Week Ending 6th July 2018

We have had a lovely, busy, hot and sunny week...

On Tuesday, the school was very quiet, as three classes were out on school trips, and many of the Year Six children were off visiting their new schools in preparation for moving up to secondary school next term.

Squirrels Class had a wonderful day out at Woburn Safari Park.  Their day included a guided coach tour around the park, where they saw antelope, giraffe, bear, rhino and experienced the excitement of monkeys climbing over the coaches!  They also enjoyed a "Dessert Springs" talk, where they learnt all about meerkats, and were taken into their enclosure.  The highlight of the day though, was being given the opportunity to get up close to an elephant, and all of the children were able to stroke its leathery skin.

 

 

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Rabbits and Badgers Class meanwhile, visited the Chiltern Open Air Museum, where they took part in a day of prehistory workshops, exploring the Stone Age and Iron Age.  They found out about how early civillisations lived, built houses, clothed and fed themselves, and kept themselves warm.  They very much enjoyed making and covering their faces with pigment, as part of their learning about hunting and gathering!

 

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Wednesday was another exciting day, for everyone in the Main School, as we were visited by a children's book illustrator, Garry Parsons, who came in to talk to the children about his work, and to share with them his love of books.  He worked with each class, giving great tips for illustrating stories, and demonstrating his own skills by producing a series of fabulous cartoons and caricatures, including a lovely EBA design featuring a deer, fox, badger. rabbit, otter and hedgehog!  The children were all entertained and inspired to create their own stories and illustrations.

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On Thursday after school, Deer Class hosted their long awaited Enterprise Fair.  This was the result of many weeks and months of work, following their visit from the "Young Enterprise" team, who generously sponsored the children's endeavours, and the "Dragons Den" event, where the children pitched their ideas to potential investors.. 

There were four teams of children, each of whom set up a stall in the playground to sell the goods they had produced with the money they had been granted.  As well as craft items, stationery, cakes, and very welcome cold drinks, there were also games and competitions that parents and children could enter.  The playground was very busy, and plenty of money changed hands, with each group taking around £50, and therefore doubling their initial investment!

Well done to all the children for organising a successful event, and thank you to all the parents and families who came along to support them.

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On Saturday it is the village carnival once again, and we are looking forward to a day of blue skies and hot sunshine!  Our fabulous volunteer HSA ladies have been working hard to produce a float based on a play room, featuring snakes and ladders, Scrabble, playing cards, and lots of other wonderful toys and games.  We are sure it will be a wonderful day, full of fun!

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!