Well, we are nearly there. Just 2 and a half days to go. Where has the time gone !!

Everyone now knows who their teacher will be in September and has met them but before we even think about that we have the Summer holidays !!!!!

I am being very optimistic with the above pictures, but I am willing the rain to stop and the sun to start shining. We can all hope !!!

Sports day was a great hit - lots of fun was had by all. Thank you to Miss Slann and Mr Hautler for organising such a superb day. I just have to drop in that Ash Blue won, could this have been because they had such a great team captain  - The trophy is in my room if any of the other teachers would like to have a look at it !

Anyway, what has been going on this week at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School this week?

RM - Mrs McIntosh - RM have had quiet a busy week! We started the week off with our (long-awaited!) trip. We had such a fantastic time and kids were brilliant. Their behaviour was impeccable and they really were a credit to our school. We played in the sand, the park, had a picnic, played on the pirate ship and finished the day off with an ice-cream! I'm not sure why - but none of the children slept on the coach journey back to school!!! The children all did a lovely piece of writing about the trip on Tuesday.

RW - Mrs Weston - RW had a fabulous trip to Maldon park on Monday. The weather was very kind to us and the children (who were all very well behaved)  had a thoroughly enjoyable day. A great big thank you to all the parents who gave up their time to come on the trip. Your help was very much appreciated. Upon our return we all talked about then wrote about our favourite part of the trip. We also had Sports day this week and again, the children behaved well and took part with a great deal of enthusiasm. Again, thank you to the parents who supported Sports Day. The children loved your encouragement and had a fun time seeing you there. Next Tuesday afternoon we will be having an end of term party for the children. There will be a list asking for donations of food and drink so if parents can provide anything, can they please sign up. Many thanks.

1B - Mrs Barrington - It's all been happening this week in more ways than one.  Class 1B have still got a busy timetable of activities.  The names and dates are on our classroom door.  The children are putting the finishing touches to their treasure boxes and will be able to take them home on the last day of term.

Please note we shall be collecting all the reading books in on Friday.  May l take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work and efforts towards your child's reading. 

As this is our last blog prior to breaking up for that lovely long summer holiday all l can say is ENJOY!  

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - We have continued our seaside activities this week by making super seaside or underwater picture jigsaw puzzles, thinking about dangers when playing on the beach and we have continued to make our seaside puppet theatres.  Sports Day was fun with everyone trying their best to do sports skills. Thanks to all the families who could come and cheer us on. On Monday we are hoping for good weather so that our trip to the beach will be great fun. Watch out crabs, class  2/1 D is coming to investigate your habitat!

 

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hi everybody!

 

I cannot believe that this is my last blog of the school year! It has gone really quickly and it had been most enjoyable. I am really looking forward to teaching you all again next year. You have been great fun, worked very hard and achieved well.

We have got a lovely, fun few days to look forward to next week. With our trip to the beach and our party on Tuesday.

 

Have a great weekend and I hope that you all have a fabulous summer holiday! 

 

Miss Bernard x

 

3S - Miss Slann - Well well well, it is THE END !!!! We have had a very fraught, chaotic week getting the play ready for today. I think it was all worth it though as I'm sure you will agree, the children were true stars!! I hope you all enjoyed the performance and could hear everything that was being said. Well done to all of the children, especially Brachiosarus who waddled down the aisle extremely well! It has been a really lovely year and I have enjoyed teaching all of you. You are all ready for Year 4 now and I wish you luck as 4B. Thanks to all of the parents for your support over the past year, I may bump into you in Dubai if you're on holiday!

 

3P - Mrs Peacher - With the end of year fast approaching we are extremley busy finishing off projects and sorting out our classroom for next year. A big well done to all of the children for their fabulous dinosaur assembly. On Monday Miss Slann and I did not think that it would be going ahead but with lots of hard work and effort from all involved the kids managed to put on a great performance. A special well done to the fabulous Mrs Jones & Mrs Jones who created all of the props and costumes, I don't think even they knew how creative they could be!

 

4AB - Mr Bird + Mrs Amran - We have been able to move on rapidly since the news was released about who would be teaching the children in year 5, as the class change did not require quite as much arranging for us this year.They are already thinking about the sort of things they will be involved in when they take on their new identity and are generally keen to meet the challenges.

 

The first one came this morning ( Friday) when the children arrived to find that we had moved all their new chairs and desks in. Some of them found it difficult to reach the floor with their feet at first but soon settled down when they realised that a bigger chair was a bit of a status symbol.

 

This last blog of year 4 marks the end of all the hard work done by all the children in the class since September. They have all made achievements they should be proud of and the advances in reading have been superb. Clearly reading is an area where the children benefit enormously from carrying out the activity at home as well and we would like to thank all those parents, carers and relatives who give time to help their children make this progress.

 

We would like to thank you all for the support you have given us regarding the different activities we have done over the past academic year.

The last two and a half days are non school uniform and if you would like to send any snack type food and suitable drinks in for the children's year 4 party, it will be held on Tuesday afternoon. 

 

Please continue to encourage your children to read throughout the holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again next school year.

 

4B - Miss Bolton - Coming soon.....

 

5J - Mrs Johnston - It is official.  A miracle has been bestowed upon 5J.  Mrs Johnston is ready to change classrooms a whole day early!!  We have been really busy this week (helping Mrs J. clear her Mary Poppins cupboard) what with the wonderful activities organised; swimming and our delicious barbeque.  We are really proud of your behaviour around the cooking area - at last you are ready for year 6.

Remember to wear sensible clothes on Monday for our trip to Adventure Island, oh yes, and sun cream, hats and some lunch. Also a fleece if it is chilly.  If you are in Mrs Lawler's group (or want to be) you must remember a big smile :o).  Have a great weekend - have a great summer.  Relax, rest, enjoy yourselves and stay safe.  We will both miss you next year and are really proud of you all, what brilliant people you are growing into!

 

Mr Duff - 5D - Swimming in the outdoor pool at Blenheim Primary on Monday (a quick thank you to Helen in the office over there, you were a great help). Tasting fruits from around the world on Tuesday. I lost count the amount we all tasted but for me dragon fruit was the oddest looking, inside and out. Making burgers with Mr Hautler on Wednesday. I know he was very impressed with you and you got a chance to be taught by next years teacher which was good. BBQ on Thursday, cooking the burgers you made and I have to say they were lovely, good job. I have never done a bbq for 60 people, so it was also something new for me. Another quick thank you for the parents that attended. Friday we watched Year 3's play about dinosaurs, excellent!! So a fantastic week was had by all.

 

Next week we have Adventure Island on Monday and then our end of term party on Tuesday afternoon. Monday, the coaches are coming at about 10:15 for a 10:30 departure. Parents are most welcome.

 

Well 5D what can I say. Having taught you for nearly two years now I can honestly say I have been extremely lucky to have had such a lovely class. I will miss every single one of you and please pop and say hello to me when you are settled in Year 6. I know you are going to enjoy being in Mr Hautler's class and I wish you all the very best of luck. I am sad to see you go  but very happy to see the children that you have become .

 

Last but no mean least, a huge thank you to all the parents this year, you have been a great help, very supportive and it is very much appreciated.

 

Enjoy your Summer holiday, have fun and be safe.

 

Year 6 - Nearly there! This week, whilst preparing to finish off all our last bit and pieces of work, we have still been working hard on our goodbye assembly.....and what a tear-jearker it is! May I remind parents that those who wish to attend the assembly should arrive before 9.30am when the performance starts. Additionly, as we will be bringing work home, can pupils please bring in plastic bags. Thanks to all those who supported the football game last Friday and were lucky enough to witness our crushing of Leigh North Street 4-2! Big thanks to Mr Lloyd for his superb management skills! Also to Mrs Mclauchlan, Mr Martin, Mr Rice and Mr Hautler for their support. Finally, thanks to all the parents who have contributed over the last school year, your efforts do not go unnoticed......and for everyone in year 6......good luck for the future!

 

Play update:

Well, we are nearly at the end of year 6.We have rehearsed the play in its entirety a couple of times. The children are super!! The singing needed a little input this week, but now that sounds good. Costumes have been the headache this week. There has been much nagging by me and sorting out of outfits. We still might not have everyone clothed by the weekend!!!! Mr Martin has been super at making props- wait to you see some of them! I hope the show is as good as I believe it could be. Parents remember to bring along some tissuesf or laughing and crying!!!

I have not only enjoyed this production but my whole year with the children- but don't tell them!!!

Mrs Chatterton

 

Well even though the show is nearly over for another year, you can see by the above blog entries that lots is still happening around the school and this will continue next week, albeit a short one.

This will be the last blog entry from the teachers for this school year, but I will post a final entry on Wednesday.

 

Enjoy your weekend

Signed Southend United Football

to be won !!

Plus gold footballs and white footballs as prizes as well !!

How can we win? Simple, buy a raffle ticket !

Tickets cost £1 per strip and are available from the office

Good luck !!

So what has been happening at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School this week?

 RW - Mrs Weston - RW have implemented lots of literacy and numeracy activities this week. We have written our news, listed things we will need for our Maldon trip and written about fruits we like and dislike to taste after a tasting session in the classroom. We have ordered numbers, compared numbers and completed addition and subtraction sums. We are very much looking forward to our trip on Monday and hope that the weather holds this time!

 RM - Mrs McIntosh - Firstly, can I say a big thank you to the parents for being so understanding about postponing the trip - fingers crossed for Monday!!

 1B - Mrs Barrington - Whilst time is running out, class 1B haven't slowed down.  We have been busy writing instructions for different games.  It has taken as a while but we have finally finished.  Some of our classroom games have been numeracy based and the children have enjoyed playing snakes and ladders both as a board game and on the interactive whiteboard.  It is good to see the old traditional games being played by this generation of children.   With our gift of £20 we  decided as a class to have ice cream and decorations.  This should happen next week sometime.  Please note we have finished our weekly spellings as a class.

 2/1D - Mrs Dutton - A great week for working together as a team! Together we have learnt our words and actions, designed costumes, made props and thought about special effects for our assembly on the Great Fire of London. Our assembly was fabulous on Friday, well done everyone. We have also designed and started to make a seaside board game and a puppet theatre, We have found out about Southend-on-Sea in the past and we are designing a postcard as if we lived 100 years age. No, Mrs Dutton was not alive then! 

 2/1B - Mrs Bernard - Hi everybody!

 

I can't believe that next week is our last full week. I am looking forward to having a fun end of term. This week the children have been finishing off their non-fiction books about sea animals and they have done very well. They were creating their covers today and they are looking beautiful. They were also working hard on some seaside based multiplication problem solving. It was not easy, but they all tried very hard.

 

We had our final dress rehearsal for Friday's class assembly, which was brilliant. I am a very proud of all the children in both 2/1B and 2/1D for the hard work they have put into their performance, you are going to be great!

 

We have a fun week ahead of us next week. We will be having our class swaps, Sports Day and as well as making ice cream we have lots of other fun things planned. If you have any ideas of things that you would like to do in class children, just let me know.

 

Enjoy your weekend!! - Miss Bernard

 

 3S - Mrs Peacher - This week some of the children had a very exciting time performing in Joseph alongside the cast from Jay'C Drama House. The children did a fantastic job and I am very proud of them all. Well done !! Go, go, go year 3!!!

 

4B - Miss Bolton - I can't believe where the time is going, the end of the school year is creeping up fast now! I like to start early with end of year jobs and 4B have been busy bee's this week with 'finishing off' work. They always do me proud with this as what is usually an arduous job, always gets done and with a smile by the class. We are on track to get ALL work finished by Monday.

My end of year teacher jobs are also getting done, so I'm really looking forward to enjoying the last week or so with the children and having some fun!

Unfurtunately last week, I was off ill, so the Kentwell Hall photos didn't get put up on the blog. So apologies for the delay, here they are.

 

 4AB - Mr Bird + Mrs Amran - The children started the week by going through their reports, discussing the levels achieved and adding their own comments about how they felt they had done in year 4. This period of reflection is inevitably linked to thinking about the future and they tried very hard to extract information about who their class teacher would be in year 5. Fortunately it was possible to distract them with some Tudor topic work, olympic averages and an excellent performance of 'Joseph' at the Westcliff Hotel. The class want to pass on their congratulations to all the Darlinghurst children and staff who were involved in the production.

Our work on averages for sporting data has produced some superb results, with many of the children really coming to the fore by demonstrating a newfound confidence in this concept. With the Tudor work coming to a close soon the children are still producing some high quality work and have clearly enjoyed the topic.

We hope that once the reports have been opened and details of year 5 are known they will all be ready for the final preparation for entering their new school year.

 

 5J - Mrs Johnston - 5J are still sewing!  Some of the class have finished their panels for our British Isles banner, the end is in sight!

5J have been practising their persuasive language both in writing letters to a newspaper editor and then in debate.  They then took their skills and used them in a real life situation, trying to persuade their teachers to change their minds! 

Next week will be action packed with many exciting activities. WE ARE GOING SWIMMING ON MONDAY - THEY NEED THEIR SWIM SUITS AND TOWELS!  We will be back at the end of the day, if we are late, it will only be by 5 or 10 minutes.

SPORTS DAY IS ON WEDNESDAY - REMEMBER COLOURED T-SHIRTS - SEE NEWS AND VIEWS.

 

 5D - Mr Duff - As the end of term approaches, we are still full steam ahead with enthusiasm. You have been great all week with the numerous different tasks we have been doing. A huge thank you to Elouize's mum for a superb drumming session and another big thank you to Daniel's dad for an excellent harmonica lesson. Next week we have the activities that you all wanted. Remember we are swimming on Monday !

 

 Year 6 - Well this week saw the whole of year 6 watching the production for the first time, this included Mr Martin and Mr Hautler. Previously the children had only seen their own scene. We also got the children into their seating for the production. So far so good!!!

Not long to go !! Let's enjoy it !!

 

Don't forget the raffle !

 

Have a good weekend

There are a group of people that put a lot of time and effort into supporting our school and last weeks fantastic Summer fair was just one example of what these people achieve for us.

They are of course, drum roll......... The Darlinghurst PTA  ........Huge cheers !!

So a great big THANK YOU goes out to each and everyone of you, for the time you give up to help our school, for the money you raise and for

being a pro-active successful school's PTA. Well done, we do appreciate it.

If you would like to read more about our PTA, who's in it, how to join, then click here. They even have their own blog !!

 

Year 3 visited the Natural History Museum this week and by the sounds of it they had a great time. I will not spoil what they did, as you can read about this on 3S and 3P's blog but if you would like to read more about the Natural History Museum, click here

 

Year 5 met the Mayor, the local MP and Lee Mead !!!! - Again, not want to spoil anyone's blog entry I will keep it brief. All I will say is that Mrs Chatterton is still swooning     

 

Year 6 visited their secondary school. As some of the visits were today, I don't have much feedback on this. All I will say is that I hope they all went well and there is nothing to worry about !

Wow !! What a start to the blog !! What else has happened around Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School this week?

 

RW - Mrs Weston - This week, RW have shared the book, 'The Rainbow Fish'. We had a circle time all about sharing and discussed how like the rainbow fish, we can make friends when we share. In Numeracy this week we have been continuing with our addition and subtraction using a number line to jump forwards or back and in Litearcy, we have written our weekend news and continued to write sentences with our revised digraphs in (ie, igh, oa, ou, etc). We have also carried out some great science investigations to do with absorption, testing a range of materials to see which worked best and watching red dye travel up a stick of celery as it was absorbed. Finally, we have looked at the senses, recording which things we like and dislike to smell and have also sorted clothing to suit different weathers.

RM - Mrs McIntosh - This week we have been looking at things that do and don't absorb water, like celery (we dyed the water red so the children could see the water travel up the celery stick) and and assortment of materials (paper, cloths, plastic) etc - the children seemed to really enjoy it! They have continued to try and work independently in literacy and numeracy, and many have surpsrised themselves! Well done everybody!

Next Wednesday is our trip to Maldon - we are all very excited! If any parents have any questions, please feel free to come and see me. Have a lovely weekend everyone - only 12 1/2 school days to go!!!!! : - ) 

1B - Mrs Barrington - After having such an exciting trip to Old Leigh and receiving such a complimentary letter from a member of the public, class 1B are super stars.  We wrote recounts about our trip and instructions on how to make a sandcastle.  We have almost finished our treasure boxes and they should be ready to take home at the end of term.  In numeracy we have been working out how to give change which is always important.  Next week we shall continue with our instruction writing.

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hi Everybody!!

It has been a bit of a strange week beacuse we have been rehearsing for our Class Assembly, so we haven't had a chance to complete anything. However, I am really pleased with the enthusiasm the the children have shown towards writing and compiling information for their non-fiction Sea Animals books.The children are still bringing in books from home and artefacts for our seaside display. Well done children, keep it up!!

Mrs Dutton and I are also very pleased with the way you are performing in rehearsals. We only started on Monday and it is really coming together, great singing!!

 

I know that it is a difficult time of year both for myself and the children, it is hard to stay focussed. But I must say that the children have, on the whole, remained on task and are still working hard to achieve their best.I am looking forward to having a fun time with them over the next few weeks.

 

Have a great weekend. - Miss Bernard

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - What a great week we have had with our learning! In Numeracy we have been concentrating hard to double and halve numbers and shapes. In our writing we have been finding out facts about a seaside animal and using sub headings to write a report about it and we used our computer skills to draw a picture too. We have also had fun making up short dramas about seaside animals and using finger puppets and a puppet theatre to perform our dramas. We are also making props and costumes for our assembly next Friday, using ideas from all the children in our class. We have enjoyed good team work to do this.

 

3P - Mrs Peacher - This week year 3 and the rainbow room went on their trip to The Natural History Museum. We caught the train which was a new experience for some of the children and I must say it is a much better way to travel than by coach! The whole trip was a real success and I would like to thank all of the parents that came along to help. The trip was to mark the end of our dinosaur project which the children have all thoroughly enjoyed.

 

3S - Miss Slann - OH MY GOODNESS!!! What a brilliant week we've had walking with real dinosaurs!!! Well may be they weren't real but the fossils that we saw were and we saw the actual fossils that Mary Anning found in Lyme Regis. It was a fabulous day and the children all behaved extremely well. The train journey went very smoothly and got us there just in time for us to be Dino scientists, I must say all the mums looked very fetching in the lab coats!!! Some of the children wanted to comment on the trip:

 

- "I enjoyed the trip because I saw a giant T-Rex with blood dripping off of its teeth!" Harry

- " I loved the trip because it was very interesting and helped me learn more about dinosaurs." Chloe

- " My favourite part of the museum was the big T-Rex that moved because it kept staring at me, I've got a photo to remind me of how scary it was." Amie

- " It was scary when I saw the T-Rex roaring at me and I really enjoyed the train ride up there." Amber

- "The moving T-Rex looked very life-like but it didn't scare me. The building was a massive, big place and I would like to go there again." Kyle

- " My favourite bit was in the earthquake section where the room started shaking. I also liked the gift shop and bought a Dino writing book and pen." Tash

 

A big thanks to all of the helpers on the day, I hope we didn't wear you out too much!!!

 

4AB - Mr Bird + Mrs Amran -With the fine weather and hot conditions this week the children have shown a high level of tolerance and made a real effort to produce some more good work on the Tudors and Olympics. Their behaviour has been very good but they assure us that it was nothing to do with the fact we were writing their reports. Creative talents have been tested both with some drama work on a potted presentation about Henry VIII and his wives and some designing skills for a 2012 Olympic medal.On the sports front they have all enjoyed taking part in team games and they are realising that a proper change of clothing is essential. We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of bringing in PE kit and appropriate footwear throughout the week please.

The children are now the proud carers of a colony of stick insects which were kindly donated by one of the staff's sons. They are very interested about monitoring them and I am sure the new arrivals will soon get used to several faces appearing at the tank each morning. 

 

5J - Mrs Johnston - Fantastique! Eight children from 5J joined teams from 8 other schools on Thursday at the Focus Centre, Southend, to take part in a celebration of language.  The various schools sang songs in French, German, Spanish and Italian.  Our team had the nerve-tingling task of going first.  They set a high standard and received compliments from the judges for their singing and choreography.  Needless to say, they behaved beautifully.

 

Other members of the class joined Mrs Chatterton and Mrs Lawler at the opening of the medical centre.  Oh, I think Lee Mead was there too!

 

Mr Rotherham spent Wednesday morning with us, helping Year 5 with their team building skills.

 

All parents/carers need to make sure you have searched your child's belongings for a very important letter regarding trips and fun activities for the weeks ahead.  Please note all money needs to be in by WEDNESDAY 9th July for the fun to go ahead.

 

5D - Mr Duff - You sound like you enjoyed your trip to the New Medical Centre at the top of Pavilion Drive as I heard comments like "Mr Duff, the Mayor had a huge gold chain" and "Lee Mead touched my head" !!! As places for adults were limited and we had to literally fight off Mrs Chatterton , I decided my time was better spent at school. But it sounds like a good time was had by all !!

 

Mr Rotherham certainly had his hands full when he took the whole year group for a team building session on Wednesday. There was lots of activities, mess and noise, so again it sounds like another good time had by all !! Well done

 

We have got a fantastic week of fun planned for the end of Year 5, all is explained on the note that was sent home today. The very important part is that all the money has to be handed in by Wedneday 9th July. We will make a decision on the monies recieved on the Thursday whether or not we carry out the planned activities. I hope we do !!

 

Less than 13 school days left - Let's make the most of them     

 

Year 6 play update - Costumes are now beginning to come in for the production. The dances are well and truly in place. We are now tiring to find a time in the hall when no one else is rehearsing, but year 6 children are resourceful and can practice anywhere!!!

 

So even though we are nearing the end of term, you can see that the hussle and bussle of Darlinghurst is still very much going on.

 

I am sure the next two week and a half weeks will be much of same !!

 

Have a good weekend

 

Apologises for the last update of the Darlinghurst Blog this week, this was simply due to not having the time on Friday afternoon as I was, as many of you saw, on the coconut shy at the superb Summer fair.

I will keep the intro for last week's blog brief, so I can just get it updated and I will not mention the Summer fair again, as this will be the topic for this week's blog - are you keeping up !!

So, what has been happeing at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School this week?

RM - Mrs McIntosh - This week RM have been practicing working independently. They have done a great job!!! We have done either a numeracy or a literacy activity first thing in the morning and then another activity based around science/knowledge and understanding of the world. The children have happily had a go at their activity and been ready to assist each other if needed! What great team building! It's not long now until the children will be in year 1 so can I ask parents to continue to work with their children at home with phonics/reading/writing of sentences and of course any number/shape/adding and subtracting they can with their children to really consolidate all we have done this year. Thank you! - Have a great weekend everybody - Mrs M 

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hello everybody!!

 

Thanks goodness the SATS assessments are all over now! Well done to all of you. I am very proud of you.The Numeracy results for this year have been brilliant. I am thinking up some nice treats for you all towards the end of term and, of course we have got our lovely trip to the seaside to look forward to.

 

We have carried on the theme of poetry this week. The children have had great fun making up riddles for each other and for me. Even Samuel Fasey in Yr6 gave one to his sister, Charlotte for us to make a guess at. I got it wrong!! Clever clogs!!

 

We have had some seaside logical problem solving to do, which the children had great fun with. Boris, the teddy was off to Spain and he had packed four pairs of shorts and three to-shirts in various colours to take with him He did not want to wear the same out-fit twice. The children had to work out how many days he spent away on holiday. They really enjoyed this.

 

Next week the children are making their own non-fiction books about sea animals. I know that they are always enthusiastic about non-fiction and book making so I am looking forward to next week.

 

I hope you all have fun at the summer fete? - Enjoy your weekend! - Miss Bernard

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - Unfortunately, our last two butterflies have not emerged but we have been remembering the ones we did release last week .We have had a great fun week for more riddles and limericks and we have had a go at writing our own word searches using seaside words. We have been remembering our times tables and counting in 2's, 5's and 10's and have been looking at the pattern made by the 11 times table on the 100 square. We are lookinh forward to the Summer Fete and have worked really hard to win the fill the cups prize!!!! Thanks to all the families who sent in their child's cup full of goodies. Have fun at the fete.

 

3P - Mrs Peacher - What a manic day 3P have had! We have been using pneumatics to make moving dinosaurs. The children have made all sorts of wonderful creations from wooly mammoths to nests of hatching T'Rex eggs. In maths this week the children have been practicing telling the time and so there is now excuse for being late for school! Don't forget the school trip next wednesday. The children will need a packed lunch in a plastic bag and will need to be wearing smart school uniform. The gift shop is quite expensive so the children can bring up to £5 with them.

 

4B - Miss Bolton - Last Friday Year 4 went to Kentwell Hall, we had a fantastic day from the moment we went through the time tunnel and were transported back to Tudor England! Our first test was to pass the gates without being accused of being Spanish spies! Luckily we made it, even though Mr Lloyd and Miss Bolton looked very suspicious! Once inside we were amazed at the world around us, we used the Tudor money we had changed up to buy biscuits and fish food and strolled around the Kentwell estate talking to the peasants and nobility. We saw archery (which was very scary for some children!), we watched a bullet being made which we were allowed to hold, we visited the kitchens and helped make some real Tudor food and we listened to a strange man playing a hurdy-gurdy! At one point a Spanish spy was spotted in the grounds and the guards chased him and took him away to be punished…….we think he had his head chopped off! The whole day was brilliant and we would like to thank all those who helped make it happen by supporting our fundraising activities, also many thanks to the teachers and LSA’s who lent a hand on the day. If the trip is a good next year then all those in Year 3 have lots to look forward to!  Ed and Anna  - 4B

 

5J - Mrs Johnston - It's been a hot week with lots of assessment going on and the class have coped brilliantly.  We have also been  learning French songs to show to the school in Mrs Johnston's assembly on Tuesday.  We are still working on our very ambitious textile project of the British Isles which is progressing well.  Most of the class were introduced to the frustrations and joys of chain stitching this week. With a little perseverance the cries of, "I can't do it!" changed to, "I can do it!" 

 

Last week I visited our new partner school in Cannes. (They have asked me to write in English.) Here is a special message for them:

 

Hello, La Croisette,

It was very good to meet you last week when I visited with Mr Knight.  Your school looks lovely and we look forward to working with you next year.  Enjoy your holidays - we are still at school until the 23rd July!

Best wishes

Mrs Johnston

PS You can send a reply through the ASK THE TEACHER box on the website.

5D - Mr Duff - This week was the tale of two halves ! First half, testing. Second half, creative. Well done for focusing and concentrating during your tests. You were fantastic and your results showed that! The mosaics that you were made with Mr and Mrs Siggins were nothing short of superb. I cannot wait until they are displayed in the New Medical Centre at the end of Pavilion Drive. Next week we are looking at the elements of debate. Oh, no we're not, oh yes we are. Are we at the panto?

 

6HC - Mr Hautler + Mrs Chatterton - This week in science we have been investigating what conditions woodlice prefere. .

This week in literacy we have been writing rhyming and non rhyming poems about monsters.The children in Mr Martin's litercay class had a teacher for the lesson called Mr Yellop.

This week in rehersals we have been working hard to get our play spot on. There are only a couple of weeks untill we leave and we put on the big show.(its good)

On Wednesday the whole class of 6HC went to the bungalow in groups of 7 to do mosaics.

This week we finished our shape translations. They look great. Everyone is a different colour.

This week Mrs Canel put all new borders up with all of our new work on. Our class is a very colourful room - Penny and Kees

Update on play - This week we have incorporated the dances into the scenes and singing parts by groups of children. As the days progress, the children themselves are thinking of little extras to add on that are really good.So far so good!!!

 

So a very busy week had by all !!

Sorry the blog is not it's usual self this week - back to normal next !!

 

Have fun !

We are the champions !!!

Borough Sports - Winners yet again !!

This is getting boring now !! - This is the fifth year in a row that we have walked away with the main prize from the Borough Sports. Really well done to all the children that took part, all the helpers and of course, Miss Slann and Mr Hautler. Fantastic job !! Is this where we start to sing "we are the champions" !!

Read more about the Borough Sports in the News and Views - click here

 

Year 5 visited the R.N.L.I. based at the end of Southend Pier this week.

Being in Year 5 myself I was lucky enough to go and what a super day it was. The talk given by Captain Brian Wood was very informative and the children were entranced. They asked very detailed questions, some of which even stumped Captain Wood, this proved that the children took a very keen interest in what was going on.

It also made me think about the fantastic job that these guys do. They are kind of the forgotten emergency service and I think that, being in the location that we live in (by the sea!), it would be good if we could support them in anyway we can. Captain Wood also said that Southend was the 2nd busiest location in the UK, only a few rescues behind the number one busiest station. My hat goes off to them.

A big thank you to Mr Bird for organising it for Year 5 - Read more about what the R.N.L.I. do here

Also, not having been down to the end of Southend pier for a very long time, can I just say it is well worth the walk, or actaully the short train ride! So if you are thinking about something to do this weekend, this maybe a good option. Read more about Southend pier here

 

Kentwell Hall

Year 4 visited Kentwell Hall this week. I will not spoil what they got up to, you will have to read about that on 4B and 4AB's blog, all I will say is that you all looked superb. If you want to read more about Kentwell Hall click here

 

So, what else has been happening this week at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School?

 

RM - Mrs McIntosh - This week RM have been looking at another book called "Jack and the dreamsack" - ask your children what Jack saw! We have also been talking about what we wore and did when we were babies. We are encouraging the children to work a little bit more independently and in a structured manner, in order to prepare them a little bit for yr1 - so far it's be a bit of a shock to them, but I am sure they will continue to try their hardest! Thanks to all the parents for your swift response and money for the trip to Maldon - the children are all very excited! Have a great weekend! Mrs McIntosh

RW - Mrs Weston - RW have had a good week looking at the book, 'Jack and the Dreamsack' and writing about something strange that they may see in their dreams! We have also continued to build and match sentences, discussed the clothes that we used to wear when we were younger and have been working on the language of 'greater than' in Numeracy.

1B - Mrs Barrington - Coming soon....

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hello everybody!

We have had a really productive week. The children have had their brains switched on and have done very well with their multiplication and division activities. They have also had great fun making up their own tongue twisters and nonsense rhymes. Next week we will be looking at and writing riddles based on the seaside. See if you can find some examples of riddles in books and on the internet, children?

 

I am also very pleased with the enthusiasm and positive approach the children have shown towards their DT and Art activities. In Art the children have etched seaside patterns onto a wooden tile and painted them, using colours associated with the sea. Next week they will be adding collage then the tiles will be put together to make a whole class picture. In DT they have been gathering materials to make a pair of sunglasses. Their designs look like they are going to be very colourful and fun.

 

Have a great weekend! - Miss Bernard

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - We have had an exciting time with our 'Butterfly Watch' - three butterflies have emerged from their chrysalis and we have watched them walking up the sides of their house, flying around it and drinking the sugar water with their proboscic.On Friday morning we released these butterflies and will wait to see if the other two butterflies emerge too.  In our writing time we have had great fun making up tongue twisters and riddles about seaside creatures and in Numeracy we have been finding out more about division and multiplication, especially the 2 and 5 times tables. We worked very hard!  

 

3S - Miss Slann - Well we have had a real whirl wind of a week, mainly due to the fact that you have had a bit of a part time teacher as I was off on courses and organising the Borough Sports! Well done for coping with lots of different teachers and still managing to produce some great work. I love your dino shape poems that you have now finished, they look really effective and you have used lots of alliteration - they're fab! You have also created some super imaginary dinosaurs by looking at their skeletons and then adding in your own special adaptations. I'm also really impressed with your knowledge and interest in how fossils are formed, I think we may have some future paleantologists in 3S. Lastly I want to say a massive congratulations to Jade Anglum, Matthew Jordan, Josh Howe, Timmy Miller, Henry Swan and Caleb Daly who represented our class in the Borough Sports, they all performed extremely well and worked hard to achieve a huge amount of points to go to the overall score - we have got some grrrreat athletes in Year 3, well done!!!!

 

4B - Miss Bolton - I'm having to write this a day earlier today as we're finally off to Kentwell Hall tomorrow. Both staff and children are very excited and hoping the weather is kind to us.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you at home for your support with putting together Tudor costumes for your children. It really is appreciated and will go a long way to the full learning experience of the day at Kentwell.

This week we have learnt a little more about the everyday lives of poor Tudors. With our Olympics topic, found out about some of Britains great Olympic athletes and more about the designs of the emblems and mascots being used in Beijing. I am really noticing at the moment how much the class have progressed this year as the work they are producing at the moment is superb. Well done 4B!

 

4AB - Mrs Amran + Mr Bird - This has been a very eventful week with some memorable moments both on the sporting and history fronts.

The year 4 children who participated in the Borough Sports shared their experience with the rest of the class and they received support and congratulations from everybody.

Finally after lots of preparation of costumes, research of the Tudor times and a steady increase in the level of excitement, the day of our visit to Kentwell arrived. The children looked brilliant in their various Tudor costumes and the experience really did bring history to life for them. Once again it was a pleasure to take them on a very different and extremely enjoyable visit which I am sure they will have great memories of for many years.

Thank you year 4 for the way you represented your school both in the Borough Sports and the Kentwell visit.

The chldren and I would also like to thank the other staff members who joined us for the Kentwell visit and helped to make it a real success.

 

5J - Mrs Johnston - What a great week we had 5J!  We had a fantastic visit to the lifeboat station at the end of Southend Pier on Monday.  Captain Wood was really helpful, telling us so much about the boats and the crew.  Don't forget to take your families to their open day at the end of June!  It has been an odd week with little bits and bobs here and there, you have coped really well.  Don't forget to be ready for our Coast Guard Station next week.

 

5D - Mr Duff - What a trip the R.N.L.I. day out was !! A huge thank you to Captain Brian Wood for a fantastic, informative talk and another huge thank you to Mr Bird for organising the trip. I think a good day out was had by all that went. I think we all slept well that evening. My feet were killing me !! We have worked hard on your reading comprehension this week with very pleasing results. Keep that up !! Having had Mr Yellop in our class most of the week, it was really good to hear that he thought we were a good class that picked up things well. Your rendition of "The Farmers In His Den" but in French was excellent. A special well done to both the Peters for your duet !! The class enjoyed that. You have had a super week, only another 23 schools day left, let's make the most of them.

 

6HC - Mr Hautler + Mrs Chatterton - This week we have been so worried about how we were going to do in the borough sports.But all the training that we've done has all come together and  we've managed to win the borough sports. The children all worked very hard and persevered with what they had to do. We now have won it for 5 years in a row. We came 2nd in track and field and we came 1st in overall.

Sib and Ellana

 

Update on the play

Mr Hautler has now put all our music together, so this week we have been liking it to our scenes. nearly all of the children know their lines off by heart. The children are really taking on their roles with energy and enthusiasm. They are developing thier acting skills- watch out Eastenders!!!!!

The props are coming along well, but we will need some parent help in obtaining some.

 

6M - Mr Martin - I am Mr. Yellop, a visiting teacher. I spent the last five days at Darlinghurst and have nothing but praise for the kids. Darlinghurst boys and girls are polite, courteous and respectful, taking to tasks without delay or disaster. 6T focussed on poetry, creating monsters to delight and disturb. I was stunned by their abilities with regard to reading and writing verse. They should only do well in years to come.

 

So we have had a trips to the R.N.L.I. and Kentwell Hall for Years 5 and 4. A vistor from another school that had only praise for our children. Oh, and did I forget something, of course, silly me......

 

We are the Borough Sports Champions for the 5th Year running !!!

 

What a week !!!

 

More Euro 2008 this weekend, my Germany tip at the beginning of the tournament doesn't look to bad now !!

 

If you are getting bored of the footy though, don't worry it is only on for another 9 days.

Enjoy your weekend

Click here to read all about it - Raise money for Darlinghurst !

It costs nothing to join and you could win a signed Manchester United Football Shirt !

If you shop at any of these places - Then you could help !!

So what has been happening at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School this week?

RW - Mrs Weston -This week, RW have started their new topic of 'Adventure Books' and focussed on the John Burningham book, 'The Magic Bed'. We used props to re-tell the story in class, found classroom objects that weighed the same as our class magic bed and wrote about where we would go if we had a magic bed after discussing it in a circle time. We also had great fun on Thursday independently making our own sandwiches with healthy fillings inside. We wrote what those fillings were, told Mrs Weston on video what we had made and then drew pictures of our sandwiches.

 RM - Mrs McIntosh - We have had a very exciting first week back.  We have been sharing the story 'The Magic Bed' which is all about a boy called Georgie who has some wonderful adventures at night time visiting pirates and witches, cities and jungles as he travels on his magic bed. 

The children have written and drawn about where they might go if they had a magic bed. Ms Thompson took us on a 'Magic Carpet Ride' on the stage on the field.  The children all held on to their mats very tightly!!! 

 

We have made a wonderful display for the classroom about the story.  During numeracy we tried to find objects that were heavier and lighter than Georgies magic bed. 

 

We are very much looking forward to sharing another book next week - Mrs Cooper

 

1B - Mrs Barrington - Back to school this week and back to learning, with an exciting new topic The Seaside.  Class 1B have already made a start by looking at seaside poems in literacy.  Some of you may have had children with wet clothes due to our water work on capacity which has been good fun whilst promoting learning at the same time.  We have also been extra busy  putting together our class assembly which takes place on Friday 13th  June.  Hope to see you all there.

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - This half term our topic is the Seaside. We have really enjoyed our class story 'Tiddler' this week about a story telling fish and we have written our own stories about underwater creatures. We have thought about different places we love to visit in Southend and in other countries and we have designed our own sunglasses. In Numeracy we have been adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers and in Science we  have been thinking about pushes and pulls and friction. We are also very excited about our class pets - we now have 5 caterpillars to watch feeding and growing. They have grown from 0.5cm to 3cm this week! We are waiting to see how long they will grow and what will happen next.

 

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hello Everybody!

 

I hope you have enjoyed your first week back after our half term holiday. I think i have found it quite difficult myself, have been particularly tired. Hopefully I'll perk up for the rest of the term.

 

This week we have started our "Seaside" topic. The children have been very enthusiastic. Thankyou very much to all the children who have contributed to our display. You have brought some very interesting items. Next week we are going to have an art afternoon which will involve turning our Role Play Area into an "Undersea World" and decorating our interactive display, which should be fun!

 

In Numeracy we are investigating time, so get practising at home children!! Most of you have been practising on thse class laptops this week, I hope it has helped!

 

Have a great weekend! - Miss Bernard

 

3S - Miss Slann - We have had a great start to our dinosaur topic this week by designing and writing about suitable outfits for Dinosaurland! We have been very imaginative and I'm sure that the owner will be very pleased with our ideas. We have some super hi tech designs with night vision, some interesting camouflaged outfits and even some that will fly over Dinosaurland! Everyone is very excited about the new things we will be learning about and especially going on our trip to the Natural History Museum in July - I can't wait either as it is such a great place to go! If any other parents are interested in coming please let me know asap. I would also like to say welcome and well done to Poppy and Lauren who have just joined our class, they have settled in very quickly and I hope they have enjoyed themselves. Have a good weekend and keep researching those Dino facts!

 

4B - Miss Bolton - You would think we've just come back from the 6 weeks holiday! 4B took till Wednesday to switch back onto school but we've got there in the end and we're back into the flow of learning.

This term the curriculum has been turned upside down and a more thematic approach is being taken. We have 2 main topics which each subject will be based around - Tudor Britain and the Olympic Games. Both have captured the children's interest and we are going great guns already with what we are learning about both.

The internet is proving to be an invaluable resource with some great interactive resources, videos and audio available for both topics.

The main ones we are using are: www.olympic.org and http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/tudors/ 

 

Our trip to Kentwell Hall is fast approaching and we gave out some tips for Tudor costumes this week. We are not ecpecting anyone to make costumes but hopefully the literature given out provides you with some ideas and ways in whcih you can adapt clothes you already own.

If you have any problems or want any more help or advice, feel free to come in and ask.

 

A final trip letter will be given out late next week with details of final arrangements.

 

4AB - Mr Bird + Mrs Amran - With the final break before summer fading into the past our preparation for the visit to Kentwell Hall has stepped up a notch. The children experienced the challenge of writing with a quill whilst supervised by a suitably attired Tudor teacher.  I think our visitors from Norway were a little confused at first as they were expecting to see a UK school using high tech equipment and were not quite sure where ink bottles and blotting paper fitted in. However, the class ensured that they received a potted briefing of events from the Battle of Bosworth up to the start of Henry VIII's time as monarch.

Our topic for the afternoons has focused on the Olympic games and after a little more practise the children should be able to provide you with any number of statistics about the 'Modern Olympic Games' and event records. Perhaps we have got a budding commentator for the 2012 games in our midst?

Please do not forget your book reviews for Monday.

 

5J - Mrs Johnston - Getting better by degrees, 5J!  Your protractor work is coming along nicely! But we still need some more practice. 

Thank you to all those who touched our hearts with your Nobody projects.

Remember to bring in a shoe box (or similar) to create your Hindu temple on Tuesday. 

We will be looking at the truth behind the story of Greyfriars Bobby next week, so if you want to find out about the characteristics of Skye terriers, that would be a great start for our work on Tuesday.

 

5D - Mr Duff - You have had a great week back and we have hit the round running. The capacity and angles work you did in maths was superb and any cobwebs that may have grown during half term were certainly blown away. Your Hindu designs are looking but please remember to bring in a shoe box so you can make them. We will be looking at the Greyfriars Bobby story next week and seeing what parts of the film were actaully true. If you want to continue practising the British National Anthem click here, it's a shame we won't be hearing it during Euro 2008 !! Have a good weekend.

 

6T - Mr Martin - We're full swing into our topic and what fun we're having! Already we have designed and made monster dioramas and we are making monster masks for our end of year production. You'd think we would be all monstered out but it doesn't stop there.On Monday we start making our monster soft toys- so if you have any fabric donations they would be more than welcome!

 

6HC - Mrs Chatterton + Mr Hautler - This week year 6 have started to rehearse for the end of term assembly. Children have been rehearsing each scene and learning the songs. Yesterday auditions took place for the dancing. 32 children wanted to take part as dancers! The children are all very enthusiastic.

 

So the first week back is over and it feels like we have never been away.

 

Euro 2008 is starting this weekend, read more about it here. Come on England, we are in it aren't we??

 

I think Germany will win it myself but who knows, does anyone care?

 

Have a good weekend

Feedback Needed !!   

As we are at the end of the Summer half term can I please ask readers of the Darlinghurst BLOG for some feedback please.

What do you think of it?

If you like or even dislike the way we do things, could you please let us know via our guestbook, which can be found here. Your opinions are important to us, it would be great to hear them.

Thank you very much    

So, what has been happening during the last week of half term at Darlinghurst Primary and Nursery School?

RW - Mrs Weston - RW have come to the end of our Patterns theme. This week, we made clay animals then painted them with their appropriate patterns. We played the 'Flower game' with our high frequency words and solved addition and subtraction problems involving numbers from 1-20. We sorted healthy and unhealthy foods into a Venn Diagram and talked about the physical exercise we could do to keep healthy. We also turned our role play area into a 'Bat cave' where we sit quietly and read books with torches.

RM - Mrs MacIntosh - RM have done lots of creative activities this week - they have made jungle animals out of clay and painted them and have also taken part in a competition where they drew a picture of themselves playing in our outdoor area. The children are really enjoying being outside so much in this lovely sunny but cooler weather.  RW and RM have also done music patterns this week, with instruments. I hope you have a lovely half term holiday and look forward to seeing you all for the last leg of the year!! Mrs McIntosh

1B - Mrs Barrington - We have really enjoyed our animal topic this term and have learnt so much..  We are really good  at reading animal poems and each of us has our own  favourite.  This week we also looked at bible stories from the old testament that included animals. The children have enjoyed  reading The Owl and the Pussy Cat  a classic poem written by Edward Lear.

To finish the week Mrs Thompson took the children outside for an animal picnic, this was really enjoyable and we have some great photos which will be on display at our class assembly on Fri 13th June. 

I have given each child a slip which explains what clothing will be needed for our class assembly.  If you have any problems getting the items please let me know.

Next term our topic will be The Seaside Past and Present  this is a lovely topic and leads way to some great trips out and about to the beach and Maldon. 

Have an great half term!

 

2/1B - Miss Bernard - Hello everybody!

 

I would like to congratulate you all, again for your sensible and grown up attitudes towards your long writing SATS task. You were all very focussed for quite a length of time and I am very proud of the effort you all made with your recounts of our visit to Ashlyns Farm. As with your postcards I am really looking forward to reading them all. The ones I have looked at so far are great!

Other than our SATS, you have made some brilliant animal masks, based on our trip with Student Teacher Miss Kenway, they are going to make a fantastic display in our class. At this point I would like to thank Miss Kenway, who has been working in our class for the past 4 weeks. The children have enjoyed having her here and I wish her luck with her studies.

Next half term we are going to be finding out all about "The Seaside". So, children, it would be great if you could find out as much as you can about the history of the local area. If you have any books, toys or any thing else about the seaside it would brilliant if you could bring them in to help with our learning.

We are also planning to go to the seaside at the end of the term. We normally have a great time and every year the sun shines for us, so fingers crossed!!

 

I hope that you all enjoy you week off, I know that I will.

 

Have fun and keep yourselves safe! - Miss Bernard

 

2/1D - Mrs Dutton - We have had a great fun week to finish our topic of 'Materials'. We have been thinking about how a very low temperature can change some materials so we put many different materials into the freezer to see what would happen after first making our predictions. To investigate how some foods can change, we also made and ate vanilla ice cream! We have also thought about how the wooden and straw buildings in 1666 burnt in the Great Fire of London by making up and acting out short dramas which were very entertaining! We have also finished writing about our trip to Ashlyn's Farm and we have started to subrract a 1 digit number from a 3 digit number. Have a good half term holiday everyone.

 

3S - Miss Slann - OH MY