31^st January 2008

• Pupils in 3CVR presented a super class assembly to the School earlier today.  Its subject was Fairtrade, and the arguments for supporting this ethos were strong indeed. I was impressed with letters I received that were beautifully handwritten by members of the class, requesting that all tea and coffee bought and served by the School should bear the Fairtrade Foundation mark, and outlining some of the reasons why this would be a change for the better.  When the obvious is stated by the voices of those so young, it makes it easy to make the simple changes needed to live more ethically.  Fairtrade tea and coffee will therefore be used at all School functions!  On behalf of children in 3CVR I also encourage families to consider replacing some grocery items with similar ones that are fairly traded.  Nationally, it is Fairtrade Fortnight from 25^th February to 9^th March.  I think that 3CVR will approve of this ‘plug’.
   
• From time to time a theme is chosen for the week.  Sometimes it is a week when there is additional focus on a particular subject, such as Science Week or Maths Week.  Last week’s Food Week was a truly cross curricular moment for the School, with the topic of food being woven into all manner of lessons!  Read on for just a few examples of work undertaken:

Nursery children were involved in a wide variety of activities based upon the theme of Food.  They made and enjoyed tasting jam sandwiches and pasta with sauce, although not together!  Pasta jewellery and paper plate collages of their favourite meals were also created during the week.

The familiar story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears brought about a discussion in Reception Class during Food Week about the misfortune of Baby Bear, which led to the class bringing in various food items to enjoy as a picnic.  The children involved themselves in some storytelling and sequencing of information, and their version of the story continued with Goldilocks making the bears a pasta lunch.  This in turn led to a scientific exploration of what makes pasta soften.  Later in the week Reception pupils used dried pulses to make their own instruments, which were used to accompany a poem about food “Sounds Good” by Judith Nichols.

In Key Stage One, IKS used a range of dictionaries to construct a food alphabet.  They found that xigua is the Chinese name for watermelon.  The alphabet was then used as a starting point for pupils to write food poems.  Pupils in 2SW practiced their culinary skills during Food Week.  They designed and made their own ‘face pizzas’. This was a super hands-on experience, from weighing out flour to selecting the ingredients they required for the various facial features of their pizza.

In RE 3CVR considered the sorts of foods people might have eaten in Jesus’ time.  4AH used History and Drama to look at some food facts and traditions from Tudor times.  These had been very well presented during the School Assembly last Thursday, led by 4AH.  What wonderful acting talent we have in that class!

Pupils in 4AH thought that a trencher was an excellent idea.  (A trencher was a type of tableware comprising a piece of stale bread cut into a square shape upon which food could be placed before being eaten. At the end of the meal, the trencher could be eaten with sauce!) 5GM pupils researched a European country focussing particularly on the notable food from that region.  Meanwhile in Year 6, pupils considered the foods eaten by Ancient Egyptians

Following an assembly on the history of the pizza, Key Stage Two pupils collected data about their favourite pizza toppings, and used the information in ICT to create graphs and pie charts to represent the data. Pupils chose fonts, colours and titles to enhance their work.  There was also a House competition in Key Stage Two, with a challenge to identify a selection of unusual fruit, including dragon fruit, pomegranates and physalis.  Everyone had a chance to taste the fruit too.  Grafham were the winners, naming nine of the ten fruits correctly.
 

• On Wednesday 19^th March pupils will be participating in Sports Relief.  There will be a lot more information about this later on in Lent Term. The merchandising that accompanies this event is Sports Relief socks, priced at £2. A large quantity has been ordered by the School.  Whilst I am sure that these socks will be stocked in local supermarkets too, I would be grateful if you would purchase Sports Relief socks from St Peter’s School for your child, so that we can sell off all those we have ordered-not for profit, of course!
   
• It was French Day for Key Stage Two pupils last week.  As soon as Mme Vert arrived at school on Friday morning, she was accosted by enthusiastic children wanting to show her their costumes. After usual French lessons sprinkled with more of a fun element, Mr Fountain joined in the festivities by serving up a lunch whose menu sheet had been written in French by 4AH.  On each table were Epiphany Crowns, created by 3CVR.  Year 6 presented restaurant role plays and sang their favourite French song: Le Monstre. 5GM chose to sing two lovely songs: Levez Vous and Les Jours De La Semaine, and used their rapidly expanding French vocabulary to present a colourful fashion show. A short French quiz then followed, and a group miming game, where the object of the game was to name the mime in French.  Mme Vert writes”Well done everybody! Thank you Mums and Dads for your help, and thank you children for your enthusiasm!  P.s: Look out for the picture board, as Mrs Dreyer was sighted with the camera!”
   
• Pupils in Key Stage One have taken part in dance workshops recently.  This year, the chosen genre was line dancing. Cries of “Yeehaa!” resounded around the School as pupils in 1KS and 2SW carefully followed the moves.  Not only was this great fun, but another way to develop coordination skills and confidence.
   
• There was a telephone call to the School last week from a local resident about the difficulty being experienced by her as she tries to drive up The Crescent toward Headlands/Hawthorn Road.  I think that last week there was certainly more traffic, this possibly being a knock-on effect of drivers on alternate routes to usual trying to dodge the road works elsewhere in Kettering. I am sure that we all feel that the journey along The Crescent would be better if everyone balanced the giving way to drivers with the making of one’s own progress.
   
• Mrs Dreyer has been busy working with pupils to finish the work initiated during Art Week last term.  It will be displayed in Kettering’s Alfred East Art Gallery from 11^th February and also over the half term week, so please do go along and see your project displayed.
   
• Pupils in Key Stage Two have been given a letter about the forthcoming theatre trip on 26^th February to see a production of Hamlet by ‘Shakespeare for Kids’.  Please return the reply slip and money as soon as possible so that the administration of this trip can be completed.
   
• Year 6 parent Jenine Rees writes ‘On 10^th February 2007 I will set off on the biggest challenge of my life in aid of Cancer Research and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.  I will be trekking for six days to reach the top of the highest single mountain in the world: Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m).  Although mountaineering skills are not needed to reach the top, the climb is still classed as extreme.  This is due to the low concentration of oxygen in the air at high altitude, and the very low temperatures (-30 at the summit).  I don’t know how I will fare, or if my body will make the necessary adjustments, but I hope to raise as much as possible for those who can’t.  Any donations will be most gratefully received.  Just log on to www.justgiving.com/jenineandsally or you can donate via the School Office.’
   
• The winner of the PTAFA Design A Minibus Competition will be announced on Friday at the PTAFA’s Family Bingo Night.  There has been a great response to this event, with an interesting range of 2D and 3D entries currently residing in my Study.  From ticket sales, I know that many families are attending.  The fun starts at 6pm and is suitable even for our younger pupils, so if you have tomorrow night free then I suggest that you call into the School Office tomorrow morning to see if there are any tickets left.
    
• A PTAFA letter regarding orders for spring plants and bulbs will be distributed next week.  Mrs Hunnings has kindly offered to collate the orders and organise the delivery for your collection at a later date.
   
• Mrs Hart and Mrs Bowers ran the PTAFA Cake Stall for us last Friday, and thanks are extended to them and all other helpers, bakers and purchasers for their support.  A total of £44 was raised for the Special Baby Unit at Kettering General Hospital.
   
• St Peter’s School Newsletter will be circulated on Thursday 14^th February.  I hope that you enjoy reading this mid year summary of School life.