Newsletter Issue 10
FERNCUMBE FRIDAY
FRIDAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2018
ferncumbe's 'big dig'!
On Wednesday 31st January, we were enormously excited to welcome Julian Richards to Ferncumbe. Julian is a well known and respected archaeologist, television and radio presenter, and due to his talent for engaging and inspiring those he meets, he was able to transport the children back in time and show them how archaeologists are detectives of the past.
After a fascinating assembly to the whole school, Julian carried out an 'Indoor Dig' with Wroxall Class and then Shrewley Class later in the day. Layer by layer, children uncovered recent finds, read the clues shown by the artefacts and deduced facts about people living at that time. Then they moved down further layers to discover a Bronze Age round house! After reconstructing it and exploring what would have filled it at the time, the whole class managed to squeeze inside. Julian even joined in our maths lesson, by showing how flint breaks, depending on whether it is struck at an acute or obtuse angle. The pupils were enthralled and wrote some lovely comments afterwards. We would love to welcome him back one day!
'I really enjoyed the indoor dig because I felt like a real archaeologist and I liked the assembly because it was very interesting' - Will.
'Thank you for coming to our school. It's been an amazing experience. Please come again soon! My favourite part was the digging in the hall and making the house' - Eleanor
'I found everything interesting, especially the horse shoe and the thing that made bread and flour. I really enjoyed it - thank you for coming!' - Maisy
ferncumbe science week 2018
There isn't long to go now until Science Week at Ferncumbe, beginning on Monday 26th February, when we will welcome all the pupils back to school after half term with their science projects. These can be about anything scientific that your child finds interesting, but with a focus on 'asking a question' and behaving like scientists by investigating the question they have. This could be through research or an investigation. The children are welcome to bring in their results, but we advise that they don't bring in 'active' projects that require their attention, as the projects will need to be stored safely away for part of the week. We have asked the pupils to create a presentation board to summarise what they have done, so that staff, pupils and visiting scientists can read all about it.
As with creative tasks, it is tricky to know how much help to give, and most pupils will need a hand putting a board together and writing a little about what they have done, or creating a collage of photos for those younger down the school. My advice would be to talk with them and ask questions about what they have done, so that when they come to school, they can explain to us what they found out.
Thank you so much for your support at home and we look forward to seeing parents in lessons on Thursday 1st March, between 9-10 am.
Peneli Grier
FRIENDS of ferncumbe
The Friends of Ferncumbe held their first Quiz Night for the first time in a number of years on Friday 2nd February. The night was a huge success, and I think it is fair to say that a lot of fun was had by all!
It was so good to see so many parents, grandparents and friends come together for a night which was both entertaining and a really great chance to spend some time together. Over 70 people came along and we raised a fantastic £563.65 on the night. With match funding of £350 from Vodafone, that brings our total up to £913.65. We may also have another potential match-funder, which could take the end total even higher. That’s amazing! What a fantastic contribution towards our goal this year, of raising £4,000 towards the cost of replacing old and worn out IT equipment at school.
A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who came along, took part and helped make the event such a huge success. An even bigger ‘thank you’ to Anna, Michelle and Emma who organised it all and Mike, who kindly came over from Cubbington to be our Quiz Master on the night.
The next events in the Friends of Ferncumbe calendar are:
- School Disco – taking place tonight (9th Feb)
- Easter Bingo – Friday 23rd March*
- Spring Ball – Saturday 28th April*
We will be sending out further details about both Easter Bingo and our new Spring Ball event shortly, so watch this space!
* Spring Ball And Easter Bingo Date changed: Please note the Spring Ball is taking place on Saturday 28th April, not the 6th May as originally printed in school calendars. Easter Bingo will now take place on Friday 23rd March rather than 16th March, we apologise for the changes.
Calling Year 3-6 Netballers
Please follow the link for details of Years 3/4 and 5/6 'Wasps Netball Camps' to be run in Rugby on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st February, during half-term.
https://www.waspsnetball.co.uk/netball-camps
congratulations to our Ferncumbe netballers!
Congratulations to our netball team who competed against The Priors School last Tuesday and earned themselves a fantastic 13-2 win! What was even more pleasing was the follow-up message from the Headteacher of the opposing school, congratulating Ferncumbe's children on their sportsmanship, positive attitude and respect throughout the match - he commented that the team was a credit to the school. Well done to the team, and huge thanks to those parents who transported and supported!
With best wishes for a lovely weekend,
Tracey Webb, Deputy Headteacher