Day two at Rock UK

The day began early (some might say a little too early!) as the children were very excited about the activities ahead. Room inspections took place at 7.30, some passing with flying colours, others needed a bit more work. A special mention for Joel and Kai and to Freya, Isabelle and Grace, who had done a wonderful job in keeping their rooms tidy. The walk to breakfast brought the first rain of the trip but that was soon forgotten as the class undertook the challenge of eating as much toast, cereal, fruit and yoghurt as possible. The staff took on the challenge as well but could not keep up!

With full bellies and smiles on their faces, the whole class travelled down to the river where they met up with our team of instructors. The centre is run by a Christian charity and each session involves an element of prayer which is led by one of the instructors. After this, the children were kitted out in buoyancy aids, helmets and paddles before being put into groups. All of the staff also took part although it remains unclear whether those boats had an advantage or disadvantage.

Once on the river, we played a selection of games as well as learning all about brussel sprouts and ice cream! Some canoes found it easier than others to steer with some interesting collisions but fortunately nobody fell in. The session ended with a very entertaining game of canoe-ball with the red team defeating the greens. At the end of the session the importance of working as a team was reflected upon and reinforced as the children had to carry the canoes and equipment back to the base.

Mrs Sparkes’ group then went to the maze which they thoroughly enjoyed. Various challenges were set for them and they demonstrated some great problem solving skills. The second group took part in ‘Above and Beyond’ an activity that highlights the work of MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) who help to deliver medical support to people in remote locations around the world. Why not visit their website to find out more http://www.maf.org/ The children had to overcome various obstacles to discover what it would be like to travel great distances to gain medical attention and then got to sit in a real MAF plane.

After a very busy morning the whole group were ready for lunch which consisted of pizza, potato wedges, pasta and salad. Many of the children had looked forward to different elements of the trip but one reoccurring conversation had between staff and pupils (on some occasions very early in the morning!) was “when are we going to the ROCK shop?”. This was finally answered after lunch with a varied selection of items purchased for the film night to come later.

The afternoon comprised Bush skills for my group, all of whom learnt about different types of trees and how to make a den from items in the wood. The camp fire was also a highlight for some of the children. The other group took on the challenge of abseiling. There were some great individual achievements, which were celebrated by the group as a whole.

Mrs Sparkes’ group enjoyed Above and Beyond, particularly impressing with their teamwork in overcoming the obstacles. A couple of budding pilots also demonstrated their skills while the group all understood the link made to the Good Samaritan.

My group finished the afternoon with a visit to the Adventure Pit. The overall outcome was a lot of muddy children with big smiles on their faces.

As with every other meal, dinner was greatly appreciated and the children then went back to Oak Lodge to prepare for the movie night.

Photos will be uploaded later this evening.

Reflecting on day one at Rock Uk

The children have been thinking about their favourite part of day one of the residential.

Kai said “I really liked the archery because it was very fun and competitive”. Harris agreed, “I like the part when the instructor said ‘loss’ and all the arrows flew through the air”.

 

Fergus stated, “the abseiling was the best part of day one because the feeling of jumping off the top was exciting”.

Isabelle also enjoyed the abseiling and was proud of her achievement of completing the challenge.

Charlie W thought that bush craft was his favourite as “your could fetch things from the forest and made some shelters”. Simon, the instructor, poured water over the shelters. “Ours was the best” claims Charlie W, “it was big enough for three people”.

Grace described dinner to be “delicious, I even had seconds” and the children really enjoyed meeting the staff who were from Italy and South Korea.

After an exciting first day the children are ready for more challenges today, canoeing is up first with both groups going out on the river together.

 

Day one at Rock UK 2014

After months of anticipation, year four have started their residential adventure at Rock UK in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. The coach left school in glorious sunshine and before we knew we it, we had arrived at the centre. After a welcome meeting and lunch, we had a tour of the wonderful grounds and saw some of the activities that await us in the week.
The class have been split into two groups, led by Mrs Sparkes and myself.
Mrs Sparkes’ group took part in archery for their first activity, with Jamie T demonstrating some impressive skills and all of the teachers and pupils enjoying the experience. They then had a go at Bush Craft with some interesting creations emerging.
The second group started with the challenge of abseiling. I was delighted that everyone climbed to the top of the tower to see the wonderful view of the surrounding area. Most then had a go at abseiling down the wall. Freya certainly showed no fear as she bounced her way down while Alex and Oliver were delighted with their achievements. We then moved onto fencing, something many of the children had never tried before. The instructors, Tim and Steve, gave us a great beginner’s guide although Laurence and Cooper looked like old pros as they defeated many opponents, including Mrs Hudson and myself.
Following the return journey up the hill to Oak Lodge, the children unpacked their bags and made their beds (some with more help than others). Dinner was devoured with lasagne, carbonara, macaroni cheese and cake putting plenty of smiles on the faces of pupils and staff alike.
The evening brought a chance to reflect on day one by writing in diaries. The children all took part in the Nightline activity which involved working as a team to overcome obstacles along a course, using only torches to light the way. Some quiet reflection time and prayer then followed before a happy but tired group of children went to bed for the night.
Photos will be uploaded later this evening.

Book Week

At Church Langton we have been developing new methods for encouraging our pupils to try out new authors and developing their enthusiasm for reading. Book week was held at the beginning of March with activities held throughout the week. Each class had lessons planned linked to their focus authors for this term. Each class in our school will study six focus authors over the course the year. We have been lucky enough to have some authors visit the school while other classes have made contact using twitter.
The whole school read was a highlight for many children as they were able to choose to hear a stories read from various members of staff around the building. It was particularly enjoyable to see children from four plus and year six being able to enjoy a story together.
The book swap involved children bringing in a book from home to exchange for another they have not tried, some parents and staff got involved as well.
We marked World Book Day with the children being invited to dress up as a book character from one of the texts they have studied this year. To celebrate the wonderful costumes we held a parade in the hall. As always we received great support from parents, grandparents and toddlers who clapped each class as they paraded through the hall.
The finale to our week was for all the classes to enjoy a visit from the West End in Schools Theatre company who performed “Back to Before”. The play involved many well known stories and was a great way to end was what a very special week at Church Langton.

Young Voices

To perform to an audience is a wonderful experience for children at primary school. To perform to a whole arena of people is even more special and our year five and six pupils, along with some staff members, enjoyed this opportunity recently by taking part in Young Voices. This is a concert held at the LG arena in Birmingham, with our school joining thousands of others to form a mass choir. The classes have been busy practising for months with Mr Kirkland, including learning some very interesting dance moves.

They then travelled to Birmingham where they took part in a rehearsal with the other children and some professional singers. The children then prepared for the start of the show, watching the huge crowd assemble. The children performed a wide range of songs and were very excited to sing with former X Factor contestant Stacy Solomon.

Eco Club

Eco Club have had a busy year so far with many exciting opportunities for the children to develop their understanding of environmental issues. The whole school project of constructing a green house out of recycled bottles is developing well, please keep collecting everyone!

The children have also continued to work with the Langton Garden Centre, learning more about the work that is done there and even assisting in some of their Christmas preparation.

Eco-Club do enjoy a visit and they were also delighted to be able to visit a local farm where they could learn all about water management. Add to this the whole school assembly they led as part of switch off fortnight and you can see that this group is one of the busiest clubs we have in our school.

Houses of Parliament trip

I was very pleased to be able to take year five to London in September for a wonderful day of different experiences. The main focus of the trip was to visit the Houses of Parliament. The children were given a tour, seeing where Mr Cameron and all the other elected MPs sit (although we now know you are not allowed to sit where they do!) The children had some excellent questions and enjoyed hearing about the great history of the building and those who have worked there both in the past and currently.

They then had a workshop examining the way in which our electoral system works, wrote their own campaign speeches and held a mock election. It linked back to our own school council, something that the children are elected onto.

The day also included a walk by the Thames, a visit to the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery and a delicious Italian meal to finish before we made the long journey home. The children were an absolute credit to the school and left with some wonderful memories to share with their friends and families back at Church Langton.

 

Our changing school

The autumn term is a few weeks old and the pupils and staff are getting used to the various changes that have occurred over the summer. The biggest difference is our new main entrance. The lobby has been redesigned along with the school offices. We hope it is a more welcoming space for those who visit our school daily and also those who are experiencing Church Langton for the first time. We have also created a small group room at the front of the building. This is ideal for intervention work and phonics groups.
The year four classroom has been redesigned to make it a better working environment while the 4+ have a new covered working space and a different way to access the classroom.
One of the new additions which has excited the pupils most is our outdoor classroom. Hidden in the undergrowth at the end of the field, it a space where the pupils can study the environment and natural wildlife that we are so lucky to be surrounded by.
These improvements are part of our plan to improve the teaching environments around the school and I look forward to showing the school off to visitors in the coming weeks and months.

Art at Church Langton

This gallery contains 13 photos.

One of my earliest memories of visiting our school was discovering the art room. We are very fortunate to have a room dedicated to this subject where every child is able to explore different materials and techniques under the expert guidance of Mrs Parry. Throughout my first year I have been impressed by the wonderful […]

Condover Hall – The Adventure continues…

I was delighted to be able to join the children at Condover Hall on Wednesday evening to hear all about their adventures. I would like to report they all went to sleep immediately, although on this occasion the fire alarm going off is good reason to be awake a bit later. It was a false alarm but the children handled the situation well and eventually got to sleep.

The next day and the discussions at breakfast were all about what they were most looking forward to. The children have been very supportive of each other, encouraging when a challenge is worrying someone and celebrating in each other’s achievements. The whole class enjoyed Wet and Wild, which involved a range of challenges and games in the swimming pool. They particularly enjoyed when the instructors ‘fell in’.

Body zorbing was a new challenge for many of the children. This involved getting inside an inflatable ball and trying to knock each other over sumo style. Plenty of laughs were had by both groups, particularly when both opponents managed to trip themselves without even bumping each other. Lunch was devoured and the children enjoyed mixing with children from other parts of the country during their free time. We therefore were referred to as Leicester!

The children also completed the shelter building and trust walk activities that the other groups had enjoyed earlier in the week. Abseiling has been a big challenge that many of the children had been looking forward to and enjoyed completing. The view from the top of the tower was fantastic.

Dinner was followed by a birthday cake for Joshua, who had happy birthday sung to him throughout the day! A trip to the tuck shop to buy souvenirs (and a few treats) came before the vital preparation time before the disco. After plenty of dancing the children welcomed Mrs Wilce back before starting to pack in preparation for departure on Friday lunchtime.