Year 4 Hilltop Trip 2024

Day 1

Awesome Assault Course Trial

We’re having so much fun at Hilltop! After lunch, we tackled the Assault Course for a little warm up. The children impressed us with their resilience and willingness to try tricky obstacles.

Year 4’s Agility Course Challenge

Year 4 tackled an exciting agility course with a fiery twist—the floor was lava! Working in pairs, they showed fantastic teamwork, helping each other navigate the obstacles with creativity and encouragement. A brilliant display of partnership and perseverance!

Year 4’s Aerial Runway Adventure

Year 4 harnessed up and soared through the Aerial Runway, their final challenge before dinner! Though there were plenty of screams and shouts of “That was terrifying,” every brave participant went back for a second turn. The children cheered each other on, showcasing fantastic teamwork and courage!

Owls and Mice in the Dark

After a delicious dinner of fish and chips, the children dove into a thrilling game of Owls and Mice. Armed with torches, they hid in the dark while the ‘Owls’ used their senses to track them down. Year 4’s quiet mice proved to be excellent hiders!

The children are now settling and getting ready to sleep.

THE RACE TO THE POLE

Children in Amazon Class braved the relentless storms and cold of the Antarctic in class today as they took part in some drama in preparation for a unit of diary writing based on Robert Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Wrapping themselves up in their coats, scarves and hats, and retreating into the warmth of their sleeping bags, they reflected on the feelings, thoughts and words of Scott’s team as they reached the pole only to find they had been beaten by the Norwegians. These sepia-toned pictures capture the children’s battles with frostbite and crushing disappointment.

I hope they are able to warm up over the weekend. We’ll share their finished diaries as soon as we can.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN MAKE PLASTIC FROM MILK?

The children in Amazon Class found out that casein plastic, which was commonly used at the start of the 20th Century to make buttons, buckles and other plastic trinkets, can be made by mixing warm milk and white vinegar. The experiment was part of our investigation into reversible and irreversible changes. A full report, in the form of Professors Hardy, Roome and Gibson’s interviews with Radio 4 can be read here.

GIRLS ACHIEVE BRONZE IN THE HSSSP GIRLS’ FOOTBALL COMPETITION!

On a beautifully mild and sunny afternoon, nine of our key stage 2 girls went to Hartismere High School for the High Suffolk girls’ football tournament. 

These games were short (12 minutes), seven-a-side and with no half-time change.  In the first round, Fressingfield played six games, aiming for enough points to go through to the next round.  For each game, the girls needed to quickly sort themselves into a team of seven, working out who was attack, defence and goalie, and who would be substitute.

In the first game, Imogen scored two goals in rapid succession.  What a positive start that was!  Quite near the start, we realised that the sun was bright, and this affected the goalkeepers’ ability to see.  As a consequence, we decided to make sure our goalies got to the right end of the pitch for each game!

Harriet and India both took it in turns to be in goal, and did a great job defending the goal mouth.  Amy was also in goal once, making a magnificent save!  Jasmine was an absolute little terrier – wherever the ball was, Jasmine seemed to be there.  What incredible fitness that player has!  Bonnie was very enthusiastic, and did a good job of marking some strong opponents.  Ella’s strength was strategy, and she played a great role in deciding who was on or off, and what position they played.  Sophia used her match experience in hockey to be in the right place, at the right time.  Eden and Imogen used their experience as local club players to make some great tackles, and move the ball nicely towards goal. 

In the first round, Fressingfield played six games.  They won four, drew one and lost one.  They even felt proud about losing the one match, as some of the opponents were clearly very experienced players.  Because of the points scored in those games, Fressingfield went on to the play-offs, for bronze medal position.  A confident, early goal from Jasmine meant that, from the start, Fressingfield had the edge.  They held onto the 1-0 lead until the final whistle, to gain a well-deserved third place.

Mrs Scott and Ms Perry were so impressed by the girls’ attitude throughout the entire afternoon.  Showing all our sporting values of honesty, respect, determination, passion, teamwork and self-belief, our girls’ team made us proud!