Year 2 Recorders

We are so pleased that Judith Atkins is working her musical magic and has started teaching recorders to the Year 2 classes. In just a few weeks, the children are able to recognise some notes and are familiar with musical vocabulary, as well as being able to play some songs. 

Holi Festival comes to Cholsey!

On Thursday 17^th March we had a whole school celebration of the Hindu festival Holi.  All the children spent the day learning about and exploring this very colourful festival, producing some wonderfully colourful creations themselves! 

On Friday 18^th we ended our Holi celebration with our very own paint throwing!  It was brilliant to be able to welcome parents and carers into school to watch the children take part in this activity and to be back together as a whole school community again.  The children had a fantastic time and we could not have asked for better weather. The PTA ran a very successful cake sale which raised £200! 

It was the perfect end to a busy week and hopefully an event that we will all remember. 

Year 5 Maths Challenge

Mrs Bryers accompanied four of our Year 5 mathematicians to Cranford House to take part in a maths challenge afternoon. The children behaved impeccably and enjoyed taking part in the activities. 

Experience of being a Forest School Parent Volunteer

 I was able to volunteer to be the Forest School Helper for Year 2 Swans over Term 3. I really enjoyed it and thought I might jot down a little bit about what went on, in case it was interesting to other parents. I pulled on some extra layers, bobble hat and wellies for each Monday session and got to spend a great 2 hours with the children. It was so lovely to watch the children play in the mud kitchen, climb trees and muddy slopes, dig holes and work together to recreate a fire pit (their imaginative play was great to see). Forest Schools offer such a wonderful opportunity for children to engage with nature. This feels so especially important now, after the last two years. We spotted ducks & robins, made bird feeders, found red kite feathers and their happiness & confidence shone throughout it. It was a great mix of open-ended play and bush craft learning. I was impressed by the skills offered, like doing some whittling. And learnt that bow and arrows are now used by Hawkeye, rather than Robin Hood, as in my day!

With perfect timing, I was helping on “Blue Monday” - and what a perfect antidote it was! To be out in the fresh air, in the woods, spotting the first daffodils shoots, digging worms for robins, making tree guardians out of clay and learning that Dog Mercury can signify ancient woodland! The children know not to eat berries, nuts or mushrooms they might find; they were annoyed by litter that has been thrown into the site (and keen to pick it up!) and looked out for each other during the sessions. It felt like such great life lessons, on how to care for and enjoy the countryside, while respecting it too.

Forest School is such a great learning experience. For me as well! I am so pleased that Cholsey Primary includes in their teaching – and not just for Foundation, but up to Year 2. You can see the value of it in the children’s behaviour, their happiness and interaction. The importance of access to green space on mental wellbeing is increasingly acknowledged and it is so wonderful that our children have such a great space to explore right here at school.

Marie-Louise Kerr

Wonderful World Book Day

Yesterday, like many schools across the UK we celebrated World Book Day. It was a jammed packed day full of dance workshops to celebrate stories, decorating potatoes as our favourite book characters, listening to some wonderful stories, dressing up as book characters, book swaps and even finding Where's Wally! It was a fantastic day. Big thank you to Mrs Nash for organising it.