Asia Week at Robert Hitcham's

We are doing activities based on a range of Asian countries.

Do you know these flags?

Click on a flag to go to pictures from each country.

Asian Week - CHINA

During Asian week each class is taking part in activities based on a different country.

Chinese Activities - click on the links below to go to some great suggestions

Beijing Olympics - Official Website

• An introduction to China





• Chinese flag to be coloured





• Flag collage





• The Great Wall of China





• Chinese Puzzles





• Traditional Chinese Games





• Stories from China





• Learn about Pandas





• Chinese NurseryRhymes





• Chinese Zodiac





• Chinese Food





• Crafts

• The Willow Pattern






• Origami

Chinese Alphabet and Numbers - follow these links

Characters

Familiy Information Services

Suffolk Families Information Service has two websites for PARENTS

The first one is aimed at Early Years and childcare

Click on the pictures to go to the sites.

House Netball

Howard v Bulstrode proved to be a very close match.
Bulstrode just won by 5 goals to 4.
They will play Mills in the final after half term.
The 3rd / 4th place game will be between Howard and Hitcham.

Walk to School Week

Next week is 'Walk to school' week.
Please make an effort to at least walk part of the journey.
Perhaps you could park the car further away.
Each class teacher has a wall chart with some stickers.

Click on the logos to go to the official website.

SWIMMING

The pool has been cleaned and is ready for use after half-term. Therefore we hope to start swimming on Monday 2 June – weather permitting. After discussion it has been decided that Nursery children will not participate in this activity.

Classes GM, DB, KG and GH have decided not to use the school’s pool this year as they have done deep water swimming at Framlingham College.

Please could you make arrangements for your children to have swimming equipment ready to bring to school after half-term: swimming costume and swim hat; a towel and footwear to get to and from the pool. Goggles should not be worn in our pool, which is generally well balanced as far as chlorine and acid levels are concerned. If your child really has an eye irritation we must have a letter from you stating the reasons why your child must wear goggles. Accidents have happened in school pools because of goggles snapping back on eyes. To avoid the perennial problem of the small tiles in the swimming pool acting like pumice stones on tender feet, parents may like their children to wear socks or close fitting ‘swimming’ shoes (usually sold for use on a stony beach). We feel ‘jelly’ shoes would not be acceptable as they would be too restrictive.

Swimming hats (£1.00) and swimming bags (£1.80) are available from the school office.
Please ensure all items are named.

Children should take swimwear and towels home every time they are used. In this event, to help with the washing, parents may find it helpful to have a second set in reserve.

SWIMMING HELPERSWe can only hold swimming lessons if we get enough parent helpers. Children need support with dressing and young children must be escorted to and from the pool. The teacher must stay by the pool at all times to be with the children within the fence perimeter. Younger children must have an adult in the pool with them. Each teacher is arranging their own timetable of help so if you can spare 1, 2 or 3 hours please indicate on the timetable overleaf and pass to the relevant teacher. Please try to keep to a committed time, or find a replacement. Thank you.
_______________________________________________
FRAMLINGHAM SIR ROBERT HITCHAM’S CEVAP SCHOOL – SWIMMING POOL
Please delete as applicable:
· I would be willing to assist in the teaching of swimming
· I would be willing to go into the pool with the younger children
· I would be willing to help with the undressing/dressing of children or be in the classroom with children.

SWIMMING TIMETABLE - SUMMER 2008. PLEASE TICK WHICH CLASS/TIME YOU CAN HELP WITH:
CLASS DAY TIME HELPERS
Miss Foster Tuesday 9.00 – 9.45am
Friday 9.00 – 9.45am

Miss Ashberry Monday 9.45 – 10.40am
Thursday 9.00 - 9.45am

Mrs Dwyer Monday 1.00 - 2.00pm
Wednesday 9.00 – 9.45am

Mrs Colchester Tuesday 1.00 - 2.00pm
Thursday 11.00 - 12.00noon

Mrs Cann Monday 11.00 - 12.00noon
Friday 11.00 - 12.00noon

Miss Montague Tuesday 2.15 – 3.00pm
Thursday 2.15 – 3.00pm

Mrs Hopkins Friday 1.00 – 2.15pm

Miss Treen Wednesday 1.00 – 2.15pm

NAME: ________________________________
SIGNED: _________________________________
TEL NO: ___________________________________

PLEASE RETURN TO THE CLASS TEACHER

BRING YOUR GRANDPARENTS TO LUNCH AT FRAMLINGHAM SIR ROBERT HITCHAM’S
TO BE HELD ON: MONDAY 2, TUESDAY 3 or WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE 2008

Due to the success of the Bring Your Parents to Lunch initiative last year, we would like to invite grandparents to come and experience a school lunch with their grandchild on Monday 2, Tuesday 3 or Wednesday 4 June. The costs of school lunches are £1.80 for a child and £2.70 for an adult.

Our cooks always strive to make all the food appetizing and at the same time to produce a healthy meal. To achieve this, they oven bake food whenever possible, make their own bread and rolls, and use fresh vegetables in season. Fresh salads are on the menu every day! They also use the humble potato, not instant mash, and there are at least two vegetable options on every day. Fried and pre-processed foods are kept to a minimum and chips are only on the menu once a week. I eat in the hall every day with children as do many of the staff and I can recommend the meals as appealing, balanced and healthy. I know that Mrs Chapman, our cook, makes great efforts to cook new and imaginative dishes but on occasions it is hard work to encourage some children to try new food!

On the reverse of this letter is a menu and we would ask that if you wish to take up this offer you fill in the reply slip and return it to the office with the money FOR THE ADULT MEALS ONLY. Please return your form to the office by Tuesday 20 May. Unfortunately we are unable to accept any late requests for lunch after this date. Children should bring in their money as usual on Monday 2 June for lunch arrangements for that week.

We feel the best way to accommodate the extra adults is to have all children with visitors to eat at 11.50am. We would ask grandparents to sign in outside the hall and wait in this area for their grandchild/ grandchildren to collect them and take them into lunch. Could we remind you that unfortunately you will not be able to park in the school car park due to lack of space.
We would ask that adults do not stay after you have eaten lunch. At this time the children will go to their playground for play and we ask that you leave but please do not forget to sign out. We would also welcome any feedback on the forms outside the hall. Bon appetit!

RETURN FORM FOR
BRING YOUR GRANDPARENTS TO LUNCH

Please may I/we have a school lunch on:
Mon Tue Wed Please indicate as appropriate
and enclose £____________ (£2.70 per meal)
Please make cheques payable to Suffolk County Council.
Name of pupil/s__________________________________ Class/es_____________________
Grandparent/sName______________________________
Parent Signature______________________

MENU CHOICE

MONDAY 2 JUNE
Burger in a Homemade Bap / Vegetable Balls in Tomato Sauce / Shepherd’s Pie
Pasta / Home Baked Bread
Baked Beans / Sweetcorn
Vanilla Crunch & Custard / Fruit Jelly

TUESDAY 3 JUNE
Pasta Bolognaise / Vegetable Chilli / Roast Turkey
Creamed Potato / Rice / Herby Bread
Fresh Seasonal Vegetables
Peach Melba / Chocolate Raisin Brownie

WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE
Chicken Mini Fillet / Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese / Cod & Salmon Fishcake
Jacket Wedges / Bread
Green Beans / Carrots
Fruit Salad or Fruit Platter / Iced Sponge

Salad Bar available every day
Fresh Fruit & Yoghurt are always available as an alternative dessert

WHOLE SCHOOL LETTER

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK 2008 – Monday 19 May to Friday 23 May
This item will not be relevant for children who come to school by bus.
Enclosed is a leaflet for parents about the ‘Walk to School’ initiative run by the Environment and Transport Department at Suffolk County Council. One of our targets on our School Travel Plan is to encourage more families to walk wherever possible; please may I encourage all families to take part in the Walk to School Week this year. Even if you have to come by car, perhaps you can park on the outskirts of Framlingham and walk through the town to school.
Each child has been given a sticker page and a diary to fill in for that week with this letter. There will be charts in the classroom for the teachers to record those who have walked in.

ACTIVITY WEEK – MONDAY 19 MAY TO FRIDAY 23 MAY
As with ‘Outdoor Education’ week last year we are to have an ‘Asian’ themed learning week.
The children will be involved in many cross-curricular activities. Teachers may be asking parents directly for help with extra supervision during this week.

TESCO VOUCHERS
Thank you to everyone who has given us these tokens. We have managed to collect over 16,000 and have ordered some great ICT equipment: data loggers; a digital sewing machine; new headphones; a pulse sensor and mini wind turbine to generate electricity. Please keep the tokens coming in as we can bank them for next year.

HALF TERM
Reminder that the week of 26 May is half-term and the children return to school on Monday 2 June.

FRAMLINGHAM GALA – MONDAY 26 MAY
Leaflets regarding the Framlingham Gala have been sent out with this letter.

QUANTUM THEATRE – WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE
After half term the children will be watching an afternoon performance by the Quantum Theatre called ‘The Missing Link’. It is a jungle adventure exploring the topic of living things and animal biology. The school is covering the cost of this performance.

NON PUPIL DAY
Please note: There is a non-pupil day on Friday 20 June next term.

Foundation children at Framlingham Castle

Our reception and nursery children have been on a visit to Framlingham castle. They looked at how the castle is designed and all of the variuos parts of a castle such as the walls and towers. They also got to see a display of medieval clothing and food.

Back at school (as you can see in some of these photographs) the children designed and made their own castles.

OFSTED REPORT

Today we have sent out copies of our Ofsted report to all families. We are pleased with a lot of it, and they have said some really good things about us, but you will see from the report that we have been marked down in Maths and told we must do better, and that there has only been “a little headway”. It may not surprise you to know that we don’t agree with this, and that we are in fact hopping mad about it and have made a formal complaint to Ofsted. The evidence shows that progress in Maths is good and we achieve results well above the National average. We believe that our school is a better school than it was at the last inspection, and that the results bear this out. (Have a look at the link to our School Profile from our website.)

The Ofsted system has changed. We were sent one inspector for one day, whereas previously we had a team over several days, and like many other schools who have been subjected to this new system, we don’t believe that an individual can get a full impression of a school like ours in a few hours.

We are waiting for a response to our complaint from Ofsted, but whatever they say we are determined to continue concentrating our efforts on providing the best quality teaching and most exciting lessons for our children.

Dancing on May Day

Our Maypole group did their first public performance on May Day.
The school sat in glorious sunshine on the back playground and enjoyed watching 3 different dances - see videos below.

The group have a series of events coming up this Summer:
Great Glemham charity fete 7th June
Friends Summer fun evening 13th June
Framlingham mid-Summer madness 21st June
Saxstead 24th June
School fete 4th July

Cricket Coaching

Mr Brook's Tuesday sports club will start doing cricket as of next week: Tuesday 13th May.

We will be playing inter house matches during the Summer term.

There is also an inter school 'kwik cricket' tournament in mid June.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

On Thursday 1st May all of year 4 plus some lucky year 5s and 6s went on a trip to Norwich to see the ballet: A Mid Summer Night's Dream at The Theatre Royal. (see website)
Once we'd arrived in Norwich we had our lunch in the park and played in the playground.

After that we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to go into the auditorium and find out about how things worked backstage and ask questions about the production. Ideally after that we would have gone back into the park but it was pouring with rain so we had a quiet half hour in the Norwich library before going back to the theatre.

The ballet was mind blowing. It was set in the 1940s so all the costumes were black and white to give an old fashioned effect.

It began with a ballet troupe and you started to find out about all the lovers and the characters. Then at night time everything went into colour for the dream and that's where the fairies started coming in. There was a hilarious mix up and comical costumes, not to mention the beautiful dancing.

I enjoyed every moment of it and I'd give it 10 out of 10.
by Maddy Year 6 - Class GM

Year 6 Camp Meeting

As Mr Byer used to say - 'There are only 65 days until Year 6 Camp!'

Mr Brook will be holding a meeting in his classroom on Tuesday 20th May from 6.00 - 7.00pm.

The meeting is for parents and children. You will be able to see pictures and details of the activities, receive an itinerary and a kit list.

WHOLE SCHOOL LETTER (36)

CYCLING PROFICIENCY
Unfortunately we have not had any response to our request last week for parent volunteers for helping with these sessions. Without enough help (we need 4 parents for each session) this training will NOT be able to take place.
Please, if any parents can offer help on any of these dates contact the office.
Lessons will take place from 2.15pm–3.30pm on the following days:
Wednesday 21 May, 11 June, 18 June, 25 June, 2 July.

PROCEDURE FOR ABSENCES & LATE ARRIVALS
If your child is ill or going to be late:
· Ring the school on 723354 ideally BEFORE 8.30am
State:
· Child’s name
· Child’s class
· Reason for absence or lateness
If they are likely to be off for more than one day, state:
· Which day they will be back
If you do not know how long they will be off:
· You must ring EVERY MORNING

HOLIDAY ABSENCE
We have started to receive holiday requests for next academic year and I would like to remind parents that any request for absence during the first week of the new academic year will not be ‘Authorised’. These first few days of the new term are when children find their place in the class and are busy making friends and we have found that children arriving late into the established class often feel isolated and confused, and often take longer to adjust to the changes and settle down. Any absence due to holiday during the first week of term will be marked in the register as ‘Unauthorised’.
No absence for more than 10 days will be authorised.

DINNER MONEY ENVELOPES
We finally have in stock a new delivery of Dinner Money envelopes, they are available to purchase for £1.50 for a pack of 25.

STRING TUITION FOR YEAR 2 – 6 PUPILS
Framlingham County Music School meet on Saturday morning at Thomas Mills High School. They will have vacancies for violin, viola, ‘cello and double bass tuition from September. Any pupils interested should visit with their parents on Saturday 14 June at 10am to find out more and sign up.

FUN RUN/ WALK/ HALF MARATHON
Framlingham Town Council Midsummer Madness event on Saturday 21 June incorporates a Walk/Fun Run and Half Marathon which this year is raising funds for Framlingham Community First Responders. Anyone wishing to take part can get a registration form at the School Office. Any age can take part, many youngsters have done the walk/fun run in previous years.

SPECIAL MENU DAY
SCC Catering are creating a ‘Food and Farming’ menu for Wednesday 14 May as part of their ongoing programme of ‘Special events’. The menu for that day will be:
· East Anglian Layer Bake (East Anglian Pork with carrot and onion in a rich tomato sauce, layered with sliced Lincolnshire Potatoes topped with golden Breadcrumbs)
· Roasted Vegetable Bake (Fresh British Vegetables roasted and served in a rich tomato sauce, with Cheesy Lincolnshire Potato topping)
· Lincoln shire Potatoes; Home baked bread; Garden Peas; Baked Tomato
· Oaty Fruit Crunch served with custard

OTHER MENU CHANGES
There are a few changes to the menus this term, they are as follows:
· Week 1 Friday - Replace Mediterranean Pasta with Vegetable Pasta Bake
· Week 2 Friday - Replace Cheese & Bean Yorkshire with Cheddar Catherine Wheels
· Week 3 Monday - Replace Fruity Filled Yorkshire with Yoghurt

Matisse Art Work in KS2

Class GM have been studying the work on Matisse and producing their own versions of 3 of his most famous pictures: Icarus, View of Collioure and The Eygptian Curtain.

Watch the video below to see a gallery of the children's work.

Henri Matisse (December 31, 1869 – November 3, 1954) was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. As a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but principally as a painter, Matisse is one of the best-known artists of the twentieth century. Although he was initially labeled as a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

The TARDIS leaves Robert Hitcham's

Have you noticed the prescence of a TARDIS on the school site during the recent building work.

Watch the video below for evidence.

The new building is now finished and the TARDIS has gone!
Doctor Who (Peter) has done a great job and our extension looks great.