This week I have had the privilege of going to North Devon with Forms 5 and 6 for their residential.
The children were absolutely fantastic as they took on all the challenges put in front of them. In just 4 days they went canoeing, raft building, paddle boarding, surfing, hiking, climbing, cycling, camping, enjoyed the high ropes, archery and even axe throwing! Wow! They showed tremendous courage, compassion, commitment and even creativity as they took their rafts to the water! A super residential and my thanks to the team at Rock and Rapids Adventures, Shebbear School for hosting us and to Mrs Telfer for her enthusiasm and support throughout. A fantastic residential.
Back in Dorset, my fabulous leadership team have been holding the fort, with Mrs Moss leading our whole school assembly. This morning, Reception class treated the rest of the school, and their parents, to the most brilliant form assembly – with a May Day theme! With singing, dancing and a presentation of their beautiful artwork, the room was filled with joyful smiles.
Well done certificates were awarded to the whole of Reception for their incredible assembly, to Eli, Penelope G-F, Maddy and the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge team Ted, Connor, Fin, Felix, Lottie, Sasha, Harry, Louis, Rosa, Oscar and Sophia.
Academic Excellence certificates were awarded to Connie, Penelope, Freddie, Ivy, Ruby, Nikolas and Aria. Gold badges were awarded to Florence, Elodie and Ava M, as well as lots of silver badges!
Finally, our Commitment award was given to Phoebe and Oliver F, Compassion for Orlando and Connor, Courage to William N and Callisto and Creativity to Tessie and Rosa. Well done everyone – I am very much looking forward to seeing the video of the Reception assembly.
On Wednesday, 11 brave and highly talented mathematicians from Form 7 and 8 took part in the UKMT (United Kingdom Mathematics Trust) Junior Maths challenge. A gruelling 60-minute paper consisting of 25 increasingly more challenging questions, that test logic and mathematical knowledge and skills, targeted at year 8 and above.
Despite coming away saying their heads hurt, they did extremely well and coped brilliantly with the complexity and different styles of questions.Their papers had to be sent back to UKMT and we will be marked soon. We will have to patient to hear how they did and if anyone will advance to the next round.
In the meantime, here is an example of one of the later questions from last year’s paper below.
Forty furry ferrets weigh the same as fifty fit ferrets. Forty-five fit ferrets weigh the same as fifty-four friendly ferrets. How many friendly ferrets weigh the same as fifty furry ferrets?
A 40 Â Â Â Â B 55 Â Â Â Â Â C 60 Â Â Â Â Â D 75 Â Â Â Â Â E 80
Answers on a postcard addressed to Mr Butcher.
Well done to Mr Butcher’s courageous mathematicians.
On Thursday, Nursery were delighted to be able to look at a real life Fire Engine, when the Fire Brigade came for a visit.
Next week we look forward to welcoming lots of grandparents to our Grandparents Day, and lots of our parents to our PTFA quiz night next Friday evening. Our new basketballs and nets are in full use now which is thanks to our fabulous PTFA. It is through events such as our quiz night, that we can raise funds for these fantastic extras for all the children to enjoy, so please support our events whenever you can.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful May bank holiday. After a fantastic residential, I for one will be looking forward to my own bed, and a little bit of extra sleep!
David
