Newsletter Issue 18
ferncumbe friday
friday 16th july 2021
It has certainly so far been (and continues to be) a year like no other. May I take the opportunity of thanking you all for your continued support and kind messages, which are truly appreciated.
The children have been involved in an array of wonderful opportunities over the past couple of weeks, just a few of which are outlined below. Lowsonford’s much anticipated ‘Grow a Pound’ enterprise challenge proved hugely successful on Wednesday afternoon - the enthusiastic buzz of excitement on the playground was palpable!
Do also look out for the results of Lowsonford’s Willow Weaving Day which are entwined on the front fence; a beautiful dragonfly and some stars for Delilah. xxx
This event was made possible through a generous donation from a grandparent - what a wonderful legacy to leave as Year 6 move on.
amazing fundraising Honiley class!
Councillor Terry Morris walked the last 10 laps of the track with Honiley Class!
Last week Honiley Class took part part in a sponsored walk to raise money for Plastic Oceans UK.
The children's topic for this half term is 'How Have People Made the World a Better Place'. As part of their learning the children explored the book 'One Plastic Bag' by Miranda Paul and were shocked to discover how plastic is polluting our oceans and causing harm to our wildlife. Pupils were so passionate about this problem that they wrote letters to Councillor Terry Morris to share their concerns.
In addition, the class decided that they wanted to raise money for Plastic Oceans UK who work hard to stop plastic reaching our oceans. Over the course of a week, they completed 50 laps of the school's running track. Councillor Terry Morris showed his support by joining the children for their last 10 laps of the track, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.
To date, the children have raised £450 for Plastic Oceans UK. The rest of the school are absolutely thrilled for the children and are incredibly proud of their efforts for such a worthy cause. Well done everyone!
Miss Constable
john o’groats to lands end cycle challenge (again)!
As many of you may remember, in the summer holidays of 2018 I cycled from John O'Groats to Lands End, just over 1,000 miles to raise money for Alzheimer's Research. When I had finished my cousin expressed her wish to do the same and asked me if I would cycle it again. Whilst still feeling euphoric I agreed, so once again will be spending this summer on my bike.
Never wanting to miss a learning opportunity, I shall be using the Ferncumbe School@Ferncumbe Twitter feed to share my location so if the children would like to improve their knowledge of the UK and geographical skills please follow my progress.
I do hope you all have healthy and happy summer and I shall be thinking of you all as I cycle the length of the UK.
Miss Morris
school day timings for september
We are hoping to be able to end the staggered start and finish times in September, and revert to an 8.45am to 3.15pm school day for all children. Confirmation of the new arrangements will be emailed through before the start of the Autumn term.
Message from our chair of governors
On behalf of the Governors, I would like to thank all of the staff, parents and children for the way they have dealt with yet another disrupted “COVID” academic year. It hasn’t been easy for anyone and the children in particular have handled the changing situation so well. Let’s hope that from September we can look forward to a whole year in school without school closures.
Wishing you all a very happy and healthy summer break.
Donna Bothamley (Chair of Governors)
hatton class heroes are ready to fly!
Hatton Class presented the popular story of Monkey Puzzle for their class assembly last week. They told the story brilliantly through singing, acting, and using their fantastic speaking voices. Through the telling of the story we reflected on our learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. The assembly was a colourful celebration of how much our youngest children have grown and changed this year and they made us all very proud.
Just like the butterflies we have released this week; our Hatton Heroes are ready to fly! I know that the performance was thoroughly enjoyed by those watching at school and at home. Well done Hatton Class!
Mrs Stephenson
building dens and bridges in the forest
Wroxall Class had a fabulous time at Forest School last week. Everyone put their all into collecting sticks and then tying them into a bundle to take over the 'Forest School Pool'. The next task was to build a bridge. The children had a great time creating two bridges with different designs and then of course testing them for strength. In preparation for the afternoon, we all learned how to do some knots around the fire circle. During the second session the children built fantastic dens using some amazing knots and marvellous interiors. To finish off an action packed day everyone enjoyed a well-deserved hot chocolate and biscuit. Great job year 5!
Mrs Eaves
our little garden!
Named by some of our younger pupils, ‘Our Little Garden’ is finally back in action. Thanks to a group of dedicated parent volunteers (and some eager children), with the help of our wonderful Tamson, our deserted space has been brought back to life again. Our volunteers made garden beds that have been filled with strawberry plants, pumpkins plants and more! We now have a pond for the first time and some tadpoles were donated by the Lilley family. Year 1 found a frog hiding in the log above the pond (pictured above). We are so pleased with how it has turned out and we cannot wait to get groups of children in there to develop their gardening skills. If any parent or business can donate their time, skills, expertise or even get us any gardening equipment, we would be over the moon to facilitate that. Next up, the return of the chickens. Keep your eyes peeled for more news from ‘Our Little Garden’!
Miss Forbes
shakespeare in the sunshine!
Shrewley Class have really risen to the challenge of participating in lots of outside drama this half term to learn about the famous Shakespeare play, The Tempest. We’ve confidently used Shakespeare’s language and explored characters, themes and different scenes to help us to understand the story. Some amazing performances and follow up writing from Year 4, well done!
Mrs Foss and Mrs Grier
Creating Islands using description and language from the tempest
Children in Wroxall Class have created an Island outside with features from the setting in The Tempest. We worked in partners to give each other tours of the island. We explained what each of the features were to our partner, using descriptive vocabulary. We “mag-pied” the descriptive vocabulary from other people that we liked.
We brainstormed ideas, created our own islands in our books. We stuck on different features, similar to those in the tempest, and we added some description.
Finally, we used that description brainstorm to write what the island was like as if we were Miranda. We used all the vocabulary we have brainstormed to help us.
Elliot and Tilly
more shakespeare!
Rowington Class have really enjoyed learning about the Tempest this term. A number of children voted it their favourite Shakespeare play so far!
The highlight for them was working with actors from the RSC and featuring in the RSC playmaking festival. The children have also enjoyed doing lots of drama and their favourite parts of the play involved the magical characters Ariel and Caliban. The children really got into the emotions of these characters and did some great writing about them. Here are a few of their pieces of writing about Caliban:
Miss Reid
Zimbe! vocal project
During their Enrichment lessons this term (alongside learning to play the ukulele, Wroxall Class have been involved in an African vocal project, Zimbe! These sessions have been led by Kieron Howe, a familiar ‘musical’ face at Ferncumbe and Warwickshire Music’s vocal strategy lead. The African songs feature traditional accompaniment and a number of vocal parts singing simultaneously (very tricky!) - the idea was to enable children to experience the joy of singing together despite the current virtual climate. We are very proud of them all for doing such a fantastic job! Do follow the link to see the performance in which they feature… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sDnFkKbEy0
Compton Verney trip
On Friday 9th July, Shrewley Class set off on another field trip to see what we could find. We went on 3 walks around the grounds but left time at lunch to enjoy a picnic and a high-octane game of tig all around a large lime tree coppice. The pupils showed such enthusiasm and were desperate to spot everything they could, from butterflies and ladybird aphids to red kite and house martins building their nests against the beautifully carved pillars of the house. We explored the meadows, the icehouse, the reed bed sewage system and now we all know what a ha-ha is!
Once again, the pupils were well behaved, respectful and interested and the staff were very impressed with them. A lovely sunny day!
Mrs Grier
and the lucky winner is…!
Congratulations to Shilah in Wroxall Class who has been selected by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service as the winner of the Junior Fire Safety Champion competition in a recent safety promotion campaign. She was over the moon with the voucher she gets to spend. Well done Shilah!
fundraising success by former ferncumbe pupils
We are very proud of some of our old pupils who are now students at Aylesford High School. Evie, Jack, Abbey, Issie, Sophie, Izzy and their friends in Year 9 took part in this year’s Junior Wolf Run to raise money for FND Hope, a charity providing support for those suffering from Functional Neurological Disorder. They set a target of £250 and to date have raised £1850. What an astonishing achievement!
Further information and the opportunity to donate can be found here… https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fearnothing?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=fearnothing&utm_campaign=pfp-whatsapp&utm_term=0d30da000c314fe0b16141c260b4e197
Calling all aspiring singers age 9 Years +
AUDITIONS COMING SOON!
NATIONAL YOUTH GIRLS’, BOYS’ & TRAINING CHOIRS (Ages 9-18)
Booking opens: Tue 7 Sep, 12 noon
As a champion of inclusivity, NYCGB encourages all aspiring young singers across the UK to audition.
More / Book a FREE Open Event place: https://bit.ly/3qwuqf8
ONLINE OPEN EVENTS
NATIONAL YOUTH GIRLS’, BOYS’ & TRAINING CHOIRS (9-18)
Book a FREE place on one of NYCGB’s friendly & interactive Open Events ahead of auditions in autumn.
For: singers, parents/carers, singing teachers & music leaders. 10 Sept & 1 Oct
Skills and More Multi Activity Summer Camp
Honiley Youth CluB
Skills and More Multi-Activity Camp is taking place for 4 weeks this Summer at Honiley Youth Club, CV8 1NP.
HAF Codes can be used to book places.
We have an exciting range of fun activities planned for 4-11 year olds in a safe and secure setting.
All our leaders are experienced and qualified.
The camp runs Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.
We are open weeks commencing
26th July 2021
2nd August 2021
9th August 2021
16th August 2021
We look forward to seeing you there!!
Please email: eva@careerseekersdirect.co.uk or call Eva on 07901 517012 if you would like to book a place.
Visit www.skillsandmore.co.uk for more information
Very best wishes for a lovely weekend.
With the summer break almost upon us I know that all staff will join me in wishing the whole Ferncumbe community a happy and safe summer - we look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Monday 6th September.
Tracey Webb, Deputy Headteacher