Newsletter-ISSUE-8-29-April-2022
News
Fressingfield pupils are feeling super proud!
Ruby and Martha have been doing some really tricky maths to work out how much electricity we have been using, both before and after our Switch Off Week. They couldn’t believe that we used fewer that HALF the units we usually do during Switch Off Week. Great work, everybody. Let’s keep on ‘switching off’ when we don’t need it!
What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?
A VISIT TO COLCHESTER CASTLE
Did you know that Colchester Castle was once a Roman temple? Did you know that Celtic roundhouses were made out of cow poo because it is waterproof? Did you also know that Roman armour would block all shots? Well, on Monday 7th March, Fressingfield Primary School travelled all the way to Colchester to see the castle and to learn about Boudicca’s rebellion against Nero – the Emperor of Rome.
The red group climbed down 20 steep steps as our first activity was in the castle vaults. We went back 2000 years in time to see the Roman and Celtic armour: They were very different: the Roman legionaries wore a leather tunic and, over that, they wore leather or metal armour. They also had a massive shield that blocked every attack – it went from knee to nose and you could punch with the boss. The helmet was carefully designed to no-one could cut the back, side of front of your head. However, in contrast, the Celts only wore woollen trousers but they painted themselves blue! They also made their hair stick up with a homemade hair gel. For weapons, they only had a measly sword and shield but their shield would be no use after a Roman pilum (a kind of javelin) had been stuck through it. The pilum was really interesting as it was made using a heavy iron spike and flimsy wood that was designed to break when it landed so that it couldn’t be thrown back at the Romans.
Then, we ducked down into the next room of the vaults, where we learned about Boudicca. She burned London, Colchester and St Albans because the Romans tool all of her belongings and treated her and her daughters badly. So, she bravely rebelled against the Romans. Would you do that if all your belongings had been taken?
Our second activity was looking at relic artefacts. My favourite had to be the coins of Claudius – they were gold and silver and really shiny. The mirror was beautiful but it was really had to see yourself in because it was a swirly bronze colour. There was also a log holder that looked like a dog. It held logs and air travelled up past the logs making a fire. Also there were huge white carvings from the old Roman buildings on the wall.
My favourite activity was building the Roman villa and Celtic roundhouse. The team I was on was really good at working together. We started with the roundhouse. All the sticks were put up, then we wove the walls and put the roof pieces up. Then we moved onto the Roman villa. It was tricky to get the pattern right, but we persevered and finished the fancy villa. Behind the villa were more artefacts: a piece of mosaic, a cooking pot and pieces of pottery.
Briefly, the red group went to the prisons. The cells were wooden with metal bars and there were carvings all over the walls. Also, there was a door in the middle of the room that didn’t open.
Overall, the trip was fantastic! I would suggest it would be suitable for anyone that wants to know more about the Romans and Boudicca. It was really fascinating to see and learn about the Roman armour and weapons and how each was used in battle.
By Ruby Year 6
The Walk on the Wild Side
On Friday 15th June, the whole of Fressingfield Primary School went on a long sponsored walk. It took us two hours and thirty minutes to go around our lovely village. We did this because we are raising money to buy new books for our school library.
Where we went
We started our walk in the huge playing field beside our lovely school. Then we went past the doctors’ surgery, through a footpath and came to a field where we got our first stamp. At this point we waved goodbye to the Nursery and Reception children who turned right to walk across a field towards the village, whilst we went along a dusty track which led to Mr Brown’s farm. There were tractors in sheds and a dog barking. Years 1-6 were allowed to mix up (as long as we stayed behind Mr Leicester at the front and in front of Mr Taylor at the back!) and walk with friends in other year groups. ent past our helper and had to move to the side because a tractor came past. We went through a steep field, through woods, over a bridge and up a steep field on the other side where we had our first drinks stop. The rest of the walk continued in much the same way through the beautiful country lanes and fields around our village. We all got back to school just in time to enjoy an ice lolly before we had our lunch.
About our library
The School Librarians have recently worked with Mrs Hare (one of the school governors) to review and improve our recommended reading lists. We wanted to make sure the lists contained books that celebrated diversity and which made everyone feel included. The money raised will be used to make sure the school has a copy of every book on the list so that children can borrow them and enjoy them.
Thank you
Thank you very much to all the adults who helped organise this, especially to all the volunteers from FOFSA. Thank you Mr Brown for being so kind to let us come through your farm. Thank you marshals for helping and providing drink and biscuits for everyone. And, thank you also to everyone who has raised money for this. Thank you everyone.
The Christian Journey of Life and Death
Many thanks to Reverend Susan who gave a great talk on The Christian Journey of Life and Death. And thank you too, to key stage 2 children who listened so well, and asked such deep and thoughtful questions.
Number Day 2022 at Fressingfield Primary!
We decided to organise our first ever NSPCC Number Day at Fressingfield. The NSPCC is a great charity, and we at Fressingfield love maths – the children love learning maths and the adults love teaching maths.
Flossie decided to wear number 10 on her back, because she ‘really wants to be 10’.
Oliver wore number 42, as it was his favourite number; ‘straight from a Spiderman movie’.
Ms Perry wore number 1999, because she felt like she could ‘party like it’s 1999’!
The children enjoyed a range of activities, from outside learning (finding collections of a number, and being a number) to cracking codes involving letters on the page of a book. Mrs Buckenham chose the sneakiest, trickiest number bonds puzzle, which her class refused to give up on! And Ms Perry finally found a way to crack division with remainders by using packets of Skittles!
Here are some quotes from the children in Congo Class:
‘I thought the Roman numerals treasure hunt was clever. I found the first one really hard, but the rest easy. I learned my Roman numerals better because of this.’ – James
‘It was medium hard. The trickiest thing was trying to find out the words. I enjoyed having a partner to help me. I learned a lot more Roman numerals.’ – Sienna
‘I found the Skittles division medium, because at the start I got them wrong, but soon after I started to understand. Now I know how to do divide.’ – George
‘I found putting the number bonds in the right place (on the triangle) hard, but I got it in the end’ – Oliver
‘The number bonds puzzle was tricky at first, and then it got easier, and I got the hang of it.’ – Daisy
‘The number bonds were tricky, because I didn’t really understand at first, but at least I learned some number bonds to 100’ – Charlotte
New School Council!
We have some fantastic news. We have elected our new school council!Many thanks to all of our children, who have elected such an enthusiastic and dynamic group of children. They all had plenty of ideas when they spoke to their classes, and clearly persuaded their classmates to vote for them.
They are:
Sol and India, Emily B and Isaac, Kayden and Summer, Gino and Daisy, William and Hannah and Jayden and Imogen.
Mr Taylor, Mr Leicester and Ms Perry are really looking forward to working with you all.
