Year 4 Hilltop Trip 2024
Day 1
Awesome Assault Course Trial
We’re having so much fun at Hilltop! After lunch, we tackled the Assault Course for a little warm up. The children impressed us with their resilience and willingness to try tricky obstacles.
Year 4’s Agility Course Challenge
Year 4 tackled an exciting agility course with a fiery twist—the floor was lava! Working in pairs, they showed fantastic teamwork, helping each other navigate the obstacles with creativity and encouragement. A brilliant display of partnership and perseverance!
Year 4’s Aerial Runway Adventure
Year 4 harnessed up and soared through the Aerial Runway, their final challenge before dinner! Though there were plenty of screams and shouts of “That was terrifying,” every brave participant went back for a second turn. The children cheered each other on, showcasing fantastic teamwork and courage!
Owls and Mice in the Dark
After a delicious dinner of fish and chips, the children dove into a thrilling game of Owls and Mice. Armed with torches, they hid in the dark while the ‘Owls’ used their senses to track them down. Year 4’s quiet mice proved to be excellent hiders!
The children are now settling and getting ready to sleep.
SAT SRI AKAL: A VISIT TO THE GURU NANAK GURDWARA
On Thursday, Fressingfield Primary School took 30 children on a fantastic visit to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Ipswich. This special place of worship sits at the heart of a Sikh community several hundred strong in Ipswich and the surrounding areas. Our children, who were eager to find out about Sikhism and the role of the Gurdwara, were given a warm welcome to this special place by two of the congregation and the Granthi – the equivalent of a priest who is the custodian of the Guru Granth Sahib (the religious scriptures of the Sikhs).
On arrival, we were invited in and asked to remove our shoes and wash our hands as a mark of respect. Having done so, the children proceeded to the main room for services and worship which houses the Guru Granth Sahib on a golden altar. The children sat in respectful and attentive silence as Avtar and Paaji explained how Sikhs worship, the importance of the Guru Granth Sahib, how to wear a turban, the significance of the ‘five Ks’ (the religious symbols and practices adopted by baptised Sikhs) and the role of service and food as part of their beliefs. Afterwards, the children had time and space to explore more closely, ask further questions and sketch things of interest to them. The staff and hosts were really impressed with the children’s excellent, respectful behaviour.
We are so grateful to the Sikh community of Ipswich, and to Avtar and Paaji in particular, for giving our children such a memorable and positive experience. It is so important for children in our community to have such positive encounters with diversity so they can develop values of tolerance and respect and be prepared for life in modern Britain.
THE RACE TO THE POLE
Children in Amazon Class braved the relentless storms and cold of the Antarctic in class today as they took part in some drama in preparation for a unit of diary writing based on Robert Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Wrapping themselves up in their coats, scarves and hats, and retreating into the warmth of their sleeping bags, they reflected on the feelings, thoughts and words of Scott’s team as they reached the pole only to find they had been beaten by the Norwegians. These sepia-toned pictures capture the children’s battles with frostbite and crushing disappointment.
I hope they are able to warm up over the weekend. We’ll share their finished diaries as soon as we can.
AN AFTERNOON OF PASSION AND DETERMINATION
Following last year’s success on the rugby field, two teams from Fressingfield set off with high hopes for similar results in this years High Suffolk Schools Sports Partnership Tag Rugby Competition at Thomas Mills this afternoon. Unfortunately, despite some fantastic teamwork, and a whole heap of passion and determination, the teams found results hard to come by this time around.
Despite this, both teams remained really upbeat and high-spirited throughout the afternoon and absolutely determined in each match. As a result, all the players had positively enjoyable afternoons.
The ‘Compete’ team, comprising Harriet, James, Imogen, Eden, Jayden, Rory, Sophia, Archie, Stanley, Ella, Isaac and Edward lost four matches before winning their final match against Debenham. I was so impressed with the teamwork: Harriet was a fantastic block, brilliant at last-minute, try-saving tags; Isaac was brilliant at getting himself into space right on the line; James, Imogen, Jayden and Rory scored following some epic teamwork moments; Archie and Edward were great at nipping in and out of the opposition and heading for the line; and Ella, Sophia, Stanley and Eden each contributed with their tagging and passing skills. Together, they worked extremely well as a team and every game was competitive throughout.
The ’Develop’ team – Luke, Bonnie, Emily, Harry, Caleb, Emily, India, Daniel, Dexter, Oliver, Lenny and Sol – also came up against tough opposition and, as India and Daniel seemed delighted to tell me, they, “lost every one of our matches, and the last one was 15-2!” Despite the whitewash, Mrs Hall and the supporting parents were really impressed by the team’s energy, commitment and teamwork. Well, these are the qualities we value at Fressingfield, so I would like to say a huge well done and thank you to every player for representing our school so well this afternoon.