Schools

Somerfords’ Walter Powell School

As we approach the end of Term 1 at school, we are very proud of all our children on how they have adapted to the new school procedures and settled back into the school routine. The Reception children have been busy among other things, learning about numbers and letters through play. They have been developing social skills such as turn taking, sharing and improving their listening skills.

Key stage 1 children have enjoyed learning about our senses and have even learnt some sign language.

Our children in Key stage 2 have been learning about properties and changes in materials during their science lessons. They created their own circuits as they discovered more about conductors and insulators.

They continue to learn about the Saxons and all enjoyed getting hands on with making Saxon walls with wattle and daub

We have made the most of the nice weather and enjoyed PE lessons outdoors as well as quiet reading time and thankfully the autumn sunshine has been fantastic to make the most of our school grounds for

playtimes too.

Harvest

We celebrated Harvest in a slightly different way this year due to the current restrictions. We were delighted that Matt Stone the new Curate for the Woodbridge Group of Churches joined us for a virtual harvest service.

Virtual Assemblies

We have enjoyed virtual assemblies with Matt Stone and also Trevor Ranger which we all thoroughly look forward to and enjoy. Signpost November 2020 15

Outdoor Learning

We are delighted that all our children will now enjoy an outdoor learning lesson each week with Miss Wilcox.

This term they have enjoyed creating sour dough creatures and painting on cling film which resulted in some amazing art work! They are learning every week about the seasonal changes that are happening around them.

The weekly outdoor learning lesson is proving to be very popular with all the children.

WALTER POWELL PRE-SCHOOL

We have enjoyed the autumn days exploring the grounds and also walked to a conker tree in the village and collected conkers in our baskets to carry back to Pre-school. We have enjoyed playing with the conkers in our mud kitchen. The children have picked blackberries and also chased leaves on the windy days.

We have been singing autumn songs from our Walter Powell Pre-school song book, which is available to purchase through the school office and can even be personalised.

Our outdoor learning day is every Wednesday, where we learn more about the seasons, nature and the outdoor environment. This is a popular day and we all have great fun.

Our Pre-school is now open 08.45 – 15.00 Monday to Friday. We accept children from the age of 2 years. If you are interested, please contact the Pre-school on 07931 263909 or alternatively contact the school office on 01249 720797 or admin.swp@dbat.org.uk for more information and an application form.

New Starters – September 2021

If you are looking for a primary school place for September 2021 entry is now underway.

Parents can apply using the online system by visi�ng the Wiltshire Council website. The deadline for applica�on is: Midnight on 15 January 2021 for Primary Schools

We welcome the opportunity of showing you around Somerfords’ Walter Powell School. To arrange your visit please call the school office on 01249 720797 for an appointment.

(IN THE GROUNDS OF SOMERFORDS’ WALTER POWELL SCHOOL) AGE 2- 4 YEARS OPEN DAILY 8.45AM – 3.00PM EVERYONE IS VERY WELCOME

PLEASE CALL TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO LOOK AROUND OUR RURAL PRE-SCHOOL 07931 263909 or 01249 720797

SHASA

Rags2Riches is back this November 4 - if you've had a clear out over the past few months, please consider donating unwanted goods to Rags2Riches, which helps SHASA raise funds for Somerfords' Walter Powell School and Pre-school.

The following items can be placed in bin bags or sacks ready for collection at the end of driveways in Great Somerford by 9 am on November 4 or alternatively can be dropped off at school by 9 am on November 5 (please include a note stating it is for Somerfords' Walter Powell) � clean, good quality and reusable clothing � Paired shoes and footwear � Jewellery and accessories � Belts and handbags

So far this year, funds raised have helped to buy reading books, paid for an online maths subscription and been allocated for the creation of a wildflower meadow in the school grounds. As always, we couldn't do this without you and are very grateful for the support of the school and wider community.

The SHASA AGM is scheduled for November 10 at 8 pm via Zoom. This year we will be looking for a volunteer to take on the secretary role for SHASA. If you would like to attend the meeting or would like more details about the organisation or the role of secretary, please email SHASAteam@gmail.com. We are a lovely group (even if we do say so ourselves) and everyone is welcome. Angela Parr 07946 015547

Seagry School

Pre-school have been taking full advantage of the great outdoors. We have been playing in our wonderful garden play area, joining reception for outdoor learning and visiting the local allotments. The children have been bug hunting, decorating mole hills, watching chickens being fed with slugs and much more.

Inside we have been using our new home corner for home, doctor and fire station role play, making a tree display, playing with autumnal coloured play dough, lots of painting with leaves, cotton buds, vegetables and of course hand printing. The children have all loved picking books to be book of the week and have decided they would like a display based on 'Fidgety fish' and plan to make jellyfish, paint crabs, decorated fish, seaweed and lots of bubbles for the sea. We can't wait to see how it turns out.

We now look forward to December and all the joys Christmas brings with lots of sparkle, glitter and colour!

Squirrel Class

The Reception children have had a fantastic first term at school and are enjoying playing, learning and making new friends. They have enjoyed spending lots of time outside playing in the new mud kitchen and sand pit. Our topic this term is all about reflections and the children have been busy drawing selfportraits, painting symmetrical butterflies and hunting for reflective objects.

Rabbit Class

Rabbit Class have been exploring reflections. The children have made lots of different artwork with reflective materials and created reflection tiles out of clay. We have also created funny faces with homemade photo booth props and different styles of self-portraits. Since returning to school, we have also been reflecting on our experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. We have thought about our Signpost November 2020 17

feelings and read 'The Worrysaurus' by Rachel Bright. We have designed other emotion dinosaurs and thought about how to help others who are worried.

Fox Class

We are very excited to have chosen our class name inspired by woodland animals; we are now Fox Class and together with the children we have come up with our new motto ‘daring to discover, to explore and to try’. Well done to Benjamin H whose emblem was voted by the other children to be our official class symbol.

We launched into our new topic Tremors this term and are currently learning all about volcanoes! We have created our own chemical reactions to mimic an eruption, moulded volcanoes out of clay and investigated the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii. We are looking forward to what the rest of our topic has to offer.

News from Friends of Seagry School

The parent-organised fundraising committee supporting Seagry C of E Primary School and PreSchool

Our Autumn Conker Championship is a real ‘hit’,

hugely enjoyable and a great fundraiser. Sadly, for obvious reasons, the event can’t happen this year; however we’ve got a couple of ways to raise funds which we hope you’ll support.

Tickets are now on sale for our Christmas raffle! We’ve secured some fantastic prizes including a superb Canon camera, generous £50 Clark’s voucher, speedy £30 M4 Karting voucher, an indulgent food hamper and luxury beauty goodies. Tickets are only £1 each and can be purchased from School, members of the FoSS committee or via private messaging our Facebook page @friendsofseagryschool. Winners will be announced on Friday 11 December 2020.

We’ve recently set up a JustGiving page – https:/ /www.justgiving.com/fo-seagryschool – which can be used by supporters to make payments for things, like raffle tickets. It can also be used for donations, so if you’d like to support Seagry School and Pre-School – perhaps you went to primary school here, previously worked here or simply want to support our lovely village settings – then any contributions you wish to gift are hugely appreciated, and we thank you in advance for any funds received.

Finally, there are a couple of really easy ways you can help fundraise for FoSS without having to lift a finger – good, hey! Using ‘Amazon Smile’ you can choose to raise funds for FoSS simply by shopping with Amazon. Please use this link https:// smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1147491-0, login to your Amazon account and choose 'Friends Of Seagry School'. Your shopping experience is the same as with Amazon (you don’t pay any extra), however Amazon will contribute a charity donation to FoSS with every purchase you make. Similarly, please download the free ‘easyfundraising’ app. Follow the setup instructions and choose to support ‘Friends of Seagry School, Chippenham’. When you shop online, do it through the app and listed retailers will donate a percentage of the sale to FoSS.

With present buying for Christmas not too far away (perhaps in full swing for some of you!), these quick and easy methods promise to be a great help with our fundraising this year. Please spread the word and let all your friends and family know! Thank you as always for your support, FoSS