Latest News

Future Stars Wrap Around Childcare

Mon 05 Jul 2021

Booking is now open for Future Stars' award-winning Breakfast & After School Clubs at Hillcrest in September!

www.futurestarscoaching.co.uk

This has been an unusual year for Friends of Hillcrest with many of our key fundraising and social events unable to take place due to the pandemic. For this reason, we established a crowd funder to enable us to raise funds despite the many and ongoing restrictions. We have been blown away by the incredible support shown by the Hillcrest Community and are pleased to report that the crowd funder has raised an amazing £3,000 to date!

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took part in the enrichment events that were able to run this year, including: the Halloween Garden/Window Competition, the winter theatre performance, the Winter Wonderland Window Competition, the Pancake Scavenger Hunt, the Easter Family Egg Hunt and the ongoing Sunflower Growing Competition in partnership with Redcatch Community Garden. And not forgetting the Sponsored Walk, taking place on 5th and 6th July in Arnos Vale.

All money donated to Friends of Hillcrest goes back to the school to enrich our children’s education and experience. This year your donations have been used to fund the following:

New non-fiction books for the classrooms and Book Barn.
Beautiful wall art to welcome pupils into the school and emphasise the four Hillcrest values.
Bright window art on the key theme of ‘No Outsiders’.
A shed for gardening tools used by Hillcrest children to sow and grow their own vegetables.

And shortly to be funded:

Musical instruments for the entire school.
We are very pleased to reveal that all year groups will mark the end of the school year with a circus workshop and show taking place on the 13^th and 15^th of July.

Thank you to everyone who has donated money, taken part, shared their fantastic creativity, sent photos for the website, and given their time to help Friends of Hillcrest and our School.

New Committee and Volunteers needed - can YOU help?

In September several Friends of Hillcrest committee members and long-standing volunteers will be moving on.

All parents and carers are automatically members of Friends of Hillcrest, but we need new people willing to give some of their time to take Friends of Hillcrest forward. Over the next school year it will be more important than ever to connect though shared experiences and fun, and bring the Hillcrest community back together - hopefully face to face!

Specific roles include Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. We will also need Trustees, two Class Reps for each Year group and we always need Volunteers who can give as much or as little time as they can to help make events happen. For further information about what each role involves, please click on the link below.

Joining Friends in any capacity is a great way to meet fellow members of the Hillcrest community. Many past and present committee members will remain as advisors/volunteers and will be available to provide support, answer questions and give advice about how things have worked previously.

If you are interested in knowing more or would like to be added to our mailing list, please email us at friendsofhillcrestfundraising@gmail.com

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

Hillcrest Super Spellers

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...

Kl ive Court Campers

Super Spellers

Mon 21 Jun 2021

Hillcrest Super Speller

Sumo Time!

Fri 18 Jun 2021

Sumo

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

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