Thursday 9th February 2023

Colchester Castle 

Year 3 had an amazing day at Colchester Castle. All children were superstars and were so well behaved. Year 3 were eager to explore the museum and learn as much as they could through the hands on tasks.

We had the opportunity to build a Roman villa and worked as a team to construct a roundhouse. I think we all agree, it was a wonderful way to consolidate what we had learnt about the Iron Age and a great introduction to our Roman topic in history lessons after half term.

Monday 30^th January 2023

It’s Rocket Science

Year 1 children enjoyed their visit to 'It's Rocket Science' as part of their science unit of 'materials'. We took part in a range of investigations and used our comparing and sorting skills to identify, compare and group objects by their properties and the materials that they are made from. We used blindfolds and 'feely bags' to describe the properties and textures of objects to our friends, and had fun identifying how different materials reacted in water by completing a sinking and floating activity. 

The exploration room was a particular highlight of the trip and we had the opportunity to explore how we work scientifically. We investigated and tested flying objects in a wind tunnel, used problem solving to create tracks and tested our senses with scent boxes.

We were also delighted with the feedback that we received from the staff of 'It's Rocket Science', who commented on our wonderful behaviour and politeness. Well done Year 1! 

Thursday 19^th January 2023

Young Voices 2023

On Thursday 19^th January 2023, 38 of our year 4 pupils went to the O2 Arena in London to take part in the biggest school’s concert in the world, Young Voices 2023. Some of our parents travelled to the O2 Arena to support the pupils as well. We travelled to London via train and then took the underground to North Greenwich and the O2 Arena. 

Our Year 4 pupils performed with near 9,000 other school pupils. The children sang 6 songs in total and even accompanied pop star, Heather Small, singing one of her most famous tracks, "Proud". In fact, the rehearsal of the song was recorded and is going to be released as charity single soon. This means that our pupils along with all the others who attended will feature on the single, which is very exciting.

As well as singing, the children were able to watch a stunning performance by Anna Phoebe, who is a world famous violinist, who performed a mixture of classical and modern music to the children. The world champion beatbox group, the Beatbox Collective, also performed to all the children and there was also several dance performances by Urban Strides.

The children were a real credit to the school, their behaviour was exceptional, and we had many members of the public comment on just how well behaved they were. Roll on next year when we can do it all again!

Monday 9^th January 2023

Sammy the Sea Squirt Well-being Visit

On Monday 9^th January, our Early Years classes were visited from Louise and Sue from ‘Suffolk Mind’ and they brought a special friend with them, ‘Sammy the Sea Squirt’.

The children took part in a movement session that helped the children to understand the benefits of movement with good mental health.

A copy of Suffolk Mind’s first story book, ‘Sammy the Sea Squirt’ was also given to all the children to take home. The book helped the children learn breathing techniques to calm themselves and ways to let out their frustrations before they get angry inside. The children also moved like all of the characters from the story.

Wednesday 7^th December 2022

OMAT Christmas Carol Concert

On Wednesday 7^th December, our school choir joined pupils from the choirs at each of our trust schools to perform in our annual Christmas Carol Concert at the Ipswich Corn Exchange's Grand Hall. The children performed in front of a pack hall of over 500 family members. Our pupils performed 2 songs by themselves and then sang a further 4 carols with all of the other pupils. Our very own Mr Arch, compared the show. 

Friday 30^th September

Primary Science Quality Mark Award

We are delighted to announce that this week, The Willows Primary School has been awarded with the Primary Science Quality Mark. 

The award recognises confident, knowledgeable, reflective leadership, which strives to improve the way Science is strategically planned and delivered across the school.

We would like to thank  all our staff for contributing to this achievement, with a special thanks going to Miss Laura Relph and Mrs Kerrie Carter.

Defibrillator Donation:

We are delighted to share with you that due to the fundraising efforts of Ipswich Prep School and a kind denotation by The Oliver King Foundation, the school has been provided with an automatic defibrillator.

On Tuesday 6^th September, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mark King, who founded the Oliver King Foundation after the sad passing of his son Oliver. We were also joined by David Harrison who trained 10 members of staff in the use of this important lifesaving equipment.

Reception Classrooms Refurb

September 2022

During the summer holidays, our site manager, Mr Dodds, has been very busy decorating our reception classrooms giving them a fresh feel. We have also fitted out the classrooms with new furniture and resources giving the rooms a very natural feel and clear areas of learning.

The Big Hoot

We wanted to give our children the opportunity to take part in 'The Big Hoot' to share the hard work and success that St Elizabeth Hospice does as a charity. Joining in with the trail, will also encourage our families to participate next summer. This is particularly important to us, as many of our families don't have access to their own garden or outdoor space so promoting getting outdoors and being outside is something that we value. As a school, we pride ourselves on our sense of community and taking part in 'The Big Hoot' will help us to continue this on a broader scale. As part of the project, we plan to work with local artists too!

From Wednesday 9th February to Tuesday 15th February, our children have been busy collaborating their ideas on how to decorate our owl with Jane Beaumont (our artist in residence). By the end of Jane's five days in school, she will have brought our owl to life! 

Our work with Jane was featured in a local news paper report: Click here to read the news story.

Keep an eye out for updates....

Sammy the Sea Squirt Book Launch

On Friday 24th September 2021, our Reception children have had the most wonderful day celebrating the launch of ‘Sammy the Sea Squirt’. Our children received their very own copy of the book and took part in lots of activities to promote well-being and movement. As part of the launch, the children were joined by the books' author, Ezra Hewing and the illustrator of the book, Emma Graham. To add to the excitement, we were also joined by a news crew from BBC Look East and we featured on the evening news that day. See our slide show below with photographs from the day.

A local newspaper article about the event can also be found here.

Thoughtful.   Healthy.   Resilient.   Independent.   Vocal.    Engaged.