Special thanks to Mrs. Edwards for ensuring our amphibious friends were kept clean and well fed during their stay with us.

“The tadpoles got legs. Four of them. Then they went straight into the frog tank” – Jaego.

“They ate their eggs then we gave them boiled lettuce to eat” – Louis.

”I think they’re called Froglet, Froggy, Fred, Joe and Sarah” – James.

“When they got legs we had to move them to a tank without much water” – Kaitlyn.

“I think there are eleven. When they’re big frogs we’re going to put them in the pond” -Sasha.

”The millipede was enormous. I think it had a thousand and ten legs” –  Harley

”I like the cockroach because when you push it, it makes a ‘shhh’ sound” – Grace

”I like the stick insects best because they stuck to me” – Annie

”I like the scorpion because it had a big sting” – Jonathon

”The snake was long. It felt soft on me” – Joe

”If you stroke the millipede, it turns your skin purple. I wondered if you stay purple forever” – Daisy-Louise

Some of the pupils in today's dress rehearsal (click to enlarge)

All Key Stage 2 classes are busy preparing for their performances to celebrate their WW2 learning with the parents. The shows include singing, dancing, drama and some of the children’s writing.
All the performances have been put together by the children and are their thoughts and ideas so each classes celebration is different.

The children will perform in the hall at the following times:

Sharks – Friday 16th in the evening 6.00pm
Seahorses – Friday 16th in the evening 6.45pm
Jellyfish – Friday 23rd in the afternoon 1.45pm
Rainbowfish – Monday 26th in the afternoon 1.45pm
Whales – Tuesday 27th in the afternoon 1.45pm

We hope very much that you will be able to celebrate your child’s learning at their performance.

The food bank is a local charity run by Dorchester Baptist Church.  It supplies staple foods for families in crisis.  We will be collecting non-perishable food stuffs during the week beginning 3^rd October.  If you would like to donate, suggested food items include;  rice pudding, sponge pudding, coffee etc …..

Our other charity is Farm Africa, which aims to make a lasting difference for farmers in that part of the world through education programmes.  Any spare change from a visit to our Maths Café can be donated during the week.  The children will be finding out about Farm Africa in school but if you would like to find out more there is a very informative website.

Donations part way through the week

It’s part way through the week and we’ve got a decent amount of food donated, but please keep them coming in.

Alternatively, visit the Dorset For You website which has all the details.

In Key Stage One, Year One had a visit from a mysterious giant who left clues as to his identity. This was used as a stimulus to start the topic ‘Marvellous Me.’ Later this term Reception are planning WOW sessions to begin their topic ‘If you go down to the woods today,’ which include a visit to the woods and a visit to school by some owls.

In Year Two the children enjoyed starting their first mini topic ‘Toy Story’ by bringing in toys that were special to them and using them to generate their own questions. In the next few weeks we are looking forward to starting this terms main topic ‘Adventures on the High Seas’. This will be launched with our ‘WOW Day’, where the children will come to school dressed as pirates for a day of pirate fun!

In Years Three and Four, the hall became a place for inspiration and enthusiasm, as they examined Celtic artefacts, photographs, representations and a short film clip about Maiden Castle and Chesil Beach. Having been trained in the art of asking ‘hot questions’, they thought showered all of the questions about Celts and Maiden Castle they wanted answers to.

The questions have given a great basis for cross-curricular planning and the children have responded brilliantly!

Manor Park would like to say ‘Thank you’ to Prince of Wales for allowing us to visit their roundhouse and enabling us to answer some of the many questions posed.

Miss Mathie and Rosie go head to head - Teacher verses Child!

On Thursday (08/09/11) Years One to Four were treated to a skipping session by John McCormack of ‘Skip2Bfit’. The children were encouraged to beat the number of skips they could do during a two minute period. The event was a great success and we were all reminded about the importance of healthy living and exercise.

To finish ‘Skip2Bfit’day, John delivered a fun assembly where he revealed some of the best results from the day (both children and adults!). John also kindly gave school a blueberry bush which we intend to plant on the grounds. He also handed out blueberry cartons and certificates to those children who achieved high scores or demonstrated perseverance.

Rosie of year three - highest child skipper of the day

Ms Cridland – Josie – Lilymai  – Elliot  – John McCormack – Stephen Cross

Some of the children’s best results are as follows: In Year One Annalisa  managed 105 skips. In Year Two Talia achieved 167 skips. In Year Three James did 180 skips and our high scorer of the day was Rosie in Year Three with 197 skips in two minutes!

The teachers also had quite a competition! In third place was Mrs Goldsack with 142, in second place was Ms Cridland with 163 but leaving most of us wondering quite how she did it was Miss Mathie, with 251 skips.

We intend to hold a skipping fund raiser later in the school year to coincide with our Olympic ideas and will be interested to see if any parents would like to try and beat Miss Mathie’s high score! We were also left some ‘Skip2Bfit’ skipping ropes and ‘Blueberry Bouncers’ by John. They can be found for sale at the school office.

- Stephen Cross, Sports Coordinator