Yes, the festive season approaches like a speeding steam train and Year 5 have spent time – in between class assembly practises – creating decorations and learning songs for whole school assemblies.  The children will bring these decorations home for the adornment of your jolly tree.

The cold, wet weather has not detured outdoor learning and both classes have endured freezing temperatures and mountains of mud to enjoy time in the garden area and a few pictures are attached to highlight what the children have created.

Also this term, we have visited Hampton Court – a fabulous trip, full of historic wonder and engaging spectacle.  The children were asked to write a few thoughts and impressions about their experience.

Max said: "I enjoyed the trip very much it gave me an amazing experience. The best parts were the magnificent art gallery and the gardens. They really gave me the 1500s vibes. Thank you!"

Whilst Joseph wrote: “Starting off, it was a long drive, but it was worth it to see something out of a fantasy world.  We were allowed to (when we got there) look around the Palace. First, we passed by the kitchen’s (I’ll talk about that later) to get to the wine cellar. In the wine cellar it was cold and mysterious, about 50 barrels of wine was stored there at the time. When we left the wine cellar, we headed to a fountain (still in the building). After 5 minutes of looking at the fountain, we moved onto the massive courts. If you look at the wall’s, you can see that they are different types of bricks.

Then we had lunch but that doesn’t matter because this is about my experience. When we finished lunch, we headed to the chapel where we saw a remake of Henry VIII’s crown. Also, there was about 40 candles down below. Then, we headed to the garden.

The garden was massive, but the trees were in like a hut shape and in the centre was a fountain. Now the kitchen’s, the gigantic oven’s (about 5 oven’s) with high ceilings and finding out that only sheep were coked there.

Facts that I found interesting: Henry VIII’s favourite food was strawberries. Some of the building was knocked down by Georgians and rebuilt again.”

Daniel commented: “Hampton Court palace was the best school trip I have ever had.  My favourite part was the tour of the kitchens with a man in a costume.  It was so fascinating.  I didn’t know the Georgians added to the structure of the palace…”

And finally, Asa concluded: “Best school experience ever because you got to go inside a maze and see a beautiful fountain.  Whoever goes there will love it! The gardens are beautiful and calming with lovely plants and more.  Not only do you get to explore, you also get a tour round Henry VIII’s massive kitchens.  It is very fun!”

Have a look HERE for some photos from this month

As a team, we would like to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.