What a fabulous day and what adventurous children! Everyone had a great time, many pushing themselves to the limit. We came back exhausted but happy and look forward to the next visit.

What a fantastic morning of sport with our EYFS and Infant children.  Thank you to everyone who came along to support and also help raise funds for Macmillan Care and the PTA.

We had a fantastic trip to Leighton Moss; we spent the morning pond dipping and learning how to carefully catch the pond creatures on a spoon. In the afternoon we climbed the sky walk to look out across the whole of Leighton Moss; we went on a colour hunt – matching colours on a chart to the colours we found; we made scent cocktails with herbs and finally we went on a mini-beast hunt in the garden. It was a brilliant day and the children were so interested, asked brilliant questions and showed how much they already knew!

Year 1 have been very lucky as the PTA agreed to buy us 12 programmable Bee Bots. These are little bugs that need programming in order to move or ‘dance!’ The children have been set challenges to get the bots to different places on the carpet, so they have to write algorithms (instructions); debug the instructions if they don’t work and manage the little robots. The children love the Bee Bots and they don’t realise how much they are learning whilst having lots of fun!

This week, Year 5 have been on a residential trip to York. Their history topic is ‘The Vikings Are Coming!’ In science they are starting to look at the unit on ‘Materials’. It has been a full, action-packed two days; there hasn’t been a spare moment! It started on Monday with a look round the Railway Museum and a workshop on which materials railways use to make the tracks and the reasons behind it. The children were  then hiked up to York Minster and were treated to a, highly recommended, tour round. The tour guide had worked there for 26 years and relayed many fascinating facts, from the materials used to Blue Peter competitions. It really was spectacular: the children were mesmerised. After that, it was a search in town for a secret monks door and a walk around some of the infamous York Wall, with a good nose at some breath-taking residential properties. The Minster looked very different from every perspective. The coach then ferried everyone to ‘Stableside’ at York racecourse. After dinner, there  arrived two Vikings to show some amazing artefacts and re-in-act some gruesome tales! The staff and children were enthralled with over two hours of entertainment. As expected, the children behaved superbly overnight. They were served a hearty breakfast, fit for Vikings and rooms tidied- although we think they need a bit more practise with changing bedding! Day two began at ‘Jorvik’ for some and ‘Dig’ for the others, with a swap at lunchtime. They experienced a variety of rides, smells, investigations, archaeology explorations and handling of authentic artefacts. There was even time for an ice-cream before having a look at the castle and then departing for home.

At St.Mary’s we pride ourselves in how polite and considerate the children are, and this trip really does relay why. Year 5 were outstanding, a real pleasure to take away and commented on by all the facilitators on their manners and demeanour. A lot was learned and this new experience and information gathering will aid their future learning in the coming weeks.

Well done Year 5!

Talented artists from Year 3 and 4 have joined Miss Broome and Mrs Day to explore nature using art. They are looking closely at plants, flowers and trees and making pictures using pencils, paint and printing. Watch out for a forthcoming display around the school.

We have arrived after half term with the most amazing home learning being brought into school in Year 5. One exceptional piece of work which was taken to Mr Jones was Bea’s stunningly and unbelievably long Viking home learning.  The work detailed about Viking life and York in preparation for the forthcoming visit to York.

Year 4 have been to our partner school in Rochdale, St Peter’s CE Primary.  We visited the town hall which had peregrines nesting in the tower. We also went to the Neeli Mosque and learn so much about Islam.  We then walked along the canal and explored Rochdale’s industrial past.  Later we then spent time with out friends in Rochdale and discovered about the founding of the COOP and fairly traded produce.  We are looking forward to spending time with our friends when they visit us on the 15th June.

Year 5 have been enjoying the weather outside this week; playing Times Tables games outside in their house teams. The speed practise is still essential to keep those trickier ones fresh in their heads! Howgill won the race of filling in the dartboards the quickest.

The children in Year 1 have been bringing their bikes to school each week (thank you parents). They have been learning how to balance, ride without stabilizers, be safe on their bikes, stop safely and listen carefully to instructions. Mrs Ecclestone is very pleased with their progress and has issued each child with a certificate.