Newsletter November 2017

Message from the Head

Friday was a very proud day for Badgemore

Primary school with Audrey Smith winning a

‘Highly Commended’ award in the National

Young Geographer of the Year competition (see

more later). Also, well done to years 3/4 and 5/6

tag rugby teams for winning the Henley

Partnership tournaments. Fantastic achievements

that we should all be proud of.

School life continues at a pace with an inspiring

visit from ‘local boy’ Zac Seddon a member of

the GB running team. His key message to the

children was ‘with hard work and determination

you can achieve your goal’.

The arrival of our bees has led to some amazing

homework and a stunning display in the

reception area.

Some of our Year 5 and 6 children were great

ambassadors for Badgemore at the Henley

Schools’ Remembrance event. A particularly

moving part of the service was when Clara’s

poem ‘I don’t know’ was read out.

Year 3 and 4 children recently sang beautifully

at the ‘Apollo 5’ event in Christchurch.

We also look forward to seeing the Lanterns

made by Year 3 being paraded through the

streets of Henley on 1st December.

These highlights show that the children are

receiving a stimulating and challenging

curriculum.

Regular attendance at school is so important to

help children make progress, as shown in a

recent government report that stated ‘pupils with

no absences are 1.3 times are more likely to

achieve expected or above in Key stage 2 tests,

and 3.1 times more likely to achieve greater

depth, than pupils that missed 10-15 per cent of

all sessions.’ Please make sure you do not plan

holidays during the school term, as these count

as an unauthorised absence, and will impact your

child’s progress.

Christmas does not seem too far away as I hear

the sounds of the Year 1 and 2s practising their

nativity songs. A treat in store for the end of

term.

Unfortunately, FOBS are unable to organise the

annual Christmas fair. However, on the last day

of term after ‘Carols around the Christmas Tree’

there will be an opportunity to wish everyone a

‘Happy Christmas’, potentially spend a little

money and enjoy some light refreshments. This

is part of Badgemore’s Young Enterprise Project

where all classes will be designing and making

Christmas items to be sold, hopefully at a profit.

Carols will start at 2pm. I look forward to

seeing you at this special event.

Marion Arnold

Year 3 Lantern Making

Congratulations

Young Geographer of the Year is a national

competition run by the Royal Geographical

Society (with IBG) to encourage pupils to

engage with geographical issues. This year,

the Society received over 1,600 entries from

over 250 schools, with thousands of

additional pupils taking part in in-school

competitions.

Audrey Smith won one of three ‘Highly

Commended’ awards.

An article written by Audrey about the event

will be posted on the school website.

Singing

Year 3 and 4 children have worked so hard

for the Apollo 5 concert which took place

last week. They have all turned into the most

amazing air guitarists and it was brilliant to

see so many parents in the audience.

Audrey with Alistair

Humphreys,

adventurer, receiving

her award at the

Royal Geographical

Society, London

Forest School

This term Rowan class have been doing

Forest School every Friday; after a hard

session of learning we always sit down for a

hot chocolate, a biscuit and a de-brief.

Bees

The bees have arrived!

We are the proud owners of two beehives

partially full of bees.

During week 1, extra supplies of food has

been placed in the two hives (fondant - a

glucose and water mixture).

An insulating blanket has been placed

underneath the cover to keep the bees warm

during the colder months.

Probes have been inserted into the main hive

to monitor temperature and humidity - this

information will be used in maths lessons

throughout the school.

Lantern Making

All children participating in the workshops

are invited to partake in the Christmas

Festival Parade with their lanterns. They will

assemble at the River & Rowing Museum

from 4pm where they will be served a snack

and drink. There will be time to visit the

Mayor’s Christmas Card Competition

display at the Museum. The parade will

leave the River & Rowing Museum at

approximately 5pm. Please be aware the

Museum car park will close at 5.45pm.

Felt Making

Cedar Class having been exploring

traditional methods of how clothing was

made. Jane Wimshurst kindly came in to

work with the children. The children started

with floss, stretched this out then introduced

more colors to replicate a sub-aquatic scene.

Finally soap and warm water was added to

shrink and matt the materials together. We

are keen to show off our wonderful designs.

Science

At Badgemore, we always try to make

learning fun so when the children suggested

using some weird and wonderful substance

for our friction investigation we had to say

yes! Driving karts through baked beans will

certainly mean that the children remember

the investigation for a long time to come.

Acorn Class Forest School

Although it is cold Acorn class have been

enjoying forest school. On Wednesday we

did some den building, tree climbing and

some of the children had a chance to whittle

wood.

With it being very cold outside, please

remember to send in

• Thick socks.

• Vests.

• Extra layers (leggings/tights, long

sleeved tops).

• Warm jumpers.

• Warm trousers.

• Hats, gloves and scarves.

Year 2 Tag Rugby Inter - Schools Skills

Session

On a rather cold Tuesday morning Year 2s

went down to Henley Rugby Club to meet

up with other Year 2s from schools in

Henley. Badgemore children divided

themselves into 2 teams; the Badgemore

Bees and the Badgemore Badgers.

Henley Hawk coaches taught the children

how to throw and catch the ball and

introduced them to Tag Ruby rules. The

Badgemore Bees and Badgers enjoyed

playing against all the other schools. Ada

(Year 2) said, "I especially loved it because I

had so much fun throwing!". Mr Bull has

been working with Maple class on co-

ordination and being a team player during

their PE sessions. This was evident during

this Tag Ruby session as they showed great

sportsman towards all the children they

played against.

Literacy

Maple have been writing some fantastic

traditional tales since half term and have

really enjoyed this topic. We are now

moving onto learning about instructions.

They have loved making snowflakes by

following written and orally instructions and

have spotted all the features of an

instructional text. They cannot wait to write

their own instructions based on the Young

Entrepreneurs Project and are looking

forward to sharing with you the results of

their task at the “Carols Around The Tree”

on the last day.

Year 5/6 Rugby Tournament

Year 3-6 recently took part in a rugby

tournament and we won both the year 3/4

tournament and the year 5/6 tournament.

An article by Rose who took part can be

read at the following link:

http://www.badgemore.oxon.sch.uk/1st-

tournament-win-of-the-year/

School Grounds

Tuc Ahmad has been busy….

There is a fair chance that the Pre-school site

will be cleared by mid-February next year

and we can begin to ‘dress’ the pond site

before Spring. This space has been

progressing slowly under the radar of most

people because there has been little

involvement from the Garden Club. So, I

thought I would share a photo diary to show

how this site has evolved.

To give full credit, the Town Parks team

have been immense the whole way through

and continue to provide support. Town Parks

have coordinated the services of Community

Payback teams throughout the project. To

date, the single largest cost has been the

pond liner and protective matting.

Upcoming Dates

Monday 11th December SEN coffee

morning to meet the new SENCO

11th December Year 1 and 2 Nativity Play –

1:30

12th December – School panto, Aladdin

13th December Year 1 and 2 Nativity Play –

17:30

Saturday 16th December at Tescos Year 3

and 6 Christmas Bag packing

Monday December 18th Helpers thank-you

assembly

Monday 18th December – Children and staff

Christmas lunch/Christmas jumpers. See

letters in book bags 01/12/17

Tuesday December 19th Carols around the

Christmas Tree 2pm

January 4th – School restarts

Friday 9th Feb – end of term

Monday 19th Feb – School restarts.

Marion Arnold

Head Teacher

November 2017