On Friday 11th May Ivy Chimneys football team played perhaps their last game of the season against the current league leaders, Lambourne.  Half way through the first half Alex Doe passed several opposition players and slotted the ball into the back of the net to take us into half time 1-0 up.  In the second half Lambourne showed why they are current leaders and despite a fantastic, man of the match performance from Jobey in defence, they managed to put 3 past Jack in goal to leave the score 3-1.  Ivy Chimneys currently stand in second place in the league, with 2 games to play if they can be arranged before the cut off date. Well done to all the boys and thanks for all the support from the parents.

On Thursday 10^th May, both Oak class and Sycamore class went on a trip to Colchester Castle.  Both classes had a great day out!  We left at 9am, arriving in Colchester just over an hour later.  After meeting our guides on the bridge, we then set off to explore the galleries.  The children enjoyed looking at the exhibits and trying on the various outfits on display.  Some dressed up as Roman soldiers, donning helmets.  Others tried on togas and completed rubbings of the coins in the interactive sections.

After completing some activities in the galleries, the children then rejoined their guides for a story tour underground, which proved fascinating for all.  The children split into two groups; one group got into character as Roman soldiers, practising their fighting techniques, whilst the second group (in role as Celts) spiked up their hair with limestone and painted their bodies with imaginary berries!  We then learnt all about the Roman’s fighting techniques, before discovering that we were actually sat right under where Claudius’ temple used to sit.  It was just like we had stepped right back in time.

Soon, we moved into the next room where we learnt more about Boudicca and why she revolted against Roman rule.  It was at this point that our brave Celtic warriors began to revolt themselves, with some children telling our guide that they didn’t want to be slaves to the Romans.  Our guide then made an example of two of our Celts by chopping their heads off.   Luckily, it was just an imaginary punishment and we are pleased to report that all children returned to school with heads fully intact.

After a short lunch stop, and a visit to the gift shop, both classes then enjoyed their last hour in the upstairs gallery, where they continued to explore the various activities on offer.

Finally, the children boarded the coach for a long (and extremely wet!) journey home. 

Thank you to all the adults who accompanied the two classes on our school trip, we are grateful for all your help and for helping us to enjoy our day out.

On Tuesday 1st May, Chestnut Class welcomed parents, carers, grandparents and staff to their Aztec food festival.  The children had researched Aztec recipes which they could make.  They worked out costings for the ingredients, created their own recipe cards, produced an order form and then cooked the food ready for an afternoon of tasting.  Pupils then created posters, bunting and place mats to promote their food stalls.

Recipes included starters such as guacamole, main courses (including a delicious chicken casserole) and delicious desserts such as fudge cake and chocolate truffles.  All this was washed down with an authentic hot chocolate drink flavoured with chilli!

Orders for the recipes flooded in and the children were busy over the next week making their recipe cards, buying the ingredients and most importantly counting up their profits!

Thank you to everyone who supported the day and to Linda Bates and Jane Hayes who worked so hard to help us make all our food!

On Wednesday 2nd May, Ivy Chimneys welcomed their latest child. The first of (13?) blue tit eggs hatched in the bird box, mother and baby are doing well and looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

The Eco-Club would like to invite all parents and children alike to come and view our ‘bird cam’ located outside the office, and watch their progress over the coming weeks.

Jackie Yeoman, one of our mums, very kindly made all the costumes, so they looked fab and truly 60′s!  Some even managed false eyelashes!  Again they performed wonderfully with much energy and enthusiasm.

Well done to all and thank you to Amanda Barron for taking the photos.

Monday 19th March was the culmination of our work for National Science & Engineering Week.  The children gathered together in the hall for a rather special assembly – the final of the Paper Plane Competition!

Parents had been encouraged to help their children to create the best paper aeroplane, they’d been made in school and each class had their own competition to find the plane that flew the greatest distance.  Each class winner took part in the final, using a motorised launcher to shoot the planes across the hall. 

Each plane flew twice and the longest flight was recorded for each. The flights varied widely, with some planes refusing to perform on the day despite earlier successes in class. Well done to all the finalists.

The winner from the Infants was Joshua M and from the Juniors – Daniel B.  They each received their own Motorised Launcher and all the winning designs will shortly be going on display.  Finally, a big thank you to two of our parents – Jennie Heath and Juliette Guacquiere who visited the school during the week to deliver fantastic ‘Hands On’ science experiences.  The children had a great time, increasing their scientific knowledge and working together to investigate many scientific principles.