Nursery learning about Diwali

This week in Nursery we have been learning about the Hindu celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

On Monday we shared a book to learn about the Diwali celebration. We thought about celebrations we enjoy such as birthdays and wondered if the children could remember their last Christmas too. We finished the day by watching a clip about a Hindu family celebrating Diwali and talked about things that were similar and different with celebrations we have had. The children were particularly excited by the fireworks!

On Tuesday we shared a book called All Kinds of People. We talked about how we are all different but all very special and how it is lovely to be friends with people who are different from you as it is interesting and fun to learn about them and their lives. We referred back to our learning about Diwali yesterday and how even though none of us are Hindus it is still fun to learn about their special celebration and notice the similarities and differences with things we celebrate, such as birthdays or Bonfire Night. In PE we learnt some Indian dance moves as part of our learning about Diwali and then we copied a dance to some Indian style music. At the end the children shared their favourite moves with the group.  

On Wednesday the children all made some Coconut burfi Diwali sweets with Mrs Eyles. The children enjoyed making Diwali inspired chalk patterns on the ground outside too, exploring how the colours changed when they introduced water.

On Thursday we reminded ourselves of the Diwali celebrations by sharing the Diwali sweets we made on the previous day. We were very pleased that we even had enough to share with Classes CH and KM. 


What a lovely week of learning together! 

Class LH take an enchanting look at native trees!

Class LH launched their 'Enchanted Woodland' topic for this half of term by exploring the playground identifying a range of deciduous trees.   The children also learnt about the fact that most deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and the children's aim was to identify and understand the difference in these trees. It was a fitting start to the topic as we were able to compare the seasons too which linked with our last topic 'Splendid Skies'.  

We were able to think about the start of the "Splendid Skies" topic and how it was in the summer season and the trees were full of leaves and how, in our new topic, as we approach autumn, many leaves have fallen.  Evergreen trees and deciduous trees were discussed as we learnt about softwood and hardwood trees. 

We talked about the shapes and sizes of the leaves.  We observed the greenery of the Willow tree compared to the bare twigs and no leaves on the crab apple tree.  The horse chestnut leaves were 'like hands' and the oak leaf was very distinctive. The horn beam leaves and the silver birch leaves were very similar in size but when we examined them closely, 'the pointy shape' of the silver birch helped us to work out the difference. There was also a hazelnut tree which was bare.  

It was amazing that so many different trees were in such a small area ie our playground.   

Looking at the horse chestnut leaf

Teamwork - checking answers with each other. 

Assembly- Wednesday

On Wednesday, we were treated to an assembly by Mr. Gilder. He began by asking the children to spell the word 'perseverance', and discussed the meaning of the word. He likened it to the term 'sticking it out', using the man who founded the Scout movement, Baden Powell, as an example of the word. Baden came up with the term 'stickability' which "...pulls person out of many a bad place when everything seems to be going wrong for him". Mr. Gilder also talked about Robert the Bruce, a famous Scottish warrior who led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence. 

Perseverance can be tricky, particularly when a new skill or aspect of learning appears difficult. If we continue to 'stick it out', the potential for success increases, thus being advantageous to many. 

Crucial Crew- Year 6

On Monday, Year 6 ventured off to Stratford St. Andrew's Riverside Centre to take part in a number of personal safety workshops. There were 8 workshops in total, with the children spending 15 minutes attending each one. Topics ranged from sun safety, where children became proficient in their understanding of damaging UVA and UVB rays and the importance of wearing British Standard sunglasses to provide ultimate protection, to drug and alcohol awareness, where children understood the difference between stimulants, depressants and solvents. They also found out that tobacco cigarettes contain at least 4000 harmful chemicals! The children also experienced the fire safety workshop, where they gained a better understanding of everyday appliances overheating and becoming a fire hazard. Additionally, they witnessed overloaded sockets and practised what they would do if they encountered a fire with a realistic simulation. They came away with a better understanding about phishing and the legal age minimum requirements for many apps- the results of which surprised many. 

Overall, a thoroughly interesting and thought provoking afternoon for our most senior pupils. Hopefully, they will use their newly acquired knowledge to make sensible and reasoned decisions in the future. 

Just some of the lovely displays you can see ...

... on our School Walkabout next Wednesday after school.
Come along and see what more you can find.

HURRAH! WE ARE FINALISTS IN THE SUFFOLK SPORTS AWARDS 2019

Thank you to everyone who voted for our school in the Suffolk Schools Sports Awards 2019 in the category of Primary School PE & Sports Premium Impact Award.

We are delighted that your votes mean we have been shortlisted to the last 3 schools for the judges decision which will be announced at an awards evening on Friday 15 November. 

We are so proud to be supported by our school community. 

Watch this space for the final result... fingers crossed!

FOREST SCHOOL

WEEK 1- CLASS KB

There was lots to investigate and explore at Robin Wood this morning. Class KB enjoyed making masks with natural materials then using them to help hide when playing 'Eagle Eyes' 

 

 

Some of the children were fascinated by the fungus. Remembering not to touch them they used magnifying glasses to investigate the different types.

Fantastic animal homes!

 Mud creations.

CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX APPEAL

We are again taking part in the Samaritans Purse appeal, and hope many families will contribute by donating a shoebox filled with gifts for children who are less fortunate.
Each shoe box should be filled with items as specified in the leaflet handed out (or on their website) and should be clearly labelled, please. Remember the accompanying £5 to send the boxes, but please do not seal the box.
Filled shoe boxes should be brought in by MONDAY 4 NOVEMBER at the latest.
We hope you have fun filling a shoebox for a child who may otherwise receive no gift at Christmas.
Thank you.

Hitcham's Head Chef Week 4

Before half term we were once again treated to a delicious gastronomic experience courtesy of our Year 5 children. They amazed us with their organisation and cool, calm and confident cooking. We were treated to a delicious Tuna pasta bake, a tasty Cornish seaside sausage spaghetti dish, a scrummy Summer tart, a yummy Carbonara and some excellent Lamb kebabs with homemade wraps.

It was a wonderful end to a celebration of our children's talents and lovely to see the support the children have for each other, asking about their dishes and enjoying tasting them at the end. This support and enjoyment has been clear in each session and has made us feel very proud of all the superstar children who have cooked for us. I hope they are as proud of themselves as we are of them! WELL DONE!!!

The results will be announced as soon as possible. Watch out for the news on the blog.

Walkabout Tour

Year 6 Science- Shadows

Today, class VWh have been extending their understanding of shadow formation. They investigated how the size of shadows changes when an object moves further away from a light source. To conclude their learning in this unit, the children were given some reasoning contexts, having to back up their explanations with scientific theory. They  also

made their own puppet theatre to stage their own drama of the dispute between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke over Newton's theory of light and colour. Hooke believed that the colours of the Visible Spectrum were produced because the glass was corrupted and tainted the ray of white light, whereas Newton argued the light separated into individual colours due to refraction.

Storytellers arrive in class LH

The children in Class LH used the storyteller's cloak to retell their own versions of Chicken Licken. There was some amazing vocabulary and a lot of detail used in the retelling.  Along with some great expression, it was lovely to see so many children having the confidence to read their own versions out load.  Well done to all those who read their own versions. 

    

Splendid Skies- Kite Flying

This term, as a part of our topic- Splendid Skies we have designed and made some kites to fly. This morning we took advantage of the windy weather and enjoyed flying our kites in the wind. During our topic, we have been learning about the different seasons and weather. Today's autumnal weather gave us a perfect opportunity to see how well the kites could fly and develop our learning. Thank you class KB for your enthusiasm, we had lots of fun!

End of Term Cake Stall

There appears to be a theme going on with the cakes and cookies for today's cake stall - come along straight after school to the playground pavilion to pick up a spooky treat -

including a Super Chocolate & Chilli Cake made by Layla...

Year 5 science

Class SC and JT spent the morning together yesterday investigating reversible and irreversible changes. We carried out an experiment making milk plastic using milk and white vinegar. It was so much fun and we learnt that this was an irreversible change.

3 Reasons to vote for Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham's CEVA Primary School

We are on a Journey...

1. Over the years, we have enjoyed a long history of school sport supported by a multitude of staff, volunteers and local sporting organisations

2. To this day, we honour our sporting legacy by broadening the range of sports we offer and giving every child in Key Stage 2 the opportunity to represent their house in a variety of sports tournaments throughout the year.

3. As we look towards our future, our pupils drive and direct the intent and implementation of School Sport to ensure it remains embedded in the culture of our school.   

Please support our journey by voting for us using the link below BY THIS FRIDAY AT 5PM, Thank you. 

https://www.activesuffolk.org/primary-school-pe-and-sport-prem

Assembly

Today's assembly was delivered by Mrs. Rose and focused on the concept of 'service'. She talked about how we serve the local community, giving various examples which included: Hour Community, Worry Tree Cafe, Memory group, members of the community visiting prisoners, people cooking lunch at Christmas, transporting people to hospital and many others. We were then reminded of the reasons why we might help- these included: benefitting us later/ now, making us feel happier, etc. Christians believe that Jesus demonstrated by example, as the Bible states: 'The generous will themselves be blessed for they share their food with the poor". It also says to "Love thy neighbour", thus reiterating the importance of sharing with those less fortunate. We were also told how Jesus healed and provided for the hungry. 

To conclude, Mrs. Rose showed a video about a child who received no gifts at Christmas. The honest reality for many people globally is that they will never experience the feeling of unwrapping a gift; there have been a number of studies which have found a number of positive physical emotions of receiving and giving gifts to others.

Enriching the lives of others is the best way to enrich our own. We wondered how we could serve our local community; acts such a litter picking are relatively straight forward which stand to benefit the environment and community. Donating to the local charity shop is another fantastic way of helping those in need, acting as a service to the local people. 

School Games Personal Challenge Event KVJA 2019

On Wednesday 16th November, thirty children from KVJA participated in a personal challenge event. The challengers included access to bats, balls, mats, timers, speed-bounce mat, balance beam, long-jump mat, vertical jump and skipping ropes. The children showed excellent understanding. 

Reading Club News

We were lucky enough to have a surprise visitor at reading club last week.   

Audrey was one of the club’s founder members and, now that she is in Year 6,  was very happy to come and sit in the story-telling chair herself.  She brought with her some of her favourite books, and the children thoroughly enjoyed them.   

We all agreed that it would be lovely if Audrey could come again.

Year 6 Music

For the past 6 weeks, year 6 have been fortunate enough to receive class music lessons from Mrs. Johnson. As their topic is 'A Child's War', they've been practising different singing techniques which they've applied to a range of WW2 songs. The 'Kodaly' method utilises rhythm symbols and hand signs to improve musical literacy.  Also, the children have been been learning how to record music notation. 

FOREST SCHOOL

WEEK 6 - CLASS CMRH

A busy last week at Robin Wood for class CMRH. The children were engaged in free play during the morning, enjoying the mud kitchen, digging area, den building, playing 'Eagle eyes' and relaxing in the hammock. They also enjoyed investigating natural dyes creating their own bunting. We finished the morning by reflecting on the past six weeks at Forest School by creating a face with natural resources.