Remote Learning

Remote learning is delivered through Microsoft Teams. If you do not yet have access to your child’s class learning, please contact the school office for further datails.

Find out about our remote learning offer, home school agreement for Teams and link to the eligibility criteria for attending school by clicking on one of the links below:

Remote learning offer

Home school school agreement for Teams and remote learning

Children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access school

FOR ALL CLASS INFORMATION AND LEARNING UPDATES PLEASE VISIT THE CLASS PAGES

ROBINS

KINGFISHERS

OWLS

RED KITES

FOR MESSAGES FROM OUR HEADTEACHER, PLEASE VISIT:

UPDATES FROM MRS STEPHENSON

Thursday, 3rd September

What a fantastic day we have had! It has been so lovely to have all the children in and we can’t wait for the new EYFS children to join us too! And it was lovely to see the parents too! Thank you so much parents for being brilliant at the pick up and drop off! Look out for the newsletter tomorrow with photos of the first days.

Wednesday, 2nd September

We are ready and waiting for the children to come back tomorrow! One more sleep to go!

I can’t say enough how grateful we are for all the help we have had in getting the school ready.

Today, Mr Farrant has put the final shed. It wasn’t just one shed he put up, or two or three - he put up four sheds in total so that everything can be stored where it needs to be! Thank you!

Wednesday, 26th August

Monday, 24th August

Robins and Kingfishers outside area - nearly there! The astro turf is down and the fencing will go up before the term starts. It looks fantastic!

Sunday, 26th July

Hi everyone, just thought we would up date you with another ‘work in progress’ report.

Now you see them……..

Now you don’t……..

This weekend the old sheds were taken down and removed ready to make way for new sheds.

Our enormous thanks go to Andrew Liddiard and Stuart Cope - Valley Fencing, for not only giving up their time on the weekend but for their continued support and help which assists us in achieving our vision for the school. At times, poor Stuart could have done with a wet suit and snorkel - the rain was that bad!

There is more work to be done this coming week so please keep watching these pages - it’s starting to get very exciting!

Happy birthday to Eleanor and Eleanor and Ellis this week! Next week it is Rosie and Amelia’s birthdays. Happy birthday to you both! Then the week after that, it is Jessica and Jayson’s birthdays! Happy birthday! Zach, Kaiden and Mia, only a few weeks to go until your birthdays!!!

Thursday, 23rd July

The year 6 children had different events during their last week.

“At the end of year 6 we decided to bury a time capsule so people could remember us and find out about us and our year. We put things in there that could reflect the year 2020 really well. It included a mask, uniform, plastic bottle and a plaster. Why do you think we included a plaster? Because we are the clumsiest year group ever.”

Wednesday, 22nd July

As promised, some ‘work in progress’ photos. We have a way to go before everything is ready but thought you might like to see how far we’ve got.

Kingfishers, your classroom has been painted. Your tables are in the outside area so your carpet can be cleaned. Owls, Mrs Chapman is busy putting up displays and getting your classroom ready.

Friday, 17th July

Hello! We have made it to the final day of term and it’s time to reflect on how much learning you have taken part in over the last few months. Can you remember it all?

Wow! Did you realise how much you have achieved? The abundance of Courage, Compassion, Trust, Friendship, Wisdom and Endurance has been outstanding! Take a moment to enjoy that feeling of achievement.

We are so proud of you all!

Please say a huge thank you to your parents who have been helping you get the home learning done. Ask them what their favourite moments were.

It won’t be long before we are back again in September. Keep on eye on this page because I will update it with photos of the school as we get it ready for you.

Remember to visit our Summer School page for activity ideas.

In the meantime, please watch the video of the staff and our amazing singer from year 5.

Thursday, 16th July

Yesterday, we said a few goodbyes as the year 3, 4 and 5 had their last day in school. Today, have a think about who you would like to thank. Use the form to pass on your thank you.

Wednesday, 15th July

Congratulations to the Harris family who have welcomed a new baby sister! Another addition to our school family!

As we say hello to a new member of our school family, it is time to say a few goodbyes.

Some children have to say goodbye to their teachers and teaching assistants as they move to a new class, some children have to say goodbye to friends as they move to a new class, some children have to say goodbye to the school because they are moving to a new school.

I wonder how many of these goodbyes are really ‘goodbyes’ forever. What could you do to keep in touch? Will you see these friends again? Maybe! Will all the teachers and teaching assistants still be here in September? Yes!

Saying goodbye properly can help you get ready for the next exciting steps. A new school? Amazing! A new class? Brilliant! Missing friends? Think of all the new friends you could make but why not keep in touch with your old ones too!

If you would like me to pass a message on to someone who has helped you, let me know!

Tuesday, 14th July

This is your last opportunity this term to nominate someone for a Christian Value award. Who has shown compassion? Who has been a good friend?

Who has shown wisdom? There are many ways to be wise…Noah made a wise choice when he decided to build the ark, the good Samaritan made a wise choice when he stopped to help the traveller, the shepherd made a wise choice when he went looking for the lost sheep. Do you know anyone who has made a wise choice?

Monday, 13th July

Good morning! This morning I am very thankful for the lovely weather, a nice cup of tea and an exciting week ahead. Five more days to go!

I mentioned in the newsletter about how amazing the year 6 have been over the last few weeks. They are disappointed that events will be different but they are still looking forward to events this week. We are thankful for their courage and resilience. Let’s make the most of these last few days.

On Friday, we would like to leave the home learning pages with messages from staff, from parents and also children. Please send these to your teachers by Thursday. Guess what…’thank you’!

For Collective Worship today, listen to the song. I wonder who you would thank today. At the end, you might like to say a prayer.

Happy birthday for Sunday Jay!

Friday, 10th July

Morning! The BIG QUESTION for today is,

What is thankfulness?

Have a look at the quote as well. Do you agree?

Collective Worship is all about thankfulness. Who will you thank today?

Thursday, 9th July

Welcome to ‘Book Club’. I have had to use my ‘Don’t give up’ learning power as it took so long to upload this video! But I’ve got there in the end. Phew!

Wednesday, 8th July

Happy birthday Alfred!

Morning, morning, morning! Here are my other favourite reading choices. I used to have a pile of comics next to my bed and once I’d read the top one, I’d put it to the bottom of the pile and read the one that was now at the top and so on until I’d read them all and started all over again. And if I was really lucky at Christmas, I’d have enough money to buy an annual. I liked them because the characters made me laugh.

The cartoon called ‘Oor Wullie’ underneath is from a newspaper that I used to read when I visited my grandparents in Scotland. I had to concentrate hard to work out the words. Can you work out what the characters are saying?

Reading brings back lots of happy memories - the worlds that I used to escape into on a long journey or during the summer holiday or on a wet Saturday afternoon! I wonder what happy memories you are making when you read your favourite stories.

Tuesday, 7th July

Morning all - I forgot to mention in yesterday’s message that we are going to have a ‘Book Club’ this week - on Thursday. Some of you are already starting on your Book Club activities. I was trying to choose my favourite books and found it really hard to pick just one so I’ve got three…

I chose ‘Roger Red-hat’ because this was the series I first remember being able to read on my own. My best friend at primary school was called Jane and she was a super fast reader. I was so desperate to read as well as her that I would sometimes pretend to have read a page and turn it over, hoping that no one noticed! I hope you don’t do that!

‘The Children of the New Forest’ was another favourite because my mum read it to me at bedtime. It’s full of adventure and the book she read from had a red cover and super thin pages, almost like a Bible sometimes feels. She would always stop on a cliff hanger…

The last book I’ve chosen is another adventure book - ‘Swallows and Amazons’. I really wanted to be able to sail off with my friends to a secret island and camp overnight. I imagined what it would be like to cook our own food and have to fight pirates. (Don’t want to give away too much!)

I’ve read hundreds of books - but tomorrow I’ll tell you about some other reading I did that wasn’t from a book which I loved just as much.

Monday, 6th July

Good morning! Mrs Oberholzer, who inspired us all with her creative ideas during Arts Week has put together your amazing tiles. They look amazing! Thank you so much children for your brilliant artwork and thank you Mrs Oberholzer!

Some of you said that you would like to learn more about space so I thought you might like to hear from Libby Jackson who works with the UK Space Agency. She answers questions about what would happen if something went wrong during a space mission, what her favourite planet is (which one is your favourite planet?) and how close you can get to the sun without burning! Listening to Libby talking about the team she works in made me think of our team. Who is in your team? Perhaps you would like to say a prayer at the end, thanking God for everyone in your team.

Friday, 3rd July

Did you spot the rabbit hutch in the corner of one of my photos yesterday? It’s our rabbit that’s been eating all the leaves on the plants. She can only reach the lower branches. I’ll take a photo of her when I get home so you can see.

Rev Miri is here with our Whole School Collective Worship about friendship. Rev. Miri talks about a friendship cake - it sounds delicious. I wonder who you would give your cake to.

The Big Questions

Is being curious the opposite of being bored?

How do people escape from being bored? Is curiosity a way of escaping boredom?

Afternoon Robins - yes the grass is quite patchy isn’t it. If you look very closely at all the plants, they have leaves missing!! If you look even closer at one of the photos you might be able to spot why. Look for something that might cause missing leaves!

Hello Mrs Stephenson - it is Robins again - we have been scratching our heads all morning but we think we have solved your puzzle and would like to offer you some advice.

We have decided that the top two photos, we think are healthy looking plants that are showing signs of new growth although we do think you may need to water your grass as it is looking rather dry in patches!

The bottom two photos - we think the plant in the pot needs some love and care and needs re potting and the other plant also needs some love and care as the leaves have been eaten, we think it may have been by the Hungry Caterpillar or some swirly snails from last weeks Arts week! Hope that is helpful!

Thursday, 2nd July

Did you work out what each plant was called? I’ve learnt that I must always keep the seed packets so that I know what I’ve grown! I hope, when I do it again, I’ll recognise the plants better too. Having a second try at something is a great way to get even better it.

Here is today’s puzzle. What has happened to the plants? How do you know? Look carefully for the evidence! Good luck detectives!

Wednesday afternoon

Hello Robins! I am so pleased you have asked these questions and what great questions they are! I will do my best to answer them!

Hello Mrs Stephenson - it’s the Robins here….we have tried to solve your problem but we need some answers to our questions please.

Is it a fruit or vegetable or flower? I think two are vegetables and one is a fruit. The fourth one is a flower.

Can you eat it? Yes, you can eat parts of all of these plants when they are fully grown.

Does it grow really tall ? One of them should grow very, very tall but I’m not sure it actually will - it’s looking very small right now.

What shape is it - it is a sphere - we have been learning 3D shapes! When one of them is fully grown, it will have red spheres hanging from it I hope!

Is it red / purple / white / green etc One of them is red, two green, one yellow.

What letter does it start with……we think we know the answers but need further evidence! One of the plants I don’t know the name of started with s and the other one started with t.

Thank you

Message from Mrs. Stephenson:

Wednesday, 1st July

Hello - I have a little puzzle for you to solve today. Has anyone else been growing vegetables? You saw the carrots that I planted which turned out to be miniature carrots - oops! Well the next conundrum I have is this…I planted four different types of plants and I don’t know which is which or what is what. Can you help me?

I think I got some seeds for onions and peas…but not sure about the other two.

Happy birthday Peter!

Good morning - have a look at Kingfishers classroom - wow! The wall between Mrs Kimber’s office and the classroom was taken down over the weekend (and the area thoroughly cleaned afterwards). The year 1s love it!

How are your Christian Values going? Have you noticed anyone really going the extra mile? What did they do? Tell me all about it and I can send them a certificate to let them know that you had thought about them!

All the amazing 20cm x 20cm tiles that you created last week for arts week can be posted in the red box on Spring Meadows, sent to us by post or email and we will create a whole school artwork! Thankyou!

Monday, 29th June

Good morning! How are you feeling today? Happy, grumpy, excited, angry, worried, sad, joyful? As I was getting ready for school this morning I noticed a book my friend, Sue had lent me. It’s a great book and Sue is a great friend. I haven’t spoken to her in aaaages! I really must because I know how it makes me feel when we chat! Collective Worship today is about friendship and why friends are so important to us.

Your new home learning can be found by clicking on your class button at the top of the page.

Friday, 26th June

Time to reflect today on everything that you have achieved this week. At school, the flooring under the outdoor classroom has been laid - it looks amazing! The people working on it had to dig up the soil, put it in a wheelbarrow and wheel it down to the skip over and over again because the digger wouldn’t work! They must have been hot! Mrs Kimber kept checking to see that they were okay (from a distance). But they did not stop! They were so determined to get it finished for us so that we could use the space to spread out and enjoy the outdoors with a bit of shade. Now that’s what I call an achievement. What did you achieve, even though it’s been hot?

Next week, we will be thinking more about feelings so our Big Question this week is, ’Do we always know what we are feeling?’

Has someone ever told you that you look happy or sad or angry? Did you know that you felt like that?

Do you sometimes have a feeling but can’t describe it?

Sometimes we need to feel sad but I do hope that the feelings you have today are all good ones!

Thursday, 25th June

Thank you for your replies to the sports survey…

26 children replied to the survey

19 children would like scooter boards

13 children would like target boards

9 children would like a multi-hoop

4 children would like a floor hoop

15 children would like a table tennis table

Brilliant! Thank you! I will talk to our sports leader about how much money we have to spend and let you know what we can buy for next term!

Happy birthday Devon!

Wednesday, 24th June

Well I have seen some amazing art work in school but also some brilliant footwork, singing and poetry reciting! Hope you are enjoying it at home too. How are you getting on with learning the poem? Are you ready to say it without looking at the words yet? It takes lots of rehearsal, saying it over and over again until you know it all. Looking forward to seeing your videos at the end of the week!

Tuesday, 23rd June

So how was day one of the arts project? Here’s a sneak preview of some of the art work produced today…WOW!

Our sports leader would like to ask you a few questions about being sport and active play.

Monday, 22nd June

Did you hear Face2Face on 4LEGS radio last Friday? Wow! Weren’t the children amazing!

Welcome to Arts Week! You’ll be doing some art, music, dance and learning a poem of by heart. Can’t wait to see your performances!

Our Collective Worship today features a story from the Bible - Luke Chapter 5 - told with the help of year 1. We also hear from Robins and they tell us what a good friend does. (It’s a little shouty in places because I stood a long way away from the children!)

Happy birthday to Finley for Saturday!

Friday, 19th June

Exciting news! We are going to be on 4LEGS radio at about 3pm today! Thank you so much to Tim Forrester for making it possible! Listen out for children from year 1, year 3, year 5 and year 6 talking about their experience of school during lockdown.

The show is called Face2Face and will run from 2.30 to 4.30pm. The school feature will start after around half an hour. Anybody can listen to the show live (by going to the 4LegsRadio website and pressing play live). You can also listen via a Sonos speaker or via Alexa. Instructions are on the site. Alternatively, you can listen any time afterwards by pressing listen again. You find the  Face2Face programme and press play. There is a slider which will appear at the bottom of the screen and you can push that forwards(not backwards) to reach the School 30 minute start point. So, if anybody misses it the first time, there is no problem - you can catch up later.

It’s Father’s Day on Sunday. Maybe this poem will inspire you!

And finally, The Big Question -

Henri Matisse, a French artist said, "Creativity takes courage". What is creativity? Does it take courage to be creative?

Thursday, 18th June

Good morning. Do you remember a while ago we talked about the royal family in whole school worship? We were thinking about family squabbles at the time! And what we do when we fall out with other people. Anyway, the Duchess of Cambridge (Can you remember her first name? Who is she married to?) is doing an assembly about ‘spreading a little kindness’ at 11 am today. Click on the button to get to the assembly page and look for her assembly.

Wednesday, 17th June

Yes, I must admit I was a little disappointed yesterday when I pulled up my carrots! Next time, I will definitely be buying seeds for longer carrots!

Well it’s the middle of the week and I’d like to know who you think should have a Christian Values award. Let me know and I’ll send them a certificate!

Tuesday, 16th June

Good morning! I wonder if you are like me - I like to think that most of the time I am very patient but there are a few occasions when it’s really hard to wait. And wait. And wait. A few weeks ago I planted lots of different seeds. I watered them (actually Mr Stephenson watered them!) and I watched them grow shoots and I couldn’t wait any longer. This is what happened.

I think there’s a lesson in this somewhere. Can you work out what I might have learnt?

Happy birthday to Elsie and Theo for Sunday!

Monday, 15th June

Hello! Our Collective Worship today is brought to you by year 6 and year 1 who have been learning about trust.

Friday, 12th June

Good morning. Hannah has created a PowerPoint with some handy hints about how to stay safe and also how to improve your emotional wellbeing. Thank you Hannah!

Thursday, 11th June

Did you think of a word that you hope will be the word of the year for 2021? I’ve picked mine - look out for it in the newsletter on Friday.

Enjoy the singing on each page today. If you would like to say a prayer in the whole school worship on Monday (Theme - Trust – God’s never ending love) then send in a video clip by Friday. Below is the invitation for the pet service on Sunday.

Wednesday, 10th June

Thank you for your nominations for Christian Values - certificates have been sent out!

Today, on Radio 2, Zoe Ball was talking about the word of the year…

The 2020 Oxford Children's Word of the Year is . . . CORONAVIRUS!

They used the 500 word story competition entries to work it out.

Previous winners: Brexit (2019), plastic (2018), Trump (2017), and refugee (2016)

So it looks like children are very influenced by world events. I wonder what the word for 2021 will be! Have a go at guessing - I’m going to have a think today too.

Tuesday, 9th June

Happy birthday to Alayna!

I loved the ocean theme yesterday.

Today, I’d like you to nominate someone who you think deserves a Christian Values award for showing Courage, Compassion, Trust, Friendship, Wisdom or Endurance.

Monday, 8th June

Happy birthday Arabella for Sunday!

Happy birthday to Willow and Flynn for today!

It’s World Oceans Day today and my question to you is what is the difference between rivers, lakes oceans and seas?

Make sure you watch Rev. Miri’s Collective Worship below and if you missed the assembly on Friday with Ant, Dec and the NSPCC, it’s here:

Friday, 5th June

Welcome to World Environment Day!

The big questions today are linked to our environment - Can anyone own the sky? Can anyone own the sea? Can anyone own the land? What are your thoughts?

The NSPCC are also doing a live virtual assembly about Speak out. Stay safe. See their message below.

We would like to invite you to join us on Friday 5 June 2020 at 9.30am for an online school assembly on the NSPCC Facebook page. The assembly will feature content from our Speak Out. Stay safe (SOSS) programme and has been tailored with information relevant to the current situation.

The assembly will kick off with a special message from TV presenters Ant & Dec and a guest appearance from comedian and children’s author David Walliams. There will also be advice and support from our Speak out. Stay safe team and a Q&A with Vicky Ford MP, Minister for Children and Families, featuring questions from children.

We know that this has been a challenging time for parents and children, with more and more young people contacting Childline with stress and worry over the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension of schools has left many children feeling lonely and isolated, not knowing where they can go to for help. Our Speak out. Stay safe assemblies were vital in reaching out to children who needed us the most, giving them the knowledge they need to speak out if they’re worried about anything.

With support from the Department for Education, our Schools Service is going digital, launching its first ever online assembly. It will be aimed at children aged 7-11 and will focus on anxiety and worry, covering the topics that are important to children right now. We will talk to them about where they can get support, for example by speaking to a trusted adult or by calling Childline.

Through visiting schools we have reached millions of children with our Speak Out. Stay safe message, and now we will be broadcasting into people’s homes, talking to children who can’t be at school right now and letting them know they are not alone.

Your continued support means we are still here for children when they need us the most. We are incredibly grateful for everything you are doing to keep fighting for every childhood.

Thursday, 4th June

Did you work out the different class pages?

For Red Kites - some people think that St David was the nephew of King Arthur.

For Robins - bone china is actually made from bones!

For Owls - Danny the raindrop didn’t spoil our day :) but the grounds are still looking very dry :(

For Kingfishers - I asked Mrs Chapman - she would rather be a diver because it would be exciting to try and spot a new type of fish.

I’ve chosen a poem to share with you as it is World Environment Day tomorrow. the illustrations made me want to read it and I liked the repeated patterns. What do you like or not like about it? (The text is written below the image.)

All the Wild Wonders

For you my sweet babe

I wish fish in the sea

Birds in the trees

Tigers in jungles

And all the wild wonders

All the wild wonders

For you my sweet babe.

For you my sweet babe

I wish carpets of wildflowers

Beetles and butterflies

Bright birds of paradise

And all the wild wonders

All the wild wonders

For you my sweet babe

For you my sweet babe

I wish wind for the albatross

Clear flowing rivers

Forests of giants

And all the wild wonders

All the wild wonders

For you my sweet babe.

For this wish to come true

We have much work to do

All the wild wonders

All the wild wonders

For you my sweet babe.

(Elizabeth Honey, Australia)

Wednesday, 3rd June

Hello! I’ve really enjoyed looking through the learning for today. I wonder if you can match the answers or thoughts to the different class pages.

Some people think there’s a link between St David and King Arthur – what it is?

I like a cup of tea too – my favourite mug is made from bone china. I wonder if you can find out what bone china is! It’s got a Roald Dahl quote on but I don’t know which book it’s from. Can anyone help me out?

I think we might be seeing a little more of Danny the raindrop tomorrow. Is this a good thing?

The final thought has been a really tricky one. Pirate or diver? Diver or pirate? Can I be a diver looking for treasure or a pirate looking for fish? No? Okay – I think I would rather be a diver looking for fish because I would love to see fish in their natural habitat.

Have fun with today’s learning too!

Tuesday, 2nd June

Good morning! Here is Collective Worship. Find out what some of the year 6 think about what changes and what stays the same. When you see the clip of the playground and field, this is a chance for you to say your own prayer if you want to.

Monday, 1st June

Morning! Welcome to the start of a new term! We’ve got more children in school today as the government slowly eases the lockdown. Maybe it’s your group who are coming back in, maybe not. Whichever group you are in, the learning is the same. There are lots of things that stay the same. A little later on today, look out for our collective worship based on what stays the same, no matter what.

Friday, 29th May

Welcome to Great Shefford residents! Please feel free to scroll down the page to find out what we have been up to over the last few weeks - last Friday we had Sports Day at Home at the end an action packed week with Outdoor Classroom Day and Mental Health Awareness week. Each class home learning page is updated daily with exciting learning activities that the class teachers bespoke for their class. Click on the links on the left hand side of the page to find out more.

Planned wider opening of the school

As you will be aware, we have been open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children since the initial lockdown and are now preparing for more children to attend school from 1st June. This is a phased return:

1st June - year 6 and children of critical workers/vulnerable children

2nd June - year 1, year 6 and children of critical workers/vulnerable children

3rd June - EYFS, year 1, year 6 and children of critical workers/vulnerable children

4th June - EYFS, year 1, year 6 and children of critical workers/vulnerable children

5th June - EYFS, year 1, year 6 and children of critical workers/vulnerable children

The children are arriving at staggered times to allow for social distancing, starting at 8.45am, with the final group arriving at 9.15 am. This is repeated at the end of the day starting at 2.45pm until the last pick up time at 3.15pm. On Friday there will initially be an earlier finish, starting at 1pm until 1.30pm and a smaller group leaving at 3.15pm. The letter we sent to parents with more details is below.

We are creating a one way system to ease congestion and ensure social distancing so all children, staff, parents, carers and visitors to the school will come onto site through the Blakeney Fields gate. Parents and carers will be driving onto the site, stopping at the playground gates, dropping their child off and then driving off the site. People walking in will walk in through the Blakeney Fields gate and leave by the Spring Meadows gate. All staff will be parking on Spring Meadows and walking round to the Blakeney Fields gate. Obviously, we will review this each day and adapt our plan - we want to avoid causing any inconvenience to our neighbours who have been so supportive, particularly over the last few weeks. If you have any comments, please use the form below. Thank you.

Happy birthday to Darcie R for Saturday and Ashdon- Lee for Wednesday!

Friday, 22nd May

Well what a turn out for Sports Day at Home! I couldn’t believe it either because when I asked Mrs Oberholzer for the results (thank you so much for compiling the results and organising the events) I found out something very interesting - trying to build up the suspense…and this is honestly what has happened….everyone medalled! You all came 1st, 2nd or 3rd in one or more races out of the whole class group that took part. If you would like to know your place, please email me and I’ll send you your results. Amazing!

Some of you had your own races at home including bike races and obstacle courses. Some of you have even had an awards ceremony with medals and bouquets. What we really hope is that you had a brilliant day and enjoyed the last day of term!

So, the final result…the result you have all been waiting for. The one which Mrs Higgins is sitting on the edge of her seat for is…which class had the most participants? Was it Robins, Kingfishers, Owls or Red Kites?

It was……..ROBINS!

Well done Robins, you were very closely followed by Kingfishers and Owls. Mrs Higgins will shortly be making her winning speech on behalf of all the children and parents in Robins.

“I thought I was the competitive one but it turns out that our families are too! There was much sibling rivalry going on...the e-mails, videos and photos demonstrate all the amazing efforts everyone put in to make it a winning day for all.”

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part today - thank you parents for making it a special day and thank you children for your fantastic effort!

STOP PRESS: There is an award for the class with the most entries for Sports Day at Home and Mrs Higgins has sent out an email to all her parents telling them that Robins have to win it!! You know how competitive Mrs Higgins gets!! Mrs Oberholzer is receiving all the results so she’ll keep us updated…come on Kingfishers, Owls and Red Kites…don’t make it easy for Robins!

Sports Day at Home
First of all, watch the video to find out about the activities - what a great job our sports leader has done! Here is his message for today:

Yippee, today is sports day! Lets get those trainers on and get warmed up ready for a special day! Give it 100% and see how many points you can score! But above all else remember to have fun and enjoy yourself!

Good luck everyone and stay safe!

Then fill in the form to let us know how you got on. Got some of you own ideas for events? Brilliant! Set some challenges for your family! Maybe it’s an obstacle course, maybe it’s a race to get dressed this morning! Have some fun!

Join Bishop Steven for a worship about courage.

Thursday, 21st May

First of all, WOW! I’ve watched children in school being super inventive and I know that you’ve been working hard at home too. Did you like the change in home learning for this week? Something a little different which we hope helped you have some fun at home. Can’t wait for sports day tomorrow! Here is a message from our sports leader.

“Hello everyone, it’s going to be sports day tomorrow! I know it will be strange as we’ll be doing it from home but we can still have a go and take on the challenge! Just try your best and remember ‘Have a go Henry’!”

And now today, it’s Outdoor Learning Day! Mhairi has been suggesting all sorts of activities you can do at home - they’re all below if you missed them, along with this week’s ideas in number 8.

Wednesday, 20th May

Morning! It’s ‘Thank a teacher day’ today and the PTFA have sent us this fantastic video for all the staff. Thank you so much children, parents and PTFA - we love it!
This act of kindness has blown us away! Thank you!

Tuesday, 19th May

So what did you think of the ‘Just Sing’ video? Thank you to Mr Holder for putting it together. I hope it cheered up your day - it certainly cheered up ours when we watched it for the first time.

And what did you think about Day 1 of THE PROJECT? We hope you had some fun with it - it’s a great opportunity to be creative. When we were planning it, we thought about the resources you might need and were worried that you wouldn’t be able to create all the projects because you didn’t have everything at home…then we thought a little more. For example, what if you didn’t have any string? What could you use instead? How inventive could you be? Mrs Kimber thought using dental floss and Mrs Higgins thought about cutting up tights (check first!). You don’t always have to have the actual item - be inventive!

Did you watch Newsround yesterday about Mental Health Awareness Week?

Do you remember the quote from last week’s Collective Worship?

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness?”

Seneca, a Roman philosopher

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, send me the acts of kindness that you have seen or been a part of.

Monday, 18th May

Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Week! Start with our Worship including songs from ‘The Lion King’. Then look further below for a surprise…

We’ve been working on new project pages - this is where you’ll find today’s learning…and we’ve also been working on our project!

JUST SING!

Friday, 15th May

Hello! Please join me (and two special guests) for whole school worship.

Thursday, 14th May

Morning…next week there is going to be something special on this page…I can’t tell you the details yet…but I think it will make you laugh out loud! I can give you one clue…maybe not. I’ll give it away! Anyway - Monday morning - be here!

Next week we’ve got sports day - we’ll send out a form for you to sign up for different races.

What does it feel like when the race is about to start? How do you get better at running? How do you get better at anything?

Wednesday, 13th May

Good morning! I wanted to show a bit of compassion today, so I’m sharing some animal pictures to start your day well (an emotional wellbeing top tip!). My daughter and I send each other photos of animals that we’d like as pets. Of course, we’re not going to get one - I just imagine what it would be like and it cheers me up. What would be your dream pet? Cat? Dog? Dragon? Can you have a mermaid as a pet?

Have a think about compassion today. I would love to add your prayers to our collective worships. Please either send in a prayer or a video (it needs to be filmed in landscape view) of you reading a prayer. It could start with ‘please’ or ’thank you’ or ‘help us’…send them in by Friday. Thank you!

Tuesday, 12th May

What a windy day it was yesterday! Mrs Jung, Mrs Nuttley and I had new hairstyles by the end of the day! Right, time to tell me your good news. Who have you seen being compassionate? Has anyone showed courage? Endurance? Wisdom? Trust? Friendship?

Monday, 11th May

Morning! I hope you enjoyed some VE day celebrations on Friday.

Well, what news that was yesterday. I’m sure, like us, you will have lots of questions. As soon as the government give us more details, we will be in touch.

In the meantime, join me in Whole School Worship today in Kingfishers
classroom. Listen out for prayers from Hannah, Frankie, Gracie and one more guest appearance - find out more by watching the video!
What does compassion mean to you?

Friday, 8th May

Happy Birthday Evie!

It’s the 75th anniversary of VE day today! A day to celebrate! Join Reverend Miri for Whole School Worship and maybe at the end, you might like to sing a song like Robyn’s ‘We’ll meet again’. VE day activities are on the home learning resources page.
If you want to dig for victory, help yourself to one of the seed potatoes in the red box at the Spring Meadows gate - let me know if you are further afield and would also like one!

Thursday, 7th May

If you do nothing else today, please listen to the song. Remember there will be a time when we will meet again too.

Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of VE Day - Victory in Europe Day. Victory in Europe Day took place on May 8th 1945. It was a public holiday and day of celebration to mark the defeat of Germany by the Allied forces in Second World War and the end of six years of suffering, courage and endurance across the world.

During the war, people sang songs to keep their spirits up and one of those songs was, “We’ll meet again”. Vera Lynn sang the original version but this version is on a whole different level! Thank you so much to our amazingly talented Red Kite who has been preparing this for you. (I hope you have your tissues ready!)

Wednesday, 6th May

These are the Sports Day at Home ideas so far:

• Imaginary obstacle course (jump over a mountain, hop over a river, crawl through a tunnel)

• Tail ball tennis, Kerby, burpees, skipping, wheel barrow race

• Egg and spoon! And jump through tyres

• Egg and spoon race, skipping rope race, dribble a ball race, jumping, hopping, beanbag on heads

• Obstacle course

• Running races and obstacle races with the family, timed activities e.g. jumps in a minute (these could be against their friends). Ball activities such as dribbling a ball or throwing a tennis ball into a box

• Hula hoop challenge.

• Long walk

  They sound great - keep your ideas coming!

Happy Birthday to Samantha and Hannah

and also Happy Birthday to Jess today!

Tuesday, 5th May

Two questions for you today. First - what sports events would you like to have on Sports Day at Home (22nd May)? Do you want to have the number of burpees you can do in a minute or a hula hooping challenge? Do you want to race against people in your household or children in your class? Have a think and then fill in the form to let me know.

Second question - who would you like to nominate for a Values Award? Whoever you nominate will receive a certificate. It could be someone in your class, someone in another class or someone at home. Why do they deserve the award? Let me know!

Monday, 4th May

Morning, morning! Welcome to whole school worship in Robins class. Thank you for the prayers Emily SJ and Willow.

Friday, 1st May

It’s reflective Friday! Rev Miri has been thinking about you all and has sent us this message.

Thursday, 30th April

Happy birthday to Erin and Georgia!

Have you seen the PTFA competition? It looks amazing! Remember to take your camera on your daily exercise today - hope it doesn’t rain too much!

Wednesday, 29th April

Morning! Why do we pray? What are prayers for? When you listen to your class worship today, if you want to, you can have a think about what sort of prayer you would like to say. Send me your prayers and I’ll read them out during whole school worship next Monday. Make sure they arrive with me by Friday.

Tuesday, 28th April

Today I thought we could have a go at a Learning Power Award but first of all, you will need to make one. It could be a certificate or it could be a trophy like this one:

Put a label on it so that you can use it more than once - you will be awarding it for Courage, Compassion, Trust, Friendship, Wisdom or Endurance. As you make it, think about who you would like to award it to and why.

Monday, 27th April

Morning! Join me for whole school worship today! You can finish the worship by choosing one of the songs from ‘Out of the Ark’. The Sunday one looks good but you choose! Send me your prayers and I can include in my next worship.

Friday, 24th April

Good morning! Ready for Reflective Friday? Please feel free to continue to look at the BBC resources today but it is a chance to catch up, think back on the learning and enjoy the sunshine! I had a lovely chat with Reverend Miri yesterday - she’s thinking of you all! Rev. Miri is also working with us on whole school worship that we can put on the website. Remember to count your reading minutes - closing time is today at 11.30am so we can put it in the newsletter!

Thursday, 23rd April

Do you remember when we talked about saints? Who is the patron saint of Wales? Who is the patron saint of Ireland? Who is the patron saint of Scotland? England?

So what is a saint? Can anyone be a saint? Why did George become a saint? Which Christian Values did he demonstrate the best? Watch the video on Red Kites home learning page to decide!

Wednesday, 22nd April

Hello! I’ve been reading Michelle Obama’s autobiography and it got me thinking about historic moments that we all experience. This is certainly a historic moment. I wonder how we will remember it - what would be the best bits? What would want to remember for ever? If we had a time capsule from these last few weeks, what would we put in it? Let me know your thoughts. What are you reading at the moment? Start getting those reading minutes ready for Friday’s newsletter!

Tuesday, 21st April

Morning! Another beautiful day ahead (I hope!) The teachers have had a really close look at what BBC Bitesize and Oak National Academy have to offer. We are going to use them to enhance our home learning programme so sometimes we’ll use them, sometimes not. Sometimes we’ll choose to offer their learning but in a different order. This is because we know your children so well. We know what they have learnt already, what they need to learn next and we know how they learn. Whilst what Oak National Academy and BBC Bitesize offer is good - they don’t know your children like we do! We continue to follow the National Curriculum but have adapted our curriculum intent for our current situation.

Consistency is also important for the children’s learning. For example, phonics can be taught using lots of different schemes but if we teach the children using lots of different schemes, it can become very confusing. That’s why we use the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme and the resources from Jolly Phonics.

Our whole school maths scheme is White Rose Maths so it’s fantastic that they have launched a home learning scheme for us to use. It uses the same approach that the children have been used to in school.

So, all in all, yesterday was a very productive day for everyone and the teachers are ready to go with their new resource toolkit!

Monday, 20th April

Welcome back - I know we can’t see each other but I am thinking about you all! How was your Easter break? Some of you had birthdays over the holiday - Happy Birthday to Dominic and Sophie! The teachers are all watching the BBC lessons today to see how they can use them for your home learning. Please have a look too and let me know what you think.

Did you have a chance to listen to ‘Voices for Easter’? See if you can recognise the voices! There is a current pupil, Reverend Miri, Mrs Oberholzer and others…guess who! Scroll down to hear them all!

Easter Break Day 4

How many of you remember the Owls performing ‘Voices for Easter’ by Geraldine McCaughrean? They performed it brilliantly and carefully told the story of Easter from different people’s points of view. We thought you might like to hear it again only this
time, it’s school staff, Reverend Miri, Governors, past pupils and other guests who are reading the parts.

So Jesus rode on a donkey through the streets and his followers came to see him. When they got home that night…

The Pharisees were the people who made sure everyone kept the Jewish laws. They were very strict on others and thought they were very important people! Watch out for the Pharisees, they come into the story later.

This is what happened next.

Matthew 21:12

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and
selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of
those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be
called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Meanwhile, the scribe (someone who could write legal documents) and the
Pharisee had their own ideas.

A few days after Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, it was Passover. Jesus asked
his disciples to prepare a room for the twelve disciples and himself to share a
Passover meal. They rented a room from this person:

How desperate were some people to get rid of Jesus?

Later that evening, after the meal, Jesus and some of the disciples went to pray in the
Garden of Gethsemane. While he was there, Judas betrayed Jesus.

As Jesus was arrested, one of the guards was injured. This is what happened
to him.

I wonder if you know who this character is describing - which disciple would deny knowing Jesus?

Jesus was taken to the courts because the Jewish elders said that Jesus had claimed to be the king of the Jews. Pontius Pilate was the Governor in charge.

So the crowd chose for Barabas to be set free and Jesus to be crucified. Why do you think Herod (the son of King Herod who tried to have Jesus killed when Jesus was a baby) wanted to wash his hands?

Matthew 27:27

27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head.
They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked
him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.

Easter Break Day 3

Hello - still doing the Joe Wicks workout every morning - a great way to start the day! The link below is a link to a book explaining coronavirus to children with familiar illustrations by Axel Scheffler who also illustrated ‘The Gruffalo’.

Safeguarding links:

Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership website links below:

https://www.berkshirewestsafeguardingchildrenpartnership.org.uk/scp/parents-and-carers/information-for-parents-and-carers

https://www.berkshirewestsafeguardingchildrenpartnership.org.uk/scp/parents-and-carers/important-safety-messages-children-and-babies

Easter Break Day 1

Hello all - on occasion, during the Easter break, I plan to update my home learning page from time to time with opportunities or information updates.

Week 2 Day 5

STOP PRESS - Fantastic news! Baby Jack and Baby Ralph have joined our Chaddleworth and Shefford family! Congratulations to Mum, Dad, Cam and Isla!

12pm Reading Minute Totals - 2325 reading minutes - you’ve smashed last week’s 752 minutes! Well done! Keeeeep reading!

Robins - 440 minutes

Kingfishers - 255 minutes

Owls - 850 minutes

Red Kites - 300 minutes

(+350, 80 and 50 - let me know which classes you are in so I can add them on :)

11am Reading Minutes Update - the times are coming in now - 12pm deadline. Remember to tell me which class you are in! Scroll down for the survey to log your minutes.

It's Reflective Friday! Time to look back on what you have achieved over the last week. What did you enjoy? I wonder what you did if you found something difficult. What would you like to do all over again? What would you not want to do, in a million years, ever again? What made you sad? What made you laugh? 

By 12pm today, the teachers will have said their holiday goodbyes so get your emails in long before then if you want a reply today. They will post a holiday passport for you to try, like we usually do - 10 activities to get you active, being creative, adventurous, curious and innovative. Be ready for ‘Check In Monday’ on 20th April. See the newsletter for more details.

Week 2 Day 4

5pm Reading Minutes update

Robins - 350 minutes

Kingfishers -

Owls -

Red Kites - 300 minutes

I know this isn’t right! Please use the form to send me your minutes! My big calculator is waiting for all those minutes to add up!

Newsletter day today - please send photos and reading minutes to class teachers this morning. I expect you are busy making your posters for the hospital as well - I wonder what you have drawn and what inspiring messages you might have added.

Week 2 Day 3

Morning, morning! It was -2 degrees on the way into school. Freezing! I had an email from a parent yesterday asking if we would be interested in making some posters to support the NHS workers and cheer up the hospital wards. Yes we would! You might also like to put a message on your poster to inspire people. Send me a photo of your poster and I’ll send it on to the hospital workers.

Week 2 Day 2

12pm

Well done to Emily S-J who has read for 25 minutes today. Fantastic! Keep those minutes coming in - let your class teacher know!

9am

If you want to, you can say an uplifting prayer or have some time to consider what you are looking forward to today while watching the candle. “A tiny light, a tiny prayer, for all God’s children everywhere.”

Week 2 Day 1

Thank you for your feedback - it has been overwhelming positive. You like the opportunity to contact the teachers. Some of you would like less learning and some more challenging learning so we’ve adapted those year groups. Let me know what you think! Congratulations to Year 1 who completed the most number of minutes on Maths Whizz last week!

Day 5

It’s Reflective Friday! There will be no new learning on the home learning pages but click through and have a look at your class message. Look back at what you haven’t tried. What did you enjoy? What was more challenging?

THE BIG QUESTIONS: What does it mean to be isolated? Are we ever alone?

Spend some time reading today - we are up to 752 minutes on our 200 million minute challenge - let your class teacher know how many minutes you have read for.

Please complete this short survey so that we can plan for next week!

Day 4

Morning! We are one day behind on Joe Wicks’ workout so I’ve reached for the stars, bunny hopped and done the spiderman lunges - time for a cup of tea! Did you listen to David Walliams’ story yesterday? Let me know! Owls remember to email me today with your learning.

Newsletter photos: Please send me your photos for the newsletter of your amazing learning deadline 6pm headteacher@csf.w-berks.sch.uk

Day 3

12pm

I’ve seen photos of ham sandwiches, heard about story writing, been told about your timetables and also how hard you are working - fantastic! The Value of ‘Wisdom’ shown in many different ways! Knowing when to work and when to take a break is so important and adding in the exercise can be great fun too - Joe Wicks round three tomorrow - muscles aching but will give it a go!

David Walliams audiobooks:

https://soundcloud.com/harpercollinspublishers/sets/david-walliams-1

Internet safety:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/article-internet-use-and-safety