News from St Mary’s Primary School – August 2016
The end of the summer term is here! The final few weeks of the year have been really busy and lots of fun! We hope everyone has a lovely summer and look forward to seeing the children again in September.
The Rocky Monster Show
The children in Key Stage 2 put on a marvellous end-of-year show! The ‘Rocky Monster Show’ was full of funny moments, sound effects, great songs and super dance routines. The children worked really hard to rehearse and prepare for their performances and their acting was fantastic. We were all really entertained and still have the songs stuck in our minds! Thanks to all the staff members and volunteers who organised the show and created brilliant props and scenery. Also, thanks to the parents who helped with costumes and learning lines.
School Leavers
Goodbye to all the children who are leaving us at the end of the summer term. We wish them lots of luck and success for the future. The Leavers’ Service at St Mary’s Church was a chance for the Year 6 children to celebrate their time at St Mary’s. Thanks to the Very Reverend Martin Thrower, who gave a talk about supporting and helping one another through life – the children aren’t on their own! The children shared some great memories of their primary years, including times when they had fun and made each other laugh! After achievements assemblies in the morning, the Year 6s also enjoyed a leavers’ lunch and an ice cream party on the final day of term. Well done to all of the Year 6 children; they have worked incredibly hard and we are very proud of all they have achieved. They are certainly ready for all the challenges ahead!
Disco
Thank you to the Parent Support Group for organising the end-of-term disco. The children had lots of fun and showed off their best dance moves! There was a great atmosphere and it was a lovely way to end the year.
Bradfield Woods
The Year 3 children in Beech Class explored Bradfield Woods. They learned about the woods and the various animals that live there, thinking carefully about how animals adapt to different habitats. One of the highlights was an invertebrate hunt. The children learned all about the different trees that make up this ancient woodland and learned to calculate the age of a tree by measuring the girth of the tree and then dividing the measurement by 2.5. It is great to have the opportunity to learn outdoors and everyone had a super time.
Ash Class assembly
It is always lovely when the children lead assembly! Recently it was the turn of the Reception children in Ash Class. They told the wonderful story of the mouse and the lion. They acted it out superbly and the whole school got involved in the dancing! The story had an important message about how the huge lion needed help from the little mouse. Well done to all the children, who worked really hard; thank you to all the parents who came to watch them perform.
Year 2 Trip to Landguard Point
The children in Year 2 had a really nice day at Landguard Point. They were really lucky with the weather! They enjoyed a tour around the fort and saw where soldiers slept.It was fascinating to see the moat, where the drawbridge is and the replica guns. After lunch,the children explored the nature reserve and beach. Our guide talked about what might live in the plants around us, and taught us all about Sea Kale! Then the children got to comb the beach for shells, stones and mermaid’s purses! Thank you to everyone who helped us on the day!
Sing Suffolk
We were delighted to be involved in the Sing Suffolk project led by Tracey Rayner. It was a great opportunity to have fun and work with other local schools. The children learned and rehearsed songs for a big performance, involving a number of Suffolk schools. The final show was at Whatfield, where the children performed brilliantly in front of their parents. Well done to all the children for their fantastic singing!
Reading Dog
The children in the Early Years Foundation Stage were really excited to welcome Murphy, a very patient Labrador, into the school! Murphy loves reading and the children were very enthusiastic about sharing their books with him! First, the teacher read ‘Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy’ to Murphy and the children because that’s his favourite story! The children were then able to read a familiar book from home or a book from school to Murphy. He listened really well and was very entertained by their reading. Afterwards, the children wrote thank you notes to Murphy. He was very well behaved and was rewarded with a Jumbone and his favourite-a tin of Frankfurter sausages!!
Special Days
The children have enjoyed various special theme days this month. The Year 1s in Oak Class held a great banquet with their parents as part of their ‘Castles’ topic. The Year 6 children participated in a sports fun day at St Mary’s Primary School in Woodbridge. This was a super event for schools in the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi Academy Trust. There were lots of sporting experiences on offer, including curling! Everyone had a great time. For the children in Rowan and Chestnut classes, a real highlight has been the ‘street party’ to celebrate VE Day, which was linked to their history topic. They made evacuee labels and boxes for gas masks and learned all about using clothes coupons because of rationing. The children made a party lunch, baked carrot biscuits and made homemade lemonade. After listening to Winston Churchill’s VE Day speech, they took their Union Flags and all the food outside for a great ‘street party’. The children were really engaged and enthusiastic about learning through such fun experiences.
So here we are again at the end of another year! Once again, we hope everyone enjoys a well-earned summer break!