Parish News - March 2015

Great Gaddesden CoE VA School

For Pupils Aged 3-11

This month’s article has been written by pupils in Year 3 who were asked to write descriptively about our local area. I am sure you will agree that the writing is very atmospheric and also shows how much the children appreciate the beautiful location of our village school.

My walk to school through Great Gaddesden

The fields – My brother and I walk across every day to school… we have a green grassy, sometimes muddy fields to walk across and therefore have to wear our wellies. But when Jack Frost comes out the fields are very white and icy and makes crunchy noises under our feet, when we walk over it.

We have to cross a small, wooden bridge that can be very slippery in the winter time, which also has a small stream that runs under us when we walk on it. Many people use the fields to walk from the village to the other side to walk up through to the ‘Hoo woods’, which has many different flowers in spring time eg bluebells, daffodils etc.

I love walking across the fields especially in the summer time because I enjoy watching the different wildlife that comes down to the water with ducks, swans, duckling, we also see rabbits, foxes and heaps of mole hills that we jump on from time to time.

Also in the summer, the farmer puts cows in the fields. So therefore if cows are near the fence or in the part of the field we can’t walk through, because in the past we have been chased. So then we have to walk the long way around to school.

By Hayden

Great Gaddesden Moorland

It’s just a stone’s throw from the school. A staggering sight from a cold, crisp winter’s morning. The bright sun high in the sky against the low dense mist. We can just make out the shadows of grazing cows and the breath of local dog walkers.

White sheep in the distance like balls of cotton wool and the dark, winding trickling sound of the Gade (a river).

It’s a bit muddy under foot but a great way to start your day at Great Gaddesden.

By Nancy

The Park

It’s a small park with swings, a slide, a wobbly spring seat and a climbing frame. There’s a big frame and a small one. The big frame is for good climbers and the smaller one is for not so good climbers. The park is on the edge of the village. By the park there’s a secret base that I’m going to write about next.

Secret Base: The secret base is in a fun wood. You get in by going through a hole in the fence. Once you get through the fence you’re in the case and can roam around and climb trees. There’s a tree house, a zombie chamber, a tree club, climbing lesson and spooky tractor. If you sit on the tractor a fox will come and bite you and you will turn into a … spirit.

By Immy

For the next few months, Clare Rudd (one of our parent governors) will write the school’s Parish Newsletter. Many thanks to Clare for taking on this responsibility.

School life continues to be rich and varied.  Recent activities include:  tasting food from around the world, taking part in a half-time penalty shoot-out at a Watford FC home game, visiting the Sikh gurdwara in Hitchin and welcoming a local veterinary nurse to the school (with a dog, a cat, 2 guinea pigs and a 52-year old tortoise called Emily!). We believe that we can achieve outstanding academic results by exciting and enthusing the children about learning; creating a positive attitude to learning that will help our children as they move through education and indeed through life.

I am very proud of our School, and encourage you to visit us (either in person or via our website!).

Alison Wilkinson
Chair of Governors

 

 

Parish News Feburary 2015

Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School

We welcomed Leo, Jack, Holly, Mylo and Hannah to our Nursery in January. It is a very special milestone when a child goes off to school for the first time, and we really hope that our newest pupils have embarked on a happy and successful adventure in education.

Lucy in Year 1 wrote about her recollection of starting at Great Gaddesden School:

‘I felt scared on Saturday because it was my very first day at school and I didn’t know where the toys were and I felt nervous and worried. I made friends straight away because they were very nice at my very first day.’

I am sure that if our new nursery children couldn’t find the toys, the wonderfully friendly and kind children at our school would help them.

Writing has been a major focus area for the whole school and the progress of children of all ages has been very impressive.

One element of our drive to improve writing standards is ‘Big Writing’: children are given the time and space to write at length, often in a relaxed classroom with music playing. We also encourage children to write at length in all areas of the curriculum, not just literacy. For instance, the skills needed to write up a science experiment, to write instructions for a design project or to recount a historical event are as important as the skills of creative writing.

The following comparison of a Victorian and modern kitchen was written by Fenella in Year 2 :

‘Today there are lots of differences between an old Victorian kitchen and a new kitchen. A larder keeps things cold so it doesn’t have any windows. In a new kitchen we have an electric fridge, they didn’t have electric in the olden times. The range is a fire, however the people needed to get down on their knees and get paper, sticks and make a coal fire. When the range is a bit damaged they used special black polish and put it on the range and they put porridge in before they went to bed.

But in the new kitchen we have an electric microwave also and an oven. In the Victorian days and our days one thing is the same it is the table and chairs!

Victorians made rag rugs because it used up old rags. They wouldn’t want to walk on a cold floor so they made rag rugs. In the new kitchen they would have a rug so they could keep their feet warm.’

I recently did a ‘learning walk’, spending a short time in each classroom, and I was struck by the purposeful and positive atmosphere in every classroom. As a school we are trying to instill a love of learning, and a resilience that helps the children develop the ‘self-belief to conquer new challenges and achieve excellence’.

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors

 

Parish News November 2014

The School Council plays an important role in our school : six children of different ages who meet weekly to discuss issues of importance to the pupils. The School Council recently visited the Houses of Parliament to see how democracy works on a national level. We were then delighted to welcome local MP Mike Penning to the school to tell us about his life as an MP and to answer questions.  The children’s questions were equally as challenging as those from the floor of the House. For example:

-          How do you raise money to keep the Houses of Parliament running?

-          As an MP, how do you feel about troops being sent to War?

We hope that these types of experience will encourage our children to be ‘confident, respectful and successful citizens of the future’.

 

Recently five of our children attended an ‘Able Maths Day’ at George Street School, using Art to inspire the budding mathematicians. Tasks included working out how many assistants Damien Hirst would need to make Spot paintings of various sizes and making Anthony Gormley figurines from plasticine and estimating how many would be needed to fill the school hall (252,000!!!). Certainly a different approach to mathematics with plenty of practical activities. Children will also be attending an ‘Able Writers Day’. These events are an excellent way of enriching the curriculum and giving children the opportunity to work with pupils from other local schools.

 

On National Poetry Day children throughout the school wrote their own poems. There are some beautiful examples of their poems on our website. Year 5&6 wrote poems inspired by the First World War and I would like to share a poem written by Oscar in Year 6:

 

The trenches are dirty

The trenches are wet

The trenches are our homes

Covering our silhouette.

 

Violets are blue

Poppies are red –

Representing the blood

that we shed;

 

We wear our poppies

with love and respect

We will never forget

We must never forget.

 

Leaving our families

Holding hands with our future;

Bravely marching, we the British warriors

We will never forget

We must never forget.

 

The oceans of poppies,

Blood and sweat

We must never forget

 

Please don't forget.

 

 

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors

Parish News October 2014

Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School

The new school year has arrived! We welcome twenty new children to the school, primarily in Nursery and Reception, and hope that they will all be very happy in our village school. We also welcome Mrs Jessop as our Senior Teacher in the Year 3&4 classroom. There is a real buzz of excitement in the classroom and on the playground.

War Horse

The year started with a bang for children in Years 5&6 as they headed into London by train to see the acclaimed play ‘War Horse’. The trip supports the literacy work in the classroom, but is also consistent with our ambition to provide the children with inspiring experiences beyond the curriculum.

‘War Horse is an amazing show directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris; it stars Jack Loxton as Albert. It is based on the book written by Michael Morpurgo.

It is about Joey, the horse, and his magnificent journey through World War 1. You meet many different characters along the way: funny ones, weak ones, evil ones, serious ones, strong ones and all sorts of ones!’ By Henry (Year 6)

‘The storyline was about a horse; he was born and trained to be a racehorse, but after a farmer bought him, he became a farm horse, and learnt to plough the field. He was sold to the war for £100 and everyone on the farm was upset. Joey, the horse, got to experience both sides of the war.’ By Callum (Year 6)

‘Albert and Joey are the main characters. The horses moved slowly and carefully and all of the actors had good facial expressions and acted really well.‘ By Dylan (Year 5)

‘Joey and Albert build a friendship that can’t be broken by anything. They are special because they have a bigger bond than anyone else in the story.’ By Oscar (Year 6)

 ‘War Horse at the New London Theatre was brilliant! It’s full of humour, sadness and show stopping moments.’ By Kayleigh  (Year 6)

As a school, we were also delighted to receive the following message from a member of the public:

 

'I am sitting on a train with a dozen or so of your pupils and three of your staff en route to London.

This is just to say what an absolute pleasure it is to see such bright, cheerful and interested boys and girls, in full flow, yet with manners and due deference to their surroundings and others.

They are all a great credit to your school, and I hope they all go on to great things.’

New Curriculum

The staff have been working hard to make sure that the School is ready for the new, more challenging national curriculum. Our small staff numbers and mixed-age classes mean that each teacher is responsible for leading several curriculum areas and for planning the curriculum on a two-year-rolling basis. The plans look very exciting and inspiring: we hope that the children are inspired to love learning.

Clubs

Finally, I would like to mention the range of extra-curricular clubs that are on offer this term: Art, Cooking, Coding, Dance, Science, Gardening, Maths, Football and Knitting. This is quite a remarkable offering for such a small school. Our daily Breakfast Club is also very popular. We are extremely lucky to have such a dedicated staff who want to offer opportunities above and beyond the set curriculum.

 

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors

Parish News September 2014

Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School

The children and staff of the school are currently enjoying a well-earned summer holiday. The last academic year was incredibly busy with innovations in many areas of school life ranging from installing a new central heating boiler (following a leak in the boiler room) to celebrating Small Schools Week in style with an “off-curriculum week” of amazing activities. All of these issues (and many more!) come into the in-tray of a small school’s Headteacher. The breadth of issues that has to be dealt with is quite amazing. We are incredibly fortunate to have Miss Worsley as our headteacher and she has led the school with skill and compassion throughout the year.

The traditional Leavers’ Service at the end of term was a chance to pay tribute to our Year 6 Leavers – Amanda, Charlie, Shyla, Josh – “The four of you have been superb leaders and have set a terrific example to the rest of the school. Great Gaddesden will always be your school and we look forward to hearing about your future successes - stay in touch!”  They have all been wonderful pupils of our school and I am sure their experiences at Great Gaddesden will mean that they move on to be happy and successful secondary school pupils.

 It was also an opportunity to thank the staff for their hard work throughout the year. Academically, the relentless focus on raising standards has really borne fruit and our SATs results (for pupils in Years 2 and 6) demonstrate genuinely excellent progress in reading, writing and maths. This is testament to the hard work of both staff and pupils. We are very proud of their achievements.

 However, our school is about so much more than academic standards. This year has also seen the school provide the children and the staff with so many opportunities to grow in all areas of their lives. The class blogs and school website are a record of just how varied and rich the school experience at Great Gaddesden has become.

In September we welcome Mrs Jessop to the school as Senior Teacher and Inclusion Leader. We are really excited about the opportunities this appointment offers to drive further improvements in teaching and learning throughout the school.

We also welcome new families to our school in September and trust that the children and their families will be very happy as they start their ‘friendship’ with Great Gaddesden School.

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors

Great Gaddesden Parish Newsletter

Below is the School's article in the Parish Newsletter for the July/August edition.

Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School

For Children Aged 3-11

 Year 5&6 Trip to Paris

The long-awaited and planned for trip to Paris took place on Friday 20th June. The 4.30am start did not deter pupils or staff and they had a wonderful time. The children conducted a treasure hunt beginning outside Le Louvre - following clues to answer questions about some of the nearby attractions. There were 19 questions to answer as well as additional challenges such as recreating the pose from a statue or spelling out a word using their bodies as letters. The treasure hunt finished within site of L'Arc de Triomphe. Children then visited the Eiffel Tower - here they went as far as the second floor and took in the fabulous view of the city. They also used their French speaking skills to buy a number of souvenirs during the day. Behaviour was, a always, impeccable.

 

Small Schools Week

There is huge excitement in the school for the last week of June as normal lessons make way for a week of enrichment and extra curricular activities to celebrate Small Schools Week.

Each class teacher has developed an exciting week of activities:

Nursery & Reception will be having a Circus Skills Workshop, going on a woodland adventure, learning about Art through nature, preparing food for a picnic and hosting a teddy bears picnic for other small schools in the area.

Children in Years 1 &2 will be going to Tring Museum, having a fun food day, doing an Art Academy workshop and building woodland dens.

Our older pupils in Key Stage 2 will be going Kayaking on the Grand Union Canal, rock climbing at the XC, orienteering in our beautiful countryside, den building on the Gaddesden Estate, playing inter-house rounders, and doing a science workshop. On Friday all of the children in Key Stage 2 will be going to the Orchard Barn on the Gaddesden Estate for a ‘Dragons Den’ style workshop entitled “How to save the World”. We are very grateful to Nick and Viola Halsey for allowing us to use the wonderful facilities of the Gaddesden Estate.

On Wednesday the whole school will be going to Whipsnade Zoo for the day. One of the unique things about small schools is the wonderful sense of community that exists between pupils across the school. We felt that one way of celebrating this was for the whole school to share an outing together.

 Academic Review of the Year

One of the reasons that the school is able to enjoy Small Schools Week to the full is that the children and staff have worked incredibly hard this academic year on the core skills of reading, writing and maths. Our whole school focus has been to improve Writing and a recent LEA review of the school’s progress against its Ofsted targets said that the progress in writing this year has been “SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE”.

We are very proud of the huge improvements that are being made in academic teaching and learning across the school.

 Year 6 Leavers

This time of year is very poignant as we say goodbye to pupils who have been a very important part of our school community. This year we say farewell to Amanda, Charlie, Josh and Shyla. We are incredibly proud of them all and wish them happiness and success in their secondary schools. They have all been wonderful ambassadors for the School.

In a small school, being a Year 6 pupil brings many responsibilities, and the oldest children almost become part of the school leadership team! We are therefore particularly sad to see our oldest pupils leave. However, our current Year 5s will return in September ready to grow into the role of the most senior pupils in the school.

Wishing all members of our wonderful school community a relaxing summer holiday. We look forward to welcoming you back in September.

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors