Week Ending 16th December 2016

So many exciting things took place this week, as we approach the end of term, that it's hard to know where to start!!

First of all, there were the Christmas concerts and performances.  Hedgehogs, Otters, Squirrels and Rabbits performed "Christmas Counts" on Monday and Thursday afternoons.  On both occasions the hall was packed with parents, eager to see their child on the stage and hear them sing.  Hamsters gave their Christmas performance on Wednesday morning, and entertained parents with the songs they have been learning for their Sing Along.

   

 

 

Badgers, Foxes and Deer Classes will have their Carol Concert on Monday of next week, at St Mary's Church, Eaton Bray.

On Wednesday afternoon, the School Hall was packed with parents again, this time, all hoping to win a prize on the raffle or bottle tombola, or choosing from the lovely array of tempting goodies available on the cake stall.  Our "Mini Christmas Fair" was a huge success, and the EBA Enterprise children were delighted that so many people came to buy gifts from their "Secret Santa" stall.  Thank you to everyone who came along to support the event.

Thursday was a thoroughly enjoyable day for Foxes and Deer Classes, because it was "Gadget Day", when they were allowed to bring in electronic toys and games for a Christmas treat.  They chose this option instead of a Christmas party - far more appropriate for our older children!

At lunchtime, the children in Deer Class had an extra special treat - lunch at the Cafe Masala Indian Restaurant in Eaton Bray.  They were very well looked after, and very well fed!  Thank you to the staff there for once again welcoming us so warmly and putting on such a lovely spread for the children.

 

Friday was party day for all the rest of the children in School.  There were games, dancing, pass the parcel, a puppet show for the youngest children, and of course, the customary visit from Santa!  A lovely (if rather frantic) way to end the week, and with just two days remaining next week, until we break up for Christmas, we now all feel well and truly festive!

Please enjoy some photos from the Christmas parties.

 

Week Ending 9th December 2016

The Christingle service at St Mary's Church on Monday was every bit as lovely as anticipated.

The children spent the morning making Christingles, and learning about their significance.  The orange represents the world, the red ribbon symbolises the love of Christ, the dried fruit represents all of God's creations, and the candle represents Jesus's light in the world.

After lunch, everyone walked down to the church for the service - all the classes in Main School and a small group of pre-schoolers went as well.  The service was both peaceful and uplifting, and included a reading, some prayers and singing.  The all important lighting of the Christingles was accompanied by the song "This Little Guiding Light of Mine."

 

   
The children were all full of awe and delight as candle light flickered in the darkness, and their sensible and respectful behaviour was commented on by Gordon Gray, the church reader who took the service.

Please will you pass on my thanks and congratulations to the boys and girls of Eaton Bray Academy. I thought their behaviour at the Christingle was exemplary:

 ·         The children entered politely, quietly and without fuss

 ·         Those who came to ring the bells waited their turn patiently and rang the bell sensibly and as instructed.

 ·         The focus during the service was good and I was impressed with how quiet they were when quiet was appropriate or requested.

 ·         Their behaviour with the candles was sensible and careful.

 ·         Finally, it was delightful that so many of the children felt it appropriate, at the end of the service, to come up to me and say thank you.

In summary I thought they represented the school in an excellent manner.

Well done children - we are very proud of you all.

Children in Hamsters Class have been getting very festive this week!  They have had a lovely time decorating Christmas trees, and doing lots of Christmas crafts - there was glitter and tinsel everywhere!  They also enjoyed making mince pies (even making their own pastry), and decorating gingerbread men with lots of colourful icing and sweets.  Yum yum!

Year Six children in Deer Class have been continuing their work on the Ancient Roman art, and have made Roman vases from terracotta coloured clay.

Along with the Year Five children, they are very excited about the forthcoming Mini Christmas Fair which takes place next Wednesday after school, where they will be running a Secret Santa stall... an ideal place for children to do their secret Christmas shopping, and pick up something special for Mum or Dad!.

Squirrels Class had exciting visitors on Tuesday, when the Fire Brigade came to talk to them about fire safety, and to demonstrate the equipment they use to fight fires.  The children all had the chance to look around the fire engine, listen to the siren, and best of all, to operate the water hose, spraying water all over the car park.  What great fun!

 

On Wednesday, a team of children from Years Three and Four went to All Saints Academy in Dunstable, to take part in an inter-schools tag rugby tournament.  Once again our EBA sportsmen and women did us proud, as they came away in third place.  Well done children!

We have been embracing the "British Value" of democracy this week, and have set up a polling booth in the library, where the children can vote (by secret ballot of course) for their "Pupil of the Year".  Two children have been nominated from each class in the Main School, and ballot slips created.  The votes will be counted up next week, and the winner announced...

Our Christmas Concerts start next week: children in Hedgehogs, Otter, Squirrels and Rabbits will be performing in "Christmas Counts" on Monday and Thursday afternoon, and Hamsters Sing Along is taking place on Wednesday morning.  Rehearsals have been going on all week, with all the excitement of costumes and props, lines to learn and songs to sing!

On Wednesday visitors from Age Concern's "Wednesday Club" came in to watch the children's performance.  They thoroughly enjoyed the singing and acting, and stayed for a cup of tea and biscuits afterwards, which were served by the older children.  Once again there were many comments made about how polite and friendly our children were to our visitors.

A sneak peek from the dress rehearsal...

We just can't wait for next week...!!!

Week Ending 2nd December 2016

The children had a wonderful time at the HSA Christmas disco on Saturday.  There was music, lights and dancing in the School Hall, an exciting Christmas craft room, and lots and lots of lovely party food!  Parents enjoyed teas, coffees and mince pies in the relative quiet of the library.  Thank you to everyone who came along to support the event or gave up their Saturday afternoon to help out.  Hopefully we have raised plenty of funds for the HSA!

It has been a busy week in the classrooms, with plenty of work being done, as well as rehearsals for our Christmas Concerts, which will be taking place in a couple of weeks.

Badgers Class have been writing and following instructions on how to make fruit salad.  Squirrels Class have been looking at birds and making sketches.  They have also been investigating 3D shapes.  Deers have been designing Roman inspired mosaics.

Rabbits had an interesting science lesson - they did some research into the properties of different rocks, and had to decide which would be the best to use to make a statue of a rabbit to live in the school playground.  

In groups, they had to think about which type of rock is hardest and which would be the least likely to erode in cold and wet weather.  When they had decided, they presented their findings to the rest of the class "Dragon's Den" style, persuading their classmates that their group's idea was the best!

On Wednesday and Thursday, we had visitors in from Ofsted, who came in to see how things are done at Eaton Bray Academy.  They observed some lessons, and spoke to a number of children.  They were also lucky enough to be present during Badgers Class assembly, which was a wonderful occasion, with singing, acting and fantastic ukulele playing.  The children have worked so hard, and all their guests - parents, grandparents, and others - were very impressed.

On Friday we had a non-uniform day, in return for a donation of a bottle or bag of sweets for our "Mini Christmas Fair" which takes places on Wednesday 14th December at 3.30pm.

As a non-uniform day is always a bit special, this doubled as a celebration day, when we all acknowledged how happy we are to be part of Eaton Bray Academy, and how lucky we are to have so many fabulous children here.  A special assembly was held, where Mrs Hounslow thanked the children for being their usual polite, friendly, helpful selves while our visitors were here, and then we all joined in with singing a "Happy" song.

More reasons to celebrate at lunchtime, when the kitchen staff reported that more children than ever before had requested a school dinner that day!  They cooked 183 meals - and a total of 510 sausages!! (There was a vegetarian option too of course.)  Well done to the kitchen team for making school meals so inviting and tasty!

Year Six children enjoyed Common Room time on Friday lunchtime.  They have a lovely space upstairs in our Nursery building, where they can relax, play games, read or just chat, which is available to them weekly, as a reward for their ongoing good behaviour.

The Year Sixes have been delighted this week to have received yet more backing from local businesses for their "Young Enterprise" initiative.  Thank you to Flicks and Bangs (hairdressers), Happy Valley (takeaway), Absolutely Plastered (plasterer), Marc Flack (painter and decorator), Anne Johnson (osteopath).  Your generous contributions are so greatly appreciated.

A festive flavour to next week, when on Monday we will be visiting the church for a Christingle service.  This is always a lovely event, and something everyone looks forward to each year.