Well done to the year five class who took part in the South Leicestershire Collaborative Partnership Concert held at Leicester Grammar School. The fifth annual concert, organised by Mr Kirkland, involves the children from five schools working together in the afternoon to learn a series of pieces which they perform to an audience of parents. Each class have also prepared a piece they have been studying in school. This year the class have been learning to play the Taiko drums and so produced a wonderful performance of Japanese drumming. A big thank you to everyone involved in organising the event.
Well done to the football teams who enjoyed victories this week against Ridgeway Primary School. The boys’ team, made up of pupils from year 5 and 6, won 5-1 and the girls’ team, again with pupils from year 5 and 6 won a tight match 1-0. Thank you to Mr Williams for coaching both the teams.
Well done to the year 2 class who had a fantastic afternoon rehearsing and then performing with pupils from the other South Leicestershire Collaborative Partnership Schools. The children used boomwackers to create a range of pieces and some pupils even had a chance to take on the role of conductor. Thanks to Mr Kirkland for again producing a fantastic opportunity for our pupils.
Pupils from year five took part in the Diocese of Leicester Pupil Day Conference hosted by Kibworth Primary School. They had a great day sharing ideas and working with pupils from other schools, developing and creating expressive talents and thinking about RE in different ways. Thanks to Mrs Shuker for supporting the children.
The pupils in year five and six had a fantastic treat with a session with Gallone’s Ice Cream parlour. The children had great fun trying out mystery flavours and learning about how ice cream is made. Thank you to the staff from Gallones for visiting and providing the children with an exciting afternoon.
Well done to the children in years five and six who took part in the fixtures hosted by Robert Smyth Academy. The team demonstrated great sporting values as they lost narrowly to Meadowdale Primary School and drew with Market Harborough C of E Primary School. Thanks to Mr Baylis for coaching the team.
Well done to the pupils who represented the school in the Harborough District Uni-Hoc tournament hosted by Welland Park Academy. The year three team did particularly well competing against teams of mainly year four pupils and finished forth in the tournament. The combined year 5 and 6 team performed consistently to a very high standard and were unfortunate to come second on goal difference. Thank you to Miss Parker and Mr Williams for coaching the teams.
The day began with glorious sunshine and very excited children looking forward to more activities. After room inspections (generally very good but with odd exception), the children enjoyed some playtime on the field before heading down to Whittaker Lodge for breakfast. They certainly made the most of it, filling up ahead of a busy day.
The class are divided into two groups for activities with Mr Roddy’s group starting the day with archery. All of the children enjoyed the experience and were able to share how they had improved over the course of the session. We even had a few pupils hitting the gold target! After that the group went on to take on King Swing. This involves two children being placed in the harnesses while another group wound the crank to raise them higher into the air. Every child had a go at the activity with the pairs selecting how high to go. It was particularly pleasing to hear that by the end each of them had exceeded the target they had set before the beginning of the task.
The group led by Mrs House started the day out on the river as they were divided into double canoes. After learning a few of the basics, the groups moved up and down the river, taking part in various games as they developed both their paddling and their communication skills. There were a few who ended the session getting rather wet so a return to our lodge for a change of clothes was certainly in order.
The lunch of pizza, pasta, potato wedges and the salad bar were very popular with all the children showing how hungry they were. They particularly relished sharing their stories from the morning activities.
After lunch the other group had a go in the canoes, enjoying the opportunity to work with a different group of instructors and try out a new experience for many of the children. They had a super view from the river and were able to wave at the other group who were at the top of the abseiling tower. This is always a much anticipated activity and it is terrific to see so many of the children overcome their initial hesitancy and get involved. After that challenge they went straight on to King Swing so they really had an afternoon of high challenges.
Following the canoeing Mr Roddy’s group were rewarded for their excellent teamwork on the water by having the treat of visiting the assault course and adventure pits. The children had to support in other in overcoming various obstacles and came up with all sorts of ways of completing the course. The session did end with some rather soggy feet but more importantly plenty of very happy children.
The evening meal was devoured swiftly before the children tidied rooms for inspection before movie night. We had managed to squeeze a visit to the tuck shop into our busy day so the children enjoyed a few well deserved treats before heading off to bed.
The year four residential trip to Rock UK started with a coach full of very excited children heading off for a busy few days away from home. The weather was not kind to begin our stay, torrential rain meaning the tour of the site was somewhat limited. However, the excitement caused by the discovery of the room upgrades soon made up for it.
The making their beds (with a bit of help!), the children met up with the instructors for the first time and took on the various team building challenges. These involved plenty of discussion about how to overcome the obstacles and achieve the goals. A particular highlight was surviving the trip over the river of lava from the local volcano.
After a quick biscuit the groups went off to their next activities. The first group enjoyed learning about the work of MAF (Mission, Aviation, Fellowship), a Christian charity who support vulnerable families in some of the most remote parts of the world. They then had to consider what some of this help would be like as they undertook an obstacle course before finishing with a trip in a MAT airplane.
The second group took part in Walk the Plank. This involved the children working in pairs, one blindfolded the other acting as guide as they walked over the course of planks and walkways over the water. Plenty of wet feet (and more) were the result but some groups managed to complete the task in one go and Mr Williams somehow managed to stay on dry land.
The children were all ready for their dinner of spaghetti bolognaise or macaroni cheese and enjoyed sharing their stories from the activities. We also had a chance to meet some of the volunteers who work in the centre’s canteen, learning to say thank you to the Colombian cook in Spanish.
The evening activities were again completed in two groups. Nightline involves the children following a course through the woods by following a rope over many different obstacles. They all completed the course with some of the more quiet members of the groups really shining as they instructed and supported their friends.
The second activity was creating their own dragon eggs, a follow up to the recent writing work the class have been doing in school with Mrs House. It was great for the children to have a relaxing end to their day as they look forward to a good night’s sleep.
We finished the evening with the children sharing their prayers they had written about their first day and looking forward to more fun ahead tomorrow.
Well done to the children who represented the school in the South Leicestershire Collaborative Partnership Spelling Bee which was hosted by St Cuthbert’s. The children enjoyed the chance to meet pupils from other schools and taking on the challenge of competing. We were proud to have pupils finishing in the top three in different age groups with Tamsin from year 6 winning the overall year 5 and 6 event. Thanks to Mr Baylis for organising our event and supporting the team.