We had the most enjoyable Harvest service and it was so lovely to see so many parents and families attend the celebration. The church was full and the children sang their hearts out! We would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to The Reverend Jeremy Goulston who led our service. Thank you also for your generous donations in support of Transforming Lives for Good which raised £148.00.
Some of our Year 5’s also took part the Junior Active Leaders training this week. The programme is designed to develop leadership, teamwork, and confidence in leading playground games and activities for our younger pupils in the school.
What a wonderful week our pupils have had this year at their residential at Yenworthy Lodge, an outdoor activity centre set in six acres of woodland within the Exmoor National Park. They have embodied our school values, demonstrating perseverance, resilience, teamwork, curiosity and friendship. During the week they have enjoyed surfing, rock pooling, beach art, coasteering and lots of challenges on site including the climbing wall and zipline. We have been so impressed with their behaviour, manners and good humour as well as their willingness to work so well together and with the partner-school. Mrs Sucksmith and Mrs Carter
At our school we also talk about the ‘Shellingford School Family Learning Culture’ and refer to this in our lessons. We expect all our pupils to have a ‘Growth Mindset’ and for children to embrace challenge, to persevere and learn from mistakes, show curiosity, enjoy learning together and have aspirations. We would really appreciate it if you could help encourage your child/ren to ‘not give up’ when things go wrong, and to encourage resilience when issues arise with their learning or friendship difficulties. Our poster is up around the school as a visual prompt for the children. It is also on the Curriculum page of our school website and may be helpful for parents to refer to when supporting your child/ren at home.
As a church school our Christian vision is at the heart of our provision and steers all we do with our pupils and with one another. We talk about having ‘roots and foundation in love’ (Ephesians 3:17) to help inspire and guide our hearts and minds. In our Collective Worship and as part of daily activities and interactions we remind ourselves that the best roots we can have can be provided by our faith, our family and friends, and demonstrated by the way we show love for other people. We hope that this will become the foundation of our lives to enable us to grow into good people.
Our Summer Production was once again a block buster! Congratulations to the children for two fantastic performances and to Mrs Sucksmith for directing the production. £241.26 was raised for the charity ‘SeeSaw’ who provide support for children, young people and their families in Oxfordshire when they have been bereaved or when someone close to them is terminally ill.
On Monday 23rd June, our Year 6 pupils enjoyed a trampolining session at Jump Inc in Bicester to mark the end of their SATs and to have fun together before moving on to their respective secondary schools. Over the last few months, they have been working hard to raise the money needed to fund their trip, making and selling fairtrade fruit kebabs to our school community. Thank you for supporting them. The project gave them an important insight into the value of money, and they were all very proud to have raised the amount needed. Mrs Sucksmith
The whole school took part in the annual event ShWimbledon (Shellingford’s Wimbledon!) last week. All classes were involved in competitive sessions and mini coaching games led by the Faringdon Tennis Club. The coach commented that the children's behaviour was outstanding and that they are a credit to the school.
Class 1 and 2 had a great day at the Winchester Science Centre with lots of hands-on activities and space-themed workshops. The highlight for many was the Planetarium Show, where we got to take a trip into space to learn more about the planets in our solar system before heading into deep space to learn about other galaxies. It was definitely 'out of this world'! (Mrs Roberts – Class 2 Teacher)
Class 4 enjoyed a visit to the Museum of Oxford to compliment the work that they have been undertaking in class on their topic, Oxford - city of spires. During their visit they investigated the many ways in which transport has affected the geography of the city from the construction of the canal and the 'canal city' of Jericho that was subsequently built to support it to the factories and industries that developed following the construction of the railway. Today, a busy road network serves Oxford and pupils used maps to identify how roads are connected and noticed that industrial units, park & ride facilities and factories are all built within easy access of these arterial roads. Following their visit to the museum, Class 4 pupils stepped into the fantasy world created by Philip Pullman, following in the steps of Lyra and her daemon, Pan, walking her Oxford and identifying significant landmarks connected with both the city and the university. It was a wonderful day! Many thanks to Mrs Mann for supporting us on the day and to FoSS for their support in providing the coach. (Mrs Sucksmith – Class 4 Teacher)
