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  • Yr 5 Campers!

    Mon 28 Jun 2021
    Yr 5 are off to Magdalen Farm!
     
    We'll post all the photos on this page as they come in... watch this space!
  • Number Day Thanks

    Mon 28 Jun 2021
    Mrs Lamb, who organised our fun Number Day, has had an email from the NSPCC saying:
     
    Thank you for taking part in Number Day 2021. We are so grateful for your support and generosity, especially in such a difficult year for everyone. Your incredibly kind donation of £790.25 will make a huge difference to the lives of children and young people across the UK. 
     
    They have sent us an inflatable Buddy and a certificate.
     
    Thank you to everyone who gave money - you helped us to raise an amazing donation for the NSPCC.
     
  • Super Spellers

    Mon 28 Jun 2021
  • Kilve Court Campers

    Mon 21 Jun 2021
    The campers have arrived!
     
    Watch this space. We'll post all the photos and news from camp as it arrives.
     
    5.30pm Monday - Here are the first photos... 
     
  • Super Spellers

    Mon 21 Jun 2021
  • Sumo Time!

    Fri 18 Jun 2021
  • Poems by Heart

    Fri 18 Jun 2021
    Dear Hillcrest pupils
     
    We are setting you the exciting challenge of learning a poem off by heart and performing it to your class.
     
    Below this letter, you will find a selection of poems for each year group. Choose the one that suits your fancy and then spend the next week or so learning it off by heart.
     
    Alternatively, you may have a favourite poem of your own that you would like to perform for your class. If so, you are more than welcome to make this your poem for the performance.
     
    Your teacher will organise a class recital during the week commencing Monday, June 28th. This will be your chance to perform your poem for your classmates and also a moment for you to enjoy their interpretation of their chosen poems.
     
    One child from each class will then go on to perform in front of each year group as part of our Poetry Day on July 1st. We understand that performing a poem in front of an audience can be very exciting but also quite daunting, so here are a few tips to help you get performance ready:
     
    Top Tips for Performance Poetry
    • Tell the story
    • Think about how you use your voice Volume, tone, intonation and pace
    • Think about how you use your body Facial expressions, eye contact and physical gestures 
    • Think about how you use the space.  Poems can work brilliantly with lots of movement, but can be equally powerful with hardly any 
    • Practise, practise, practise You will have more than a week before your class recital, so don’t leave it until the final evening to learn. 
    • Harness the power of our four elements 
    • Be brave
    • Have fun

    Kind Regards
     
    Ciaran McIntyre
     
    P.S. The poems below are in order of year groups, just scroll down until you hit the right one.
     
    If you fancy a different challenge, whichever year you're in, scroll right to the bottom - Miss Wilson has given us a poem in French and one in Latin (well, sort of!) 
     
     
    RECEPTION
     
    Chop Chop
     
    Chop, Chop, Choppity Chop.
    Cut off the bottom and cut off the top.
    What there is left, we put in the pot.
    Chop, Chop, Choppity Chop.
     
     
     
    Popcorn
     
    Pop, pop, popcorn,
    Popping in the pot!
    Pop, pop, popcorn,
    Eat it while it’s hot!
    Pop, pop, popcorn,
    Butter on the top!
    When I eat popcorn,
    I can’t stop!
     
     
     
    YEAR 1
     
    Open A Book
    By Jane Baskwill
     
    Open a book
    And you will find
    People and places of every kind
    Open a book
    And you can be
    Anything that you want to be
    Open a book
    And you can share
    Wondrous worlds you find in there
    Open a book
    And I will too
    You read to me
    And I’ll read to you
     
     
    Now We Are Six
    By A.A Milne
      
    When I was one, I had just begun.
    When I was two, I was nearly new.
    When I was three, I was hardly me.
    When I was four, I was not much more.
    When I was five, I was just alive.
    But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever.
    So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
     
     
    Saw My Teacher On A Saturday
    By Dave Crawley
     
    I saw my teacher on a Saturday!
    I can’t believe it’s true!
    I saw her buying groceries,
    like normal people do! 
     
    She reached for bread and turned around,
    and then she caught my eye. 
    She gave me a smile and said, “Hello.”
    I thought that I would die! 
     
    “Oh, hi… hello, Miss Appleton,”
    I mumbled like a fool.
    I guess I thought that teacher types
    spend all their time at school. 
     
    To make the situation worse,
    my mum was at my side. 
    So many rows of jars and cans.
    So little room to hide. 
     
    Oh please, I thought,
    don’t tell my mom what I did yesterday! 
    I closed my eyes and held my breath
    and hoped she’d go away.
     
    Some people think it’s fine
    to let our teachers walk about.
    But when it comes to Saturdays,
    they shouldn’t let them out!
     
     
    YEAR 2
     
    The Little Turtle
    by Vachel Lindsay
     
    There was a little turtle.
    He lived in a box.
    He swam in a puddle.
    He climbed on the rocks.
    He snapped at a mosquito.
    He snapped at a flea.
    He snapped at a minnow.
    And he snapped at me.
     
    He caught the mosquito.
    He caught the flea.
    He caught the minnow.
    But he didn’t catch me.
     
     
    As Soon As Fred Gets Out Of Bed by Jack Prelutsky
     
    As soon as Fred gets out of bed,
    his underwear goes on his head.
    His mother laughs, “Don’t put it there,
    a head’s no place for underwear!”
    But near his ears, above his brains,
    is where Fred’s underwear remains.
     
    At night when Fred goes back to bed,
    he deftly plucks it off his head.
    His mother switches off the light and softly croons,
    “Good night! Good night!”
    And then, for reasons no one knows,
    Fred’s underwear goes on his toes.
     
     
    I Opened A Book by Julia Donaldson
     
    I opened a book and in I strode.
    Now nobody can find me.
    I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
    My town and my world behind me.
     
     
     
    YEAR 3
     
    If All The World Were Paper By Joseph Coelho
     
    If all the world were paper
    I would fold up my gran
    and take her everywhere I go.
    I would laminate my baby sister in bubble wrap
    and lay her to sleep in unbound fairy-tale book pages
    and should she get scared:
    Rip every fear,
    Shred every scream,
    Tear every tear.
     
    If all the world were paper
    I would re-bind my grandfather,
    smooth out the dog-ears to all his stories,
    place his younger days in a zoetrope
    and flush the harrowing chapters
    down an ink-gurgling well.
     
    If all the world were paper,
    kind deeds would be post-it notes
    that stuck to the doer in ever growing trails,
    so we would always remember,
    friends would come with perforated lines
    so you could keep their best bits with you at all times.
     
     
    Gran, Can You Rap?
    By Jack Ousby
     
    Gran was in her chair she was taking a nap
    When I tapped her on the shoulder to see if she could rap.
    Gran can you rap? Can you rap? Can you Gran?
    And she opened one eye and she said to me,
    Man, I'm the best rapping Gran this world's ever seen
    I'm a tip-top, slip-slap, rap-rap queen. 
     
    And she rose from the chair in the corner of the room
    And she started to rap with a bim-bam-boom,
    And she rolled up her eyes and she rolled round her head
    And as she rolled by this is what she said,
    I'm the best rapping gran this world's ever seen
    I'm a nip-nap, yip-yap, rap-rap queen.
     
    Then she rapped past my Dad and she rapped past my mother,
    She rapped past me and my little baby brother.
    She rapped her arms narrow she rapped her arms wide,
    She rapped through the door and she rapped outside.
    She's the best rapping Gran this world's ever seen
    She's a drip-drop, trip-trap, rap-rap queen.
     
    She rapped down the garden she rapped down the street,
    The neighbours all cheered and they tapped their feet.
    She rapped through the traffic lights as they turned red
    As she rapped round the corner this is what she said,
    I'm the best rapping Gran this world's ever seen
    I'm a flip-flop, hip-hop, rap-rap queen.
     
    She rapped down the lane she rapped up the hill,
    And she disappeared she was rapping still.
    I could hear Gran's voice saying, Listen Man,
    Listen to the rapping of the rap-rap Gran.
    I'm the best rapping Gran this world's ever seen
    I'm a - tip-top, slip-slap,
    nip-nap, yip-yap,
    hip-hop, trip-trap,
    touch yer cap, take a nap,
    happy, happy, happy, happy,
    rap-rap-queen.
     
     
     
    What Is Pink?
    By Christina Rosetti
     
    What is pink?
    A rose is pink
    By the fountain’s brink.
    What is red?
    A poppy’s red In its barley bed.
    What is blue?
    The sky is blue
    Where the clouds float through.
    What is white?
    A swan is white
    Sailing in the light.
    What is yellow?
    Pears are yellow,
    Rich and ripe and mellow.
    What is green?
    The grass is green,
    With small flowers between.
    What is violet?
    Clouds are violet In the summer twilight.
    What is orange?
    Why, an orange,
    Just an orange!
     
     
     
    YEAR 4
     
    When Betty Eats Spaghetti
    By Colin West
     
    When Betty eats spaghetti,
    She slurps, she slurps, she slurps,
    And when she’s finished slurping,
    She burps, she burps, she burps.
     
     
    There’s A Dragon In The Classroom
    By Charles Thomson
     
    There’s a dragon in the classroom:
    its body is a box,
    its head’s a plastic waste-bin,
    its eyes are broken clocks,
     
    its legs are cardboard tubes,
    its claws are toilet rolls,
    its tongue’s my dad’s old tie
    (that’s why it’s full of holes).
     
    ‘Oh, what a lovely dragon,’
    our teacher smiled and said
    ‘You are a pretty dragon,’
    she laughed and stroked its head.
     
    ‘Oh no, I’m not,’ he snorted,
    SNAP! SNAP! he moved his jaw
    and chased our screaming teacher
    along the corridor.
     
     
    Homework Oh Homework
    By Jack Prelutsky
     
    Homework! Oh, Homework!
    I hate you! You stink!
    I wish I could wash you away in the sink,
    if only a bomb would explode you to bits.
     
    Homework! Oh, homework!
    You're giving me fits.
    I'd rather take baths with a man-eating shark,
    or wrestle a lion alone in the dark,
    eat spinach and liver,
    pet ten porcupines,
    than tackle the homework,
    my teacher assigns.
     
    Homework! Oh, homework!
    you're last on my list,
    I simply can't see why you even exist,
    if you just disappeared
    it would tickle me pink.
     
    Homework! Oh, homework!
    I hate you! You stink!
     
     
    YEAR 5
     
    The Silliest Teacher in School
    By Darren Sardelli
     
    Our teacher gave detention
    to the fountains in the hall.
    She handed extra homework
    to the artwork on the wall. 
     
    We saw her point a finger
    at a banner and a sign.
    She said their bad behaviour
    was completely out of line.
     
    The principal approached her
    and said, “What is all this fuss?
    I heard you tried to punish
    all the tires on a bus.
     
    “You’ve made the teachers angry
    by disrupting all their classes,
    so if you want to keep this job,
    you have to wear your glasses!”
     
     
    The Lion and Albert
    By Marriott Edgar
     
    There's a famous seaside place called Blackpool,
    That's noted for fresh air and fun,
    And Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom
    Went there with young Albert, their son.
     
    A grand little lad was young Albert
    All dressed in his best; quite a swell
    With a stick with an 'orse's 'ead 'andle
    The finest that Woolworth's could sell.
     
    They didn't think much to the Ocean
    The waves, they were fiddlin' and small
    There was no wrecks and nobody drownded
    In fact, nothing to laugh at, at all.
     
    So, seeking for further amusement
    They paid and went into the zoo
    Where they'd lions and tigers and camels
    And old ale and sandwiches too.
     
    There were one great big lion called Wallace
    His nose were all covered with scars
    He lay in a somnolent posture
    With the side of his face on the bars.
     
    Now Albert had heard about lions
    How they was ferocious and wild
    To see Wallace lying so peaceful
    Well, it didn't seem right to the child.
     
    So straight 'way the brave little feller
    Not showing a morsel of fear
    Took his stick with its 'orse's 'ead 'andle
    And shoved it in Wallace's ear.
     
    You could see the lion didn't like it
    For giving a kind of a roll
    He pulled Albert inside the cage with 'im
    And swallowed the little lad 'ole
     
    Then Pa, who had seen the occurrence
    And didn't know what to do next
    Said 'Mother! Yon lions 'et Albert'
    And Mother said 'Well, I am vexed!'
     
    Then Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom
    Quite rightly, when all's said and done
    Complained to the Animal Keeper
    That the lion had eaten their son.
     
    The keeper was quite nice about it
    He said, 'What a nasty mishap
    Are you sure it's your boy he's eaten?'
    Pa said, 'Am I sure? There's his cap!'
     
    The manager had to be sent for
    He came and he said 'What's to do?'
    Pa said 'Yon lion's 'et Albert
    And 'im in his Sunday clothes, too.'
     
    Then Mother said,
    'Right's right, young feller
    I think it's a shame and a sin
    For a lion to go and eat Albert
    And after we've paid to come in.'
     
    The manager wanted no trouble
    He took out his purse right away
    Saying, 'How much to settle the matter?'
    And Pa said, 'What do you usually pay?'
     
    But Mother had turned a bit awkward
    When she thought where her Albert had gone
    She said, 'No! someone's got to be summonsed!'
    So that was decided upon.
     
    Then off they went to the Police Station
    In front of the Magistrate chap
    They told 'im what happened to Albert
    And proved it by showing his cap.
     
    The Magistrate gave his opinion
    That no one was really to blame
    And he said that he hoped the Ramsbottoms
    Would have further sons to their name.
     
    At that Mother got proper blazing
    'And thank you, sir, kindly,' said she
    'What waste all our lives raising children
    To feed ruddy lions? Not me!'
     
     
    Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone
    By WH Auden
     
    Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
    Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
    Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
    Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
    Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
    Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
     
    Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
    Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
    He was my North, my South, my East and West,
    My working week and my Sunday rest,
    My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
    I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
     
    The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
    Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
    Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
    For nothing now can ever come to any good.
     
     
     
    YEAR 6
     
    Macavity -The Mystery Cat
    by T.S. Elliott
     
    Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw -
    For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
    He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
    For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity’s not there!
     
    Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
    He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
    His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
    And when you reach the scene of crime - Macavity’s not there!
     
    You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air -
    But I tell you once and once again,
    Macavity’s not there!
     
    Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin;
    You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
    His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
    His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
    He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
    And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.
     
    Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
    For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
    You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square -
    But when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!
     
    He’s outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
    And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard’s.
    And when the larder’s looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
    Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke’s been stifled,
    Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -
    Ay, there’s the wonder of the thing! Macavity’s not there!
     
    And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty’s gone astray,
    Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
    There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
    But it’s useless to investigate - Macavity’s not there!
     
    And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
    ‘It must have been Macavity!’ - but he’s a mile away.
    You’ll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs;
    Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.
     
    Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
    There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
    He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
    At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN’T THERE!
     
    And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
    (I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
    Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
    Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime
     
     
    The Tyger
    By William Blake
     
    Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
    In the forests of the night;
    What immortal hand or eye,
    Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
     
     
    In what distant deeps or skies.
    Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
    On what wings dare he aspire?
    What the hand, dare seize the fire?
     
    And what shoulder, & what art,
    Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
    And when thy heart began to beat,
    What dread hand? & what dread feet?
     
    What the hammer? what the chain,
    In what furnace was thy brain?
    What the anvil? what dread grasp,
    Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
     
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And water'd heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
     
    Tyger Tyger burning bright,
    In the forests of the night:
    What immortal hand or eye,
    Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
     
     
    Daffodils
    By William Wordsworth
     
    I wandered lonely as a cloud
    That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
    When all at once I saw a crowd,
    A host, of golden daffodils;
     
    Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
    Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
    Continuous as the stars that shine
    And twinkle on the milky way,
     
    They stretched in never-ending line
    Along the margin of a bay:
    Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
    Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
     
    The waves beside them danced; but they
    Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
    A poet could not but be gay,
    In such a jocund company:
     
    I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
    What wealth the show to me had brought:
    For oft, when on my couch I lie
    In vacant or in pensive mood,
    They flash upon that inward eye
    Which is the bliss of solitude;
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils.
     
     
     
     
    And from Miss Wilson, for any year group....
     
    Moi
    Par Maurice Careme
     
    J'aime mon pere,
    J'aime ma mere,
    J'aime mes soeurs,
    J'aime mes freres,
    De tout mon coeur
    Et tante et oncle.
    Ou, tout le monde,
    Ou, tous, sauf moi
    Quand je n'ai pas
    Mon chocolat.
     
     
    Here's the translation...
     
    Me
    I love my dad,
    I love my mum,
    I love my sisters, 
    I love my brothers,
    with all my heart
    and aunty and uncle,
    Yes, everyone,
    Yes, all, except me
    when I don't have my chocolate!!!
     
     
     
    This little ditty is written in Latin, however if you listen closely, when it's read, it also sounds like English.
     
    CAESAR ADSUM IAM FORTE
    BRUTUS ADERAT
    CAESAR SIC IN OMNIBUS
    BRUTUS SIC IN AT
     
    Which sounds like...
     
    Caesar had some jam for tea, 
    Brutus had a rat, 
    Caesar sick in omnibus, 
    Brutus sick in hat.
     
    The words really mean: 
     
    I, Caesar, am already here by chance
    Brutus was present
    Caesar thus in all things
    Brutus thus in but
     
  • COVID Update

    Tue 08 Jun 2021

    Schools update from BCC Public Health

     

    8th June 2021

     

    You will have seen that in some areas of the UK rates of infection have escalated significantly over the last 6 weeks, with the Variant of Concern  (Delta Variant) driving this increase.

     

    Latest evidence is that this variant is more infectious than previous strains. However, the vaccine appears effective, once 2 doses have been completed, in preventing infection and / or severe illness.

     

    This has led to additional work to bring forward the second vaccination towards 8 weeks rather than the original 12 week gap between doses.

     

    All 30+ are now eligible, plus anyone identified as at risk due to a health condition. We continue to ask that this is promoted to staff and families as an important way to help protect themselves and others. 

     

    In Bristol we have also seen an uptick of Covid cases in schools, particularly primary and a small number of Delta Variant have been found through Whole Genome Sequencing. 

     

    Any school affected has been contacted by either ourselves or PHE to support work to self-isolate and undertake more detailed contact tracing and testing.  

     

    What has been apparent is that many of the younger children were asymptomatic and parental choice to LFD test has been a really helpful aid to early identification. 

     

    As we start a new term PHE and BCC PH would recommend all schools to continue to: 

    • Promote continued LFD testing at least twice weekly of staff and secondary age students
    • Promote LFD testing of families / households at least twice weekly where children under age 11 live
    • Swiftly self-isolate and seek PCR testing for anyone with a positive LFD or any symptoms, including milder illness such as headache, sore throat / cold symptoms
    • Self-isolate close contacts of suspected cases pending PCR results

     

    In addition, as a targeted measure, we are also asking that, once a positive PCR result is received, all close contacts seek a PCR test. The close contact PCR test can be booked via the national portal, even if there are no symptoms, by ticking the box to say that the person has been advised to take a test by the school.  

     

    It is important to note that even if a close contact receives a negative PCR they must still complete the 10 day self- isolation period linked to the original case.

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