Symondsbury Church of England VA Primary School

The Church of England

Autumn 2023

Welcome back to the new school year.

It is here, alongside Dojo, that you can learn about what we have been up to on our learning journey this year.

Here is our Curriculum Map for the Autumn Term and the Start of term letter to parents.

We are looking forward to a fun year of learning. 

 Spelling, Letters etc

Here you will find a copy of Spellings and letters that are sent out. 

Autumn 1 Spellings - Y5  Y6 

Our first class trip 

Today, we visited Washingpool Farm for a Discover Farming ‘Expert Day’.  We spent the day learning from four separate farming experts.  We had a workshop on:

Soil – from Tom a Local farmer passionate about soil quality and compost - What is soil? We looked at the soil profile at Washingpool, highlighting the difference between good healthy soil and soil lacking in nutrients. Hands on. Hands dirty tasks.

Ellen from Tamarisk far, looking particularly at sheep’s wool and the process of fleece to jumper! Ellen had hands-on activities, carding and preparing wool for spinning, spinning wheels and weaving.

Pam the Vet - brought a scanner that is used to detect when ewes are pregnant. We had the chance to use the scanner and visual goggles in a bowl of water and then we had the opportunity to use a scanner on a sheep, under the very careful guidance of Pam and our very own school governor George Streatfeild.  We also had the chance to ‘birth a calf’ with a calf birthing simulator (soft toy used) this was a lot harder than we expected.

Connie Hawker – Chef – we create a simple dish, leek and potato soup with soda bread using harvested produce from the growing fields/polytunnels.

I was given lots of lovely feedback from the Experts about how polite and engaged the children were – Go Team!  Very proud teacher. A fabulous day learning from some very passionate people.

 

Week begining 11th September 

House Captains and Vice Captains

Congratulations to our new House Captains and Vice Captains who were voted for by the children in each house during our House meetings on Thursday. Children from Years 5 & 6 prepared a short speech to explain why they felt they would be the best candidate for the job. All of the children who applied showed real maturity and a sense of responsibility. The children also came up with ideas about what the role of a House Captain should entail and came up with fabulous ideas such as leading a House Meeting to filling out forms for Miss J! So watch this space…

In the meantime, huge congratulations to our new House Captains:

 Colmers          -            House Captain - Maddie    Vice Captain – Franklin

Allington        -            House Captain –Riley L     Vice Captain - Brooke

Ryeberry        -            House Captain – Fred        Vice Captain - Freddie

Langdon         -            House Captain – Betty            Vice Captain – Rosa

Our Brilliant Peer Mediators

 

A huge well done to children in Class 4 who completed their Peer Mediation training today which will mean that they are able to support children on the playground should there be any playground disagreements and help them find a resolution so that they can enjoy the rest of their playtime.  I was very proud of the mature way that you carried out the training and the speed that you learnt the complicated processes! Well done all!