Week Ending 1st February 2019

Monday's fantastic EBA Bake Off goodies.  Well done to Rabbits Class!

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On Tuesday, Squirrels and Otters Classes had visitors from the Dacorum Heritage Trust, who came in to talk to the children about straw plaiting, which was a traditional cottage industry in Eaton Bray in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  The children learnt all about how this was used in the hat industry based in Luton, and enjoyed making their own straw plaits.  They also had the opportunity to handle some Victorian artefacts, and to dress up in clothing from that era.

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On Thursday morning it was Rabbits Class assembly, where the children shared with their parents and the rest of the school some of the work that they have been doing this year.

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On Thursday evening, after a cold week of frost and icy wind, the threatened snow began to fall heavily, and on Friday Eaton Bray awoke to a blanket of white covering the ground.  For safety reasons (and to the undoubted delight of all the children) the decision was taken to close the school.

We hope everyone enjoyed a lovely snow day, and made the most of the opportunity for sledging and snowman building fun in the fresh air!

                             

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Week Ending 25th January 2019

There were more lovely cakes for the Bake Off on Monday.  Well done Badgers!

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On Wednesday there was a Year Six girls football tournament.  Defying the super cold conditions, our Year Six girls gave their all in four matches at the Creasey Park Football Centre in Dunstable.  There were plenty of goals, and a positive attitude throughout.  Our team came third, with two wins, one draw, and one defeat.

A terrific team effort from the girls!

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Meanwhile back at school on Wednesday, Otters Class had a special visitor, Eaton Bray local historian Peter Mayne, who came in to talk to the children about the village and how it has changed over time. 

The children learnt that Eaton Bray used to grow the best carnations in the world, that were ordered for royal garden parties!  They also discovered that the damsons that grew in the village were used to dye straw which was then taken to Luton and made into hats.  Plait schools were set up in the village and village children were employed to make straw plaits for small amounts of money.

Mr Mayne also spoke to the children about the history of Eaton Bray School, and showed them a large heavy key which used to open the door of the old school building.

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Rabbits Class children are studying persuasive writing in English, and part of this topic involves learning the skill of debating.  The children were asked to debate the following question: "Are tangerines the healthiest fruit?"  The children were split into two teams to research the question, then used lots of arguments and reasons to get their points of view across to the opposing team.  They then debated different issues working in small groups.

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Hamsters children have been enjoying the story of "Zog" by Julia Donaldson this week.  In this lovely book, Zog the dragon is accident prone, and often has to have his bumps and bruises tended and bandaged.  

The children were visited by a parent who is a nurse, who showed them how to put on bandages, just like in the story, and also talked to them about how to keep their teeth clean and healthy.  The home corner in Hamsters Class is currently a hospital, and the children are enjoying practising their new nursing skills.

 

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Friday afternoon as usual was Choices and Enrichment afternoon.  Some of the youngest children have chosen "Healthy Eating" as their weekly activity, and are enjoying learning all about how to prepare healthy nutritious food.  This week they made fruit crumble with apples and bananas - yum!

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Week Ending 18th January 2019

This term, every Monday is EBA Bake Off Day! 

The competition, organised by the PTA, kicked off last week with Deer Class, and this week it was Foxes' turn.  Children get baking over the weekend, and bring their goodies in on Monday morning to be judged on appearance and taste, with extra points awarded for the difficulty of the recipe.  In the afternoon the cakes are sliced up and sold to parents, with all proceeds going towards PTA fundraising.  What a delicious way to make money! 

We look forward to Badgers Class's yummy offerings next Monday...

Deer Class cakes

Foxes Class cakes

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Thursday was "Viking Day" for Foxes and Deer Classes!  As an introduction to this term's topic, "Raiders and Invaders", the children were visited by "History Off the Page", history specialists who came in to deliver a day of fun and learning.

The children (and adults) all came into school dressed in wonderful Viking costumes, and the hall was transformed into a typical Viking village from the year 878.  There were a number of different market stalls where a variety of activities were taking place - the children got to visit the wise woman, rune-caster, weaver, scribe, potter, metal worker, amulet maker and candle maker, learning some of the skills used by these 9th century craftsmen.  Some of the children trained to be Viking warriors, and had to defend the village against an attack by the Saxons!

In the afternoon, the children became archaeologists, excavating the village in the present day.  They "dug up" a number of artefacts, which they labelled for display in their own mini museum.

 

 

 

It was an excellent day, enjoyed by everyone who took part, and made even more successful by the parent volunteers who kindly gave their time to come in and help out.  Thank you to all of you, we are very grateful.

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Otters Class have had a lovely week.  They have a garden centre themed role play area in the classroom, and much of their learning has been based around this - in Art they have done some observational drawings of flowers, and in Science they have used the iPads to made posters illustrating the parts of a plant. 

Meanwhile, in English they have been writing their own traditional tales, based on the story of the Three Little Pigs.  Their next English task will be instruction writing, and on Friday morning, they enjoyed a very exciting outing in preparation for this.  The whole class visited Pizza Express in Leighton Buzzard, where they became chefs and were given instructions on how to make pizza! 

Once they were cooked, the pizzas were boxed up for the children to take home for their tea!

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And on the subject of food... the school kitchen has launched a great new menu for 2019, with lots of new dishes and old favourites.  This followed a consultation with the children about what sort of things they would like to see on the school dinner menu, and includes dishes from around the world, a wider selection of vegetarian options, and plenty of tasty and healthy choices.  Do take a look - it's on the website here.

We are always interested in feedback on the menu from children or parents - don't forget Mums, Dads and grandparents can join us for lunch whenever they wish - just let the School Office know.

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