Most of our news for this week has been published in our newsletter, of which you can see on our Newsletter page or follow the link below:

Newsletter 22nd May 2018

 

Today has been really exciting for us as staff as we have been planning our new curriculum using my vision for the school.  The first draft of this (we will speak to children and governors too) is here:

At Clearwell we encourage our children to be adventurous and creative. We want them to contribute to communities and to uphold Christian values in everyday life.

We will do this through our curriculum by giving them the opportunities to:

• experience adventures
• open up their creativity
• develop skills for life
• communicate confidently

 

We cannot wait to start planning for this and it will start in September.  If you are looking for a school for September then we have places in most years.  For those years that are full we can discuss options.

SATs have come and gone and all of the children have survived! They worked really hard and we are proud of them.  As a treat we have spent all day today printing and then gardening.  Mrs Jennie Connor (the person who has painted our stained glass windows) came in today and worked with Willow Class.  The results were outstanding and Mrs Lawrence is in the process of creating a display with all of their William Morris inspired printing on. Thank you so much Mrs Connor, you were inspiring.

 

The bug hotel is looking spectacular too.  The children researched what habitats different bugs like to live in and then found the materials needed.  We are looking forward to seeing who moves in!  One of our chrysalis turned into a butterfly today too!

Our Celebrations

 

Wildlife Quiz

On Thursday we hosted the Forest of Dean Wildlife Quiz semi-final against Coalway.  One of our team was away on the day so a reserve stepped in.  It was a close competition but Coalway beat Clearwell.  Well done to all of the participants. Thank you to Mrs Frith who hosted everyone during what was a busy day.

Our new play area

As you know we were fortunate enough to win a lottery bid for £10,000 to resurface our school garden to ensure that the children have a flat area to play on all of the time.  It will be used for PE lessons too.  We have to say a huge thank you to Clearwell Quarry (Breedons) who donated all of the sand and stone for the base and to a parent who arranged the delivery.

 

Pygmy Goats come to visit

As part of our If you go down to the Woods… Willow class have been learning about life cycles.  One of the children’s homework is to investigate the life cycle of a mammal.  I wanted to give them the opportunity to cuddle a baby mammal and as luck would have it, I knew someone whose Pygmy Goats had just had babies.  The children absolutely loved giving them a cuddle.  Thank you to Sherryl Hall for bringing in Ellie’s goats.

SATs

Our Year 2 children have completed their SATs papers this week.  They probably wouldn’t have said a huge amount about them because we keep it very low key.  Next week the Year 6 children sit their tests.  These are sat at the same time by all year 6 children around the country.  We wish them well but want to remind them that they are just assessing what they know and not to worry about what they don’t know.

 

Mrs Hopkins

As you know Mrs Hopkins is taking some time away from school for a while.  She was extremely generous and gave all of the children an ice-cream. The overwhelming conclusion was that Mrs H’s is better than Mr Tee’s!  We wish Mrs Hopkins well and thank her for everything that she has done for the school.

 

Our Celebrations

May is a busy month in school with Years 2 and 6 sitting their SATS papers, however here at Clearwell we have found time to do other things too!

On Thursday, All Stars Cricket coaches came into school to work with years 1 to 3. They wanted to make the children aware of the scheme and to encourage children to play cricket. The children had to follow instructions playing Heads, shoulders, knees and toes to see who could win the cone, this was to test the reaction time. Reaction time is important when playing cricket.

All of the children had a go at batting and fielding and had lots of fun. A huge thank you to Gloucestershire Cricket Board for providing us with the opportunity to participate in this event.

if you require more information about All Stars follow this link: http://https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars

 

Awful Auntie at Bristol Hippodrome and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

We had a fabulous time watching David Walliams’ Awful Auntie. It was a delight to be able to take the whole school and to see their faces when there was a mini explosion! Mrs Thomas and Mrs Knight made the children lovely packed lunches which we were able to enjoy on College Green.

After a quick lunch, we had a march up Park Street. For those that don’t know this is renowned steep hill up towards Clifton. We passed an early Banksy before having the chance for a quick tour of the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.  It was a whistle stop tour but enough to whet their appetites as the children saw Egyptian mummies, dinosaur bones, a range of stuffed animals.

The children all seemed to have a wonderful, yet tiring, time. Some of the children fell asleep on the way home.

Flower Festival at St. Peter’s Church

A huge thank you to Willow pupils who have created miniature gardens for the flower festival that is being held at St.Peter’s on Sunday and Monday.  Pop along and have a look at the detail in the gardens as well as the incredible displays that we spotted being constructed when we delivered them.

 

 

Have a a wonderful long weekend and enjoy the sunshine that has been forecast. I am looking forward to some sun!  Keep an eye out for some very exciting changes at school over the next week or two.