Community Links
I attended four Christmas events that the children performed in and collectively they gave a lovely celebration of Christmas .
Tuesday 10th Dec .- the Nativity Play at Whitemead .This was the evening performance , the second one of the day. The children were brilliant - singing & reciting their parts .The enthusiasm of the teachers shone through and everyone enjoyed it. They must have been tired by the end .
Wednesday 11th - I walked from school with the pupils ( year 5&6 ) to the Community Cafe at Sling .The pupils performed Carols ,readings & jokes. The audience loved it & so did I . The school have been asked to return next year .The enthusiasm of pupils & staff shone through .We then walked back to school.
Friday 13th - we travelled by coach from school to the Elms at Staunton where Year 5 &6 performed carols ,readings & jokes for the residents, again the children & staff’s enthusiasm shone through. They were a credit to the school.
Monday 16th Carol Service at school .The pupils performed on home ground -they hadn't tired of performing and did it with the same enthusiasm - a true credit to the school.
Regards
Pam Cullis
We had a lovely morning singing at the Community Cafe in Sling. Mrs Aston was very proud of the great job they did and the lovely manners shown.
Food Bank
We collected 122.65kg of food for the local foodbank this term! Thank you to all parents / carers who donated and attended our wonderful Harvest Festival. Thank you to reverend Michelle for leading part of the lovely assembly! It was a lovely celebration.
Owl Visit
We were very fortunate to have a local resident visit the school with her barn owl and Egyptian hedgehog. This was a fantastic way for year 2 pupils to be emerged into their English unit based on 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'.
Open the Book
We have weekly visits from Enid and David from Open the Book. They come into school and share stories with us.
Reverend Michelle comes in to school regularly and delivers assemblies. She also leads celebrations such as; Harvest, Remembrance and Christmas worships.
We have community links with the Local Council and the Coleford Twinning association. We have pen pals in France.
Forest Harvesting
Last year during the spring term, the Year 6 children went to Bromley woods and met Forestry England staff to learn about tree felling. They took part in a range of activities including, measuring the girth of trees, identifying different kinds of trees and watching the harvesting machine felling trees. They also had the opportunity to see how the harvesting machine works. The children really enjoyed this experience.
We have been to the local residential home - The Elms. We sang some lovely Christmas carols and the elderly people really enjoyed it ! The choir have also attended the over 80s Christmas Lunch at the local golf club.
Coleford Lantern Parade:
A while ago we took part in this project which was developed with partnerships between SOUNDWORK Community Projects; Coleford Town Council Coleford Area Partnership; The Art of Libraries project; and local schools - including ours!
During fascinating workshops (that were held in Sycamore Class and Willow Class by local volunteers and artists), our pupils had great fun creating impressive lanterns, with the help of parents and grandparents who very kindly offered their time to support our work in school.
Our children and their families joined hundreds of other community members in Coleford for a spectacular Lantern Parade. The organisers were overwhelmed with our turnout and they praised our children's patience and positivity whilst waiting to begin. Our lanterns created a sparkling spectacle as we walked through the town centre.
The Mayor was really impressed with everybody's efforts and the evening was full of festive fun. The switching on of the town's Christmas lights was very exciting for all who attended.
Many thanks to the teachers for coordinating our involvement - and to all of the children and family members who attended to celebrate. It was wonderful to see many younger members of our school community who joined the parade, even though they had not been involved in the workshops. Well done to you all!
On Remembrance Sunday, two pupils represented the Second Coleford Brownies. They paraded through Coleford and a pupils was the standard bearer. Maisie placed the wreath at the Altar in the church. Well done – we are so proud of you!
We carried out a sponsored walk in memory of Mrs Marshall. We raised £750 for MacMillan and £750 for The Great Oaks Hospice. We really try and support local charities.
We take part in numerous community projects and events:
- Singing at the local care home
- Collecting shoe boxes for the Shoe Box Appeal at Christmas
- Inviting local residents in to our history lessons to talk about what it was like to come to our school
- Competing in the Bream show
- Super learner week - inviting lots of different people and professionals in to school
- Planting daffodils in the village
- Reverend Michele and Open the book come in to school and deliver assemblies
- Cain came in to school to talk about living with a disability
- Lots a of author visits
- PSCO
- Visitors from the community area who have a specific talent or interest
- Providing food for the food bank
- We are a member of the local twinning association
- Links with the secondary schools
- Visiting local places of significance e.g. Dean heritage, Dark hill
- Fundraising for WWF, Water Aid, Macmillan and the Great Oaks hospice
- Poppy appeal
- Singing at the local fete
- Entering competitions
- Parents being involved in trips and Forest adventures
- Super learner week