Cranbrook Education Campus News
23rd February 2024
Primary Update - 3rd May 2024
Dear CEC Families,
This week has been joyous in so many ways. My Monday and Tuesday started with meeting the family members of our incoming reception cohort — a moment that fills us with pride here at CEC. Home visits before starting primary school allow us to build relationships, ask and answer key questions to get to know each other more, and ultimately, grow stronger together as we support our pupils in their learning journeys. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me into their homes.
Another highlight of my week was seeing our Year 1 team for Traction Man Day. I saw so many fun outfits and a brilliant confidence in the way Year 1 walked into school with a positive attitude of 'anything is possible'. A shout-out to our team for bringing learning to life and making memories for our pupils too.
This week, we have also been engaged in our recruitment journey for our Primary Deputy Headteacher Culture and Inclusion role. Our day was filled with opportunities to get to know pupils, staff, and parents too. I'm reading through the feedback from community-wide panel members and look forward to sharing an update with you in the coming weeks.
Last night, I headed down to Avonwick to meet with 15 other Heads and Educational Leaders who have been reflecting on how to nurture cultures where children love coming to school. One of the speakers, who had recently visited a school in New York, reflected on a staff dance flash mob she saw in a Brooklyn school corridor, which brought smiles to everyone around. Listening to her, I reflected on the progress we've made in fostering a proud and joyful atmosphere here at CEC Primary. With our music of the week, our celebration assemblies, multiple opportunities for trips, guest speakers, exciting hook days, and our expanding array of clubs, I felt warmed by knowing we already do a lot in this area but inspired to think about how we can increase joy further. This term, I'll be consulting with our Pupil Parliament to gather their thoughts on our kind and engaged class communities.
As a reminder, we have no school on Monday. I look forward to seeing all pupils back on Tuesday, ready and eager to learn.
CEC is an Asthma friendly school
We have worked with One Devon to ensure that we are an asthma friendly school by having an up to date asthma policy, a register of all children with asthma and suspected asthma, Personalised asthma action plan (PAAP), staff training including, what to do in an asthma attack and emergency asthma kit and having an asthma champion in school. Find out more here: https://myhealth-devon.nhs.uk/local-services/schools/children-young-persons-asthma-1
Warmer Weather
We're hopeful that we will have more regular warm weather this term, so please remember to send your children in with a refillable water bottle and a hat. We would ask that you apply sunscreen to your children before they come into school. Please speak to your class teacher if you have any questions.
Cycling to school
A polite reminder to families that cycle or scoot to school that these should not be ridden anywhere on site. We ask please for you to dismount from your bike / scooter at the school gates and use the shelters provided. Thank you
Dolce Summer Menu
Dolce Summer menu is now available. You can click the link below or visit our website here
The Azaylia Foundation
Leo Lowe, Finley Curtis and Oliver Curtis were part of the crowd that welcomed Ashley Cain into Exeter on Sunday 28th April 2024. This was day five of his current fundraising campaign, taking on a worlds first of running, cycling and kayaking from Lands End to John O Groats x3 times in 3 months. He was raising money and awareness for Children’s cancer through his charity ‘The Azaylia Foundation’ named after his late daughter who died of cancer aged just 8 months old.
Year Group Updates
Nursery Update
We have had a fun filled week in Carle Class, we have been making potions using green, glittery water. The children have enjoyed exploring our king and emptying them with the potions and watching the glitter swirl around. We have also been trying to make our very own characters from the book using the black and purple glittery playdough. We have also created some lovely ‘Wheels on the bus’ pictures to go up on our display. We got very excited this week as we found a big toad in our garden and talked about it then set him free.
Preschool Update
Thank you to everyone who has sent in photos of their children at the dentists! We have also loved seeing photos of the children enjoying their weekends or their holidays, please feel free to keep sharing these! The children love to talk about them during circle-time.
This week in preschool we have been learning the story of Cinderella. The children have been talking about how Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters made her feel when they were unkind and how the Fairy Godmother made Cinderella feel when she helped her. We have been making our own fairy wands and granting kindness wishes for our friends!
In maths we have been looking at measuring different objects from the story such as a glittery shoe or a mouse using non-standard measurements such as cubes, our hands or our footsteps! Can your child measure something at home to see how many footsteps long it is?
The children have also been learning about the different uniforms people wear for their jobs and how it might look different in other countries, for example a lollipop person in Canada needs to wear an extra thick jacket to keep warm in the snow! If you have any photos of family members who wear a uniform to work please feel free to share them on Tapestry. Have a wonderful weekend!
Reception Update
Reception have been super busy bees this week.
On Monday we had a crime scene in the class, someone had trapped the poor vegetables and then ran away to plan their next move! Supertato left us a letter to tell us that the Evil Pea was on the loose and was causing chaos. Linking to the text, in English the children created wanted posters and put them up around the school to inform everyone that the Evil Pea had escaped. In maths we have been focusing on teen numbers and counting forwards and backwards within 20. To consolidate this, we have thrown beanbags and continued the count around the circle. We have also done some numicon printing to demonstrate how we can count on from 10. Our Topic learning this week has been based around where our food comes from! We learnt that some food grows on plants and others in the ground. Reception also had a special visitor on Tuesday from Suez. She shared with us how we can be expert recyclers! She taught us the four ‘Rs’, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover. The children thoroughly enjoyed sorting the rubbish into the correct bins using the hooking tool. Next week we will be making smoothies! The ingredients for the smoothies will be as follows: apple juice, banana, frozen strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Please do let us know if you have any questions about this, or if you would like your child not to participate.
Have a #Crantastic weekend!
Year One Update
Year 1 have had a jam-packed week full of exciting learning!
Our Traction Man day was a success where every child was engaged when undertaking tasks fit for superheroes, thank you all for being so kind and saving Scrubbing Brush from the heights of trim trail!
To ensure we don’t forget our experiences as a superhero we are working hard to write a diary to treasure our memories and will be continuing this next week.
In Science we have continued to look at light sources and we experimented making shadows, we were fascinated to see how many things in our environment were transparent, translucent and opaque!
We have been working hard when making groups and sharing in Maths, we even opened a pizza parlour where the children had limited resources and had to share equally between their four pizzas!
Thank you so much for your continued support and enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend!
Year Two Update
On Monday we had a visit from Jess who works at SUEZ. She explained to the children the 4 R’s and how we can all help to think about what we can do with items we have finished with. Whether we recycle, reuse it or actually reduce our use of e.g. tin foil for sandwiches and instead have a wrap cover which can be wiped after each use. Visit charity shops to buy clothes or even to donate.
The children actively engaged in the sorting game and all showed wonderful PERKS. We are very proud of the children.
The children have finished their learning on fractions and have moved onto learning about position and direction. Please do test their knowledge of halves and quarters! The children have worked so hard in English on their instructions on how to wash an animal of their choice!
We have learnt about rationing and VE celebrations within our World War 2 topic and the children have thoroughly enjoyed this learning. It will be great to see how much they remember when we visit Tiverton Museum on Thursday 9th May.
If you would like the school to provide a packed lunch, order a lunch using the usual ordering process on School Grid (Any meal) and this will be exchanged for a packed lunch bag. If you are providing a packed lunch please cancel any orders that may have been made for your child that day on the website. This is to ensure no food goes to waste.
Please remember children need to be in school uniform, have a coat and a backpack for their packed lunch and water bottle.
We are all looking forward to our trip.
Note: as previously mentioned via MCAS on Wednesday 22nd May we will be dressing up for another themed day linked to World War 2, so hopefully the children still have their outfits from the other week.
Finally, have a lovely long weekend and we look forward to seeing the children on Tuesday.
Year Three & Four Update
In years 3 and 4 this week we have been continuing our shared writing in English focusing on using adverbials, direct speech and using paragraphs. The children have re created their versions of Arthur and the Golden Rope as a class and next week we shall continue to write this using more independently whilst bringing our imagination to life.
In Computing we have been having a brilliant time using new software called Band Lab. Mr Ansell has worked hard to get this set up for Years 3 and 4 and the children have loved experimenting with audio editing and creating their our soundtracks! Year 3/4 Ibtihaj were lucky to enjoy a recycling workshop this week and had some brilliant questioning for our visitor. The other Year 3 and 4 classes shall be enjoying these workshops in the coming weeks.
A quick reminder than in Art this half term we are needing all children to have a plain white t-shirt for their tie-dye activities. Please do let class teachers know if you are unable to arrange this. We hope you all have a wonderful bank holiday weekend and we look forward to welcoming the children back on Tuesday!
Year Five Update
Year 5 have had a lovely week in school this week! We have finished our Harry Potter themed English topic and have now moved on to our new book 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time. In Maths, we have been continuing with our Decimals topic. Ordering decimals and solving problems that involve decimals. In Science, we have been looking at Forensic Science - learning about fingerprints and the role of a Forensic Scientist. In Art we have been creating our backgrounds and adding a tessellating geometric design to the foreground. Have a wonderful bank holiday weekend!
Year Six Update
Well done Year 6 for your continued hard work this week. In English, we have all written a Year 6 Survival guide aimed at the current Year 5s who will be moving up in September. The guides have included top tips as well as motivational advice about staying focus. Students have enjoyed writing like experts and giving excellent advice. In History this week, we have been debating the question - "Were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles fair?". Pupils have weighed in or either side of the argument and argued their points using historical facts. In PSHE, students practised positivity and brainstormed all the things they like about themselves. We had great suggestions such as, "I am a kind friend" and "I never give up."
We know some students may be feeling anxious as SATS week approaches, but please make sure that you take time to relax and enjoy this bank holiday weekend.
The Big Step Summer School
The Big Step Summer School will run on the Campus site from Mon 12th - Fri 16th August 2024. This is a very worthwhile programme with the sole aim of preparing pupils for Secondary school. The Big Step is run by an external provider and the approximate cost for a whole week of activities is £120 per child. You can secure your child’s place with just a £20 deposit and pay the rest at your convenience (or opt for an automatic payment plan). If your child is entitled to benefit related free school meals you can receive a 50% discount. If you think you’re eligible for this discount, please contact info@thebigstep.org before booking.
Booking Link - https://thebigstep.org/about - Click on BOOK NOW
Awards & Rewards
Due to an unprecedented amount of badges being awarded this year we have run low on stock, more have been ordered and pupils will be awarded their badges when they arrive.
Congratulations to pupils who obtained their House Point Awards this week.
Gold Awards
Nyla Rattenberry
Elliott Jarman
Olivia Osborne
Charlie Boden-Hammond
Benjamin Liptak
Noah Fowler
Paul Adeyemi
and 5 other students
Platinum Awards
Sienna Maddocks
Mattie Selmi
Jonathan Mehmed
Daniel Prykhodko
Tharcika Ramadi
Freddie Wilson
Amelia Robinson-Matthews
Eddie Latcham
Oliver Partridge
Freya Bain
Clara Hewitt
Joshua Hill
and 3 other students
Community Notice Board
Charlie Cook's Favourite Book
The production of Charlie Cook's Favourite book will be at the Northcott Theatre next week and we have been offered discounted tickets to the performance by Mr C, who some of you will remember from our nursery setting.
If you would like to take your family along, click the link below and get 25% off by entered the code EduCharlie
The Big Step transition programme are now sponsoring CEC PE department.
The Big Step offers year 6 transition programmes for any new student transitioning from primary school to secondary school. More information can be found at https://thebigstep.org We are really proud to support an amazing programme. https://thebigstep.org
Big Silly Gig
Saturday 18th May, 10am, aimed at 4 – 7 year olds (but siblings welcome). An energetic, fun and silly sing-a-long with live music, sensory props and percussion. Sing, play and dance along to original silly songs and well known songs with Laura Loft plus musicians Jay Scott-Hamilton & Katie Scott-Hamilton from the Big Music Collective. This is an interactive family gig with plenty of opportunities to get creating music together. We will play original silly songs, sing-along to well known songs PLUS have an explore and play session at the end for exploring the instruments together.
Timings: 45 mins gig + 15 mins soundscape explore with instruments
Venue: Theatre Alibi Centre of Imagination, Emmanuel Hall, Emmanuel Rd, Exeter, EX4 1EJ
Book Tickets: £9 per person available at https://theatrealibi.co.uk/production/big-silly-gig/
Axminster Guildhall Events
Join us for Cranbrook's first colour run!
If, when you think of running, you think of very serious looking people, lycra clad, sprinting along paths and anxiously looking at their smart watch, you need to think again. Our partners in Cranbrook, Move More Cranbrook, are putting on a running event with a difference, and it’s one that you won’t want to miss. The Colour Run (and summer fete) will take place in Cranbrook on Saturday 6 July and guarantees to be a fun day for the whole family. The running events consist of a 2km fun run and a 5km. Organisers say that this isn’t about how speedy you are, it’s all about people of all ages having fun and getting stuck in. More here: https://liveandmove.co.uk/cranbrook-colour-run/ and here: https://race-nation.co.uk/register/cranbrook-running-club/cranbrook-country-park-colour-run
An additional reminder
Please take a moment to share your thoughts about our campus on the Ofsted ParentView platform. Your valuable feedback is crucial, especially as we anticipate an Ofsted inspection this academic year. Your perspectives will provide valuable insights and contribute to showcasing the strengths and positive aspects of our campus. The whole team greatly appreciates you taking the time to complete this.
Dates for the Diary
Year 2 Museum Trip - 9th May
Year 6 SATs - w.c 13th May
Year 4 Escot Trip - 20th May
Year 5 Haven Banks Trip - 23rd May
Half term - 25th May - 3rd June (3rd June is a Non Pupil Day)
Reception Paignton Zoo Trip - 13th June
Term dates Term dates for 24-25 are available on the website
Please note that in October 2024 Primary has a two week half term.
Please be aware that some dates and times have been confirmed for trips and amended for assemblies for the next couple of terms. See the updated key dates document for more information
Wishing you all a lovely weekend,