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 of things are still happening around the school and this will continue next week, albeit a short one.

This will be the last blog entry from us for this school year but we will be back bright and breezy in September !

 

Enjoy your Summer holiday ! 

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