Here is our November newsletter. As you can see, the children have taken part in lots of events—KS1 clubs and a

visit to Chester Zoo

Please take a moment to read all about it.

The Diary Dates on the back page are particularly important at this time of year.

Thankyou.

Y3 & 4 Go To Chester Zoo

By Ben R, Jamie & Fletcher

On a bright, sunny morning, all Y3 and Y4 set off to Chester Zoo. When we arrived, we split up into groups and went in search of the animals. It wasn’t long before we saw lots of them. Leopards, lions, tigers and orangutans, who were very lazy and scratched a lot. Ben liked the penguins the best because of the speed of their swimming. There was a special area for the baby penguins to learn to fish. The giant cobra snake was massive and it ate meat, but we were alright because it had just been fed when we got there! Jamie liked the bat cave. It was dark in the cave because the fruit bats are nocturnal. They were flying everywhere and you could feel them brush past your skin—one landed on Fletcher’s shoulder. Fletcher liked the monkeys and chimpanzees. He had his face against the window and a chimp put his face by the glass too. The chimps were very flexible and were swinging from branch to branch. Even the baby chimps were able to swing. We saw a lioness very close up, along with a tiger, who was lounging on a rock. On our tour, we found out lots of different facts about the animals. We were amazed at the size of the giraffes and the baby rhino was cute.

KS2 Drama Club

This term, Miss Breeze, Mrs Brooks and Mrs Airey have been leading a drama club. Here they are in

action:

A Visit from Colonel Cooper to Y5/6

By Lola, Amelia, Jamie & Elodie

Just recently, Y5/6 had a visit from Colonel Cooper. He came to talk to us about one of our school values - Resilience. He brought along with him a big step-ladder, three small teddies, some medals and uniforms. The three teddies each had a label on—Very Resilient, Resilient and Not Resilient, and he positioned them on the ladder, with the Very Resilient teddy at the top. He outlined his life, starting with his school, where he found English, Reading and Maths very hard. He discovered that he was dyslexic. He joined the Cubs and found he had good leadership skills and loads of energy. However, at secondary school, he had to take exams in which he failed and he gave up, so he illustrated this by moving the Very Resilient teddy down to the bottom. He showed us his medals which he got during his time in the Army, so the Very Resilient Bear moved up the ladder, only to go down again when he had to take more exams. Later in his life, he joined the Mountain Rescue and helped to save someone’s life, so the Very Resilient teddy was once again at the top of the ladder. So he was showing us that if we have energy, fitness and resilience, we can overcome anything. It was really interesting.

As you know, last week, we took part in the annual Children In Need fundraiser, by holding a Bake Sale.

Once again, your generosity was overwhelming! We had all sorts of cakes, bakes and biscuits. The tables were heaving and it was a military-style operation to

make sure everyone was able to buy some.

We are VERY pleased to announce that we raised the fabulous sum of

£631.00

Thank you so much!

Thank you to you for generously suppor�ng the Sponsored Run. We raised over £2800!

The Autumn Disco raised £279.84. Thank you.

Tues 29th Nov—Coffee Morning

Come and meet us, have brew and a biscuit (free of charge!) and see what Friends of Castle Park do behind the scenes.

In the school library 9-10am. Babies and pre-schoolers welcome.

Friday 2nd Dec—Mu,i Day for the Christmas Fair

EYFS & KS1—Please bring anything in a bo,le

KS2—Please bring sweets or chocolate

Second hand books, teddies and toys in good condi.on are also welcome.

Please put items in the boxes in your child’s classroom on Friday 2nd Dec on Mu3i Day

Mon 12th Dec—Christmas Fair 5-7pm

Come and join us for our Christmas extravaganza!

KS1 After-School Clubs

Over the last few weeks, the staff in KS1 have been holding after-school clubs for KS1 children. These have been a Dance club, Wellbeing & Colouring club and a Reading club. Here are what the children thought of their clubs.

Dance Club — we start with a warm up and added our own steps to it, then we have been dancing with scarves to different types of music. It has been fun.

Wellbeing & Colouring Club — each week we colour a different design. Last week we coloured flower and garden designs and this week we are working on Japanese designs. We have learnt how to take our pencils for a walk on the paper.

Reading Club — On our first week, we made book marks so that we can keep the page in our books. Mrs Leck read us a short story ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. Afterwards, we could choose a story or poems to read either with a friend or on our own.

BOXES OF HOPE CUMBRIA

Thank you to everyone who brought in a Christmas shoebox. We had a record-breaking number of boxes this year—86 in total. Here are the children helping to load the van:

If you shop online, don’t forget to use School Angel. There is no need to register, you simply click on the school angel icon on the home page of the school website www.castleparkschool.org. and shop!

We have been running this scheme for nearly three years now and, with your help, have raised over £600. Christmas is nearly upon us! Log on to our website to see the full range of participating companies. Thankyou.

Thursday 24th November - BOOK FAIR STARTS until 1st December 8.30—9.15am or 3.00—3.45pm Monday 28th November - School Council Training at the Town Hall 12.50—3.15pm Tuesday 29th November - FOCP Free Coffee Morning in KS2 Library From 8.50am Last KS1 Club night Thursday 1st December - YN Christmas Making Morning Friday 2nd December - School Christmas Dinner—please pre-order MUFTI DAY for the Christmas Fair KS1 Christmas Making Morning Monday 5th December - Last Josh Hawkins Dance Club YR Christmas Making Afternoon LKS2 Christmas Making Afternoon Tuesday 6th December - EY/KS1 Nativity for KS2 children Wednesday 7th December - EY/KS1 Nativity for parents at 10am LKS2 Christmas Making Afternoon Thursday 8th December - EY/KS1 Nativity for parents at 10am UKS2 Christmas Making Morning Friday 9th December - EY/KS1 Nativity for parents at 10am Monday 12th December - FOCP CHRISTMAS FAIR 5—7PM Tuesday 13th December - KS2 Carol Service for KS1/EY KS2 Carol Service for Parents at St Georges’ Church at 1.45pm Wednesday 14th December - Y1/2 Christmas Party Y3/4 Christmas Party Thursday 15th December - EY Christmas Party Y5/6 Christmas Party Friday 16th December - Term Ends at 2pm Thursday 5th January 2017 - Spring Term starts