Class 1
Class 1 have had a really busy term and have finally finished upgrading the outside area. The children have enjoyed lots of outside activities this term and have been to a farm, on a local walk and been to the British Motor Museum. We have spent lots of time looking at the different materials around us and conducting experiments to discover how materials change. Reception have also spent time looking after some tiny caterpillars which arrived towards the end of term and we all look forward to releasing them when they have turned into red painted butterflies.
Class 2
This term Class 2 had a virtual tour of The Cheltenham Synagogue. We discussed what Jewish people did at the Synagogue and what its important features were. A big thank you to Mrs Silverston for giving up her time to speak to the class. We really enjoyed it.
Class 3
Class 3 have been studying settlements in Geography, and they were able to visit Meon Vale, located between Mickleton and Stratford upon Avon to carry out field work to enhance their Geography skills. The purpose of this trip was for children to identify features of a new settlement, and the amenities found in a new settlement to allow it to be self-contained. Furthermore, Meon Vale has an interesting history as a re-purposed Military of Defence unit, once housing Polish refugees after the war.
They have been studying how Christians celebrate Easter and were able to walk to Blockley church to speak with Revd Craig Bishop and Mrs Todd, the youth worker, to learn more about this.
Class 4
Class 4 continued their Space theme with a visit to the National Space Centre. They have also been studying the book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, the story of the African-American Women who helped win the Space Race and hope to watch the film at the end of the term!
Class 5
Class 5 have read the book Once by Morris Gleitzman, about a Polish, Jewish boy named Felix whose parent believe that they have saved him by placing him in a Catholic orphanage. The story is one based on hope but touches on the Holocaust. They have studied the second world war, and how the Nazis rose to power. As part of this work they were able to visit the Polish graves in Blockley and establish why they are there and the local connections with Poland and WWII.
World Book Day
Thank you for all the amazing costumes and for supporting the school to foster a love of reading. According to the World Book Day literature Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.
World Book Day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. It is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.
The first World Book Day in the UK and Ireland took place in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading. This love of reading is something that we wish to embed in the children at Blockley School so please continue to take time to read with your children, listen to them read and demonstrate reading for pleasure to them.
Class 1 visit to the motor museum
In Science this term class 1 have been learning about Everyday Materials. To help further the children’s learning and interest in this area they visited The British Motor Museum. They took part in two workshops during the day and had time to explore the history of cars. The first session was an interactive movement and materials session with a tour on the 1923 bus and a special bus driver. The second session in the afternoon involved handling of different objects.
Year 5 Science Day
Year 5 attended Kingham Hill School ‘Glorious Gases’ Science Day. Pupils had a wonderful lunch and then participated in various 35-minute sessions based around the theme of gases. They took part in biology, physics and chemistry based experiments which gave the pupils a taste of subjects they may not have experienced before.
The pupils had a fantastic educational experience and were a credit to the school. The feedback from Kingham Hill says it all! ‘We loved having Blockley with us on Friday. The children are so well behaved and enthusiastic. It made it fun for all of us!’
Daylesford Farm Visit
The whole school, in class groups, visited Daylesford, an organic farm, situated in the Evenlode valley. As well as grazing pasture for herds of cattle and sheep, there are large areas of native woodland and a 30-acre market garden growing organic fruit and vegetables. The walk was tailored to each group and passed through farmland, woods and along the river. Pupils saw several types of trees and flowers, farm animals and the opportunity to see other wildlife – although most animals heard us coming and hid beforehand! Each walk was tailored to the learning objectives of the class group and we were blessed with wonderful weather on the day!
Diatom Dave
We had an action-packed day with Diatom Dave, watching and participating in a variety of thrilling experiments watching chemical and
physical reactions. Pupils and staff thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of science that is harder to demonstrate in a Primary School without a dedicated science laboratory. Thanks to FOS for supporting the Science Week and allowing each child to witness the potential of science!
FOS Fund Raising
Thank you for all the work that the FOS group do to support the school. The money raised has made a great difference to the events that have been able to take place in school this term. From supporting Science Week to subsidizing school visits by funding coaches, the money raised and support offered makes a real difference to the experiences that we can offer the pupils. It was wonderful to be able to welcome the FOS meeting group back into school for a committee meeting and we look forward to welcoming more volunteers back into school next term.
The recent FOS sponsored £20.22 in 2022 fundraising event was a great success, thank you to all that participated. Perdy made a real effort and completed a 20.22km bike ride raising a considerable amount of money through her hard work.
Food Bank Friday
We are continuing with our monthly sessions to support the North Cotswold Food Bank on the first Friday of every month. Thank you to FOS for collecting and delivering the items to the food bank.
The items are very gratefully received as the following email testifies:
On behalf of the Trustees and all the Volunteers of the North Cotswold Foodbank, I would like to thank Blockley School for another extremely generous food donation received recently.
You may be interested to know that your donation weighed in at a fantastic 111.02kg!
As reported nationally, we are currently seeing a drop in donations to the Foodbank, probably due to the price rises in fuel and food etc which are affecting everybody, as well as those who are struggling. So we are especially grateful for your support of the Foodbank at this time in helping us to keep our store well stocked in order to help those who are being hit the hardest.
Without your generosity, we would not be able to offer this help, so thank you for your wonderful support and kindness – it is very much appreciated and it really does make a difference to so many lives.
World Down Syndrome Day
Dear Mrs Ann Barry, All Staff and to all the pupils of Blockley Primary School,
Firstly we, as the Peach family, would like to say a massive thank you to each and everyone of you on behalf of Wouldn’t Change A Thing & Cotswold Down Syndrome Group for helping to raise money for these wonderful charities.
What a busy day! World Down Syndrome Day has shown how the community have embraced diversity and inclusion for all. Blockley Primary school has done amazingly today raising £367.28 through donations and with the Cake sale.
We would also like to say a big thank you to Summer (School Council) for her wonderful suggestion on the cake sale and a thank you to Cora, Rafe and Sofiya for helping to sell them, you did an amazing job, and another thank you to Miss Hebden for all your help organising activities and assemblies within the school.
A big thank you to each and everyone of you that have worn odd socks today, donated cakes and made cash donations.
Thank you again to everyone.
The Peach Family
Youth Speaks
Well done to Toby and Charlie for representing Blockley School so fantastically in the Rotary Youth Speaks Competition. Both pupils talked very eloquently on the topic of ‘Freedom’ and what it meant for them. Really interesting and a great skill to be able to speak so confidently in front of an audience.
Panathalon
A group of eight pupils representing Blockley School at the North Cotswold’s Panathalon event held at Chipping Campden School. The children participated in a range of indoor sporting activities alongside children from other local primary schools. They came 4th and were each presented with a medal. Some children said that it was the best day that they had ever had!
National Space Museum
Class 4 visited the National Space Centre in Leicester as part of their topic work on Earth and Space. They discovered six galleries, including the iconic Racket Tower and the UK’s largest domed planetarium, crammed full of space suits, rockets, satellites and meteorites.
Clean and Green
Cotswold Clean and Green team visited school to talk to pupils about the importance of looking after their local environment, in particular not littering. They are running a district wide poster competition to emphasise this point and will pick 4 winning entries. Entries need to be in school by Monday 16th May for shortlisting.
The competition is open to any pupil that would like to participate
The poster needs to be
- A4 size
- Have an anti-littering reference e.g. ‘put your litter in the bin’ or something similar, the more creative the better!
- Be colourful/ imaginative
The winning posters will be printed and distributed around the district and will be posted on the council social media.
Good luck!
RE Day
The whole school participated in an RE day on 5th April. With the theme of major festivals each classroom was devoted to a particular religion and pupils moved around the school to gain an insight into the relevant meanings, food and customs of the religious festivals. In class 5 pupils learnt about Sikhism and how the Guru Hargobind enabled 52 Rajas to be released from prison. When pupils entered class 4 they looked at Christmas and Easter in the Christian calendar – including some Easter chocolate! The class 3 space was devoted to Hinduism and Diwali, with pupils entering class 2 studying Islam – Ramadan. In class 3 pupils were able to create seder plates as they learnt about Judaism.
School Meals
We are really excited to announce that our school cook Andrea will be returning from maternity leave on 9th May so we will once again be able to cook meals on site. She is really looking forward to seeing all the pupils again, meeting some new faces and being able to provide that in person, site specific service. We are all looking forward to welcoming her back!
Music
We are able to offer peripatetic music lessons during the school day if your child wishes to play a musical instrument. The arrangement is made directly between the teacher and the parents and costs vary. Currently the woodwind teacher visits weekly and brass lessons are starting after Easter. There is also the opportunity for a classical guitar teacher to visit Blockley if there is enough interest. Please contact the school office if you are interested in your child learning an instrument.
Covid
As the country is now in the phase of living with the virus and testing is not freely available we will no longer be sending out ParentPay messages to inform parents that pupils/staff have tested positive. We are asking parents and staff to follow the latest government guidelines relating to Covid https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19
When children and young people with symptoms should stay at home and when they can return to education
Children and young people with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend their education setting.
Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature and they are well enough to attend.
All children and young people with respiratory symptoms should be encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing and/or sneezing and to wash their hands after using or disposing of tissues.
Children and young people aged 18 years and under who have a positive test result
It is not recommended that children and young people are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional.
If a child or young person has a positive COVID-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.
Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.
Easter
We hope you will be able to join us for our Easter Service in church at 9.20am on Thursday 7th April, for our Egg Shackling on the field from 2pm and watch Class 1 and 2 Easter Bonnet parade at 2.45pm.
We wish you all a healthy and happy Easter and we welcome pupils back to school on Monday 25th April.