Summer Performance 2024
The performance of Scheherazade by the children of Willow and Oak Classes was excellent. They really enjoyed performing in front of children and parents. There was some impressively confident acting, singing and dancing during the show as the children transported us to ancient Persia.
Huge thanks to Mrs Humphrey, Miss Grantham, Mrs Williams, Mrs Downes, Mrs Dawson, and Mr Cameron for all the work they put into direction, production, costumes and props.
Huge thanks to Mrs Humphrey, Miss Grantham, Mrs Williams, Mrs Downes, Mrs Dawson, and Mr Cameron for all the work they put into direction, production, costumes and props.
Summer Performance 2023
The children of Willow and Oak Classes gave a rousing performance of the “Wind in the Willows” for children and parents. There was some fabulously confident acting during the show and all of the children joined in the singing with enthusiasm. Huge thanks to Miss Grantham, Mrs Humphrey, Mrs Williams, Mrs Downes, Mrs Dawson, Mrs Wright and Mr Cameron for all the work they put into direction, production, costumes and props. And even bigger thanks to the children for all their hard work, collaborative working, team spirit and general excellence!
Summer Performance 2022
This year, Oak Class gave another outside performance. This was moved to the morning on what was possibly the hottest day in Sibford Gower ever! The children performed a very funny and entertaining version of The Enormous Turnip, penned by Mr Cameron and his friend Steve Moss. The children were fabulous and we were all very impressed with the Swedish, German, Scottish and American accents! Very well done all!
Summer Performance 2021
The children in Oak Class gave an amazing 'al fresco' performance of a musical version of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream. They were just brilliant! Many thanks to Mr Cameron for making this possible, ably assisted by Mrs Humphrey and Mrs Downes. A wonderful finish to a challenging year!
Summer Reading Challenge
A number of our pupils took part in the Summer Reading Challenge during the long summer holiday by reading books they had borrowed from the public library.
A very impressive 21 children, nearly a fifth of our school, were awarded a Gold Challenge medal for reading at least six whole books. Many thanks to Karen Seymour from Hook Norton Library for coming to present these awards.
A very impressive 21 children, nearly a fifth of our school, were awarded a Gold Challenge medal for reading at least six whole books. Many thanks to Karen Seymour from Hook Norton Library for coming to present these awards.
KS2 Enrichment Morning at the Warriner School
As part of our whole school Science Week, the children in KS2 made a trip to The Warriner School, alongside pupils from other WMAT primaries, to take part in a series of curriculum workshops run by Warriner staff. These included pottery workshops where they made their own 'Green Men', an art class where they explored wax batik, science investigations and music workshops using 'boomwhackers'. The children had access to expertise and resources that are not easy to provide within a small primary school - one of the great advantages of being part of the Warriner MAT - and the work they created was of an impressively high standard. They had a wonderful time working with members of the Warriner team and, as always, were exemplary in their own behaviour and their high levels of engagement and enthusiasm for learning.
Maple's Amazing Mayan Masks
The children in KS2 have been exploring the theme of the Mayans within out cross-curricular topic-based approach. During their Art-& Design afternoons with Ms O'Sullivan, Maple Class have designed and created their very own Mayan masks using a combination of papier mache and collage. Despite the shared starting point and the common theme, the finished pieces are highly individual and look amazing. They are currently on display in the KS2 library. Well done Maple Class!
A Snowy Day in Sibford Gower
The first day of February brought some heavy snowfall to Sibford Gower and the surrounding villages. Many of the children and staff still managed to get in though, and we had great fun outside exploring the snow, working together to make snow-slides and snowmen and enormous snow 'boulders'.
Snow is interesting stuff and this fitted well with our Friday Science morning - it is slippery and wet, hard when you compact it but can be soft too, and it sticks to itself so you can make amazing things. We had a great time but it was lovely to come back inside to warm our cold fingers and toes, and to drink some hot chocolate.
Snow is interesting stuff and this fitted well with our Friday Science morning - it is slippery and wet, hard when you compact it but can be soft too, and it sticks to itself so you can make amazing things. We had a great time but it was lovely to come back inside to warm our cold fingers and toes, and to drink some hot chocolate.
KS2 Summer Production of 'Mary Poppins'
The summer performance played to a packed Village Hall on both notes and was well worth the trip. The children did an amazing job of putting on a very enjoyable performance - definitely some stars in the making. Many thanks to everyone involved in supporting with the performance, with particular thanks to our amazing Miss Murdoch for making the whole thing possible.
If you could make a wish, but only one wish, what would your wish be?
This was the question that children in Key Stage 2 were asked to consider as part of a philosophy and ethics lesson. As well as thinking about their wish and giving reasons for it, they created some simple but very beautiful images of dandelion clocks which were displayed in the school library. Their images are all based on the same template but still look very different because of the choices each child has made about the drawing and paint colours they have added. We have recently been exploring our anti-bullying policy with the children and this display beautifully illustrates one of its core themes: that it is alright to be different and that we are all different but all special.
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These are some of the things the children wished for:
- I wish all the world had food and clean water because the world would be a happier place.
- I wish to be able to cure cancer because it kills millions of people each year and so much money goes into cancer research and I want that money to pay off.
- To have my best friend back and to have my great grandma back.
- I would wish for a horse for my sister.
- I wish my mum and dad had an easier job and that granny's arm is better.
- I wish I had mind control to make sure people are very, very good.
- I wish for a cat.
- I wish that all the homeless had money, so they could eat and drink, and with the money they could get a pillow and a blanket and a light, just in case they wake up.
- I wish for a pug because they have breathing problems and I really want one.
World War Two Day
Children in Willow, Maple and Oak Classes have spent the last half-term exploring the theme of World War Two. This work has been linked to some excellent books; 'The Lion & the Unicorn' by Shirley Hughes (Willow), 'Friend or Foe' by Michael Morpurgo (Maple) and Goodnight, Mr Tom' by Michelle Magorian (Oak), and has enabled the children to work at age appropriate levels, whilst sharing lots of ideas and experiences.
They visited Holdenby House to spend the day as wartime refugees earlier in the term, and the topic culminated in World War Two Day in school, with the children coming in in wartime costume and engaging in activities from making Floddies - wartime flour and potato cakes, sewing Victory Bunting, making military badges, and exploring the artwork of official war artist, Henry Moore. The day finished with a performance for parents and carers in which the children shared diary entries, research work, art work and sang wartime songs - very movingly. Some parents were even brave enough to sample the Floddies !
They visited Holdenby House to spend the day as wartime refugees earlier in the term, and the topic culminated in World War Two Day in school, with the children coming in in wartime costume and engaging in activities from making Floddies - wartime flour and potato cakes, sewing Victory Bunting, making military badges, and exploring the artwork of official war artist, Henry Moore. The day finished with a performance for parents and carers in which the children shared diary entries, research work, art work and sang wartime songs - very movingly. Some parents were even brave enough to sample the Floddies !
The children created some fabulous artwork - over-ground and underground in London, during the Blitz
Key Stage 2 trip to Holdenby House in Northamptonshire
As part of their topic on World War Two, the children from Willow, Maple and Oak Classes travelled to Holdenby House in Northamptonshire. there they experienced what life might have been like for wartime evacuees.
Special Recycling Assembly
As part of our focus on reducing waste and improving recycling at school, we had a Special Assembly with visitors from Cherwell District Council, who gave a really interesting presentation on the theme of Re-use, Re-cycle, Reduce. Our children impressed our guests with their knowledge and asked some very good questions.
Macmillan Cake Sale & Coffee Morning
Parents children and staff brought in generous donations of cakes and biscuits for our Cake & Coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Even though it was a rainy day, the turnout was good and we had enough cakes to sell more in the afternoon once the weather had brightened up.
Macmillan provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care and there are very few of us who are lucky enough not to be touched by cancer in some way.
Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this very worthwhile cause.
We raised a fabulous £154
Macmillan provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care and there are very few of us who are lucky enough not to be touched by cancer in some way.
Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this very worthwhile cause.
We raised a fabulous £154
Promoting the Arts
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We love music here at Sibford Gower Endowed Primary School. Early in the Autumn Term, peripatetic music tutor Keith Allen visited to give an inspirational assembly, showcasing the talents of some of those pupils who have been learning saxophone, flute and clarinet with him. They then had the opportunity to attend two 'hands-on' workshops to help them decide if they wanted to learn to play one of these instruments.
Children at the school can also sign up for guitar lessons with Jason Page and singing lessons with Valerie Vet. |
Grandparents Day
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We were delighted to welcome grandparents and carers into school to join the children for a special lunch of lasagne or vegetarian chilli provided by our wonderful caterers, Freshstart.
This was a very sociable occasion. As always, the food was of an excellent standard and our Y6 dinner monitors did a wonderful job of ensuring that all our grandparents had everything they needed. Grandparents then joined their grandchildren in the sunshine of the playground for the rest of lunchtime. |
Year 5 Science Camp Out
On a clear night in early March, the Year 5 children pitched their tents in the school grounds for a mid-week, overnight camp out. They had been learning about electricity and, in a brilliant example of child-led learning, they decided to find out, at first hand, what it would be like to experience life without electricity.
The challenge was to spend a night in the school grounds without using anything containing an electrical circuit. Our local scout group kindly lent us the tents (Thank you, Mr Lamb). While the children could bring bedding, a toothbrush and flannel, warm clothes and even a cuddly toy, they were not allowed to bring torches, mobile phones, games consoles or tablets!
Sibford Gower has no street lights, which made the setting perfect for this night time lesson.
After they had pitched their tents, the children made their own burgers, which they cooked on the campfire. They played games and sang songs around the fire for entertainment, and then washed by candlelight before settling down for a night under the stars.
Staff members Mr Cameron and Mrs Williams and parent, Mrs Arniboldi, took turns to sit sentry through the small hours before waking the children to have a breakfast of bacon sandwiches cooked on the barbecue. Then it was time to pack up and go back into the classroom to start morning lessons.
All the children agreed that, although the night had been great fun, living without electricity is really, really hard.
The challenge was to spend a night in the school grounds without using anything containing an electrical circuit. Our local scout group kindly lent us the tents (Thank you, Mr Lamb). While the children could bring bedding, a toothbrush and flannel, warm clothes and even a cuddly toy, they were not allowed to bring torches, mobile phones, games consoles or tablets!
Sibford Gower has no street lights, which made the setting perfect for this night time lesson.
After they had pitched their tents, the children made their own burgers, which they cooked on the campfire. They played games and sang songs around the fire for entertainment, and then washed by candlelight before settling down for a night under the stars.
Staff members Mr Cameron and Mrs Williams and parent, Mrs Arniboldi, took turns to sit sentry through the small hours before waking the children to have a breakfast of bacon sandwiches cooked on the barbecue. Then it was time to pack up and go back into the classroom to start morning lessons.
All the children agreed that, although the night had been great fun, living without electricity is really, really hard.
International Week
There was a distinctly international flavour (literally!) at our fantastic school at the end of the Autumn Term. The children in Acorn and Beech Class have been immersed in nordic Christmas crafts, manipulating clay to make candle holders and christmas 'baubles', baking gingerbread tree decorations, printing beautiful wrapping paper, bagging up reindeer food, and so much more to prepare for their amazing scandinavian Christmas Fair. This was set up in our newly re-roofed conservatory space and looked amazing. The fair was so crowded we could barely move, and the children made a profit!
The staff and children of KS2 developed and ran an International Street Food market as the culmination of their cross-curricular geography based topic work. This included an excellent project in which the children had to plan, cost and then produce food from Venezuala, Mexico or Hong Kong, depending on their class focus - an excellent opportunity to develop and apply both life and business skills. They did some excellent learning involving lots of collaborative work, and had great fun.
Loads of parents and friends of the school attended the after-school event, where they had a chance to purchase and try regional food prepared by the children and see some excellent dancing. Very well done!
Loads of parents and friends of the school attended the after-school event, where they had a chance to purchase and try regional food prepared by the children and see some excellent dancing. Very well done!
Year 5 & 6 residential trip to Condover Hall
Here are some pictures from Condover. Please do not worry if your child does not appear in them. These are just to give a flavour of what they have been up to so far and there will be plenty more photos to share later.
Whole School Reading Week
As part of our whole school focus on encouraging a love of reading and the written word, we invited all parents to come in for the first half hour of each morning to share books with the children. This was really successful and a lovely way to start the day. A huge thank you to all those parents and grandparents who were able to join us.
Summer Reading Challenge
Before the summer holiday, we invited our friends from Hook Norton Public Library into school to launch the Summer Reading Challenge, encouraging pupils and their parents to make regular visits to the library and read at least six books during the summer holiday.
Loads of you took part in this and it was impressive to see just how many of our pupils met the challenge and were awarded their Summer Reading Challenge medals at the beginning of the Autumn Term. Fantastic!
Loads of you took part in this and it was impressive to see just how many of our pupils met the challenge and were awarded their Summer Reading Challenge medals at the beginning of the Autumn Term. Fantastic!
KS2 Topic Trip to The Ashmolean Museum
Two weeks into the new academic year, the children from Willow, Maple and Oak classes boarded a coach to go to The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. They were off to find out all about Ancient Egypt, the first KS2 topic of the year. Although the visit was intended to engage the children and inspire further learning in this topic, museum staff were very impressed by the amount that our children had already learned, both through lessons in school and their own homework research. Thank you to Mr Lecznar for organising this fantastic opportunity.
Yarn Bombing Club
Thanks to Mrs Perkins, we have had our very own 'yarn bombing' club. The merry band have been busy each Wednesday after school, knitting and making pom-poms to add colour to the Orchard. The final session was spent down in the Orchard, sewing their pieces to the tree! Totally fabulous!
Summer's here!
The fine weather has arrived and there are even more opportunities for learning and playing outside.
We can go on the mini-field at playtimes and it is great fun when we can all play together.
We can go on the mini-field at playtimes and it is great fun when we can all play together.
Oak Class went out and about, creating works of art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy. If you look on Oak Class page you can see some examples of the completed works of environmental art by our Year 5 & 6 pupils.
Our Achievement assembly -
Our new playground!! - with huge thanks to our PTA, we are all now able to enjoy the additional facilities on the playground. The sunshine always helps too!
The Key Stage 2 Performance
Over two afternoons and an evening, the children from Willow, Oak and Maple classes
put on a wonderful performance of 'The Wind in the Willows' for children, families and
friends.
The Orchard Grand Opening
Please check The Orchard pages for how it was done! /forest-school.html
How we revamped The Orchard - March 2015
Children in Need
We looked at the work of different artists who had created works of art using spots and circles. These included Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee,
Bridget Riley, Jasper Johns, Damien Hirst and Andy Goldsworthy. Then the children created their own art using a range of media and techniques; pastels, paint, ICT, crayon, pencil and pen.
Bridget Riley, Jasper Johns, Damien Hirst and Andy Goldsworthy. Then the children created their own art using a range of media and techniques; pastels, paint, ICT, crayon, pencil and pen.
Visitors from Uganda
We welcomed visitors from Uganda. They told us about the schools they have developed in their own country and answered lots of our questions about life, customs and culture in modern day Uganda. As part of the day, our guests ran a workshop, teaching the children to make collage cards out of banana leaves.
