At the start of the new academic year we have been thinking about our School Values of ‘Respect, Belonging, Creativity and Spirituality’ and how these can help us as we work, play and learn together at school. In Collective Worship we have been thinking about being respectful and courteous to one another and Class 4 delivered a Pupil Led Worship on this during one of our Friday Celebration Assemblies. Our mosaic values can be seen in the school Library.
The Year 5 and 6 pupils had another fantastic week away at Yenworthy Lodge, Devon. The children and staff spent the week outdoors facing some adventurous and challenging activities such as rock climbing, surfing, and kayaking. There was a great sense of team work and achievement from all the pupils and it was a really memorable week away.
Our Year Six Leavers’ Service took place at St Faith’s church in Shellingford on Thursday 19th July. This special service was held to celebrate and prepare the Year Six pupils’ as they embark upon the next stage of their journey of life and learning. During the service, the Year Sixes reminisced and reflected on their time at Shellingford CE (A) Primary School and the school sang some of their favourite worship songs and ‘They live in you’ from our recent summer production of The Lion King.
The whole school had a wonderful time at our school Sports Day. The children took part in team activities in their ‘Family Groups’ which was then followed by a series of competitive track events. Certificates were awarded for the overall winning team and to the team who demonstrated the best team spirit. FoSS served strawberries and ice-cream, ice lollies and summer punch at the event which was well received in the hot weather and enjoyed by everyone. A special word of thanks goes to Mrs Setchell for organising yet another enjoyable Sports Day.
Our summer production was again of a high standard! Congratulations to the children for two outstanding performances and to Mr Drew for leading the production. £137.10 was raised following Class 4’s recent Bake Sale and a further £172.25 was raised in donations to help cover the cost of the performance fees and video licence. Thank you, we are very grateful for your support. The school has also received a very generous anonymous donation of £200 and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you so very much for this kind donation.
Our ShWimbledon tennis competition this year was held over two days on: Monday 23rd June for Class 1 and 2 in school; and on Friday 29th June for Class 3 and 4 at The Faringdon Tennis Club. The event involved competitive sessions and mini coaching games for the children and was led by local Tennis Coach, Matt Williams.
Thank you to everyone who supported our Fun Day on Saturday the 16th June. The amount raised this year is in the region of a fantastic £2,131. I am sure you will join me in saying a huge thank you to the FoSS committee for organising the event and to all those involved in helping to make the day a most enjoyable and successful occasion.
Class 1 and 2 had an exciting day out at Bristol’s Interactive Science Centre ‘We the Curious’ on Tuesday 5th June, to support their topic on ‘Space’. Both classes attended a ‘Destination Space’ science workshop, as well as having plenty of time to explore the hands-on exhibits. In addition, the children visited the Planetarium and Class 2 did some ‘seasonal stargazing’ while Class 1 went ‘‘space exploring.’
The children in Key Stage Two thoroughly enjoyed their visit to The Cotswold Wildlife Park on Thursday 24th May. The visit was linked to their Project Based Learning. Class 4 took a trip into the rainforest to meet squirrel monkeys, sloths and fruit bats, learn about some of the amazing plants that you find there and explore the importance of this biome. Class 3 focused on Australian animals and meet Alligators, Kangaroos and smaller reptiles from Australia.
On the 10th May staff and children from across the school led our Ascension Day Service at St Faith’s Church in Shellingford. The focus of the worship was on ‘Comings and Goings’ and how saying goodbye is always difficult, but how Jesus promises to be always with us. Some of the pupils in Class 4 performed a liturgical dance as a way of illustrating what happened on Ascension Day.
