26th November

Another fabulous week of fun and learning in Beech Class has come to an end. The phonics groups are flying pupils are making great progress. The work on addition and subtraction has continued and it's easy to see that confidence is increasing. INscience the children have been looking for different materials all around the school - what materials are things made from in your houses? One real highlight of the week was the children's hot seating of our Teaching Assistant Mrs Hazeldine who worked a good few years ago as a teaching assistant in the old school building. She told the children all about how the school used to be and they were able to think about the changes that had taken place and use historical language to talk about 'then' and now'. We were surprised how many of the children had memories of the old building and of the opening of this one - a really interesting way to focus on our theme of 'Changes in Living Memory'. I believe that the class will be getting to interview more people with memories of Chagford in the past - real living history!
I took great pleasure in sharing the artefacts that children had brought in from home to help them think about their own family in the past. Lotte brought in a treasure trove of old photographs and a beautifully engraved silver hop flask which attested to her great grandfather's interest in hunting and her family's long link to this corner of Dartmoor. Leo brought in an old iron axe head found on the farm - his dad said he thought the axe had belonged to his own grandfather. One wonders if the axe is still with us after several new heads and several new handles...
Children have started to bring in their concertina books reflecting on themselves as babies, toddlers, preschoolers and great big Key Stage One children - lots of progress in just a few years. A blink of an eye for us is a lifetime for them and it's wonderful to see them reflecting on their own life stories.
Thank you so much to Mrs Fitzgerald who is working hard to ensure every day is packed with interest and fun.