I have very much enjoyed more inspirational creativity from our year 6s this week. They have begun to write their own versions of our class story 'The Snow Leopard' and have really absorbed the poetic lyricism of the author's style (Jackie Morris). Jackie Morris has written many books for children, beautifully illustrated - The Ice Bear, The Seal Children, Tell me a Dragon, The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow, to name just a few. Perhaps you'd like to explore some of these?
In Maths we are improving our understanding of calculating with fractions and are aiming for the reward of KFC next week? There's a lot of suspicion in the class though. Despite high hopes, I don't think they're convinced that there will be fried chicken in evidence. We shall find out on Monday.

Thank you enormously to those who really did us proud at the Remembrance service last Sunday. It was a beautiful morning and to be congregated in the churchyard at the memorial with such a beautiful backdrop, gave an extra sense of peace and reflection to the occasion. The children were a credit to the school and did their part superbly.
In class we have let our imaginations run wild this week as we have created our own poems based on the wondrous ‘ The Magic Box’ by Kit Wright. As ‘biomes’ feature in our upcoming Geography unit, we explored rainforest images for some inspiration. I think everyone was justifiably very proud of their achievement – I certainly was.
Below I have created a class version containing a line (or 2) from everyone’s poem. Can you spot yours?

Maple Class’ Magic Box
I will put in my box…
The whispering tales of legend and myths forgotten through time,
The glow of night animals’ eyes and
Sapphire tears which fall from the clouds onto hand-like leaves.

I will put in my box…
A daring welly stuck in a squelchy marsh,
A drop of golden amber sap fresh from a leaf of an ancient Kapok tree and
The misty breath from forests of time.

I will put in my box…
The sweet, vibrant taste of a perfectly ripe mango, fresh from its tree,
The poison and camouflage of a frog and
The orange stare of a swooping sugar glider.

I will put in my box…
A little pearl, picked from the edge of a shining leaf,
The silvery steam from the forest, swaying above trees and
The sacred stare of a jaguar’s emotionless face.

I will put in my box…
The first drop of rain on my head before the drenching downpour,
The silence before the night wakes and the sun dies and
Long, winding rivers: roads on which I drive to Atlantis.

I will put in my box…
Foam from the tallest of waterfalls,
The patience of the trees to stand day after day and
A winding river snake that meanders through trees.
I shall shoot arrows in my box then fly up into the sky in a colourful hot air balloon.
My box isn’t any old box - it’s not made out of cardboard. Oh no!
My box is created from love, friendship and hope,
The hinges are lightning.
Only the kindest of people can notice it.

​It was lovely to get to see and speak with many of you on parents' evening this week. Thank you for all the support that you give us and your lovely children.
The year 6s really did us proud on Remembrance Day with a wonderfully confident and heartfelt performance of their poetry. The rest of the children in assembly were completely absorbed in the messages that the poetry conveyed.
A few will also be representing the school at the Chagford Remembrance Service on Sunday for which I am very grateful. 
We have had a week of Histrish (their name for History and English combined) and I am now much more in the know about all the medieval monarchs. Please ask them about what they have learned.
Best wishes for a good weekend.

Mr Finch adds...
I had a look the children's written work today and just about had my socks blown off. The progress from September to today is astonishing and the children have made us very proud indeed. Building pride in the children's work, increasing reading and writing stamina, encouraging resilience and spending time to work on handwriting has been transformational for some of these children. We can see the results not only in English and History but in maths too. I am a proud Principal. Well done to Ms Simpson and Mrs Armstrong for this excellent work but even more WELL DONE MAPLE CLASS!

The children have launched with gusto back into their learning and half term seems a long time ago already.
This next half term in English we are taking our lead from the COP 26 conference and focussing on a theme of protecting our world, starting with a study of a beautiful story by Jackie Morris called The Snow Leopard.  We shall be really considering the sentence structures that create different senses of pace and emotion and writing our own stories using a different animal in a different setting. Following on from that, we shall look closer to home at some of the species that are declining on Dartmoor and produce persuasive leaflets for the community to encourage changes that can help recovery.
In Maths, we are continuing to develop our calculation skills with a focus on fractions.
This coming week will also involve us preparing our poetry to contribute to the Remembrance Service next Sunday. The expression that they put in on their first attempt was superb. I'm sure that they will do the town proud next weekend.