October - Black History Month

As part of Black History Month, we have been looking at the story of the incredible Rosa Parks.

 

 On the 1st December, 1955, Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. Rosa Parks is called the Mother of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement Further details and activities for children can be found at http://www.gardenofpraise.com/ibdrosa.htm 

The children have also undertaken some group work, researching one of the following: Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman, Laurie Cunningham, Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, Martin Luther King Jr, Dotun Adebayo, Mary Seacole or Will Smith; all people who have (in their own way) worked hard to make a difference in the fight for equality.

 

Whole School Cinema Trip

This morning, the whole school went to Cineworld (Bury St. Edmunds) to watch 'The Lorax' as part of Film Education's National Schools Film Week.

It was a fantastic morning - the children were great and thoroughly enjoyed their time. The film was simply incredible - based on the story by Dr Seuss, 'The Lorax' has a vital message for us all on how to protect the world that we live in so that we'll all be able to enjoy it in the future.

Bedfield 2 Earl Soham 2

On a somewhat chilly autumn afternoon, Earl Soham travelled to our near neighbours, Bedfield, for a spiffing game of association football.

Both schools decided to split themselves into two teams, each contesting a match of two lots of 10mins. During the first  set of action, Earl Soham were rather unfortunate  to find themselves two goals behind having conceded via a corner and a deflected shot.

The next set of action was a highly entertaining goal-less ten minutes which saw end-to-end action between two equally committed teams.

Having reverted back to the original starting line up, the next set of ten minutes saw Earl Sam firstly reduce the deficit through Ashwell and then pull level via a splendidly taken goal by Smith (Z).

So, the last ten minutes would be decisive. Both teams are to be credited for their enthusiasm and endeavour, but neither side could quite find the deciding goal. Thus, it ended 2 - 2.

It was brilliant to see so many of our children playing for the first time - you did really well.

Ultimately, it was fantastic to see two great schools really enjoying the opportunity of being able to compete against each other in such a respectful and enjoyable way. More, please!

Photographs courtesy of H Nesling

'Waiting for Christmas' - Recording Session

 

  This afternoon, 38 of our Key Stage 2 children spent 4 hours recording songs and videos for the 'Waiting for Christmas' project. The children joined many others from local primary schools for a fantastic afternoon of singing, led by such enthusiastic organisers. The children have been learning the lyrics since September, so this was a chance for them to show how much they'd learnt...

 From the recordings, a CD and DVD will produced, which should be available during late November. The project culminates with a live evening performance at the Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe, during the week beginning 2nd December - based on today, it should be marvellous.

I'd like to thank the parents for their support of this project and also complement all of the children on their behaviour during a very long and tiring afternoon.

The project is aiming to raise over £50,000 to to enable Tearfund to undertake projects, supporting families, all over the world. Some of the key aims of the 2012 project are:
• To provide a creative focus of resources for schools leading up to Christmas
• To provide a unifying project for children at primary/junior schools in the area
• To raise awareness of issues of poverty and injustice
• To raise money for charity, particularly for third world children through Tearfund
• To help convey the message of Christmas in a fun way

Suffolk Sports Awards - Primary School of the Year - Runners Up

 Last night saw a group of Earl Soham staff attend the 2012 Suffolk Sports Awards at Trinity Park. It has been an exceptional year for the school both in terms of success and opportunities in many sporting arenas.

Reaching the final three schhols was a tremendous achievement which is a fantastic recognition of the efforts which staff, pupils and parents have put in to providing, participating in and supporting such a variety activities.

This year's winners were St. Louis Roman Catholic Primary School, Newmarket. Below you can see Mrs Barker, who has been such a driving force behind sport at Earl Soham, with our runners up award.

Writer of the Week

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