Holly Lodge

Summer Term News Letter 8

10th June 2005

Cakes for the Summer Fete

URGENT – URGENT
We are still short of cakes for the cake stall – could you all please be very kind and start baking your delicious cakes and if possible deliver the cakes to the school on Sunday morning -Thank you

Year 5 Trip to the Basingstoke Canal Centre
On Thursday 26th May, Year 5 went to the Basingstoke Canal Centre. We walked from school along the canal to get to the canal centre. We went to find out about water for our geography work and about insects and animal habitats for our science work.

First of all we put our bags in a little room and then sat down on the carpet for a slide show which we really enjoyed. Dean, one of the people who worked at the centre, told us some of the history of the canal and showed us some pictures.

After that we were put into two groups, the first group went on a boat trip along the canal. Small groups were allowed to go to the front of the boat and take some pictures. After our boat trip we did some pond dipping using nets to find water insects.

After the pond dipping we went back to the centre and sat outside to eat our lunch. Once we had eaten we played in the park and went to the gift shop. In the afternoon we did some map reading. We had to find letters and put the letters in boxes that made a word. Once we had finished we sat down by the canal and sketched the canal and scenery, after this we collected our bags and started to walk back to school.

Thank you to Mrs Carpenter, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Midworth and everyone else who helped!
Helen Shephard – 5M

On the 26th May the whole year 5 group walked to the Basingstoke Canal Centre. When we got there we met Ranger Dean who showed us all a slide show. He told us about the history of the canal. He showed us pictures of the wildlife that live near the canal afterwards we split up into four groups. Groups 1 & 2 went on a boat, which was called Merlin and Groups 3 & 4 went pond dipping.

Pond dipping was quite fun. We had a net between two people and a small plastic pot. We had to dip the net under the water in the small pond and dunk it into something called silt which Ranger Dean had told us about in the slideshow. We then had to see if we had caught anything and identify it with the keys that Ranger Dean had given us. My partner and I caught two things; a water louse and a dragon fly nymph. Then Mrs Herdeis said we had to let the insects go.

After pond dipping everyone walked back to the centre for our lunch and because it was such a hot day we could sit outside.

After lunch we went into the shop and then into the park to play.

In the afternoon we sketched some canal boat art or creatures that we saw and played map work games. In the first game we were given a map of the canal centre. We had to find where our coloured letters were and place them in the correct space on the map then rearrange them to make a word that had something to do with the canal centre. Luckily we were the first group to write all the letters down! We had to hurry as the rest of the teams were catching up with us but unfortunately we came last. While we were thinking, I finally guessed the word which was ‘centre’.

We played a second game that Mrs Herdeis gave us to help us learn about map work. I drew a bird, a spider, a flower and a wizard called Merlin which was painted on the boat we went on.

When everyone had finished, we got our belongings together and thanked Dean. Then we said goodbye and walked back to school.

A big thank you to everyone who helped. It was the best school trip I have ever been on!

Thank you to:
Mrs Wedgewood, Mr Breckell, Mrs Dancer, Mrs Herdeis and Ranger Dean for making the day so much fun!
Zoe Gardiner – 5H

Pond Area
The conservation and pond area has developed a great deal over the last few months. The pond is now well established, with tadpoles, newts and insects. The bird population is thriving amongst the trees and hedges. Since we have thinned out the trees, many plants have shown their heads. The pathway is now completed and the wood chippings have enhanced the whole feel of this lovely area.

All we need now is a working party to help come in and weed around the newly planted hedges and trees that is necessary for the saplings to grow properly. We will need to weed carefully inside the area to enable the natural growth and development of insect life. This will enable the children to see where different insects live and grow.

If you are able to come along for a couple of hours, preferably on a Sunday morning, could you please let me know via the school office. I will then be able to establish a rota which is suitable for everyone.
Thank you.
Miss Smart

Web Address
Our “new look” website is now up and running; the new address is at the top of the newsletter.

Mobile Telephones
Please note that children should not bring mobile telephones into school.

Governors’ Meeting
The Governors meet formally once or twice a term and we thought it would be useful to let you know after each meeting some of the highlights that were covered.

At our meeting last week we addressed the impact of the Government’s new legislation on “Workforce Remodelling”. This stipulates that teaching staff must have 10% of their time away from the classroom to prepare and organise their material. The legislation comes into force next term and will be managed in a positive manner to ensure that both children and staff benefit from it as much as possible.

The topic of School Dinners generated a lot of discussion. Over the past few weeks, three Governors have spent time eating with the children and helping out in the kitchen. Our conclusions were mostly positive. The next step is to ensure that our children are aware of the benefits of healthy eating, as this can affect their learning in school as well as their overall long term health. More on this as our plans develop.

We also covered the content of the Annual Report for Parents which will be sent to you in July.
David Galloway – Chair of Governors

Miss Ross
As you are aware, Miss Ross will be leaving at the end of this term and we would like to make a presentation to her. If you would like to contribute towards a gift, please send your donation into the School Office
Thank you.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic
On Friday 27th May, the children in the Reception classes enjoyed a teddy bears’ picnic. The children worked all week preparing for it. The activities included writing invitations to their bears, walking to the local shop to buy food, making the plates and sandwiches and working out which was the best shape for the tablecloths.

Luckily the sun shone brightly and the teddy bears had a wonderful time playing the party games and eating the picnic food.

Thank you to all the adults who helped at the party.

Geography Week – Passport to the World
Week commencing 20th June is Geography week and each year group will be studying various continents. We are asking the children to bring in artefacts for their relevant country as follows:

Reception – North America – Ranches, American Indian, Cities

Yr 1 – Northern Europe – Norway

Yr 2 – South America – Brazil

Yr 3 – Southern Europe – Italy

Yr 4 – Africa

Yr 5 – Asia – China

Yr 6 – Australasia – Australia

Threadworms
An incidence of threadworms in the school has been reported to us. We thought that you might find the attached information helpful.

The Week Ahead
June 15th – Presentation of Football Trophies in Assembly.

June 15th – Class Reps meeting 2.30 in Meeting Room.

Merits
1M – Frankie Armsworth, Megan Harms, Owen Buxton, Jack Seymour

1S – Maggie Antell, Megan Refano, Ellie Samios, Dean White

2C – Nicholas Herrington, Georgia Smith, Katie Stocker, Jessica Leppard, Ashley George

2V – Brandon Carter, Samuel Booth, Joseph Bradley, Abigail Mansfield, Alix Ostler, Sophie Verrinder

3D – Louise Brisk, Alex Forbes, Natalie Groome, Drew Lundie

3O – Renat Maxwell, William Whittam, Jordon Hoare, Joseph Galloway

4D – Abigail Hill, Lianne Pratt, Dean Ramsey

4R – Victoria Hoare, Ross Young, Shevanni Patel, Peter Green, Scott Langley

5H – Thomas Evans, Marco White

5M – Zoe Cookson, Oliver Laycock, Faline Chapman

6B – Lucy Dewdney, Zara Proud

6M – Shayne Yates, Evie Downs, Sophie Mansfield

Four Merits
1M – Jack Seymour

2C – Nicholas Herrington, Georgia Smith, Katie Stocker Ashley George

3D – Drew Lundie

3O – Renat Maxwell, William Whittam, Jordon Hoare, Joseph Galloway

4R – Scott Langley

5H – Marco White

6B – Lucy Dewdney

6M – Shayne Yates