Dear Parents and Carers,
World Book Day
What an amazing cavalcade of characters we had on show for WBD yesterday! There are some very creative children (and parents) out there and we had all manner of excellent costumes from The Highway Rat and Kevin the Minion to Gangsta Granny and Legolas (huge dedication from Isaac here for spending several years growing his hair for the part). Mrs Warner-Smith, Mrs Hutchings and Miss Rowden had also clearly spent a lot of time on their characters, coming as The Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2. All the costumes were magnificent and everyone was able to talk about the book that their character came from. Well done everyone for getting involved and for bringing in your donations for the Book Trust. School Council wanted to raise money for this charity once they found out about the work they do, making sure that children have at least one book in their home. If you would like to find out more about the work of the Book Trust in supporting children's reading, here is a link: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/
The Book Trust website is great and includes book recommendations, with book suggestions organised by age group. Again, if you would like to find out more, here is a link: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recommendations/great-books-guide/
Year Six Reading Recommendations
Meanwhile, here are some book suggestions from the Year Sixes:
Evelyn - Journey to the River Sea ... I would recommend this adventure story if you like something different.
Esmay - The Song Walker ... This book is full of adventure and would be suitable for someone 9 or over.
Francesca - The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brookes ... This is written as a diary and you really get to understand Lottie's feelings. Probably for 9 and over.
Kaitlyn - The whole Dork Diaries series! ... They are funny and written in a diary style. I also enjoy Harry Potter!
Freddie M - Royal Rabbits of London: Escape from the Tower ... I would recommend this to anyone who likes adventurous stories ... and rabbits!
Elsie - Holiday Heartbreak ... This is a tangled web of friendships and fall-outs. Probably for Y5 and Y6.
Jack - A Story of Britain ... This is a non-fiction book about the history of Britain. I like it as it gives succinct information that keeps you interested.
Isaac - The Two Towers ... It's my favourite Tolkein. There is great action alongside perfect Tolkein-esque description.
Emilia - The World's Worst Children ... This is extremely creative and terribly funny. This book is for anyone 7 or 8 upwards.
Freddie W - Diary of a Wimpy Kid ... I like the whole series! They are funny and I like the comic style of them
Freddie R - Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend ... This is a very funny book suitable for anyone in KS2.
Daniel - The Boy in the Dress ... I like the illustrations and different font styles that David Walliams uses.
Next week we'll have Year Five's recommendations.
Happy reading everyone!
Break Times
I am always impressed at how well the children play together (most of the time!) on the playground. It is a relatively small area for the numbers of children we have and there is a very limited amount of equipment. Nevertheless, the children are incredibly creative and active out there. It has been both inspiring and quite funny to see the children using the barriers as vehicles this week! We don't want to stop this, but have talked to the children about being safe with them. A few weeks ago, I asked Freddie R and Evelyn if they would be happy to organise lunch time activities on the playground. Kaitlyn has also kindly joined the small band of 'Play Leaders' and all three continue to do a magnificent job of organising, setting up and helping children with fun activities at lunchtime. Many thanks indeed to you wonderful Y6s. We have some new playtime equipment on order which I hope will add to the play-possibilities for KS1 and KS2.
TEAM Cross-Country (coming up)
Next Tuesday morning we will be hosting the annual TEAM Cross-Country event. As always, this will take in laps of the school field and Quarry Wood. It is a pretty gruelling course! The event is open to anyone in Y2 - Y6. Runners compete in their year group, with races being split into boys and girls. If your child would like to take part (and there is no compulsion), please send them to school on Tuesday morning in PE kit and with a drink and healthy snack. They will also need to bring a change of footwear and their school uniform to change into after they have run: the course is going to be muddy!
Busy Wednesday (next week)
Next Wednesday (11th) sees Class Three head off to SGH for the start of their residential. Class Four will also be out (just for the day) on Dartmoor. Let's hope for great weather on the moor and on the coast. Letters with all details should have come home by now. If not, please contact the school office asap! admin@high-bickington-primary.devon.sch.uk
Collective Worship
This week we have been thinking about three things that have linked together: meditation, prayer and forgiveness. We talked about how it can be hard to focus on more than one thing at a time and how having some moments of calm can help us to reset and come back to a tricky task refreshed, ready for the challenge. We often have moments of calm in CW. These can be an oasis in a busy school day. In these moments, some of us pray. We learnt this week about how prayer for Christians can be chatting to God very informally - like talking to a friend on the phone or it can be more formal - as when we say the Lord's Prayer together. This is a little more like talking to the boss on the phone! And of course, in the Lord's Prayer we ask for forgiveness and the strength to forgive anyone how does something 'wrong' to us. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Have a lovely weekend,
Rob Norton
Head of School
