Talent Show

On Wednesday afternoon we held our annual talent show. The children signed up to perform and shared a wide variety of interesting talents, from playing guitar and drums, to gymnastics and singing. There were sketches and comedy acts and performance poetry, and of course the usual slapstick falling-on-the-floor routine...

Well done to you all for taking part. X-Factor here you come!

Dance Club

On Wednesday at Dennington Village Hall the school dance club held a joint performance with  Middleton Primary  School. Well done to all the children who took part, and thanks to Mrs Jarvis for all her hard work in organising this event which we hope will become an annual venture.

May Day Morris Dancing

This morning we were joined on the school playground by the East Suffolk Morris Men, who had had a very early morning celebrating the dawn of May Day at Felixstowe Beacon. They were kind enough to stop in at the school before going home to give a performance to the children, staff and pre-school group. The dances were fantastic fun and everyone got into the spirit, clapping, cheering and some even joining in one of the dances.

Go Mr Pearce!

Watch more May Day Morris Dancing on our YouTube channel

A Feast of East Anglian Folk Music

This afternoon Green Class was joined by Mary Humphreys and David Dolby of Suffolk Folk, who entertained and educated us with a selection of folk songs and music.

We began by learning about the different types of folk song: songs that tell a story; songs with a refrain; and songs with a chorus. The children listened beautifully and joined in with the refrains and choruses.

After a short break, we were taught an OXO reel. This 32-bar dance got everyone up and moving and, despite some of us finding it tricky to coordinate our limbs, we all had a fantastic time trying, as can be seen in the photographs below.

Gymnastics and Dance Routines

Below are the excellent Gymnastics and Dance routines performed at the Suffolk County Finals in Bury St Edmunds and at Suffolk Schools Dance Jam. 

Amazing work!

Suffolk Schools Jam!

Earlier this evening, following a morning of technical rehearsals, two groups of children performed at the Suffolk Schools Jam held at DanceEast. One group consisted of current pupils in Years 3 -6, whilst the other group consisted of ex-pupils who are now in Year 7 at Thomas Mills.

Both groups were simply majestic. It is almost impossible to express how good they were and how proud of them we are. Sadly, photography was not allowed so a pictorial record doesn't exist, but vivid memories will linger long in the mind. So good was it that many a tear could be seen in the eyes of parents and grandparents alike

Mrs Jarvis has done yet another incredible job in inspiring these children to such a high standard, whilst never forgetting the importance of enjoyment. Thanks also to Mrs Barker for her continued support.

Finally, thank you to everyone who supported this children in a real team effort, I'm sure that you'll agree that all the hard work was well and truly worth it.

Alice B, Bella, Rebecca, Poppy, Alice K, Emily, Joanne, Joseph, Sophie, Laura, Grace, Molly, Katie, Sadie, Jamie and 'old hands' Jeremy, Natalie, Jasmine, Jack and Ellie you were absolutely brilliant!

Dance Club

This afternoon, parents were invited to watch the work in progress of our dancers, who attend Dance Club with Mrs Jarvis on a Wednesday. Although some of the dances are yet to be finished, they put on a superb performance. It was great to see children from lower KS2, right through to some ex-pupils in year 7, who return specially to take part in dance club. 

I hope you enjoy watching the videos. 

DanceEast Performance

What a fantastic performance!

Thursday 12th July saw the culmination of weeks and weeks of hard work in putting together a dance worthy of performance in public, by the 14 members of Mrs Jarvis's after school club. Boy was it worthy! When I saw their final rehearsal in school I was moved to tears, today they took it to the real stage at Jerwood House, home of DanceEast, Ipswich. After a technical rehearsal in the morning,where Mrs Jarvis put in the finishing touches, the very excited children returned in the evening to showcase their work alongside 6 other school groups. They were superb!! Even though by this time I had seen it 3 or 4 times, each time I spotted something new that I hadn't seen on a previous occasion, such was the variety of movement, use of space, timing, paired and individual work...I could go on!

We were not allowed to film in the evening, but the video above is from our rehearsal. The photos below are from the mass warm-up, just before the show started, from the hairdressing salon in Red Class at the end of school (thank you Mrs Robinson) and of the children showing their appreciation to Mrs Jarvis. Thank you so much Mrs J. - they were great!

Talent Show

On Tuesday afternoon, the children took their seats for the big event of the year: the Talent Show. On offer this year were a range of talents - singing and dancing, playing instruments, comedy, impressions and even a Zumba Fitness workout routine.

Below are some of the highlights of the afternoon.

Piano Recitals

"We Three Kings"

The Pink Panther Theme Tune

Theme from The Piano

Instrumental Pieces

"I Predict a Riot" by The Kaiser Chiefs

"Talking About a Revolution"

"Granite"

Dance

Smooth Criminal

Zumba Fever

Singing

"Jingle Bells" in Latvian!

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

And finally, with the winning entry...

"The Ash Grove"

Early Evening News...Friday 2nd December.

The pirate ship has been sunk!
Red class this afternoon received another letter - a cry for help from Sweep! It was addressed to the Red Rescuers ( if you recall they rescued the mermaid earlier in the week), but they needed to enlist the help of Yellow Class and Jennie ( because she was the tallest) for the mission to succeed.

They had to teach the pirate dance to Yellow Class, then we all had to do it together! Chaos - but mission accomplished - Sweep was rescued and returned safe and sound to Mr Pearce.


The ship sadly floundered in the storm - and is no more.

Dance East Workshop

On Thursday afternoon, we were visited by Lily from Dance East who gave an excellent cross-curricular dance workshop based on 3D shape. The children worked both individually and in pairs and small groups, preparing a sequence of moves to describe a chosen 3D shape. The resulting performances can be seen in the videos below.

Half term dance workshop

Jeremiah "2" the Misty Mountains

With only a day to go before the 'big day' I thought you might like a bit of a teaser trailer. Here are some photos taken during rehearsals to whet your appetites.

Dance East - The technical rehearsals in the theatre

The children's dance was entitled  'ESCAPE'  and as the title suggests was about breaking away and being an individual, not following the crowd. It was a collaboration between group members and the choreographer, Mrs Jarvis, whom we must thank sincerely for helping each and every one of the children enjoy such an exciting opportunity.

The music used was Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers.

The two videos below were taken from different angles. We hope you enjoy watching them as much as we did.

Suffolk Schools' Dance Jam - The Rehearsals

Earl Soham @ Suffolk Schools' Dance Jam

Yesterday evening, if front of an expectant full house, the Earl Soham dance group entertained a diverse audience with a simply stunning performance.
It was the first ever Schools' Dance Jam to be held at Dance East in Ipswich. Following an afternoon of rehearsals, and many weeks of practice, the 'show' started at 7pm. And what a show it was!
Earl Soham were due to be fourth on stage. By 7pm, my stomach was tied in multiple knots. Having been entertained by dancers from Westbourne Sports College, Wells Hall Primary School and Kesgrave High School, the 14 dancers from Earl Soham took to the stage. At this point, I was trembling with a mix of excitement, anticipation and anxiety. Goodness knows how the parents and children felt. What was to follow was 5minutes of the most wonderful dance. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked on to see something quite incredible and is now so hard to describe in words which would do it justice.
I often use the word 'proud' to describe much of what the children at Earl Soham do. This performance, based on the commitment, effort and skills of all involved, has left me beaming with pride. One day after the event I still can't stop smiling about it.
Having spoken to many parents, I know that they were all similarly 'taken aback' by what their children produced. Thank you for your tremendous support throughout. As stated in an email I received after the performance - 'I am a very very proud Mum tonight. My child is on a high at the moment & I hope this is something he remembers for the rest of his life' - I believe that this is something to stick in everyone's memory for a long time.
Finally, huge thanks go to Mrs Jarvis for her encouragement and commitment to the children throughout this process.

Half-term Dance Workshops - Tuesday 31st May

  

Many thanks to Mrs Jarvis for giving the children this creative opportunity during the half-term break - it was enjoyed by all participants and audiences of parents. Each dance was created from scratch in an hour and a half using many of the children's own ideas.

Key stage 1 children enjoyed being "naughty toys".



Key stage 2 were the "hidden faces of mischief" !

Growth and Change Presentation Afternoon

This afternoon, parents were invited to come and share in some of the excellent work that the children in Blue Class have done over the past term in their Growth and Change project. There was an excellent turn-out and the children thoroughly enjoyed talking to parents and explaining what they had learnt. The highlight of the afternoon was the performance of the class dance: The Life Cycle of a Plant (a copy of which is available to view on the school's blog if you missed it).

Well done to all of Blue Class, who have put in a huge amount of work and produced some stunning results.

Dance Video - The Life Cycle of a Plant

Following a ten-week project on Growth and Change, Blue Class are proud to present their dance video: The Life Cycle of a Plant, filmed on location in the school grounds and at Minsmere Nature Reserve.

We are very proud of the work we have done and would love to receive your comments below. 

If you have a high-speed broadband connection and wish to see the video in high definition, please follow this link to view it on Youtube.

Dance East Workshop - Guest Blog

This afternoon Year 6 children from Bedfield and Helmingham joined us in our hall for a dance workshop. Caroline from Dance East showed us a few moves. Then we worked in partners to create a half decent sequence! Next with our partners we joined up with another pair to add one of their moves to our sequence.


After finalising our sequence we showed Caroline and the rest of the class, they seemed to enjoy it. We didn't dance to normal music, but to an African drum played by Gary. After that we did some suspension work where we had to run to the middle of the hall and pretend we were being pulled up by a rope.

By Lily and Klara