SILVERHILL NEWSLETTER

AUTUMN TERM 2016

I like the woodsIn autumn

When dry leaves hide the ground,When the trees are bareAnd the wind sweeps by

With a lonesome rushing sound.I can rustle the leaves

In autumnAnd I can make a bedIn the thick dry leaves

That have fallenFrom the bare trees

Overhead. James S. Tippett

OFSTED inspection 2016/17Silverhill School has been found ‘Outstanding’ in all categories. This pays tribute to the dedication and inspiration of the staff who ensure the highest standards and outcomes for all the children.

The inspectors said it was not possible to achieve such pastoral care overnight. The teachers have enabled the children to explore their academic potential and have gifted them with a love for learning.

‘’Thus the children are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their education.”

ACADEMIC

CURRICULUM

Science curriculum highlightsYear 6This term Year 6 have studied light, how the eyes work, the heart and keeping healthy. Their work included investigating which factors affect the size of a shadow and how light is reflected using mirrors and a light box. The highlight was when staff and students from Clifton High School came to lead a practical dissection of a pig’s eye. I had tried to prepare the children before hand by bringing in a heart and showing them the different chambers and valves. The eyes however, were blood- and muscle-free and the children’s fascination soon overcame any initial qualms.

The children wrote … ‘Year 6 performed beautifully as they cut it open. Everyone thought it was quite hard but such fun. At the end everyone received a certificate and a souvenir’ ‘Will and I were struggling to cut the eye in half but we got there in the end. When we were trying to get the lens out the jelly would not stop moving and I felt really sick.’ ‘We learnt that pigs’ eyes are very small and normally blue. There is a lot of liquid inside when you cut them open!’We were also lucky enough to have Ed Ley give us an inspirational talk on eating beautifully, choosing a rainbow of colours from the ecosystem, as our ancestors did, and trying to avoid processed foods.

Year 5Year 5 initially investigated different forces, using a Newton meter to measure the weight of various objects. They tested the friction between various surfaces and a rubber – with or without its plastic covering, and tried to make the most streamlined shape with plasticine, testing them against each other in water.

During the Earth and Space unit they all researched information about a planet, which they then presented to the class. They also tried to make up their own phrase to remember the order of the planets.

Year 4We started the year by looking at sound, playing various instruments and seeing how the sound was produced. We then proceeded to try to change the volume and pitch.

The second part of the term was spent studying digestion, teeth and food chains. The children learnt a lot about different diets by studying our wonderful skull collection which includes a shark, horse, sheep and badger. We have an owl pellet dissection to look forward to in the spring term.

Year 3Year 3 started the year by looking at different light sources and investigating the intensity of shadow cast by transparent, translucent and opaque objects. We set up a sundial on the school playing field and all had a go at predicting where shadow would be at 3pm and how long it would be.

The second half term, we have been linking our nutrition, bones and muscles project with their literacy work where year 3 have been learning about factual reports and their skeleton. This work has been reinforced by making pictures of their skeleton using paper straws in science whilst listening to ‘Name those bones’ (a great song on YouTube), and using natural materials in forest school.

Debating: Years 5 & 6

Year 5 was introduced to our debating arena this term and proved themselves from the start: not at all slow in standing up to deliver their arguments and opinions. Here is a taste of what happened.

This House believes that

TV does more harm than goodPerhaps rather surprisingly, the house showed little enthusiasm for the positive aspects of television, regarding it as a negative rather than a positive asset in their lives. Only a handful spoke of its benefits. The vote: For the motion: 22 Against: 5 Don’t Know: 7

Smart Phones and Tablets are destroying Family LifeThere was passion in this debate with some debaters agreeing strongly with the motion from recent experience. One had recently sat with a friend at a dinner-party; the friend had spent the entire meal on her i-phone! However, the pros and cons were so evenly balanced that the House sat on the fence and gave no real verdict. The vote: For the motion: 4 Against: 2 Don’t Know: 31

Films are better than booksThis was a very close call. Films were regarded as better because they showed clearly what was actually happening in a story and were very creative. They also provided a live opportunity to share the experience with friends. The negative for books was that they provided a very private experience with little or no sharing.Books scored on the value of readers using their own imagination as they read and of creating their own characters. Books won the argument with a paper-thin majority!The vote: For the motion: 12 Against: 16 Don’t Know: 3

This House would rather be Deaf than BlindNo close call this motion. Apart from two of the musically-attuned debaters, blindness proved overwhelmingly less acceptable than deafness. The inability to see was deprivation of the most extreme kind.The vote: For the motion: 30 Against: 2 Don’t Know: 1

ArtTake One PictureThe National Gallery project ‘Take One Picture’, came to a close with a superb assembly showcasing all the wonderful and exciting work that had taken place over the course of two terms. All the Year groups including the Pre-school had some very interesting and creative work to show.

Mrs Allen started the assembly by explaining how the children had responded to Reuben’s painting and how they then went on to develop some incredibly outstanding sculptures of animals. Mrs Allen was really pleased at how the children had taken responsibility for their own learning – no mean feat for 3 year olds!

Reception children did some very interesting work on the senses and held up drawings they had done.

Year 1 were inspired by the tapestry that was placed on the back of one of the elephants in Reuben's painting. They looked at the patterns and decided to use the beautiful grounds at Silverhill to look for patterns in nature. They made some very creative leaf and twig pictures individually and collectively made a huge metre-square piece of art made from flowers, leafs, twigs and large fallen branches.

Year 2 children responded to the painting by being curious about the parade and told Mrs Conner ‘We’d like to do a parade!’ – and that’s exactly what they did. They made their own musical instruments, dressed up and danced and paraded to Verde’s Aida. This was filmed and we were lucky enough to see the short film. Year 2 also did a super large frieze painting of lots of animals which was colourful and really felt like they were moving.

Year 3 wrote some beautiful sense poetry about the painting and performed this as a group.

Year 4 made books in the style of the ‘Jolly Postman’, where each page had an envelope full of interesting artefacts. The books were full of fictional stories in first person by the soldiers and animals in the painting. They also did some very creative pastel drawings of Sea Monsters.

Year 5 did a debate about ‘Slavery’ and Ben and Bethany were the interviewers. It was a very interesting and unique format where 2 pupils were interviewed about their opinions about slavery within the context of people’s lives in Roman times.

Year 6 did a demonstration about the eye using props and also talked about the dissection of the eye they had performed with pupils from Clifton High School.

ArtYear 3Year 3 have been looking at portraits and how an artist portrays the relationships within the paintings. They have looked at paintings in depth and analysed the composition, colour and mood of the paintings. They then went on to do some life drawings (quick sketches) of each other which they really enjoyed. We will be finishing this topic off with the final piece being a painting depicting two people in it.

Year 4 Year 4 enjoyed learning about 3 different artists – Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte and Marc Chagall. They learned about ‘Surreal Art’ and how the movement came about. This topic was then linked with English and the children painted ‘Dream paintings’ where they were able to extend their vocabulary by using lots of interesting adjectives. They also were able to practise manipulating the materials used and do some more advanced colour-mixing of tertiary colours.

Year5 As part of the Cross-curricular Egypt topic Year 5 did some super collages and jewellery. The children were put into 4 groups with a leader who was able to delegate and organise tasks for each group member. Joshua’s group painted a superb picture of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Anya’s group painted a montage of images depicting ‘Farming.’ Poppy’s group made Egyptian jewellery collars for use in the Year 6 play. Ben’s group painted a super depiction of ‘Mummification.’

Year 6 Year 6 researched Death Masks and we discussed the impact of the exhibition of Tutankhamun’s death-mask that came to London in 1975. They then painted some very colourful and interesting Death Masks.’ They then found out about the use of Canopic jars and their role in Mummification. Each pupil chose a particular canopic jar (4 different heads – hawk’s head, baboon’s head, human head, and jackal’s head) and made this using papier maché for the base and clay for the head.

DramaYear 2Year 2 enjoyed being introduced to their first Drama lessons with Mrs Bufton. They played lots of listening games, getting to know you games and co-operation games. They learned some new action songs – the favourite as always ‘Donkey Riding.’ They had fun learning and reciting Edward Lear’s poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat,’ and finding out about the author’s ‘other’ profession as a Royal Artist to Queen Victoria’. Another favourite was ‘Musical Hats,’ where the person, who is given a hat when the music stops, has to say a phrase from the country of the hat (using the appropriate accent of course!).

Year 3Year 3 enjoyed doing Drama for the first time in the hall! They did lots of improvisation games, listening games and warm-up games. The topic was ‘Character,’ and we used short sketches from Charles Dickens ‘Oliver’ to look at rich and poor characters. They learned some old fashioned language and found out a little of what life was like in Dickens’ day including life in the workhouse. They also enjoyed singing songs from Lionel Bart’s famous musical based on Dickens’ novel.

Year 4Year 4 also enjoyed enacting short sketches from another Dickens novel – ‘Great Expectations.’ They found out about what it was like to be in prison in the Victorian days. They took turns in being the characters Pip, Magwitch, Mr Joe and Mrs Gargery. They watched short clips from the film to get a sense of the characters’ attributes – they particularly enjoyed being a very rough and violent Magwitch! They also learned some old fashioned language used in Victorian days.

Year 5Year 5 enjoyed enacting short sketches from two of Shakespeare’s famous plays – A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth. They were able to do movement work and danced in response to music from Lord of the Rings when enacting the Mortal and Immortal characters. In the sketches of Macbeth they enjoyed being the 3 Witches and worked in small groups to develop and perform their own sketches to the rest of the class.

Year 6As part of the Cross-curricular topic on the Egyptians Year 6 performed a short play about a group of Archaeology students who had won a competition.

The play demonstrated all the facts that Year 6 had learned in their History lessons. There were 3 very funny songs which the children really enjoyed learning and performing. Freya offered to make a mask of Anubis for Martha to wear – it was outstanding! She made it out of cereal boxes.

Sienna did choreography for all the 3 songs with help from everyone – superb dances!

Speech and Drama...Well done to the nine Year Sixes who recently took their first LAMDA Acting exam. Between them they achieved two merits and seven distinctions.  

Particular congratulations to Sienna Powis, Martha Bennett, Freya Clarke and Heidi Pashaei-Tarighoun who all achieved marks over 90!

I would also like to mention Charlie McCallion, whose duologue partner was unable to attend the exam; with the help of Keira Gazzard Charlie still took his exam with great composure and focus.  Well done Charlie!

Reception talk about GermanyIzzy and Christina came in to talk to Reception about Christmas time in Germany. The children really enjoyed hearing all about the different traditions. At the beginning of advent families light the first candle on an advent wreath, and light one on each of the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas.

On the 6th December St Nikolaus visits and leaves treats and presents in your shoe or boot or if you have not been good you receive wood and sticks from "Knecht Ruprecht". The main Christmas celebration in Germany is on the 24th December and in the evening. The presents are brought by "Das Christkind", an angel like figure with long blond curly hair and a golden crown. There is lots of baking before Christmas and the special biscuits are enjoyed throughout the festive period. There are also special chocolates which we were all lucky enough to try and the children all learnt to say "danke".

A big thank you again to Izzy and Christina for talking to us and showing us the slides they prepared.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Forest SchoolJemma organised a wonderful camp-fire event for children and parents, plus amazing weather. The Forest School is doing so well and the children are loving to live with nature's creatures, great and small.

TRIPSKey Stage 1 Westonbirt TripWe had a very informative trip to the Arboretum earlier on this term. Year 1 investigated signs of autumn which included a mini beast hunt and a food chain game. Year 2 spent some time identifying leaves and seeds. Later we had a great time building a badger home with an activity concerning how we could keep an animal warm through the winter. We are getting very competitive with this activity! It was a beautiful autumn day and we enjoyed the amazing colours. The day ended with an activity whereby everyone collected small leaves to make a collage. Tired but happy we returned to school after another interesting experience of Westonbirt. Mrs Conner

Year 3 - Cinderella: a FairytaleYear 3 had a very special Christmas trip to the Tobacco Factory, Factory Theatre last Friday to see their version of this well-known tale. The production was superb, with many twists and turns along the way which didn’t always sit alongside the traditional version! The beauty of a small theatre like this is its intimacy, with the characters performing so closely to the audience who sit in an elevated position around the stage in an arc. We were particularly lucky as we were so close to the musicians whose array of instruments, particularly woodwind, was impressive and from this vantage point we could see clearly which instrument produced the various sounds.There were only a few actors in the production; many of whom played a number of different roles. Can you imagine the same actor playing Cinderella’s father and her stepmother? This imaginative and creative version was based on a bird-watching prince and a birding Ella and the result is a truly magical production. It is no wonder the production has been extended owing to popular demand!Year 3 children’s comments included: “Brilliant!”, “Amazing” and “This is the best day, EVER!”

Year 4, 5, 6 - The Snow Queen productionYears 4, 5 and 6 enjoyed an end-of-term trip into the icy world of 'The Snow Queen' at the Bristol Old Vic. The production was a new adaptation of this classic coming of age tale about love and friendship.  From the start the children were thoroughly engaged in a multi-layered production that featured live music and sound FX , original songs and breath-taking puppetry. Responses from the children include 'I loved the flowerman!', 'the Snow Queen was mesmerising and made me jump!' and 'it was very gripping.'

Thanks to FOSS for the tasty interval ice creams and all parents and staff who helped with the trip.Rebecca Thompson

EVENTSA great way to visit your old school!Last October our distinguished old boy Daniel Randell made a most unusual return to school.

The excitement of the children and staff was palpable as the first helicopter flew overhead – but kept flying! A mistake?

Then a few minutes later another

helicopter flew overhead. Was that

Daniel? Yes, it was!

Such an explosion of joy came

from the children that the birds

flying overhead were almost

brought down.

It landed and a perfectly-attired young man in uniform stepped out.

Then class by class Daniel showed them his amazing machine.

Thank you, Daniel

Remembrance Day

The Flowers that break our hearts

Poppies grow wild and free,

as they represent the blood all soldiers would bleed.

Although such a wonderful sight, let us be reminded

that poppies are the flowers that break our hearts.

As the sun beams down, the poppies shine like hundreds

of ballet dancers all in line,

but when war began all hope was lost although once it was over, it came at a great cost.

Due to all this tragedy poppies were planted and

to this day, they have still lasted,

however they will always be the flowers that break

our hearts.

By Eleanor Patrick, Year 6

WHEN THE BOMBS CAMEWe thought we were safe But we were long goneFor on that very dayBombs dropped on London.

I was in bedNot knowing what was going onThen a boom thrash clash There went a bomb.

Dad shouted ‘alright’As he climbed up the stairs Like a marching band of elephantsI was so scared.

Not even one week laterDad went to war He had no choiceIt was the law.

One day laterI was on a train To the countrysideHitler to blame.

So WW2 was a big eventAnd so we won But many people died in many ways So we remember themOn Remembrance Day.

By Freya age 10

BFG (Big Friendly Giant) Dance WorkshopOur wonderful dance teacher Mrs Offer along with her colleague Kate Williams spent a whole day with all the year groups teaching contemporary dance. The theme was the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) from the famous author Roald Dahl. All the children were excited beforehand as many of them had been to the cinema to see the latest version of the BFG! The children learnt new techniques, how to take turns and be patient and above all were introduced to the sheer love and enjoyment of dance that Mrs Offer imparts. At the end of the day the children were able to showcase all that they had learnt to their parents who were thrilled at how much they had accomplished in just one morning or afternoon!

KS2 Carol Concert We were delighted to have our KS2 Christmas Concert at the Medieval Barn in Winterbourne again this year. This wonderful building filled with our very talented pupils, made for an unforgettable night!We had the pleasure of hearing songs from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 and were also treated to Choir performing a couple of songs from their upcoming Young Voices Concert.

Our Instrumentalists did us proud too – Mr Baly and his Guitarists played beautifully and it was wonderful to hear ‘Silvernotes’, our new ensemble, playing some Christmas music.

We were also treated to poems and readings in between the music, adding to the magical atmosphere. Pupils, staff and family members were able to join together to sing a few carols as well, and a festive time was had by all!

Christmas Fayre The Christmas Fayre was a big hit this year. There were many different stalls in the hall and dining room.

The children loved the face-painting, glitter tattoos, art and design which was busy from start to finish.  

Santa and his Elves worked hard in Santa's grotto making it a special experience for all the children and the presents were well received.

Emma Offer's dance squad and the choir entertained everyone in the hall and it was clear to see the amount of effort that had gone into practice.

Key Stage 1 Nativity – A Special Kind of PresentThis year’s nativity was a spectacular event!

There were lollipops, teddy bears, racing cars and clowns as well as the traditional nativity. The children really enjoyed performing for their school friends and family and sang extremely clearly. Santa was a great success and our little star performed his ballet dance beautifully. We were all very proud of everyone’s efforts. Well done children!

SPORTS

The autumn term saw the initiation of Silverhill’s Morning Mile. This is a national scheme known as the Daily Mile, which aims to improve the physical, emotional and social health and wellbeing of children – regardless of age or personal circumstances.

It is a profoundly simple but effective concept, which is being encouraged in all primary schools across the country. Its impact can be transformational - improving not only the children’s fitness, but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing.

The Morning Mile has been taking place both Wednesday and Friday mornings, and has so far been well supported by pupils, parents and staff. We have on average had 30 participants running or walking their morning mile in each session. Some have run significantly more! In good weather we also utilise the fantastic assault course to add an extra challenge. We have estimated that so far collectively, we have covered 660 miles. This is approximately the distance from Bristol to Berlin as the crow flies! It would be great to see even more pupils and parents joining us in the Spring Term to see just how far we can travel.

A team of year 5 and 6 boys and girls attended the Tag Rugby festival held at Aretians Rugby Club in October. They played 8 short matches against local primary schools winning all except one, which they drew. The team went through to the final match and played a fantastic game to win. They displayed wonderful team work throughout the competition, were positive and played with great sportsmanship.

The girls have been playing hockey this term and have made great strides forward in both their skill level and match play. They had the opportunity to try out their match skills against teams from Red Maids School earlier in the term. Both teams played some good hockey and improved greatly as the match went on, as they adjusted to the astro-turf surface. Freya Clarke made some fantastic saves as the goal keeper and Bethany Clarke made some excellent attacking moves to score.

This term pupils have had the opportunity to attend after school clubs run by the school staff in Hockey, Netball, Contact and Tag Rugby, Multi Sports and Gym Run – a fitness based programme set up by Mr Weeks. We have been really encouraged to see just how many children are regularly participating in activities at the end of the school day, and look forward to seeing them join us next term.

Tag Rugby FestivalOn 13th October a mixed team of 10 of our boys and girls took part in the festival of non-contact rugby at the Aretians club in Stoke Gifford.23 other schools competed for a place in the final, although technically it was supposed to be a non-competitive event.In this first competition of the season our team played extremely well and as a team under the guidance of our new coach Mike Weeks.It missed the final by 0NE point. Very well done.

CHARITIES

FOSSIt has been a busy term for FOSS:We obtained charitable status which will enable us to claim gift aid for future donations, and provide greater transparency to our membership as the accounts will be available on the Charity Commission website.In terms of events for the children the Halloween disco was a spooky success with all children within the school attending. The Christmas Fayre raised an amazing £1670 pounds and also provided us all with some much needed Christmas spirit.Thank you to all the parents who took the time to help with both the Halloween Disco and Christmas Fayre, without all of you the events would not run as well as they do. Also to Father Christmas for taking time from his busy schedule to come to Silverhill.

A special mention needs to go to Sarah Kempson and Sharon Joyce who are the real worker bees of FOSS and ensure we all keep on the straight and narrow, we are lucky to have you both!

We hope you all have a good Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Team FOSS

We are so grateful for the tireless and very imaginative work done by the parents in FOSS and for the contributions made by so many parents that have made it all possible. We are an exciting and fun school as a result.

ClubsDesign Technology Club

Mrs Bufton ran the Design Technology club for the first time and had children from Years 3 to 6 making all kinds of exciting technical objects. They made gyrascopes, electric windmills, thaumatropes, wobbly cam cars and a zoetrope. All of these were made and then they spent time adapting and changing the designs as real engineers do when trying out new ideas. The children learned about Eadweard Muybridge and how film began and the significance of the invention of the Zoetrope. They learned about air displacement and why aerodynamic designs are used for cycle helmets, trains, aeroplanes – Mrs Buckley popped in and was very pleased with the discussion as this helps with her Science topic, Friction!

MusicThis term has seen some big changes in our Music department. Mrs Claydon and Miss Wilkie have begun a small ensemble made up from our talented instrumentalists – it was very exciting for ‘Silvernotes’ to perform together, and show the school and families how hard they have worked. We look forward to expanding our numbers and repertoire in 2017.

Mini ChoirMini choir meets weekly with 20 children from years 1 2 and 3.We have performed at the Christmas fayre and also in the KS1 nativity play. The aim is not only to have fun singing but also to learn to sing as a group with the necessary discipline that goes with it. We look forward to more performances next term.

House-points Results:

Dunster wins: 3365

Windsor: 2996

Warwick: 2707

STAFF

Kitchen staffFrank Bothwell, Founder of Thomas Franks, proudly gives the 10 years’ service award to Denise B. and Gillian S.

We are so fortunate to have such wonderful and committed staff throughout the school. Thank you all for what you have brought to the school and to the children.

Thank you, all our parents, grandparents and carers for sharing in our endeavours to provide the best education for your children.

Jenifer & Julian Capper