enterprise Fair on the afternoon of Thursday 5th July. There will be crafts and games, all run by the children, with the goal of making a profit!  So please do come along and support this.

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Our minibus is still rather unwell, which meant that Otters Class' proposed trip to Wrigglies pet shop in Dunstable couldn't go ahead as planned this week.  It has been rescheduled for later this term, when we hope all will be fixed and our minibus will be back at school where it belongs.  

In the meantime though, Otters children enjoyed a visit to school from the "Birds of Bray" on Thursday.  They learnt all about owls and other birds of prey, and each child had the opportunity to hold a beautiful tawny owl.

 

May the sun continue to shine as we enter the last few weeks of term - just four weeks now until the summer holidays!

Week Ending 15th June 2018

We have a brand new menu in the school kitchen this week.  Following consultation with children and parents, and with the expert help of our friend Mr Hines the village butcher, kitchen staff have put together a new selection of meals that focuses on healthy choices, homemade food and value for money, and which includes some of the children's favourite dishes!

On the subject of fine dining... Foxes Class were very lucky on Wednesday this week to receive a visit from a professional restaurateur, who came in to talk to them as part of their EBA Enterprise learning.  "Frank's Restaurant and Mussel Bar" has been in the same family for many years, and the children were interested to learn how the restaurant has changed over time, in response to customers' preferences and trends and fashions in dining.

Frank brought along an old menu from the early 1970s, where the prices were all in £sd, which the children found fascinating.  The items on offer back then were very different from today's restaurant fare, featuring delicacies such as Welsh Rarebit with Poached Egg for 3/- or English Chump Chop with Creamed Potatoes, Celery Hearts and Brussels Sprouts for 5/6.

Frank showed the children how to lay up tables and demonstrated how food should be served, with silver service techniques. They then had the opportunity to try this for themselves, which they agreed was rather tricky!  Frank very kindly answered all the many questions that were asked of him, giving the children a wealth of valuable knowledge that they will be able to put into practice when they set up and run their own restaurant next year.

Hamsters children have been thinking about food as well this week!  They have been learning about ways to keep healthy and talking about how our diet affects our health.  They have also been looking at exercise and discovering fun ways to keep active outside in the lovely sunshine!

EBA children have taken part in two cricket tournaments this week.  On Tuesday, a team of Year Five and Six girls travelled by minibus to All Saints Academy, where they played three games, bowling and batting in a determined and competitive manner.  Their fielding was particularly strong, enabling the girls to finish in second place overall.  Well done girls!

On Thursday, it was the Year Five and Six boys team's turn.  Unfortunately, it was not an ideal start, as the school minibus broke down on the way to Dunstable...  However, various members of staff rallied round and we were able to get the boys to the tournament, albeit late. They were there in time to play two games, wining one and losing one, and finishing in third place overall.  The boys played with a lot of enthusiasm, especially as Mr Whall was tied up with a broken down minibus, so was unable to encourage them on.

Thank you to all the staff for rising to the challenge and mobilising their cars to get the boys to the tournament and back!

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Friday was an early, and very exciting start for a group of our Year Six children - at 7.15am, a coach arrived at school to take them to France for the weekend!  They will be staying at a Kingswood residential centre, based around a 17th century chateau on the coast of Normandy.  Their long weekend will be packed full of activities, including a visit to Dieppe and Rouen, and a guided tour of the World War One battlefields, and there are sure to be plenty of opportunities for the children to practice their French.

We hope everyone has a wonderful time, and we look forward to welcoming you back on Monday afternoon, when we will hear all about your French adventure!