Welcome to Hope CE Primary School Blog

We had a super time at the pantomime. Many of us had not been to the new theatre and we all thought it was lovely. The seats were comfy and we had a good view -even from the upper circle.The children loved Wendy, Peter Pan and the lost boys. The singing and dancing was great.  The show was very interactive and the costumes were colourful. It was a great show and made everyone laugh too!

This year’s Christmas concert was a little different. Imagine a small Austrian village getting ready for its annual Christmas pageant. Snowy weather sets in and the church organ won’t work. The mice have been nibbling at it! Not to mention Father Joseph’s manuscript for his Christmas sermon. What will they do? Never fear- with a little help from the village children, Herr Gruber, the school master, and of course the church mice-the pageant goes ahead. All our pupils put in brilliant performances- what talents they have!  Performances from Luke and Warren were full of humour, and the addlibbing contributed to their performances. Their enthusiasm for the drama was infectious. The young soloists in particular - Max, Matthew and Gurdas were fantastic and who would have thought six of the older boys, wearing Green Austrian hats and lederhosen, would have been such good Bavarian dancers. The costumes were colourful and authentic to the Austrian setting and our thanks must go out to Mrs Bayliss for her invaluable support with the costume making.

The positive feedback received from family and friends of Hope was much appreciated and I would like to say a special thank you to all the staff for their wonderful and unstinting support.

I always feel the Christmas concert is a lovely start to the traditional Christmas festivities at Hope and our Carol Service at the church on the last day of term is also a chance for the whole community to come together in celebration. The children are looking forward to Christmas parties, a Christmas lunch with the Governors and a visit to the pantomime ‘Peter Pan’ in our last week of term. Parents are most welcome to call in a little earlier on Friday afternoon (2.45pm) as we are expecting a special visitor (in a red suit).

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year!

Karen Mosedale

Headteacher

Today Y4, Y5 and Y6 pupils from Hope visited Bishop’s Castle Primary school to take part in a Shakespear workshop, organised by the Young Shakespeare Company. All the children took part in some form or another and it was a brilliant day. The actors brought Shakespeare’s Macbeth to life for the children and I’m sure it will be a day they will never forget. Thank you to Mr Andrew Davies, headteacher at Bishops Castle for inviting us to join his school for this wonderful event!

Four new pupils visited Class 1 today. They will be starting school after Christmas and came for a visit. We hope they had a good time and look forward to seeing them again next week and on 3 December, when they will join us for lunch with their parents.

What a fab day everyone from Class 2 had at Worthen. We all went orienteering and it was so much fun, some of us have decided to set up a route at Hope. Christian, Luke, Abigail and Leah are working hard to organise a similar event for everyone at Hope. Watch this space for more details!

The week began with a visit from our local community police officers PC Williams and PC Jones. They talked to us in assembly about feeling safe and what to do if we get bullied. They also talked to us about how to deal with cyberbullies. Then on Wednesday we invited all our parents to come for coffee and to see a special assembly about bullying. Class 2 put on a play about a friendly alien Scoot, who was bullied by two of his classmates. Class 1 showed everyone their anti -bullying posters -look out for them when you next visit school.

We had a good turn-out for the Harvest Festival Service held in school today and this was followed by a produce sale. Generous donations of produce were displayed in the hall and proceeds of £31.08 were raised, half of which will go to the School Council’s chosen charity, Starlight, who grant wishes to seriously or terminally ill children, and the other half to help the peoples in the African State of Burkina Faso who are suffering hunger. Thank you to all parents who sent in produce, donations and/or turned up to support us and buy the produce back! Well done to all the children who sang read so beautifully. A thank you to Alan Toop who also contributed to our service.

Our Prayer Corner is a special place at school where you can go to pray or just sit and think quietly. We have chosen things to help you feel close to God like children’s bibles and prayer books. There is also a small cross to hold and a happy box to share your happy thoughts or news. Class 2 pupils have written prayers and attached them to the prayer pole. There is also a candle to remind Christians that Jesus is ‘the light of the world’.

Last term the school had two new raised flower beds built for pupils to grow plants. Look what the children grew over the summer! Class 1 planted tobacco plants and Class 2 planted sunflowers. The results were amazing. They also planted lots of vegetables. All the children are really keen gardeners and they are planning to grow some more vegetables for use in the school kitchen.

This year’s sponsored Wakey Wakey Walk took place on Friday 25 September. By popular demand the pupils will wore pyjamas and ate a healthy breakfast - provided by the staff. This is a great way for us to fund raise for school events such as visits to the pantomime at Christmas. Please support us and return your sponsor forms/money as soon as possible.