Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Pots2paint
Wed 29 Mar 2017A group of KS2 children had the exciting opportunity to go to Pots2paint at the Viables yesterday. The children were greeted by the shop owner Steph who explained that they were going to be using various techniques to paint a mug. The children were truly inspired by the art work in the shop. They were given some valuable thinking time to think about what design they would like to produce for the mug and which colours they were going to use. The children were very creative with their ideas and each mug was very personal to each child. Even Miss Rogers and Miss Finnimore enjoyed choosing an item to paint too.
It was a great to see the children enjoying themselves and taking their time to complete their design carefully! The finished results will be presented next week once they have been in the kiln.
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Day 4 at Stone Farm
Fri 24 Mar 2017Farm duties started at half 7 this morning and the kids were all ready and raring to go at 7.25. The children were reluctant to go in for breakfast because they didn't want their last session with the animals to end. I think some of you may receive a request for either a rabbit or guinea-pig anytime soon.
It was cold but dry so off to Lydford Gorge Year 4 went! A superb way to end our week away before heading home. The kids really enjoyed walking through this magical place.
What a wonderful time we have had - we certainly packed a lot in.
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We have Chicks!
Fri 24 Mar 2017Yesterday was a very special day of us in Early Years - we arrived to school to see that two chicks had hatched from their eggs. It was amazing to see how big they are and how lively they were in the incubator. In the afternoon two more chicks hatched, and we luckily got to see the whole thing, Mrs Barnhouse managed to catch one of the hatches on the Ipad. We have shared this video with the whole school in assembly, today and we will try to find a way of posting it on the website - it truly is amazing. Miss Lemar took the chicks home for the evening to ensure they were safe and doing well - they were very noisy and cute! Today the children have been in awe of them and the rest of the school kept popping in to meet them too. We can't believe how much they have changed in a day and how fluffy they are already. Check out the photos of our new arrivals.
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Day 3 at Stone Farm
Thu 23 Mar 2017Today the children were up a little later and breakfast was a slightly quieter affair - I think they may be getting a little tired you know. The children had a hearty 2 course breakfast although many had seconds of the second course!!!
The children worked on their diaries straight afterwards and we then jumped on the coach to go to Morwhellam Quay where the children participated in 4 different workshops. First the children found out about Victorian clothing and they had the chance to dress up in a costume of their choice. Secondly, the children became workers and hammered rock to extract copper and fools gold - the children all proudly own their own piece now. After that we went to the Victorian school room and the children had some lessons, Victorian style. Callum received the cane and Elissa had her knuckles wrapped - pretend of course but the rest of the children found the whole affair so funny! Jed and a few others had to wear the dunce's hat.... it was actually very hard to balance it on your head!! The final activity was our children's favourite activity of the day.... we went down the copper mine on a mining train...a few of the children were a little anxious but actually thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a very cold and grey day but the kids didn't moan once - I think it was because they were so busy to be honest.
The children enjoyed tending to the animals back at the farm again this evening - more chicks have hatched and one of the rabbits had new babies too. Some children mucked out the pigs, herded the llamas and goat. A few played with Diesel as playing ball is his favourite past-time and a small group groomed the Shetland pony, whilst the others tended to the rabbits and guinea pigs. We did have a few sad faces when it was time to come in for dinner - I think they would have stayed out until it got dark to be honest - they just absolutely love the freedom.
You will be pleased to hear that tonight's dinner was a hit once again. A choice of pizza, spag bol or shepherd's pie was on the menu followed by chocolate fudge cake and ice-cream, choc ices, yoghurts and fruit.
The children have had a great day and are a tad sad to be leaving the animals tomorrow. If the weather is good enough we will be going to Lydford - but if it does rain like cats and dogs then we may well decide to come straight home. Rest assured, we will contact the admin office to contact you, if we are going to be earlier.
Please think of us tomorrow morning when we are trying to get the kids all packed up - you may well have a few stray socks or even gain a few pairs of pants!!! Some rooms have been far tidier than others let's say. One lad asked who was going to strip his bed - when I replied 'You!' he looked a little bit confused at first... I'm afraid there are no tidying or cleaning fairies who live at Stone Farm! I'll let you know how they get on.
As I have had trouble downloading photos this week due to the wifi not being as efficient as school and home, I will upload a huge amount on Saturday. I'm sure the kids will want to share their experiences with you.
I want to reiterate that the kids have had a great week and they have made our week enjoyable too. They have embraced all of the activities and challenges set. They have showed independence at getting themselves ready, succeeded at setting the table, were great meal servers, they were good at clearing away and could be trusted to carry out their activities and farm duties well. They will be shattered when they get home to you so an early night will be needed I expect.
Finally a huge thank you to Miss Corcoran, Miss Crossley and Miss Lyddon who have worked their socks off this week. Up before 6am and being on duty until 11.00pm preparing for and looking after 27 very excitable children everyday with me (without a break) has been hard work so they are certainly ready for a relaxing weekend. Would they like to do it again next year???? Of course they do - we all love residentials because we are big kids ourselves!
See you tomorrow everyone. Text alerts and or emails will keep you updated on where we are.
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Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Thu 23 Mar 2017Year 2 had a fantastic morning inviting their parents and grandparents to come and join them at our Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The children have worked very hard over the past week writing invitations, designing 'mad' hats and board games and preparing for the party by making cakes (using their measuring skills). The morning was a great success; it was lovely to see children enjoy sharing their school experience with their family. A great morning was had by all!
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Day 2 Afternoon and Evening at Stone Farm
Thu 23 Mar 2017The weather was really kind to us yesterday - we managed to dodge some heavy showers due to our workshop in the afternoon. It was great hearing the rain hammer down on top of the biomes!
When we got back to the farm we did our farm duties which the kids loved and then in the evening we had our falconry display which was marvellous. The children asked so many questions and were so genuinely interested. The staff and I certainly learned lots too.
Tea was great - there was a choice of jacket potatoes with various fillings, veggie lasagne or beef lasagne. Jam roly-poly and custard was a huge hit when it came to pudding. Each day 2 different children from each table are the table's servers and they are doing a wonderful job. They are certainly enjoying the responsibility.
Each day we have a reflection time and the children have all said some really lovely things about what they have seen, heard or experienced. Stone Farm is certainly living up to it's reputation of being a superb memory maker.
The kids were shattered when we got back and it wasn't long before they were in bed and fast asleep. It is true, the country air does have an effect!
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Early Years are getting ready for their new arrivals!
Wed 22 Mar 2017Today is day 20 of 21, of the incubation process and some of the eggs are starting to show pipping marks (this is when the chick is using its eggs tooth to start hatching). This afternoon we have heard some chirping noises coming from the eggs and we have played some hen sounds back to them, to encourage them out, just like their Mummy would do. The children have learnt that the hatching process is a long one , between 10 and 24 hours. So now we have an anxious and exciting time ahead, and tomorrow morning we may be greeted by some tiny chicks, in Maple Class.
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Day 2 At Stone Farm - Eden Project Visit
Wed 22 Mar 2017Today we went to the rainforest ....well the one at the Eden Project!! We became rainforest rangers with the help of Jamie our guide. The children explored the tropical biome and completed the training...finding out top tips for surviving in the rainforest too.
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Photos from Day One at Stone Farm
Wed 22 Mar 2017Ok - I have better wifi - not as fast as I am used to but at least I can upload 18 at a time!!!!
Here are the photos from yesterday.
The kids are having lots of fun as are we!
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Morning of Day 2 at Stone Farm
Wed 22 Mar 2017Sorry about the lack of photos everyone.... the wifi isn't hot here in our part of Devon! I'm hoping to upload some throughout today.
Just to let you know the kids were great last night as they all slept through.....but the dawn chorus of birds woke them up early.....a 5.45am start for some!!! The kids are already washed, dressed and doing their diaries currently before we have our breakfast at 8am. Breakfast this morning consists of cereal for starters then bacon, scrambled egg and toast. The kids and staff can't wait!
We will do a couple of farm jobs afterwards followed by room inspections before heading off on the coach for our day trip.
Happy times!
