Week Ending 4th October 2019

On Tuesday, Rabbits Class had a very enjoyable day out at the Chiltern Open Air Museum in Chalfont St Giles. The trip was linked to their topic work on the Iron Age, and the children spent the day finding out about life in pre-historic times.

The activities took place in a wonderful replica Iron Age Roundhouse, which was an ideal shelter from the frequent rain showers that fell during the day. The children made pots from clay, learnt how to grind grain to make bread and to churn cream to make butter. They also found out how to make iron age tools including spears made from sharpened stones which they tied onto sticks with dried grass.

It was an excellent "hands-on" day, and the children really gained a lot of knowledge about life on an Iron Age settlement.

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Badgers Class was visited by keepers from Whipsnade Zoo, who came in to talk to the children about conservation and endangered species. The children handled some animal artifacts and were given interactive activities to help them explore this subject in an interesting manner. They found out lots of fascinating facts - for example, that elephants are afraid of bees! So, they learnt, bees hives are now being planted around farms in Africa to keep elephants off the crops, and therefore preventing the need for farmers to cull this endangered animal.

After the visit the children wrote lovely thank you letters to Whipsnade Zoo to let them know how much they had enjoyed the afternoon.

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Foxes Class children have been learning a new game to help them recall, or look up, their times-table facts with greater speed and accuracy. It's been a great success, with everybody on the edge of their seats! Their work on the Anglo Saxons is progressing, and they are now mapping the areas of Britain that were conquered, and finding memories of Anglo Saxon dominance that has been left behind in our place names. 

In music, they are starting to learn how to dance and mix music, and in Computing, they wrote their very first computer program by compiling lines of code!

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Week Ending 27th September 2019

For Year Five children, this week was Bikeability week. They all brought their bikes and cycle helmets into school on Monday morning for a week of cycle and road safety training. The first day's instruction took place on the school playground, and later in the week, the children all ventured out onto the roads around the village, putting into practice all that they had learnt.

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The weather throughout the week has been very changeable, with heavy rain interspersed with warm sunshine. However the rain didn't prevent our enjoyment of our Alternative Sports Day on Wednesday, which was organised and run by the Dunstable School Games team, who also provided all the equipment.

The children in Main School all enjoyed traditional sports and games such as tennis, rugby, football, dance, as well as some exciting new activities including boxing, boccia and "Human Hungry Hippos!" But the main attraction by far was the very exciting inflatable assault course, which was enjoyed by all.

This was a non-competitive day, with the focus being on the enjoyment of physical activities and working as a team. In the words of the children: "Today is about having fun" and "It's not about winning, it's about co-operating."

 

 

 

   

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Badgers Class children enjoyed a wonderful practical Science session this week. They were exploring changes states of matter with Mr Bannister, and watched fascinated as he demonstrated the properties of gases and liquids by igniting gas trapped inside soap bubbles. The fact that the soap bubbles were on Mrs McLaurie's hands, giving her "hands of fire" just added to the excitement for the children - definitely an experiment that they will remember!

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Did anyone spot the EBA display at St Mary's Church Flower Festival at the weekend? Our beautiful paper flower display was cleverly recycled from the decorations made by the children for the carnival float last term, rearranged onto ribbon covered hoops. They looked magnificent!

Week Ending 20th September 2019

The weather has been beautiful for us this week, which has meant lots of opportunities for outdoor play and sports on the field. It seems that summer hasn't wanted to leave us quite yet!

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On Tuesday evening, our PTA held their Annual General Meeting, where they recapped on all the wonderful fundraising that they have organised over the last year, and set out their plans and goals for the coming year. The committee was pleased to report that following a busy year, they have managed to raise £10,000, which will go towards new "trim trail" equipment for the playground. This is a fantastic achievement, and the school is very grateful to this small group of parents, who are always available whenever volunteers are required, and willing to give of their time, effort and talents to "help the school to grow". Thank you PTA!

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Our Head Boy and Head Girl and their Deputies have been selected for this school year, along with the School Council and Year Six Ambassadors. The weather was just right for an outdoor photo-shoot with Photography by Carrie, to show off their new badges and responsibilities.

Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputies

Year Six Ambassadors

School Council

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Friday was ROSE Day - Respect Our School Environment - and we had a busy, productive and very enjoyable day doing all sorts of jobs to improve the appearance of the school grounds. Staff and children in the Main School came into school wearing their oldest clothes, and joined in with activities such as painting fences, sheds and picnic tables, gardening, litter picking and tidying up indoors. We were joined by a number of parent helpers, plus one very hardworking grandad who spent the day rebuilding our allotment area, so that we can once again grow our own fruit and vegetables.

The youngest children in Hamsters Class took advantage of the sunshine to clean all their outdoor toys, while Hedgehogs children focused on tidying up their lovely outdoor play area and mud kitchen.

It was a warm sunny day, and the children were able to enjoy their lunch of hot dogs, chips and salad picnic style on the field.

Thank you to everyone who came along to help - the school is starting to look really spruced up now - collectively we have made a difference!

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Week Ending 13th September 2019

So another new school year starts at Eaton Bray Academy! We have been pleased to welcome several new children this term, as well as some new staff - we hope they all enjoy their time with us.

The children have all settled into their new classes and are getting to know their teachers and surroundings. The youngest children, in Hamsters Class have being having a lovely time playing in the sunshine!

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At the other end of the school, our new Year Six children in Deer Class are very excited about their EBA Enterprise Restaurant, which is set to open later this term. Named "Mount Foodius", this year's restaurant will serve Italian food, and the children have already decided on their delicious menu!

This week their task was to make tiramisu...

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Rabbits children started looking at their Science topic of Rocks and Soils. The children looked at different images of rock from extremely close up to a wider view. They also did a scientific investigation to find out what could be learnt from the contents of the rubbish bin - which they all found fascinating! In their history lessons they began to find out about life in the Stone Age and enjoyed a "camp fire" in the classroom.

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Badgers Class have also been working really hard! They have started their Science topic of "Changing State", written a balanced argument in English, learnt how to say "Hello", "What's your name?" and "How are you?" in French and lots more!

In Art Badgers are looking at Hokusai, and the children did some excellent wave pictures using a medium of their choice. They will continue to experiment along this theme as they progress through Kensukes Kingdom, which the children are really enjoying.

Our value for cooperation has been in full force this week too - Badgers have had an excellent start to their new year!

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Foxes Class are reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and learning about people who think they have seen UFOs. For their writing, the children have been creating fantasy recounts based on "What if I saw a UFO last night?"

They have also teamed up with Berkeley University in America in their search for alien life, helping them to analyse data and information that they have collected from space. We’ll let you know if they find anything!

The Search for Aliens!

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Hedgehogs children have enjoyed the first week in their new reception class.  The children are settling in well and are getting used to all the new routines which they have to learn.  All the Hedgehogs staff have been very proud of their good behaviour.  Well done! 

The children  have been making their own hedgehogs for a display in the Key Stage One corridor.  After a short discussion about hedgehogs, the children decided they wanted to make a hedgehog with real prickles so they all went outside into our beautiful school grounds to search for suitable materials. The children then sorted the materials into long, short and spiky "prickles", before colouring the base of their hedgehog and arranging and sticking the prickles on it.

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What a busy first week! And as usual there are also lots of opportunities for children to take part in a range of extra-curricular activities this term including football, ballet, tap dance, cross country, choir, Spy Club, Art Club and maybe soon, also basketball and gymnastics! We are also able to offer piano, violin and guitar lessons with our visiting music teachers.

We are all looking forward to ROSE Day next week - Respect Our School Environment - which takes place on Friday 20th September. This will be a day of action for staff, children and parents, to improve our school environment - picking litter, planting seeds and bulbs, rebuilding our allotment to allow us to once again produce fruit and vegetables to use in school dinners.

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