We love a creative challenge!

Another busy week at Blisland. The children have been writing amazing stories; tackling tricky Maths such as Algebra; writing news reports about the invention of Sikhism and using their excellent brains to solve problems and think outside the box. This week has seen some excellent work - it always makes me proud of them, and excited to come to work every week to see each new achievement. 

KS1 Design and Technology (Bridges):
Key stage one class have been using their brilliant learning of the heroic British engineer (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) to begin to look at stable structures and how a suspension bridge could be built. They considered shape, structure, size and distance all brilliantly, and were able to create bridges to take a specified weight from the lesson. The children did a fabulous job and all were given stickers for their ingenuity ranging from 'Master of Strength' to ' 'Sparkliest' Design'

KS2 Picasso design models:
Working with Sean Hewitt, the children have been able to finalise their designs for Blisland's new sculpture which we hope will be ready before 1/2 term. The children created their designs based on the invention of cubism (Picasso) and allowing their image to be seen by the geometric outlines that begin to take shape when placed together. I have had a sneak peak at the final pieces and I am sure the children will feel very proud of themselves. 

Friday Achievement assemblies:
With the nicer weather we have been able to have outdoor ('Socially Distanced') assemblies. It is great to celebrate all of the children's achievement both in school at at home. As part of this we are including a show and tell section for the children. During this slot of the assembly the children will be able to talk about an item, hobby or thing of interest to them. We would like them to come prepared to speak about their chosen topic and teach us a thing or two - any help you can give your child for this speaking opportunity would be most appreciate. We value the skill of speaking and can't overstate the power of communication and the opportunities that it can give the children and hope to hear from all them before the end of summer. 

Awards:
Star of the week awards: Jack C, John D
Head Teacher Awards: Roxanne C, Mason W, Brianna W AND Erin M

A big well done to Erin, Roxanne, Jack C, Lola and Jack G who all presented to the whole school about items or a hobby they are interested in. The spoke with passion, used rich vocabulary and shared some very good knowledge. 

One week to go until half term. Hopefully (and it's looking likely) the sun will arrive too. 
Reminder: Monday 7th June and Friday 11th June are school inset Days and the school will be shut to pupils on those days.

FAB - U - LOUS!

What a fabulous week we have all had this week. The children have been busy learning: I heard amazing phonics and reading skills, read some wonderful biographies from both classes and saw such wonderful engagement in our wider curriculum - KS1 learning about Isambard Kingdom Brunel and KS2 analyzing the significance of the invention of gun powder in ancient China. Both classes have constructed great models of sculptures they will be creating with Sean Hewitt in the next two-weeks and KS2 are well on their way to learning how to play the song 'South Australia' with Mrs Bridle. 

Moorland Wild Tribe day:
On Tuesday our whole school went on an educational visit to Minions - first time out since the pandemic as a group. It was a wonderful day and we managed to avoid most of the rain. The children learnt about physical land marks, orienteering, map reading and were even able to make 'fairy camp fires'. The children were fabulous, as usual, and it was great to be out as a school. 

Shock Tactics:
KS2 on Monday were able to take part in an online, interactive drama session with Great Western Power, learning about electricity and electrical safety. The children enjoyed this and were very knowledgeable about electricity and how to be safe. They know if they spot electrical problems out and about to call 105 (stay alive).  

Awards:
Star of the week awards: Emily S, Roxanne C
Head Teacher Awards: Alina J, Sophie W, Izzy W, Billy R and Jack C
A big well done to Izzy, Jack C, Isla and Lily who all presented to the whole school about items or a hobby they are interested in. The spoke with passion, used rich vocabulary and shared some very good knowledge. 

We hope that we continue to move forward towards normality, and that soon we can be together as a school properly and invite you all back to events at the school.

Have a great weekend and we hope you can safely make the most of the lifting of restrictions on Monday.

Busy as always..

Quite amazingly, we are well into May! How has that happened so fast? The children all seem so much taller and wiser. This week has been another great week for activity and learning, and we have been lucky to have avoided the rain. It has been wonderful to see how the children play with each other across the school with such empathy and kindness. There have been some very competitive but sporting break time netball matches in KS2, with some very good skills too - roll on interschool competitions after lockdown! The nice weather has allowed us to have distanced assemblies and share in each others achievements which has been a real joy. 

Learning this week:
Some highlights of the learning in school have included wonderful Art again with Sean Hewitt, Music with Mrs Bridle and PE with Mrs Blackburn. I have also noticed how engaged all the children have been in their study of History: KS1 learning about the creation of the 'Great western Railway' with a excellence puppet show to tell the events and KS2 were enquiring about the invention of writing in Ancient Suma (Mesopotamia). The children have discussed what evidence shows them with real thought and care, using strong inference skills. More of the same next week please!

Moorland Wild Tribe day:
On Tuesday (11th May) the children will be visiting 'Minions' on Bodmin Moor for a wild tribe experience. Please make sure you arrive at school promptly as the coaches leave at 9am. Children will need to be in comfortable clothing, good footwear (wellies/boots) and with  drinks and snacks/lunch (if not ordered from the school). It's going to be a great day and we'll keep our fingers crossed that it's dry. 

After School Clubs:
Reminder:  This term we have tennis club on Friday after school until 3.45pm for KS2. After 1/2 term there will be a 'Mini Olympics' Club for Reception and KS1. We hope to add more clubs in the summer term as and when it is doable. We will let you know as soon as possible.

Awards:
Star of the week awards: Brianna W, Harry W, Mani M-S and Todd H
Head Teacher Awards: Erin M, Lola W, Amy W, Jack S and Arabella D

I hope Saturday is not a complete washout and you can all enjoy some time outdoors this weekend. The coming weeks and months of this term will fly by and I am looking forward to all the opportunities and experiences that will come the children's way as we move on from lockdowns and the pandemic.

Have a great weekend. 

Hooray For the Summer:

It's been great how more normal life is getting; for the children this is especially great news and I am looking forward to the children to the wonderful learning and experiences the children will have this summer. This week has been setting the tone for the term and I know it will get busier and more exciting as the weeks pass by.

Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds:
On Tuesday the children in KS1 spent the day taking part in activities to help them learn about being active and healthy but also considered how this can help our brains and minds be strong and healthy too. They explored Zumba (some very good dancers were noted), Pilates, 'Rainbow Challenges', 'Worry Monster' activities and stories to name but a few. The children learnt a lot and had a great day.

KS2 Music:
KS2 continue to work with Georgina Bridle from the Music Hub. They have this week begun to prefect their 'ensembled' percussion ostinato piece for the Sea Shanty, 'A drop of Nelson's Blood'. The children have learnt quickly and have great musical timing. I look forward to their final performance piece in the coming weeks.

Art enrichment:
Across the year groups, Sean Hewitt is working with us to create a piece of art (sculpture) for the school. The children have been studying styles of art and skills used by Miro and Picasso. The sculptures will hopefully become a permanent feature of our school (Hopefully in our middle Playground) that the children and you will enjoy for many a-year.

After School Clubs:
With the easing of restrictions and improved practicalities, I am pleased that after school clubs have started to return. This term we have tennis club on Friday after school until 3.45pm. After 1/2 term there will be a 'Mini Olympics' Club for Reception and KS1. We hope to add more clubs in the summer term as and when it is possible. We will let you know as soon as possible.

Awards:
Star of the week awards: Lowen, John, Ava and Izzy
Head Teacher Awards: Mason, Nyle, Thomas, Jack C, Jack G and Sophie

To end this blog, I would like to say again a big thank you to you all for your efforts in supporting your children and us as a school, especially during this pandemic. You have kept everybody safe and well in our school community and helped ensure the children are able to succeed despite challenging times. I hope to write to you all soon about removal of bubbles and allowing collection after school to go back to a more normal state. As soon as we have more details from the government, we will update you.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend and we will see you on Tuesday 4th May.

So our second week after full return to school is over, and it has flown by. The children have been so busy learning, playing and of course, looking forward to 'Comic Relief' ('I am not sure what made them so excited?')
I have been able to look at the work and learning across the school, and I am thrilled to see the enthusiasm and confidence in the children when it comes to learning at school. I, as always, look forward to the amazing work I will see next week.

Comic Relief:
Thank you to our School council who organised our theme for running Comic Relief this year. We were able to hold an outdoors, socially distanced assembly to talk about how the charity supports - both in the UK and abroad -  people who may not be in as good a situation as we are. The children looked amazing with their funky hair styles and super hero costumes. They enjoyed the day, and for some reason, they particularly enjoyed splatting me with multi-coloured foam (Many had been anticipating this event all week and I was amazed at how many wanted to splat me more than once!). The children were fabulous and have raised £60 for Comic relief. Well done!

Accelerating Learning:
You will hopefully be aware of how schools will be endeavouring to make up for any lost learning or opportunities due to the pandemic and lockdowns. We have begun to identify where we can support the children further and have started to 'Catch up'. The children however, rightly, want to call this extra learning 'Accelerating learning'. This is to reflect that we will be speedily learning bits that we missed and to recognise the fact that our children attended school both in the building and online brilliantly, and their gaps are not wide. The children are doing fantastically well; they show such resilience and will bounce back rapidly. 

Learning this week:
This week I have seen some amazing learning. KS1 have begun a series of lessons about a superhero called Traction Man. They have thought about the characters in the story, made good predictions and described brilliantly. 
KS2 have started writing their own versions of a poetry book called: 'Where my wellies take me'. They have described their journey with such good detail, used a range of different sentence types/techniques and then embedded poems they have written - I was truly wowed to read them and will share some on the blog next week when they are completed. 

Have a lovely weekend; the weather's looking fine and we look forward to seeing you all next week.

Matt Avery
(Head of School)

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It has been great to see everyone back in school and I am not surprised to see how well the children have settled as they never fail to impress us. They have caught up with friends wonderfully, got back into the swing of school rules and routines, and have the same enthusiasm and love of learning as ever. We are so proud of them!

Music:
This week Key Stage 2 have begun their music programme looking at playing percussion instruments. They were able to learn notes and keys, began to understand reading music and played part of 'Drunken Sailor' using knowledge of ostinato (repeating patterns). 

Comic Relief (Friday 19th March):
Friday is Comic relief. The children really enjoy taking part in this day and supporting the charity. The school council have decided to support 'Comic relief' this year by dressing in non-school uniform with fun and funky hair. They would like any change or donation you are able to give. Additionally, they have persuaded me to be pied in the face for 50p a splat; Children only I'm afraid :) . We hope you'll be able to support us on this day and we look forward to seeing the amazing hair styles. 

KS1 Maths:
KS1 this week have got straight back into the swing of learning in maths with some great work on shape and counting in 5s. Children were quick to notice lines of symmetry and could create their own lines of symmetry when making shape patterns. Great linking of learning KS1!

Reading:
Reading continues to be a focus at Blisland as we want the children to be excellent and passionate readers. All classes have access to readings spines, use vipers to develop reading skills and have begun to become reciprocal learners (helping each other). Please continue to support reading at home as often as possible: hearing the children read and asking questions about the book. Asking them to summarise what happened in a story or non-fiction book is a skill all should be good with. Now lockdown has ended, we will be able to reward continued reading as usual with raffle tickets. Children will earn a raffle ticket for every 10 times they read. Children can earn extra reading raffle tickets (10) for reading a book from their class's book spine and reviewing it.

Parents consultation:
On Monday 22nd March and Wednesday 23rd March we will be hosting virtual parent consultations; we will be sending out Arbor invites from tomorrow. You can request a Microsoft Teams (Using the pupil login) or Phone consultation to discuss your child's learning and progress on these days.  

We hope you have had a good Mothering Sunday and we look forward to seeing you all in the morning.

Best Wishes,

Matt Avery
(Head of School)

Hello all, and happy Friday,

All of us at Blisland are very much looking forward to all of the children returning from Monday. It feels strange as we have seen all the children online and in school; the engagement in learning and working has been excellent and it's a routine that everyone has gotten use to. But there isn't a substitute really for in school learning and (importantly) face-to-face socialising of the children in class.
Can I just say once again how amazing you and the children have been through this lockdown; they have shown resilience and have made progress with their learning along the way - this will stand them in good-stead for the rest of the year which I am very optimistic about. 

Routines:
The routines for arriving, attending and departing school which were in place during the Autumn term will start again from Monday 8th March. You will have received an email detailing your drop-off and pick-up group (time). If you have any issues surrounding this or just would generally like a chat for other support, please do let us know. I will be at the front of school every morning and most afternoons, or you can get in contact via email. 

World Book Day:
We had a lovely world book day in school. Children read and heard stories, created books and even made character potatoes. It was lovely to see how much enthusiasm they have for books and world book day. 

Microsoft Teams:
The children who have been learning remotely have used teams brilliantly for learning, discussing and sending in work. Now that children are back in school, please ensure that Microsoft teams is not used for chat and video purposes. We will check to make sure this is the case.

Moving forward, we as a school and Trust are looking into how we can continue to make the most of Microsoft teams for learning and communication purposes. We feel that you and the children know how to use it well and it could be a good platform for additional work, support, homework and keeping in touch with you. Hopefully it will be used for these reasons asap. It may also allow our children to work with children from other schools in our trust more regularly too. 

Wellbeing and recovery:
We will be putting the children's safety and wellbeing first as always. During the first week we will make sure that they are settled and feel safe and happy in the school routines. Where children need support emotionally or academically we will make strong provision to help. There may be gaps in learning which we are ready to help close but equally we know how well the children have accessed learning over the last 8-weeks and are ready to stretch their learning and capabilities too.  The children may feel anxious, excited or both about returning to school and in general about the pandemic. We will support with this too. I have uploaded a video which is a nice mindfulness story about validating feelings. We don't need to ignore and lose negative feelings, we have to accept them and aim to focus on the positives. 


Have lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you and the children (distanced and in our bubbles) on Monday.

Best wishes,

Matt Avery
(Head of school)

Remote learning continues - and very well too!

We are very much into the swing of things for home learning and the children have engaged and responded in the most amazing way - they are a model for how they will not allow this situation (or the press) tell them that they will lose their learning.

Children have attended lessons well (we can see this on our record of daily attendance of different learning sessions). Thank you all for the work that you send through. There are some excellent pieces of work coming in daily. We would like, where possible, for at least one English, one Maths and one other curriculum subject to be sent through to us each week so that we can support the children's leaning as best as possible. As always, if you require any support or resources, please do get in touch.

We want enable the children as best as possible and make sure with get the quantity and delivery of work right for the children. The children have responded brilliantly as I have mentioned and now that we have at least another 4-weeks of online learning ahead of us, it is important to reflect. Many schools have not offered live online lessons but we feel this is best for the children and is working. Please complete this online survey about online learning so we can continue to provide a good online learning service to the children:
https://www.bridgeschools.co.uk/Parent-Questionnaire-January-2021

Children's Mental wellbeing week 1st February:
This week coming there will be a focus on children's mental wellbeing. We will continue to have live online sessions as the children working together with our current routines is certainly positive for their wellbeing. We will be attaching extra things to do, or not do, after the last session of each day so that the children can focus on mindfulness and their mental health. Extra information can be found on the following weblink: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/

Do keep in touch, and keep sending your completed work to us. I am looking forward to putting more photos of home learning on the school webpage next week.

Stay safe and well. Best wishes,

Matt Avery
(Head of school)