Bures C.E. Primary School

Newsletter

Contact us: 01787 227446 primary@bures.suffolk.sch.uk Date: 6th December 2019

Big Question of the Week “Lots of films, stories and songs refer to something called the ‘Christmas

Spirit’. What does this mean to you?”

Explore, Believe, Shine

‘The Adventure Awaits…’

The Trials and Tribulations of Year Six!

Last Friday our Year Six pupils had the opportunity to take part in a mock trial as part of the Suffolk Junior

Schools Mock Trail Competition. Mrs Holmes worked hard with her class to rehearse the script in readiness

for our opportunity to show our skills in front of Judge Overbury and an Usher from the Ipswich Crown

Court. The trial of Lucy Lyre was a tense one requiring our jurors to listen carefully to a range of evidence

before deciding on their verdict. The four main characters in the trial were played by Lucy, Freya, Rory and

Josh who did a great job of becoming familiar with the script by practising hard at home. There were

memorable performances from Ben as a Police Officer and Lennox as a Scientist who really threw themselves

into their parts. Mrs Holmes and I were really proud of all the children who behaved beautifully, asking the

judge some interesting questions and taking the opportunity to learn all they could about the justice system.

We had such a great time doing

out mock trial with Judge Over-

bury. It was a great experience

for all of us. It was also good be-

cause we were acting as if we

were in a very formal court room.

Y6 enjoyed this trial so much. My

favourite part was when we heard

all of the different sides of the

story. Also, the lawyers and the judge had to wear wigs! They were very

itchy! On behalf of Y6 I would like to say thank you to Ms Slater, Mrs

Holmes, Judge Overbury and Peter.

By Freya Y6 (AKA Defence Barrister)

Explore, Believe, Shine

‘The Adventure Awaits…’

Advent- Christ the King

Our Faith and Festival day this term focused on Advent celebrating ‘Christ the king’.

The hall was transformed into scenes from the New Testament through six prayer stations each focusing

on a character from the Christmas story.

The first station looked at Mary and the Angel Gabriel and was entitled ‘Hopes and Dreams’. We thought

about what Mary’s hopes and dreams were- she didn’t expect to give birth to the Son of God! The children

were invited to think of their own hopes and dreams and draw or write them onto a strip of paper to add

onto a paper chain.

The next station looked at Jesus ‘God with us’. We thought about what it might be like if God came to

earth today- what would he wear? Who would he talk to? What would he say? The children gave some very

thoughtful answers to these questions. My favourite answers were that God would say ‘I love you’ and ‘you

are my friend’.

The third station focused on the shepherds and recognised that they were not seen as very popular or im-

portant people but God chose to tell them first about his Son being born on earth. A map of the world was

laid out and children thought about people who are not considered important and invited to pray for them.

The Wise Men were the next characters and we thought about the fact that they were being guided by

the star. The children were invited to write about something they needed guidance with on a sticky note

star and add it to the sky background.

Next we thought about the Wise Men’s gifts and the things in our lives we

are thankful for and our own gifts and talents. Lastly, we looked at Mary

and Joseph and the journey they took from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We

thought about our own life journey this year and write both good and bad

things that had happened to us as a prayer of thanks or need to God.

As always I was impressed with our children’s respect and touched by their

responses to these prayer stations, they gave a lot of thought and

reflection to each activity and I hope it helped them to think of the

Christmas story in a new and more real way.

Bures United F.C

Well done to Albert, Archie, Ariane, Alfie, Max, Lewis, Charlie and Lucca (from Reception and Year 1) who

played their first match for Bures United Under 6’s last weekend. They all had a great time and both the

school and the club can be proud of what they achieved, in what was their first time playing another team.

If any other children are interested in getting involved, Bures United runs fun training sessions every Sat-

urday between 9:30-11:00 on Bures Recreation Ground. The club currently has active age groups for Recep-

tion, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6.

Explore, Believe, Shine

‘The Adventure Awaits…’

Collective Worship

As this Monday was the first Monday in December, our Collective worship theme was Advent. I talked about

the phrase ‘Coming ready or not’ which many children shout when playing ‘Hide and Seek’. We played a quick

game of ‘Hunt the Thimble’. Molly hid the thimble well but with a few clues jack was able to find it quite

quickly. We thought about the fact that the Bible says that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and I

encouraged the children to think about the true meaning of Christmas.

On Wednesday Mrs Holmes looked at persistence in her Growth Mindset Assembly. She remind the children

of quotes from famous people (and fish!) - “Just keep swimming” is Dory’s excellent advice whereas Presi-

dent Kennedy talked about the ‘Space Race’ saying - “We choose to go to the moon ... and do the other

things, not because they are easy, but because they are

hard.”

We had a lively assembly at St Mary’s Church on Thursday

morning. It was great to see so many parents carers and

grandparents in attendance. Rev Trish told the Christmas

story using socks! Holy socks, woolly socks, costly socks,

smelly socks and baby socks—why not ask your child which bit

of the story each pair of socks represented.

Reception Year One Year Two Year Three Year Four Year Five Year Six

92.3% 98.2% 97.7% 96.7% 96.6% 94.1% 97.2%

Christmas Tree Festival

This week the children and staff have been

working hard to make decorations for our

‘Partridge in a Pear Tree’ themed Christmas

tree which is now on display at the annual

Rotary Christmas Tree Festival in St.

Peter’s in Sudbury. Please go and visit if you

get the chance it will be open this Friday

and Saturday from 10.00 am until 6.00 pm

and on Sunday from 10.00 am—4.00 pm.

Thank you to Mrs Baker who co-ordinated

our decorations and set up the tree

beautifully for us all to enjoy. Donations

received at the festival will be distributed

to a variety of charities.

Attendance—Whole School so far this academic year 97%

Gold = 98 -100% Green = 95 – 97.9% Red = 90 – 94.9% Purple = <90%

A bad week for illness. Well done to Year One!

Lighting Up Bures

Thank you to all the parents and children who supported us with the PSA and Year 5 and 6 stall at the

Bures Lights Switch-On last weekend. The children raised lots of money to help towards their residential

trip costs with their yummy truffles and fabulous Christmas decorations.

Explore, Believe, Shine

‘The Adventure Awaits…’

Christmas Concert at Thomas Gainsborough School

On Friday 29th November, three of our Year 5

children performed in the Suffolk County Music

Service Key Stage 2 Ensemble Christmas Concert

at Thomas Gainsborough School. Bella, Caitlin and

Ellie all play their clarinets in the Ensemble

regularly and the concert enabled them to

showcase their developing musical skills to their

families. The Ensemble meets weekly during term

time and is open to any child in Key Stage 2 who

receives music lessons from Suffolk County Music

Service. It provides a great opportunity for

children who love to play music to learn and

perform alongside like-minded students from

other local primary schools.

Our Learning Ambassadors for this week are:

Cameron, Tabitha, Freddie, Toby, Chloe, Dominic, Abigail, Molly,

Megan, Kai, Leya, Scarlet, Evie, and Amelie

Staff Ambassadors this week are Ms Holtom and Mrs Boatwright

Explore, Believe, Shine

‘The Adventure Awaits…’

Christmas Dinner

The Children’s will enjoy there

Christmas Lunch together with

Staff von Tuesday 17th December.

Christmas Jumpers should be worn

for this festive occasion. Please

book your child's Christmas lunch

on the School Gateway by

Wednesday 11th December.

PSA News

Christmas Dis-Glow - Monday 16th December

The date for our Glow Disco is drawing nearer, so please don't forget

to return your consent form and payment to the school office by Thurs-

day 12th December if your child would like to attend. We would also love

to hear from anyone who is willing to help us set up or run either of the

discos. Please speak to Helen Foster or email PSA@bures.suffolk.sch.uk

if you can assist.

Christmas Bag Pack - Sunday 22nd December

There's still time to volunteer to help us at our Christmas Bag Pack at Waitrose in Sudbury on

Sunday 22nd December. If your child would like to get involved, please speak to Nicola Hart.

Term Dates and PD Days 2020/2021