News

The School Council were given an opportunity to meet with their local Member of Parliament, Dr Daniel Poulter, today and to ask him a few pressing questions about some of their concerns.

Gino and Summer began proceedings by welcoming Dr Poulter to our school and by explaining briefly what the School Council have been focusing on. They explained that, following a survey of the school they conducted recently, they are campaigning to improve the playground toys available at playtimes, trying to vamp up the changing rooms so they are more inviting and trying to fix some things that need repairing.

Kayden and Hannah then shared an issue facing many of our families and of which they had personal experience: the difficulty in finding an NHS Dentist at the moment. Dr Poulter explained that there are plans in place to introduce Dentistry Schools in both Ipswich and Lowestoft, which could make access a little easier for some of us.

Daisy and Isaac then explained that at Harvest we collected food which was donated to the Trussell Trust Food Bank. They shared that many families are finding it difficult to buy food and that prices are going up and up. They asked what Dr Poulter was able to do to make sure all families can afford to buy food. Dr Poulter explained how there were lots of pressures at the moment that are causing food prices to go up, including the war in Ukraine and the cost of fertilizer. Kayden was able to contribute that delivery and supply chain problems were also an issue and that it was like a chain reaction.

Finally, William and Emily shared their concerns about climate change. They explained that pollution was leading to increases in carbon dioxide which is causing the climate to warm which is endangering animals at the North and South Poles. William asked what Dr Poulter was able to do to keep climate change under control. Our visitor explained that it was something we all have to work on together – the government and people in their own homes. He said that lots of wind farms have been built off the Suffolk coast and that we also needed nuclear power for when the wind isn’t blowing. The Councillors also discussed some of the things they had done in their own homes to reduce energy and waste.

The Key Stage 1 School Councillors – Sol, India, Emily-Aliza and Alfie – joined as observers and listened carefully to the discussion.

Well done to all of them for their thoughtful questions and contributions.

The gardening club have found a pair of socks at the very bottom of the compost heap!

During the holiday, Mr Roome came into school to take away the huge pile of garden waste at the back of the school garden (for which we are very grateful). This has allowed the gardening group to start a Big-Clean-Up and Sort-Out.

Last week, as the school gardeners were emptying the compost heaps to use on the raised beds, they were surprised to find an old pair of grey socks buried under many years of garden waste. There is no telling quite how old they are, but Mr Leicester thinks they predate his arrival at the school some 8 years ago because the compost bins haven’t been emptied in that time. Mrs Lindsey, who helps the gardeners each week, took them home to wash.

So, if you attended the school more than 8 years ago and remember losing a pair of grey socks, please contact the school so we can reunite you with them!

Poppy and Arieanna represented the school with great dignity and respect at the Fressingfield Remembrance Day Parade, laying a wreath on behalf of all the children and staff at the village war memorial. The event included representatives of the armed forces, the British Legion, the Guides and Scouting movement, and other village groups, including our school. The names of service people from Fressingfield, Cratfield, Weybread, Metfield and Withersdale Street who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars were read out both at the church and at the war memorial and two-minutes’ silence was held.

Thank you girls.

Well done and thank you to so many of you who enjoyed our recent maths SHARE morning on calculations.  It was a pleasure to have you all.  The children really enjoyed it, and we hope you also learned about more about how we teach maths in school.  The PowerPoint used is here if you would like to spend more time going through examples of each number operation.

SHARE-morning-CALCULATIONS

This morning, the children of KS2 walked down to the Parish Church to pay tribute to the three servicemen buried in the churchyard.

The children in Year 6 introduced the activity by reminding us about the First World War and the importance of remembering those that left their families and friends to go and fight on the battlefields of France and Belgium. Many of them were never to return again and are buried near to where they fell overseas. However, there are also over 800 servicemen buried in churchyards in Suffolk: these are the servicemen who came back to Britain but who later died of their wounds.

We then visited the three graves of Private James Rumsby, Private Herbert Vincent and Deckhand John White and learnt more about their lives. Private Rumsby grew up in the Old Workhouse on Chediston Street and joined the Gloucestershire Regiment, whose soldiers were famed for their courage; Herbert Vincent had been a furniture maker and dealer based in the White House on Laxfield Road (a house that his father had built); and John White had been a farm labourer and had married Mary Carter, the daughter of the village postman in 1915.

The children then gathered together again for an Act of Remembrance: Year 6 children read a short prayer and the Ode of Remembrance before listening to the Last Post and sharing a minute’s silence, which the children observed perfectly.

The children of Key Stage 2 had ‘A Day To Remember’ when they visited Norwich Cathedral yesterday. The visit was the culmination of their learning in History – The First World War – and RE – Reconciliation.

The day began with an opportunity to meet Edith Cavell, the Norfolk-born nurse who was shot for nursing soldiers on both sides of the conflict during World War I. We learnt about her life story, and how her faith in God had given her strength following her trial in Belgium.

The children then split into three workshops. The first, called The Cathedral Remembers, was a tour of the Cathedral and Cloisters looking at the symbols and memorials of remembrance. The children were fascinated by the bronze pelican, the crucifixes and the stained-glass windows. The second focused on the theme of ‘Reconciliation’ and the children explored this concept through freeze-frame drama and model-making. The third focused on the life of Edith Cavell and gave the children an opportunity to visit her grave and see the amazing paintings of her life by Brian Whelan. In this workshop, we also looked at the clothes worn by the Bishop and the symbolism of the Bishop’s crook.

The children were fantastic all day: they were polite, engaged and active with their questions and contributions. Several members of the public approached us to comment on their respectful behaviour. So well done all.

Today was our final day (or half day), and we know we’d saved the best until last!  Just as we found we had got used to our morning routine, it was bedrooms tidied and baggage wheeled to the packing area. 

This morning was our climbing day. Climbing requires, above all, co-operation and trust. In fact, it’s so full on, that there is barely time to be taking pictures. So today’s pictures are simply to give you an idea of scale. 

A big well done to everybody for challenging themselves on the climbing wall, with so many of you managing to exceed your own targets. 

On the Power Fan, everybody climbed to the top, and many even stepped off and took the plunge downwards!  

After a(nother) hearty and energising lunch, the sight of our coach waiting to return to Fressingfield was a bittersweet moment. We were all disappointed to be going home, but just a little relieved, as we were somewhat weary from our amazing experience. 

The Year 4 children this year have been awesome in their behaviour, attitude and willingness to try a little bit more. Many thanks to parents/carers who have supported us with organising our trip. And we also want to say thank you to everyone, at school and at Hilltop, who has worked so hard to make this residential so memorable.