Christ Church School

The wheels on the bus

2012-03-08T21:59:00.001Z

Last week in Mckee class we were fortunate enough to have some of the children's parents join us after our assembly. Whilst in the classroom many noticed our role play area and one dad in particular commented on it. He also happened to own a big red bus! (An RT1206 to be precise.)

The day was set and today Carle, McKee and Inkpen were able to hop on board and experience sitting in a bus that was built in 1949.

We had made our own tickets and H was ready as our ticket collector, but the bus owner also had a ticket machine and some of us were able to purchase real tickets.

The children loved going on the bus and were amazed at how big the wheels were, they were surprised that Mrs Matthews knew how to ring the bell and what the mirrors on the stairs were for. It was also surprising that the floor was made of wood.

Wow, we are so high up

Steep stairs and a magic mirror!

How big are the wheels?

I wonder where Chigwell is, Mrs Matthews did not mention there!

Where did the door go?

and off we go!

They loved looking under the bus, around the bus, climbing the steep and windy stairs and wondered where the door at the back was. They laughed when Mrs Matthews told them she used to go to school on a very similar bus and that some of her children's books at home, still offer up the tickets which were placed as bookmarks on journeys long ago.

Thank you so much to the RT1206 preservation group, we loved your bus and wish we could have stayed longer, especially Mrs Matthews who was reminded of being little again!

In Mckee class b is for......

2012-03-06T19:12:00.012Z

boat......

blow.....

bubbles....

The children started out making boats, which yesterday blew all by themselves due to the strong wind. Today they needed a bit of help, which in turn lead to bubble blowing.

The children were very excited by this development and asked for washing up liquid to get "bigger bubbles which were multi-coloured". They tried to estimate how many bubbles there were; 178 in case you are interested! When testing this, however, they discovered that the bubbles burst too quickly if you touched them to count and so we could not get an accurate number.

Blowing harder resulted in lots and lots of bubbles, but blowing slowly meant bigger bubbles. Giggling put you in danger of drinking the bubbles and of course this means more giggling.

I wonder what we will learn next in our water tray?

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check Presentation

2012-03-04T20:20:00.011Z

On Wednesday 29th February a Phonics presentation was held by Miss Glazebrook and Miss Clark. The presentation included information about the Phonics Screening Check that children in Year 1 will need to complete during the week of 18th June 2012.

Don't worry if you missed the meeting. Slides from the PowerPoint are included below, as well as a video clip showing pronunciations of some of the key phonemes. Your child should also have information in their book bag, which includes lists of sounds and words that they can practise at home.

A great place to start practising phonics with your child at home is http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/. This will help your child to read phonemes in real and nonsense words.

Thank you for your continued support.

If you have any questions please speak to Miss Clark or Miss Glazebrook.

Crucial Crew

2012-03-02T20:07:00.000Z

On Thursday 1st March, year 6 went to Morgans School for Crucial Crew. First we got into groups and then attended each station where we learnt about how to keep safe; such as water safety, railway line safety, the dangers of electricity, how to eat healthily and they took us through the dangers of smoking and shoplifting.

Water safety - we had to pretend to rescue two children without going in the water ourselves.

Railway line safety - We learnt never to go on the railway line and he scared us when he pretended to drop a bomb. It gave us a surprise because the other man popped a balloon at the same time.

Electricity - We watched and listened to different situations when people have been harmed by electricity. We selected A or B depending on what they should have done.

Smoking - We looked at tar and two pairs of lungs;healthy and a smokers. Cigarettes included honey, toilet cleaner, liquorice, nail polish remover, rubber, tar, rat poison and Cocoa powder.

By Maisie and Francesca.

Year 5 Orienteering

2012-03-02T19:53:00.000Z

On the 1st March some of Shakespeare class wentto Chauncy School to do a sport called orienteering,with Miss Ball.

The first round you had to go to a certain number and clamp a clamponto a piece of card then go back to base. The second round there was questionsto answer but most people looked on the back because the answers were there!The final round there were activities that you had to go to and do. It was greatday.

By Billy P

Well done the boys!

2012-03-02T19:46:00.000Z

On Thursday 1st March the team played a home game againstBengeo. The team was Tom J, Jake H, Cameron D, Joe M, Dylan C, MorisK, Liam H, Sam S, Alex W and Conner P.

The game started at a quick pace with Christ Church having most of the possession,with some great passing moves we were creating some great chances, a goal was defiantly coming. After 15 minutes weeventually got the break through, after 4 or 5 passes the ball was knocked through toMoris K who took the ball on his chest and turned with a lovely volley, the ballwas in the back of the net 1 – 0 to Christ Church!

It stayed that way until 10minutes into the second half when we got our second goal. Once again scored byMoris. Bengeo however hadn’t given up and managed to pull a goal back. They keptpressing for the equaliser and if it wasn’t for some solid defending they wouldsurely of got another goal.

Once again it was a great team performance and a 2-1victory was well deserved. Well done the boys!

By Jake H

McKee class assembly

2012-03-02T18:51:00.001Z

Today, McKee class held our second assembly. The children wanted to share their learning about weather and about books. We also showed some of the photographs of the children playing and learning when it snowed and we introduced "our" penguin to the school. Each group chose one of the books that we have read in class. The four books chosen were:-

The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins
Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
Noah's Ark by Lucy Cousins

Every child wrote their own sentence (or two) to say about the book and then learnt it. Many parents commented on how lovely it was to hear the narration in their own child's style!

We also shared some of the art work which the children have produced to go with each book.The class also performed some of the weather songs they have learnt this term.

Incy wincy spider
Pray open your umbrella
I hear thunder
The wise man
Mr Noah built an Ark

We ended with a few thank you prayers for God. Afterwards we were delighted to welcome so many parents, grandparents and baby brothers to our phonic lesson and then our Child Initiated Learning session.

This is what the class had to say when reviewing their morning.

E and Z both liked their Mummy come to watch their assembly.

C, G and A liked being in the assembly

E enjoyed saying her words and hearing what other people said.

E liked making a rocket with her mummy.

O liked having her Mummy and Daddy come into her classroom to join in.

J liked showing her picture.

G loved singing all the songs and thought we sang well.

N enjoyed her Mummy joining us in class and saying her words on stage.

R liked saying her words and seeing the photos on the screen.

A and L liked saying their words - quickly!

A loved singing the songs.

D and M enjoyed making boats outside with Mrs Johnson.

H liked her mummy watching her and being able to make a rocket with her.

O was pleased her mummy came to watch her playing.

M was happy his baby brother saw him at school.

T was glad her Daddy came in.

D was very excited that his Mummy clapped a lot at the end.

R liked showing her Mummy her work and the singing songs.

Thank you for joining us today, we thoroughly enjoyed sharing our morning with you.

This week in Carle Class

2012-03-02T13:50:00.001Z

In Carle Class this week we have been learning about cars. We have been pretending to be mechanics in our role play area which has been a garage.

As we have been learning about cars, we have brought in some of our own toy cars and books to share and created a display in our classroom.

This week we have read Mr Gumpy's Motor Car.

'Mr Gumpy was going for a ride in his motor car, the boy and the girl and all the animals asked to go too!

Outside we decided to create a train to take us on a journey. We used tyres, crates and chairs to make our train. We decided that we needed tickets to go on our train and gave the passengers books to read on their train journey.

Some of us used the chalks to create a track for the train.

'We had a great time building our train.'

Also this week we have been continuing to wash cars at the 'car wash'. All of our rideons are now very clean and shiny

Potatoes

2012-02-28T17:49:00.003Z

McKee class are taking part in the "Grow your own potatoes" project.

Today was the designated start date and so we followed the instructions. Our potatoes are now on the classroom window sill "chitting".

We are growing Rocket potatoes, which each class taking part grow, as well as a local variety called Rudolph.

In two weeks time we are due to plant them and so we will update you then. We would, however, be grateful for any donations of compost. We also hope to take part in the Ware in bloom wheelbarrow competition again next term and so any surplus soil will be used then.

Mystery Gift

2012-02-27T10:00:00.001Z

In both the story of Mr Popper's Penguins and in the book 365 Penguins, the characters are surprised by a package, which when opened reveals a penguin. Mr Popper knows where his comes from, however in 365 it is a mystery.

Mrs Short and Mrs Matthews both felt this surprise when a package arrived at the School Office last week addressed to Mrs Matthews. Upon opening it, they discovered, it contained a penguin! Fortunately for us this was a soft toy not a live one.

On reading the paperwork which accompanied this penguin, they discovered that a mystery donor had sponsored a penguin and done so in the name of McKee class. We understand this is because they enjoyed reading about the penguin activities on this blog

Despite asking around we have been unable to discover who made this generous gesture and so on behalf of McKee class - Thank you - we appreciate it.

What can we tell you this week?

2012-02-25T09:22:00.000Z

McKee class were very excited to be back in school this week and launched into the vehicle topic with gusto. The children have lots of ideas about activities they would like to do and things they would like to learn.

The first one, we took on board, was how to clean cars (as you have already seen). Lots of children talked about being in a car at a car wash at what it was like. We also answered the question of are all trucks shiny.

The role play area is being transformed into a bus, because most children said they have never been on one and they thought it would be exciting to have one in this area. The toy cars have come out and so has the train track. We have been busy making a road for the cars.

We did not get time to tell you, last half term, that we were awarded Henry at the celebration assembly. Mr Cadwallader had the special treat of choosing the weekly winners for this, his last celebration assembly, and we were delighted he chose McKee class from the lower school.

Mrs Matthews reminded us all of the school uniform policy. Uniform was the "tweak of the week". As you can see in McKee class we do sometimes allow a few extra items during the day as long as you arrive in the correct uniform - these girls added their accessories to get them in the correct frame of mind for writing!

We have enjoyed listening to stories and singing along to songs at our new listening station! The children were surprised to find this in the class when they returned and it has been a popular addition to the reading area.

Thank you for all the transport books that you have sent in for us to share, please keep them coming and any toy vehicles. Also if anyone has a job that is to do with vehicles we would love you to share it with us.

We look forward to telling you a little bit more about our learning in our assembly next week.

Football success!

2012-02-24T13:46:00.000Z

On Thursday 23rd February Christ Church School football team played Watton-at-Stone School at their home ground. The team was full of great players; Moris, Joe, Dylan, Cameron, Jake, Sam, Tom and Jordan.

The team worked brilliantly to score the first goal, scored by Dylan. After that we were building momentum to score our next goal. Surprisingly one of their players hand-balled and so we got a penalty, which Moris scored. Our third goal was amzing. The ball came up from a corner and Moris jumped up into the air, did an overhead kick right into the top corner. What a goal! The fourth goal was scored by Tom. It was a great team goal and Tom kicked the ball with great power and skill into the bottom corner of the goal.

The final score was 4.0 to us! Unluckily for us Miss Ball promised us a McDonalds if we scored 5 goals. Oh well, we still made the school proud.

Match report by Dylan and Jake

Roman Day

2012-02-23T20:02:00.006Z

BIG NEWS!!!

Roman Day came to Christ Church School

Reporter: Bella K

On Wednesday 8^th of February 2012, Christ Church School celebrated Roman Day with a range of activities.

This is how the day went:

First I followed the children into Fine class, I had a chat with Miss Byrne and she told me the children were learning a song called `Just Like A Roman’. Everyone looked very amazing in their costumes!

Secondly, the children went into the hall. They were marching around learning Roman commands in Latin and English and doing the testudo (in English: tortoise). Mr Cadwallader told everyone to imagine they were still in the army as they marched back to their classrooms.

Thirdly, I went with a small group into Mc Gough class and Mrs Lincoln was making dates, stuffed with raisins drizzled in honey, and salad with tomatoes and lettuce.

Then I stepped into the library and the children were examining replica Samian pottery bowls with Mrs Croft.

For the next activity everyone in Lewis class made Roman coins from clay, with a face on them.

At the end of the day all the classes went into the hall and had a great FEAST and sang ‘Just Like a Roman’ to all the parents!

At the car wash

2012-02-22T16:55:00.000Z

McKee and Carle have started this half term by looking at the topic of vehicles.

One of the questions asked by a member of McKee class was "How do dirty cars get clean?"

This is one way...

Roman Day

2012-02-21T11:55:00.010Z

On February the 8th our school Christ Church had a Roman Day, it was fun, my favourite bit was the banquet. I liked dressing up in a Roman costume, I was a Roman Soldier. We did it because our topic Invaders and Settlers.

My favourite part was making the clay coins and sharing the banquet. We had five activities they were, clay coins, singing, being a Roman Soldier, making food and looking at Roman things and guessing what they are. We have learnt a lot about Romans today and hope to learn more. We made shields to defend ourselves, my shield said legxx on it.

It was a very fun day in cooking we cut up tomatoes and celery, we also got some dates and cut them up and took out the stone and put raisins in them We dipped them in honey and ate them at the banquet.

By Fred D & William H

Penguins

2012-02-11T16:24:00.000Z

Mckee class have gone quite mad about penguins recently. It all started when we read the big book version of The Emperor's egg.

This is a non-fiction book and everyone in the class enjoyed reading it, in small groups, alone or as a class. Everyone liked looking at the illustrations and learning some facts about the Emperor penguin.

It has been in the classroom for a few weeks now and is still one of the most popular books. It also encouraged the children to bring in, from home, penguin books (both fiction and non-fiction) to share with the rest of us. Mrs Matthews did struggle with the copy of Der Pinguin, not being able to read German and so had to resort to talking about the pictures!

Unsurprisingly, the most remembered fact was that when the mummy penguin comes back she is sick into the babies mouth and the baby says "Yum yum!"

Most of the children were surprised that it was the daddy who looked after the egg and everyone was horrified that he had to stand still most of the time and did not eat for 2 whole months!

A friendly penguin came to visit us and was subjected to being measured and washed on a daily basis. His feet, beak, height and flippers were all measured time and time again. We have a tool box in the classroom full of tape measures and rulers. They have never been put to so much use. One afternoon when some members of Carle joined us, they also caught the measuring bug.

He took a trip outside into the snow to welcome the children into school one morning and on another was a perfect model for some observational painting.

Some of the items that came in for Penguin homework.
Can you spot the painted ice cube penguins?

The children drew penguins, wrote about penguins and then, when asked what they wanted for homework that week, wanted more penguins! They were challenged to tell their families what they already knew and to find out at least one new fact about penguins.

During our hall time they wanted to be penguins, and so much waddling, balancing of eggs and huddling took place. The igloo game was also very popular.

We have read quite a few penguin stories, including Penguin Post and Cuddly Dudley. These have satisfied the thirst for penguins, whilst at the same time, helped the class talk about how it felt to have siblings, to want time alone, to feel lonely, what it feels like when a new baby joins the family and best of all how nice a hug is but only when you want one.

The request now is to visit some penguins and to watch Happy feet, that one will have to be put on hold or may even be a good activity for half term! Over to you.

Friday 10th February

2012-02-10T07:04:00.001Z

School will be open at 10am today.

Please wear sensible footwear and continue to bring warm coats, hats, gloves etc.

Mercury Photograph

2012-02-08T17:48:00.000Z

Carle and Mckee, each, had a class photograph taken today. The children sat beautifully and did everything the photographer could ask, smile, sit straight, hands in laps etc.

Carle "We said Cheeesssee - it was funny!" and in Mckee we said "Sausages", at which point, one of the members of staff had sudden inspiration of what to cook for her dinner tonight!

The photograph will be printed in the First Class supplement, which will be in the Mercury on March 1st. (Only children who have permission to be photographed for media purposes where included.)

Grandparents

2012-02-07T20:51:00.000Z

Over the last few days, Mrs Matthews has been told that quite a few Grandparents read this blog, to enjoy catching up with their grandchildren.

McKee class say "Hello, Bonjour, ¡Hola or Guten Tag" and please let us know where you are and what you enjoy reading about on here.

Reception fun in the snow - part 2

2012-02-06T20:20:00.001Z

You may remember we left our ice art out and wondered if it would still be there. Although most of the ice cubes on the tree had melted, the water tray art was still there, but was covered with a thick layer of snow. We made an igloo and added some small animals and used it was a polar landscape.

When we came indoor we transferred some of this to a tray inside so that we could carry on our adventure. The snow lasted most of the day.

When a lot of the snow had melted we were able to see our ice art. By using spoons we rescued some of the items frozen in the now softer ice and picked them out. Once we mashed up a lot of the snow, we made a pool for the penguins to swim in and ice hills for them to slide down.

We also made hand and footprints in the snow. D - you had to press hard to make the shapes, rolled balls of snow Z- this was fun and we went for a funny snowy walk copying actions. R - I liked walking backward and marching in the snow. I was also a penguin.

Back inside some children used toothpicks to collect the sequins that were hidden in tubs of snow, we looked at the penguin homework and toys, wrote and drew some snowy pictures and words and melted snow with salt.

Mckee class all said they had had a great day and the words amazing, brilliant, lots of fun and the best day ever were said when we sat down to talk about what we had learned today.

Reception fun in the snow - part 1

2012-02-06T18:31:00.000Z

McKee and Carle enjoyed their day in the snow today. We took part in lots of outdoor learning and had loads of fun at the same time!

The children made a large scale painting by squirting and spraying watered-down paint from squeezy bottles and a plant spray as well as sprinkling powder paint on to the fresh snow.

A - I liked squirting and spreading the paint.

R - I really really liked all the colours.

N - It looked like a big flower.

E - I thought it looked like a firework display.

G - I loved squeezing the paint on the snow because I had never done that before!

We started to build an igloo, by packing snow into a box and building with the bricks. However once we had pretty coloured snow this developed into a magical castle.

H - We had to scoop up the snow and make it into bricks.

Z - It would be cold in an igloo with no roof.

D - We piled the bricks on top of each other.

J - I liked putting the snow in the boxes best.

E - I enjoyed making the colourful igloo castle.

The children used the buckets and spades to make snow castles and shapes such as triangular prisms, cuboids and cylinders. C - Snow castles are a lot easier to make than sand castles.

A polar expedition seemed to take place, with children taking turns to pull each other on a sledge, pointing out the imaginary icebergs, penguins and rivers they encountered. They finally found land and a house!

H - The sledge was bumpy and when it went on the ice.

D - I liked going round and round the boat.

R - I liked it when the sledge was slow best.

We also blew bubbles and were amazed how much easier it was to see their colours against the white of the snow. The children squealed with laughter catching them and those who were beginning to feel the cold suddenly found themselves a lot warmer after running and jumping.

We have so much we want to tell you we will have to come back later with a second post.

A snowy day at school

2012-02-06T15:33:00.002Z

Today school playtimes were very different due to the snow. All children were able to go outside on the field during playtimes and therefore they were able to create many objects out of the snow. Everyone had a fabulous time in the snow.

Here are some comments the children made:

We made a giant snowman. - R.J.
We had fun playing in the snow. - E.H.
We made an igloo. - A.D.
We made ice sculptures. - I.S.
We enjoyed making snow angels. I.H.

By Butterworth Class

Snow

2012-02-05T19:07:00.000Z

School is expected to be open as usual tomorrow. Travel safely, and wear suitable footwear and outdoor clothing.

If anything changes a parentmail will be sent or you can check the county website or listen to local radio in the morning.

Hopefully everyone has had fun in the snow today, several of the staff and their families did!

Greek New Year

2012-02-03T18:49:00.002Z

Yianni brought a special cake into Potter class this week. He shared it with his class and made this powerpoint to explain why.

Greek New Year

View more presentations from christchurchschoolware

Ice art

2012-02-03T16:22:00.000Z

McKee were going to tell you about Penguins this week, but the weather took us in a different direction! On Wednesday the class filled ice trays with water, wool and sequins. We left them out over night and they froze.

On Thursday we felt them, looked at them with a magnifying glass and decorated an old tree with them. It was so cold they did not melt all day. The children wanted to make a bigger ice picture. We put water in the water tray, added various items to make a collage and left it over night.

Today, Friday, it was frozen solid and we thought it looked beautiful.

Instead of asking the class for comments for the blog, Mrs Matthews left a clipboard outside and the Mckee class parents wrote comments when they dropped their children off at school this morning.

Here are some:

"What a fantastic idea - the decorations on the tree are beautiful."

"I love the sparkles."

"Very good."

"Great idea! Love the decorations."

"Birds Eye world box very impressive - very pretty, love the tree."

"Very good idea, we may do something at home."

"Very good, perhaps you should move onto ice sculptures next!!

"Very good artwork, very inventive, the tree is my favourite."

"It was good to see it all on the blog and to hear about all the comments from my child. Well done Mckee!!"

"The ice work looks amazing and it looks like they had a great time doing it!"

As we went home our ice was still frozen,

we wonder if it will be still there Monday?

Emergency 999

2012-02-03T12:30:00.002Z

Today as part of our emergency 999 topic, Butterworth, Potter and Hargreaves had some special visitors. PCSO Rachel and Mandy from Ware Police Station came to visit to tell us all about their roles.

We learnt about the clothes they wear. They wear a high visibility jacket so that they can be seen clearly. In this jacket they keep a radio which they use to talk to other Police Officers. We were lucky enough to listen to someone talking over the radio. Mandy and Rachel also wear strong boots because they do lots of walking.

As part of their job they help to stop people stealing from shops. They check people are keeping their handbags safe whilst they are shopping. Mandy and Rachel also talk to the elderly and children in schools. They help people who have lost things and use the CCTV and town link radio to find out what is happening in the town centre.

We enjoyed listening to Rachel and Mandy and we asked them lots and lots of questions!

Tolkien Class Maths Challenges

2012-02-02T14:32:00.004Z

Today Mrs Anstead gave Tolkien Class a set of maths challenges to complete. The children were asked to work in small groups and complete a challenge and then present their results visually.

The challenges were:

1.   In order to swallow its food a snake can open its jaws fivetimes its normal size. How wide wouldyou be able to open your mouth if you could do the same?

2.   Cows produce one eighth of their weight in saliva everyday. How much saliva would you produceif you could do the same?

3.   A scarab beetle can lift 850 times its own weight. What would you be able to lift if you coulddo the same?

4. A deer’s antlers can be as wide as three fifths of itswhole body length. If you had antlers ofthe same scale how big would they be?

The children had lots of fun exploring the challenges.

"I chose the snake challenge. My mouth is 7cm wide. If I could open it in the same way a snake can it would open to 35cm. This would mean I could put an RE book or Mrs Anstead's head into my mouth. I really enjoyed this investigation because it was something different." E.S

"We chose the scarab beetle problem. I weigh 35kg. We multiplied this by 850. This means that I would be able to lift a 29750kg weight. We found out that this is the same as 18 American cars." W.RW

"In my maths lesson I investigated some problems. My favourite was the problem with the antlers. We measured our bodies and then divided it my five to find one fifth. We then times this by three to find three fifths. My antlers would be 52.3cm long." T.H

"I worked out that if I was a deer my antlers would be 87cm long. To find this out I measured my height and then divided this by five and then multiplied it by three to find three fifths. We used paper to find out how big our antlers would be." I.P

The Wind Blew

2012-02-01T08:30:00.000Z

Mckee class enjoyed reading this book and thinking of ways to add to the story. As well as all the things that blew away in the text, we came up our own which included, amongst other things, a book, an alien, a teddy, sunglasses and a cap.

The children chose which character they would like to be and why. Most wanted to be the man with the umbrella because it was funny or the twins who lost their scarves. Olivia wanted to be the man with the "inside-outside out umbrella". The balloon and kite owners were almost as popular.

Luca would read the book again because he liked the pictures and Olivia because she liked the front cover. Naomi would read it lots because it is quite short.

Everyone thought it was a funny story and soon realised that you could predict the next item if you looked carefully at the pictures. They also enjoyed the rhyming text and the fact they could read some of the words.

McKee class recommend this book to anyone who wants "a short story with really good pictures that will make you laugh." Alfie. If you do read it, please let us know what you think.

After school clubs

2012-01-31T14:47:00.000Z

As you know, we run a variety of after school activities, for the children who attend our school. This term these include storytime, ICT, football, netball, Spanish, dance and Barnabus.

In ICT the children coloured in a dragon mask and printed it out. They then made it into a mask to wear adding decorations. "I enjoy ICT club because we get to do interesting things and can use the computers."- E. "ICT is great fun, we did a mask." - A

This week in storytime the children heard the story of the Gruffalo and than made Gruffalo puppets. "I like storytime because it is good to read books." - E "I like stories." - S.

The footballers are assisted by members of Chauncy school and Spanish is run by Mrs O'Reilly.

"Netball club is great fun because we love netball." - I. "Miss Ball is a good umpire." - A

In Barnabus club (which incidentally is now on Thursday and is open to years 1-6) the members spent sometime planning what they would like to do this term and are looking forward to some role play and construction activities based on a Bible story. "I like Barnabus because we get to watch a DVD and choose what to do" - F.

Hopefully some other children, will soon, let you know what they like about their clubs.

Football

2012-01-30T19:14:00.001Z

On Thursday 26th January ChristChurch school played an away football cup match against Hertingfordbury School.

All the players tried their bestand put in some good tackles especially our main defender Jake H. Unfortunatelywe conceded a goal in the first half. We could have won if we controlled theball before we shot to get more accuracy.

In the end it was a close gameand our Man of the Match was Samuel S.

By Liam & Thomas

The Year of the Dragon

2012-01-29T14:54:00.000Z

"Chinese New Year is here again, here again, here again...." so said the song. Here in Mckee class we have become really interested in this celebration and spent quite a lot of our week on this theme.

We started the week by listening and retelling the story of the 12 animals and discovered it was the year of the Dragon. In our hall time we tried making up some dragon movements and then used a drum and fabric to create a group dance.

The children carried this on, for themselves, as part of their play in the outdoor area during the week. The beat of the drum and the jerky movements of the dragon where a constant feature!

We had "oodles of noodles" and this proved a very popular addition to the room. We looked at dried noodles and wet noodles, tried feeling them with our hands and picking them up with chopsticks. Some children even had a taste.

The class also tried their hand at making dragon puppets, designing their own mask, colouring in a dragon mask picture, making fans, making and decoration the red money envelopes, using tangrams, ordering the animals in the race and many other things. Thank you for all the Chinese items the children brought in to share with the class, they were all really interesting.

Stainglass Angels

2012-01-27T19:17:00.000Z

We are delighted to announce that the artwork given to us by Victoria Halls is now hanging in a prime position. Next time you enter school, through the main door, look to your right and enjoy this beautiful painting.

Mrs Halls said that she was reminded of this painting during the school Christmas play and so kindly gave it to us as a gift. She has also offered three prizes, of an artistic nature, to be awarded to the winning entries of a competition that will be set by Mrs Vaughan relating to this painting.

Thank you

Florence Nightingale

2012-01-27T13:19:00.002Z

This half term in history we have been learning about Florence Nightingale. We have been enjoying our time learning about Florence and here are some things we found out.

She is a famous nurse who helped soldiers in the war.

She travelled on a boat to get to the Crimean war.

When she arrived at the Scutari hospital she was surprised by the conditions.

The smell was disgusting and even worse there were rats scurrying around the patients who were on the floor.

Florence cleaned the hospital and made it a much better place for the soldiers.

We have learnt this by comparing nurses past and present, ordered events in Florence Nightingales life, some drama about feelings and a diary that Florence might have written.

We are looking forward to finding out more about Florence Nightingale over the next couple of weeks.

By Butterworth Class

What do you know about ice?

2012-01-22T20:20:00.001Z

Mckee class have spent the week looking at and investigating cold weather and lots of ice came into this.

We were fortunate that we have a couple of frosty mornings and so were able to, once again, draw in the frost and write our names. We found ice in the water tray and on some of the toys.

The children donned their wellies and walked on the frost H - "It is slippy", D - "Don't run you will fall over" E - "The grass is crunchy and white", R - "The grass is hard", O - "Everything is sparkly, E - "Jack Frost has been very very busy!"

All the reception children had a chance to look at ice cubes and use the magnifying glasses to see what they looked like close up. The children discovered that they were "smooth and cold to hold, but close up were full of lines, zig-zags and bubbles." Some of the children recorded what they saw by drawing on paper, others asked the adults to help write down their findings or to take a photograph.

We tried putting a "blue iceberg" into a tray of warm water to see what happened. A -"Wow, it melts and the water goes blue" and the children tried to predict whether ice would sink or float. The class was split half and half and so were surprised at the result.

J -"Big ice sinks and small ice floats", Z -"It is all cold, hard, wet, solid and slippy", M- "It taste nice" and E - "It melts and makes the water colder".

A few children had been ice-skating, some have watched Dancing on ice and most remembered that we used ice when we made Ice cream. Thank you to E and G who brought in some photographs of an icy lake.

New McKee weather forecast

2012-01-21T11:30:00.000Z

We had a request for an updated weather forecast and so here it is with one of our other talented forecasters. We hope it is useful!

Whatever the Weather

2012-01-13T16:46:00.000Z

This week, the children in the foundation stage have been looking at weather and in particular, windy weather.

In both Carle and McKee windmills were made made and kites "flown" .

Unfortunately, for us, it has not been a particularly windy week outside, however the children ran about to get their kites airborne. This proved to be no hardship and was enjoyed by those who took part. The kites looked very colourful and lots of fun was had.

Inside we talked about how to make air move and how to use this power. We attempted to do this by making paper fish and paper fans and flapping the fish from one end of the "lake" the the other. The children discovered that they needed to be quite careful where they directed the wind, just waving the fan made the air move, but not necessarily the fish. Without exception it brought big smiles when they worked out just how to make the fish move.

F - "The air needs to be under the fish."

H - "Flap hard to make it move more."

E - "I am getting all cold now!"

Both classes have also tried their hand at weather forecasting. Each have a weather station set up where they can fill in maps and charts and make their observations and predictions. They have also watched a clip of a BBC presenter to see how this is done on television each day and we are making some of our own.

We made the most of an overnight frost, by taking a break from the wind, and going outside to find out about frost. The children noticed that the air was much colder than on previous days, A - "I can breath like dragons do." J - "I need my hat and scarf." O - "The cold is crunchy."

We all tried making marks and patterns in the frost:

H - "My hands are hot and so they melt the frost."

R - "You need to take your gloves off because they keep the warm inside you."

E- "Feet don't work well because they have shoes."

Mrs Aldiss showed the children how to rub their hands together to warm them up again by making heat from the friction.

The Polar Express

2012-01-11T19:27:00.001Z

Over the last week McKee class have read The Polar Express several times. We have looked at the illustrations, we have read and discussed the text and we have rung the sleigh bell to make sure we can still hear it. (We can - phew!).

We have talked about the differences and similarities between the book and the film and had some really interesting discussions. The class were surprised to see that there is a lot more shown in the film, where as the book requires them to use their imagination. When we talked about this they understood why and some thought it was more exciting to do this.

The class have really enjoyed this book and, much to the surprise and delight of Mrs Matthews, most said they preferred the book to the film.

A - "I liked reading and turning the pages not knowing what was going to be on the next page."

E - "The pictures made me think."

O - "The book does not have as much as the film."

R - "In the film the birds eat the scrunched up ticket. In the book they don't."

N - "I wish it was me."

A - They go like a roller coaster, that is scary."

I wonder which you prefer, do let us know.

First day back

2012-01-04T18:24:00.000Z

Mckee class enjoyed their first day back at school and all seemed pleased to have returned.

John Hookway, our vicar, came and said a special blessing for the reception children and staff. Thank you John.

Everyone seems to have received lots of lovely Christmas presents and many children got the things they told us were on their wish list to Father Christmas. Luca was delighted to have got the teddy he so wanted. "He sleeps in my bed and I got just want I wanted. My sister got a dog because the teddy was just for me".

Other children brought things in to show us and we admired several books, soft toys and a transformer.

Our Topic for the next few weeks is weather and today the children told us some of what they already know about the weather.

O - "Snowflakes are pretty."

E -"You can splash in puddles when it rains."

J - "I have snow fights with my brother, he always wins."

A - "I eat lots of Ice-cream when it is sunny."

N - "You can go to the beach when it is sunny. You would not go when it rains because you would get too wet."

R - Kicking leaves in the wind is fun."

Over the next couple of days we will find out what else the children know, what they would like to find out about and what activities they thing we could do that relate to weather.

Happy New Year

Inkpen

2012-01-03T12:12:00.003Z

Welcome back to Inkpen .Kipper has had a happy Christmas and is looking forward to our topic about the Weather . We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday 4th of January. Wishing you all a Happy New year.

Thank You

2011-12-29T14:21:00.001Z

Our chalk tree

Mrs Matthews would like to say thank you for all the lovely gifts and cards McKee class gave to her for Christmas. My family have been enjoying eating the sweets and biscuits ever since!

I hope you had a lovely time with your friends and families and are enjoying playing with your presents. Don't forget to give your family the items you made and took home at the end of term. Everyone should have a variety of pictures, stamp designs, the posted card, decorations and a selection of the following...

A fingerprint tree

A hot air balloon calender

A Nativity door hanger

A Christmas cross

Two tree decorations

An Advent wreath

I hope you have already given your family their Christmas card.

This angel is special you see;
because she is a part of me.
Her wings are my hands
her body my feet.
I hope you agree she is very sweet

Enjoy the rest of Christmas time and have a happy New Year.

I will see you in 2012 - our first topic is weather.

A mesage from Mrs Adams

2011-12-23T10:30:00.001Z

My girls loved all the Christmas events last week - and so did I!

The Year 3/4 play was amazing - so many talented children - and so funny!! The PlaySomething assembly on Tuesday was also fantastic, it's amazing to think some of those children have only been learning an instrument since last June.

Thanks to all teachers and LSAs who made this all possible. Thank you for making a difference.

Mrs Adams

Microwave Decorations

2011-12-23T09:19:00.000Z

McKee class made salt dough decorations for their Christmas tree and then took them home. They wrote some instructions to tell you how to do it at home (notes from Mrs Matthews in the brackets).

Mix the flour, salt and water together in a bowl

(1 cup salt, 1 cup flour, 1-2 cups water).

Squeeze together with your fingers.

Roll with a rolly thing (rolling pin!).

Cut out stars and angels with the cutters.

Get a grown up to make holes in their heads with a pen

(a straw works better but we did not have one to hand).

Cook them in the microwave. (Between 2-4 minutes.

It is best to cook less than you think and gradually

add more time because they can burn.)

Paint them with glue and water mixed together.

Put them into lots and lots of glitter.

Put a pretty ribbon in the hole and put them on your tree.

Christmas Bazaar

2011-12-16T18:02:00.000Z

On Saturday the 3^rd December it was the Christmas Bazaar. There was a lovely range of stalls, activities and an enchanting Santa’s Grotto.

We all think that it was a much enjoyed event because of receiving a present from Santa and because lots of cool prizes were won.

We spoke to some of the children who came out of the Bazaar.

Fletcher aged 4: “My favourite part was Santa’s Grotto and the elves”.

Helena aged 7 “I like the whack the rat game”.

The elves said “Santa was very happy to see you all opening your presents with a smile on your face”. Thanks for coming.

Written by the Elves.

Baby Jesus in a manger

2011-12-16T12:42:00.024Z

In the church service today the Foundation stage children sang a Christmas song. Once they had stood up and turned around to face the everyone, most were hidden below the level of the pews and so some parents found it difficult to hear their singing. Here is one of our earlier rehearsals!

I hope you enjoy their festive offering!

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-15T21:19:00.000Z

Today most of the school partook in Christmas Dinner. The children enjoyed sitting in either the dining room or the hall and listening to festive music, whilst the staff served them their meals.

Service was quick and efficient this year, the food delicious and with a choice of three deserts most people left the table satisfied.

The staff kept the tradition of wearing silly hats or tinsel, and many of the children wore their own to join in the fun. Particular mention should go to MCGough class who really seemed to enter the spirit or the day by wearing hats and singing along to the music.

Many thanks to the kitchen staff for working so hard today to produce so many delicious meals and the rest of the term and to the MSAs for helping clear tables and supervise the children outside.

Foundation stage Christmas party

2011-12-14T16:53:00.000Z

Father Christmas
giving a gift

Today McKee, Carle and Inkpen celebrated Christmas with a party. It started with all the reception children gathering together to eat their party packed lunches in the hall accompanied by Christmas music.

After everyone had finished, some of the staff took the children outside to play, whilst the others cleared the hall and got ready for Mr Tickle. Unfortunately he was very tired and so fell asleep and the foundation stage children had to go against their natural instincts and shout to wake him up, they seemed to manage it very easily! It took him a while to see us and sit down.The children very much enjoyed his slapstick humour, silly jokes and falling over.

He then entertained us with a magic show and amongst other things got the children to draw a picture of Miss Morris who is a student working in Carle class at present. He told Mrs Matthews off for saying it was a good drawing (it did not look much like Miss Morris but I still thought it was a brilliant drawing!) and he made the eyes and mouth on the picture move.

Mr Tickle

Two children helped him fill a cup with water that was pumped from Owen's fingers and he then tested whether we had been good or naughty by tipping it over our heads. There were some very worried faces at this point, but rest assured none of the children got wet, but, Oh dear Vicky (the nursery student) what more can we say?

A quick drink and snack

After this Mckee and Carle returned to their classrooms for a drink and snack, whilst Inkpen shared some food in the nursery.They stayed eating whilst the older children returned to the hall and welcomed Father Christmas. He gave out gifts to all of the children and then chatted to some whilst he waited for Inkpen, who soon arrived and received their presents.

Everyone felt it was a success and the children went home happily telling their adults about their afternoon. Archie was surprised that Father Christmas knew what his favourite colour was and Hollie was excited he commented on her Christmassy name.

Larry’s Day out at the Toy Museum.

2011-12-13T12:57:00.011Z

Larry had a great day at Bethnal Green Toy Museum with Butterworth class and here is what happened.

Larry’s day began poking his head out of Miss Glazebrook’s backpack to travel to the coach. On the coach he had a look around to see what was outside the windows throughout the journey.

When he finally arrived at the toy museum Larry was excited and wanted to look at all the toys. Larry had a good look at many different toys and had his photograph taken with lots children from Butterworth class.

Larry enjoyed sharing his lunch with Ellen, Lauren, Isabella, Fionn, Finlay, Molly and Alice.

After lunch we all went to the gift shop, Larry didn’t know what to buy. All of the children brought toys such as a train light, a set of paints or glitter bracelets.

When we had all finished at the gift shop we went to have a look around the moving toys area. Larry’s favourite moving toys were the jack in the boxes and the giant robot.

At the end of the day Larry got time to have a go on the rocking horses.

When we all got onto the coach Larry was nowhere to be found. Miss Glazebrook was very worried about where Larry had got to, she had forgotten to count him onto the coach. She kept asking if anyone had seen Larry but no one could tell her where he was. Eventually the message got back that Ella R had Larry and he was safely returned.

When we all arrived at school everyone went home and Larry had a lovely sleep after a long day exploring.

Year 3 and 4 dress rehearsal

2011-12-13T09:41:00.001Z

Ruby: I thought that It was very entertaining and the solos where amazing!

The year 3s did great dancing and the Magi sang the trio brilliantly.

The children that played the teachers where very convincing, we guessed straight away who they where.

Josie: Mrs Garrett did a very good job helping with quick costume changing. Mrs Garrett and Mrs Allen did a great job with scenery.

Our class all enjoyed, we think that the parents will really enjoy it.

The Toddler Christmas Star Church Service

2011-12-12T15:55:00.000Z

This morning Mckee class, Carle class and Inkpen went to church to join up with the toddler groups for a special Christmas service.

We wore our crowns and took the sheep that we had made with us. In Mckee class we were really excited to find out that the theme of the service was the Christmas star, because that is what we put on our Christmas cards.

During the service we heard The Nativity story read, we sang lots of songs, we played musical instruments and, according to the children, the best bit of all followed Mrs Hopking around the church.....she was dressed as a star and led us around the aisles in search of baby Jesus.

At the end of the service each child was given a heart to put on their Christmas tree, to remind them that Jesus loves them. The adults were not forgotten and were given a tea light and holder with the message that Jesus is the Light of the world and a request to light it on His birthday.

It was, as always a fun, lively and noisy service with an important message and we were thrilled to be invited once again.

The Science Museum

2011-12-12T10:58:00.005Z

On Thursday 8.12.11 year 3 and 4 were visited by The Science Museum. We watched a show called 'Feel the Force' which taught us about the forces magnetism, gravity, air resistance and friction.

After play, each class took part in a workshop called 'Get a Grip', where we explored the force Friction and we made hovercrafts.

A recount of the day By Phoebe
Lewis Class

The Science Museum

On Thursday 8.12.11 the science museum came to our school. Year 3 and 4 got to see a lady from the science museum. Her name was Tracy. She told us about gravity and air resistance and air. She was very silly with Phil the toy frog. She pretended it died. Mr Cadwallader and a boy went to do a silly dance la la la la.
I made a hovercraft out of a cd, balloon, bottle top and candle wax. I really like it and my class does because it works.

Helping Father Christmas

2011-12-10T08:57:00.000Z

In our recent reception Lego challenge, we received a letter from Father Christmas. His elves needed help. They wanted to know what sort of Lego kits we would like to find in out Christmas stocking. These are three of the kits we designed. What do you think?

McKee Christmas delivery

2011-12-09T20:50:00.001Z

Our cards arrived, we were very excited. Please look in our book bags to see which stamp design we drew and read a Christmas message. If it is not in there then please remind us to get it out of our drawer!

Christmas post

2011-12-05T16:32:00.001Z

Our Advent calendar

McKee class made an advent calendar, which included envelopes and the stamps they had designed themselves. This prompted an interest in letter writing. Once the letters had been written they needed stamps and so we printed off lots of our own designs. This meant they could not be posted in a Royal Mail post box!

Our stamp designs

To solve this problem two members of the class then made a post box for us and so we now have our own Christmas postal service!

Our Post box

Mrs Matthews suggested that we sent some real cards, which we could post and then wait to see how long it took for them to be delivered. We decided to use the Scout post (to keep costs down and Mrs Matthews happy!) We posted them at school and they will be collected and returned to us.

Posting our cards

We can not wait for the postman to deliver them back and we can take them home to share with our families.

Writing in McKee

2011-12-04T19:38:00.000Z

We thought you may like to see some of the ways we "write" in reception.

We use pencil and paper (although in this case the child in question was

timing himself to see how many times he could write his name before

the sand ran out). Mrs Matthews blurred out his name,

it was actually very beautiful handwriting!

We use the word mats and writing frames to give us inspiration.

Here it inspired writing to Father Christmas.

We sometimes write in sand, salt, cous cous, split peas or glitter.

We write in shaving foam.

We use whiteboards or laminated sheets with pens.

We write in the frost with our feet or our fingers.

We write in soil with sticks.

In fact we enjoy writing so much we try it out in almost anyway we can think of!

Christmas decorations

2011-12-02T20:18:00.005Z

Christmas has arrived at Christ Church School!

Make sure you take time to look at the corridor display boards

and the hoops in the hall.

Advent

2011-11-30T21:42:00.001Z

In Mckee class we have been learning about Advent and why it is an important time for Christians.

We started with learning about the Advent wreath. We now know that the four red candles symbolise Peace, Hope, Love and Joy, that the white candle stands for the birth of Jesus and that the green wreath is a symbol of eternal life and God's never ending love and mercy.

We also looked at how we prepare for Christmas, during the Advent season, and came up with all sorts of ideas from visiting Father Christmas at Van Hages, to writing our Christmas list or hoovering the house to baking special biscuits, or even making cards or watching Polar Express and The Grinch!

What do you do to prepare for Christmas? We would really love to know - please let us know by commenting below.

Anti Bullying week

2011-11-30T19:21:00.000Z

A week ago, house captains as part of antibullying week organised and led an assembly.

The audience found it very comical but the message got through. If bullying happened in the future hopefully the children would know what to do in the situation.

In our assembly we included a drama that showed what bullying is, a puppet show to keep the younger children interested, a song about a boy affected by bullying and also a quiz to test the children’s knowledge about bullying and show how much they had been listening.

By: Cameron, Stanley, Samuel S, Josie and Francesca

Booktime

2011-11-29T09:24:00.000Z

Last week the children in Mckee and Carle were given their Booktime bags.

Booktime is the national free books programme for reception-aged children, providing a free book pack for every child aged 4-5 years to share and enjoy with their family and friends. Booktime aims to promote the pleasure of books by encouraging families to have fun reading together. It also provides online resources.

In Mckee class, before giving the packs out, we opened one of the bags and read the books together. The class loved both books and enjoyed the fact that they could read Face Painting by themselves.

We read Why elephant has a trunk and talked about fables and what they are. This book proved a huge hit with the class many having seen Tinga tales on CBeebies.

Face painting activities

The next day, almost every child said they had shared the books at home that night and had enjoyed talking about them with their families.

In the classroom, we have made use of the printable activities and have enjoyed following up the books. The face painting survey and the tortoise and monkey colouring sheets being the favourite activities.

Scooter safety

2011-11-28T09:25:00.025Z

Today we had a visitor in assembly. She came to tell us how to be safe on our scooters and how to avoid accidents

We now know:

we should take time to learn how to stop on our scooters
to wear reflective clothing and to go slowly
we should look out for the lights on cars to see if they are reversing, turning or stopping
to be aware of other people
to find out how to use our brakes
to make sure our scooter is in good condition
we must take responsibility for ourselves when scootering

We were also reminded that we must not ride our scooters in the school playground because it is too crowded and not safe for us, or others, to do so.

Cinema night

2011-11-27T21:26:00.001Z

On Friday evening the PSA screened Cars 2 in the school hall.

Nearly 70 children came with cushions and settled down to watch.

In the interval there was time for a drink and a biscuit.

Fred said "the best bit was at the beginning when Finn McMissile blew up the ship".

Jake liked the bit when "the big truck tipped over and was shooting the cars".

Lucy liked the bit "when they went splashing in the water".

Tom thought Cars 2 was better than the last film we showed and he had fun.

Abigail said " it was really good fun to watch and having two biscuits was a bonus!"

It sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves.

McKee class assembly

2011-11-25T16:19:00.000Z

This morning McKee class invited their families to share their assembly and join us back in the classroom afterwards.

McKee explained the six areas of learning, in the foundation stage, and showed some of the things they do on a daily basis such as singing, phonics, being creative, numbers, experimenting and of course they also mentioned they enjoy helping write this blog.

The class have written a little bit about their day and what they enjoyed. This is what they said:

G, G, R, O, E, M, Z, A, N - We liked singing a lot.

J, A ,D, O, E- We enjoyed holding our mask up best.

M - I liked holding my model up.

H, E, D - Holding up our pictures was best.

R - Sitting on the bench and watching myself!

L - Saying my words was fun.

A - I loved doing the phonics.

After this, they said, they enjoyed sharing the outside area and the book corner with their grown ups, making a Rapunzel bookmark, making a clock, colouring the pictures, playing with the Lego with Mummy and Daddy and reading stories.

Several of the parents commented that they had enjoyed seeing what the school day was like for their child and how it was lovely to see the children showing how independent they can be (and yes they do usually wash up their own paint pots and brushes!).

Thank you for sharing the morning with us and we hope you enjoyed it and had fun, as well as learning a lot.

Overseas friends

2011-11-22T22:39:00.000Z

We were told today that our blog is being viewed by some friends in a school across the water. Hello!

Please do comment and tell us what you have enjoyed on our blog.

If you write something and email it to Mrs Vaughan we can post it here for all to read.

Children in Need

2011-11-22T08:43:00.000Z

The St. Trinian's otherwise known as Iris, Josie, Maisie, Ellie, Imogen, Amelia, Ruby, Francesca and Cameron from Year 6 held a Blue Peter 'Bake A Difference' sale on the 18th of November after school.
We think we (and our Mums) baked over 600 cakes, biscuits and pieces of fudge. We also had many kind donations from other parents and helpers. We sold everything for 20p, and held the sale after school on Friday. Amelia in particular was a real salesman barking out "everything's 20p". And Mr Urquhart also helped count the money in his dress!
We managed to sell every cake and biscuit, and the bake sale raised £131.30 for Children In Need. A very worthy cause. Iris

Foundation Golden time

2011-11-18T21:27:00.001Z

Today in Golden time we had the choice of Playdough, Lego challenge, dressing up or art and craft. In the Lego challenge we had to build a digger to help the Lego builders dig a hole. We really enjoyed this and can not wait until next week for the next challenge!

In Playdough we got to make our own playdough! We measured the ingredients, mixed them, and then played with them. We had great fun.

McKee CIN

2011-11-18T21:16:00.001Z

Blush twins

Thank you to all the parents in McKee class who helped their children dress up as book characters or in spots today. Mrs Matthews, Mrs Johnson and Mrs Anstead (also all in spots) thank you for helping us support Children in Need and were delighted that all the children in Mckee took part.

Children in Need - Matt Baker

2011-11-18T18:11:00.000Z

Everyone at school was very excited to hear that Matt Baker (ex British Gymnast, Blue Peter presenter, Strictly Come Dancing contestant, the One Show and Countryfile presenter) was going to be passing through Ware on his epic Children in Need Rickshaw challenge.

The children in Keystage 2 were fortunate enough to be able to walk to the high street and cheer him on. They will blog about this next week, but in the mean time here is a short video clip.

Year 5/6 LONDON topic

2011-11-17T16:57:00.001Z

These are a selection of the fantastic 3D and 2D work that our children have created as part of class and homework.

Ware in Bloom awards

2011-11-17T16:52:00.000Z

Last school year, when they were in Mckee and Carle class, the present year 1 children entered Ware in Bloom. They took part in the Wheelbarrow category. The children were delighted to hear that they had won best storyboard and we mentioned it on the Blog in August.

Today Mr And Mrs Wing kindly came to school and presented us with a certificate and a trophy. Mrs Matthews, Lola, Evie, Finlay and Fionn, four of the children who were involved, were invited to collected it.

Mrs Wing also told us, that as part of the prize, we would receive some bulbs, which we will be able to plant in school. Well done to the Year 1 children for their hard work last term. The present reception children are now looking forward to the summer and their turn to enter.

Henry Hoover

2011-11-17T16:12:00.000Z

The award for the tidiest classroom

McKee class always try their best to leave their classroom tidy.

Everyone washes up their own paint brushes, pots and palettes, they wipe the paint off the tables and wash up glue spreaders and pots. The whole class know where the dustpan and brush is kept and they know how to use it. They are also great at using the broom to sweep the floor when they spill sand, split peas etc and hanging up their aprons.

The whole of McKee knows not to leave paper, pencils or equipment on the floor or tables at the end of the day. They have been doing this ever since they joined the class.

This is why they were so excited to finally be awarded Henry Hoover! He will live in McKee classroom until next week, when he will move to another room to reward another class for leaving their classroom tidy enough to be cleaned.

Well Done and thank you to McKee from Mrs Matthews

Hedgehog adventure

2011-11-17T15:51:00.001Z

Today, Thursday 17th November Potter class found a hedgehog.

Just before lunch, Miss Stickley opened the back door and Ronja spotted the hedgehog. It was trying to make a nest out of the leaves. It looked fine, but it would die soon because it was probably less than 300grams - it looked small. It would not have survived hibernation. We picked it up and put it in a box. We found out where to take it where it could be collected.

So Miss Stickley and Miss Glazebrook took the hedgehog to the vet where it could be looked after. A lady was going to collect it later and take it to where it belonged in an animal rescue centre.

Sports for schools

2011-11-16T20:49:00.000Z

The children of Carle and McKee been showing how much they enjoy sport!

Whilst the rest of the school were taking part in sport sessions run by Sports for school and earning their sponsorship money, the reception classes held their own event.

After donning their P.E kits and warming up the children ran around the school field twice, undertook two circuits of the wooden play equipment and then lined up in house groups to see which house could throw the most quoits into a hoop in 5 minutes.

A great time was had by all and the smiles and ruddy cheeks of the children were a testament to their enjoyment. The older children are being sponsored for their event and we are asking for a small donation to be given by each reception child. This will be added to the sponsor money and so will benefit our school and the charity Action for children.

Potter Ice-cream Party

2011-11-16T17:21:00.001Z

Potter Class Ice-cream Party

Members of Potter class have been behaving well and earning rewards!

It hasn’t been the weather for a teddy-bears’ picnic so it was decided to hold an indoor ice-cream party and invite the toys to join in. Strawberry Swirl, Chocolate and Mintilicious ice-cream was enjoyed by all, including Miss Stickley.

We will remember them

2011-11-11T20:03:00.000Z

Today all the members of the school gathered on the front playground at 11am and observed the silence to mark Armistice Day.The children were a credit to themselves by honouring the silence and standing still.

Many had spent some time this week learning about Remembrance day and why we mark this on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and on the Sunday nearest to this. They also supported the Royal British Legion by buying a poppy. Thank you

Golden time

2011-11-11T16:18:00.000Z

In golden time this week, those of us in McKee and Carle had the choice of four activities. We could a) collect, dry , painted and print with leaves, b) dress up, c) take part in some colouring cutting and sticking activities or d) do the Lego challenge!

In the Lego challenge we were told that a cat was stuck up a tree and the Legoland fireman needed help to get it down. We had to build something to reach up the tree and then a box to put the cat in to keep it safe.

ladder

We rose to the challenge and with the help of an adult and two year six girls we made ladders, staircases, slopes and steps. We also made a few boxes for the cat to try for size.

box

steps and box

steps

What do you think? Do you think we managed to help the Legoland fireman rescue the poor cat?

Sainsbury Active Kid Voucher trees

2011-11-11T15:51:00.000Z

McKee class received a box of trees from the Sainsbury active kids programme

First we filled the raised beds with soil. Daniel R

We filled up the buckets with soil. Zachary

We planted the trees, one was a crab apple. Naomi

We had to water the trees. Hollie

From the computer we found pictures of each tree, so that we could see how the trees would look when they have grown. Rimini

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat

2011-11-11T10:24:00.004Z

In Lewis class we have been reading a book called Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell.
It is about a girl called Ottoline and her best friend called Mr Munroe. They go for stroll and they discover something called the lapdog agency. They peek through the window and they see four lapdogs. The lapdogs seem familiar, because earlier on in the story, there were posters of missing lapdogs and the lapdogs in the agency look just like the ones in the posters!
Next they meet a vicious criminal called the yellow cat who has been responsible for all the burglaries lately and they make a plan to try and catch her. The plan involves the different companies that look after Ottoline while her parents go travelling, like Smith and Smith, the light bulb company and many more. The plan works and the yellow cat is caught and taken away. The yellow cat is also the boss of the lapdog agency. The four lapdogs get returned to there owners because they missed them. It was a very happy ending for all the characters (except the yellow cat).
Our class really liked that book, we especially enjoyed the parts where the plans were put in action.

By Isabel

Blue Peter Bake a Difference

2011-11-10T17:14:00.000Z

Iris and Maisie (Year 6) are planning to host a Blue Peter Bake A Difference sale on Friday 18^th November after school, to raise funds for BBC Children In Need.

The girls and friends will be baking themselves. But they are also looking for people to donate cakes and cookies either home-made or purchased, so they can raise as much money as possible.

Please can people leave cakes at the school office on Friday 18^th November, or bring them to the stall itself. Thank you

St. Albans Cathedral

2011-11-10T17:07:00.000Z

Everyone in Lewis Class went to St Albans Cathedral. We had to sing

lots of difficult hymns. The hymns were One more step along the world I go, Two hundred years of learning, Be still for the presence of the Lord, For all the saints and I the lord of sea and sky.

The chairs were wooden and had a gap underneath to put a cushion for praying. The floor was made of marble and we saw statues of people that looked like saints.

The Bishop had a long golden pole and a funny hat. He was covered in coloured jewels.

Some students from a drama school came along; they sang and danced to Joyful, Joyful. We thought they were great and we enjoyed it, we even did a little dance in our seats. Then there was a robot and it took us to the past it taught us about the most important person, this was a child. They acted out a story of a man with a beard who wanted to find some water and a child helped him to find it. The child was Jessica.

On the way back on the coach we sang all the hymns we learned.

By Bella and Iona (Year 3)

Nursery Fireworks

2011-11-10T16:49:00.000Z

Inkpen have been busy recalling fireworks this week.

We have been making the patterns in the sky using a salad spinner.

Look at our wonderful patterns.

Come and visit Inkpen to see our big picture.

Shoes

2011-11-10T16:44:00.003Z

This week, as part of our fairy tale topic, McKee class have been focusing on "The Elves and the Shoemaker".

The week started with a surprise visit from some elves!

Whilst the children were inside, the mischievous elves, slipped into the outside area and emptied our wellie shelf.

Jessica went outside and found that our wellington boots were scattered all over the grass and perching on the fence. The children went outside to collect all the boots. They then sorted them back into pairs looking closely at colour, size, shape, names and pattern to ensure they put the correct two back together on the shelf.

Later in the week the children had a go at designing and making paper shoes. They were free to make any style and colour they wished and we think you will agree they did a great job. They selected their own resources, cut their own shapes and tried the shoes on for size and fit!

Which pair would you choose?

The elephant escaped from the circus

2011-11-09T12:48:00.001Z

by Naomi (Reception)

Eleanor in year 5 wrote a play using the ideas that we came up with. We rehearsed in our own time. We showed it to Mrs Vaughan and it was decided that we could show it to the younger children.

The story was based around a circus and we were the acts, trapeze artist, tight rope walker, clown, dogs, a seal, an elephant and a gymnast. We asked the audience to help wash Nellie the elephant, the seal and try to hula hoop. Alex was good at the hoop, got a big clap from the audience.

We enjoyed doing this and would like to do another one. We had some back up characters as well. We felt it was a huge success and the foundation stage and Key stage 1 children looked like they enjoyed it. McKee class drew some pictures

by Rebecca (Reception)

Written by Sarah, Mollie, Eleanor, Faba and Charlie (year 5)

Models

2011-11-07T15:23:00.003Z

In year 5 and 6, as you have all heard, our topic has been London. The homework project was top creat something to research and create something to do with London. It could have been a model, project or piece of artwork. The children have all worked really hard and thought it would be lovely to share some of these on our blog for all to see!

Christmas cards

2011-11-05T12:23:00.001Z

Yesterday McKee class were very excited to see their Christmas cards designs turned into a real card.

Just before half term the PSA invited us to make a card, which could then be printed and bought by families. Each class could choose their own designs. Many gave the children total freedom and each card was totally different, some offered a template or guidelines and in reception we decided to give the children a format to follow, however they were still able to produce their own unique card.

McKee class made a special twinkly Christmas star, because Mrs Matthews said it was a star that announced the birth of Jesus and so was a good thing to put on a card to celebrate His birthday. McKee liked that idea because they like singing "twinkle twinkle".

marble painting

Mckee will tell you how they made theirs..."We chose two colours of paint and rolled marbles in them. They whizzed over the paper. I liked doing this and made lots of lines. We let them dry. We cut out star shapes, using red scisors or green and yellow scissors, and stuck them on the paper. We used the same colours to do a dotty bit on the words. We painted with ear things (cotton buds) not brushes, that was funny! We sent them to the office." (by A, E, R, O and M)

Mrs Orphanides and Mrs Jackson helped Carle class use their handprints to make the antlers on Rudolph the red nose reindeer, to cut a circle to be his head and cut out and stick a very shiny nose on him. The children coloured in the words; a special reminder of their hands, in their reception year, was created.

Please make sure you return your order form by the 18^th November 2011 if you wish to help raise funds for the school by buying some of your child’s card. If you have not seen your card yet, please look in your child's book bag - they were sent home Friday.

How to make a firework!

2011-11-03T17:43:00.000Z

Mckee class would like to tell you how to make a firework.

We had great fun today, learning about Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot, bonfires and fireworks. We made some fireworks of our own and "set them off", remembering to stand back and watch from a safe distance. Mrs Johnson suggested we write some instructions so that blog readers could make their own.

Draw around a pot to get a circle.

Colour the circle in.

Cut the circle out.
Put the rubbish in the bin.

Colour the other side of the circle.

Bend the paper round to make a cone.

Put sellotape on.

Tear the tissue paper into strips.

Stick on the inside of the cone.

Put the cone on the top of the plastic milk bottle.

Clap your hands on the bottle very hard.

The firework goes up in the air very high.

The air from the bottle shoots it up.

We made fireworks!

The Museum of London

2011-11-02T15:28:00.001Z

On the 10th October 2011 Years 5 and 6 made a trip to the famous Museum of London. Here they were able to enhance their already vast learning on their topic, the history of London. Here are some of the children's view's on their day trip outside of the classroom.

'Last half term years 5 and 6 went to the Museum of London. We saw one of the only parts left of old Londinum which has lasted around 1800 years. There were loads of galleries and a cafe. We also saw the Lord Mayors coach and a life size model of Victorian London. We also got to see;

A Roman bikini
Death mask of Oliver Cromwell
Vespa scooter
Selfridges lift
Great fire of London model

We really enjoyed our trip and it helped us focus on our London topic.'

Robbie and Joshua

Ice Cream

2011-10-25T14:02:00.004+01:00

The last food that McKee class had expressed an interest in learning about was ice cream! Mrs Johnson and Mrs Matthews were also keen to have a go at making it, and so asked around to try and borrow an ice cream maker. The generous donor went one better and loaned an ice cream ball. McKee class had a fantastic of a time playing with this. This is a selection of what they said afterwards when they were asked what to put on the blog.....

"We wanted to eat ice cream and Mrs Matthews said we should we make it first! We borrowed a big pink ball.

Ready steady.....

In one side we put the cream and sugar and other ingredients and put the lid on.

In the other side we put lots and lots and lots of ice cubes and some lumpy salt.

Rock salt

Then we took turns, in our groups, to roll the ball in a circle. The ingredients were runny but they went solid.

The salt helped make everything stay cold. We had to keep adding more ice cubes. It was really cold when we were rolling it. My hands were freezing! We did it outside to help it stay cold. We had to keep rolling it and not let it stop.

Ice cream

The ice cream was yummy. We had two bits each. I liked it better than home ice cream. It tasted lovely. It did not taste like the ice cream I have a home, I like that better than this. I want to do this with my mummy. I hope we can make it again at school. This was fun."

The end result

As you can see the experiment was a success and surprisingly easy, if rather cold on the hands! Most of the children enjoyed the ice cream, only one said he preferred the ice cream he usually ate at home. Afterwards the class were keen to talk about what they had done and how the ingredients had changed to make this special treat. A great way to end the topic on food.

Operation Christmas Child assembly

2011-10-24T13:41:00.001+01:00

The shoebox appeal is all about helping other children at Christmas time. All you have to do is put a few things in a shoebox, covered with wrapping paper, and bring it into school the week we return from half term.

It is great for all the children in poorer countries or areas that suffered. This is because some of them would not get anything for Christmas.

Last Monday, our vicar, John Hookway, did an assembly on this and told us all about it. Many people say they are going to help. It is an amazing cause and I think everyone should take part

Natalie – year 6

Socks for chocs

2011-10-23T13:09:00.005+01:00

On Friday the PSA invited members of the school to wear colourful socks! In exchange, anyone taking up the challenge, donated some chocolate to the PSA to be used as a prize at the Christmas Bazaar.

Abigail - Year 6 said : "It was really amusing seeing everyone in their funky socks. Maybe next year the teachers might want to try it. It made the day colourful and exciting ".

Being a house captain

2011-10-21T16:32:00.000+01:00

At Christ Church we have four houses. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There are three captains for each house and they are elected by their peers. Four of the house captains have written a few words, about what they did to get elected and how they felt when they found out they had won.

I tried to make my presentation funny and firm. I liked standing up in front of people and I was loud but not too loud! I said, if they are upset I will be there for them and I am very tolerant. If they are unhappy come and talk to me I will sort it out.

I was overwhelmed when I won and amazed. I was against ten others and I hoped if I stayed confident I would get through and I did.

by Abigail (Luke)

I did a power point about how I could help everyone and represent the school. It was nerve-wracking because of the people watching. You were not allowed to watch the vote and had to wait all day to find out (in the afternoon assembly). I thought it went well and I was really, really pleased. It was tough because there were so many people going for. I was really, really happy because I really wanted it and can not wait to do it now.

by Maisie (Mark)

I tried to be comical but serious as well and tell what I was going to do and why they should vote me. So I did a page that was funny and a page that was serious. I included things I liked and things I don’t like. I did pictures because they would have more impact. I felt very, very happy to win and that the pressure was over because we had to wait until after lunchtime to find out the result. I was thinking I hope I get it, I hope I get and then I was relieved. I wanted it because I want to help John house to win everything even netball.

by Dylan (John)

I am extremely pleased to be the house captain of Matthew in 2012. I feel happy with myself. In my presentation I included the things I would do to improve Matthew house, how I would help everyone and make sure everyone was happy. I decided to have a mascot and came up with Mattie Bear and he will come to house events (sports day) and family forum.

I am still amazed at being the house captain and shall try to help in everything I can. I feel proud to wear my green house captain badge and hope to be a successful house captain.

by Natalie (Matthew)

Food, glorious food!

2011-10-20T18:43:00.000+01:00

For the last half term the foundation stage have been learning about food.

In Mckee class we have investigated, tasted, made, cooked, taken apart and thoroughly enjoyed learning within this topic. Amongst others things the class asked to learn more about sweet corn and wanted to eat mashed potato. This we did. They wanted to eat cake and so we looked at few celebrations and then held one of our own!

On Wednesday we held an afternoon tea party. The children made their own sandwiches, spreading the filling and choosing a shape into which to cut them, (no they were not cucumber), they decorated a cake and asked to have more popped corn. We also added some fruit to balance everything up.

After an afternoon of dancing, singing and playing games the children enjoyed their plate of food.

We have managed to learn about all the foods the children requested, when we planned with them, at the beginning of term. The only one we have not covered is ice cream.....watch this space.

Changeable food

2011-10-15T14:29:00.001+01:00

Making popcorn

This week Mckee class have looked at how some items of food and drink change. The class asked to learn more about sweetcorn and so they did. They also made corn on the cob pictures using real corn kernels to go in the "indoor garden". They then made and ate popcorn, with all but one child enjoying the taste of this treat.

Carle class continued the theme of treats by making milkshakes and drinking those. All sorts of fruits were chosen and blended with milk to make a tasty drink. The class enjoyed this activity and it's results!

Investigating tea

Mckee class finished off by learning about tea plants and then using their investigation skills to examine tea bags and tea leaves. They did not know that the leaves started off as "real green leaves". They were also surprised at the colour of "black tea" most claiming to have only seen tea with milk in.

Pirate assembly

2011-10-12T16:56:00.001+01:00

Last Friday Potter class entertained the school and their parents with their pirate assembly and they were able to show how much they have learnt over the past few weeks.

"It was lots of fun doing the assembly and I liked being in the pirate fashion show best. We had designed and made hats for this show. My two designs were a rabbit and cross bones and a bear and cross bones. I only put one on my hat.

We had a ship called The Golden Chicken and we were all pirates. We told everyone what pirates were like and my favourite word was loblollies! It was fun being in this assembly!"

In join me learn we wrote instructions on how to make pirate hat. Our parents could help us but we had to do the writing. The parents were good learners!"

By E in Potter class

Firework safety

2011-10-12T16:31:00.035+01:00

"Today the police came to school and told us all about fireworks. They said we need to stay safe and not touch them. It doesn't matter if they are big ones or small ones. If they are lit, and don't go off, then stay away because they could still explode and hurt you.

We must wear gloves, if we use spaklers, and hold them away from us and other people. We should put them in a bucket of cold water when they go out and not touch them again or drop them onto the floor.

They also said that if anyone is going to go trick or treating, to go to people we know and if they say go away or don't open the door then we should just go away.

We must not play nasty tricks or throw anything at their house or car."

(written by a Year 2 pupil)

School Disco

2011-10-11T21:46:00.000+01:00

Around 200 children attended the PSA Disco on Friday evening. There were 2 sessions, one for KS1 & foundation another for KS2.

Fred said "The best bits were the action songs like the Macarena and the conga." He also enjoyed being with his friends and the way all the glo bands looked in the dark.

All the children seemed to have good fun and looked great in their disco outfits.

One of the mums on the PSA, who shall remain nameless, was enjoying strutting her stuff much to the amusement of the rest of us.

Several parents, when they collected their children, commented on how loud the music was, we must all be getting old!

Thank you Mrs D'Arcy for this review. (Mrs D'Arcy is a school MSA, LSA and on the PSA!) This Disco raised an amazing £500. Well done all and thank you.

Mr Allchin- Marathon Runner

2011-10-10T20:14:00.001+01:00

Mr Allchin made it! On a very wet and windy day he battled the weather and the hills to complete the Eden project marathon - all to raise money for our school.

He says "This event was advertised as 'challenging'. I can tell you it is BRUTAL!"

"I knew I was expecting some hills on the course, but nothing I had done in training prepared me for the onslaught of continuous hill climbing in the first 13 miles. It seemed that around every corner was another hill, just as steep, and just as muddy."

Congratulations Mr Allchin on this huge achievement and many thanks from us all of us at Christ Church School.

Please have a look at his own Blog for a more detailed review of the event.

Harvest week in Reception

2011-10-07T16:52:00.001+01:00

McKee and Carle started their week and ended it with Harvest festivals!

On Monday we joined the rest of the school in church and celebrated together. We took with us a basket of tomatoes which had been grown in our outdoor area.

The theme of the service was saying "Thank you" and so McKee class made a thank you poster for the kitchen staff who prepare and serve the food to us in school during the week. The children took it with them to lunch and presented it that day.

They also made thank you cards during literacy and made a list of as many people they could think of who are involved in getting food to our tables including farmers, shops, lorry drivers etc.

The week ended with a the Toddler service, once again in Christ Church. The church very kindly invite us to this every year and let us join in their celebrations. Many of the children previously attended this service with their parents before they joined school and so loved going back.

During the service we used all of our senses and enjoyed tasting different foods, smelling and touching items and using our ears and eyes to take part in the service. The chocolate was our favourite taste closely followed by grapes and most of us did not like smelling the coffee!

At the end we were all given a magnet to take home to remind us to say thank you to God for providing us with a huge variety of food and drink.

Harvest Festival

2011-10-04T10:30:00.000+01:00

Home grown produce

Yesterday we went to church and were learning to say thank you to God, Jesus, shops, our parents, big sister, after school club and the school cooks. We should say thank you to them because they all give us food and company.

From home we brought gifts of food. Some of my class brought chicken soup with mushrooms and other people brought tins, packets of tea, pasta and lots more.

We also took fresh food to the front, this was from the teacher's gardens and the reception class. Mr Cadwallader brought some apples and the tomatoes were from the reception class.

We played hangman against the vicar. The words were say thank you. We won, but there was nearly a whole hangman. Rev. Hookway did well but we won!

I like going to church because I like listening to the vicar (and other people) speak about things that happened a long time ago and about Jesus. I can’t wait for the next time we visit the church because I feel excited before we go.

I think I will remember to say "thank you" to the dinner ladies for my food.

By J in McGough Class

Mashed potato

2011-10-03T17:05:00.000+01:00

In McKee class we had a go at making mashed potato. This is how we did it.....

We peeled the potatoes

We cut them into bits and cooked them

We added butter and milk and mashed them

We added some colour (not flavour) to half of the mash

We ate them

We made a tick chart to see how many children chose each bowl. Seven of us chose to eat green mash and fourteen chose the normal colour. Some of our comments....

The green tasted like apples, because apples are green - M.

The green was not good for me it made my tummy ache - O.

I chose green and it was yucky - R.

Green was tasty, mmmmmm - A.

I want normal because I like it at home and I don't like green food - D

I make this at home with mummy. She said mine is the best! - H

After this the children were able to eat up the rest of the potato and there were quite a few complaints that there was not enough and they wanted more!

Vegetables

2011-09-30T15:19:00.002+01:00

McKee class would like to say thank you to their parents for donating some vegetables to be used in class.

We chose some of the more interesting shapes, such as a mushroom, to print with.

This was great fun and everyone got very messy! "I loved using the printing things. It was funny using food" - A. We also did some observational paintings which are now displayed in our "indoor garden" just near our coat pegs and garden shed!

We saved the potatoes to cook and make mashed potato with.