Eco schools

Playground development – Tuesday 24th June

We are delighted to inform everyone the our bid for lottery funding through ‘Awards4 All’ has been successful and we have been awarded the maximum £10,000 towards developing our outdoor provision. The company ‘Play Force’ will be installing an outdoor decking / staging area at the side of the upper playground, a covered wooden seating area for quiet reflection and for use as an outdoor classroom on the lower playground and an ‘imagination bridge’ in the EYFS play area. Installation begins on Tuesday 24th June and we ask that everyone is extra careful during the next few days when coming onto the playground and to  keep their younger children well away from any materials and equipment when waiting for pupils at the end of school.

We would also like also remind parents and adults collecting children after school, that no children should be using the school equipment, entering the EYFS area, or using the trim trail on the lower playground etc during or after school even if parents are watching them.  Children only have access to the equipment and outdoor areas under staff supervision during school time, at play-time and lunch-time. This is for insurance and health and safety purposes. Thank you for your understanding.

Well Dressing Materials Required

We will be preparing our well dressing throughout next week for the Brackenfield Well Dressings which will be on display over Bank Holiday weekend. We need large quantities of natural items to build up our design which this year is on the theme, “Dig For Victory”. Any dried items can be brought in on Monday but fresh items will need to come in from Tuesday. Check out this weeks newsletter for suggested items or look on our Well Dressing page or at our Well Dressing Gallery for inspiration.

 

More Chicks Hatch

The Blue Tit chicks in our Colour Birdcam Box caught us on the hop today by hatching earlier than expected. Head over to our Wildlife Blog for the latest news, pictures and video footage. Now that the chicks have hatched, we will try to stream Live video from the box more often.

Newly hatched chicks being fed - 12th May
Newly hatched chicks being fed – 12th May

Woodpecker Class Eggs-perience!

chicks01

We have had a fantastic two weeks watching our 10 eggs, which arrived on Monday, hatch into chicks. It was lovely to have first hand experience of this exciting process and it was fascinating to watch them grow. Go to the school Wildlife Page for more information and pictures.

Don’t forget to look out for the Blue Tit chicks hatching out in our Colour Birdcam box around the middle of next week!

Sport Relief – 21st March

We had a fantastic turn out for the Sport Relief Mile at the Jubilee Playing Fields on Friday 21st. Despite the wind and threat of rain all the children and lots of parents, grandparents and other visitor,s including some dogs, managed to run, walk, jog, sprint or stagger the mile! Thank you to Mr Ben Cooke for organising the event and to him and Mr Cooke (Senior!) for their hard work setting up the course. We have already raised £250 for Sport Relief and this will increase as further contributions come in to school next week. Well done everyone!

Sport Relief Mile 2014
Sport Relief Mile 2014
Sport Relief Mile 2014

Leonard the Lion visits school

Leonard the Lion
Leonard the Lion

On Wednesday 12th March Emma from Gulliver’s Kingdom visited with the mascot, Leonard the Lion. The children learned about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, before joining in with some of Leonard’s cool, unexpected dance moves!

Time for a Leek!

It was lovely and sunny this afternoon so Peregrine Class went outside for a spot of gardening in our Learning Garden. They all worked very hard and managed to prune the Buddleia and rake up the leaves on the herb garden. They also harvested the leeks which they planted at the end of the Summer Term; Sue, the school cook, will be using them for school dinners. Finally, they planted out some garlic bulbs which will also be used in the school kitchen later in the year.

The Peregrines with the Leek Harvest
The Peregrines with the Leek Harvest

Woodpecker’s trip to Medieval Britain

Toasting the home made bread
Toasting the home made bread
Digging the hole
Digging the hole
Enjoying the campfire
Enjoying the campfire

Last Thursday, the Woodpeckers travelled back in the TARDIS to Medieval Britain. They braved the cold weather and went into the school grounds to learn what it was like to live during the Medieval times. They learnt that life wasn’t easy for people living in 1200 AD and that it took a lot of time and hard work to do something simple like toast a piece of bread. They swept the ground of leaves, dug a hole, collected stones to mark out the edge of the fire and gathered wood to burn.  Once the fire was lit the children toasted their home made bread by the fire. They all had a fantastic time but understood just how hard work it must have been to live during the Medieval times.