‘Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened’ Dr Seuss
The end of the academic year provides a great opportunity to reflect on all of the wonderful things that have happened over the course of the year. Inevitably, there will be a few tears shed from both the adults and children as they move on to their next chapter but the quote above from Dr Seuss encourages us to take pleasure in the fact that we are blessed to have gone through so many positive experiences. This has been the first year of my headship at Littleport Community Primary School and I am proud of the work that we have all achieved at the school. We truly have a dedicated team who have the children at the heart of everything that we do. This extends beyond the staff to our amazing volunteers on the PTFA who have worked tirelessly to create experiences that broaden the cultural capital of the children who attend our school. These have included over the year a visit from The Raptor Foundation as part of our STEM week and an unforgettable trip to London to see Aladdin on the West End – both fully funded by the work of the PTFA.
In the summer term, history was focused upon in the work of our children in the lower school. The Year 1s travelled back in time and staged their own suffragettes protest as a climatic end to their work learning about Votes for Women! The children have enjoyed getting to grips with this important topic and have had some fantastic conversations taking place both inside school and at home. The Year 2s took part in a magnificent trip to Ely Cathedral and Ely Museum to learn more about two key historical figures from the area, Hereward the Wake and Etheldreda. The children came away with even more knowledge and relished the opportunity to dress up in character in such an awe inspiring setting.
Our Year 6 children also put on an outstanding end of year production! I know that as they left the school, they will be moving on with very fond memories of their time at Littleport Community Primary School and we wish them all the very best for the future.
PSHE – Life Education Bus Visit
In May, the Life Education Bus visited our school. It is an important part of our PSHE curriculum, and the children all enjoy their visit.
Every other year the bus comes to visit, and they deliver a session to each class. The younger year groups learn about themselves; from what their bodies need to work, to how to resolve conflicts with friends. The children particularly enjoyed meeting Harold the Giraffe. A Year 1 child said, “We learned about being healthy. We have to drink milk to get strong. We can run to make us fit. We learned not to be unkind to our friends. It was really fun.” In the older year groups children learned about the types and dangers of drugs and medicine. They also talked about peer pressure and the importance of making the right choices.
A Year 4 child said, “We learned a lot about the body and where everything is. We also learned about what we need to make our bodies healthy and strong; you need oxygen food and water. You have to have a healthy diet, a little bit of everything so your body can grow properly. We learned that you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to because you can make your own choice, you are unique, you are the only one of you.”
We look forward to welcoming them back in 2021!
Ms Swimdells, PSHE Lead
The Arts at LCPS
We are really fortunate at LCPS to be able to offer children the opportunity to play a range of musical instruments. During the summer half term, we enjoyed a fantastic after-school concert which featured our pianists, guitarists and violinists. The children played individually and in groups and it was great to hear children beginning on their instruments to those who have been playing for several years. We were also fortunate to enjoy another musical extravaganza from our brass players on a separate night – brilliant to see such commitment from the children!
The choir had a busy summer: they started off the concert season performing to local residents in the village hall before then joining the brass players for their concert. The choir finished this season joining with other schools, community choirs and a community orchestra to perform in Ely Cathedral as part of the Ely Arts’ Festival in a concert entitled: A Night at the Movies. This was a fantastic experience for the children and hopefully one which will be repeated in the future! We look forward to the autumn term when we’ll start rehearsing for Young Voices at the O2 in January 2020!
Mr Clark, Deputy Headteacher
I wish to thank all of the children, staff, governors, the PTFA and volunteers for the hard work they have demonstrated this school year. It seems fitting to end this reflection by looking forward to the year ahead. As a school, we are constantly developing. Our role as the Research School for East Cambs and the Fenland means that we are enhancing the practice of our staff and this in turn enriches the learning experiences of our pupils. However, we hope to involve ourselves more with the community, so an exciting project should be taking place in this autumn term.