Page 80 - Phonebox Magazine April 2016

Newton Blossomville School
An Action Packed Term!
We have had such a busy term so here are a few of the highlights.
Holne Chase Primary School welcomed us last month to take part in a variety of geography based
workshops. It was a chance for our children to work in a much bigger and busier environment and alongside children across the primary age range. We look forward to reciprocating in the Summer Term - but not the whole school!
Another visit was made to a local synagogue as part of our learning about Judaism. The children were able to share their prior learning and compare and contrast their local church with the synagogue. It was a very useful morning followed by some quality writing from Blue Group explaining the different features of the synagogue.
Back at school we were excited to welcome Paul Sharpe from Raptorexotics along with a selection of his nocturnal wildlife. We spent a fascinating morning watching Plop the barn owl and Crackerjack the white faced owl glide across the reading room whilst learning how owls are able to hunt so successfully at night. The children handled a milk snake, a hedgehog, cockroaches and even had a close look at a tarantula. We all learnt such a lot.
Concrete Circus provided a very entertaining morning teaching the children circus skills. Children and staff enjoyed juggling, stick throwing, plate spinning and balancing. It took a huge amount of concentration and certainly put their coordination skills to the test!
We are delighted to tell you that our outside learning environment has been enhanced to include a beautiful willow structure. All the children were involved in the process of planting and weaving and we are waiting eagerly for spring to see signs of it bursting in to life. The structure will be used for storytelling, role play and as a well needed sun shade during the glorious summer ahead which we have ordered! The horses were most intrigued to watch the goings on too.
Emberton School
We began our new “What’s on our Doorstep?” theme with a workshop for children and parents who all painted a famous London theme on a ceramic plate. We have been exploring Emberton village, creating
maps with keys in the style of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, looking at aerial photographs and carrying out a traf c survey. We have made a model Emberton village including a magni cent All Saints Church, and we have been nding out about all the people who play a role in a church, including the very important bell ringers. In comparison we have looked at Milton Keynes and London and identi ed what makes them so different from our small community.
We sang all about “what makes my mum so special” in our annual Mothers’ Day assembly; and dressed up as our favourite story characters for World Book Day, where we enjoyed having stories read to us by Paul Dorney from the Milton Keynes School Library Service. “I see a dragon!”; “I see a rabbit!”; “I see a house!” – in Forest Schools with Mrs Humphreys the sky really is the limit as we did some cloud gazing, inspired by the children in their all-weather, all-in-one suits; and we’ve been busy making scarecrows for our new summer allotment too! Check out our new promotional video on our website at 80 Phonebox Magazine | April 2016
We ended the term with our Easter Service in church with Christ. The children led a beautiful service and retold the story of Easter using actions. We always enjoy welcoming parents to join us in our worship together and thank them for their support. Have a wonderful Easter break.
www.embertonschool.co.uk which shows how your child can receive a wonderful start to their education in a small rural school. If you would like to come and have a look round please contact us on 01234 711518.