Otters - Class of 2017-18

End of the school year 2018.

I can't believe it! Tomorrow we're heading off for our end of year residential to Aylmerton, and this time next week we will be finished for the year after our leavers' assembly on Tuesday afternoon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the pupils and their families for the privilege of getting to know you and working with you this year. I wish all of you the very best in your futures and sincerely hope that you have relaxing and happy summer breaks before the next exciting steps in your education and futures in September at high school.

Take care, good luck, all the best and God bless you all - may a fair wind fill your sails for all the years to come,

Ed King.

July 2018

As we enter July, I want to wish all the pupils good luck with their various transitions to high school, which starts with Ixworth Free School next week, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday 5th of July, I will be holding a meeting after school for parents about the Aylmerton residential later in the month. 

Easter Holidays 2018.

With Good Friday fast approaching, I would like to take this opportunity to wish a happy Easter to all of the children and their loved ones. This term has seen Otter Class working really hard across the curriculum: from mathematics and SPaG, to science and geography, Otters have applied themselves with vim and vigour. Special mention is deserved for our gymnasts and hockey teams, who have been excellent ambassadors for our community, not just with their athletic performances, but also through their team-work and the positive impressions they create when out and about in public. 

This holiday, I would like the pupils to have a go at revision - with a mind towards the SATs that commence the week beginning 14th May. With one or two exceptions we have now covered all of the content required for the tests, and the children have had a go at the tests themselves to get used to their format and how the classroom 'feels' under test conditions. As a minimum, I want the children to go through their CGP homework books and revise all of the work we have done so far, focusing on the areas that they need to work on the most. This will entail revisiting pages in the book they have done already, and pages we have not done nor been set as 'official' homework.  The main exceptions (things we are still to cover before the SATs) are some calculations involving fractions; ratio and proportion; and the subjunctive form. The children can work through and annotate their books as they like, as well as any extra work on areas of revision that they like on separate paper or electronically. I will ask the children, and would ask you, to support each other through this process by identifying areas to focus on or misunderstandings and working through them supportively and collaboratively. Revision is meant to be an individualised and targeted process, where pupils find their own balance of study and rest - ideally working neither too hard nor too little - to maximise their preparedness and comfort heading into what can be a stressful experience.

I would like to thank you in advance for all your support and efforts, and I look forward to seeing everyone back for our exciting final term at Barnham.

Best wishes

Ed King

Otters explore the Islamic concept of Tawhid through geometric tile designs.

Over the last two weeks, Otter class have been exploring the Islamic belief in Tawhid, that Allah is infinite and indefinable. We have looked at how geometric patterns have been used to explore the abstract concept of infinity, a classic feature of traditional Islamic art and design, and had a go at recreating some of the designs ourselves. The work was immensely challenging, with many tricky steps along the way, pushing the children's focus, resilience and behaviour-for- learning to the extreme: the results were frequently stunning.

Have a safe and happy Christmas!

As the holidays arrive, I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very merry Christmas and happy New Year to all the children and their families. I hope that the holidays bring some peace and time to relax, some happy times with friends and families, and an opportunity to reflect and collect at the passing of another year.

Kind regards and best wishes,

Ed King

Cross country run at Thurston CC.

Sugar beet sampling on the Euston Estate.

We started the year as we mean to go on today - bringing learning to life and getting out of the classroom at every opportunity!

The sugar beet harvest season has arrived, however it continues until March, and Euston needs to know the most profitable and practical order in which to harvest their crop before sending it off to Bury St Edmunds. Following on from some excellent work in previous years, the new Otters were invited to carry out the sampling, which saw teams of children identifying, digging, cleaning, weighing and recording representative samples of sugar beet across 23 fields on the estate. The work was carried out with gusto and enthusiasm in some challenging conditions, and we now have some excellent raw data to process in the coming weeks.

The results will be fed back to Mr Hawthorne from the Euston Estate and will include a proposed harvest schedule; projected crop yields per hectare; and projected sugar production per hectare. This will involve lots of delightful and challenging mathematics, including calculating mean averages, percentages as well as some fairly hefty multiplications. We love this kind of thing! 

September is here, and with it cooler mornings, longer nights, autumn colours, and of course, a return to school. This year sees Otter Class growing to 26 pupils with Mrs Nicholas and Mr King. PE will be on Monday afternoons with Mrs Shepperson, and on Tuesday afternoons, Forest Schools will commence with Mr Holman and Mrs Pointer week beginning 18th September. 

I am looking forward to getting to know my new Otters very much, and am excited about all the challenges and learning in the year ahead; it is always lovely to see a new year six group grow into the role-models and leaders they all are.