The Bulletin Edition 16

I grew up in a home with a coal and/or wood fire that was lit at the start of winter and stayed alight for most of the season. Health and safety standards have certainly come a long way since those days. As a ten-year-old, I was required by my parents to ensure there was enough wood chopped into the right sizes to fit the fireplace. I became quite skilled at chopping wood – completely unsupervised – with what I recall was a fairly blunt axe. I still have all my fingers and toes intact to prove it! While my childhood was not particularly hard, I cannot help but notice how earning my pocket money back then was likely quite different from how children today might go about earning the same.

I was only ever toiling for pocket money of course. Life’s essentials, and every now and then some of life’s luxuries, were in ready supply when I was young. By stark contrast, in this week’s assembly, the boys learned about George Brewster, an 11-year-old chimney sweep whose tragic death exactly 150 years ago became a turning point in the fight against child exploitation in Victorian Britain. George became trapped while working in a chimney at Fulbourn Hospital in Cambridge, and despite rescue efforts, he sadly lost his life. His death shocked the nation and inspired Lord Shaftesbury to push through the Chimney Sweepers Act 1875, which banned the use of child chimney sweeps. The Blue Plaque soon to be erected in Cambridge in George’s honour ensures his story will continue to remind us of the progress made and the lives saved.

I was deeply impressed by the serious and mindful way the boys engaged with this poignant story. There were some telling very silent moments in assembly as I believe the boys were considering very deeply indeed how far society has come in protecting children like them, and the extent to which technology continues to improve living conditions for us all. Life’s progress is precious, of course, and our continuing exploration of ‘technology’ (our assembly theme for this term) is proving to be very thought-provoking.

It was mud, glorious mud on Monday as the U11 As and Bs went into action against Newland House for their first rugby fixture of the season. Carlisle Park had received a fair soaking over the weekend, so it made playing conditions tricky. This did not hold Newland back, as they came racing out of the blocks, running with purpose, and rucking effectively. They caught Hampton slightly off-guard, and they struggled play to their potential in the first half, falling off tackles and making handling errors. However, they stayed in the game with the scores close at half time, and after some reflection the boys came out with more intensity. They found their groove and the passes started to flow, resulting in some lovely tries and the win at the final whistle. As you can see from the photo, the boys loved playing in the conditions. Parents, apologies for the laundry that day!

This week, our Year 5 boys were treated to an unforgettable theatre experience as they attended a performance of the iconic musical Wicked. This fantastic trip not only offered the boys an opportunity to enjoy the performance, the experience also aligns with our school’s ethos of fostering critical thinking and a love for the arts. The trip began with us boarding a train into London, where the boys engaged in thoughtful discussions regarding their recent explorations of the themes central to the story of Wicked in Life Skills lessons. In particular, they focused on the theme of prejudice and its potential relevance in the show.

This week, our assemblies have been buzzing with the hum of innovation as we continue to explore the fascinating world of technology, focusing on the transformative impact of the automobile and the extraordinary legacy of Henry Ford. Henry Ford revolutionised transportation with the Model T and his visionary assembly line, and we discovered how his ideas not only made cars more affordable and accessible but also reshaped industries worldwide.

We have been learning about and celebrating Lunar New Year all week long! Starting with the well-known story, ‘The Race’, we discovered how each year is named after an animal character from the story. We were surprised that the clever rat won the race despite being the smallest animal. However, it did not go unnoticed by the children that the rat was not keeping the Golden Rules when he pushed the cat into the river! As a class, we acted out the story using stick puppets, following the order that the animals crossed the river and using ordinal mathematical language - 1st- 12th.

Reception have been busy celebrating Lunar New Year, with a special focus on the Year of the Snake. We explored how Lunar New Year is celebrated across the world and discovered the traditions and customs that make it such a special festival! At the start of the week, the children made an Asian Noodle Salad with Mrs O’Brien. They carefully used knives, graters, and scissors to prepare the herbs and vegetables, learning to use the fork as their ‘friend’ in the process – do ask them how! As they examined the ingredients, some were unfamiliar – such as ginger and spring onions – sparking plenty of curiosity about what they were and how they were used. The children also measured out ingredients to create a delicious dressing.

In English, Year 1 have been basing their work on the series, ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!’ by Mo Willems. The class LOVED this story and there was lots of laughter and requests to read it again! We wrote persuasive arguments to our parents to encourage them to let us stay up late a little bit longer. For example, the children argued that they should stay up late because they wanted to complete extra homework or that they were still a bit peckish! The children campaigned passionately in class – sorry about this, parents! We learnt about contractions, such as I’ll, what’s and it’s. We know that a contraction is two words pushed together and that that the apostrophe represents a missing letter.

In English lessons this week, the children have loved continuing their study of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs”, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. To fully understand the many features of a newspaper, the children immersed themselves in a multitude of “First News” editions, analysing catchy headlines, reporting styles, photo captions and puzzle pages. They have already written their own headline and opening paragraph, and look forward to completing their newspaper report next week.