The other Plaistow (London) Adventure!

On Thursday we had a brilliant day out to London. We met at Billingshurst station and jumped on the train to London Victoria. The children were calm and confident as we walked through the bustling station on our way to the underground.

We found the District Line (Green) and headed Eastbound to Upton Park. Noticing the tube sign for Plaistow on the way!

After a short walk from Upton Park we got to Plaistow Primary and were welcomed by our linked classes. We go to watch an amazing dance video and play some ice breakers before exploring the playground at lunch.

After some yummy fish fingers and chips we hopped back in the classrooms to say our goodbyes and headed off to the market to see what bargains we could find.

The children chose some great souvenirs from the diverse arrange of shops. There were sparkly jewellery, cool sunglasses, fancy hair accessories and of course edible goodies like spicy Asian crisps, Caribbean fruit punch and even a massive slice of juicy watermelon.

We marched back to the tube stop, eager not to miss our return train and had a pleasant journey home reminiscing about the sights we’d seen from a trip to the city and the new friends we’d made. Thank you so much to all the adults and parent helpers that accompanied Mrs Ashton-Smith and I. We couldn’t have done it without you and hopefully it was a brilliant experience for the children.

Drumming performance

The Owls have been working so hard on their djembe drumming and singing in their music lessons this term. They have learnt songs to demonstrate different musical beats and songs that could accompany the drumming. On the djembe drums themselves they have worked hard to stay in time, and learnt songs such as ‘The breakfast roll rap’ . They have been amazing and it was so exciting to share all we have done in our performance on Monday. Thank you to everyone who could come and support the Owls, they were incredible!

Djembe Drumming

We were all playing to the same beat this week as Owl Class started their djembe drumming lessons. We learnt how the beat, pulse and rhythm are so important in drumming and started trying out the drums ourselves. We played a game where we had to drum at exactly the same time a tennis ball hit the floor. This could be a lot trickier than it sounds but was a lot of fun! The Owls are really looking forward to the term ahead learning how to drum.

Conker Match!

On the the last Friday before half term we joined in with the whole school for some fantastic, flicking fun!
At Forest school the children worked as a team to select the conkers, drill holes in them using a palm drill. After this they had to measure, cut, thread and tie the string to be ready for battle.

Mr King and Miss Dore gave a great demonstration of how to swing the conkers safely. We had some trial matches against other year fours before heading off for smashing fun with children in other year groups. Sadly Mr Butler’s conker was one of the first to be obliterated.

Anglo Saxon Day

We had a very exciting start to our week in Owl Class. We came in dressed as Anglo Saxons and had an expert come in to help us become experts ourselves in our knowledge of the Anglo Saxons. We looked at artefacts (including a smelly fish, a warm coat and a horn cup), learnt about their lifestyle, and played a game called ‘fox and geese’. Mrs Howe did attempt to win against different Owls but she kept getting beaten… Most excitingly we looked at Anglo Saxon weapons and army re-enactments. The Owls particularly enjoyed discovering more about the different weapons needed on an Anglo Saxon battlefield and getting to use their shields we have made. It was very intimidating to watch them marching forward with their shield wall and I think if they went into battle they would be a fearsome army! We also re-enacted the Battle of Hastings to see how the Normans finally won the victory.

Farm Camp '24

This Thursday and Friday we had a fantastic time camping out near Mrs Jesse’s farm. There were lots of new skills learnt, amazing sights and smells and even smiles and laughter on a damp morning in the woods.

After helping to assemble their own tents, the children listened carefully to a safety briefing and went on a boundary walk around the woodland. We then began collecting firewood, digging a fire pit and putting together the fires, using Mrs Jesse’s “upside down” method.

When the fires were all ready, we went on a short hike across the fields to the farm to see how sausages are made. We saw some cute cows and their calves, met Flick the dog and most importantly got to take some fresh sausages back to camp.

We returned back to camp and began to light the fires, some groups getting started very quickly while others had to persevere to find their spark. Soon there were sausages sizzling in all the frying pans and children happily waiting for dinner.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games in the woods and in the fields, learning big group games or den building.

As the evening drew on we gathered round the big fire pit and were treated to a sing-a-long with Mrs Jesse and her guitar.

Next it was time for the night walk, most children were very excited to see the woods after dark but some nervy ones needed to stay close to adults for support. All the children showed great resilience to stick it out and shared a magical moment listening to the rustling branches in the moonlight.

The next morning may have been a bit of a wash out but the children still kept their spirits high, helping to make a bit shelter and making their own breakfast and lunch independently. All the children did really well and hopefully made lots of great memories. Thank you to all the adults who helped out and pick up and drop off too!

Ancient Egypt workshop - Hands on mummification!

On Tuesday we had a visit from Horsham Museum who brought with them some incredible ancient Egyptian artefacts, most of which were about 5000 years old. Whilst this time scale may be tricky for the children to grasp, the children took part in lots of activities that highlighted important parts of Ancient Egyptian culture.

After trying on traditional Egyptian dress (and learning it was common for children below 9 years old not to wear any clothes!!) We then got to try the complicated ritual of mummification. There were so many little steps and each of the children had the chance to come up and do a job, whether that was removing an organ, drying out the body, or the wrapping.

The final part of the ceremony needed the God Anubis to welcome the body to the afterlife.

Plaistow Primary - London visit.

We felt very welcome visiting our friends at Plaistow Primary in East London on Thursday.

The children were bubbling with excitement as we boarded the train to Victoria from Billingshurst Station.

We navigated the tube and the busy colourful market to reach the school just in time for a quick introduction in classrooms before lunch. The children were amazed by some of the differences in the surroundings and one child was even overheard saying “Wow they have stairs!” We loved looking at the display boards and spotting the same topic work that we have been doing.

The children played on all the new equipment and lots joined in with a big football game at lunch.

Before beginning the journey back, the children were tasked with finding something new to buy that was unavailable in their local stores at home. There was an abundance of cultural jewellery and fresh exotic foods for the children to sample.

All the staff were particularly pleased with everyone’s sensible behaviour and were happy the train connections all went smoothly and on time, unlike last year! A massive thank you to all the adults who helped out and made this trip possible.

Art Week fun

We have had a great time learning new techniques and exploring ways to represent different weather or climate conditions.

It started with an inspiring assembly from Mrs Tappenden, launching this years theme of Surprise! a tiger in a tropical storm, by Henri Rousseau.

The children practised their sketching skills looking closely at tigers in different poses. We then used tracing paper to transfer these onto styrofoam tiles so that we could make our tiger prints.

After a few goes testing it out we then printed the tiger on our 3 different backgrounds and added more detail including special effects to each picture. We are really happy with the finished results and can’t wait to show you at the parents gallery this Monday afternoon. See you there!

Awesome Autumn Photography

It feels like Winter is definitely here now with the frosty mornings and Christmas decorations up. However in the last week of Autumn we crept outside with our iPads and captured some lovely images to show how our school grounds are changing. These are a selection of the children’s best images.

Awesome Anglo-Saxons!

We knew we were in for a treat on Monday when Mike from Portals to the Past arrived in his full traditional Saxon armour, carrying huge swords and razor sharp spears. We were swiftly transported back 1500 years to the decline of the Roman Empire and given a blow by blow account of all the gruesome events that occurred between 410AD and 1066. Here are a few photos of the hands on fun the children had.

What a Camp Out!

We are exhausted, sweaty and smelling of camp fires but it was definitely worth it. There was so much for the children to do and a beautiful, secluded setting to match. We did den building, sausage making, bug hunting, woodland games, fire lighting, sausage cooking, washing up after ourselves, campfire singing, night time forest walks, learning about farming and managing land and of course plenty of playing in the woods. There’s much more that the children will remember and be able to share but for now I will share as many photos as I can.

Dream Catchers and Story Telling

We have had a lot of fun this week learning about Native American culture as we near the end of our American Road Trip topic.

We have spent a lot of the week learning Native American folklore stories and trying to remember them off by heart. I’m sure your children would love the challenge of retelling some of the stories we have learnt. You could ask the about: How Rabbit stole fire, How Bear lost it’s tail, Buffalo and Eagle Wing as well as Hiawatha and the Peacemaker.

I have put spellings on Google Classroom and we also have the songs on their for the KS2 production of Matilda. Please help your child learn the words as some of the songs are quite tricky. As always, the time spent reading and doing times tables with your child is much appreciated.

Postcards from New York

The children have worked really hard finishing off their postcards from New York and we now have a lovely display in the classroom courtesy of Mrs Reed. We will be sending them home at the end of term to be delivered to the various family members they are addressed to.

In maths we have been working on applying our decimal knowledge to money and solving different calculations. We are continuing to work on getting our times tables faster, one way to do this is with times tables rockstars. We have a competition running currently between the school houses to see who will practise the most.

If you prefer your child to practise offline then all children should be bringing home their times tables books (We had a big improvement in the amount handed in this week which is excellent!) and today they have taken home a times table grid to fill out too.
We really appreciate all the time taken to learn spellings and listening to your children read each week so please keep it going. Current spellings are up on Google classroom.

Finally our P.E sessions with Mr Meanie have been interrupted by the bank holidays. Luckily we have been able to book him in for Tuesday 9th so please send children in P.E. kit if possible (and Fridays). They will not need P.E. kit on Thursday 11th. The final session with him will be on Monday 15th May, after that we will return to Thursday P.E. lessons.


Enjoy the coronation bank holiday!

U.S.A. Road Trip has begun!

The children have been back to working hard this week, learning lots of new facts about the U.S.A. We made the most of the sunshine and started by exploring a giant playground map, finding the answer to missing state abbreviations. Please quiz your children and see if they can remember what NY, CA, FL or TX stand for among others. We even learnt the native American tribe that lived in that state before Europeans arrived. The first city we focus on is New York and we have been getting to know the major landmarks.

In maths we have been working on our knowledge of decimals and can now order and round decimals up to two decimal places. We are getting closer to our national multiplication tables check so please make sure practice stays as regular as possible. Many children have been given new times tables books to use at home, please let me know if your child has lost or completed theirs.

Year 4 Football tournament in Horsham.

Last Friday, I had the treat of accompanying 9 of the children to Horsham to compete in a big football tournament. For over half of them it was there first ever experience playing matches against other teams but the excitement hid any nerves.

Football tournaments are some of my favourite memories and I’m happy to say coaching is just as enjoyable. The team fought hard right to the final whistle in every game and this effort was rewarded with two last minute equalisers. We finished the group stage with 2 draws and 2 losses.

This gave us a match for 7th place. Despite tiredness the team kept working hard for each other and managed to get a 1 - 0 victory in their last game. They should be very proud of themselves finishing 7th out of 10 much larger schools. Thanks to all the parents that came to cheer us on too. A massive well done to: Albert , Ayush , Emilia, Jenson, Morris, Ollie, Logan, Riley and Mia.

Visiting the other Plaistow!

We had a long but fantastic day on Wednesday taking Year 4 and Year 6 into London to meet our linked school Plaistow Primary school. The journey involved taken a train from Billingshurst to Victoria before jumping on the tube to Upton Park. This was a real adventure, especially for those children that had never been on a train before.

We were warmly welcomed by the Plaistow Primary and given a lovely roast for lunch. The children got stuck into making new friends quickly and enjoyed a fun orienteering activity.

After leaving the school we were able to stop off at some shops to see the diversity of the area and compare it with our local Plaistow village store. The children particularly enjoyed seeing the Indian bangles on offer.

The children did so well managing the journey home, staying close to their adults at all times. Even the 30 minute delay at Horsham didn’t dampen their spirits much. We are so grateful to all the parent helpers that took part and helped give the children such a memorable experience. Hopefully Plaistow primary will make the return trip to us in the Summer term.