s w e N n e p s A d l Whitfie Volume 4, Issue 14 16th June 2014 MULTICULTURAL ARTS EXPERIENCE Written by Susie Allison Term 6 Newsletter! Inside this issue: Multicultural Arts Experience 1 French Students Visit 1 Lego Mindstorm 2 Netball 2 Afterschool Clubs 2 Early Years 3 Roots 3 Aspen Family Camp 3 Headteacher’s comment 4 Forest Schools 4 Please note:  School leavers Assembly will be held on the 22nd July @ 2pm, the pedestrian gate will be open from 1.45pm.  School leavers disco will be held on Friday 18th July.  Practice for Yr6 School Production is underway with the final show being held on the 8th and 9th July from 7pm. Over two days recently, the whole school took part in a Multicultural Arts Experience. Years 5 and 6 did an amazing job of learning two African Tribal Rhythms and gave an outstanding performance in our assembly on the Friday. We were extremely lucky to have Music Director, Mr Michael Yeoman, working with the children. Mr Yeoman commented that the children managed to learn the rhythms in only half the time that they would usually take to teach - so our upper key stage two children are obviously extremely musically talented! Years Reception to 4 took part in dance workshops throughout Friday, led by The Don Rae Academy of Music and Arts. These included ‘The Lion King’, Street, Bollywood and Chinese dancing and were a huge success with the children – and several of the teachers! Each year group were given a ‘theme Country’ and some beautiful art work was produced across the school. Year 1 really got into the swing of ‘Brazil’ and treated us to a colourful and musical carnival procession around the building and grounds on Friday morning! The Multicultural Arts Days provided a wealth of opportunities for children to deepen their knowledge and understanding of a range of cultures around the world and develop their creative interest in The Arts. FRENCH STUDENTS VISIT Written by Ellie Proudlock-Damms and Sophie Ward On Wednesday 4th of June some French children came to our school. It was the best experience of my life. My friends partner was really nice, her name was Julie. I will really miss her! First of all, we introduced ourselves to our partners; French people enjoyed we got on really well. Then we went to our next their day. activity which was French bingo. I found it very difficult but my friend helped me. At the end of the day we got together and sang songs. I really hope the Page 2 Whitfield Aspen News LEGO MINDSTORM Written by Morgan Millard and Kye Hearn Last week, Class 3 were given a challenge to complete and programme a lego robot to push a dam of some sort down a ‘river’, which was painted, to stop pretend sewage from getting into clear water. and whether or not you completed the challenge successfully. Our team won and got a prize; to win you were judged by your team work, NETBALL Written by Sarah Taylor 5 minutes. We almost scored as the whistle blew for full time. The team came third in their group. On Tuesday 3rd June, our newly formed Netball team travelled to Dover Grammar school for Girls for this year's local Hi-5 netball tournament. There were 8 other teams competing. Our team, who were very excited, played 3 games. They drew the first game 0-0 even though Kabina and Tom had at least 20 chances to score! The second game was against Temple Ewell, which we lost 1-0. The last game was against Green Park A team. It was a very exciting game to watch. We scored, then they scored, then they scored again and finally, we scored! It was 2-2 for the last The team showed excellent skills in passing and marking, and the spirit shown by the players was faultless. Well done Tom Kremer, Kabina Gurung, Thalia Leberl, Sophie Ward, Holly Levitt and Kayla FoulgerCoetzee. After a few more weeks practice the other teams had better beware! Player of the tournament - Kabina Gurung (even the referee agreed!) AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS Tuesday School Band 3.20-4.15pm Running Club 3.15-3.45pm Kwik Cricket 3.15-4.00pm Wednesday Elite Multi Sports 3.20-4.30pm Thursday Sibs Club (fortnightly) 3.15-4.00pm Aspen Sports Club 3.15-4.00pm Netball Club 3.15-4.00pm Dance Club 3.15-4.00pm Friday Volume 4, Issue 14 Page 3 EARLY YEARS ROOTS NURSERY This term we have been enjoying learning about transport and jungle animals. We have been enjoying our visits to the sensory garden where we have explored the flowers, plants and chimes. We are really looking forward to our joint visit with our mainstream friends to Wingham Wildlife Park. The children moving into the reception class in September have been having fun visiting their new teacher Debbie, their new TAs and their new classroom. Keep a look out for the Aspen Sports Day Event. Date to be confirmed very soon! APSEN FAMILY CAMP On the night of Friday 13th June we held a Family Camp event for Aspen families. It was a chance for the children and their families to spend a night under canvas together and have some fun, and for us to give support to the families in order to give them confidence when taking the children away on holiday. The whole event was a huge success. We all had a great time, children, parents and staff. We had a lovely BBQ and even went for a late night swim in the hydrotherapy pool. Children played together beautifully and slept well til the morning when we all had bacon rolls for breakfast. We were so pleased to be able to do this for our families and are happy it went so well. Hopefully parents will feel confident to take a family holiday on their own. We look forward to hosting a similar event next year. Dates to Remember KS2 Sports Day Wednesday, 25th June 2014 Yr4 Trip to Wildwood Friday, 27th June 2014 Summer Fayre Saturday, 5th July 2014 YrR Trip to Wingham Wildlife Tuesday 8th July 2014 Transition Day—all classes Thursday, 10th July 2014 Yr1 Trip to Port Lympne Friday, 11th July 2014 Yr2 Trip to St Margarets Lighthouse Tuesday, 15th July 2014 Yr6 Rippledown Trip 14th, 15th & 16th July 2014 Summer Term 6 ends Tuesday, 22nd July 2014 Non-Contact Days Wednesday, 23rd July 2014 Wednesday, 3rd September 2014 Friday, 24th October 2014 HEADTEACHER’S COMMEN T As you can see, we have ha d a very busy time here at school since returning fro m our mid term break. The Multicultural Arts Expe rience was fantastic with everyone really enjoying themselves and learning about the ‘arts’. Ou r KS1 Sports Day this week was enjoyed by the ch ildren and I was really impressed with their deter mination and team work. Well done to the Mums, Da ds and toddlers who had their own races! We are always looking for wa ys to improve our events. If you can make a suggestion then please complete the following sente nce and return to the office. EYFS/KS1 Sports Day could be even better if: …………………………………………………… ………………………… Jason Cook Start of Term 1 will be Thursday, 4th September 2014 FOREST SCHOOLS Written by Alice Cannon Children loving the outdoors with Forest Schools! So, what can you do with a stick? Ask any year 3 pupil and they'll say "quite a lot actually!" We used Julia Donaldson's brilliant Stickman book as a base for a whole term of outdoor activities in the wild area; from painting on a leaf using a stick to making a mini woodland and a very cute "twig-hog". Tree climbing, pond dipping and hammock swinging ensured the afternoons were packed with adventure and exploration. We held frogs and collected snails, overcoming a few fears and connecting with nature right on our doorstep.