Education

Community Education Julie Harradence 223408 Little Hands Karen on 01763 260964 Melbourn Playgroup Jane Crawford 07842 151512 Notre Ecole Janet Whitton 261231 Primary School Headteacher Gary Casey 223457 U3A (Univ. of Third Age) Chairman Arthur Alderton 260399 Village College Warden Elaine Stephenson 223400

Melbourn Playgroup

We have had the most wonderful first term in our new room at the Primary school. We have played outside nearly every day on our soft play surface making boats and rockets with blocks; playing with chalks and paints; camping in our playhouse and even borrowing a pallet to make our own stage for shows.

We have practised a fire drill with the whole school and used the field for races and playing with our parachute. When the older children were away at Grafham Water, we took the opportunity to eat our packed lunches in the dining hall with the rest of the school and were very impressed with how well the children coped with this new experience.

We have shared special reading and singing times with the Reception classes and had a great deal of fun just before Easter enjoying special crafts with them. In the summer term they will be established in their new classrooms right beside the playgroup so we look forward to a very exciting time finding new ways to share games with them. Opening hours : 9:00 am – 3:15pm each day (term time)

Melbourn Out of School Club (MOOS)

We have gone from strength to strength since we opened in January. More children are coming to the club each month and enjoying all our activities such as cooking, craft, construction toys, Wii games and playing on the school field. 3-year-olds may attend the MOOS Club Opening hours: 3:30pm – 6:00pm each day (term time) Phone : 01763 223459 Email: office@melbournplaygroup.org.uk

Primary School

It has been a very busy spring term with the build project officially ending on Thursday the 7th April almost exactly a year after it began. The team of builders have been fantastic and it will seem strange not to see them on a daily basis. Chris Starling and Paul Lawrence should have a particular mention for their support; they lead the team from Keir and the many sub-contractors who worked on the build including electricians, plumbers and landscapers. We will now settle into all the new areas such as the Reception classrooms and make them our own.

The day to day life of the school has continued and there have been many highlights during the spring term.

On Thursday 6th of January our Year 3 and 4 children were greeted by life sized model dinosaur heads and the sounds of the extinct creatures as they entered the school hall. After handling dinosaur poo and constructing a dinosaur time line the children completed quizzes and looked at fossils. The activities were thoroughly enjoyed by all the children and teachers alike it ensured a great start to their new dinosaur topic.

Year 5 & 6 World War II Day

On Monday 31st January children in Years 5 and 6 went back in time to the Second World War. The children came to school dressed in clothes appropriate to this period of history and worked with two members of the Portals to the Past team throughout the day. They carried out Home Guard and ARP training and took part in a quiz. They were also able to handle artefacts from this period. The day ended with singing and dancing from the second World War and the new hall echoed to the sounds of ‘Doin’ the Lambeth Walk’!

New Hall Opening Events

On the morning of February 9th the new school hall rocked and rolled to the sound of Jeff Rich and over 300 children and staff playing drums and percussion instruments. A fantastic time was had by all who attended the activities as Jeff talked about the history of the drum and shared some stories about his own pop career with Status Quo.

During the afternoon over 100 parents and children took part in two bread making workshops organised by Ruth Alard, our school cook, and Cambridge Catering Services. It was a fantastic activity and feedback from the children and parents was very positive and apparently the bread that they made and ate tasted fantastic.

Year 5 Careers Convention

On the 11th February our Year 5 pupils along with Mr Casey, Miss Wolfe and Mrs Coleman attended a careers convention at Sagentia in Harston. The children were able to talk to astronomers, hair stylists, a driving instructor and wildlife experts amongst others and some of our pupils took part in a mock interview about their skills and possible job prospects. They also had the chance to look at the work of paramedics and to study the equipment they use. The feedback from this event has been very positive and I would like to pass on my thanks to some of our parents who contributed to the presentations and to our colleagues in extended services who organised the event.