Author: Matt Charlesworth
Spotlight on Sport- 24th Feb
We are very proud to be supporting Erin, in Owls class, as she travels to Holland this weekend on a true sporting adventure. Some of you may already know that Erin is part of the U10s Arsenal Women’s Football Academy in her position as goalkeeper. Erin has always been committed to the sport and has a very mature attitude towards managing football alongside her school work.
Today, Erin travels to Holland on the FA National Team Coach to attend an elite PSV Eindhoven goalkeeping training camp. As part of this trip, Erin and her fellow goalkeepers will be taking part in three days training with a former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, take a trip to Germany to watch FC Schalke play at the Veltins Arena and have strength and conditioning pool sessions.
Keep up your hard work and commitment Erin!
Messing Maintains 5 Stars- 10th Feb
Last week we received a visit from the local authority Food Safety Officer. We are proud to hold onto our 5 Star Food Hygiene Rating, thanks to Mrs Owens and all of her incredibly hard work in the kitchen. Mrs Owens received a surprise certificate in assembly to thank her for her hard work, diligence and organisation in the kitchen.
Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week- 8th Feb
‘Making Connections’ has been the theme of Children’s Mental Health Awareness and we have been exploring this in school through assembly and in class. The idea that together, we can feel and achieve so much more as well as act as a support network to others. We have been thinking about how we make connections, who with, and how this has a positive impact on all of our mental health.
Taking this forwards, the children have been challenged to carry out random acts of kindness, celebrating and creating connections to those around them. This could be as small as waving and saying good morning to somebody, holding open a door, litter picking, drawing a picture or writing a positive note.
As adults, this is something that we can actively engage in too. My thanks go to Ms Gooday who bought me a beautiful bunch of daffodils for my office this week.
On Wednesday 8th February we were fortunate enough to have a visit from the author, Amelia Allen and illustrator, Aubany Swinney who together, created the story Busy Bee. With thanks to New Hall School, we were able to gift each family a copy of the story which follows Busy on her journey of self-discovery. Following an assembly, children in Kingfishers and Robins also had a workshop session with Amelia and Aubany.
Bikeability- 6th/7th Feb
We have been thrilled to team up with Essex Road Safety team, supporting some children from Owls to safely cycle on the roads. They put all of their theory into practice and cycled into Tiptree.
Written by Ettie and Thomas- We started off practising how to ride at a steady speed in the carpark and it was fun. Then we practised giving cars the right of way and always looking to see if it was safe to go. We used cones to mark the minor and major roads. After that, we went into Messing village and practised making U turns on a major road with cars driving past. We created a ‘wave army’ where we counted the number of waves over the two days. In total we got 116 (this included dogs wagging their tails). Cycling into Tiptree on Tuesday was fun, but it was also a little nerve wracking. This was to practise trickier skills including our primary and secondary positions.
Parent SATs information sessions- 30th/31st Jan
Thank you to the parents in Year 2 and Year 6 for joining the information sessions. Miss Snodgrass and Mrs Eagland led the sessions giving an overview of how the tests are administered as well as top tips and strategies to support the children in the run up to this. As always, if you have any further questions then please contact your child’s class teacher for more information.
Young Voices- 19th Jan
Another amazing opportunity for pupils as our school choir joined thousands at the O2 Arena in London for the musical performance. Following a very long, 3 hour coach journey due to road closures, the children were very ready to rehearse in preparation for the evening performance. We were delighted that so many parents were able to make it to watch the children, who sang so beautifully. A big thank you to Mrs Lewis who worked so hard with the children to make sure they were ready and gave up many lunchtimes for choir practise!
Year 2 Indoor Athletics- 13th Jan
Our Year 2 pupils were so excited upon their return from the indoor athletics event held at Colchester Gateway. All of the children were able to take part in a range of events, with the hurdles being the most popular.
Christingle Service- 13th Dec
Due to the snow and ice, we had a last minute change of venue from All Saints Church to the school hall. Key Stage 2 sang a range of carols along with the congregation and we also had some readings, a piano recital, and class playing the records and handbells.
Nativity Showtime!- 8th Dec
We were so proud of our pupils in Wrens and Robins for their fantastic nativity performance. The singing and dancing was mesmerising and we even had an impromptu stand-in by Miss Andrews as one of our wise women. Thank you to the parents for all of the support with costumes and rehearsing the lines- we are sure you’ll agree that all of the children put on their best performances.