Last term, children from our school and other schools in Worcestershire, entered a competition to design a flag for the Unlocking The Severn project.

 

There were over 1000 entries and this week we were informed that the winning design came from one of our pupils. A huge well done to Freya Rothery in 6AC, whose design pictured below, will feature on flagpoles along the Severn. Well done Freya!

 

Unlocking The Severn is an ambitious conservation project led by the Canal and River Trust, brand new fish passes have been built around four weirs in the Worcester area to reinstate the migration routes for the Shad, or May Fish as they are commonly known.

 

More information about the Unlocking the Severn Project can be found through their website.

Unlocking The Severn - Our river for people and wildlifeUnlocking the Severn

 

On Monday 25th April, Year 4 travelled to West Malvern for their two night residential at the Boundless Outdoors Centre. Once there, the children were able to take part in a range of activities and learn many new skills – including how to make their own beds! As always, the staff at the centre were knowledgeable, supportive and engaging and the food was delicious. Seeing the children challenge themselves and grow in confidence was wonderful and everyone had a fabulous time – including the Somers Park staff (A special thank you to Mrs Everett, Miss Rowney, Mrs Gough and Mrs Miltiadou for giving up their time). Well done to all the children for conquering fears, making new friends, sharing their ideas and yet again representing Somers Park in such a superb way.

Mrs Black and Miss Cecil.

 

A West Malvern Review

‘When we first arrived we were shown which dorms we would be sleeping in (there were boys rooms and girls rooms) and then put into our day groups for activities where we were all mixed together. Each group did different activities on each day. In group one, our first activity was archery where we learned to load an arrow and shoot a bow – some people even hit a bullseye! Then we did the king swing which is a massive swing that goes through the trees. It was really high up but amazing to do. In the evening we did the low rope which were really good fun. We worked in pairs and had to ‘spot’ each other doing the superman or ninja squirrel pose. One of the best parts was the waffle net but the monkey bars were really tough. Another group did the punch trail where we got to explore the grounds and learn to read maps.

 

On day two it was Iron Age day where we did lots of Iron Age activities. We made roundhouses with wattle and daub – lots of us forgot to leave a door but our villages were good. We made pots out of clay which we got to take home and we also tried Iron Age stew which didn’t have potatoes because there weren’t any back then. The most exciting part was our hill battle, where we ran up the ramparts on British camp (which was really hard) and then got to paint our faces and be Romans or Celts and have a big battle. Some of us even got to beat the teachers- it was lots of fun!

Before we went home on day three, we did crate stacking where we pulled ropes and had to balance on a tower like Jenga. After that, we did the zip wire which was 60 metres tall! It was so fast it was almost like flying. It was kind of scary because it was so high up but really exciting.

We all loved the food – especially getting to choose our meals and the cake we had before story time in the evening. Boundless Outdoors was the best experience we’ve ever had. The activities were super exciting and all the staff were really helpful and kind.’

 

By Noah, Oliver, Indigo and Megan (4JB)

 

Our residential to West Malvern

‘On Monday 25^th April, Year 4 travelled up to West Malvern. We started our trip by walking up the steep road to get to Boundless Outdoors, were really a tired when we got up there.                                When we arrived they kindly greeted us by showing us around and told us the important rules.      The first thing they told us where our rooms were and.  We put our bags in our room and then went to the V.I.P room so we could find out what we would be doing during our stay.

 

The first activity group we did was crate stacking and the king swing, Group 4 did the zip wire and group 1 did archery. After the activities we went outside to have lunch outside and free time where we could play outside or be in our dorms. We really challenged ourselves during the activities and encouraged each other to face our fears!

 

On day two, we began the day with walking up to British Camp for an Iron Age Battle. We split into two teams, the Romans and the Celts, it was really fun! In the afternoon, we made Iron Age pottery and made a roundhouse in teams using the wattle and daub technique. To finish the day, we all sat round the camp fire and tasted some Iron Age Stew, it was delicious and some of us went back for more.

Our trip to West Malvern was brilliant and it taught us how to challenge ourselves and work well in a team and become more confident!’

By Holly Smith, Beatrix Harmer and Stella Gurney

 

‘I liked conquering my fears on the zip line.’ Raffy

 

‘I smashed creating fire twice with flint, steel and cotton wool!’ James

 

‘I enjoyed archery because it was challenging and we got to use a bow and arrow.’ Jamie

 

‘I had a brilliant time at Bounless Outdoors. I liked the king swing and crate stacking the most.’ Morgan

 

‘I really enjoyed conquering my fear of heights on the zip wire and I also loved the food.’ Hattie

 

A little message from Mr Hansen

Residential visits can only take place if school staff give up their own time. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Black, Miss Cecil, Mrs Everett, Miss Rowney, Mrs Gough and Mrs Miltiadou for staying away with the Year 4 children. An additional thanks to Mrs Russell who joined the trip one evening to read a bedtime story!

 

On Monday 25th April, Year 2 children from both of our sites came together to meet some Guide Dogs and learn about the amazing work they do. Volunteers from 'The Guide Dogs for the Blind' visited school and told us about the everyday difficulties blind people face and the difference Guide Dogs make to their life. Did you know a Guide Dog starts it's training at around 6 weeks old?

 

Year 2 are going to collect used stamps to help raise money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity.

 

If you have any used stamps, please give them to a Year 2 teacher or drop them into either of our school offices.

 

‘I had to use a white stick to walk to the door wearing a blindfold. It felt really scary not been able to see and I noticed that I used my sense of hearing more.’ Alfie P

 

‘The puppies were really well behaved and sat and listened to Mrs Emberlin throughout their visit. My dogs can't sit still for one second!’ Caius

 

‘It was interesting seeing the gadgets available to support blind people in the home. I liked watching Billie trying to pour water into a mug. She couldn't see because she was wearing a blindfold, the gadget made a loud beep when it was full which made me jump!’ Chloe

 

‘I enjoyed when some of us got to try out wearing a blindfold and try some everyday activities to see how tricky it was when you can’t see. Also, I enjoyed learning all about how our different senses like touch and vibrations can help.’ Henrietta

 

‘I learned that guide dogs had to be trained for at least 2 years and that people that couldn’t have a guide dog can use a cane. It was interesting to find out about the gadgets that can help blind people.’ Rose

 

‘It was great listening to our visitor tell us all about training a guided dog. I didn’t know that you couldn’t disturb them while they are working.’Inaayah
 

‘It was fun using the gadget to measure water level. I couldn't see when I poured the water but the loud beep told me when to stop!’ Billee

 

‘It was interesting learning about how the dogs are trained. Did you know, they can find an empty seat on a train or bus? I'm going to save stamps to help the charity.’ Sonny

On Thursday 24th March, children are invited to wear non-uniform in the colours of the Ukraine flag (blue and yellow), or white to represent 'peace'.

 

Through doing this we are looking to raise as much money for the humanitarian effort in Ukraine as we can, asking parents to make a small voluntary donation to Somers Park's JustGiving DEC appeal page. You may make your donation on behalf of your family this through this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/somers-park-school

 

A big well done and thank you to those who have already donated this way, as we collectively look to do our bit to support those whose lives have been so significantly impacted by this conflict. Somers Park Primary School

 

EDIT;

Non uniform for Ukraine

Just Giving final total:

£2,511

+ £461 Gift Aid

What a phenomenal amount! Thank you so much for your generosity in raising nearly £3000 from a simple non uniform day. We received an email to inform us that our Just Giving Page was in the top 5% of fundraisers last month.

Year 1 visit to Sudeley Castle

‘On Tuesday all of Year 1 went to Sudeley Castle. We all went on a massive, big coach! First we saw some wooden elephants. Next we explored the banqueting hall. After that we walked to the very old church and we saw Elizabeth's step mum, Katherine Parr in a white grave. My favourite part was exploring the garden because we found lots of animals.’

Report by Oliver 

 

‘We went on a comfy coach to Sudeley Castle and it was lots of fun. Year 1 went to learn about Queen Elizabeth the First. First we went to see the grounds of the castle and we saw some elephants but they were wood. Next we went to the church to look at Katherine Parr's grave. After that we went to a really fun play ground that had a castle and a zip line. Then we saw some birds and a peacock which was fun. Next we went to have some yummy lunch.

After that we went to see Henry the Eighth and his six wives. Then we went to the knot garden and we met Queen Elizabeth. My favourite bit was when we saw the Queen's toilet because it looks really comfy.’

Report by Daisy

 

Here are a few comments from the children.

 

‘I liked playing in the park and when we saw the castle I liked seeing the Queen’s toilet.’ Florence 

 

‘The best bit was I got to go on the bus. I saw Queen Elizabeth and learned what she held when she was crowned.’ Oliver VS 
 

‘I enjoyed it when we went to see the bed made of hedges. We had to bow and curtsey to Queen Elizabeth.’ SF

 

‘I learned that King Henry had lots of wives. I liked the park because it was so fun.’ William 

 

‘I liked the church because I got to see Queen Katherine there.’ Charlotte 

 

‘It was a fun trip because we saw the knot garden and Queen Elizabeth. My favourite bit was having a packed lunch.’ Jake 

 

‘On Thursday 5ZM and 5VD took part in a budgeting session run by HSBC, they taught us all about household budgeting and how to handle our money in the future.

 

It was really exciting playing the lower and higher game, we had to guess how much everyday items cost such as milk and bread. Some of the prices were really shocking!

 

We enjoyed finding out about Billy’s life and we were taught that there are three different types of payments when you are running a household; fixed, essential and non-essential. Fixed is a monthly payment, something that you have to pay for and always stays the same (mortgage or rent). Essential is something that you need to have to live but the price of it sometimes changes (food or clothes). Finally, non-essential which is things you don’t need in life but they are nice to have (swimming or ice cream). We also talked about unexpected payments that may be needed and why it is important to have an emergency fund.

 

This session has been really useful as we now understand why our parents cannot let us have or do everything that we would like to. As well as helping us in the future when we get our own house and family and need to budget our money.’

By Finley DM and Aleena A (Year 5)

 

“It was really good and I learnt that money can sometimes be tight.” Aimee

 

“It opened my eyes to the cost of living.” Chloe

 

“Made me realise how expensive things can be.” Maeve

 

“Taught me how to handle money properly.” Harley 

 

“It made me realise everything that my parents pay for.” Lily F

 

“It was really fun, it showed me how my family have had to budget.” Lucas La

 

On Thursday, 24^th March, we will be holding a fundraising non-uniform day to support aid in Ukraine. We are inviting children to wear blue and yellow, for the Ukrainian flag, or white, to represent peace, in return for a donation.

 

We will donate the money raised via the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to support their Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The appeal raises funds to provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families. At times of crisis, the DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities (including the British Red Cross, Oxfam, Action Aid and Save the Children UK) to raise funds quickly and efficiently.

 

We are asking for donations for the non-uniform day to be made through a Just Giving page, so the money goes straight to the charity. The link can be found here:

 

Somers Park School is fundraising for Disasters Emergency Committee (justgiving.com)

 

Please feel free to share this link if you have friends or family who may like to make a contribution.

 

We will also be accepting voluntary donations on the day should you prefer.

01.03.22

All phone lines at the Somers Park site are now working again.

Last term, as RE coordinator, I was offered the opportunity to trial a series of lessons put together by the editor of RE Today – a national publication. As a school, we are always open to finding effective, innovative and engaging ways to support children’s learning and so we piloted the topic within 4JB to great success. The children really enjoyed the focus that planning the trip gave to their learning, whilst allowing them to build on what they already knew. They have all been extremely excited about seeing their work in print.

Mrs Black 4JB.

 

‘I liked the research in our pilgrimage lessons because we found out about lots of different religions as well as using what we already knew from other lessons. I learnt that Sikhs worship the 12 gurus. Then we created a letter to Mrs Black trying to persuade her to give us the money for a round the world pilgrimage. To be in REToday made me really excited because I have never been in a national magazine before.’     Felix, 4JB.

 

‘We researched different religions and I found that interesting because I learnt about where they pray and how each religion started. I knew about the Golden Temple but found out more than I learnt last year about the gurus. I found out that the first guru was Guru Nannak. It makes me feel really proud of myself that our work is in a national magazine.’  Oliver, 4JB.

 

 

‘In our pilgrimage lessons, as groups we researched religions around the world and decided where our pilgrimage would go. We also wrote to our teacher persuading her to give us the money as well as making an advertising leaflet. We were astonished to see that our work was in a magazine and the lessons were really good!’    Indigo, 4JB

This week is particularly important and relevant as the children have had a focus on Anti Bullying Week. Learning has focused on developing children’s understanding of how to prevent and respond to bullying, and how to support others who may feel upset by others.

 

Children learn to understand that not all unkindness is bullying, but that any unkindness needs to be dealt with. The underlying values we promote with children through our PSHCE curriculum and our behaviour policy about respecting others, regardless of similarities or differences plays an important part in ensuring this is a secure part of our ethos.

 

If your child has any worries about any unkindness in school, which could potentially be bullying, please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We take any allegations of this nature very seriously and teacher will ensure that appropriate concerns are passed onto the leadership of the school to be dealt with.

 

The focus of this year’s anti bullying week is One Kind Word. Below is an extract from the Anti Bullying Alliance website which sums it up nicely:

 

‘In a world that can sometimes feel like it’s filled with negativity, one kind word can provide a moment of hope. It can be a turning point. It can change someone’s perspective. It can change their day. It can change the course of a conversation and break the cycle of bullying… It starts with one kind word. It starts today’