1

Together on a learning adventure

Term Two Newsletter 2017

Dear Parents and Friends,

A warm welcome to Abigail Phillips and her

parents Roy and Deeya. Abigail is joining our

Reception class. We hope Abigail quickly

settles into her new class. We are sad to be

saying goodbye to Oisin Tadgh and his

family. They are moving to Cornwall and we

hope they soon feel at home there.

Carol Services

We hope that those of you who were able to

attend enjoyed the two Christmas Services.

We had a charming KS1 nativity called ‘The

Innkeeper’s Breakfast’ and a superb KS2

production called ‘The Christmas Jigsaw

Puzzle’.

Well done to all the actors, narrators and all

the children who sang their heart’s out.

Well done also to the talented musicians who

started the KS2 service off. Many thanks to

the wonderful Friends team who provided

mince pies and drinks after the services! We

raised loads which will go to maintain the Dry

Arch allotments that we use and who offer so

much to the children.

School Council Anti-Bullying Puppet Show

The School Council prepared and presented a

three-part puppet show to our new Reception

children to tie in with our 'anti-bullying'

week. Each group presented on a different

element of bullying. The first, 'what to do if

you are being bullied'. The second, 'what to

do if you see someone being bullied' and the

third 'what makes a bully'.

Each group performed their puppet show with

confidence and humour. The Reception

children commented afterwards how much

they enjoyed it and what they had learnt.

"Always be kind", "always tell a teacher if you

think you are being bullied", and “always tell a

teacher if you see someone being unkind."

Our Year 7s at Ralph Allen

Mrs Clarke enjoyed visiting our ex-pupils at

Ralph Allen School on Thursday 7th

December.

They enjoyed being back together as a group

and seemed to be very happy and positive.

Mrs Clarke was struck by how independent

and mature they have become. Well done to

all of our 2017 leavers as we keep hearing

great things about them in their new schools.

754 House Points so far!

The House points for this term at the point of

going to press are Heron House 169 points,

Kingfisher House 161, Mallard House 192 and

Swan House 232. Well done to every child

who has gained a house point! Every single

House Point represents an act of kindness or

courtesy and helped make the school a

happier place.

2

Wonderful Woods

Reception have been busy making, designing,

story-telling and learning about the world

around them using Bathampton School woods

as a great resource.

The woods and the autumn treasure have

helped us sort, order, count accurately and

add 1 more. We also got to play in the leaves!!

The children got creative with a range of

resources to create their own representation

of a tree. They all showed their own

imagination and creativity as every tree was

amazing and different. They then

photographed the art using the IPad for our

woodland art gallery.

Phoebe and Elvie later used the resources to

set up challenge- make a tree for someone

else to copy… can they make it identical? This

showed great spatial awareness and the

ability to communicate with each other.

We read some great Julia Donaldson books

and drew and painted story maps

together………… then a strange visitor came

to school and left us a note. It was the

Gruffalo! So we wrote straight back.

It has been an amazing term and we wish all

the children and families a very Happy

Christmas from all in Reception

Class One on Ice

Class One have had a busy term learning

about the Arctic and Antarctica. We have

found out lots of interesting facts about

penguins and polar bears. We wrote

some 'Did you know?' fact-files. Szabi found

out that 'Penguins keep their eggs on their

feet, otherwise the baby penguins will die'.

Josh wrote 'Penguins can hold their breath for

over 15 minutes and dive for fish'. Joseph

found out about different species of penguins

'There are king penguins chinstrap penguins

Gentoo penguins emperor penguins and

chinstrap penguins.' Emi learnt about polar

bears 'Mummy polar bears dig a hole to keep

their cub warm and cosy. Their father keeps

hunting for food all winter.'

Class One have also had fun this term

making, feeling, describing and melting ice.

We investigated where the ice melted the

quickest and where it melted the slowest. We

then thought about why this happened. Lots

of us were surprised that the ice cube that

was in the sun took a long time to melt

because the sun is so hot...eventually we

thought it was so cold in the air that the sun

could not get the heat to the ice cube.

3

Class Two Dry Arch Outdoor Adventures

At the beginning of term, on a cold and frosty

Thursday morning, Class Two went on a trip

to the Dry Arch to do some outdoor learning.

When we got there we were split into four

groups to complete four different activities.

First we made some yummy bread with jam or

cheese on top.

Second we did some gardening and it was

hard work but we collected lots of weeds.

Next we picked flowers and hers to create a

posy for our mummies or daddies.

Finally we picked some apples. The bread

making was the best because it was delicious!

In the cold afternoon we set off back to

school. It was really fun at the Dry Arch. I

hope we can go there again.

By Ben, Scarlett, Isaac and Jenson

Class Two Art Explosion

In art we have been experimenting with

different medias.

Alfie Henry Sophia

At the beginning of term we created fireworks

scratch pictures to accompany our firework

poems.

Fantastic fizzing fireworks

It’s sparkles hang like christmas lights

Red rockets rising

Exploding like a volcano

Whizzing

Out of this world like an alien invasion

Really big bangs

Kabooom

Sizzling shooting stars

By Zosha and Alexa

We have also created pictures of the dark

inspired by the story ‘Orion and the Dark.

Hugh Alexa Helen

And as part of walk to school week we created

road safety posters.

Shadows

In science, we have been exploring our topic

of light and dark by discovering how shadows

are created.

4

Class Three @Bristol (Now ‘We The Curious’)

Class Three had a terrific time exploring ‘We

the Curious’ in Bristol to learn about forces.

Here are some extracts from their recounts.

As soon as I walked in I noticed there was a

huge hamster wheel. It was very hard because

you had to push water when you were

running. Later on we went to see a Science

show. During the show we learnt about

friction. We also used a thermal imaging

camera to see how hot our bodies were.

By Tom and Alex J

As soon as I walked in that building it was

gargantuan! There were too many exhibits to

count! Immediately I rushed off to all the

exhibits. Two of my favourites were the spiral

wheel that if you stared at and then looked at

the floor, the floor looked like a spiral. The

other was an epic Science Show all about

forces.

By William

We learnt that a chicken and a plastic egg fall

at the same time because of gravity.

By Noah and George Mc

Next we saw a gigantic LEGO and everyone

made huge houses. The funny bit was when

Tom got stuck in his own Lego house. Then

we watched a show all about friction. In the

show Sophie got in a harness and delivered a

chicken.

By Sofia and Henry

After lunch we went to the planetarium. It

looked like a huge cinema with a domed roof.

Before we went in we had to grab 3D glasses.

The show was about if we were alone in the

universe or not.

By Tamara

When it was over I felt dizzy. It was amazing.

Everyone was tempted to reach out and grab

things coming towards us.

By Beth

After that we went into a test lab. It was

awesome because you had to dance in front

of a camera and you could see a hologram of

yourself through goggles.

By Talia

I loved ‘We the Curious’. I learnt that I could

create a huge mountain. If I went again I

would bring a clone with me (tee he)

By Gully

Our School trip to ‘we the Curious’ was

brilliant. I learnt loads! If I could go again I

might explore upstairs a bit more. It’s rating?

Ten out of ten!

By Wi

5

Class Three Outdoor Maths.

Class Three have been busy learning about

capacity.

One of the skills involved is being able to read

the quantity in different measuring jugs. This

can be quite tricky as often each interval on

different measuring jugs can have different

values. They can go up in 5’s, 10’s, 25’s, 50’s

100’s or even more. The children first had to

practise working out what each interval on

each measuring jug was worth.

Once this skill was mastered they began to

find out the capacity of a variety containers.

Everyone’s estimates became progressively

more accurate as the lesson progressed.

Including mine!

Children were working with larger amounts of

water that involved litres. Carrying litres of

water from the tap to the woods certainly

reinforced children’s ideas of capacity and

weight.

Writing recipies outdoors

Other games and learning

Playing the game ‘find a classmate that

weighs the same as you’

We found a mushroom so we weighed it!

The last sloes and rosehips from the tree

6

Class Four Geologists

On 1st

December, Josh’s mum came in and

talked to us about volcanoes, as she is a

geologist. She showed us some volcanic rocks

– our favourite was the obsidian, because it

was very interesting and shiny and had some

white dots.

Josh’s mum told us all about different types

of volcanoes, lava and some specific

volcanoes. She told us all about one volcano

that destroyed a whole village; only two

people survived! One of the survivors was

camping on the edge of the village so had

time to escape and the other was in prison

(the thick walls protected him)!

By Tilly, Matilda and Sacha

Sophie’s Volcanic Eruption Writing

Suddenly there was a noise. Fire blood lava

spewed out of the furious volcano. Spider

black ash blocked the angel sun. The lava

bubbled like it was laughing. Cold hearted.

Lava twisted like spaghetti on a fork. The

dark, evil volcano slowly rumbled.

The grumbling, trembling volcano exploded

chucking chunks of hot lava. As the lava

ripped people’s souls apart, the ash

continuously kept taking everyone’s hearts. I

felt hopeless like everyone else around me…

Class Five at Holburne Museum

On Tuesday 28th

November Class Five went on

a class trip to the exciting and brilliant

Holburne museum. We arrived at school at

our usual times and then set off on our trip.

As soon as we arrived, we filed off the coach

in rows then sat down in a room where we

watched a power point about how the Ancient

Greeks have influenced us today. Next, we

were given a clipboard, pencil and some

paper each.

Then we went to the ballroom and had an

Ancient Greek story told to us using the

images on an old painted plate. After that, we

split up into our three groups. One group

stayed in the ballroom, searched for artefacts,

finished the half-drawn pictures, which were a

centaur (half man half horse) and a satyr (half

man half goat). Another group went upstairs

and looked at then drew pottery. The last

group went downstairs to find and draw the

missing piece of Poseidon (trident).

7

Finally, we went back to the room we started

in and ate our snacks then made decorated

Greek plates using clay. It was an interesting

and enjoyable day.

By Jack and Elliot

Our Art Lesson

On Tuesday 5th

December, Richard Jones (an

illustrator) came into Class Five and gave us a

special Art Lesson. He helped us draw

pictures for our books (we are currently

writing our own children’s books). He drew

pictures of characters that we gave him and

this helped us with our ideas. He was really

good and very quick. He told us to press

lightly at first then go over darker when we

had completed our sketch. We learnt that

when the whole page is full of colour it is

called a full bleed and when it is one picture

on the page it is called a spot illustration.

Thank you Richard we had an interesting

afternoon and it has improved the

illustrations in our books!

Katie Sugg

Richard said afterwards “It was great to see

the class engage in the lesson and produce

some really nice work, their written pieces

were particularly creative too. There are one

or two individuals in the class who I thought

show real potential and display a good

standard of creative ability.

I think they all responded really well to

encouragement my main focus being that it is

not important to concentrate on mistakes, to

overcome and learn from it to produce

something better and how even professional

illustrators find it difficult to draw certain

things.

Shhh, Class Five are busy!!

It is always a pleasure to walk through the

school and see the children fully engaged.

As parents we ask our children what they

have done during the day and sometimes get

a shrug and a non-committal answer. In

reality the children are usually busy and

engaged all day. By the end of the day they

are sometimes tired and ready for a break.

8

Class Five go Swimming

In Class Five we have swimming lessons every

Monday. We have these lessons at Culverhay.

We swim in 3 different groups. Our teachers

are called: Ben, Sophie and Alison.

One swimming lesson a group played water

polo with a PE teacher who coached the

England’s Olympic water polo team!!! The

group split into two teams, girls and boys.

Someone on each team sat on a ladder on the

side of the pool and they had to catch the

ball. If they caught the ball a point was

scored. The girls won 3-1! Water polo is very

tiring! But we really enjoyed it.

By Zac and Sara

Class Five have kindly written about some of

the clubs they enjoy. There are plenty to

choose from!

Dance Club

On Friday after school, girls from Class Five

go to Dance Club and Mrs Lake runs the club.

Amelie and I really enjoy the club and hope to

do it again next year. In Dance Club, we have

been making up a dance to the song called

‘Dusk Till Dawn’ by Zayne. We will perform it

at the Forum in late March.

By Amelie and Alice.

Table tennis Club

Our table tennis coach, Ray, has been

teaching us to play table tennis. He has

taught us how to serve, hit backhands and

forehands, explained the rules, how to score

and how to play a match. He has recently told

us about an upcoming tournament at King

Edwards School (KES) in January. The people

competing are (drumroll please): Daragh

Keane, Ollie Morgan, Wilf Warren, Tom Hoskin

and George Shepard.

WE LOVE TABLE TENNIS!

By Ollie and Wilf

Chess Club

Chess Club is a great experience and has an

award winning, extra friendly teacher called

Joshua (Josh for short). People that struggle

with their Chess become amazing at it! Chess

club is run on every Monday for two terms,

sign up now and let the fun begin!

George and Dexter (Class 5)

Lace club

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

lunchtime some children from classes Five

and Six go to Lace Club. In Lace, you make

patterns with thread and you also use

bobbins to make it clear which thread is

which. There are different levels so as you get

better you do harder lace. When you start you

get a choice out of what pattern you do

between the balloon or Sid the snake. Mrs

Huntley is our art teacher and also teaches

Lace Club. After Sid the Snake or the balloon

you choose a pattern out of the Level 1 book ,

for example you might do the elephant, chick,

horseshoe or butterfly pattern.

The groups are quite small and only have five

or six people, so it is quite quiet and easy to

concentrate. You sometimes get to take your

lace home to finish it or to get to a certain

part.

By Maggie and Kit

Class Six Playground Friends

In Term 3 we are launching our new team of

Year 6 Playground Friends. They will be

helping to support children in the playground

who need a friendly word or advice.

9

Sports this term for Class Six

This term Class Six have been doing four,

amazing & fun, different sports.

Basketball, on Fridays after break

Cricket, on Thursday afternoons for 2

weeks

Then, dance for two week on

Thursdays

After that, rugby for the last 2 weeks

of term.

First, we had cricket. Mateo said he

liked it ‘because he learned how to

bat professionally’. Our cricket coach

was called Mark. We had so much

fun!

Then we had dance, with a lovely,

lively lady named Karen.

She was the most energetic lady I

have ever met. Katie said ‘how we

did it straight into the routine

instead of learning the moves and

then doing a routine.

While all of that happened on a

Thursday, on Fridays we had

basketball with a cool & funny coach

called Matt. He is an enthusiastic

man who never misses a shot. We

played king of the ring and some full

court matches. Noah said, ‘they are

fun and interactive games’. We had

Matt last year as well. It really was

worth it!

Written by Theodora Yr6

Year 6 e-Champions Online Safety

Keeping children safe online is really

important to us. The fabulous e-Champions

group led by govenor Emma Naysmith gave a

helpful parent support session using the app

‘Internet Matters’ which helps families

understand online safety issues.

Thanks you e-Champions!

Tree and Hedgerow planting in the New

Field…260 so far!

Here are a few photos from a successful day

of tree planting with Anna from the Forest of

Avon Trust and a lot of capable, independent

children from Class Five and some from Class

Six - and help from Lara and Eve Warner, a

Conservation Biology student from Bath Spa

Uni. It was a good day and 260 trees were

planted. By Tania Orgill

We believe that planting trees is important for

many reasons and it is going to be fantastic

for these children to come back in years to

come and see the trees and hedgerows

growing to maturity.

10

Australian Visitors…what happened next

This term Jennifer Geddes visited Bathampton

Primary School after 50 years of living in

Australia. She was an ex-pupil of the school

ago. Jennifer wanted to come back to our

school to see how it had changed. Mr Falkus

asked Miles and Hannah (Year 6) to give her a

tour.

Hannah and Miles showed Jennifer the whole

school she was so amazed about how it

changed , so much since she has lasted been

here in Bathampton. Jennifer said she used to

do hand-stands at the front of the school on

the wall and everybody had to take a nap half

way through the school day everyone hated

the nap. The boys and girls were separated by

a wall that’s still there today so that’s why at

the front of Bathampton school there’s a

boy’s door and a girl’s door.

As a thank you for showing her around the

school she once loved Jennifer send Hannah

and Miles two koala bears. These travelled all

the way from Australia to Bathampton.

This black and white photo shows Jennifer

aged six in 1950 at the school.

Brake!

We are grateful to the B&NES traffic team for

acting on our concerns. As one aspect of a

programme of improvements the speed limit

on Mill Lane halved to 30mph!

I am especially grateful to Fiona, Pnina and

Chery and the School’s Safe Routes to School

team who have been pushing for these

changes. We are still looking for a Crossing

Patrol Officer and the children below enjoyed

trying out the role in the playground.

We threw ourselves into a range of road

safety activities recently as part of national

road safety week sponsored by Brake.

These included indoor lessons that focused

on road safety and active travel.

There were balance bike lessons for the

younger pupils and a family walk to school

and mufti day where children were

encouraged to wear the brightest clothes they

could find.

11

Assembly that day was all about being bright

and being seen when travelling to school.

The day finished with a lovely

winter warmer ‘café’ outside the school.

The school was also

very proud to take

three pupils to the SW

Regional Modeshift

Stars Awards in

Swindon during the

week, having been put

forward by B&NES as

one of two local

authority nominations

for the school’s travel

plan work. Saltford

School actually won so

congratulations to

them for all they have

done. We are

continuing to work

hard to get the Silver Accreditation and hope

to see many more children regularly walking,

scooting or cycling to school.

The three children had a very enjoyable day

and have been inspired to start up a Safe

Routes ‘Be Seen’ School Shop. More on this

later!

A huge thank you to the Friends

The children are now using the iPads bought

recently by the Friends. These Year Fives have

each created a song on Garage Band and

came to share it with me. They were great and

it’s only the beginning as children are so

quick to learn. The teachers and teaching

assistants are being trained in their use but

we know that we will end up being taught by

the children. I am looking forward to seeing

artwork done outside on the iPads, films and

photos, and lots of outdoor writing including

poems.

By Mr Falkus

That’s what you call a bonfire! The Friends

raised £416 at the Bonfire Social on Friday 3rd

November for the school. We are grateful to

Mack and his son from Bathampton Farm who

provided a lot of pallets for the fire and James

and Darren who built it.

Sharing Outdoor Free Play

It has been a real pleasure recently to host

staff from a Bath school. They came to see

the outdoor activities available at lunchtime.

They found it inspiring and were very grateful

to Paula for giving them a detailed insight

into the way our SMSA's help facilitate play at

lunch times in our amazing grounds! They felt

that it had given them a lot of ideas and

things to work on.

12

Christmas Jolly

Well done and many thanks to the amazing

Friends team who organised the very special

Christmas Event this year.

Many thanks to everyone who worked behind

the scenes arranging it; to those who helped

out; to those who stayed to clear up and not

least to everyone who came and supported

the event.

Thanks to Father Christmas for taking the

time to visit us in Bathampton, and to Sissie

Maughan and the team for creating a

beautiful magical grotto.

We're still totting up the proceeds but it looks

likely that profits will be upwards of £1300

for the school.

Message from the Friends!

A colossal thank you for all of your

support fundraising for the school this

term.

At the start of this term we purchased

x15 new iPads for the school along with

a charging/storage unit. We also paid

for 1/2 of the new kiln. With some of this

terms fundraising we will purchase sets

of reading books for each class to

facilitate whole class reading.

This terms events have raised £3000+.

Christmas Jolly - £1600

Calendars - £450

Bonfire Night - £416

Winter Warmer - £164

Nativity Coffees/Mince Pies - £160

Christmas Card Printing - £140

Halloween Cake Sale £124

It’s been wonderful to see so many new

faces helping with events, particularly

when so many of the existing

committee are leaving the school at the

end of the summer term.

If you’d like to get more involved please

join the recently set up volunteer what’s

app group so we can keep in touch

whilst minimising texts from school.....

https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kf6QC16ZAFt

HYgplJYIX7C or chat to one if the

Friends team or your class rep.

Our AGM will be held on January 11th

at 8pm at The Mill. Everyone is very

welcome! The official part (Chair and

Treasurers reports and voting in the

new committee) will take place between

8pm and 8.30pm followed swiftly by

drinks to celebrate the start of the new

year.

See you next term for the annual Quiz

and another Winter Warmer and

Valentines Cake Sale.

Have a great Christmas.

The Friends Team

13

December

Friday 15th

End of Term 2

January 2018

Tuesday 2nd

INSET Day 4

Wednesday 3rd

Children start school

Monday 8th

Class Five Swimming @ Culverhay

& Year 6 Measurements

Friday 12th

Class Five Hockey/ Netball @ RHS

starts

Tuesday 16th

Yr 5 Cross Country @ St Marks

& MAT Parents Consultations 2.00 and 6.00

p.m. (see letter)

Thursday 18th

Bonanza Meal Day

Friday 19th

Winter Warmer Walk to School

Tuesday 23rd

Yr 6 Cross Country @ St Marks

Friday 26th

Mufti day Keep Plastic out of the

Sea

February 2018

Tuesday 6th

Class Four Parents meetings for

Charterhouse trip: 2.30pm and 6pm

Friday 9th

End of Term 3

Monday 19th

Start of Term 4

Monday 26th

Class Four Swimming starts

& Parent/ teacher interview Fortnight

March 2018

Friday 9th

Walk to School Day

Tuesday 13th

Visit from Anna Grayson (ex-

Head)

Wednesday 14th

Class Six Parents meeting

Mill on The Brue 6pm - 7pm

Thursday 15th

Class Six Parents meeting Mill

on The Brue 9.15am – 10.15am

Monday 19th

Dance Umbrella at the Forum

Friday 23rd

End of Term 4

April 2018

Monday 9th

Start of Term 5

Friday 20th

Spring Walk to School

May 2018

Thursday 3rd

to Friday 4th

Class Four

Charterhouse Residential Trip

Monday 7th

May Day Bank Holiday

Monday 14th

KS2 SATs Week. Year 6 Children

must be in school. Please note

Thursday 17th

Class Photos

Wednesday 23rd

to Friday 25th

Class Six Mill

on the Brue Residential Trip

Friday 25th

End of Term 5

June 2018

Monday 4th

INSET Day 5

Tuesday 5th

Start of Term 6 for Children

Tuesday 12th

Year 1 Multiskills Festival @ St

Marks

Friday 15th

Summer Walk to School

Friday 29th

Class Six to Dry Arch

July 2018

Tuesday 3rd

Reception to Multiskills Festival

@ St Marks

Saturday 7th

School Fair

Tuesday 10th

Option One Sports Day (KS2

morning & KS1 afternoon)/ Walk to School

Wednesday 11th

Optional Parents Meeting

Tuesday 17th

Option Two Sports Day (KS2

morning & KS1 afternoon)

Tuesday 24th

End of Term 6

All term dates available online

www.bathampton.bathnes.sch.uk/calendar

September

Monday 3rd

INSET Day 1 - School Closed

Tuesday 4th

INSET Day 2 – School Closed

Wednesday 5th

Children return to school (Yr1

– Yr6)

14