Week Ending 28th February 2020

After a rather wet and windy half term break, we returned to school on Monday refreshed and ready, and hoping for an improvement in the weather in the next few weeks!

We welcomed back the EBA Bake Off on Monday, with the final round, which was for Hedgehogs Class entries. There were some wonderful cakes, most with a hedgehog theme! The winning entry from this week's heat actually featured two adult headgehogs (Miss Waldock and Miss Roberts) and nineteen little hedgehogs to represent all the children in the class - how lovely!

Next week is the Grand Final - we can't wait to see (and taste) the wonderful "Show Stoppers" the children produce!

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On Tuesday, Rabbits Class enjoyed a trip to Bedford, where they went on a "Faith Tour", as part of their R.E learning. They visited three different places of worship: a Sikh Gurdwara; a Muslim Mosque; and a Christian Church. In each establishment the children were given a tour of the building and a presentation about the worship that takes place there. They all found it very interesting and returned to school full of information which they were keen to share in assembly. Everyone agreed that it was "a great day!"

The Queen's Park Faith Tour is part of the Culture Challenge, an initiative that seeks to give children the opportunity to experience and enjoy a variety of art and culture.

 

 

 

   

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Back at school, Hedgehogs Class children have been learning about the traditions of Shrove Tuesday and its importance to Christians today and long ago. They watched a film showing a pancake race in the small town of Olney in Buckinghamshire and then had their own pancake race across the classroom - unfortunately due to the bad weather they were unable to have it outside. However, the children still enjoyed running with their "pancakes" in pretend frying pans.  They also rose to the challenge of trying to toss the pancake!

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Hamsters children also enjoyed Shrove Tuesday, making and eating their own pancakes! They are reading "The Snail and the Whale" by Julia Donaldson and have made a colourful display to illustrate the undersea world where the characters live.

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Squirrels Class children have been learning about Vincent Van Gogh this week, and enjoyed looking at prints of some of his most famous paintings. They have planted sunflower seeds and are looking forward to these growing and blooming so that they can paint their own Van Gofh inspired masterpieces! 

They have also started reading "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl, and will be doing various pieces of work linked to this story. Their first task was to taste and describe peaches - yummy!

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We came to school on Thursday amidst heavy falling snow, which resulted in a very light dusting om the ground. This was very exciting for the younger children who made the most of it before it very quickly melted! It was also extremely exciting for our newest member of staff, Miss Jones, who has lived all her life in Australia, and had never seen snow before! We have promised her there will be much deeper snow next time...

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Week Ending 14th February 2020

On Friday night last week, the school hall was transformed into a fantastic live music venue, as EBA parents and friends joined local band, The Highwires, for a 1980s/90s disco. It was a wonderful night, thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. Thank you to the PTA for organising the event, and to the band who gave of their time and talents to support the school.

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After a stormy weekend, sadly Rabbits Class' trip to Stockwood Park had to be cancelled on Monday. They were due to meet up with their School Linking Network friends from Hillborough School in Luton, but unfortunately the park and the Discovery Centre had to remain closed due to some storm damage. The visit will be rescheduled later in the term.

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Tuesday was Safer Internet Day. Each class worked on activities which promoted safe and responsible use of digital technologies, and the children shared all that they had learnt and thought about in a special assembly in the afternoon.

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As we approach half term, the children have been working very hard.

• Year Six children in Deer Class have had their heads down this week, practising for their SATs tests, which take place in May. 
• Rabbits Class children have been learning about the water cycle in Science, and finding out about the artist Henri Matisse during art. 
• Otters have been continuing with their Space topic, and have been "Walking on the Moon". They have also done a scientific investigation into what materials are best for keeping aliens dry in a rainstorm!
• Squirrels Class children have been making vehicles from recycled materials.

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On Thursday it was Squirrels Class assembly. The children shared all their class news with parents and other family members, and showed photos of their trips to the London Eye, and the London Transport Museum. They demonstrated some of the Maths they have been learning, impressing everyone with their muliplication and division skills, and talked about all they have learnt across the curriculum. 

The children were particularly proud to share photos of their lovely cress plants!

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As we break up for a well earned half term holiday, the school is having a bit of a tidy and spruce up, with corridors and surfaces being cleared and new displays going up - a fresh new look for Spring!

Have a lovely half term holiday, we will be back on Monday 24th February!

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Week Ending 6th February 2020

On Tuesday, Squirrels Class enjoyed a wonderful trip to the London Transport Museum. The children took part in a workshop entitled "Build a Bus", where they looked at the design of buses throughout history, and had to design a bus for the future! They also looked around the museum and were very interested to view all the different vehicles on display.

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Wednesday morning saw the official opening of our lovely new Trim Trail. PTA volunteers presented the Head Boy and Head Girl with a large cheque, and the children cut a ribbon to declare the new play equipment open! The School Council were also present to enjoy this special ceremony.

 

 

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Excitement is rising amongst the children in Deer Class, for their upcoming play and dinner evening, which takes place on Friday 27th March. This week they made cakes in preparation during their Enterprise session on Wednesday.

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Badgers Class children have been making "Flour Babies", which has been a totally different experience for them! These are made from bags of flour and fabric, and the children have been learning useful sewing skills. They are still a work in progress, but really seem to have their own individual characters already!

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On Thursday we were visited by a representative of Blue Cross, which is an animal charity. She ran a workshop for Year Five and Six children on caring for pets, then gave an assembly to the whole school, which was full of important and useful information for anyone looking after animals.

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Hedgehogs children have been working on more activities linked to their literacy topic of "The Gingerbread Man". They have been learning about instructions all week, and on Thursday, followed some pictorial instructions to make their own gingerbread salt dough. They also designed a "Wanted" poster to help The Little Old Lady and The Little Old Man find The Gingerbread Man. 

 

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Week Ending 31st January 2020

This week has been all about the PTA, and the hours of hard work that they put in for the school. Following months of fundraising, our new trim trail has now been paid for, delivered and installed on the school field! It looks wonderful and the children cannot wait to be allowed to play on it next week.

PTA volunteers have also been in school throughout the week, creating space and preparing the ground for their new shed.

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On Monday there was a bumper round of EBA Bake Off from Squirrels and Otters Classes, with a total of thirty-eight entries! All the cakes and bakes had to be tasted and evaluated by the judges, which was a terribly hard job of course... There were so many cakes that the cake stall was able to run for two days after school.

 

 

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Otters Class had a wonderful "Space Day" on Tuesday. The children all came into school dressed as something from space - an astronaut, alien, star or planet - and spent the day enjoying a number of space related activities, including designing and making a moon buggy, astronaut physical training, and space inspired artwork. They also had the chance to taste some astronaut space food!

 

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Foxes Class children got their first opportunity to show off their debating skills this week. After working hard all week perfecting their persuasive writing, learning about democracy and the rules of debating, they started with a lighthearted motion; "There Are No Such Things As Ghosts". Teams argued either "for" or "against" and learned that three minutes talking is a long time when you're up there!

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