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Dear Parents, Pupils and Guest Readers
Energy and enthusiasm is at the heart of this School’s
success. Leafing through the pages of Key Moments
reminds us of the vibrant and happy experience we build
for the children, investing our full involvement, team
effort and resilience into making every moment a ‘key
moment’. I hope that you enjoy reading over some of
the highlights of the last year at St P’s.
Yours sincerely
Maria Chapman MA(Ed) Headmistress
Time Travellers - Egyptian Day
The visit of professional historians Timepieces to the
School brought History topics to life for the pupils during
our Ancient Egypt Day! It was also fantastic to see the
effort put in by the children and teachers in dressing up
for the day.
Sunnylands Hall was transformed into the “Hall of the
Two Truths” during our History Day, making the occasion
special from the outset. The ‘temple’ was to be used for a
ceremony called the “Weighing of the Heart”, part of the
Ancient Egyptians’ religious beliefs about the soul’s
journey through two lifetimes. The children were
fascinated to hear of these ancient beliefs and about the
various gods in which the Egyptians believed. Pupils
participated by taking turns to read out details about the
lives of three Pharaohs: Rameses II who reigned for
seventy years; Hatshepsut who ruled for twenty years
until her brother came of age and Amenhotep IV,
husband of the more renowned Nefertiti, who tried
unsuccessfully to change the focus of Egyptian religion.
Before the High Priest of Anubis the God of the
ceremony, the children voted on whether each of the
three Pharaohs had led a good life or not. The children
were fascinated to see a feather outweigh two of the
hearts to allow them to pass to their next life and the
third heavier heart to be sent to be eaten by the god,
Ammit. Pupils also played games which were first
originated in Ancient Egypt. These included Sennet,
Snake, Scarab and Mancala, the games often calling for
the children to record their scores or positions on chalk
boards. Even music using ancient Egyptian rhythms was
played on the day. Thank you to the PTA for funding this
unforgettable History Day in Key Stage Two.
There are more pictures of the day on the back page
2
Sunnylands Nursery Highlights
Sunnylands Nursery is enjoying a busy, vibrant year. All
our places are filled and the waiting lists for September
2018 and for 2019 are growing fast. The staff and
children have been working with topics based around
Seasons, Festivals
and the children’s
interests. This has
even involved lots
of tasting and
chopping of new
and unfamiliar
foods.
Our Nursery year began with a large number of new
children who have settled in and are progressing nicely.
Parents have the opportunity to leave reviews of the
childcare offered, on the Daynurseries.com website.
Some of the recent ones include some lovely comments;
‘Sunnylands have made a massive impact on my little
boy. It’s a 5-star Nursery.’
‘Sunnylands Nursery has made a wonderful impact on
my daughter’s life.’
‘Lovely positive nursery. She has learnt so much.’
We aim to ensure the next fifty years provide parents
with the quality of childcare they have come to expect
from our setting.
The summer holidays
were an opportunity to
have a brand new
Interactive White Board
fitted, part of the
ongoing scheme to
replace and upgrade the
nursery equipment and
resources.
We have also enjoyed visits from the dental hygienist
and the Police, which was a great ‘hit’ with the children,
especially when the siren was sounded!
Sunny Bear and Peter Bear have continued their
adventures, spending a week at a time with the
Sunnylands Nursery
children at their
homes. They have both
been taken to parties,
shopping, visits,
outings and swimming
or ballet lessons.
Several times they have seen the insides of washing
machines too and snuggled into lots of different beds. By
far the best experience Sonny Bear had was a trip to the
summit of Kilimanjaro!
The PTA gave Sunnylands a ‘tricycle made for two’ which
the children have used on a daily basis, with the
passengers enjoying it more than the driver, who has to
pedal for two!
A new, replacement, larger water tray with dams and
slopes is another favourite resource.
Trinity Term marks a landmark in St Peter’s School
history; The Nursery began in 1968 and it will be its
Golden Anniversary. The celebrations are planned to
include lots of activities on a golden theme. We are
looking forward to welcoming our visitors on Founder’s
Day to celebrate with us.
Reception Class Highlights
A lovely big group of children, with five who were new to
St Peter’s School, settled beautifully into Reception Class
last Autumn. Since then they have been very busy
working hard and having lots of fun along the way!
In our Literacy lessons we have been working on
developing excellent blending and segmenting skills with
the help of our puppet friend ‘Fred the frog’; the children
are becoming confident readers and keen writers,
learning how to write a sentence using well-formed
letters. We have spent a lot of time thinking about
different forms of writing and ways of communicating;
for example, we have written letters, cards, postcards,
3
passports, speech bubbles, labels for daffodils and
instructions for how to take care of baby chicks. The
children have explored rhyme, learnt how to
differentiate between fiction and nonfiction books, and
explored various traditional and fairy tales, such as ‘The
Little Red Hen’
and ‘Sleeping
Beauty’. The
children
particularly
enjoyed writing
an imaginative
recipe for a
‘disgusting
sandwich’ which
could scare away the seagulls in the story ‘The
Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’!
During Mathematics lessons we have created 2D shape
patterns by printing with 3D shapes, enjoyed learning
songs about number bonds, the days of the week and
months of the year, and have had fun counting in twos as
we line up to go to lunch in the Hall. Reception Class
pupils have created symmetrical butterfly pictures with
paint, weighed classroom objects with scales, and learnt
to identify ‘o’clock’ times on analogue and digital clocks.
The children were interested to learn how to count using
tally marks, find doubles to 10 with their fingers, identify
odd and even numbers by whisper counting the odd
numbers to 20 and share pirate treasure by halving the
hoard! They have especially enjoyed developing their
Mathematics skills outdoors; they used apples from our
orchard to print patterns with red and green paint, and
thought it was very exciting to fly their own paper
airplane creations, in order to measure which travelled
the furthest with a metre rule.
We have spent a lot of time thinking about the world in
which we live. During our ‘Nature Detectives’ topic, the
children enjoyed bird watching and looking around the
school grounds for signs that Autumn had arrived. They
were amused by the busy squirrels and enjoyed
collecting interesting leaves. They thought about the leaf
shapes and tried hard to identify which tree they came
from, before creating some fabulous rubbings and prints.
The children learnt and performed a poem about
squirrels in Autumn, and had a lot of fun creating collage
squirrel pictures, paper plate birds, firework prints and
clay divas. During our ‘Holidays!’ topic the children listed
facts about Victorian seaside holidays, designed a map
with a key, and enjoyed role-play activities in the
Reception Class ‘Travel Agents’. After learning about sea
life with the help of Blue Planet II, they made giant
tropical fish and stingray using marbling inks and a
variety of collage
materials. The
children then
carefully studied
paintings of the
sea by various
famous artists,
and JMW Turner
and were inspired to create a class ‘sea tapestry’ by
weaving strips of fabric into plastic mesh.
They particularly
enjoyed listening to
Mendelssohn ‘Fingal’s
Cave’, thinking about
how the music
represented the calm or
crashing sea waves.
Their representations of
the sea were placed by
them onto a very long
piece of wallpaper in
time to the music. The
children loved making a
huge Chinese dragon for Chinese New Year which they
danced with in time to some percussion instruments, and
they created beautifully delicate pictures of hyacinths for
our topic ‘Spring Time’. They also made funny Humpty
Dumpty split pin puppets, and using the interactive
whiteboard drew
pictures of holiday
scenes, learning also
how to use a
keyboard, mouse
and search engine to
find, save and label
pictures of daffodils.
I hope that the children are looking forward to Trinity
Term, when they will begin exploring their new topic
‘Castles’ and take part in exciting events, such as Sports
Day. Well done for your hard work so far Reception Class
members!
4
Year One Highlights
Year One made a most enthusiastic start to the new
school year. Early on in the first term they sketched self-
portraits, thought about the question "where do I live?"
and labelled parts of the body in Science. Throughout
the year they have eagerly joined in with a little daily
activity involving the building of a ‘nonsense’ word to
help their phonic development, and they also have
talked about their ‘word of the day’ which is aimed to
expand their vocabulary. Year One children can now talk
about words like island, hurricane, rigid and vanish.
Children in Year One shared a humorous poem on
National Poetry Day called Sniff, Sniff, Sniff. They were
able to find the two rhyming words in each verse which
helped remind them about what a rhyming word was.
The children really rose to the challenge of learning
another poem so soon after learning one for the harvest
assembly. They performed their poem with such gusto-
Mrs Shakeshaft was proud of them all.
In November the class had been learning about the
Gunpowder Plot in their History lessons. They watched
some firework displays on the Internet before exploring
the colours and sounds of the bonfire and fireworks
using ribbons, pom poms and scarves during a dance
lesson. The favourite part of the dance was the finale
which was accompanied by lots of noises mimicking the
exploding fireworks. Making the noises was no problem!
When working on 3D shape in their maths lessons Year
One really rose to the challenge of making a box in which
to keep three model elephants. They concluded that the
box needed to be a cube shape and that because a cube
has square faces each group was given a square. They
took a box to pieces to help to work out how to draw the
net to make the box. Mrs Shakeshaft was very impressed
with the team work shown as she listened to the children
working out the problem. Each group completed the
challenge and the elephants were all safely housed!
Year One have also completed some history work on toys
where they were very surprised to learn that some of the
toys that they enjoy playing with have been around for a
very long time.
Science has also been a favourite subject this year with
lots of practical lessons. During one lesson the children
looked at a range of liquids. They considered which of
their senses were safe to use when trying to identify the
liquids. All of the different liquids were then poured
together and the children waited eagerly to watch them
separate out into stripes during the next few weeks.
Year Two Highlights
Year Two started the academic year excellently. They
showed fantastic attitudes to learning and enjoyed
finding out about variation in Science, exploring the
difference between animals and plants and sorting them
according to different characteristics. In their Maths
lessons pupils had been focusing on exploring number
bonds, place value and shape. They spent time learning
their number bonds to 10, 20 and 100 through fun
activities such as number bond tennis, playing games on
the interactive whiteboard and through activities written
in their books. They learned about how 2D shapes can be
symmetrical and whether they have right angles or not.
The children sorted 2D shapes into both Venn and Carroll
diagrams according to their differing properties, both
practically and using the interactive whiteboard. They
had to reason why they put the shapes into particular
areas on the diagrams using their mathematical
knowledge.
The topic for Year Two’s History was War and
Remembrance. They walked as a class with school staff
to the war memorial in Kettering town centre. The
children spent time looking at the poppy wreathes, flags,
crosses and names of all the soldiers that died in both
the first and second world wars listed on the memorials.
The class were very respectful of what they were
5
drawing and
learning about.
They were also
able to join in
with a reflective
moment led by a
member of the
local clergy, with
a bugler playing
the poignant
‘Last Post'. This
trip bought the history to life for our children. Seeing the
names of all the soldiers really brought home the
meaning of Remembrance Day to them and established
firmly to them the reason why this is such an important
occasion.
Throughout Lent Term our Year Two pupils learnt about
the physical features of China in their Geography lessons.
They looked in atlases and on the globe to locate this
large country and identify its major cities, rivers and
mountains. They learnt about the Willow Pattern in their
Art lessons and designed a plate of their own – a project
which took over three weeks! They discussed how this
popular eighteenth century pattern was inspired by hand
painted ceramics
imported to
Britain from
China. The
children learnt
that although the
plates have
oriental
landscapes
painted on them,
the pattern was
actually invented
by an English
potter called
Thomas Minton
who wanted to
promote the sale of his pottery. Other Art projects
linked to their Geography lessons included panda
paintings, dragon stick puppets and a Spring blossom
collage. A new Science topic brought renewed interest
and enthusiasm for practical and everyday science. The
children identified the different materials that items such
as a cups, spoons and clothing are made from. Another
challenge was to sort a variety of items into just two
groups. This reinforced the children's use of scientific
language such as flexible, rigid, rough and smooth.
A favourite Science
lesson was a
practical
investigation into
‘How can the shape
of materials be
changed?’ This
involved the
children exploring play dough, paper clips, elastic band
and a bath sponge. They worked in small groups and had
great fun stretching, bending, twisting, squashing and
squeezing, and they were not fooled by the ‘odd item
out’ – a rock!
A major focus of English this term was writing a new fairy
tale, character descriptions and instructions for making a
Knickerbocker Glory. The children had great fun
exploring different characters and events for traditional
favourites such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Beauty and
the Beast. Inventing and describing their own fairy tale
characters enabled our children to practise using
adjectives and similes to write about the appearance and
personality of their witches, giants and princesses. One
of their favourite and most memorable English lessons
involved Mrs Ward brushing her teeth! This led to a
shared writing session where the focus was on the
importance of writing clear instructions and in the
correct sequence. The children learnt about imperative
verbs and adverbs of time and set out their writing using
a title, You will need and What to do sections.
In their Maths lessons, Year Two pupils enjoyed playing
shops to calculate change from £10 and £20, learning the
rounding to the nearest ten rhyme: ‘5 and above, give it
a shove, 4 or below, let it go!’ Talking about pizzas, cakes
and oranges was a more interesting way of learning
about halves, thirds, quarters and mixed fractions too.
The children practised telling the time on analogue and
digital clocks. They now use the clock in the classroom
rather than relying on their growling tummies to work
out when it is time for morning break snack or their
lunch! They also enjoyed learning about how many days
are in each month using their fists! Don’t panic – this
was just a simple representation that shows how the
knuckles are the months with 31 days and the spaces are
the shorter months. This led to a discussion about
February and why we have a leap year.
What a super group of young learners this class are! We
have enjoyed watching them grow in maturity and
stature and look forward to seeing them move up to Key
Stage Two in September.
6
Year Three Highlights
Year Three have settled in well following their move into
Key Stage Two. They have familiarised themselves with
their new classroom, the building and the new routines
of being in Key Stage Two. They have been introduced to
all of the different topics and subjects which will be
covered over the year and are looking forward to
learning more about our world and about the history of
Britain.
As part of the Year Three History curriculum, they visited
Conkers Education Centre to travel back in time and see
what life would have been like as an Anglo Saxon.
Meeting Alfred the
Great was their first
port of call. He told
the children who he
was and what it was
like being a Saxon
and how he had
become King and
became known as
'The Great'. Saxon
names were
discussed and some
of the children were
able to earn their
own Saxon names. The children met an Anglo-Saxon
mother and learnt about how Saxons lived and worked
and the problems that they faced. They met traders and
learnt about what the Anglo-Saxons could buy and sell
and the importance of certain goods and weapons. They
enjoyed learning about the Norman Invasion and the
weapons that were used in the fighting. Pupils also
enjoyed some Saxon Entertainment, trying to solve
riddles and playing some traditional games that would
have been played at the time. Pupils thought it was great
to travel back in time and meet some Anglo-Saxons',
making more real their classroom learning.
Science continues to be an exciting and practical subject
at St P’s. Year Three have studied and investigated
Plants during part of their Science unit. An investigation
was conducted using grass seed, trying to calculate how
much seed is needed to cover a specific area. Each group
looked at different amounts of grass seed, differing
amounts of water and various seed placement. Their
results were carefully measured and recorded each
week. Pupils also considered types of roots, their
purpose and how different soils affect the growth and
direction of the roots of different plants. They were able
to study the different types of roots and how they vary
between plants. They also carried out an investigation
into whether plants need soil to grow at all, using a
hydroponic experiment and an onion.
Pupils have learnt about Light and Shadow, having
investigated opaque,
translucent and
transparent materials
using torches and
lamps to decide how
the materials could be
sorted. The children
were able to work
outside, observing how, as the sun moves around, the
shape and size of their shadows changed, depending on
the angle of the light source. They created a shadow
puppet show to demonstrate how the size of their
puppet changed depending on how close they were to
the light source.
During Maths lessons Year Three have investigated
measurements. In the classroom they looked at
estimating lengths of different objects and then
measuring them in metres, centimetres and millimetres.
They then moved outside to look practically at capacity.
The children practised filling up a variety of different
containers to specific millilitres. They then
worked together to add several containers
together and calculate the total capacity of
their water and then check their results
using a larger cylinder. Their final task was
to find out how much water they would
need to add to an existing container filled
with water to make one litre. It was a much
enjoyed lesson - even with wet hands!
The children continued with their Maths by looking at 2D
and 3D shapes and investigated their properties, using
Venn diagrams to organise
shapes into groups
depending on a specific
criteria. Children have
continued to improve their
knowledge of numbers,
doubling and halving odd
and even 2-digit numbers using cups to help show how
whole numbers can be halved and shared including using
fractions within the result. They have delved into 3-digit
numbers, furthering their understanding of how to add
and subtract larger numbers, with new methods of + and
- being introduced throughout the terms.
7
Geography lessons have promoted much class discussion
and the children have been eager to find out about
volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other geographic
extremes during their Extreme Earth topic. During Art
lessons, they have practised some clay techniques in
order to sculpt a model of a volcano and will be looking
forward to erupting them. The children have
investigated what the earth is like underneath our feet,
creating a cross section model to show the different
layers. They have been fascinated to learn about
different weather conditions, different sites of weather
such as deserts around the world and how people
continue to live and work in some of these areas.
The children continue to be so enthusiastic about their
learning and are looking forward to everything life in Key
Stage Two has to offer them in their learning, friendships
and personal development.
Year Four Highlights
Year Four had a busy start to the year with two trips in
the first term and some very intense academic learning
mixed in with some “serious” scientific experimentation.
Their topic in Michaelmas Term was Human Nutrition
and the chance to replicate the digestive system was
something the pupils really enjoyed. They had to make a
chocolate spread sandwich and then cut and mash it up
As part of Michaelmas term's Geography topic Year Four
visited Kettering Recycle and Education Centre to find
out more about how waste disposal and recycling can
help to save our planet. The children had already started
to learn about the themes of re-use reduce and recycle in
lessons so this field trip helped them to put their learning
into perspective. They were shown around the facility by
the Waste Education Officer, Kirsten Grundy, who was
able to clearly explain about the various skips and their
purposes and how important it is to reduce the amount
of waste we send to
landfill. The video on
landfill that the
children were shown
brought home the
need for this
reduction.
The Geography field trip in the second half of
Michaelmas Term focused on the impact a development
such as Rockingham Speedway would have on the small
village of Gretton. In Gretton, our pupils looked to see
what types of houses were there and if there was any
new housing, as well as gauging the village’s proximity to
the speedway. They
visited the war
memorial just after
Remembrance Day
and were able to see
the poppy wreaths
and respectfully take
note of all the names
on the war memorial.
From relative quietude, the trip moved onwards to the
speedway where a veritable hive of activity was found as
it was a ‘race experience’ day so there were a lot of
sports cars on the track. There was temporary building
work going on, a car auction and lots of hustle and bustle
which provided an ideal opportunity for the children to
see just how Rockingham Speedway operates to make a
profit by diversifying its activities. The children impressed
Mr Holmes and Sarah Thompson, the communications
manager, with the quality of their questions about the
development of the speedway to the present day. Well
done to our young geographers for making the trip a
meaningful opportunity of enquiry.
Pupils in Year Four presented a lively, entertaining and
informative assembly to the rest of the School at the
beginning of Lent Term, all about King Henry VII and his
out-of control pet monkey! Well done to all the children
into a mush. The
addition of coloured
liquids to replicate saliva
and gastric juices
allowed them to create
a very strange looking
mixture which
eventually was “passed
through” a pop sock to
create the final element
of the digestive process.
8
and special mention for Daniel as he made a great job of
playing the part of the naughty monkey, with lots of
improvisation, both vocal and active.
Year Four‘s science topic ‘changing states’ provided
experimental opportunity to investigate how materials
can change state when subjected to changes in
temperature. The children had to investigate how to
successfully melt a block of ice that had a message
frozen inside it and each group chose a different
method: submerge in cold water, place on a radiator,
use their hands, blow on it, let hot water flow over the
ice. Mr Holmes demonstrated this one. The second
experiment entailed demonstrating how chocolate can
be melted to mix with rice crispies and allowed to cool
and solidify to make a cake of sorts.
There is plenty to look forward to in this class’s final
term as Year Four. They will be soon limbering up for
the added responsibility of being members of Upper Key
Stage Two, but for now they will relish the chance to be
the senior class in lower Key Stage Two!
Year Five Highlights
The transition to Upper Key Stage Two is always an
exciting one for pupils as they begin to take on additional
responsibilities as well as tackle even more challenging
work. Grom the outset, the members of this class have
been ‘up for it’ and eager to impress!
During Michaelmas Term as part of the Geography
curriculum, we increased they knowledge of the United
Kingdom, revising the names of the four countries’ major
towns, using the internet and atlases to locate the UK’s
major rivers and seas. This topic also spilled over into Art
lessons where Union Jack flags were created out of an
array of fabrics and art media. Mrs McCahill was very
impressed with all the artistic creations and admired the
skill, patience and perseverance shown by her pupils in
measuring and cutting fabric to the exact and correct
size.
In History, the topic on Ancient Greece sparked lively
debates between those in the class who favoured
cultural “Athenians” against those who would prefer to
be a fearless “Spartan.” The different states were
explored, including how their political systems differed
from each other. This was in addition to watching videos
and reading about the famous Greek battle of
“Marathon” in 490 against the Athenians and the
Persians. Greek architecture also featured in Art lessons
during Michaelmas Term and a variety of 3D pictures of
different types of columns used in Greek architecture
were produced. Other art work inspired by “Greek
culture” included wonderful masks, made after looking
at samples of pictures displaying a variety of masks worn
in this ancient period. Pupils went on to create paper
prototypes, before making the masks themselves using a
plastic base and Modroc. After three or four messy
weeks the final models were created and decorated to
high standards, all with their individual designs.
In English, Year Five pupils have been engaged in deeper
reading and have got to grips with some challenging
comprehension questions. Our focused texts for this
term included “The king in a carpark “which was based
on Richard III whose body was discovered in Leicester in
2015 and “Below Deck” - a fictional story which followed
a girl called Grace and her journey on the Titanic. This
story created lots of PHSEE related discussions on class
division and who should be saved first. Another highlight
was the pupils’ composition of dragon stories, inspired
after watching a short, animated story about a fierce
Dragon Slayer whose “stone heart” melted after slaying a
female dragon. This all happened after a merciless killing
which created three orphan baby dragons who
immediately adopted the Dragon Slayer as
their new parent and
changed his outlook on life
for the better. With
imaginations set on fire, pupils
settled down with great enthusiasm
and wrote their own dragon
stories. Some made Mrs McCahill laugh
out loud whilst others had very sad endings.
In November Year Five presented their Class Assembly
based on Remembrance, This was a thought-provoking
and highly informative School assembly, exploring the
history behind the outbreak of the First World War,
using a mix of research, drama and music.
There have had many fun practical Science lessons
during the first half of the school year. In the beginning,
9
pupils explored the different properties of materials,
where they predicted, tested and discovered for
themselves which materials were the strongest, most
waterproof, magnetic and flexible. They started to
become proficient in recording investigations and even
planned and carried out their own. They also learnt the
importance of listening to peers and that everyone’s
contribution or ideas is valid. The second half of
Michaelmas Term saw the class learning different
methods of separating materials. This culminated in the
fun task of trying to make dirty water clean again - or as
clean as they could
get it. The remit was
to rid the water of
mud, stones and
nails. This required
the children to apply
their knowledge and
put into practice the
separation methods
we had explored throughout the topic. During Lent
Term we explored the different “States of Matter” and
leant about the way the atoms in solids, liquids and
gases are arranged. We used a certain brand of
breakfast cereal to create our posters and displayed the
information in a colourful way.
During Lent Term in between rehearsals for the
production of Mystery at Magpie Manor, Street Dance
featured in PE lessons. Pupils were led step by step
through each routine until able to marry them all
together in to a sequence of dance. In Maths lessons,
Year Five pupils stretched their brains and mathematical
thinking through fraction investigations and quick-
thinking starters. They learnt about the properties of
quadrilaterals and polygons and racked their brains
when converting inches to centimetres and miles to
kilometres. English texts this term included a story titled
Wind Runner and the Hunt and a non-fiction article
which inspired pupils to write persuasive letters against
keeping wild animals as pets.
RE lessons have provided Year Five pupils with the
opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the
different faiths in our community. Studying Sikhism has
led them to discover many similar ideas that are
common to their own personal religions. They were
interested to find out more about the Sikh dining
tradition of “langar”, a custom whose origins lie with its
founder Guru Nanak who fed the hungry, stating that the
best bargain is the profit of selfless service to others.
Today Langar takes place in a communal kitchen found in
all Sikh Gurdwaras. The children watched videos
demonstrating this generous and selfless custom of
preparing and serving vegetarian food for anyone who
visits, whether they are old or young, rich or poor, Sikh
or non-Sikh, as the Sikhs teaching is that everyone is
equal in God’s eyes.
In Year Five History
lessons, pupils voyaged
back in time to the
Victorians and leant
about Queen Victoria
and her family,
considering Royal
residences and carrying out research into Victorian
inventors and inventions. The second half of the term
focused on Victorian Childhood where extracts from
Oliver Twist were read to gain an insight into Victorian
life for youngsters. To hone descriptive writing skills,
Victorian villains were word-painted with animal
sidekicks to accompany, using characters and extracts
found in Charles Dickens books to inspire descriptions
written in a “Victorian” style of language.
Victorian samplers were a starting point for Art lessons in
Lent. Using squared paper, pupils created designs which
included animals, cupcakes, fruit, dinosaurs and tanks.
The children became experts in threading needles,
sewing using cross stitch, counting squares to replicate
their plans accurately and finishing off stitches. Later in
the term, the style of cubism was studied and Year Five
pupils created still life pictures and portraits inspired by
this genre.
With one more term to go to get ready for that very
special Year Six position of responsibility, the boys and
girls of Year Five are certainly showing themselves to be
the senior-class-in-waiting!
Year Six Highlights
Our 2016-2017 cohort of Year Six pupils reached the
conclusion of their time at St. P’s with gusto! Before we
said farewell to them for their new schools, we first
watched them board a coach to adventures galore at
Shugborough! Joined by their friends in Year Five, they
eagerly, trying not to show any nerves, climbed the steps
of the coach for five fabulous days of experiences in the
knowledge that they were to create lasting memories
and special moments. Their full account can be relived in
the Residential 2017 article.
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Founder’s Day 2017 was not only a day on which to
bestow awards, but even more so, it was the time that
Year Six had been waiting for: the opportunity to impress
their families by showcasing their best work. Taking
centre-stage in the classroom were two large
development plans and model buildings. The boys and
girls pitted themselves against each other with one
mission: to design or rejuvenate an urban area, ensuring
that all amenities, economy, housing and access routes
were provided for. They unveiled their developments of
Sneedville and Gat-Tat-Ica with style. Canvas bags,
which had been printed, stitched, painted or created
from scratch, hung from the window frames. Walls were
covered with brightly designed collages based on the
work of Beatriz Milhazes and optical illusionists. This art
theme was continued on to the top landing of
Sunnylands which was adorned with the pupils’ artwork
inspired by artists such as Ting Tinga and Twins Seven-
Seven.
As Michaelmas Term arrived, we welcomed the Year Six
cohort of 2017-2018. Each pupil waited in eager
anticipation to discover which role and responsibility
would be conferred upon them.
An adaptation of ‘Oliver Twist’ awaited the new pupils of
Year Six upon their arrival back to St P’s after the
summer break. This classic text quickly grasped their
interest, and pupils’ reactions to life in a workhouse
showed great consideration. Each text they met was
discussed through deep questioning and thinking skills,
with pupils making wonderful developments to their
understanding and inference of texts. Children have
explored the life of those escaping slavery via the
Underground Railway in America, their eyes opened to
the plights of others. Ghost stories, adventure stories,
catchy poems and articles stretched their experiences
further, infiltrating their own written creations.
Mathematic lessons saw a combination of interactive
problem-solving and arithmetic expanding their already
sound skills to include algebra, shape translation, long-
division, ratio and data analysis.
Literacy and Mathematics have clearly taken precedence
in the run up to SATs, but creative approaches were
never far behind.
This year in Music saw a fresh challenge for our Year Six
pupils at St P's: the Ukulele! This term-long project saw
our senior pupils learning four chords and varying
strumming patterns, culminating in a performance at the
Christmas Fayre. The students wowed the audience with
their passion and skills!
Art lessons have encouraged pupils to experiment with a
range of textures and mediums. Their ‘BFG’ inspired clay
dream jars, saw an array of techniques, each trying to
create a solid and secure bowl. Year Six then developed
these into paintings to represent their dreams escaping
the jars.
At the start of Lent Term, the dull winter months were
banished and the vibrant, engaging colours of the
Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes filled the Year Six
classroom. Pupils watched an interview, where Milhazes
explained how she takes influences from the botanical
garden beside her studio in Rio de Janerio to create her
abstract collages based on circles and fluid lines. After
their initial interpretations, pupils created a more
detailed collage based on her thinking. The finished
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designs were amazing and the class are eager to present
them on Founders’ Day 2018!
In one of our key Science topics, Living Organisms, Year
Six pupils had great, gross fun investigating the
conditions that make bread go mouldy. They decided on
a range of scenarios to explore: leaving bread in its
packaging; adding moisture to the bread; placing a slice
of bread in a dark cupboard; leaving a slice out on a
plate; placing a slice in the freezer to name but a few.
Each day, pupils eagerly entered the classroom to check
the progress and to spy the tell-tale blue spots. As
anticipated, the moist bread turned mouldy extremely
quickly – surprising them with not just blue mould, but
yellow and red too! They soon
realised the reason why their
wet swimming towels and
costumes should not be left in
their PE kit bags all weekend!
Likewise, the children learnt
why it is not a good idea to
leave uneaten morning snacks
in their bags or boxes, as the
slice in the packaging turned
mouldy quickly too.
At the same time, pupils explored why we need to wash
our hands before handling food. Mrs Butler washed her
hands with soap and placed a slice of bread in the
sandwich bag. One slice was placed in a bag without
being touched as a control. The third slice was passed
around the class, where pupils (who had not washed
their hands and had been outside playing) touched and
held the bread; this too, was then placed in a sandwich
bag. The results were shocking! The bread known as
‘Dirty Bertie’ became covered in green mould and began
to break apart; whereas Mrs Butler’s slice only had a
small speck of blue. In comparison, the control slice
grew a small amount of blue mould. The conclusion –
wash your hands thoroughly!
Inspired by their History topic, Year Six’s final class
assembly at St Peter’s School took us to the land of
Ancient Egypt, where we joined Cleo and Tony on their
quest to discover exciting facts about this historic
civilisation. From flowing rivers and wrestling servants to
vying hierarchy and rapping mummies, they taught us
how difficult life was for a pyramid builder and how
everyone relied upon the River Nile for their existence.
We also learned that if you wanted to remain alive, you
must kneel and bow your head before the Pharaoh.
During Lent Term pupils explored the lifestyles of their
relations since 1948, investigating the work, home-life,
population, music styles, fashion and technological
developments of each decade. They made us all feel
rather old when they asked, ‘Who were the Beatles?’
In Geography, Year Six travelled to the realms of the
Amazon Basin, and followed rivers from their source
through the rapids to the widening channels before
reaching their mouths at the sea. Linked with our English
and PSHEE, we began to understand the impact of
flooding on communities and how it brings people
together. The children debated the creation of
reservoirs and the contrasting opinions it may evoke.
ICT and Computing has introduced the class to the
necessity of budgeting on small and large scales.
Entwined with PSHEE, the boys and the girls were
challenged to create and budget for the launch of a new
theme-park. Both groups had to devise a name, themed
areas, target audience, set-up costs and running costs.
Time out of the classroom was recently spent at the
Safety Centre, Hazard Alley at Milton Keynes (more of
which can be read about in its separate article). Prior to
Christmas, all pupils of Key Stage Two were taken deep in
to the jungle with Mowgli and his friends, as Year Six
joined the other classes for a Christmas Theatre trip to
the Royal Theatre in Northampton.
All indications point to Trinity Term being one to
remember with many exciting events ahead and the
chance to build more fantastic school memories.
CLUBS AT ST PETER’S SCHOOL
Mini Arty Crafty Club
At the beginning of Michaelmas Term the children in
Mini Arty Crafty Club enjoyed getting creative and used
the season as inspiration for
their 'Trees in Autumn' paintings.
They were very quick to get
stuck in with mixing paints and
sponge printing. Alternative
methods of painting included
blowing through straws and
using their fingers to add on the
tree trunks, branches and
fluttering leaves.
To mark the annual event of Bonfire Night the children
were introduced to the idea of using black paper to
create some night time pictures. They enjoyed
experimenting with different lines and shapes using oil
pastels to draw firework patterns.
Mini Eco Club
The Year One and Year Two members of
Mini Eco Club worked really hard during
Lent Term to explore how people can
help to protect the beautiful world in which we live. We
began by discussing how we all need to reduce the
amount of food packaging which we use, so that we do
not send as much to landfill because of the harmful
effect upon wildlife. The children then made posters to
display around school, giving information about a ‘Free
from Packaging’ week to be held at school. During that
week the children were asked to bring their snacks in
containers which would not need to be disposed of, but
could instead be washed and reused; snacks appeared in
Tupperware boxes and there was a strong presence of
fruit throughout the classes. Bins were spot-checked and
there was a dramatic reduction in waste, with some bins
containing none whatsoever!
After
Before
Our younger pupils relish their time after school, being
messy and creative at the same time! During Lent Term
they used stencils as a starting point to draw their own
pictures. There was also great excitement when they
could use brushes, cotton
buds and course their fingers
to paint a winter scene.
Robins can often be seen
around the school grounds
and these iconic British
garden birds were the focus of
another activity for the Arty
Crafty Club. The children
produced some mosaic robins
using paper, they then added
some pipe cleaners and the all
-important googly eyes to
bring their creations to life.
Following on from this triumph, Mini Eco Club spent time
thinking about ‘food miles’. We tasted a variety of fruit
and vegetables from all over the world and used a
special website to track how many miles, as the crow
flies, it had had to travel to get to us. We had a melon
from Brazil, carrots from Shropshire, sweet potatoes 12
from America, and many other interesting items.
Blueberries were eaten very quickly and Theone Garwe
was excited to find a new love for sugarsnap peas, but
celery was less popular! We had a wonderful time and
will continue to champion an eco-friendly way of life in
our school and extended community.
Mini Science Club
In the first Science Surprise Club session Mrs Burrows
and her group thought about how seeds grow into
plants and about what plants needed to grow: light,
nutrients, water and warmth.
Club members then checked on the seeds they had
previously planted in different locations, finding that
those planted and kept in the classroom and hall way
had germinated, but the seeds in the fridge, cupboard
and outside had not yet done so.
Summer Fun Club
Reception Class certainly enjoyed their "summer fun"
They all decorated a plant pot and then when it was dry
they filled it with compost and planted two sunflower
seeds. The pots were then taken home to be watered
and cared for. The children also had fun completing
jigsaw puzzles together. A favourite puzzle was a picture
of the solar system which saw children eagerly searching
for the next planet. Later on when the sun shone we
completed some outdoor games using hoops and balls.
Poetry and Play Club
Our first session started with some funny poems
including one about a smelly pair of socks! As the weeks
passed we looked at rhyming words and made up some
funny poems. Some of the Year Two children were eager
to read poetry aloud to their friends. The children also
enjoyed playing games and building with construction
toys. Although it was Friday the children always brought
lots of energy and enthusiasm to this club!
Key Stage One Puzzle Club
Puzzles help to develop thinking skills and patience as
well as team spirit when
working together. In one Puzzle
Club session the children
enjoyed spotting the ten
differences between two
pictures-who would find them
first? Mudiwa was particularly
good at this visual challenge
and he kindly pointed out some
of the differences to his friends.
Some of the children took up the challenge of working
together to complete an 80 piece jigsaw within a time
limit, which made this very exciting. At first our puzzlers
didn't think they were going to succeed but team work
quickly kicked in and all their sections were joined
together. Hey presto - the picture was finished! 13
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KS1 Gardening Club
Our first group of pupil gardeners this year planted pots
of mixed daffodils as well as three troughs of pansies.
Gardening Club has a fantastic new area in which to
work, with a new garden shed for our use and two new
raised beds.
Later in the
year, members
of Gardening
Club planted
pots with new
spring bulbs. They also received
some seed potatoes which they
chitted -the process of
encouraging the seed potatoes to
sprout before planting. Our
young horticulturists also planted
and grew garlic and broad beans.
Beat Bugs Club
Beat Bugs gave their debut performance at the PTA
Harvest Supper 2017. They meet once a week during a
lunchtime activity, when they sing and add percussion
accompaniment. We were all amazed as to how much
can be achieved in a short space of time!
Chess Club
Chess Club at St P’s continues to be a popular and lively
club. Children have enjoyed competing against each
other. After a reminder of the rules of different pieces
they have continued to learn about specific moves and
tactics to improve their techniques. We have some
aspiring Grand Masters who are mightily enthused with
the challenge of competing against each other. They
have looked at some of the famous matches which have
taken place and attempted to incorporate some of those
winning moves and strategies.
As the children have evolved in their ‘chess mastery’
they have decided to create their own versions of chess.
Some of the children have put together numerous
boards to create a super game with pieces being able to
move from one board through to the others. Games will
often last for the entire club session with the winner
being decided by how many pieces they have left at the
end in some cases. Others have decided to be quite
creative with the rules and have enjoyed changing the
rules during the game with much amusement from
everyone playing.
Cookery Club
During Michaelmas Term a group of junior bakers
attended Cookery Club led by Mr Fountain, with Mrs
Fray’s assistance. Culinary creativity was in abundance,
with projects such as the
chocolate truffles and small
decorated Christmas cakes.
Golden Time Singalong Club
During the Autumn term, Golden Time Singalong Club
members learned a collection of songs about owls,
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hedgehogs, healthy foods and other seasonal tunes. The
children have been very keen and enthusiastic to learn a
variety of new songs, which encourage social and
emotional wellbeing, such as 'We all need
encouragement', 'We can make a difference', ‘Build up',
and 'We can sing'. Also, we have had fun with songs like
'Let's go fly a kite!'
As we welcome in the warmer weather, so too shall our
songs reflect the sunnier days!
Early & Late Club
This club has become very popular over the many years
it has been running. All age ranges from Nursery to Year
Six have made this a precious meeting place to either
meet up with friends or complete homework if they
want to. Three new computers have been added to
make this room a great area to play the many games that
are on the system. The children love coming to Early Late
Club to either start their day off or finish it up with a
mixture of work, rest and play.
Language Lab Club
Key Stage Two pupils attending this Friday lunchtime
club use interactive programs to further practise their
French skills. They all have a student log in and can use
the programme at home too. Children can progress at
their own pace, choosing the topics they focus upon.
Tennis Club
Tennis Club gave another year of opportunity for
children to learn and improve their tennis, always with
fun at the forefront. The children regularly worked on
the basic skills to play
the game and had
regular opportunities
to play and compete.
The pupils in
attendance should be
delighted with their
efforts!
Maypoling Club
Maypoling has returned to St Peter’s! Mrs Haynes, Mrs
Shakeshaft and some delightful children from 1KS and
2SW thoroughly enjoyed reviving the tradition of
maypole dancing. They began by learning a little about
the history of it, and discovered that the dance as we
know it today is thought to have originated in the
eighteenth century! They learnt how to hold the braids
and to skip in time to a drumbeat; the challenge being to
move in clockwise and anticlockwise directions, whilst
working hard to stay equidistant from each other. The
children also learnt a dance without getting into too
much of a tangle!
KS1 Multi Skills Club
This club gave our pupils in
Year One and Year Two the
chance to explore their physical
and tactical self. Children took
part in a variety of different
games all aiming to help
develop different skills.
Regardless of whether the
pupils were learning to work as
a team to avoid falling into ‘the lava’ or trying to improve
their hand eye co-ordination by catching two balls at
once, they always had fun!
Lego and Construction Club
In the words of the children, the ‘best club ever’ took
place in the Art Mobile every Thursday lunchtime. This
club allowed the children of Key Stage Two to take part
in fun practical activities, creating, improving and
evaluating a
wide range
of Lego
creations.
It was
interesting
to observe
and listen to
children
sharing their ideas and creating imaginary stories to go
with their Lego models. Other activities involved Knex
and 3d jigsaws. Both of these require team work and the
children worked co-operatively in groups to problem
solve, follow instructions and locate the next essential
piece to their constructions. Projects included building a
Knex Roller Coaster and a 3D Jigsaw Model of London
Bridge.
KS2 Lunchtime Sports Practices
Much of our lunchtime practices have taken place on the
tennis courts. This has proven popular with our players.
The challenge of a harder surface is that the children
have to move and control a much faster ball. They have
been focusing on moving and passing the ball in pairs, up
and down the length of the courts. Placing defenders in
calculated positions has required our players needing to
work out the best time to pass the ball. Passing the ball
skilfully has been a big focus in lunchtime tag rugby
practices this term. Pupils are trying to be tagged less by
using their team mates more! Some pupils like to throw
the odd dummy to see if the defenders can be evaded!
Tag Rugby Club
We have a very well attended Saints Tag-rugby club this
year with nearly twenty children participating. This has
been a great chance for our pupils to hone the tag-rugby
skills they have already acquired during Games lessons in
readiness for ISA competitions. Despite having to alter
dates because of the weather, the Saints community
development department have been eager to
accommodate the changes in order not to disappoint our
players.
A Good Morning Mile!
A new innovation for Key Stage Two this year has been
the introduction of a twice weekly “Morning Mile” on
the paths around the school playing field. There was a
very good turn-out of Key Stage Two pupils (and
parents!) for our first one. The weather was kind and the
children happy and enthusiastic as they completed the
seven and a half laps of the circuit. Mr Holmes reports
that there is a consistent number of between twelve and
fifteen children attending the walks each week and that
we have only had to cancel a few because of the
weather. Research suggests that gentle exercise before
school can assist learning development in children as
well as obvious health benefits and is as good for the
adults taking part as the children!
Art & Craft Club in Key Stage Two
Art and Craft Club
attracted many
enthusiastic pupils
during this half term
and there was a
lovely buzz of
creative excitement
as the children
designed and made
their own
bookmarks - linking
in with World Book
Day. It is always pleasing
to see how you can explain a craft and give
the children the same basic materials to work with and
yet each child’s piece turns out differently - individual
flair and interpretation always demonstrated! The
children also enjoyed learning the basics of quilling which
they incorporated into some lovely Mother’s Day cards.
Samba Club
The music of Brazil came to St Peter’s School during
Trinity Term! Key Stage Two children had the
opportunity to learn about this style of carnival music in
16 Mrs Palmer’s Samba Club. Pupils attending it discovered
facts about all the different percussion instruments and
even played four different ostinatos at one time!
Running Club
Running Club was once again, very popular this year with
nearly thirty regular participants enjoying a variety of
new running activities introduced by Mr Burrows. These
ranged from a mixture of short and longer distances to
running set distances but with a profound change of
pace during sections of the course. Thursday afternoon
weather in the
first part of
Lent Term was
far from kind,
which meant
that much of
our Running
Club sessions
took place in
Sunnylands Hall, so it was with great delight that the
runners were able to get outside for their final Running
Club of this academic year.
SPORT AT ST PETER’S SCHOOL
Brooke Priory Cross Country
Once again Shorne Hill was the host for this year’s cross
country event. As always, it proved to be a very well
organised and friendly experience for all those taking
part, both participants and families. The weather held
and the ground was firm for the runners. Our team of
runners was raring to run and all of them gave their usual
100%. Each of the races contained more than fifty
runners, with schools from all over the region attending.
The children’s excitement was wonderful to see! All our
children finished their races, an achievement in itself as
the course finishes with a long run uphill before
launching yourself over barriers. Tasmin Crabtree gained
St Peter’s ‘best finish’ of 12th in her race!
Netball proved as popular as ever at St Peter’s School
with lots of children regularly attending practice sessions.
Our Year Five and Year Six team took to the court in the
Kettering Schools competition and during the three
weeks of play they amassed eight victories and two
defeats. The team did a superb job and achieved 3rd
place in the competition!
ISA Netball
Our full to brimming sport calendar began with a trip up
to Staffordshire to compete at the Independent Schools
association regional netball tournament. The children
worked hard all day during seven long matches and
showed they can pass and move the ball as well as any
team. On the day it seemed the ball just wasn’t keen to
find the net for us which meant that the team, who
played excellently, finished fifth. The highlight of the day
was a 6-0 win and the team lost out twice in other games
by just a single point.
Swimming Gala
Our Swimming Gala saw a change of format with children
entered into races based on their personal best times
rather than year group and gender. The competition
proved very exciting with many close finishes and it was
super to see some of the younger pupils put in great
swims against older opponents. On the day it was
Grafham who took the victory in the house competition.
There was also the introduction of the Year Six medley
medal race which sees pupils compete in back stroke, 17
breast stroke and front crawl. The first winner of this
new race was Aneesa Wickremasinghe. Well done to all
our swimmers and especially to our Year Three team,
making their debut.
Tennis Festival
St Peter’s School once again opened its gates to local
Kettering Schools for the area’s Tennis Festival. Our
children did superbly well throughout the day. Those in
Year One and Year Two took on a series of sporty and
tennis-themed challenges. Guided by Mrs Burrows they
were
deservedly
placed
second and
third.
Our Year Three and Year
Four teams had the title
to defend! They did well
picking up victories and
many excellent results.
Though the competition
was particularly difficult this year, delightfully after two
very close wins over Isham then Hawthorn we held off
threat and held on to the title!
Summer Games Day
Summer Games Day was played
out in glorious June sunshine and
offered the pupils in Key Stage
Two the chance to display their
bowling, batting and fielding
skills. The leader board was
updated throughout the day and
it gradually became evident that
Pitsford seemed to be the
strongest team. Despite a final
game defeat, they took victory
with 14 points, having won four
games and lost two. Grafham
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could not regain the heights of previous competitions
and they finished fourth on 10 points from two wins and
four defeats. Thorpe and Rutland shared second place,
having both won and lost three matches on 12 points.
This was a very tight contest and some excellent skills
were displayed. The children fully deserved all the
ensuing plaudits
for their
determination and
efforts throughout
the day. Pitsford
became the final
Summer Games
champions of our
old house system!
ISA Swimming Gala
St Peter’s School were delighted to take the plunge at
Walsall for the ISA Midlands Region Swimming Gala. The
pupils showed they were ready to compete and in many
cases they had to be ready for quite a while waiting for
their race or races! The swimming gala is a very big event
with nearly thirty schools entering and it is delightful to
know that some of the very best of that swimming
comes from our very own pupils. Numerous top
performances were put in by our boys and girls and they
should be delighted with how well they did. Special
mention this year goes to Grace Hillis because she won
the Year Five girls freestyle race, clocking a time just over
eighteen seconds for the twenty five metre sprint. This
gave Grace the chance to represent the Midlands at the
national competition where she raced at the Olympic
pool and incredibly, being placed fifth nationally!
ISA Athletics
Our budding athletes
travelled to the Alexander
Stadium for ISA Midland’s
Athletics championships.
With twenty nine schools
taking part, it was the
largest ISA Midlands
athletics competition to
date. Weather conditions
didn’t make for an easy day but our children were all
heroes to cope with challenging conditions: wind, rain,
low temperatures. They showed such enormous
enjoyment and sense of fun in all their different sports.
We had one first place on the day with Aneesa
Wickremasinghe gaining a first place in her 6oo metre
heat. Cyrus Birch came sixth in the Year Six shot-put and
Fred McCrone was seventh in the Year Five long jump.
All the children gave a super effort.
ISA 5-a-side Football
This year’s first football competition took place at the
Wye Valley Leisure Centre on the outskirts of
Kidderminster. Mr Holmes and Mr Burrows took a mini-
bus of two excited teams to a very well-organised event
held on all-weather 5-a-side pitches. The weather was
very favourable and the children, although a little
overawed to begin with,
gave 100% effort at all
times.
The under 11 team
(Matthew Kaye, Joshua
Thorp, Theo Garwe,
Calypso Sellekaerts,
and Simon Sieunarine)
came sixth in their group and showed improvements in
every match, though being unlucky not to have scored
more goals and points. The Under 9 team (Donnell
Chaonza, Oscar Potts, Mika Chahil, Aryan Nath, Oliver
Daw and Mushana Mabhurukwa) showed terrific
determination throughout their competition and
managed to register a draw and a win by the end of their
set of games. Well done to our two teams!
ISA U11 Tag Rugby
It was with great relief that we finally got to participate
in a competition after all the poor weather we had
endured throughout March and so the under 11 Tag-
rugby squad travelled to the Midlands ISA competition.
Once again the competition was held at Princethorpe
College in Warwickshire and our ten children were eager
to enjoy their last day of Lent Term expending lots of
energy on the field of play. The weather was cold and
overcast but stayed dry and the children kept warm with
a lot of running. We were on second and the luck of the
draw had us playing four consecutive matches in the first
round which meant a lot of tired legs by the end.
matches some of whom were a little nervous - and
some very tight games. Despite this, our team continued
to put 100% into all their games and played with a sense
of enjoyment and fair play, which was a joy to see.
KS1 Games Lessons
Games lessons in key stage one have been all about fun
and sport, with Mr Burrows leading the way! The
weather hasn’t always been our friend but pupils have all
had a good time and learnt plenty along the way. Lessons
have been varied, with throwing and catching games
kicking off the year,
followed by hockey then
problem solving activities.
The children have a real
excitement and enthusiasm
when it comes to trying
new games and sports and
are showing super
potential. They are our
future-teams and we think
they will be strong!
KS1 Winter Games
Our Winter Games event in Key Stage One gave children
the opportunity to display throwing, catching and
teamwork skills as they played zoneball. Zoneball is a
game similar to netball where if you have the ball then
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you can’t move.
It differs to
netball because
you throw the
ball to a team
mate in a zone
rather than
through a hoop.
All the children
did well - they
began to play
competitively and
special praise went to the winning team called the Lions.
SPORTS DAY
We had wonderful weather for our Sports Day in June. It
was not quite as hot as anticipated, though hot enough!
With pupils sun-creamed, be-hatted and well-provided
with water, Key Stage Two began a round robin of field
events in the morning. The children all worked incredibly
hard throughout their eight activities to try to beat their
own personal bests and perhaps
to even break a school record or
two. That was exactly what Theo
Garwe, Grace Hillis and Calypso
Sellekaerts achieved in their discus discipline. Theo set a
new record of 17.8 metres, adding nearly two metres to
the previous record. Grace was equally impressive in
setting a new record of 12.2 metres and this was
matched less than an hour later by Calypso Sellekaerts,
giving us joint record holders in Year Four. Calypso also
set a new record in the Shot Put of 11.4 metres and
Tasmin Crabtree set a new triple jump record of 5.54
metres. Well done to all our new record holders!
Foundation Stage
and Key Stage One
children joined in
with the Sports Day
fun during the
afternoon. The
staff kept the
children cool and
hydrated with
water sprays and 20
lots of ice cool drinks. After lots of practise, the children
tried to follow lane discipline, some more accurately
than others! Well done to everyone who took part and
especially to all those children for whom this was their
first Sports Day at St Peter’s School with Sunnylands
Nursery. A big ‘thank you’ is extended to our Foundation
and Key Stage One parents who supported on the day.
After a brief lunch break, the Key Stage Two children
were eager to get on with their races! All races were
completed successfully with great enthusiasm and a
huge sense of fun from the participants, the spectators
and the staff. We had debated the sagacity of running
the longer races in the anticipated high temperatures but
we were fortunate that the sun was hiding behind cloud
cover at just the right time. We also knew that the
children would have been most disappointed had we not
made the decision to run the races!
In the Year Five and Year Six long run, Fred Mc Crone
only decided to enter the race with ten seconds to spare
but he went on to win it in a very close and highly
competitive finish with Aneesa Wickremasinghe. In the
Year Three and Four race we had another new record as
Simon Sieunarine took a second off the previous best
time which had
stood for five
years.
It really was a very
special day. Well
done to Grafham
who took the last
title under the old
House system.
21
SPECIAL DAYS
Children in Need Fun and Fundraising
Children at the School did a fantastic job joining in with
various events in November to raise money for a wide
variety of children’s charities. This was a school-wide
fundraising effort involving all the classes from Reception
to Year Six. All enjoyed taking party in some novel and
fun activities during the course of the week. Our Key
Stage One children took part in a “dress up teddy”
competition, as well as a “Find Pudsey’s Treasure”
competition where Joshua Laskey, Evie Hall and Harry
Richardson proved themselves to be our lucky hunters!
The younger children in Key Stage One were all seeing
spots by the end of the week because lots of them paid
50p to add spots to their uniform!
Anyone expecting the School Council and its classes to
come up with sensible fundraising ideas for Children In
Need would have been sorely disappointed! The ‘dress
up your vegetable’
competition bought with it
much mirth and some very
interesting entries! Children in Key Stage Two enjoyed a
“Pudsey Drive” - a variation of the popular “Beetle Drive”
where the fast and furious dice rolling sent all staff
supervising into a dizzy spin! A very well attended
Lunchtime Disco gave our eager dancers great delight.
Finding very well hidden Pudseys around the School
Grounds was another challenge which children enjoyed
taking part during the course of the week. There were
lots of kind donations for our Key Stage Two Children In
Need Raffle and tickets were sold to many hopeful
children – always a very popular Children In Need event
at St Peter’s! A Cake Sale finished off a perfect Children
In Need week. The sweet treats made Mr Fountain and
families who donated cakes were much appreciated, as
the photograph proves.
Well done to the children and their parents who helped
the school to raise a large sum of money to help our
worthwhile and valued children’s charities. Over £250
was raised!
St P’s joins in with Comic Relief
A rollcall of ‘bonkers events’ took place for Red Nose
Day! For a minimum donation of £1 pupils wore all
manner of Comic Relief merchandise to School:
deelyboppers, wristbands, red noses (of course!), badges
and Comic Relief t-shirts. Pupils were invited to take on
the St P’s Comic Relief Challenge of (cue drumroll) ….…
Dress Up Your Potato (or any other fruit/veg). Serious
competitiveness took over as children created the cutest,
funniest and silliest entries. Children in KS1 and KS2
were invited to write down a joke which went into the
SILLY HAT OF JOKES. A lunchtime disco for KS2 filled the
hall with music, laughter and extremely energetic
dancing! And finally, there can surely be no fundraising
without the mention of cakes, and on this special
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occasion all thoughts of ‘lo-sugar, no sugar’ were
abandoned as families baked for Comic Relief for our Red
Nose Cake Stall. A fabulous total of £303.13 was raised!
World Book Day 2018
St Peter’s School welcomed the likes of Skulduggery
Pleasant, Hermione Granger, Jim from ‘The Pirates Next
Door’, Tom Gates, Katniss Everdeen, Mary Poppins, The
Cat in the Hat and many, many more to Key Stage 2 for
World Book Day. Other pupils wrapped up snug and
warm for the snow in their favourite pjs and dressing
gowns for our ‘bed-time story’ after lunch. The teachers,
never too shy to shy away from joining in the fun,
disguised themselves as The Queen of Hearts, Bert and
The Snow Queen, or
bared their legs to join
the slumber-party.
After an initial show of
characters, the pupils
were split in to their
houses and went on to
enjoy a carousel of
events led by each year
teacher.
Mr Burgham discussed
what was needed to
create a short story.
The children looked at a
variety of pictures to
support their ideas to
find characters, settings,
objects, movements
and animals. They
considered different
sentence starters and
how descriptions and
emotions were really
important to reel in the
reader. The stories
ranged from adventure
and action to fantasy
and reality. They
enjoyed being able to
work in groups or on their own and produced some
fantastic short stories.
Mr Holmes showed the children a selection of DC and
Marvel graphic novels from the 1960s to the present day
and discussed the collaborative nature of their creation
with: writers, pencillers, Inkers and letterers needed to
produce a graphic novel. The children then worked in
groups to practice their drawing and colouring skills to
create and name their own super hero and took a short
template comic strip home to see if they could create
their own short story in comic book form.
Mrs McCahill shared with the children Colin Thompson’s
book titled “Castles” which leads children into a
fantastical world where castles are created out of thin
air, flourish under the sea and grow overnight in the back
garden. This was followed up with a book making activity
where children created their own imaginative castles and
faraway lands. They illustrated these with descriptive
sentences which brought the castles to life.
Mrs Butler led the pupils in discovery of new locations
and characters – from meeting the infamous Minotaur in
Alan Gibbon’s ‘Shadow of the Minotaur’, to The Pied
Piper of Hamelin; and exploring the run-down garage in
David Almond’s ‘Skellig’ and a fantasy cottage in the
woods. After reading the passages and discussing their
detail, pupils then drew their own interpretations,
commenting on the skill of the author to create a vivid
image in their minds.
Mrs Eyles led a story telling session for all the classes in
Key Stage Two in Sunnylands Hall. The children listened
to a variety of stories from India. Many of the stories
were thousands of years old and had been passed down
orally from one generation to the next.
National Poetry Day
Once again this year, we chose to celebrate National
Poetry Day a week later, rather than try and squeeze it
into our Harvest Festival celebrations. Instead, our
pupils presented poems at School Assembly last week,
and showed very adeptly how poetry needs to be lifted
off the page and brought to life by it being spoken. The
theme of National Poetry Day this year was ‘Freedom’
and many classes chose to explore poems linked to this
subject.
Sunnylands Nursey
World Book Day
23
Reception children took their inspiration for their poem
from the cheeky squirrels they can see outside their
classroom. They talked about how wonderful it would
be to have the freedom to simply collect acorns and
scamper from tree to tree all day long. The children also
talked about the rhyming words within the poem and
how to say it aloud with a strong beat. They memorised
their poem in only a couple of days!
Year One shared a humorous poem called Sniff, Sniff,
Sniff. They were able to find the two rhyming words in
each verse which helped remind them about what a
rhyming word was. The children really rose to the
challenge of learning another poem and they performed
it with such gusto! Mrs Shakeshaft was proud of them all.
Year Two pupils chose to present a poem all about stars.
In class they had thought about how stars have the
freedom to fly through the sky in space. We all like
looking at the stars in the night time sky, looking for
constellations and if we are lucky, seeing a shooting star.
Our poem is called 'The Falling Star' by Sara Teasdale.
In the run-up to our Poetry Assembly, pupils in Year
Three talked about what it meant to be free and the
physical and emotional barriers which prevent people
from being free. They looked through looked through
lots of the poems from the Freedom book and discussed
which ones they enjoyed the most. The first poem the
children choose was Barrier by Rachel Rooney. They
particular liked the repetition of the words and the shape
of the poem. The second poem was the Owl and the
Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear. Pupils remembered this from
when they were younger and that it was a famous poem.
The poem the class eventually decided on was
‘Seventeen Caterpillars’ by Sally Crabtree.
Year Four presented two poems. ‘Free as the Wind’ by
Liz Brownlee demonstrated how assonance and
consonance were used by the poet to conjure up images
and sounds of the wind. Three Haikus by a nineteenth
century Chinese poet called Issa were then read, Mr
Holmes reading the original and the pupils giving the
translation. It was fascinating to hear how both the
Chinese original and the English translation displayed the
almost musical elements of poetry.
Year Five recited a simple yet beautiful and thought
provoking poem entitled "Leisure" written by W. H.
Davies in which the poet wonders whether it is worth
leading a life which provides no free time.
National Storytelling Week
We love the opportunity to share our love of reading at
St. P’s. To celebrate National Storytelling Week, the
teachers donned their theatrical voices and shared
stories with Key Stage Two. Mrs Butler started the week
in assembly by reading one of her favourite fairy tales,
'The Wild Swans': a story of resilience, love, bravery,
determination and of putting others above ourselves. In
the assemblies that followed, the children were treated
to the delightfully funny yet shocking antics of 'Awful
Auntie' by David Walliams, read by Mrs McCahill, Mrs
Eyles and Mrs Butler. In classes, teachers also took the
opportunity to read to their own class.
These activities certainly whetted the appetite of the
pupils and staff for the arrival of World Book Day!
Remembrance Assembly
Armistice Day is on the 11th of November and is also
known as Remembrance Day. It marks the day World
War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th
month in 1918. There is also Remembrance Sunday every
year, which falls on the second Sunday in November. The
Year Five children marked this occasion by presenting an
assembly which asked children to think about how we
remember everyday things in our day to day life. This led
on to introducing and reminding us all that the poppy is
worn at this time of year to remember the time when
the guns were finally silenced and to recognise the
24
bravery and courage of soldiers around the world in the
past and today, and most importantly the desire for
peace between all countries. The class presented a little
play in which characters
travelled back in time to
portray which countries were
involved, what it was like for
soldiers in the trenches, school children and working
women. This was completed with a prayer and the
children singing Stille Nacht as a reminder of the
Christmas Day Truce between the opposing armies.
Big School Birdwatch
Before half term, Year One pupils took part in the Big
School Birdwatch. They were keen to learn to identify
common garden birds, regularly checking on the poster
in the classroom. Together with Mrs Shakeshaft they
went out to observe the birdlife on our beautiful school
grounds and they tried hard to stay very quiet!
Mrs Shakeshaft
reports that
they were lucky
to spot quite a
lot of activity
and also to hear
some birds that
weren’t seen.
The highlight of
the birdwatch
was a robin
sitting in the top
of a tree singing
loudly, and all
the children
were truly
mesmerised!
Computer Science Week
As part of Computer Science Week, the children in Key
Stage Two were presented an assembly by Mr Burgham.
Computer Science continues to be an important part of
education and knowing the history behind this special
day and what the future of Computer Science holds for
children was an important message for them. Pupils
found out about a pioneer of computer coding, Rear
Admiral Grace Hopper and her amazing achievement in
creating a machine to turn English into computer code or
Algorithms and why it was her that we have to thank for
the term ‘debugging’. Pupils watched a clip of Admiral
Hopper demonstrating the use of wires to illustrate how
in one billionth of second (a nanosecond) an electronic
signal can travel almost twelve inches. The idea was to
show something physically so that they could understand
something which was difficult to visualise.
We discussed other famous computer scientist such as
Bill Gates, Alan Turing and Mark Zuckerberg and how
their achievements have changed the way we think and
do many of our everyday activities. It was an important
assembly to explain to children about the advances in
computer science over the past decades and to remind
them that some of them might well be future pioneers
within the computer science industry.
Upper Key Stage Two
General Knowledge Challenge
Our Upper Key Stage Two pupils relished the opportunity
to take part in the SATIPS annual General Knowledge
Challenge. They racked their brains to answer one
hundred questions based on Geography, Books, TV and
Films, Religion, Mythology, Music, Art, as well as
questions on random topics. Some of the questions they
were faced with included: “What Asian food is made
from mashed Soya Beans?” “A lion holding a sword
appears on the flag of which country?” and “What job
does Skulduggery Pleasant have?” Teachers, too, tried to
answer as many
questions as they could,
but the modern music
world questions caused a
few puzzled expressions!
Writing Competition
Following on from its
successful launch last
year, our pupils from
Upper Key Stage Two
were yet again invited to
partake in a writing competition this year. Faced with a
series of six options, budding writers were encouraged to
select a title which they found interesting and that
matched their preferred writing style. The choices this
year were: imaginative writing which culminated in a
given ending; fantasy writing which continued a given
opening; science-fiction which had a specific last line; a
formal letter to the school’s Chair of Governors asking
for support in a charity event; a persuasive speech
regarding a current political point; and an
25
autobiographical piece describing an event that changed
their whole life in an important way. Although pupils
may plan their ideas and conduct any necessary research
at home, all entries and drafts had to be written during
supervised lunchtimes. This well-attended opportunity
was voluntary and those participating each deserve
praise for their commitment and dedication. Entrants
are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Year Five
and Year Six winners during this year’s Founder’s Day in
July.
STEM in Reception
At St Peter’s School we believe that it is essential to have
high expectations of all children, and our youngest are no
exception. Reception Class are flying the flag for working
to achieve a world-leading education for all young
people in science, technology,
engineering and maths. The latter
is taught on a daily basis, with
children learning a myriad of new
skills; from measuring with
weighing scales, to finding
fractions with shapes. Science is
explored through ‘Understanding
the World’, and one of the
children’s favourite activities this
year was learning about materials
in order to conduct a floating and
sinking experiment; we were
excited to find that materials
containing air were the most
likely to float! Reception
frequently access elements of technology and
engineering, by using various gadgets, including the Bee
Bots and interactive whiteboard, and construction toys.
During Trinity Term the children will begin exploring the
topic ‘Castles’, when they will work in teams to build
three types of mini catapults using different sets of
materials and building instructions. They will then
compare the success of their creations! This will give the
children the opportunity to explore STEM ‘in the round’.
STEM in Key Stage One
Over the last year, the children in Key Stage One have
worked on some projects which involve aspects of STEM
education. Year Two have designed and built vehicles
thinking about axles and wheels. They have also made
moving dragon puppets as part of their China work.
The theme for National Science Week 2018 has been
‘change’; and the children attending STEMsation Club
marked the occasion with a series of messy
investigations about ‘changing materials’. Making
cornflour slime was particularly popular! The children
worked together
in small groups
of twos and
threes to
measure the
correct amount
of cornflour and
water which
they mixed
together before
getting their hands dirty by pressing and stretching the
gloop. Some experiments were more successful than
others which led to discussions on how to improve their
investigations if they were to be repeated. An
alternative investigation involved making a fizzy mess by
mixing an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice together
with an alkali such as sodium bi-carbonate and food
colouring in order to create a “fizzy” but colourful
chemical reaction. Some children decided to take this
idea further to see if they could use the fizzy mixture to
create a rocket. We all decided that we needed more
cornflour to make better slime and smaller containers to
create better rockets. This was a fun, ‘hands on’
practical session with plenty of ideas shared and
discussed.
Lower Key Stage Two STEM Day
During Trinity Term, while Year Five and Year Six pupils
cavorted in the rare Welsh sunshine, pupils in Year Three
and Year Four took on the guise of not quite mad
scientists but certainly inquisitive and happy ones! The
day got off to an “eggsilerating” start with children
working in small groups to design and make packaging
that would protect an egg which would be later dropped
from a height. They enjoyed investigating the table
containing all the possible materials they could choose
for their packaging (foam, cardboard boxes, tubes, sticky
tape, gloves, old socks etc.) before drawing designs and
labelling them. It was pleasing to observe the variety of
ideas between the groups. Some groups focused purely
on the packaging whilst others included a parachute in
their design to soften the fall! There was plenty of
discussion and the children worked well as part of a team
in their groups. Excitement reached a peak when Mr
Burgham concluded the activity by dropping each
group’s egg package from a height in the playground and
then the awaited results …which group’s egg would
survive without being broken? There were indeed some
successful packages and teachers led the children’s’
conversations towards gravity, forces and materials. A
section of the day explored different habitats and pupils
enjoyed the delights of our outdoor environment classroom.
Pupils discovered skaters, newts and water beetles!
26
Other activities
included working in
groups using dried
spaghetti and
marshmallows to
create the tallest
tower or a
construction capable of holding a 20g weight , pond
dipping - which was a first for some children - and
creating a range of designs using coloured crayons and
leaves.
Confucius is quoted as saying “I hear and I forget. I see
and I remember. I do and I understand’. This attitude to
learning underpins good science teaching at St P’s. The
Science Day offered an extended opportunity to learn
actively and in mixed year groups. The children had a lot
of fun and worked well as a team. At the same time they
were busy learning, making scientific predictions, testing,
asking questions, clarifying and evaluating. Great work,
children!
Upper Key Stage Two Stem Day
Upper Key Stage Two’s STEM Day took place in the
second half of Michaelmas Term. It kicked off with an
engineering challenge. Pupils were divided in to five
groups of mixed
ages, and once a
team name had
been decided,
each group
allocated the roles
of each person:
Facilitator, Reporter, Materials Manager, Presenter,
Reader and Timekeeper. All groups became problem-
solvers and were set the same task: To design and build a
prototype of a museum about Ancient Greece in the
town of ‘STEM-a-lot’, utilising columns instead of walls.
Pupils developed their five ‘P’ skills, problem-solving –
planning – perseverance – patience – presentation, to
engineer an
answer, whilst
reinforcing
their
measurement,
geometry and
mathematical
shape
knowledge.
Teams collaborated brilliantly, valuing the ideas of all
team members to make successful prototypes. The
approaches differed between groups: some used tall,
thin columns, whilst others used stout columns or
combined four columns together to make one reinforced
support.
The day took a musical route later on, when both classes
worked together with Mrs Palmer to create a backing
beat using a computer programme. They overlaid this
with a prepared rap about Greek Gods and Goddesses.
This was performed to Lower Key Stage Two at the end
of the day. A fantastic and fun-filled day was had by all,
with Upper Key Stage Two pupils enjoying the
opportunity to work together in teams to create three
different outcomes. Staff and pupils were immensely
proud of their results and we look forward to combining
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths with other
subjects in future projects throughout the School.
Computing and Coding
Computing is an important part of our curriculum at St
P’s because it helps children to develop problem-solving
skills, logic and creativity.
In Reception Class, the interactive white board is used by
pupils who press the screen to select different tools to
draw with in order to create some mini masterpieces!
They can also access the internet using the class
computer and understand how a keyboard and mouse
operate. For instance, they were recently able to type
and search for images of daffodils;
copy and paste the image into a
Word document and type their own
name. In Reception Class the
children are also introduced to
coding through using Bee Bots,
programming directions into them to ensure a safe
pathway.
In Key Stage One, children continue to build their
confidence using computers. They improve their
keyboard and mouse skills, logging on successfully to
their own working area, using Paint to create pictures
which demand good use of mouse control. With support
they are able contribute towards creating presentations
with PowerPoint, using the internet to search, copy and
insert images, also exploring the options that changing
the font, colours and size of their typing gives the overall
presentation.
Internet safety is an essential aspect of computing. In all
year groups, there is consistent awareness-raising about
appropriate use of the internet and information is also
provided about the risks and vulnerabilities attached.
We have recently given parents the chance to attend an
internet safety workshop at St Peter’s School.
Throughout Key Stage Two, pupils improve and develop
their core computer skills throughout the curriculum as
well as during discrete computing sessions. They use the
internet to research information, learning about which
sites give accurate information and which might provide
less reliable information. There is a continuation of word
processing skills and a greater understanding of how
presentations can be adapted, changed and improved for
the intended audiences has also a large focus. The
children also explore how spreadsheets work and what
uses they have, including being able to input formulas
and calculate different calculations within spreadsheets.
Coding is an important part of the computing curriculum
and in Key Stage Two pupils have been utilising Purple
Mash, Espresso Coding and Scratch to develop and
improve their understanding of how and why coding is
important. Being able to understand how codes work,
how to sequence codes to complete a specific task and
being able to debug and explain why a program or code
is not working is all part of the fun of learning about
coding. As the children gain in confidence, they will be
able to write their own programs and design and create
simple games for others to test and play.
Together, we continue to experiment, develop and
improve our coding and computer skills here at St P’s to
enable the children to have a better understand of
computers and computer science.
27
THE ARTS AT ST PETER’S SCHOOL
Extra-curricular Excellence
We are so pleased to have
welcomed staff from NMPAT to join
our music teaching team at St
Peter’s School. Instrumental tuition
at the school has flourished! This
year a number of pupils have started to learn to play
flute or clarinet with Ms Carter, violin continues to thrive
under the tutelage of Miss Allen and we are delighted to
have formal singing tuition provided by Mr Taylor.
Keenness for piano lessons at the school continues with
Mrs Walters coming in nearly every day. There have
been some super exam results from her pupils too!
Towards the end of the last academic year, Tabitha Fray,
Grace Hillis, Calypso Sellekaerts and Bella Sieunarine
auditioned for entry to various county ensembles and we
are very proud that they all gained places. Over the
course of this year they have taken part in a wide range
of concerts taking place in many special venues including
the Derngate Theatre and Cripps Hall.
Speech and Drama lessons with Mrs Arnold are ever-
popular and pupils gain so much from the presentation
skills developed. The work towards English Speaking
Board assessments takes dedication and much practice
and home support. Each year we learn of the successes
of pupils taking these prestigious assessments.
Ballet lessons are popular at St
Peter’s School. Miss Chatwin is
very pleased that a small group
of St P’s pupils who were
recently entered for Grade 1
ballet examinations did very
well indeed: Sanjita Kurapati,
Grace Hillis and Tabitha Fray all
received distinctions. Well done
girls!
Extra-curricular activities
provide that extra dimension to
learning and we are eager to support pupils’ interests by
offering these optional activities at St Peter’s School.
Music Medalists
Congratulations to Upper Key Stage Two pupils who put
in the practice and worked hard to achieve formal
recognition of their recorder playing skills from the
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
Copper medallists were: Tabitha Fray, Dalitso Mlia,
Calypso Sellekaerts, Theodore Garwe, Tasmin Crabtree, 28
Sanjita Kurapati, Grace Hillis, Chloe Potts, Amelie Watts,
Kitty Loak, Harriet Dunn, Jerome Birch, Simon Sieunarine
Bronze medallists were: Naisha Pandey, Varnikaa Sengar,
Bella Sieunarine. These pupils achieved their Copper
medals last year and took on the challenge of the next
level.
Well done to all our medallists – it takes hard work and
dedicated practice to get these awards!
A new instrument to learn in Year Six!
This year saw a fresh
challenge for our
Year Six pupils: the
Ukulele! This term-
long project saw our
senior pupils
learning four chords
and varying
strumming patterns,
culminating in a fine
performance at the
Christmas Fayre
St Peter’s School Art Gallery
This is situated in Sunnylands’ Hall, continues to be a
place for the children to shine. With the addition of
many newly purchased picture frames, it is positively
bursting with
wonderful
creations, from
Henry Shaw’s
colourful abstract
work made with
torn paper and oil
pastels, to Jacob
Laskey’s careful pencil study of a bird and Ayanna
Malhotra’s depiction of a beautiful countryside scene.
The shelves provide space to
display three-dimensional work,
such as Izzy Watt’s giant marble-
inked fish and the striking masks
made by Tabitha Fray and Dalitso
Mlia. We hope that you are able to
visit from time to time, to see the
changes which we make to the
displays throughout the academic
year.
Key Stage Two Summer Concert
Our Summer Concert took place on a day where the
weather saw a glimpse from every season! But never
underestimate the power of music, because the warmth
and sunshine emerged through it as we listened to pupils
singing, playing instruments and presenting
compositions. The photographs here were taken at the
dress rehearsal during which, in 90 minutes, Mrs Palmer
and the children completed one run through before
presenting a fantastic evening of entertainment.
A song called ‘Belonging’, written by pupils in Year Five
and Year Six opened the Concert.
Class items
followed,
interspersed with
some vocal and
instrumental solos.
St Peter’s School
Choir brought the
first section of the
concert to a close with some beautiful tuneful
harmonies.
The Concert’s Finale was a medley of songs from ‘The
Journey’ by Chris Hazell. Key Stage Two took us on a car
journey….through song. The whole Key Stage sang ‘Time
to Go’. They were off!! We got in our car and went past
lots of motorway cones. Year Four told us about life on
the road from the cones perspective. Year Five sang their
song about the surrounding nature with such passion
and understanding. In the distance, the railway could be
heard and Year Three did an excellent job depicting this
in their song. We finally got to Blackpool and complete
with armbands, beach balls and even an inflatable
mobile phone, Year Six told us about a typical day in the
northern holiday resort!
Finally, Key Stage Two joined forces to sing the moving
balled ‘Where do we go from here?’ Well done children,
on a fantastic and memorable concert.
At St Peter’s School we are keen to recognise the talents
of every student and the Summer Concert was a great
way to display the range of musical skills that the
children have. This year’s Summer Concert will
showcase the work of pupils and instrumental teachers
at the School. We look forward to hearing pianists,
violinists, a cello player, flautists, clarinetists and singers
later in Trinity Term
Each and every participant enjoyed some sort of
personal success at this year’s Eisteddfod. Undertaking
the responsibility of learning a poem or preparing a piece
of music to be performed on a stage in front of an
adjudicator and an audience is no mean feat and all of
our pupils who took part in our local arts festival truly
deserve our admiration and respect, as do the teachers
who prepared them so well. Many of the competitions
only had St Ps competitors in them, but that brought
with it an extra pressure, because if the adjudicator felt a
First place certificate could not be awarded then a
Second or Third place could be given instead! It is a
great pity that other schools do not support this local
event better.
29
In Piano competitions, Grace Hillis won the 14 & U
competition, Rupert Fray was 2nd in the 7 & U, Dalitso
Mlia was 2nd and Tabitha Fray 3rd in the 8 & U, Naisha
Pandey was 2nd in the 12 & U and 3rd in the 11 & U.
Simon and Bella Sieunarine were awarded first place in
the piano duet 10 & U. Well done also to Teegan
Edwards and Isabelle Aldwinckle, Tasmin Crabtree,
Theodore Garwe, Maya Sieunarine and Sanjita Kurapati,
who also took part in piano competitions.
Only pupils from St Peter’s School took part in Eisteddfod
ocarina competitions this year. In Key
Stage One ocarina solo Theone Garwe
was placed 1st and Maya Sieunarine and
Mya Churchill were equal 2nd. Sidar
Altunkaynak and Rupert Fray were joint winners of the
Key Stage Two solo ocarina competition.
Theone Garwe was awarded 1st place in the Solo Strings
8 & U competition with her violin solo, Dalitso Mlia was
1st in the 9 & U category, playing ‘cello, and in the 10 &
U class Grace Hillis was 1st and Naisha Pandey was 2nd
with their violin solos. Grace was also 1st in the 9 & U
woodwind/brass/recorder solo, Calypso
Sellekaerts was 2nd, each playing
recorder, and Theodore Garwe was
equal 3rd with his euphonium solo.
Heidi Crabtree won the 10 & U recorder
competition, with Naisha Pandey and Varnikaa being
placed equal 2nd. Grace Hillis gave an impressive violin
recital and was awarded a 1st place for it. Well done
also to Harriet and Tabitha for their achievement in the
wind/recorder competition.
In the singing competitions there were a few more
competitors from other schools, yet St P’s pupils took the
main positions! Calypso Sellekaerts was placed 1st, Grace
Hillis was 2nd and Bella Sieunarine was 3rd. Grace Hillis
won a further three vocal solo competitions of different
categories!
Success continued to flood in throughout the course of
the Speech & Drama competitions. Sophie Walshaw was
1st and Franklin Fowler 2nd in solo verse speaking 5 & U.
Well done also to Geraldine Mlia, Ola Onakoya and
Khamsin Sellekaerts. Kabeer Jain was 1st and Jack
Wallington 2nd in the solo verse speaking 6 & U. Well
done to Angel Kuveya, Ethan Armstrong, Mya Churchill,
Theone Garwe, Kye Mateyo and Maya Sieunarine. Sidar
Altunkaynak won the 7 & U category. Well done to
Teegan Edwards, Rupert Fray and Georgiana Barton.
Sophia Armstrong was 3rd in the 8 & U class. Well done
to Aryan Nath, Oliver Daw, Donnell Chaonza and
30
Mushana Mabhurukwa. Grace Hillis was joint 3rd in the
U9’s solo verse speaking. Well done also to Dalitso Mlia,
Tabitha Fray, Calypso Sellekaerts, Harriet Dunn and
Simon Sieunarine. Bella Sieunarine won the 10 & U solo
verse speaking competition- well done to Naisha Pandey
and Varnikaa Sengar. Harriet Dunn won the 10 & U sight
-reading competition and Sidar Altunkaynak was 2nd in
his age category. St Peter’s School Group Speaking teams
(Y3 & Y4 and Y5 & Y6) were runners up in both their
competitions and received very pleasing adjudications
for their performances.
On Saturday evening it was with great pride that Mrs
Chapman watched six of our winning pupils perform at
the Kettering Eisteddfod Prize Winners Concert: Sophie
Walshaw, Kabeer Jain, Sidar Altunkaynak, Bella
Sieunarine, Grace Hillis and Calypso Sellekaerts. This was
a most formal event with local dignitaries in attendance.
Our pupils performed with great aplomb wearing their
school uniform (on a Saturday night!) with pride. Thank
you boys and girls. On top of the prizes already awarded,
special recognition awards were presented to Grace Hillis
and Calypso Sellekaerts. Wow!
‘Well done’ to all St P’s pupils who took part in
competitions. ‘Thank you’ to all families, teachers and
school staff who supported this year’s Eisteddfod
entrants.
Mystery at Magpie Manor
Congratulations to the cast of thirty seven Key Stage Two
31
pupils for the highly polished set of performances given
just before half term. Each evening
was punctuated by
resounding applause and
laughter. The comedy timing,
acting and singing skills
shown by the cast was of
high calibre, the children
putting their hearts and souls
into each performance and
collectively truly being ‘the
stars of the show’! The set,
the costumes, the makeup,
the music, the drama, the props,
supervising the sometimes exuberant cast during
rehearsals, and over fifteen hours of weekend rehearsal
to top up weekly Production Club rehearsals ….….all of
this came from the dedication, enthusiasm & sheer
goodwill of staff at the School, which is also noteworthy.
It is hoped that the children will always remember with
great fondness the experience of being part of a
production at St P’s.
Pupil Wellbeing and
Pastoral Care at St Peter’s School
Evidence shows that across the UK, mental health issues
in children are increasing while child wellbeing is
deteriorating. Young people today have to navigate a
complex and ever-changing world, facing challenges and
pressures in numerous aspects of their life. Over the
course of their education, children spend over 7,800
hours at school. With such a huge amount of time spent
in the classroom, St Peter’s School provides an ideal
environment for promoting good emotional wellbeing
and identifying early behaviour changes and signs of
mental distress. The social and emotional skills,
knowledge and behaviours that young people learn in
the classroom can help them to build resilience and set
the pattern for how they will manage their mental health
throughout their lives.
Here at St P’s we believe in fostering the essential
components of emotional wellbeing such as good
relationships, self-discipline, self-confidence, self-
efficacy, communication skills, positive mind set and
attitude. Alongside our PSHEE (personal, social, health,
emotional & economic awareness) curriculum we hold
regular assemblies throughout the year focusing on such
topics as kindness, empathy, jealousy, friendship issues
and bullying to name but a few! Mrs Chapman and other
staff deliver Anti-Bullying guidance to help keep our
children aware of what sort of behaviour is acceptable at
school and what the course of action is when bullying is
identified. We also welcome external visitors to the
school so that children have the opportunity to hear
guidance from ‘other voices’ too.
Children have taken part in lessons on how to develop a
positive mind-set and how to develop a healthy attitude
to some of the more negative elements of life. They are
encouraged to be self-disciplined and to take an
appropriate level of responsibility for their own learning.
They are given responsibilities and we recognise the
importance of hearing our “student voice”. Children at
St Peter’s are given, through the School Council, a chance
to have their ideas on how to make the school an “even
happier place,” listened to and implemented.
Children are encouraged to talk to staff if they are feeling
unhappy or anxious about anything. Pastoral Leaders at
St P’s handle a wide range of issues that children share
with them; these range from resolving friendship issues
and anxieties, to comforting children who are dealing
with bereavement and family break ups. Every
classroom has a Worry Bug
where children can post
any worries that they may
not find easy to talk about
and these are monitored
and regularly checked.
Emotional wellbeing is a
clear indicator of academic
achievement, success and
satisfaction in later life and
at St Peter’s School we recognise its paramount
importance in the healthy development of your children.
Learning Support and Multisensory Teaching
It is well recognised that we all have different ways in
which we learn and remember information. Some
children find it easier to learn when information is
presented to them visually for e.g. with the use of video
clips, mind maps, diagrams and concrete apparatus.
Some children find it easier to process auditory
information; they are able to listen to a teacher talking
and absorb the spoken word and retrieve the facts
necessary for a later task without much difficulty.
Another way in which some children learn is by
interacting with the material on a tactile and kinaesthetic
level, for example using the sense of touch and fine and
gross motor skills.
32
Multisensory techniques are frequently used for children
with learning differences. Multisensory teaching
techniques and strategies stimulate learning by engaging
students on multiple levels. They encourage students to
use some or all their senses to:
Gather information about a task
Link information to ideas they already know and
understand
Perceive the logic involved in solving problems
Learn problem solving tasks
Tap into non-verbal reasoning skills
Understand relationships between concepts
Store information for later recall
During Learning Support sessions at St Peter’s a wide
variety of multisensory resources are used. These
resources are regularly updated so that we are providing
any students who are experiencing barriers to their
learning with an engaging method in which they can
learn more effectively. Children interact with computer
programs such as Wordshark and Numbershark using
both visual and auditory senses. They use a very
engaging tool called STILE for all aspects of sentence and
word construction as well as comprehension activities.
This resource involves moving tiles into a specific pattern
as they answer a series of multi- choice questions;
thereby using visual and sensory motor skills to learn and
retain information.
One of our newest pieces of equipment is a Smart Chute.
This resource, pictured above, is rather like a post-box.
The idea is that the children post cards with questions on
them for e.g. 5 x7 into the top of the chute, attempt to
answer the questions and then self -check when the
chute flips the card over with the correct answer. It is
used in our learning support sessions to help improve
rapid recall of times tables facts; the children say the
tables question (auditory), use fine motor skills to post
the question into the chute and then see the answer
visually thereby engaging three senses rather than one.
We also have Smart Chute working memory cards.
Recently we have started using a multisensory reading/
writing/spelling scheme called Wordblaze which is widely
used in learning support sessions. The Wordblaze
Assemblies That Make You Think
School Assemblies are an important time. The School
community comes together to share and celebrate news
about our sports matches and arts achievements.
However, the main thrust of this valued time is in order
to think about topics linked to social, moral, spiritual and
cultural development including citizenship and British
values.
We have thought about Democracy and pupils have
considered the democratic processes they are involved
in when electing School Councillors. In one School
Assembly, pupils considered the meaning of the word
‘peace’, exploring how they can play a part in being
facilitators of peace at home, at school, at work and at
play. In another they heard about two women, Mary
Seacole and Rosa Parks, who are now regarded as
historically significant for taking what they believed was
a right course of action that brought no harm to others.
Later in the year, we looked at the Suffrage Movement,
to link with the current centenary of votes for women.
The children were very interested to learn that it was
only women over 30 who owned a certain amount of
property that were first given the vote and that it was
not until 1928 that women were given equal voting
rights to men, being able to vote at 21. The voting age
was lowered to 18 in 1970.
School Assembly time is a good place to keep exploring
the theme of Anti-Bullying, providing pupils with
assertive techniques and a deeper understanding about
how their words, looks and actions can cause
unhappiness to others. Children benefit from gaining an
understanding of the difference between being assertive
in play and being controlling of others.
33
VISITS and VISITORS
Kelmarsh Hall
During a much anticipated and sunny day in Trinity Term,
Key Stage One and Reception Class set out for a day out
at Kelmarsh Hall. They travelled by
coach and were met by the
education team who led a busy
day full of a wide variety of
activities. First the children
explored the walled garden in
small groups hunting for plants
some of which they had the opportunity to taste such as
broccoli and celery. Others they could smell like mint
and rosemary. Some of the children had never seen what
the plants looked like and finding a carrot in the ground
was not as easy as when it is cooked and on a plate! The
children decorated a plant pot and planted a sunflower
seed to take home. In another crafty activity they
designed a potato bug which they also took home.
A favourite part of the
day started with a walk
around the grounds,
exploring the many
paths and hidden places.
Then a bug hunt using a
variety of equipment to
catch the bugs-all of
whom were safely
returned to their homes
after being examined.
Finally a race, to determine who could beat the leader
up the hill and back to the house!
Later that afternoon a coach load of weary but very
contented children arrived back at St P’s complete with
the things they had made and lots of stories to tell their
parents.
Dance Workshop in KS1
A Jazz Dancing Workshop was arranged for the children
in Key Stage One during Lent Term. The session was run
by a qualified dance teacher and her tuition had been
purchased using Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers, which
school families kindly donate each year. The session
began with a thorough body warm up with stretches for
the neck, shoulders, arms, legs and core muscles. The
dancing involved moving together in a line using jumps
and side strides with quarter and half turns. Then there
were air claps, skipping and leaping in time to familiar
pop tunes that helped the children keep the beat. The
children enthusiastically attempted a circular move
involving lots of changing hands from left to right whilst
moving round. This was completed with various degrees
of success but soaked up loads of enthusiasm!
A grand finale saw a
dance involving all the
moves they had been
practising before some
cooling down stretches.
The children came away
exhausted but very
content as they had all
tried their best to
coordinate their moves
with the music.
Bringing Together Past & Present
Mr. Sanders presented the school with four wonderful
pictures: three of William Timpson, and one of
Sunnylands House, upon which the pupils have enjoyed
mapping the developments of the school we have today.
Upper Key Stage Two Trip to the Safety Centre
Upper Key Stage pupils had a wonderful day at Safety
Centre, Hazard Alley in Milton Keynes, evidenced by the
comments overheard from them, such as “Oh wow! This
is so cool!”, “This is a trip to remember”, “a life-learning
experience”, “informative and fun”, “realistic” and “the
best trip!”
In one session, our Year Five and Year Six pupils learnt
essential safety and life-saving skills such as how to make
an emergency phone-call and place a person in a
recovery position. They were urged to become more
aware of their surroundings and the daily hazards in
their homes and on the streets.
This was followed by an interactive workshop on internet
safety when our children learnt how to protect personal
information and counteract cyber-bullying. They created
some fantastic safety raps to show off their new cyber
safety knowledge. Children were also reminded of the
importance of
not playing
games rated to
be suitable for
sixteen and
eighteen year
olds and they
were alerted
to the age
restrictions for social media.
Halloween & Bonfire Night ‘Stay Safe’ reminder
Earlier in the year welcomed our local Police Community
Support Officer, PCSO Mike Bowes, to our school
assembly, where he brought to us very important
information and reminders regarding our safety at
Hallowe’en and Bonfire
Night. Encouragingly,
our pupils are always
able to suggest key
safety points, as well as
asking relevant
questions. This annual
visit is vital in
maintaining the safety of
our pupils, whilst still
allowing them to have
some fun!
Rev Helen Wakefield-Carr leads Harvest Festival
In September, we were delighted to welcome Rev. Helen
to lead our Harvest
Assembly. Pupils
always look forward
to her visits for she is
a vibrant speaker and
a colourful character
too, who always
engages our pupils so
well with her lively
delivery. Rev. Helen
told us a story about
a pumpkin who
realised that the best
way to thrive and be happy was to give to others. Her
backcloth was the Harvest Table, made up of produce
which some School families so very kindly donated. The
food collected was used to make up Christmas hampers
which were then donated to Home-Start, Kettering, a
charity which helps families in need with young children.
Our Head Boy and Head Girl met with a representative
from the Charity to hand over the food. Thank you to
families who donated.
Magistrate’s Visit to Upper Key Stage Two
Upper Key Stage Two pupils welcomed magistrates Mrs
Burch and Mr Brown to St Peter’s School. They led a
most informative session for our pupils, outlining the role
of a magistrate and explaining the different levels of
justice. During Trinity Term, Year Six pupils study ‘Crime
and Punishment since Roman times’, comparing and
contrasting punishments and noting which are still used
today, so this visit fitted perfectly with their curriculum.
Year Five and Six pupils
took part in a scripted
mock trial about a case of
alleged cyber bullying,
which linked in with our
PSHEE. Prosecution and
defence cases were heard
by the Bench, oaths were taken, witnesses were called
and a judgement was made. This was an excellent
opportunity for pupils to exercise their critical thinking
skills, when aspects of the case were ‘paused’ so that
pupils could talk about the various stages of their
considerations. The pupils asked thoughtful questions
showing their moral compasses, and also their
compassion. The defendant had been having a hard time
- our jury also understood that reasons for actions are
not necessarily excuses for actions. 34
CHRISTMAS AT ST PETER’S SCHOOL
This is such a special time for children! The simple joy
with which they
approach this time
of year helps many
of us entrenched
in life’s routines
and duties to also
feel the spiritual
significance of this
important time.
Christmas Theatre trips also took place for children in
Reception to Year Six. They saw some fabulous classic
stories this year: The Jungle Book and The Wind in the
Willows. These trips are always eagerly awaited events
for our pupils!
This year’s Christmas Concerts presented by pupils in
Sunnylands Nursery, Reception Class, Year One and Year
Two were simply enchanting!
35
Carol Service
Our Carol Service ended Michaelmas term in a formal,
contemplative and joyful fashion with beautiful music
making, fine readings, meditative prayers and excellent
behaviour from all of our pupils who congregated in the
Church of St Peter and St Paul in Kettering.
Here are a few photographs from our very short
rehearsal which took place on the day before the
service…
HELPING OTHERS
Fundraising for Lakelands Hospice
Lakelands Hospice in Corby provides care for those with
life-limiting illnesses. The hospice constantly needs
financial help in order to meet the needs and demands of
the local community. They do not receive any
government funding and rely totally on fundraising
events and charitable donations. For a number of years,
St Peter’s School pupils have held a Fruity Treats
fundraiser in Sunnylands Hall to raise money for the
hospice - and this year was no different! Parents and
children contributed some wonderfully creative and eye
catching treats which were then sold after school and a
total of £119 was raised for this important local facility.
Just before half term one of our Caretaking Team, Mr
Turner, took part in the annual dancing competition
Strictly Corby to raise further funds for the hospice. He
was runner up in the final and raised an incredible
£9,995.17 Wow!
Cubby and Friends
Head Boy Matthew
Kaye and Head Girl
Bella Sieunarine shared
a lovely book with
Reception Class pupils
recently.
Cubby and Friends has been written by former pupil
David Palmer, all about the adventure he had with his
toy bear from his childhood. Copies of the book can be
purchased from Bear With Me, 24 Market Street
Kettering, all proceeds going to ‘Kidney Research UK’ and
‘Live Life, Give Life’.
St P’s supports Sport Relief
We started our Sport Relief activities with a Swim the
Channel challenge which required 1344 lengths of
Kettering Swimming Pool to be swum by way of an
‘accumulative swim’ involving our pupils in Years Two to
Year Six. After having added up all their lengths the total
amount the children swam was 2222 lengths! If you
convert this into miles that is 34.7m and is considerably
more than the 21 mile Channel. Indeed, it is the
equivalent of swimming from Kettering to Coventry! The
children did a great job for a truly worthy cause.
A Morning Mile for Sports Relief took place each day of
Sports Relief Week at St P’s. We had some very
dedicated stalwarts turn out every morning!
The central event of our Sports Relief Week involved
pupils throughout the School and even some in
Sunnylands Nursery setting out on a mile-long Sports
Relief course on our School field. Many pupils pushed
themselves to complete much more than one mile –
many managed
three miles or
more! As you can
see from the
photographs,
some pupils
decided to complete
their miles in a
number of ways!
A massive £522 was raised for Sport Relief. Thank you to
all families who supported this event. You are fantastic!
36
37
READING AT ST PETER’S SCHOOL
Pre-reading skills development at Sunnylands
Learning phonics begins in Sunnylands Nursery. Books
are always available for the children to enjoy. The ‘Share
a Book Scheme’ runs throughout the terms and the
parents can engage with their children at home using a
nursery library book each week. World Book Day
provides an opportunity for the children’s favourite
stories to be read, along with the fun of dressing-up!
(see picture on page 22)
Up, up and away….with Reading Cloud!
In January, pupils in
Upper Key Stage Two
received the exciting
news that they were
now members of a
secure St Peter’s School
reading community
called Reading Cloud. This exciting development in our
reading habits at St. P’s, enables them to write reviews
about books they have read and blog about what they
are reading, as well as make recommendations for books
they would like to see on our KS2 Library’s shelves.
Pupils can receive suggestions about authors who may
interest them, based on their current loans and searches.
For the love of reading…
Reading is a much valued element of pupils’ time at St
Peter’s School. From the magical images in picture books
to the reality of news articles and the deeply described
settings and characters in long novels, our pupils enjoy
them all. Teachers share their own passion for reading
with their classes, with opportunities given to read aloud
to pupils in assemblies or in a spare five minutes before
lunch or the end of the day. Classic novels, adaptations,
modern stories and even comic-strips have been shared.
The welcoming Key Stage Two library, overlooking the
South Lawn, houses a plethora of genres and subject
matters. Through our online reading community Reading
Cloud, pupils have the means to return and issue their
own books as well as post reviews of books read.
The pleasure and analysis of a wide range of written
genres has been invigorated and deepened through
pupils’ comprehension studies. Each week, they are met
with a new or continuing text based on similar themes.
They read the texts aloud, or can listen to them in an on-
line format, then answering three key questions: one
looking question, which shows a recall of the text; one
clue question, which encourages the reader to look at
the hidden text or implied events; and one thinking
question which asks the reader to consider why a
character may act in particular manners, or why an event
occurred, or to place themselves in the situation for
empathy. Teachers spend time discussing these
questions and provide many other prompts for deep
class responses and sharing of ideas.
In collaboration with this, each year group follows a story
throughout the entire year within their grammar lessons,
with each week providing a chapter that embeds strong
writing exemplification. Classes have a book that they
are reading together and to each other.
Our students share a strong passion for reading, each
child having a reading book of their own. It is most
wonderful to see a book being passed around a class,
with friends sharing their favourite stories or recent
‘read’ with others. Even when we have to tell a child to
put a book down in class, it is still encouraging to see
that they have been ‘hooked on the book’ they are
currently immersed in.
Headmistress’s Interview with the Head Boy and
Head Girl
At our last Founders Day the announcement was made
that a Head Boy and Head Girl had been selected. During
some years both roles will be instated and at others
times it may be that one role will be invested. The first
recipients of these prestigious positions of responsibility
were to be Matthew Kaye and Bella Sieunarine. As these
two pupils now approach their final term ‘in office’, Mrs
Chapman spoke to them about the experience they have
had over the course of the year.
Bella said she was surprised to have been chosen as
Head Girl and Matthew said that he was flabbergasted at
the announcement! Mrs Chapman explained to them
that they had precisely been chosen because of the
modesty it was felt they would bring to their new
positions. When asked what had been the most
enjoyable aspect of being Head Boy/Girl, Bella said that
she felt very proud of being invested with such a role of
trust and Matthew said it felt a real honour. He said that
the challenge of the role was to do a good job
representing the School and its pupils and being slick
about it too.
Mrs Chapman asked what sort of lasting memories
Matthew and Bella had during their time at St Peter’s
School. Matthew said that although he joined the
school in Year Four he really felt that he had so many
happy memories of the place already and he had been
pleased to make so many friends so quickly. Bella said
that starting in Reception Class meant that she had so
many great memories it was tricky to know which ones
to draw upon but the one that was closest to her heart
was having an item of her work printed in an early issue
of Key Moments.
Members of the School Council with the Headmistress
everyone else and not above them.
The advice our
current Head
Boy and Head
Girl give to
future
incumbents is:
always
remember that
you are on an
equal footing
with all the
pupils. You
may wear a
special badge
but you are still
equal to
Eco Committee
We welcomed Zavier Warne, Rupert Fray, Angel
Kuveya, Tasmin Crabtree, Aryan Nath, Joshua Thorp
and Harriet Dunn to their positions of responsibility
as Eco Committee members. Last year’s Eco
Committee finished off the year by presenting the
School with an Eco Code to follow, so this year’s
new committee members will be taking on the task
of monitoring the Eco Code’s implementation.
Mrs Chapman thinks these are incredibly wise words!
We look forward to Bella and Matthew completing their
year as Head Boy and Head Girl with their Founders Day
Vote of Thanks.
The School Council
This year’s School Council has continued the sterling
work of last year’s elected members. They have led the
way in raising funds for Children In Need, and have also
ensured that all classes and pupils views are requested
and considered carefully before final decisions are
taken. School Councillors are currently looking into
ideas for supporting Kettering General Hospital’s George
the Giraffe Appeal, aimed to raise funds for a new
incubator for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They
will be consulting their Class Councils and hopefully
taking lots of fundraising ideas to School Council
Meetings.
38
We will look after the World because
We will make a better job of recycling paper, glass, foil, tins
We will find more ways to reuse things
We will pick up litter
We will make better use of our playground and class bins
We will use water carefully
We will turn off lights in empty rooms
We will learn more about how to look after our world
ST PETER’S SCHOOL PTA
Thanks to the sterling work of a small group of parents, a
large number of PTA events have taken place with the
support of staff at the School, aimed to provide fun and
school find-raising opportunity.
Over the last twelve
months there has
been an Easter
Bunny Drive, a
Father’s Day Gift
Workshop and one
more recently for
Mother’s Day
Also a very well attended PTA Harvest Supper, the ever
All parents of pupils at the School are automatically
members of the PTA. If you have not helped out at an
event before, please consider doing so, because the
future of PTA events really does depend upon parents
getting involved and lending a hand. Support your PTA
because you are part of it!
39
popular Ghost Hunt
and the Christmas
Fayre.
The money raised
from these events
has helped towards
the funding of many
School projects over
the years - including
this year’s Egyptian
History Day
(see front cover)
40
MORE PICTURES FROM KEY STAGE TWO’S EGYPTIAN DAY
Weighing the heart