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RSPB Dress-Down Day gets Boxford in a flutter!

July 15th

Our final Dress-Down for charity day was held on July 1st. Thanks to the suggestion of two siblings in the school, the chosen chairty this month was the RSPB! As they said in their letter to me, "birds and other wildlife are increasingly vulnerable in this ever-changing world. The RSPB do lots of work to protect animals and their habitats."

Children were invited to come into school dressed in the colours of their favourite bird. We had a wonderfully vibrant display of clothing as a result!

We were able to raise £128 that will be donated to the RSPB. Many, many thanks to our two students for showing initiative to arrange this whole-school event for a cause that they believe in! Small acts can have a big impact in this world!

 

Year 6 Leavers' Celebration & Service

July 15th

Our graduating Year 6 pupils celebrated with a wonderful service this week at Boxford Church. Infront of a capacity crowd of proud parents, the children shared memories relating to their time at Boxford and read prayers that they had composed for their teachers, families and future adventures. The children were awarded reading prizes for their efforts this year and all pupils were presented with a book from the school to mark their move to Secondary School this summer.

Finally, and thankfully, the Year 6 class performed a flashdance to Do Your Thing , interrupting Mr Toby's speech Thoughts on Obedience...
The message was clear - find your thing in this world and do it!

Well done Year 6s for a wonderful celebration and service. Good luck in your new schools!

We were also treated to a final performance from our Year 6 choir, who performed a Gospel Medley and the children's favourite Famba Naye.

 

Year 4 attend phenomenal Science morning at Thomas Gainsborough School

July 1st

Class 4H had a fantastic time at the annual Thomas Gainsborough School science morning. During the morning they took part in lots of hands on activities. They made huge bubbles (and even set fire to some!), made some colourful slime, made sweetie DNA and were even caught speeding by the local police!

Thanks to all the staff and students at Thomas Gainsborough School who helped organise and run this exciting and thoroughly engaging event.

 

Under 11's Quadkids Athletics at Thomas Gainsborough School

June 30th

Fifteen teams came, but only one team left with the shield!

10 pupils from year 6 took part in 4 different events (75m sprint, 600m race, static long jump and static javelin). Boxford dominated these four events winning the coveted prize of a place at county try-outs and some attractive silverware to take back to school.

Huge congratulations, what a fantastic way to end a great year of sport!

 

Writing Teachers' Staff CPD with Jeni Smith

June 30th

Boxford CEVC Primary School hosted Jeni Smith for an excellent evening of CPD on June 14th, an event attended by teachers from 8 education settings across Suffolk. Our own teachers enjoyed an evening session focussing on the development of writing across the school. In her session, Beginning with Words, Jeni Smith led us through professional development focussing on developing ourselves as writers and establishing 'communities of writers' in our classrooms and schools. In advocating an enjoyment of words and language as a starting point for teaching writing, Jeni Smith inspired and guided teachers in how all learners can feel empowered in their written work. It was an engaging session that is already impacting on our teachers' practice here in school.

It was a pleasure, as always, to host local colleagues as we all learn together!

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Year 4 Music Ensemble experience day

June 28th

Well done to class 4H who took part in a successful music ensemble, held at Hadleigh United Reform Church. During the day they got to play and perform with other children from around the county, culminating in a wonderful performance in the afternoon.  The children had a great day and it was fantastic to see how much they have progressed this year. Many thanks again goes to the all those at the Suffolk County Music service who helped to organise and run this fabulous day.

 

Theatre Arts Academy and Years 3-6 present 101 Dalmatians!

June 21st

The Year 6 class worked tirelessly over the past week to put on a full musical production of 101 Dalmatians in only 5 days!

The Theatre Arts Academy joined us for a week of theatre and music sessions, culminating in two fantasitc performances on Thursday and Friday night. Joined by the Year 3-5 choir, the evenings were filled with great acting, hilarious characters, great songs and even better dance routines.

It was incredible to see our school hall transformed into a full theatre for the night.

All pupils enjoyed the experience and found the courage to perform with confidence.

 

Final Day pictures from Year 6 Thorpe Woodlands Residential

June 15th

The Year 6 residential at Thorpe Woodlands already seems like such a long time ago. With half term, Sports Day and the Queen's 90th Birthday celebrations in between, memories of climbing in the tree tops and swinging on ropes seem distant...like the most fantastic dream!

However, our blog and photos can help us to go back and enjoy the experiences again. These photos were taken on the final day of activities, with groups taking part in the zip-line, Tarzan Swing and crate stacking activities.

I recall that, when loading the bus and clearing out of the centre, there was a spirit of togetherness and thankfulness that was a pleasure to be a part of. Children hugged and high-fived their goodbyes with the excellent Thorpe Woodland staff before boarding the bus to wave farewell to a wonderful week. Exhausted, many pupils took advantage of the homeward-bound nap opportunity...if they weren't too busy enjoying a pocketful of contraband, that is!

What a terrific week!

 

Prize-giving assembly for RNLI Virtual Balloon Race and Queen's Birthday game!

June 14th

A special assembly was held in school on Monday to give prizes for two recent competitions held in school.

The school recently took part in the RNLI's Virtual Balloon Race Competition, where families and friends could participate in aid of the important work of the Lifeboat charity. In buying a ticket, families could register and design their balloons online and track their progress live once the race began. Much fun was had by all involved in the race, whether their entries flew far or popped early in the race!

We were thrilled to celebrate that two of the top three entries came from Boxford School. One child won a Amazon Fire Tablet for finishing third, while another won an all-expenses paid trip down to Poole to visit the RNLI Headquarters and boat-building factory. We hope to run a similar competition next year in continued support of the Lifeboat charity's work.

We also announced the winner of the Where in the World competition that was held at the Community Council's Queen's 90th Birthday celebration. Entrants had to place a marker on a world map to guess where the 'treasure' was hidden - a commemorative bear, mug and medal.

The child who won almost found the exact location of the treasure! Hidden in Albany, NY, their guess was placed only slightly south in New York, NY.

Many thanks to all who support our various events and games, whether they be for fun or contribute financially to charities of significance.

 

Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration Lunch

June 13th

Children were treated to a celebration lunch for the Queen's 90th Birthday last week, consisting of everything from triangle sandwiches, cocktail sausages and salads to jam & cream scones and jelly.

Children enjoyed the buffet-style lunch together with their friends and enjoyed the festive decorations in the school hall.

The meal formed only part of the school's Queen's 90th Birthday celebrations. A Community Council tea party was held at the weekend and the school organised a bunting-making competition that reaped amazing results! Pictures to follow...

 

 

Whole-School Sports Day

June 8th

The whole school participated in a wonderful Sports Day today, under a cloudless sky and with beautiful warm weather.

Split into their coloured teams, children dressed in red (Sycamore), blue (Oak), green (Lime) and yellow (Whitebeam) to create a sea of bright colours. In groups, they competed in a series of events throughout the morning that tested their coordination, balance, speed, agility, stamina, tactics, catching, jumping, running and throwing. Phew! With such a variety, children found their strengths in some events while faced challenge in others. All the wile, they competed to collect precious team points for their colour teams!

After a lovely picnic lunch with parents on the school field, children then took part in a series of sprints and relays. Energy, determination and wonderful sportsmanship were the order of the day.

A big well done to all children for their great attitude in all events! Everyone contributed to their team with their own skills and talents. Of course, a special well done to the Oak team, who managed to come out with a victory by only three points.

A wonderful day for pupils, parents and staff at Boxford School!

 

Year 5 Orienteering Field Trip:

June 7th

As parts their topic work this half term, Year 5 were working as ‘Young Geographers’ in Bradfield Woods.  They practised using 4- and 6-figure grid references when reading maps and using compasses.

Who knew that a stick could show you the way home?

The Journey Stick was a way to remember your route through the woods.  We picked things that we thought were interesting along the way and tied them to our Stick using an elastic band.  This helped us to remember our way back home.    

Below is year 5 design for a nature reserve, using a nature map and symbols.

We also tried to measure wind speed and direction using bubbles.  "What wind?!"  As if by magic, the wind dropped to zero!

Sure enough, once we found it, the wind changed direction...

“Where has it gone?”

Finally, we enjoyed searching for treasure during our orienteering activity.

 

Year 5 Love Sewing!

June 7th

Who said boys can’t sew?  Here are year 5H enjoying their embroidering.  Apart from the occasional shrieks for "help!"...

“Help! It’s got knotted!”

“Can you thread the needle?”

“Can you thread the needle again?”

...they had a great time!  

 

Year 6 Residential at Thorpe Woodlands - Final night Talent Show!

May 26th

The much-hyped Talent Show took place on Wednesday night with a blinding array of unique performances! From acrobatics and dance to comedy and impressions...Boxford had it all. The Thorpe Woodlands staff entertained us with their magic and Frozen renditions too...our pupils were all to happy to join their activity leaders in all performances!

The final night ended with a reflection on what has been an outstanding week of new experiences and personal growth. As one child said, "I'm going to find the end of the year so much harder after this week. I feel I've gotten to know everyone so much better."

We couldn't have put it more perfectly ourselves!

 

Year 6 Residential at Thorpe Woodlands - Day 3 adventures

May 25th

Day 3 at Thorpe Woodlands...and the children are well into their groove now! Yet more biking, canoeing, swinging, caving, archery and crate stacking was to be found all around. It was pleasing to see more personal challenges being taken by all pupils as confidence continues to grow.

We were all excited to start the day with a birthday celebration that all children helped to make special!

Of course, the day then continued with the instantly traditional Nutella breakfast. This was followed by a hotly contested room inspection, where all children put on an impressive show of personal organisation and bed-making. Skills that the children, possibly, may regret showing their parents when they return home!

After morning energiser games, children then split into groups for the rest of the day. We hope you enjoy seeing a snapshot of the activities.

This evening, the children have been putting on an incredible Talent Show to mark their final night at the centre...pictures to follow!

 

Year 6 Residential at Thorpe Woodlands - Day 2 wrap-up

May 24th

The next few days at Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre will involve a wide variety of activities for all children. Starting this morning, pupils split into their groups for the week and headed out for all kinds of wonderful experiences!

Canoeing, climbing, tree-trekking, zip-wire, biking, caving, archery, crate stacking, to mention just some!

In thier first full day, children faced challenges of the mind and body - overcoming fears and finding inner strength that was a surprise to many!

The day ended with a high-energy scavenger hunt followed by the communal campfire. And, yes, those Boxford dance moves came out again!

Children even organised themselves to send a secret message home...just to make sure that everyone knows they miss you as much as you miss them! (Subtitles included, just in case!)

Unsurprisingly, the corridors of the activity center are somewhat quieter tonight, as children settled into much-needed sleep!

 

Year 6 Residential at Thorpe Woodlands - Day 2 begins!

May 24th

Yesterday evening closed with a hearty meal of Pasta, "meat"balls and a vegetable and tomato sauce. Followed by the biggest slice of Chocolate Tiffin you've ever seen!

Afterwards, group games were rounded up by a campus-wide wood search ready for a campfire. As it turns out, Boxford Primary school have some serious dance moves and these all came out around the fire.

The evening closed with marshmallows over the fire, where two distinct groups of people emerged - the burners and the roasters! Either way, the 'mallows were delicious, especially when mixed with the surprise hot chocolate that was served.

Finally, children showered and settled down to a (mostly) restful night after such a busy first day. Now, as a breakfast consisting of (mostly) Nutella begins (!), children are up and ready for a day filled with new adventures. Updates to follow...!

 

Year 6 Residential at Thorpe Woodlands - Day 1 update!

May 23rd

Arrival day at Thorpe Woodlands for our Year 6 students is already well underway. There isn't a minute to waste when we have Thetford Forest as our playground for the next four days!

The day got off to a quick and (in places) challenging time with arrival and bed making! Our accommodation is very comfortable now that we have worked out the correct way to put a sheet on our duvets...

We met our activity leaders and were given a site tour, followed swiftly by a selection of games. Hide and seek played a major part in the early stages of exploring this incredible environment. After a delicious lunch, children ran off to explore for themselves - with an entire woodland site to discover, the teachers were quickly left standing alone as all children disappeared into the trees.

The afternoon session began with some orienteering that made everyone an expert finding the various activity areas dotted around our site. We then stepped foot outside the perimeter fence for some orienteering in the wider forest! By this time, children were more confident in orienting and reading their maps, ensuring that everyone (eventually) found it back to home base.

The late afternoon was filled with group games and cooperation challenges that saw everyone involved in problem solving and communication. Whether on balance boards or low-ropes, we were pleased to see all pupils offering hands of support and kinds words to their peers. These will be crucial skills in the coming days as the scale of challenge increases.

 

A Visit from an Author

May 16th

We were delighted to welcome author E.R. Reilly (Eamonn) to the school today. A former teacher himself, Eamonn met with the whole school to speak about his experiences as a writer and to spark inspiration for writing among all of us!

Speaking about his own ideas for writing books, Eamonn shared a range of writing techniques with pupils in all yeargroups. From quests for lost heirlooms,  or dilemmas that seem impossible to resolve, to story ideas that make your reader desperate to find out what happens next...we were challenged to try them all in our own writing! Children listened with open mouths, big smiles and wide eyes to Eamonn's storytelling and couldn't wait to get back to class to unleash their own ideas!

Eamonn will be back on Thursday morning to sign books for pupils interested in his novels. His website is also full of writing ideas and readings from his children's stories: www.er-reilly.co.uk

What a fab start to our week!

 

Egg-cellent Egg-perience in Year 3!

May 16th

As part of our science topic, Healthy Eating, Digestion & Teeth, we explored the rate of decay on tooth enamel. We submerged 5 hard boiled eggs in 5 different drinks (tea, hot chocolate, Ribena, apple juice and coke cola). We left the sealed jars for one week then looked at the effects.

You can tell from the children's faces that some of the eggs were rather worse-for-wear! The enamel of the eggs submerged in Apple Juice and Ribena had liquefied almost entirely!

We discussed the importance of brushing your teeth each morning and night in order to clean harmful substances off our prescious teeth! We also discussed that this was yet another important reason for drinking water throughout the day.

What a fantastic and informative eggs-periment!

 

Year 3 Create Life-sized Digestive Systems!

May 12th

In our topic lessons this term, we have been learning about the digestive system.

Today we took to the playground to create and label the organs of the digestive tract.

Be careful where you stand in the playground this week!

 

Busy Builders!

May 10th

Foundation Class were invited to visit the Sand Hill construction site in Boxford. This was especially exciting, as it fit perfectly with our class topic 'Busy Builders'!

The visit allowed us to explore our community and to compare different types of homes. We were also fascinated by all the different jobs at the construction site!

We were shown around the site by two builders. We looked at an unfinished bungalow and learned about how a house is built.

At the end of the visit we took turns sitting in the cab of a real forklift truck!

What a busy day!

 

Dress-Down for Autism Awareness

May 6th

Our April dress-down day was given over to Autism Awareness with the theme Dress Casual: Be Comfortable!

Children came to school in their favourite, comfortable clothing  and explored ideas raised by the National Autistic Society's Too Much Information campaign. We were also happy to distribute information to parents from the National Autistic Society and Autism Suffolk.

Collectively, we were able to raise £140 that will be divided among both charities. 

 

Pet Day in Year 1 &2!

April 29th

As part of The Year 1 & 2 topic for the Summer Term, the classes organised a Pet Day where families were allowed to bring in their pets. The Pet Day demonstrated how loving and rewarding our relationships with animals can be. Children also learned a lot of interesting facts about different animals and something about the work involved in caring for a pet.

A selection of pets were brought in: A dog, guinea pig, rabbit, budgie and fish.

What a wonderful day of exploration and sharing!

 

Big celebrations for a Phenomenal achievement!

April 25th

The whole school celebrated last week in recognition of our wonderful Lunchtime Supervisor, Mrs Doreen Jarmin, who has now worked at the school for an incredible 50 Years!

The week started with a surprise party with past and present staff from the school. Former Headteacher Rob Giles spoke about Mrs Jarmin's amazing contribution to the school over his time working with her. Staff also sang a special song for Mrs Jarmin - "Honkey Tonk Doreen" - set to one of her favourite tunes!

At the end of the week, all children attended Boxford Church for a special Celebration Assembly. The Year 5s presented a fantastic set of statistics relating to Mrs Jarmin's 50 years of lunchtimes! In total, they calculated that Mrs Jarmin had probably supervised nearly 10,000 lunches! And did you know that over 300,000 lunches had been served during her time at the school?! Afterwards, the Year 6s shared thier research of the major global events of the past 50 years. Mrs Jarmin worked at the school when England won the World Cup in 1966 - imagine how excited everyone must have been! And she was working at Boxford when the first man walked on the moon in 1969 - I wonder what the children did in school to celebrate that amazing event?

Mrs Jarmin smiled at the memories and shared her thanks for a week of celebration. She said "I don't think of this as work. I come to school every day becuase I love it!"

 

Going the Extra Mile for Sports Relief

April 20th

In March, children across the school parcipated in the Sprots Relief Go the Extra Mile campaign. After the Year 5s had measured around the school grounds, we discovered that pupils would have to run seven complete laps in order to accomplish the challenge of running a mile.

Dressed head to toe in Red for the event, children of all ages ran their socks off to complete their seven laps. Some even went the "extra mile" by completing another seven (and even fourteen) laps for good measure!

Thanks to all the generous sponsors of our runners, the school was able to raise a total of £1783.41. This is a fantastic total and we thank all those who donated.

 

Reading Improvements gain local support!

April 15th

One of the projects undertaken to improve the school this year has been a development of our reading provision, with the addition of new Guided Reading resources for the whole school. Finding high-quality reading material at the appropriate level is crucial for inspiring a love of books at an early age. The school has focused on developing Guided Reading this year, an approach to reading where pupils work in groups of 4-8 to develop their reading skills with the teacher or teaching assistant. As all children are reading and employing new strategies together, they are more able to discuss ideas, learn from each other and refine their skills and understanding. All teachers and teaching assistants have recently received training on how to best deliver Guided Reading across the age ranges.

In order to make this school development project successful, we had asked the Friends of Boxford School for financial assistance with purchasing some of the reading materials for all age-groups. We were delighted to receive (and spend!) £3,000 from the FOBS. However, we are delighted to also recognise the support of Groton United Charities (£200 grant) and Boxford United Charities (£350 grant) for their contributions to this programme. We thank them for their invaluable grants, which enabled us to purchase books to a value of over £4000 in total. These books will support the teaching of reading for all children for many years to come!

 

Our Easter Service: Stations of the Cross re-enactment

March 22nd

Last week, the whole school took to The Spinney in Boxford for an Easter Service with a difference! Having spent the half term learning about the importance of the Easter Story for Christians (both through R.E. and in Collective Worship) we set out to re-enact the Stations of the Cross outside.

On a beautiful late-winter's morning, Rev. Judith and Rev. Tricia led us through Jesus' experiences in the build-up to his crucifixion and resurrection. Getting an eye-witness view of events, our students formed the crowds of onlookers and were asked to imagine how they might have felt throughout the events. Through the re-enactments, children explored how they - and Jesus - might have felt at:

  • The Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus asked his friends to stay watch while he prayed to God knowing what was going to happen to him. He returned to find his friends sleeping and asked "Couldn't you watch for one hour?" How might Jesus have been feeling at this moment - alone and in need of his friend's support?
  • The Trial: Jesus was captured and put on trial by Pontius Pilate. Although he was initially freed by Pilate for having "done nothing wrong" the crowds protested angrily at the verdict and convinced the judge to reconsider. As a result, Jesus was dressed as a 'mock king' and made fun of before being taken away to be crucified. If you were Pilate, how hard would it have been to stick to your original judgement in the face of pressure from others?
  • The Way of the Cross: Jesus was handed his cross for crucifixion and made to walk through the crowds of Jerusalem. Some jeered him and others hoped for intervention from God. When Jesus became too tired to carry his cross, a stranger names Simon stepped in to carry it for him. Would you have been brave enough to come to the help of Jesus, even though it meant stepping out infront of the angry crowds?
  • The Crucifixion: Jesus was raised up on the cross infront of the crowds that included his mother, Mary. He prayed to God and asked him to "forgive them, for they do not understand what they are doing." How might you have felt if you were a supporter of Jesus at this moment? Why might the crowds have been feeling angry at him? Do you think you could have forgiven like Jesus did?
  • The Resurrection: At the tomb, Mary and other women visited to anoint Jesus' body only to find it gone! Two angels appeared, announcing "Jesus has come back to life." As the women ran into Jesus, they saw him with their own eyes. "It's true! You're alive!" How would you have felt to be faced with Jesus like this? How might you have told your friends about this miracle?

​We thank all of our many parent volunteers for joining us on this lively and thought provoking morning. Children returned to their classes to reflect on their new perspective of the Easter Story.

Of course, we must thank Rev. Judith and Rev. Tricia for planning and delivering such a vibrant Service this Easter!

 

Year 5 & 6s take to the roads for Bikeability

March 21st

Year 5 and 6 students took to the roads this half term to earn Bikeability certificates for their confidence and understanding of staying safe while riding their bikes.

Over the course of three weeks, our cyclists encountered weather of all kinds. Whether too warm or too cold, our students focused on developing crucial skills for road safety and awareness.

So what is Bikeability?

Bikeability is today’s cycle training programme. It’s like cycling proficiency, but better! It’s about gaining practical skills and understanding how to cycle on today’s roads. Bikeability gives everyone the skills and confidence for all kinds of cycling. Bikeability is government-recognised, practical and professional training. Cyclists are more skilled and more confident once they’ve taken part.

We are proud of our cyclists and hope that these new skills will stand everyone in good stead for the great cycling weather coming up over the spring and summer!

 

Year 3 learn about the tradition of Hot Cross Buns

With Easter fast approaching, our shops (especially bakeries) are packed to the rafters with delicious treats. But have you ever stopped to think about the significance of the humble hot cross bun? After our amazing Easter Service at the Spinney, we returned to class to find a mountain of hot cross buns ready to be devoured. As we munched on these sweet treats we learned what aspects of the Easter Story were represented through this tradition - the last supper, crucifixion and resurrection. The raisins being the blood of Christ, the bread being the body of Christ, the cross on the top reminding us of the crucifixion and finally the leavened bread to remind us that Jesus has risen. 

As you can see from our faces, we like it when our learning is interesting. We also LOVE it when our learning is yummy!

 

Foundation Class Talk4Writing Project

March 2nd

As part of their topic on Water, Foundation Class recently explored the story of Noah's Ark. Using a technique known as Talk4Writing all children learned to retell this extended story with expression. As part of their ongoing communication, language and literacy development, this speaking and listening activity inspired their emerging writing. Children sequenced the story using picture cards and added their own words for extra detail. Some built on previous learning about speech bubbles to write whole scenes from the story.

Children then performed their project in front of an audience of parents. Check out the video of the Foundation Class performing their story in class.

 

National Maths Leader visits Boxford Primary School

February 28th

Colleagues from across Suffolk were treated to an exceptional Professional Development opportunity when Professor Ruth Merttens visited Boxford School for an evening training session. In addition to Local Authority representatives and specialist math advisors, over 70 teachers from 30 different schools attended the evening.

Prof Ruth Merttens is Director of The Hamilton Trust, a UK charity that provides planning and training for teaching across the primary and secondary age-ranges. She is also Professor for Primary Education at the University of St Mark & St John and is widely recognised as one of the leading voices in the development of Mathematics in the UK.

Her presentation, on how to best meet the demands of the new (2014) curriculum, was insightful and extremely valuable. It was a pleasure to share in this training with so many of our teaching team at Boxford!

 

Year 2 "FIRE!" artwork is a beautiful disaster

February 26th 2016

In true Mrs Linton style, the Year 2 class took to the activity area for some big, messy artwork on Tuesday!

As part of their topic on The Great Fire of London, children set about creating large fire prints in their art lesson. Learning about colour mixing, children explored the shades and colours created by mixing paints. But, why use paint brushes and a mixing pot when you can use your hands and an enormous table?!

The prints demonstrated the results of mixing as well as showing the children's exploration of patterning into the paint with thier fingers. As quickly as one design was made, it could be rubbed out and a new one begun.

Mrs Linton was quick to add..."cool wash. It all comes out with a cool wash!" ;-)

 

Animation Club movie completed!

February 24th 2016

After a busy Autumn Term of stop-motion animation, members of our Animation Club got together to put the final touches to the group's final video. Over 350 frames needed photographing in order to create the appearance of our dancers. We then edited the frames together using Movie Maker and found some music to complete our very first video - are you ready for a "Dance Off?!"

See how many moves you can recreate!

Dance Video.mp4

 

Year 1 Design and Technology: An emergency vehicle with moving wheels

As part of our class topic, 999!, Year 1 children explored and evaluated a range of wheeled products such as toys and everyday objects.

We observed the number, size, position and method of fixing wheels and axles.  After that children used the constructions kits with wheels and axles and made their own vehicles.

Children have also been busy making emergency vehicles using boxes, paints and other materials to represent the different colours, design and faetures. Can you tell who made an ambulance, fire engine or police car?!

 

Book Week update

February 3rd 2016

Children across the school took part in Book Week activities between 25th - 29th January. Classes explored texts focusing on the whole-school theme "Friendship" as part of our Values for Life programme.

The week culminated with a dress-down/dress-up day that was fun for all! We asked children to think about a book character/personality that they would like to be friends with. Our assembly was a wonderful experience where we shared our costumes and gave fantastic reasons why we might want to be friends with The GruffaloHarry PotterSteve Backshall or even The Boy in a Dress! It is always a pleasure to see children bring their reading to life and explore characters as real people.

We are also delighted to update parents that the total earnings from the visiting Travelling Book Company was £1714.90! Of this amount, the school will receive £1028.94 to spend on our ongoing literacy development throughout the school. We hope that you and your children are enjoying their new books and, as always, we thank you for your support!

 

Police visit Year 1 & 2

January 30th 2016

On Thursday 28th January, a member of our Police Force came to Boxford School to visit the Year 1 and Year 2 classes.

As our topic this term is 999, the Yr 1 and Yr 2 classes were given the opportunity to hear what the police do in our community and how they look after us.

The children had a great fun pressing the siren button, seeing the lights flash, trying on hats and sitting in the police car.  After that, in the classroom, we had a 20 minute question time. We learned lots of new words:  helmet, handcuffs, torch, vest, gloves, siren, arrest…

It was a wonderful afternoon that the children thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Year 5 & 6 a Capella singing workshop

January 25th 2016

Pupils in Year 5 & 6 participated in a fantastic Natural Voice singing worskhop last week. Joined by Sorelle, an a Capella singing group that includes our very own Mrs Linton, children enjoyed demonstrations of vocal harmonies before forming a choir of their own. Each section of pupils was led by an adult, from practice to performance.

The attached video shows one of these final presentations - an African choral song in three harmonies.

When asked whether they would like Sorelle to return for another session in the future, pupils responded with a resounding "Yes!" I'm pleased to report that the singers of Sorelle shared our enthusiasm for a wonderful afternoon!

Singing.mp4

 

Year 3 Extreme Earth home-learning projects!

January 22nd 2016

The new topic in Year 3, Extreme Earth!, continues to excite and inspire! Children are enjoying sharing their projects from home with the whole class. We've seen all sorts - from scientific reactions to plasticine models with exploding lava tops! We will continue to add photos of this amazing work.

 

Extreme Learning about Extreme Earth in Year 3

January 7th 2016

Our topic in year 3 and 4 is Extreme Earth. The children are highly enthused by this topic and already. Home Learning projects forom outside the classroom are pouring in. In Geography/Art, we were fascinated by the different layers of the Earth so created models using playdough. We could not wait to cut out a segment and look at the cross section of our work.

Check out our looks of excitement and/or concern!

 

Standing room only for Christmas Nativity and Service

January 6th 2016

Thank you all who turned out to our afternoon and evening performances of 'A Long Way to Bethlehem' at the end of term in December. The shows were warmly received and the children had a great time performing and reading in our beautiful church infront of such a supportive audience.

We also enjoyed reinstating a Christmas Service to our events calendar this year, and all who attended enjoyed a wide variety of performances from children of all ages. Showcasing our Values for Life theme, we shared readings about how characters in the Nativity must have persevered in their journey to the Birth of Christ. We were also treated to performances from our Brass Band and heard amazing carols performed by our Year 5 & 6 Choir.

We hope this will be an event to enjoy for many years to come.

 

Boxford Basketball Team bring home the silverware!

January 4th 2016

On Wednesday 9th December children in Year 5 & 6 participated in an inter-school Basketball Tournament at Thomas Gainsborough School.

Having prepared with 3 gruelling months of relentless training sessions, children faced the challenge of the mighty Wells Hall Primary (Team A and B) and Nayland Primary School (Team A).

All of their training clearly paid off, with children performing admirably as a formidable team. Each team member played to their strengths and communicated well with each other. After 4 successful wins, the team were rewarded with the highly sought after winners trophy.

Two members of Boxford's Basketball team even received a Sportsmanship Award.

A huge well done to everyone involved and many thanks to Miss Hyde for offering her Basketball Club as part of our exrta-curricular provision.

Go Team Boxford!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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