9th June 2016

Dear Parents

Welcome back to the second half of Trinity Term. This portion of the School year races by, so get ready

for an exciting time ahead!

French Day in Key Stage One

The Parisian restaurant setting of the film

“Ratatouille” provided the theme for this year’s

event, aimed to provide pupils in Sunnylands

Nursery, Reception, 1KS and 2MW with a fun

opportunity to use the French language.

Ratatouille is a French dish made of vegetables.

Although the name may suggest it, and although

many children dressed up as rats for the day, there is

indeed no rat ingredient in ratatouille!

There was a wealth of chefs, rats and very well disguised children.

A concert to share French songs each

class had learnt with each other took

place and “le Louvres” showcased

some lovely pictures created in

class.

Having learnt the names of vegetable in French

and talked about Paris and French food, children

played games based on the vocabulary. There

was also picture lotto, interactive games on the

whiteboard and Chefs’ hats were also made.

Nursery cut the vegetables necessary for the Ratatouille and it was cooked onsite for all to taste.

“Une bonne Journée française”was had by all!

A trip to Foxton Locks

The children from

1KS, 2MW and 3JC

followed up their

recent canal workshop

with a visit to Foxton

Locks. The sun shone

as our intrepid

explorers walked

along the tow path.

They were lucky to

find some friendly

people who were

living on a narrow

boat, who explained

what facilities they

had on board,

pointing out the solar

panels on the roof.

A ride on a boat along the canal provided a chance to spot many

interesting features, including the grooves in the brickwork made by

the ropes attached to the horses that used to pull the boats. After

disembarking, children watched a number of boats moving through the

locks. Their final walk was along a section of canal with lily pads

growing in abundance and a number of children were able to conclude

that the plants were able to grow because boats no longer used this

section of canal. This was a fact that they had remembered from their

workshop at School.

Key Stage Two Swimming Gala

Weekly swimming lessons at St Peter’s School aim to build up pupils’ stroke and footwork skills to the

standards set by the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association). Once these two skills areas are in place for

a variety of strokes then speed and stamina can also be built upon. Our annual Swimming Gala in Key

Stage Two sets up a competitive forum within which pupils’ swimming progress can be showcased, and

what a show of talent and resilience there was this year. For Year Three pupils, this was their first gala

and they certainly did themselves proud. We had superb swimming and effort from all of our pupils

taking part and as always, our parents were a fantastic crowd, cheering on each and every swimmer,

clapping unceasingly until all competitors reached their finish line. Thank you! Congratulations

Pitsford…but watch out, Rutland, Thorpe and Grafham are plotting their comeback at the forthcoming

Summer Games Day and Sports Day!

Adventures and Challenges on Residential 2016

The week before half term saw pupils in Year Five and Year Six being waved off (perhaps

apprehensively!) by their parents as they embarked upon a journey to Shugborough Entrust Adventure

Centre, along with Mr Holmes and myself. We were all to be spending five days and four nights in the

great outdoors of the stunning Staffordshire countryside.

What a time we had! We glamped in

yurts, and enjoyed all manner of outdoor

pursuits, as you will see from the

photographs!

The BMX biking was a big hit and the climbing brought a lot of fun too.

The blindfold trail really challenged pupils' team work and

listening skills-in a good way!

Canoeing and kayaking saw our crews

in the River Trent and on its canal.

This was a real challenge for

upper body strength and

mental stamina. There were

plenty of smiles at the end of

the session, by which time all

our adventurers had shown

super skills progression.

Another highlight was a stunning

walk across Shugborough Estate, our

knowledgeable guide sharing historical

and local information with the now

tiring team.

Activities were designed to build teams and skills as well as sensitively challenge children's courage and

determination. It worked! By the end of each day, Mr Holmes & Mrs Chapman were able to recount

achievements for each & every pupil. Well done to the team of Residential 2016. You smashed it!

Reception Class Assembly

Reception charmed their audience with their assembly performance, which told the story of ‘St Peter’s

Castle’. Theone Garwe and Maya Sieunarine took on the impressive challenge of narrating the assembly

and operating a microphone, and all pupils thoroughly enjoyed learning their lines to bring a taste of the

medieval period to 2016! The audience were able to learn what it was like to live in a castle; they were

quite surprised to hear that bear pie was amongst the food eaten at the time and amazed by the

gruesome tactics employed by attackers during battle, such as catapulting dead animals over the castle

walls! Reception Class danced beautifully to instrumental medieval music and concluded their assembly

by singing the song ‘Our Castle’ with great gusto.

Staffing Update

Mrs Cruickshank will play her last chords at St Ps at the end of this term as she is moving on to new

adventures. A new music coordinator and a new Year Three class teacher were recruited just before half

term. It is always sad to wave valued colleagues goodbye but it is equally exciting to see new teaching

teams forming in the School. Once all the regulatory safeguarding checks have been completed I will be

able to provide further details of our new teachers.

Summer Games Afternoons next week!

As per the School calendar, these much awaited afternoons will be upon us next week. Parents of Key

Stage Two pupils have received a letter by Parentmail with all the details so please read through the

information carefully. Pupils in KS2 come to school next Wed and Thurs wearing games kit WITH

HOUSE TSHIRT.

School photo on Tuesday

Don’t forget, the School Photograph is being taken again on Tuesday. We need super smart pupils.

Everyone needs to wear blazers. Long hair should be tied and clipped back. Girls wear summer dresses

and boys will need to be in grey regulation shorts. Shoes should be black and polished. As we are past

half term, it is now SHORT white socks for girls and SHORT grey socks for boys that are required.

Don’t forget your blazers…and polished shoes too!

PTAFA present Bugtopia

What excitement there was

when our Bugtopians got

their hands on the visitors

who came to St Ps just before

half term! Thank you to

PTAFA for hosting this truly

fantastic experience and

providing yet another

treasured memory for our

children.

PTAFA presents Pop Up Circus

Wow! Loads of tickets have been sold! Thank you, lovely parents of St

Ps for supporting something BIG like this, for a Pop Up Circus will not

be a regular event at St Ps! This really is a rare occasion, one your

child will really want to be taken to and another treasured school

memory made. Please don’t disappoint- get your tickets now, before

it’s too late!

Readathon On!

Reading for Readathon has started. I hope that pupils enjoy reading a wealth of facts and fiction and

that many families will opt to also support this charity.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow afternoon’s celebrations to mark the occasion of Her Majesty’s

90th birthday. Parents are reminded that tea and cakes will be served at 3.30pm in Sunnylands Hall so

do please come along. Children-don’t forget to bring your royal teddies tomorrow!

There will be a mini bulletin next week with a further sports update.

Yours sincerely

Maria Chapman MA(Ed) Headmistress