Week Ending 13th May 2016

Key Stage 2 SATs have finished!!

Our Year 6 children can now relax and enjoy the remainder of their last term at Eaton Bray Academy.  Year 2 children, meanwhile, have just one more task to do next week.  It's been a quiet week with all the assessments going on, but everyone has found time to enjoy the usual variety of activities.

Children in Otters Class have continued their work on growing, by finding out how plants develop and grow.  They have planted sunflower seeds and are continuing to monitor the growth of the potatoes they planted last week - most of them now have their tops showing!

Throughout the school, children have been using our fabulous ipads, and investigating diffferent "apps" to enhance their computing skills.  The Digital Leaders Club, which meets after school every Thursday, are choosing an app to review each month.  Their "App of the Month" for May is "Book Creator", which allows the children to make their own book, adding photos, voices and videos.  They have all agreed that this is a five star app!

The EBA Enterprise team enjoyed another great cookery lesson on Wednesday.  This week they were shown how to make lasagne.  Our aspiring chefs really enjoyed finding out the secrets of how to create this classic Italian dish - and tasting it of course!

Also this week, one of the wraps that was devised in the Enterprise session last week, was included on the school dinner menu.  Everyone enjoyed their tasty fish finger wrap ("The Appetiser"), not least the boys that created the recipe!

On Friday, it was the final Class Assembly of the school year.  This time, it was Hamsters' turn, and the children that took part were the oldest pre-schoolers, who will be joining Hedgehogs Class after the summer holiday.  They shared with their parents some of the lovely work they have been doing this term, including drawings, letters and number work, sang some songs, and told the story of "We're Going on a Bear Hunt".  Everyone who attended agreed that it was a really lovely occasion.

In the afternoon, our Year 6 children celebrated the end of SATs week with a bit of a party on the field and in their classroom.  There was music and dancing, a film to watch on the interactive whiteboard, and plenty of party food - sausage rolls, crisps, cake, fruit juice - as well a special celebratory chocolate cake made by Mrs Healy in the kitchen.

All very well deserved we think!

Week Ending 6th May 2016

A short week this week, because of the Bank Holiday, but a busy one nonetheless!

Children in Year 6 have been working hard this week, getting ready for their SATs tests next week.  Happily, they are all demonstrating a lovely positive attitude towards these tests, and seem to be looking forward to showing the world what they can achieve!  Year 2 children are also preparing for SATs tests - of course with lots of playtime and fun activities going on between practice papers.

Year 2 work

This week, children in Otters Class have been investigating leaflets and brochures, looking at the language used to give information and the presentation style.  They have planned, designed and written their own leaflets for the Bucks Railway Centre, which will be emailed to the museum staff, together with a big "thank you" for the lovely day they spent there last week.

In Science, Otters Class have been looking at potatoes!  The children have been investigating the different uses of potatoes, and found out how potatoes grow.  They have planted their own crop in large pots, which have been placed outside the classroom, and the children have been taking it in turns to water them daily.  Hopefully they will be ready to harvest before the end of term, so that our school cooks will be able to use them in one of their delicious meals!

Rabbits Class have also been investigating things that grow in their Science lessons.  Their task was to discover what a plant needs in order to thrive.  A tray of pansies was placed in a dark cupboard, another in the fridge, and a third was left without being watered.  Each was monitored over the course of a week, and their condition noted.  Rabbits children concluded that plants require light, warmth and water in order to bloom!

Day 1

Day 6

Year 5 EBA Enterprise children had a "Wrap Challenge" on Wednesday - of the food kind!  They chose their own ingredients, and created tasty fillings, both sweet and savoury, to go inside tortilla wraps.  The finished products were taste tested by Mrs Van Den Bergh from the school kitchen, and the winning dishes will be added to the school dinner menu.

The children were given feedback on what they could do to tweak their recipes, and make the wraps even more appetising, and Mrs Van Den Bergh was delighted when on Thursday morning, one of the Enterprise team presented her with a freshly made wrap, with a new improved recipe, based on her suggestions!  (This one will be going on the school menu as well.)

 Our youngest children, in Hamsters Class, have been cooking too.  Their book for this week is "The Little Red Hen", so their activities have been based around this story.  They had a lovely time mixing together flour and water and other ingredients, which were then (with the help of the kitchen staff) baked into a loaf of bread.

They have also enjoyed plenty of outdoor play in the glorious sunshine, and went on a Bug Hunt around the school, and in the Forest School area.

Our older children enjoyed quite a treat on Thursday afternoon.  A local amateur dramatic theatre company came to school, to perform scenes from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", for children in Badgers, Foxes and Deer Classes.  The children seemed captivated by the classic story being played out in front of them, and we hope that they enjoyed this cultural experience!

The full production is being performed by the Tads Theatre Group, based in Toddington, and tickets are available from their website www.tadstheatre.org.

Children from Reception to Year 4 continue to enjoy Choices on a Friday afternoon, and the activities on offer this term include: Storycraft, Golf, Pottery, Construction, Recorders and much more.  Year 5 and 6 children meanwhile use this time for Science and Art.  This week, Foxes' Class started a mask making project, and we look forward to seeing how their artwork will progress!

A busy week of Key Stage 2 SATs next week, and we look forward to Friday afternoon, when the hard work will be over!  Thank you to the parents of our Year 6 pupils, for all the support and encouragement they have been offering their children, and giving to the school, while they prepare for these tests.

Week Ending 29th April 2016

We are all so very proud of our Year 3 teacher, Miss Turner, this week... on Monday she came in to school wearing a big shiny medal, which had been awarded for completing the London Marathon last Sunday!

What a wonderful accomplishment - and one which really serves to illustrate our British value for this half term - "Determination!"

Miss Turner has been training and fundraising for this event for many months, and has managed to raise more than £2,100 for the National Autistic Society.  Many thanks are due to all the EBA parents and staff that have helped Miss Turner reach her fundraising target, through contributing to the cake stall, non-uniform day, and the very successful and enjoyable quiz night that was held last month.

Miss Turner at the finishing line, after running 26.2 miles!

In a week where we've had sunshine, showers, rain, hail, frost and snow, we have been determined not to let the weather get in the way of our plans.  On Tuesday, a team of Year 5 and 6 boys wrapped up warm and took part in a football away match against Ardley Hill School.  They had a great match, and came away the winners, so well played boys!

On Wednesday, Otters and Squirrels Classes had a lovely day out at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre in Quainton.  The sun shone and the friendly informative staff were very welcoming.  The children enjoyed having the opportunity to travel on an old steam train, with an engine that dated back to the nineteenth century, and traditional, old style compartments.  They also had great fun on the miniature ride-on steam train, which travels along a track that has been decorated with lots of fun things to spot, including toys, animal statues and model cars.

The children discovered how a steam train works and looked inside different carriages, including Winston Churchill's war train and Queen Victoria's royal train.  They also found out about the importance the railways played in the past - transporting everything from milk and livestock to coal for heat.  Finally they were able to explore the role of the mail train, helping to post and sort letters on board the carriage.

Everyone agreed that the day was very well organised on the part of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre... and that our children were beautifully behaved!

 

The work on railways continued at school as the children composed their own report about the visit.  Firstly they had to make a plan before they wrote a chronological account of the day's event.  Next week they will use this information to produce their own leaflet to encourage other children to visit!

Week Ending 22nd April 2016

Spring has sprung!

Squirrels Class have been finding out about the baby animals that have been born on a local farm, and have had a lovely time creating some sheep inspired artwork!  They have also enjoyed a nature walk and discovered plenty of wildlife in our school grounds.

As part of their science work, Otters have researched spring plants, including flowers and blossom.  They also went for a walk around the school grounds to find and identify the plants and flowers, paying attention to the environment in which they were growing.  They took photographs which they will use to make maps next week.

Our creative curriculum topic for this term is The Olympics, and Deer Class have kicked off their work on this subject by finding out all about the history of the ancient Olympics, and learning about Greek mythology.  They have rewritten some of the classic Greek myths in the style of newspaper articles.

Otters have been looking at the modern Olympic Games.  They have each chosen one Olympic sport and found out all about it for their homework task.  They have found out where the sport takes place, and sketched their chosen venue.  They will complete their drawings by adding figures of sportsmen and women next week.

On Tuesday, a team of Year 5 and Year 6 children took part in a swimming gala at Dunstable Leisure Centre.  They all swam in several races, both individual and relay, and did very well, ending up in fourth place.  Well done team!

More sport on Tuesday, when visitors from Eaton Bray Cricket Club came to do a cricket session on the field for children in Year 3.  It was a lovely sunny day, and the children had a fine time practicing their batting and bowling skills.

Wednesday was an exciting day for Badgers Class, who spent the day at another school!  They went to Hillborough Junior School in Luton, to meet up with the friends they have made through the Schools Linking Network programme.  They enjoyed a picnic in the classroom, looked around the school grounds and took part in a fun art lesson where they drew "half and half" portraits of one another.

Foxes Class were given a challenging Enterprise cookery task this week.  They were given a selection of ingredients, and were asked to devise and prepare a dish, which would be judged on taste, quality of presentation, and the tidiness of the preparation area.  The ingredients were: bananas, chocolate, grapefruit, cheese, pineapple, apples, onions, crisps, chocolate biscuits!  The children were allowed to use as many or as few of these as they wished.

We were all very curious to see what would be produced... and as usual, our children rose to the challenge and impressed us with their inventiveness!  The final products included a tasty looking fruit salad, an indulgent chocolate dessert, and a cheese dip with crudites.  

 

Thursday was a special day - the Queen's 90th birthday!  It was also the day of Hedgehogs' Class Assembly, when they shared with parents the work they have been doing this year.  The children shared photos of their activities and of the trips in the minibus that they have been making.  These are amongst the youngest of our children, and we were delighted that they all spoke up so well.  The assembly included some songs, complete with actions and home made instruments, and of course, a special birthday song for the Queen!

Later in the day, Hedgehogs Class enjoyed a Queen's Birthday celebratory afternoon tea on the field, which included sandwiches and cake.  Hamsters Class celebrated too, in a similar way, but chose to stay indoors for their tea party (perhaps wisely as it was a little chilly!)

Friday involved an early start for our wonderful kitchen staff, who came in before 6am to start cooking a special St George's Day full English breakfast. With help from volunteers from the HSA and governors, more than 100 plates of eggs, bacon, sausages etc were served up to parents, children and staff!

There was a wonderful party atmosphere in the hall, which had been decked out in flags and bunting for the occasion, as everyone tucked in to their feast.  When they had finished eating, the children had the chance to go and play cricket on the field before the start of school.  As it was such a special patriotic day, the children were given the opportunity to come to school in their beaver/cub/brownie uniform.  Many did so, and looked very smart indeed.