Dear Parents and Carers

It is at this time of the academic year that we begin to see just how far the children have come in their growth, development and learning. Class teachers are busy writing the children’s reports, assessing their progress and attainment, and planning the final term of the year. The children’s hard work is evident in their learning outcomes and books clearly show the journey from September to now. We are proud of the progress that every child has made.

I would both congratulate the children on their efforts so far and equally encourage them to return to Term 6 with the same commitment to their learning.

The Beat Goes On

Using nothing more than themselves the children all took part in body percussion workshops this week with Ollie Tumner, a percussionist, drummer and educator. A former cast member of the show ‘Stomp’, Ollie brought his magic to Christ Church School and the children loved learning and performing their own body percussion. Even the staff team had a chance to try to match the children’s skill and rhythm (although not all of us succeeded!).

Transition to Secondary School

Lots of our year 6 children have started to visit their destination schools around Bristol and this will continue into June, in readiness for the exciting September start. We are also welcoming staff from the local secondary schools to Christ Church School as they come to visit the children and to talk to their teacher to get to know a little about them. Proudly wearing their year 6 leavers hoodies this week, we are looking forward to preparing them throughout the summer term and are working hard to ensure that they have a wonderful final term. This will begin on the first day back as the children embark on their residential to Grittleton House for three days of activities and adventures.

Year 4 Beggar Bush

Our year 4 children had a wonderful day at Beggar Bush on Monday, with the weather holding out and the sun appearing. As we reported last week, this fantastic outdoor experience included many activities and a favourite for the children this week being the archery. The children returned to school full of stories from the day, a great start to their week! As always, we are hugely grateful to you all for your generous contributions that make these events possible – thank you.

Notices

It is that time of year when the children warm up and take off their jumpers and cardigans. These are often left on the playground after the breaks and we do our best to return them to their owners. If clothing it not labelled it will be placed on our lost property rack and you can ask to look through this at the beginning and end of the day. Please check that all of your child’s clothing is labelled with their full name – thank you.

I wish you a wonderful half term week ahead and look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 2^nd June. 

Kind regards

Mark Oldfield

Inset and Academy days for the rest of the year (training for school staff - children are not in school on these days):

• Monday 21st July - Inset day
• Tuesday 22nd July - Inset day

INSET AND ACADEMY DAYS FOR NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR

• Tuesday 2nd September - Inset day 
• Wednesday 3rd September - Inset day

After 25 years of being a parent and member of staff at Christ Church School, our much-loved Office Manager Becky Herbert will be retiring at the end of this academic year.  Becky will be sadly missed and we will celebrate her time with us later in the summer term.  

We are now seeking to recruit a School Finance & HR Manager part time and a School Receptionist full time to join our vibrant team and support our school operation.  We would welcome applications from the school community or please do pass the adverts on to others you know who might be interested.   

.Please see adverts listed on the ETeach portal:

.

https://www.eteach.com/job/school-receptionist-1487057

https://www.eteach.com/job/school-finance-and-hr-manager-1487063 

At the start of the week, we took part in an exciting body percussion workshop with Ollie. We learned how to clap the syllables in our names and performed rhythmical actions for our Year 6 buddies! They then returned the gesture and performed their own body percussion pieces for us!

On Tuesday we wrote letters asking questions about life when our relatives or friends were five years old and posted them in the post box closest to school.

We were really sensible crossing the road and listened well to instructions. We can’t wait to receive our replies through the post!

We continued our dinosaur topic by learning about the importance of fossils for finding out about the past and the role of palaeontologists. Fossils can be bones, footprints and even poo! Which made us all giggle! We then heard about pioneering fossil hunters such as Mary Anning and the story of Maisie Jones and the dinosaur bones by Lily Murray and Jennie Lovlie. Some of us even got to do some digging up of bones, rocks and fossils and clean them off carefully with brushes – just like real palaeontologists! It was great fun!

In maths we have been exploring first, then and now addition stories using tens frames and counters to work out the totals. The language really helped us to work out which part of the problem we were solving.

We had our final session of yoga with Carolyn on Thursday – which was a lovely calming and relaxing way to start our last day of term together.

What a busy end to T5 –we all deserve a week off for all the fantastic learning!

Happy half term everyone!

This week, Year 1 have been diving deep into the past as part of our topic on the Victorians. We've had a fantastic time exploring Victorian toys, including flick books, spinning tops, and cup-and-ball games. It was fascinating to see how much toys have changed over time!

We also discovered what life was like in a Victorian classroom. The children explored a variety of intriguing artefacts and had a go at guessing what each one was used for. Among the items were a slate and slate pencil, a backboard, and a dip pen with an inkwell.

We’ve been so impressed with Year 1’s enthusiasm and curiosity throughout this topic. Well done to all for your fantastic work!

In our design technology lessons this week we have been discussing what makes a healthy, balanced meal. We were given the task to design a nutritious, delicious and healthy wrap which could be eaten as a complete meal. The wrap needed to contain all of the main food groups and it had to be appetising.

Then it was time for the best part! As you can see we had lots of fun making the wraps and we enjoyed eating them even more.

Year 3 have had an exciting week filled with music and history!

We’ve started our new music unit focused on Chinese New Year. The children watched The Story of Nian and learned about the traditional music used during the festival. They’ve been dancing and moving to the music, exploring the key musical elements of crescendo, tempo, and duration. It’s been a wonderful way for the children to connect with the cultural significance of the celebration.

In history, we’ve been diving into the fascinating topic of Henry VIII and his six wives. The children have become historians, exploring primary and secondary sources to discover more about these women. To make it even more fun, they created "Who Am I?" cards with four clues about one of the queens. The class then played a guessing game to identify each queen, bringing history to life in a creative way.

It’s been a fantastic week of learning and exploration, and we can’t wait to see what happens in our first week back in Term 6!

This week, Year 4 pupils swapped the classroom for the great outdoors with a thrilling day at Beggar Bush! Our intrepid young adventurers threw themselves (not literally!) into exciting outdoor activities including whittling, axe throwing, archery, and tackling the low ropes course. With expert guidance, the children embraced the challenges with great enthusiasm and teamwork, showing resilience, precision, and a few Robin Hood-worthy bullseyes! It was a fantastic opportunity to build confidence, learn new skills, and make unforgettable memories in the great outdoors.

Back in school, we’ve been getting fizz-ical in our science lessons. We investigated the weight of gas in fizzy drinks by measuring bottles before and after the bubbles were released – a sparkling example of practical learning! We also tested how different water temperatures affect the speed at which ice melts, observing changes and drawing conclusions like real scientists. Our classrooms were buzzing with questions and curiosity!

In literacy, things have taken a secret turn. Pupils have been putting their imagination to the test by designing their own spy gadgets and writing detailed descriptions of their covert creations. From laser-powered watches to 3D printer pens and digital contact lenses, the ideas have been as creative as they are classified! Mission accomplished, Year 4 – you've had a week full of action, investigation, and invention!

The children have worked their way through their Year 5 assessment booklets this week and have done a sterling job in showing off their fantastic learning. In the afternoons, they have been turning their hand to using Scratch in Computing, programming their own multiplication games for each other to try. Some of the children even extended their learning at home – improving and editing their games ready to try out the next day in class! Great independent learning skills, Year 5. Well done!

On Wednesday afternoon, we enjoyed watching Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra livestream. It was a concert performed especially for children across the UK to explore the orchestra, its instruments and the theme this year was the four elements: earth, water, air, fire. All of KS2 watched in the hall and enjoyed taking part with some rhythm work but the highlight was certainly watching all the children practise their conducting skills! The children listened to and conducted work by Czech composers Smetana and Dvorak: it was a great concert.

Last Friday, we ended the week with a fantastic Buddy Picnic. It was a lovely chance for our Year 6 chidlren to get together with their Reception buddies in the sunshine, play games and spend quality time together.

This week, the excitement continued as we were treated to a high-energy STOMP-style workshop led by the brilliant Ollie! Inspired by the world-famous percussion group STOMP, the session focused on rhythm, creativity, and teamwork. Ollie guided us through a range of fun, physical activities that got everyone clapping and moving. The children not only learned how to keep rhythm and work as an ensemble, but also how music and expression can come from anywhere, not just traditional instruments!

We ended the day with a performance to our reception buddies, who were absolutely thrilled, then they performed to us. It was a joy to see the pride and excitement on everyone’s faces.

As if that wasn’t enough, this week also brought a big moment for our Year 6 pupils—the arrival of their Leavers’ Hoodies! There was a real buzz as they tried them on for the first time, grinning from ear to ear.

All in all, it’s been a joyful and memorable end-of-term week!