BLAKESLEY CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

We Had Fun

Cricket

We were pleased to welcome Mr Andrew Hall, Captain of the Nothamptonshire ‘Steelbacks’ Cricket Team, to an assembly recently. Andrew spoke to the children about his career and gave some very good motivational tips for the pupils to take away; many pieces of good advice to help them in life as well as sport! He signed cricket bats and flags for pupils and was happy to answer all their questions.

Cantata

The whole school performed our Christmas Cantata , ‘Off to Bethlehem’, to a packed church at both the afternoon and evening performances. This photograph of the principal characters appeared in the local press. The children received much praise for the way they sang, danced, acted, narrated and played musical instruments. A lovely way to celebrate Christmas!

Our Parent Support Advisor visited assembly to speak to children and parents about Healthy Eating. The talk was very interactive, with pupils and staff showing examples of the 5 main food groups.

Judo

A Judo competition took place at Blakesley CE Primary on 1st December 2011, between the clubs that are run at Blakesley School and at Whittlebury Village hall. It was a fantastic evening which both children and Parents enjoyed. There was an independent referee and bronze, silver and gold medals for all who took part. There was a main trophy for the winning club which was Whittlebury, 30 points to Blakesley's 29! Individual trophies were given to one boy and one girl for outstanding effort. Our own Jemima Venables won the girls trophy.

On the 11^th November, pupils from Year 3 and 4 were visited by a WWII jeep which they enjoyed exploring. They were also visited by Mr Romer Adams, one of our close neighbours. Mr Adams told them all about the B17 bomber which crashed in a local field during WWII and explained his part in excavating the site. The children were enthralled by both experiences and felt that they brought their history studies to life.

Some photos from our recent ‘Maths Morning’

All the pupils spent a morning looking at methods of calculation. They worked in small groups on open-ended tasks suited to their levels of working. There was a real ‘buzz’ in the school as pupils worked together, discussed ideas and learned with and from each other. The morning finished with a ‘show and tell’ session when each group proudly presented what they had learned – including work based on some stick insects which are in one of the photos! Typical feedback from pupils: ‘Can we do this every week?’ ‘I loved Maths Morning. When can we do it again?’ The answer is; ‘On the 5^th December’. We will be looking at data handling.

To mark the month of the ‘Big Draw’, which was intended to promote the love and skill of drawing we organized sessions when pupils, staff, governors, parents and siblings could draw something in the local area which was important to them. The children had a great time drawing pets, homes, families and so on. The adults took a bit longer to get ‘warmed up’, but eventually whole families were busy drawing on the sheets. The resulting murals are now on display in the school and they are fascinating.