Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Hotel Chocolat update

  Tue 15 Oct 2019 Miss Hanafin

  The children of Y4 have been working so hard in History and Geography this half term answering the question 'How has chocolate changed our world?'. We have looked at who is involved in the chocolate industry, the jobs it creates and the staggering amount of money that is generated. We have also looked at the countries that produce the most cocoa beans and thought about what it is about their climate that allows this to happen. We have also delved into ancient Maya and Aztec civilisations and explored how they perceived and even worshipped the cocoa bean! And of course, we have looked at how chocolate is made and shipped around the world. 

   

  Having done all of this, the children created posters to showcase their learning. These are now up in Hotel Chocolat (Festival Place). The store owner was so impressed that he has created this wonderful display that he is going to rotate daily to include all the posters we gave as well as having additional copies for the customers to take away whilst they shop. He said the quality of work is fantastic and would like to repay the hard work by coming in to do a talk with Y4 and ... most importantly ... a chocolate tasting session!

   

  We are very proud of what the children have created and their work will be displayed proudly in Hotel Chocolat (Festival Place) from Monday 14th - Sunday 20th October (possibly a bit longer). Please do pop in and have a look if you are nearby. We know the customers of Basingstoke will be learning lots as a result of your posters.

  

• Beech Class - Love in a Box

  Mon 14 Oct 2019
  Beech Class went on a special trip to Christ Church in Chineham this afternoon. We dodged the rain (just about) and delivered the children's kind donations to the Mustard Relief – Love in a Shoe Box Appeal. We spent the afternoon discussing the Mustard Relief organisation with Mrs Lowe, to help us better understand the work they will be doing this Christmas. The children were then very passionate about packing their own boxes with a partner, thinking about the items that the children would need and like to receive, selecting from toiletries, stationery and toys. We were very proud of the children and the generosity and compassion they displayed. 

  

• Year 3 First Aid Day

  Mon 14 Oct 2019 Mrs Holdsworth
  We were fortunate enough today to be visited by a Nurse who was able to give the whole of Year Three a really informative First Aid training session. Pupils learnt about: how to apply a basic bandage, what to do in an emergency and the recovery position. They even managed to have fun whilst doing so. The day was a resounding success and we all agreed it is vitally important for us all to know the 'basics' when it comes to First Aid.

  

• Year 6 Treehouse Theatre - Children on the Homefront

  Fri 11 Oct 2019 Miss Hunt and Miss Crossley

  Year 6 had a great time rehearsing and performing a WWII 'play in a day' with the Treehouse Theatre Company. The children managed to empathise beautifully with a variety of characters and took their roles very seriously, including: soldiers, evacuees, shop keepers and land army girls. We were really impressed with how confidently they delivered their lines and projected their voices during the performance. The play was jam packed full of interesting facts about life on the home front and the key events that took place during WWII. Take a look at the photos to see your children in action…

  

• Year 5 French Day

  Thu 10 Oct 2019 Mrs Osborne and Miss James

  Year five enjoyed a day filled with french food tasting, speaking french and designing french menus. They also loved Miss Brookes coming in to cook croque monsieur with them.

   

  ”The pain au chocolat was amazing and very chocolatey!” Sofia

  ”I love red wine (blackcurrant juice).” Isla

  ”The brioche was very sweet and luxurious.” Cooper

  ”Brie is not my favourite but my mum loves it!” Jemima 

   

  Perhaps the children will be able to cook a croque monsieur at home for you too. Take a look at the photos to see what they got up to...

  

• Year Four and Hotel Chocolat

  Tue 08 Oct 2019 Miss Hanafin

  There has been lots of heads down and hard work happening in Year Four this afternoon. We have been piecing together all of our History and Geography learning from this half term, finding answers to the question 'How has chocolate changed our world?'. We have been exploring The Maya civilisation, explorers travelling new lands and the chocolate industry around the world. We have read and researched how cocoa beans made their way from Mesoamerica to Europe as well as how cocoa beans are actually turned into Chocolate. We have found out so many interesting facts including that The Maya people first used cocoa beans to make a hot, spicy frothy drink! A long way away from the chocolate bars we know and love. They also loved cocoa beans so much that they thought they were a gift from the gods! Can you remember any of the gods they believed in? 

   

  Back to our heads down working ... the children have been creating posters for Hotel Chocolat to kindly display in Festival Place so that their customers can learn about the Historical and Geographical journeys involved in the chocolate they buy. We have been able to learn about Hotel Chocolat's 'Engaged Ethics' initiative whereby they ensure their chocolate production is 100% ethical from root to wrapper. We are very grateful to Hotel Chocolat for giving us this opportunity. 

   

  Have a look at the children at work and a sneak peak of how some of their posters are coming along. You could almost hear a pin drop as the children worked this afternoon ... they certainly are keen to impress their audience! 

  

• Year 1 Have Gone Bananas!

  Fri 04 Oct 2019 Miss O'Hagan
  Today, Paul from Fyffes banana warehouse visited year 1. He taught us lots about the journey bananas take. Can you remember any of the interesting facts?  Did you know: farmers put a net over bananas whilst they are growing so they do not get sun burnt, bananas don't grow on trees they grow on very tall plants and the majority of countries where the bananas grow are situated around the equator because this is where it is hot? Also, white flowers grow from the bottom of each banana as they grow. Year 1 are looking forward to using this information within their literacy lessons next week where they will be meeting Bob the Banana! A very big thank you to Paul for giving us his time and his wealth of banana knowledge! 

  

• Harvest Festival at St Mary's Church

  Fri 27 Sep 2019 Ms Rogers

  I am so proud of our whole school today. We all enjoyed our walk down to St Mary's Church and only got a little wet coming back.  The service led by Reverend Heather was lovely, the children shared some lovely learning and they all sang beautifully. Thank you for your super donations too - we had a really good amount to share. Mr Quilter has taken them to Food Bank this afternoon - they were very grateful. When I get a moment before I head home, I will pop some photos on our school website

  Year 1 had a look at the route we took when they got back and we believe it to be approximately 1.2 miles each way - so we have been very healthy! Just to think children across the world walk this distance to school every day. 

  Your children may be a little tired tonight so an early night may be needed.

  Happy weekend everyone!

  

• A memorable Science session!

  Thu 19 Sep 2019 Miss Hanafin

  Yesterday Year Four had a great afternoon up on the field exploring ... our digestive system! We used some every day items such as a sandwich bag to represent the stomach, a single tight to represent the small intestine, orange juice to represent stomach acid, water to represent saliva, crackers and bananas to represent food and a bowl to represent the body. We explored how our digestion begins with teeth grinding up the food and then slowly moving down where our muscles begin to further break it down as our body soaks up the nutrients and minerals from our food. 

   

  Can you remember the answers to these questions...

  -How long does it take for food to travel down the oesophagus into the stomach?

  -How long does it take for food to travel to the small intestine?

  -How long is the small intestine?

  -How long is the large intestine? 

   

  This is definitely a Science session we will remember, lots of 'ooooooh's and lots of 'yuck's from our Year Fours yesterday. 

  

• WW2 day - quick, that's the air raid siren!

  Wed 18 Sep 2019

  Year 6 had an excellent World War Two themed day today. They started the day by filling out an identity card, which they had to keep on them at all times (just in case anyone thought they were a secret spy!). Following this, they took part in a variety of activities such as: sewing, cooking homemade blackberry and apple pies, medal making, gardening and army drills. For lots of children, the highlight of the day was spending time in our brand new Anderson Shelter! The children were able to empathise with how civilians would have felt during WWII when the air raid siren would sound. We also looked at propaganda posters and analysed some of the key messages the government were trying to encourage back at the Homefront. What do you think the true meaning behind the slogan 'Keep it under your hat' is?

   

  Take a look at our photos to see what we got up to...