On Wednesday 19th March the school choir travelled to the Cresset to take part in a Beatles Singing Day. The children had learnt 3 Beatles songs during the last few weeks of choir, and we joined with other schools to refine our performances with a vocal coach. We took part in sessions where we met different band members (who were accompanying us in the concert), and enjoyed finding out about the different instruments. The day culminated with a concert to the parents, where the children sung with enthusiasm and very clear enjoyment! The choir were impeccably behaved, representing Orton Wistow superbly. They should feel very proud of their performance and the way they conducted themselves during the course of the day.

^{Photo by Michael Maasen on Unsplash}

Last Friday we celebrated World Book Day in school with a whole host of fantastic activities all centred around the love of stories. I have really enjoyed asking the children this week what they did in class and which activity was their favourite - thank you to all the children who have shared that with me!

In Year 1 they were busy practising their play, based on The Robot and the Bluebird - “one of our all time favourite stories!” said Miss Wyatt. Later on, when some of the adults had switched classes, Mrs Cawston led them to creating their OWN story - based on themselves, complete with actions! 

Year 2 played an old favourite, the headband game, taking it in turns to wear the name of a book character on a headband and asking questions to try and figure out who they were supposed to be.

Year 3 were in the library all afternoon (well, those who weren’t at Burwell!) exploring some creative writing based on Joseph Coelho’s Ten Word Tiny Tales. Some expanded on the pages in the book, others used the online word generator to come up with their own Ten Word Tiny Tale! We all enjoyed contributing to the ideas page of one story, about a girl trying to climb out of the sky.

From making bookmarks, to playing book recommendation bingo (a card full of different types of books to try), to completing word scavenger hunts through a massive selection of texts, to simply reading - Year 4 had a whole BONANZA of bookish brilliance going on.

Year 5 designed book covers - either for a book they had read or a made up book - and they also made reading mood boards using big pieces of paper. 

We cut out loads of pictures to do with books and things we like and how we like to read and stuck them on!” - Arabella & Harry

At the end of the day, all the adults switched classes and took some different books to read to a completely different group of children. Here are some of the books that were shared:

Little Red & the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T Smith

The Dog Who Danced on the Moon by John Boyne

The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak

The Dragonsitter by Josh Lacey

Wigglesbottom Primary: The Talking Lamb by Pamela Butchart

Norse Myths and Legends

13 Unbelievable Tales by Paul Jennings

And of course, we all enjoyed dressing up as our favourite book characters. We even got this shot of Professor Snape with a whole herd of Harry Potters (plus Dobby, a few Hermiones and a Gringotts dragon)!

Many shops have now already sold out of the official World Book Day books, but if you’re yet to spend your voucher, never fear, as you can also use it to get £1 off the cost of any other children’s book.  

From Year 3, 39 children went on the Burwell Residential Trip. This was the first opportunity for the children to experience a residential, and the children all had an amazing time!

We had written a script in advance and spent time in Burwell's television studio, recording, directing and presenting or own TV news program. Alongside this we became expert at map reading and orienteering. We enjoyed a variety of team challenges which culminated in the 'Great Egg Drop. After a lovely village walk our final activity was a game of Burwell Fox, where the children had toe vade the wily farmers (who may or may not have been the teachers wearing dressing up clothes-we couldn't possibly comment).

The children were fully responsible for both setting and clearing away the tables in the dining room, and after all of our activities, ate huge quantities of delicious food. We were so fortunate to enjoy such amazing weather, and the children loved being outside, running around the large grounds of Burwell House.

It was so nice to see the children in a non academic session working together and enjoying themselves. Several children said that they had had the best time EVER, and a parent even told me that their child had commented over the weekend that they wished they were still at Burwell House! I think we can safely say it was a successful visit!

Here at Orton Wistow Primary School, we recognise that success comes in all different shapes and sizes! We celebrate the children's achievements in school in the Achievements section of the newsletter and website.

Many of the children, however, are also achieving things outside of school.  We would like to recognise these successes too.

It might be that your child has passed a music or dance exam, gained a karate belt, starred in a show, volunteered, taken part in a sporting event, or done something that they didn't think was possible!

If you would like to share your child's achievements with us so that we can celebrate their success, please complete the Celebrating Success form which can also be found below.  Contributions will be considered for inclusion in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

We look forward to hearing about your children's extracurricular achievements!

This Week's Successes!

These brothers in Year 6 and Year 2 both competed in the Sports Karate Alliance competition at the weekend. Oscar secured a silver medal and also supported children throughout the day in a coaching role. Theo fought in 3 categories, including a more advanced section with older children, and won a gold and silver medal. Here is a picture of them both on the podium. Congratulations to both boys.

On Tuesday 11^th of February, Year Three performed their year group assembly of 'Amazing Egyptians' to parents and carers.  They performed with gusto, sang and danced to the music of Ancient Egypt, became experts in their fields and persuaded us all into believing they were genuine quiz hosts!  Well done Year Three!

This Wednesday, 12^th February, saw our entire school (staff and pupils) take part in Orton Wistow: Battle of the Voices!

This was a singing competition that hopefully you have heard your child/children discussing! For the last few weeks, instead of having a singing assembly, the school has split into 7 groups, and we have all been learning a song for the competition. We had 3 judges come along and judge our performances, looking at musical aspects, such as tuning and tone, but also considering the performance overall and how well the audience responded to the performances! The hall was filled with some incredible singing, and it was truly wonderful to see all the children singing (and dancing in some cases) their hearts out! It was an absolutely fantastic afternoon - there were big smiles and a spring in our steps as we left the hall. A huge well done to all of our performers, especially to our winners, Status Wistow, who won with their amazing rendition of 'Rockin' All Over the World'. 

By Rachel Francis | Music Lead