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This afternoon, Year 6 started their Design & Technology learning on mechanisms. As a class, we looked at tool safety before preparing the wood and cardboard for our toy automata.

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Our House Captains attended their first Primary Parliament. With a focus on the environment and green space, they show great collaboration and creativity designing a new outside space for our community. Some excellent ideas were shared including a Reading Woods. They are looking forward to sharing their project ideas with the School Parliament and looking at ways to implement within our own school.

Year 2 read a lovely book called ‘The ONLY way is BADGER’ and furthered their understanding of Mutual Respect & Tolerance. Pupils talked about the similarities and differences between themselves and others in class, explored the importance of being different and what they can do to make sure everyone in their class is treated fairly. Pupils drew self-portraits and wrote sentences about the things that make them special.

The book promoted our school value of respect and that everyone should be accepted and everyone is different – which is what makes Southwold very special 😊

As part of Southwold’s British Values Week, each class will read one story linked to a British Values Rules. So what are ‘British’ values? There are certain values that have been attributed to being British, by the government and some institutions, and these fall into the following broad areas:

• Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual Liberty
• Tolerance & Respect.

This week, through art and discussion, pupils will further their understanding and knowledge of British Values, what the rules  means and how they are reflected in our school and own lives.

Year 6 have had a fantastic few days learning at Into University where we have learnt so much about the Tudors. We also researched university life as well as completing our Secret Mission (shhh!).

Year 6 have concluded their Into University Focus Week with a visit to the University of Nottingham. Children participated in a campus tour, a final presentation before GRADUATION!

The Enhanced Provision group had a super day at Stonebridge City Farm last week. We travelled by minibus, fed the animals, looked at the fruit and vegetables that are growing in the gardens, played on the park, had a picnic lunch and even had an ice lolly!

Year 1 had a fabulous first Forest Schools session – including going on a Gruffalo Hunt! We thought about how to be safe when climbing trees, carrying sticks, and making dens and using ropes. Our Gruffalo hunt helped us explore all the different areas of our Forest school and playground area. We spent some time looking at the different trees whilst trying to find all the characters from the book.

Year 6 launched their Into University Tudor Week with a trip to where it all began! Children learnt  about the history of the War of the Roses before examining the Battle of Bosworth in detail including weapon training with Master John…

Pupils in Key Stage 2 voted for their House and Vice Captain to lead our School Parliament.  They were inspired by speeches to help drive and support environmental issues, the local and wider community, inclusion and diversity

Voting was very close!  We now have our elected School Parliament and are excited about the campaigns to follow.

Our new children in F2 have been settling into their new class this week.  They have enjoyed a range of activities, working co-operatively together to make constructions, problem solving when joining shapes together to make small buildings, matching amounts to numicon when threading pasta pieces and looking at numbers using number fans.  What a great start to the year for our youngest children.

What a great week we have had in Class 2! We have been learning lots of different things in our lessons. We have loved PE, Design & Technology and Maths – and there is still so much more coming up!

In Year 6, we have our launched our Tudor history learning by examining the leadership of King Henry VIII. Using a range of primary sources, children had to decide whether he was a fair ruler or a tyrant! Year 6 decided the answer was somewhere in the middle.

Next stop, the site of the Battle of Bosworth on Monday…

‘We had an amazing two days at Ilam Hall in Derbyshire for this year’s music camp. On Monday we practised in our instrument groups, had music reading classes and did ‘call and response’ across Ilam Hall grounds.  The day finished with a night walk, followed by hot chocolate.

After breakfast on day two we went back to our guitar and flute groups to practise. Before lunch we did musical orienteering. A final rehearsal after lunch prepared us for the grand performance later that afternoon.

The children worked so hard and gained so much musical knowledge. They also made new friendships and loved the Derbyshire countryside!’

Year 6 Leavers Assembly was pure brilliance. With performances worthy of the Royal Albert Hall, we were entertained with magic, dance, music and poetry to name just a few.

We laughed and we cried, with tears of joy and sadness.

We wish our unique and talented pupils the brightest of futures. We will miss each and every one of you!

Our Art Ambassadors and resident artist from Nottingham Contemporary, officially opened our History Timeline this week!

Pupils from across the school, staff and parents contributed to its design as part of the Schools of Tomorrow project.  Our Art Ambassadors, worked with a graphic designer to complete the final piece.

They certainly enjoyed the after party celebration to reward and acknowledge their creativity!

Today we recognised the amazing achievements of pupils for their behaviour, achievement and kindness. It was wonderful to hear of their successes this term and how they represent our core values.

We also celebrated pupil attendance the House Team Award, which went to Friar Tuck!

We are so proud of all of pupils. Well done!

Year 6 enjoyed a wonderful time at Walesby Forest. Our pupils displayed an abundance of determination, perseverance, collaboration with all activities encountered. They showed amazing skill in archery and laser tag, were fearless as they raced to the top of the climbing wall and took a leap of faith. We also enjoyed relaxing on the lake in their canoes!

What a superb and fun weekend, enjoyed by all!

Our STEM pupils from Year 4 and 5 took part in the Rail Engineer competition in Derby. After weeks of designing, building and testing their railway engines it was time to compete. Their engines were an inspiration to all, travelling along the track and pulling a given weight.

Although our engines did not win, taking part was a success. One of Year 4 pupils, won the prize for Best Communicator – clearly articulating her model and the design to build process.

We are so proud of our future engineers. Well done to all of the STEM team!

Our recent trip to Beeston Locks has left us buzzing with excitement!  We explored the history of this magnificent canal, uncovering tales of its role in transporting coal and lace.

We compared the canal to the River Trent and Amazon River, discussing how the canal is a man-made marvel, while the River Trent flows and Amazon River flow naturally.

Later on, we conducted a survey to observe and record the different types of people and transport passing us by on the busy canal and canal path. From cheerful boaters to cyclists whizzing through. The sheer diversity reminded us how active and vibrant our local area is.

Today, our amazing Year 5 pupils having been diving into the world of programming using Crumble software. They’ve been exploring how to control lights, motors, and sensors, all while using different variables. They demonstrated our core values, especially collaboration and perseverance. As the tasks became more challenging, our class worked together, supporting and encouraging one another every step of the way. As we progress further, we have an exciting goal in mind: the creation of a scanning robot.

A brilliant morning where students took on an adrenaline-fueled Sports Day that had our school buzzing with excitement!

Obstacle course ✅
Skipping ✅
Egg and spoon ✅
Sack race ✅

They all had a go with buckets of energy and oodles of team spirit! Then to top things off, the children got to witness a thrilling showdown as Year 6 faced off against the staff in an epic football match! The atmosphere was electric, with cheers and laughter filling the air as both teams left it all on the pitch! We couldn’t be prouder of our talented students for their fantastic participation and for supporting their fellow students and staff.

The children enjoyed taking part in kindness activities to celebrate RSE day. We discussed what kindness means to us and then the children created their own designs. Our Mental Health Ambassadors will choose 2 designs so that they can be made into material squares which will be sent away to an artist, who will create a collaborative RSE Day Kindness quilt. The classes also created their own recipes for friendship and kindness jars filled with positive affirmations.’

This term Primary Parliament was part of the Nottingham Year of Stories campaign. Our Primary Parliamentarians had a fabulous time, learning about storytelling and producing our own poetry and surreal tales of kindness. As ever, they were a credit to us all. Go “Team Beaver”!

Calling all Shakespeare enthusiasts! Our brilliant Year 3 and 4 children have outdone themselves yet again! They recently took part in the prestigious ‘Schools Massive’ project, where they performed excerpts from the timeless classic, Romeo and Juliet!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that out of numerous schools, we were selected as one of only six to participate in this incredible project! And what’s more, they showcased their talents on the renowned Playhouse Stage – one of the biggest in the country!

We couldn’t be prouder of our students! Their commitment and passion for the arts are truly remarkable. This experience has not only deepened their love for Shakespeare but also provided them with invaluable skills in storytelling and performance.

Class 3 and 4 had a very inspiring afternoon on Wednesday meeting Alison and Richard. As part of the ‘Inspiring Futures’ project, Alison and Richard came to talk to us about their careers. Alison works for the NHS and Richard works for the Environment Agency in flood management. What will class 3 and 4 do in the future?

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating our final event with the Young Readers Programme. Paul Cookson inspired pupils with his creative and humorous poetry through a series of fun events – creating poems, making bookmarks, listening to stories and receiving their chosen book. Our afternoon finished with a celebration to showcase our class poems.  Thank you so much to the National Literacy Trust and Young Readers Book Programme.

In assembly, Mrs Salmeron shared her family’s migration from Jamaica, during the Windrush years. Pupils discussed why the Windrush generation migrated to England, what life was like for them, how they were treated, their jobs, home and much more.

We finished the assembly listening to a story by Dame Floella Benjamin, called ‘Coming to England’. The children were very knowledgeable, making links to our diversity pledge and inclusion. We also celebrated our multi-cultural school and that we are all welcome and special.

Our No Outsiders Leadership Team, welcomed some special visitors this week from NEST.

It was an enriching experience for everyone involved. Our pupils not only had the opportunity to share languages but also create heartfelt welcome cards and ask some questions. They were able to deepen their understanding of the challenges refugees face. It was a great demonstration of empathy and inclusivity.