On Wednesday 21st May, Year 1 went to Sir Hilliers Gardens in Romsey to explore lots of different plants, animals and habitats. Whilst there, they were able to go on a hunt to identify different leaves and the trees they are from, complete a scavenger hunt to see what helps seeds grow and what doesn't, and enjoyed testing their senses in a garden full of different scents from different plants. The children then used these scents to fill a hungry caterpillar! They finished the trip with some pond dipping and were able to find lots of amazing animals, including newts, water beetles, pond snails and more!

On Monday, May 19th, across the federation, we celebrated World Mental Health Day. Like last year, we chose to take part in the Mental Health Foundation's Wear it Green Day, but with a twist. The school council decided to include the NHS in our celebration of awareness by getting adults and children to dress as rainbows—hence ‘Wear it Rainbow Day’!

The children across the federation were given one small square, and each year group was given a colour - this allowed Miss Ferguson to create a beautiful rainbow to commemorate this special day.

During lesson time, we reviewed what mental health is and why it is important, as well as revisited the self-regulating techniques we learnt during our SEMH and PSHE lessons. 

The children were asked to bring in £1 for dressing down, and altogether we raised £432.50.

On Thursday, 8th May 2025, we were delighted to bring our school community together to commemorate VE Day 80. 

After lunch, we opened our classroom doors to parents and carers so that they could join us for a bit of poetry writing. Everyone created acrostic poems inspired by the word ‘Victory’, which opened up lots of opportunities for discussion about what happened during the war. We are so thrilled to hear that these conversations have continued at home, too, as lots of the children have been really keen to find out more about their family history and have been asking their grandparents and great-grandparents lots of questions. 

Here are some of the wonderful poems created on the day:

After we had done our poems, everyone went out onto the school grounds to enjoy tea, cake, and games. We encouraged everyone to bring in some traditional games to play, such as pick-up sticks, tiddly-winks, or hoopla. 

Our sports coaches organised some traditional games on the Astro, too. Thank you, Coach, for bringing in your bean bag toss game—it was very popular and lots of fun! 

It was brilliant to see everyone enjoying being together in the sunshine, surrounded by the beautiful poppies the children had made and ‘planted’ as a symbol of remembrance and inspired by the stunning installation at the Tower of London. 

We would like to thank our school community for supporting this event, helping us to spread the vital message of remembrance. 

As part of our Earth Day celebrations on Tuesday, 22nd April, the children completed a range of activities. They learnt why Earth Day is important, especially as it turned 55 years old this year. The children learnt about the theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” focusing on renewable energy and climate action.

The work the children have completed is displayed in the classroom windows.

Our recent Mad Hair Day was a resounding success, with pupils sporting some truly imaginative hairstyles! We raised £412.25 for St Michael’s Hospice.

On Tuesday 11th February, we recognised Safer Internet Day across both schools.

The theme this year was 'Too Good to Be True: Protecting Yourself and Others from Scams Online.’

In KS1, we focused on staying safe online and who we could tell if we saw something that we knew wasn't safe.

In KS2, we explored different scenarios and discussed what a scam could look like, and what we should do if we think we see one.

We now know that we should never share any personal information or talk to strangers online. We became scam spotting experts by the end of the day!

Please remind all children about staying safe online and ensure you comply with the age restrictions for any apps they may be accessing.