1
Together on a learning adventure
Term Two Newsletter 2017
Dear Parents and Friends,
A warm welcome to Abigail Phillips and her
parents Roy and Deeya. Abigail is joining our
Reception class. We hope Abigail quickly
settles into her new class. We are sad to be
saying goodbye to Oisin Tadgh and his
family. They are moving to Cornwall and we
hope they soon feel at home there.
Carol Services
We hope that those of you who were able to
attend enjoyed the two Christmas Services.
We had a charming KS1 nativity called ‘The
Innkeeper’s Breakfast’ and a superb KS2
production called ‘The Christmas Jigsaw
Puzzle’.
Well done to all the actors, narrators and all
the children who sang their heart’s out.
Well done also to the talented musicians who
started the KS2 service off. Many thanks to
the wonderful Friends team who provided
mince pies and drinks after the services! We
raised loads which will go to maintain the Dry
Arch allotments that we use and who offer so
much to the children.
School Council Anti-Bullying Puppet Show
The School Council prepared and presented a
three-part puppet show to our new Reception
children to tie in with our 'anti-bullying'
week. Each group presented on a different
element of bullying. The first, 'what to do if
you are being bullied'. The second, 'what to
do if you see someone being bullied' and the
third 'what makes a bully'.
Each group performed their puppet show with
confidence and humour. The Reception
children commented afterwards how much
they enjoyed it and what they had learnt.
"Always be kind", "always tell a teacher if you
think you are being bullied", and “always tell a
teacher if you see someone being unkind."
Our Year 7s at Ralph Allen
Mrs Clarke enjoyed visiting our ex-pupils at
Ralph Allen School on Thursday 7th
December.
They enjoyed being back together as a group
and seemed to be very happy and positive.
Mrs Clarke was struck by how independent
and mature they have become. Well done to
all of our 2017 leavers as we keep hearing
great things about them in their new schools.
754 House Points so far!
The House points for this term at the point of
going to press are Heron House 169 points,
Kingfisher House 161, Mallard House 192 and
Swan House 232. Well done to every child
who has gained a house point! Every single
House Point represents an act of kindness or
courtesy and helped make the school a
happier place.
2
Wonderful Woods
Reception have been busy making, designing,
story-telling and learning about the world
around them using Bathampton School woods
as a great resource.
The woods and the autumn treasure have
helped us sort, order, count accurately and
add 1 more. We also got to play in the leaves!!
The children got creative with a range of
resources to create their own representation
of a tree. They all showed their own
imagination and creativity as every tree was
amazing and different. They then
photographed the art using the IPad for our
woodland art gallery.
Phoebe and Elvie later used the resources to
set up challenge- make a tree for someone
else to copy… can they make it identical? This
showed great spatial awareness and the
ability to communicate with each other.
We read some great Julia Donaldson books
and drew and painted story maps
together………… then a strange visitor came
to school and left us a note. It was the
Gruffalo! So we wrote straight back.
It has been an amazing term and we wish all
the children and families a very Happy
Christmas from all in Reception
Class One on Ice
Class One have had a busy term learning
about the Arctic and Antarctica. We have
found out lots of interesting facts about
penguins and polar bears. We wrote
some 'Did you know?' fact-files. Szabi found
out that 'Penguins keep their eggs on their
feet, otherwise the baby penguins will die'.
Josh wrote 'Penguins can hold their breath for
over 15 minutes and dive for fish'. Joseph
found out about different species of penguins
'There are king penguins chinstrap penguins
Gentoo penguins emperor penguins and
chinstrap penguins.' Emi learnt about polar
bears 'Mummy polar bears dig a hole to keep
their cub warm and cosy. Their father keeps
hunting for food all winter.'
Class One have also had fun this term
making, feeling, describing and melting ice.
We investigated where the ice melted the
quickest and where it melted the slowest. We
then thought about why this happened. Lots
of us were surprised that the ice cube that
was in the sun took a long time to melt
because the sun is so hot...eventually we
thought it was so cold in the air that the sun
could not get the heat to the ice cube.
3
Class Two Dry Arch Outdoor Adventures
At the beginning of term, on a cold and frosty
Thursday morning, Class Two went on a trip
to the Dry Arch to do some outdoor learning.
When we got there we were split into four
groups to complete four different activities.
First we made some yummy bread with jam or
cheese on top.
Second we did some gardening and it was
hard work but we collected lots of weeds.
Next we picked flowers and hers to create a
posy for our mummies or daddies.
Finally we picked some apples. The bread
making was the best because it was delicious!
In the cold afternoon we set off back to
school. It was really fun at the Dry Arch. I
hope we can go there again.
By Ben, Scarlett, Isaac and Jenson
Class Two Art Explosion
In art we have been experimenting with
different medias.
Alfie Henry Sophia
At the beginning of term we created fireworks
scratch pictures to accompany our firework
poems.
Fantastic fizzing fireworks
It’s sparkles hang like christmas lights
Red rockets rising
Exploding like a volcano
Whizzing
Out of this world like an alien invasion
Really big bangs
Kabooom
Sizzling shooting stars
By Zosha and Alexa
We have also created pictures of the dark
inspired by the story ‘Orion and the Dark.
Hugh Alexa Helen
And as part of walk to school week we created
road safety posters.
Shadows
In science, we have been exploring our topic
of light and dark by discovering how shadows
are created.
4
Class Three @Bristol (Now ‘We The Curious’)
Class Three had a terrific time exploring ‘We
the Curious’ in Bristol to learn about forces.
Here are some extracts from their recounts.
As soon as I walked in I noticed there was a
huge hamster wheel. It was very hard because
you had to push water when you were
running. Later on we went to see a Science
show. During the show we learnt about
friction. We also used a thermal imaging
camera to see how hot our bodies were.
By Tom and Alex J
As soon as I walked in that building it was
gargantuan! There were too many exhibits to
count! Immediately I rushed off to all the
exhibits. Two of my favourites were the spiral
wheel that if you stared at and then looked at
the floor, the floor looked like a spiral. The
other was an epic Science Show all about
forces.
By William
We learnt that a chicken and a plastic egg fall
at the same time because of gravity.
By Noah and George Mc
Next we saw a gigantic LEGO and everyone
made huge houses. The funny bit was when
Tom got stuck in his own Lego house. Then
we watched a show all about friction. In the
show Sophie got in a harness and delivered a
chicken.
By Sofia and Henry
After lunch we went to the planetarium. It
looked like a huge cinema with a domed roof.
Before we went in we had to grab 3D glasses.
The show was about if we were alone in the
universe or not.
By Tamara
When it was over I felt dizzy. It was amazing.
Everyone was tempted to reach out and grab
things coming towards us.
By Beth
After that we went into a test lab. It was
awesome because you had to dance in front
of a camera and you could see a hologram of
yourself through goggles.
By Talia
I loved ‘We the Curious’. I learnt that I could
create a huge mountain. If I went again I
would bring a clone with me (tee he)
By Gully
Our School trip to ‘we the Curious’ was
brilliant. I learnt loads! If I could go again I
might explore upstairs a bit more. It’s rating?
Ten out of ten!
By Wi
5
Class Three Outdoor Maths.
Class Three have been busy learning about
capacity.
One of the skills involved is being able to read
the quantity in different measuring jugs. This
can be quite tricky as often each interval on
different measuring jugs can have different
values. They can go up in 5’s, 10’s, 25’s, 50’s
100’s or even more. The children first had to
practise working out what each interval on
each measuring jug was worth.
Once this skill was mastered they began to
find out the capacity of a variety containers.
Everyone’s estimates became progressively
more accurate as the lesson progressed.
Including mine!
Children were working with larger amounts of
water that involved litres. Carrying litres of
water from the tap to the woods certainly
reinforced children’s ideas of capacity and
weight.
Writing recipies outdoors
Other games and learning
Playing the game ‘find a classmate that
weighs the same as you’
We found a mushroom so we weighed it!
The last sloes and rosehips from the tree
6
Class Four Geologists
On 1st
December, Josh’s mum came in and
talked to us about volcanoes, as she is a
geologist. She showed us some volcanic rocks
– our favourite was the obsidian, because it
was very interesting and shiny and had some
white dots.
Josh’s mum told us all about different types
of volcanoes, lava and some specific
volcanoes. She told us all about one volcano
that destroyed a whole village; only two
people survived! One of the survivors was
camping on the edge of the village so had
time to escape and the other was in prison
(the thick walls protected him)!
By Tilly, Matilda and Sacha
Sophie’s Volcanic Eruption Writing
Suddenly there was a noise. Fire blood lava
spewed out of the furious volcano. Spider
black ash blocked the angel sun. The lava
bubbled like it was laughing. Cold hearted.
Lava twisted like spaghetti on a fork. The
dark, evil volcano slowly rumbled.
The grumbling, trembling volcano exploded
chucking chunks of hot lava. As the lava
ripped people’s souls apart, the ash
continuously kept taking everyone’s hearts. I
felt hopeless like everyone else around me…
Class Five at Holburne Museum
On Tuesday 28th
November Class Five went on
a class trip to the exciting and brilliant
Holburne museum. We arrived at school at
our usual times and then set off on our trip.
As soon as we arrived, we filed off the coach
in rows then sat down in a room where we
watched a power point about how the Ancient
Greeks have influenced us today. Next, we
were given a clipboard, pencil and some
paper each.
Then we went to the ballroom and had an
Ancient Greek story told to us using the
images on an old painted plate. After that, we
split up into our three groups. One group
stayed in the ballroom, searched for artefacts,
finished the half-drawn pictures, which were a
centaur (half man half horse) and a satyr (half
man half goat). Another group went upstairs
and looked at then drew pottery. The last
group went downstairs to find and draw the
missing piece of Poseidon (trident).
7
Finally, we went back to the room we started
in and ate our snacks then made decorated
Greek plates using clay. It was an interesting
and enjoyable day.
By Jack and Elliot
Our Art Lesson
On Tuesday 5th
December, Richard Jones (an
illustrator) came into Class Five and gave us a
special Art Lesson. He helped us draw
pictures for our books (we are currently
writing our own children’s books). He drew
pictures of characters that we gave him and
this helped us with our ideas. He was really
good and very quick. He told us to press
lightly at first then go over darker when we
had completed our sketch. We learnt that
when the whole page is full of colour it is
called a full bleed and when it is one picture
on the page it is called a spot illustration.
Thank you Richard we had an interesting
afternoon and it has improved the
illustrations in our books!
Katie Sugg
Richard said afterwards “It was great to see
the class engage in the lesson and produce
some really nice work, their written pieces
were particularly creative too. There are one
or two individuals in the class who I thought
show real potential and display a good
standard of creative ability.
I think they all responded really well to
encouragement my main focus being that it is
not important to concentrate on mistakes, to
overcome and learn from it to produce
something better and how even professional
illustrators find it difficult to draw certain
things.
Shhh, Class Five are busy!!
It is always a pleasure to walk through the
school and see the children fully engaged.
As parents we ask our children what they
have done during the day and sometimes get
a shrug and a non-committal answer. In
reality the children are usually busy and
engaged all day. By the end of the day they
are sometimes tired and ready for a break.
8
Class Five go Swimming
In Class Five we have swimming lessons every
Monday. We have these lessons at Culverhay.
We swim in 3 different groups. Our teachers
are called: Ben, Sophie and Alison.
One swimming lesson a group played water
polo with a PE teacher who coached the
England’s Olympic water polo team!!! The
group split into two teams, girls and boys.
Someone on each team sat on a ladder on the
side of the pool and they had to catch the
ball. If they caught the ball a point was
scored. The girls won 3-1! Water polo is very
tiring! But we really enjoyed it.
By Zac and Sara
Class Five have kindly written about some of
the clubs they enjoy. There are plenty to
choose from!
Dance Club
On Friday after school, girls from Class Five
go to Dance Club and Mrs Lake runs the club.
Amelie and I really enjoy the club and hope to
do it again next year. In Dance Club, we have
been making up a dance to the song called
‘Dusk Till Dawn’ by Zayne. We will perform it
at the Forum in late March.
By Amelie and Alice.
Table tennis Club
Our table tennis coach, Ray, has been
teaching us to play table tennis. He has
taught us how to serve, hit backhands and
forehands, explained the rules, how to score
and how to play a match. He has recently told
us about an upcoming tournament at King
Edwards School (KES) in January. The people
competing are (drumroll please): Daragh
Keane, Ollie Morgan, Wilf Warren, Tom Hoskin
and George Shepard.
WE LOVE TABLE TENNIS!
By Ollie and Wilf
Chess Club
Chess Club is a great experience and has an
award winning, extra friendly teacher called
Joshua (Josh for short). People that struggle
with their Chess become amazing at it! Chess
club is run on every Monday for two terms,
sign up now and let the fun begin!
George and Dexter (Class 5)
Lace club
Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
lunchtime some children from classes Five
and Six go to Lace Club. In Lace, you make
patterns with thread and you also use
bobbins to make it clear which thread is
which. There are different levels so as you get
better you do harder lace. When you start you
get a choice out of what pattern you do
between the balloon or Sid the snake. Mrs
Huntley is our art teacher and also teaches
Lace Club. After Sid the Snake or the balloon
you choose a pattern out of the Level 1 book ,
for example you might do the elephant, chick,
horseshoe or butterfly pattern.
The groups are quite small and only have five
or six people, so it is quite quiet and easy to
concentrate. You sometimes get to take your
lace home to finish it or to get to a certain
part.
By Maggie and Kit
Class Six Playground Friends
In Term 3 we are launching our new team of
Year 6 Playground Friends. They will be
helping to support children in the playground
who need a friendly word or advice.
9
Sports this term for Class Six
This term Class Six have been doing four,
amazing & fun, different sports.
Basketball, on Fridays after break
Cricket, on Thursday afternoons for 2
weeks
Then, dance for two week on
Thursdays
After that, rugby for the last 2 weeks
of term.
First, we had cricket. Mateo said he
liked it ‘because he learned how to
bat professionally’. Our cricket coach
was called Mark. We had so much
fun!
Then we had dance, with a lovely,
lively lady named Karen.
She was the most energetic lady I
have ever met. Katie said ‘how we
did it straight into the routine
instead of learning the moves and
then doing a routine.
While all of that happened on a
Thursday, on Fridays we had
basketball with a cool & funny coach
called Matt. He is an enthusiastic
man who never misses a shot. We
played king of the ring and some full
court matches. Noah said, ‘they are
fun and interactive games’. We had
Matt last year as well. It really was
worth it!
Written by Theodora Yr6
Year 6 e-Champions Online Safety
Keeping children safe online is really
important to us. The fabulous e-Champions
group led by govenor Emma Naysmith gave a
helpful parent support session using the app
‘Internet Matters’ which helps families
understand online safety issues.
Thanks you e-Champions!
Tree and Hedgerow planting in the New
Field…260 so far!
Here are a few photos from a successful day
of tree planting with Anna from the Forest of
Avon Trust and a lot of capable, independent
children from Class Five and some from Class
Six - and help from Lara and Eve Warner, a
Conservation Biology student from Bath Spa
Uni. It was a good day and 260 trees were
planted. By Tania Orgill
We believe that planting trees is important for
many reasons and it is going to be fantastic
for these children to come back in years to
come and see the trees and hedgerows
growing to maturity.
10
Australian Visitors…what happened next
This term Jennifer Geddes visited Bathampton
Primary School after 50 years of living in
Australia. She was an ex-pupil of the school
ago. Jennifer wanted to come back to our
school to see how it had changed. Mr Falkus
asked Miles and Hannah (Year 6) to give her a
tour.
Hannah and Miles showed Jennifer the whole
school she was so amazed about how it
changed , so much since she has lasted been
here in Bathampton. Jennifer said she used to
do hand-stands at the front of the school on
the wall and everybody had to take a nap half
way through the school day everyone hated
the nap. The boys and girls were separated by
a wall that’s still there today so that’s why at
the front of Bathampton school there’s a
boy’s door and a girl’s door.
As a thank you for showing her around the
school she once loved Jennifer send Hannah
and Miles two koala bears. These travelled all
the way from Australia to Bathampton.
This black and white photo shows Jennifer
aged six in 1950 at the school.
Brake!
We are grateful to the B&NES traffic team for
acting on our concerns. As one aspect of a
programme of improvements the speed limit
on Mill Lane halved to 30mph!
I am especially grateful to Fiona, Pnina and
Chery and the School’s Safe Routes to School
team who have been pushing for these
changes. We are still looking for a Crossing
Patrol Officer and the children below enjoyed
trying out the role in the playground.
We threw ourselves into a range of road
safety activities recently as part of national
road safety week sponsored by Brake.
These included indoor lessons that focused
on road safety and active travel.
There were balance bike lessons for the
younger pupils and a family walk to school
and mufti day where children were
encouraged to wear the brightest clothes they
could find.
11
Assembly that day was all about being bright
and being seen when travelling to school.
The day finished with a lovely
winter warmer ‘café’ outside the school.
The school was also
very proud to take
three pupils to the SW
Regional Modeshift
Stars Awards in
Swindon during the
week, having been put
forward by B&NES as
one of two local
authority nominations
for the school’s travel
plan work. Saltford
School actually won so
congratulations to
them for all they have
done. We are
continuing to work
hard to get the Silver Accreditation and hope
to see many more children regularly walking,
scooting or cycling to school.
The three children had a very enjoyable day
and have been inspired to start up a Safe
Routes ‘Be Seen’ School Shop. More on this
later!
A huge thank you to the Friends
The children are now using the iPads bought
recently by the Friends. These Year Fives have
each created a song on Garage Band and
came to share it with me. They were great and
it’s only the beginning as children are so
quick to learn. The teachers and teaching
assistants are being trained in their use but
we know that we will end up being taught by
the children. I am looking forward to seeing
artwork done outside on the iPads, films and
photos, and lots of outdoor writing including
poems.
By Mr Falkus
That’s what you call a bonfire! The Friends
raised £416 at the Bonfire Social on Friday 3rd
November for the school. We are grateful to
Mack and his son from Bathampton Farm who
provided a lot of pallets for the fire and James
and Darren who built it.
Sharing Outdoor Free Play
It has been a real pleasure recently to host
staff from a Bath school. They came to see
the outdoor activities available at lunchtime.
They found it inspiring and were very grateful
to Paula for giving them a detailed insight
into the way our SMSA's help facilitate play at
lunch times in our amazing grounds! They felt
that it had given them a lot of ideas and
things to work on.
12
Christmas Jolly
Well done and many thanks to the amazing
Friends team who organised the very special
Christmas Event this year.
Many thanks to everyone who worked behind
the scenes arranging it; to those who helped
out; to those who stayed to clear up and not
least to everyone who came and supported
the event.
Thanks to Father Christmas for taking the
time to visit us in Bathampton, and to Sissie
Maughan and the team for creating a
beautiful magical grotto.
We're still totting up the proceeds but it looks
likely that profits will be upwards of £1300
for the school.
Message from the Friends!
A colossal thank you for all of your
support fundraising for the school this
term.
At the start of this term we purchased
x15 new iPads for the school along with
a charging/storage unit. We also paid
for 1/2 of the new kiln. With some of this
terms fundraising we will purchase sets
of reading books for each class to
facilitate whole class reading.
This terms events have raised £3000+.
Christmas Jolly - £1600
Calendars - £450
Bonfire Night - £416
Winter Warmer - £164
Nativity Coffees/Mince Pies - £160
Christmas Card Printing - £140
Halloween Cake Sale £124
It’s been wonderful to see so many new
faces helping with events, particularly
when so many of the existing
committee are leaving the school at the
end of the summer term.
If you’d like to get more involved please
join the recently set up volunteer what’s
app group so we can keep in touch
whilst minimising texts from school.....
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kf6QC16ZAFt
HYgplJYIX7C or chat to one if the
Friends team or your class rep.
Our AGM will be held on January 11th
at 8pm at The Mill. Everyone is very
welcome! The official part (Chair and
Treasurers reports and voting in the
new committee) will take place between
8pm and 8.30pm followed swiftly by
drinks to celebrate the start of the new
year.
See you next term for the annual Quiz
and another Winter Warmer and
Valentines Cake Sale.
Have a great Christmas.
The Friends Team
13
December
Friday 15th
End of Term 2
January 2018
Tuesday 2nd
INSET Day 4
Wednesday 3rd
Children start school
Monday 8th
Class Five Swimming @ Culverhay
& Year 6 Measurements
Friday 12th
Class Five Hockey/ Netball @ RHS
starts
Tuesday 16th
Yr 5 Cross Country @ St Marks
& MAT Parents Consultations 2.00 and 6.00
p.m. (see letter)
Thursday 18th
Bonanza Meal Day
Friday 19th
Winter Warmer Walk to School
Tuesday 23rd
Yr 6 Cross Country @ St Marks
Friday 26th
Mufti day Keep Plastic out of the
Sea
February 2018
Tuesday 6th
Class Four Parents meetings for
Charterhouse trip: 2.30pm and 6pm
Friday 9th
End of Term 3
Monday 19th
Start of Term 4
Monday 26th
Class Four Swimming starts
& Parent/ teacher interview Fortnight
March 2018
Friday 9th
Walk to School Day
Tuesday 13th
Visit from Anna Grayson (ex-
Head)
Wednesday 14th
Class Six Parents meeting
Mill on The Brue 6pm - 7pm
Thursday 15th
Class Six Parents meeting Mill
on The Brue 9.15am – 10.15am
Monday 19th
Dance Umbrella at the Forum
Friday 23rd
End of Term 4
April 2018
Monday 9th
Start of Term 5
Friday 20th
Spring Walk to School
May 2018
Thursday 3rd
to Friday 4th
Class Four
Charterhouse Residential Trip
Monday 7th
May Day Bank Holiday
Monday 14th
KS2 SATs Week. Year 6 Children
must be in school. Please note
Thursday 17th
Class Photos
Wednesday 23rd
to Friday 25th
Class Six Mill
on the Brue Residential Trip
Friday 25th
End of Term 5
June 2018
Monday 4th
INSET Day 5
Tuesday 5th
Start of Term 6 for Children
Tuesday 12th
Year 1 Multiskills Festival @ St
Marks
Friday 15th
Summer Walk to School
Friday 29th
Class Six to Dry Arch
July 2018
Tuesday 3rd
Reception to Multiskills Festival
@ St Marks
Saturday 7th
School Fair
Tuesday 10th
Option One Sports Day (KS2
morning & KS1 afternoon)/ Walk to School
Wednesday 11th
Optional Parents Meeting
Tuesday 17th
Option Two Sports Day (KS2
morning & KS1 afternoon)
Tuesday 24th
End of Term 6
All term dates available online
www.bathampton.bathnes.sch.uk/calendar
September
Monday 3rd
INSET Day 1 - School Closed
Tuesday 4th
INSET Day 2 – School Closed
Wednesday 5th
Children return to school (Yr1
– Yr6)
14