Visit to Framlingham, May 2016

The whole school enjoyed a trip to Framlingham Castle on Monday 23rd May 2016. Blue Class also visited the church and looked at the tombs inside. Pupils took notes for their history studies and made sketches to be developed in to prints and pictures back at school. The trip inspired some excellent writing which was demonstrated by some of the writers of the week.

Praise for our pupils

This week, children in Yellow and Blue Class headed into Ipswich, to the New Wolsey Theatre to see the annual Rock-and-Roll Pantomime. This year, it was The Sword in the Stone. As always the cast were magnificent and the show was funny, exciting and full of audience participation. Mr Mansell once again got hauled up on stage by Dame Bernadette Broadbottom, much to the amusement of pupils and staff.

We received this message from a member of the audience late on Wednesday evening and were delighted to hear that our children didn't let us down:

Hello

A group of your pupils went to see the Sword in the Stone at the New Wolsey this afternoon.

We were sitting in the row immediately in front of the block of seats you had booked and I have to admit that we were rather taken aback when we realised that there were going to be so many children directly behind us.

However, their behaviour was excellent and I was very impressed by it. They were very good ambassadors for your school. The adults with them made sure that their excitement at being there didn't disrupt things for everyone else. Their enthusiasm and enjoyment was contagious - somebody sitting in front of me said that it was more fun than the evening performances because the children were so involved.

Also, their shouting was excellent!

It is good to know that through all this jolity, the children maintained exemplary behaviour
.

Sudbourne Print Makers

Today, the Year 6 pupils enjoyed a creative day at Sudbourne Print Makers. They produced a series of prints inspired by the RSPB's work with the Little Tern during the morning, and after lunch, produced self portraits based on photographs taken in school. 

It was a lovely relaxed atmosphere and the children enjoyed letting their creative sides out. 

Thank you to Jenny and Val at Sudbourne Print Makers for an excellent day!

A Day at the Seaside

With the sun shining, we set off today on our long-anticipated day out at Southwold. Organised by the School Council, it was a wonderful way to enjoy our local coastline and spend some quality time together as a whole school. The children were fantastically behaved and had a great time building sandcastles, digging holes and eating their lunches with added crunch!

We must say a huge thank you, firstly to the PTFA, who funded our travel costs, and secondly to the School Council, whose hard work throughout the year meant they were able to buy everyone an ice-cream.

What a lovely day. If you weren't able to join us, I hope you enjoy looking at the photos.

Sutton Hoo Visit

Following a relaxing half-term break, we set out this morning, a group of budding archaeologists, to sample the exciting Anglo-Saxon discoveries at Sutton Hoo. The children began by exploring the exhibition room where they saw a replica of the famous helmet, learnt how to write in runes and even got a chance to dress up in costume. 

From there, we went on to examine the burial mound, where we found out about the last resting place of the king of all the Angles, Raedwald. 

After lunch the children got hands on with history, handling a range of artefacts and using their archaeological skills to work out what they might have been used for. 

To round off the day, we let off steam in the adventure playground. It was a fabulous day, with lots of learning and even more fun. Thank you to The National Trust and their super volunteers for opening the site especially for us.  

Framlingham Trip

This morning all 48 children in Green Class, accompanied by staff and parent helpers, headed to Framlingham where we spent the morning exploring the castle. We learnt that the castle was built by Roger Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk in the 12th Century and later found fame when Mary Tudor was crowned queen whilst staying there. In the 17th Century the castle was bought by Sir Robert Hitcham and a poor house was erected on the site to serve the local community.

In the afternoon, we headed out into the town to do some geography fieldwork. The first task was to find out about the regulations and charges in the car parks around the town. This was followed by surveying the townspeople and visitors to find out their thoughts on the introduction of further parking charges.

Our job now is to take all this raw data and input it into a database so that we can analyse the results. We hope to be able to present our findings to interested parties and to the town council when we have collated all the information.

I have included a small selection of photographs from the day above. There will be many more to follow (they will be added to the slideshow below) when we have downloaded them from the cameras that the children took with them.

Sea, Sand and Plenty of Fun Just Goes to Show You Don't Need the Sun!

Paying no heed to the Great British Weather, all the classes set off this morning for a lovely day at the beach. We arrived at Southwold, where we were met by Mr Pearce, who had gone early to check out the quality of the fried breakfasts on the pier (apparently very tasty).

We ignored the grey clouds and set off along the seafront, enjoying the brisk breeze blowing in from the South-East. When we reached a suitably wide section of beach, we made camp and let the fun begin.

There were cracking sandcastle competitions:



Some fun geography fieldwork:



Plenty of paddling:



Parading on the pier:



Not to mention messy ice-creams:



What a fantastic day! A big thank you to the School Council, without whose planning today would never have happened. Thanks also to all the parents and staff who helped make the day so much fun.

Here are all the photos, for you to enjoy. (I haven't added the pictures from Yellow class yet, but if someone could let me have them, I'll make sure they are added to the collection.)

Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Day

This morning, year six pupils set out, with their friends from Helmingham and Bedfield, to Thorpe Woodlands, where a day of team challenges and adventurous pursuits awaited them.

After some warm-up games, the children were divided into four groups and each set off to the first of their three activities, which included Team Challenge and Low Ropes, Big Swing, Caving, Climbing and Canoeing.

Highlights of the day for me consisted of:

• finding out in the team challenge that I needed two other people to balance me on the see-saw;
• getting wedged in a tunnel whilst caving;
• and nearly breaking the fan descender (twice).

I have learnt today that:

• it is important to work as a team;
• not to go in the smallest tunnels in a cave;
• it's time to go on a diet!

I consider myself very lucky though, to have spent the day with a great bunch of kids, who threw themselves into the activities (and the river) whole-heartedly. 

One important note for anyone thinking of paying a visit to Thorpe Woodlands: take your lunch in a squirrel-proof bag, as otherwise you will be mugged.

Year 4, 5 & 6 Visit to Duxford

Today, 'Activities Week' for Year 4, 5 & 6 began with a trip to the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. For the first time in over a fortnight the sun shone and not a single drop of precipitation was endured!
As you can hopefully see by the photos above, a great time was had by all. The children got really 'hands on' in Hanger 1 (AirSpace), visited the Land Warfare Hanger, the American Air Hanger, the Battle of Britain Hanger and much more from over the past 100 years.
The children were also able to witness plenty of aircraft taking off and landing, plus doing some loop-the-loops! They boarded Concorde, tried on and handled equipment and looked inside a 'midgit' submarine and a World War II Operations Room. All-in-all, plenty to see and take in and more to look forward to as the week progresses with our theme of 'flight'.

Romans Go Home!

Yesterday the children in Blue Class set off early to Great Yarmouth where we had a real treat in store for us at the Time and Tide Museum. The children met three historical figures: Lady Livia Fortunata, a Roman woman; her bodyguard and member of the Roman army, Titus Flavius; and a Celtic villager, Ketha. They spent some time with each of the three characters, who talked about their lives and tried to persuade the children to join them.

Lady Livia was encouraging the children to come back to Rome to be her servants where they would learn useful trades and live in a luxurious villa.

Titus Flavius taught them about life in the Roman army, introducing them to some of the weapons and drill.

And Ketha described a more sedate, free life as a Celtic villager, hoping to try and make friends with the marauding Saxons who kept attacking British shores.

At the end of the three sessions the children were given the chance to choose who they would join.

After lunch and a brief look around the museum, we set off to Burgh Castle, the site of the Roman Fort, Garrianonum. The children toured the site, trying to picture what life might have been like for the cavalry unit who were garrisoned there 1700 years ago.

We will be following up our trip back in school by attempting to build our own model of the fort in the coming weeks.

Rock 'n' Roll Panto Trip

This afternoon, children in Year 2 - 6 went to see a fantastic performance of 'Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood' at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. This traditional annual trip to see the Rock 'n' Roll Pantomime was yet again tremendous fun.It was a truly great afternoon with plenty of singing, dancing, innuendo, double entendres, slapstick and laughter.How we cheered brave Robin Hood and booed the nasty (or maybe just misunderstood) Sheriff of Nottingham.
However, the highlight for all connected with Earl Soham was how the pantomime 'dame' (Nelly) took a shine to our very own Mr Mansell - and didn't he just love it!Yet again, the children were a joy to take out and it was great to see them enjoying themselves so much.
Thank you to the PTFA for funding the transport.

A Trip to the Vets!

This afternoon, as part of their topic on animals, Red Class walked up to the Earl Soham Business Park to visit the vets!The children were shown around the reception area where appointments are made. Then, they looked around the preparation area and saw some x-rays and scans. They were also able to see some animals recovering following illness.
The children looked at some of the instruments used in the vets when they try to find out what is wrong with the animals brought to them.
Many thanks to Mr Cloete and his team for making us feel so welcome and giving us a tremendous experience - it really helped to bring our topic to life!

A Trip to the Cinema

This morning, the whole school boarded two coaches and set off for Cineworld, Bury St. Edmunds. Having received free tickets to see 'The Zookeeper' via Film Education's National Schools' Week, everyone was in high spirits.

For many children, this was their first visit to the cinema, and it turned out to be a fantastic film. Most reviews do not appear to do this justice as the children laughed out loud at the antics of the animals and the 'unlucky in love' zookeeper, Griffin. Harsh old cynics like myself could see the way that the film was going and it was a delight for Griffin to finally realise that the girl of his dreams actually wasn't, in fact she was right by his side all along. The underlying messages of telling the truth, the importance of true friendship and being yourself (not what others want you to be) are quite subtle and refreshing.
The children were absolutely brilliant. It was time for the journey home...
Halfway through the return journey, one of the coaches developed a mechanical problem, reducing its speed to 25mph. Not good. Having pulled over into a lay by on the A14, the police were called who did a tremendous job in escorting us to the nearest service station. Whilst one coach returned to school for their 'cinema meal' the other coach ended up dining out in style at Burger King! It certainly was a birthday to remember for one young girl.

With the arrival of a replacement coach, we continued our journey back to Earl Soham. What an interesting day it had been. The children are to be highly congratulated, and thanked, for their behaviour during such 'interesting' circumstances. They've certainly got plenty to write about!

Some More Photos of our EcoTech Trip

Many thanks to Mr Bosley for sending me the photographs he took on the trip. Here are a sample. All the photographs can be found in our Picasa Webalbum.

Class Visit to the EcoTech Centre

Today, Blue class visited the EcoTech Centre in Swaffham. The children were welcomed with a short video explaining how power has traditionally been produced and some of the ways in which more sustainable alternatives are being sought.

The children then split into two groups. They each took part in a recycling activity in which they had to sort a variety of different types of waste into the correct containers -something which proved more difficult than it first seemed. The other morning activity involved a tour around the Eco-Centre building where they learnt about the importance of using sustainable materials in its construction.

After a short break for lunch, we had the exciting opportunity of climbing to the top of the world's only publicly accessible wind turbine. This meant a climb of some 305 steps, but the view from the top was well worth the effort. The children learnt that a single turbine of the type they climbed was capable of providing power for over 1000 homes. We were surprised by how quiet the turbine was. Even standing right beneath it, the noise from the road several hundred yards away was far louder than the occasional gentle swish of the majestic turbine blades.

The children also had the chance to build their own model wind turbine and test it using a fan. They experimented to see which configuration of turbine blades could generate the highest power output.

Everyone had an enjoyable day, and my only regret is that we didn't have longer to spend there.

Red Class @ Jimmy's Farm

Red Class had a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Jimmy's Farm earlier today. They saw a wide range of birds and animals including pigs, cows, sheep, pygmy goats, guinea pigs, chickens and peacocks.
One of the highlights was a visit to the butterfly house where the children were able to see a large variety of beautiful butterflies from around the world.
For many the most memorable event was seeing the pygmy goats playing in the adventure playground and trying to snaffle their packed lunches!

Year 4 & 5 Activity Week Begins

Whilst the Year 6 children enjoy the delights of 'African Adventure' for a week, Year 4 & 5 children are undertaking a boat-building project. The week started with a trip to 'Landamores' yacht builders in Wroxham, Norfolk. Their staff had kindly given up their lunch break to show the children around and explain how their fantastic 'bespoke' yachts are made to customers specifications.
Seeing the work of extremely talented people at first hand was an eye-opening experience for everyone. The sheer magnitude of the production is highlighted by the fact that, on average, 16,000 hours are spend fitting out each yacht.Hopefully, the children have got a 'buzz' for yacht building as for the rest of the week they'll be planning and building their own versions!
We are really appreciative to all at Landamores for giving up their time and making us feel so welcome.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

On Thursday 31st March, all children in Year 4, 5 & 6 went to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft to see the Shakespeare 4 Kidz performance of one of the Bard's classic plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The children roared with laughter at the antics of Bottom and Puck as the complex love story took many twists and turns.

The character who was the clear favourite was the mischievous Puck, as one Year 6 described him, "He was awesome!"

Whole School Cinema Trip

Seventy two children and a number of excited adults attended a screening of Toy Story 3 at Cineworld, Bury St. Edmunds. This was part of Film Education's schools' week, which offered free screenings to school children around the country. We were also fortunate that the PTFA funded the transport costs for everyone.
We arrived at the cinema with time to spare and settled down to what was almost a private viewing for us!
The adventures of Woody, Buzz, Jessie and co. continued with Andy (their owner) leaving home to go to college. What would happen to the toys? The highs and lows of this marvellous film were eagerly followed by all the children throughout.
The children were superbly behaved and had a great time and returned back to school in time for hot dogs and chips.

Yellow Class visit Sutton Hoo.

On a not so sunny Wednesday - July 14th - Yellow Class set off with great excitement to visit Sutton Hoo and Tranmer House - the former home of Mrs Edith Pretty. Mrs Pretty had already paid two visits to visit Yellow Class to ask for their help to publicise her treasure finds.




During the day the children were Exhibition Explorers, Archaeologists and 'Mound- taineers' , and here is a taster of what they got up to.




If you'd like to see more, visit Yellow Class during Open Evening on Monday 19th July.