There are only a few weeks left of the school term, but
there is still much to look forward to for pupils including Sports Day, Inter-Village
Sports, the Summer Fair, the end of term Musical and end of term Disco.
Our Year Six pupils are reaching the end of their Primary
School Journey and their achievements and time at the school will be celebrated
at our Leavers Service which is always an emotional affair!
Meanwhile much has been happening in the past month.
The children have been displaying Artwork in the church. We
hope you may have had a chance to have a look at it! We also entered some of
our pupils work into the Herts Primary School Art competition. One of our
pupils, Harry Botschin in year one who lives in the village reached the finals
and had his work displayed at the County Show in May. Harry came third in his
age group and we are very proud of him. He is a truly fantastic artist!
Years One and Two visited Mountfitchet Castle this month
to learn more about the Normans. They had an absolute wonderful time and learnt
lots about life in the castle, including what they would have eaten, what
weapons they would have used in battle and what they would have done to punish
people if they broke the law, which meant having a go at being in the stocks!
Children in Years three to six took
part in a joint music celebration with four other schools at Markyate School
this month. The theme was “Best of British” and the audience were treated to an
array of wonderful British Music. Our children sang “Our House” by Madness, as
well as a number of other songs collaboratively with the other schools. This
was a great opportunity for our pupils to engage with children from other
schools and perform to a wider audience. We are always keen to take part in
opportunities to engage in learning experiences in collaboration with other
schools.
This month as a school we have been celebrating “Small
Schools Week”, an annual event in association with the National Association for
Small Schools. On their website, the NASS highlights that
“Small
schools are often at the top of national performance, not least in low income
and remote areas. The effective ingredient is the close partnership between
parents and teachers. The children feel from the start safe and secure, that
effort is worthwhile and achievement possible. The evidence shows exactly that
and the high quality of teaching, relationships and related achievement
endures.”
This is very much the ethos of our school, and for the
past three years we have been coming off our usual timetable one week of the
Summer Term to celebrate the unique opportunities a small school is able to
provide.
This year Small Schools Week had a Brazilian theme to tie
in with the Rio Olympics in August. Activities included a Mini-Olympics
tournament, Brazilian Music, Singing, Arts and Crafts and a Brazilian Dance
Workshop complete with Masks, Feathers and Samba Music which all of the
children very much enjoyed.
Nursery, Reception, Years One and Two split into four
teams for their Mini Olympics - France, Brazil, China and Ghana. They completed
lots of different activities including the bean bag challenge, Hoop toss,
discus and javelin and running races. They had lots of fun.
Years Five and Six enjoyed their bi-annual visit to Paris
for the day during Small Schools Week. It was a very long day for them leaving
at four thirty am to travel by Eurostar to the French Capital. They had a
chance to visit the Eiffel Tower and other sights, immerse themselves in the
French culture, sample French food and most importantly got to try out their
French language skills which all children learn from Reception upwards. They
were excited to come back to school and tell everyone about their brilliant
day!
To close this month, some of our Years Three and Four
pupils are sharing an account of their visit to Phasels Wood as part of Small
Schools week.
“This week was small
school this week and years three, four, five and six went to Phasels Activity Wood.
Unfortunately it
chucked it down with rain, but we still had a great time!
First we went
orienteering. We had to find a wooden sign with our number and a letter on. We
had a very soggy map to help us find the right number. We all found it very
confusing!
After we split into
two equal groups and played Aero ball. We had to jump on a trampoline and try
to score in the other persons goal. The top goal scored five and the bottom
goal scored three. It was really funny when the ball hit the side and the rain
tipped down on us!
Meanwhile the other
group did the Cresta run which was epic! It was a mini cart with breaks
careering down the hill. When the teachers had a go it was very funny, actually
it was hilarious, ha ha!
After lunch we split
back into our groups again. One group went Rock Climbing. First we went on a
traversing well and everyone kept falling off. When you had completed that, you
had to climb up a moving Rock Wall. The wall tilted and most people fell off
(onto a soft mat). The other group went on Go-Carts with Pedals and raced. On
the Pedal Racers we were zooming around like Formula One drivers!
Everyone really
enjoyed going to Phasels Wood and we would definitely like to go again, maybe
the sun will even shine next time!
