gkcs express - Great Kingshill CofE Combined School

Winter 2014
Issue 1
GKCS EXPRESS
CHRISTMAS FAYRE
A SUCCESS
On 6th December the Christmas Fayre was held
and almost all of the schools pupils and families
came. The PTA estimate approximately £5000
was raised!
The Fayre takes a lot of organising, with arrangement beginning in September and activities increasing in the weeks running up to the day itself. The whole school contributes by bringing a range of donations—although there are a few dodgy items
brought in like half used perfume and out of date chocolate. The PTA especially
has a lot of work to do—some special ‘thank you’s to Lisa Curzon-Thomson the PTA
Chair, Corrie for all his work on the Grotto, games and all the set up, Anna Pedrette
for her wreaths and table decorations and Faye Blundy for
sorting out the money. Lisa
said ‘it’s a lot of work but we
try to make it better every
year’.
There were some new stalls
this year with the Ball Pit
Lucky Dip and the extremely
popular shooting range which
made its first appearance at
the Summer Fayre as well as
some very tricky new Corrie
games The buzzer game was
nearly impossible—a real
challenge for everyone.
The PTA have asked the Miss Garlic and the teachers for a list of ideas for how the
money can be spent to make school life better for all of us. Do you have any ideas?
Speak to your school council member!
By Charlotte Ringrose
THE CHRISTMAS CONCERT
The concert was a great success, parents and guardians came from far and wide.
Everyone who took part performed well and there were no disasters. The hosts
were Grace Baker and Kori Carter-Blair from Year 6, their jokes were hilarious and
everyone laughed.
Mrs Clarke messed up the lyrics to the songs so no one knew what the words to the
songs were. I was amazed by most of the musicians who did brilliantly under pressure. At the end flowers were handed out to the fabulous music teachers.
By Fleur Nicholls
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Staff Spotlight ....................... 2
Newsworthy .......................... 2
Film and Theatre .................. 3
Book Reviews ....................... 3
Christmas Gift Ideas............. 4
Fashion ................................. 4
Sport ..................................... 5
Activity Page ……………………6
CHRISTMAS CRAFT—
ORANGE POMANDER
 You will need an orange,
ribbon and whole cloves
 Use 2 pieces of ribbon to
wrap around the orange .
Tie at the top and then
make a loop with the ends.
 Stick the cloves firmly into
the orange skin. You can
make a pattern if you like.
 You have
created a
scented
decoration
CHRISTMAS UNWRAPPED
On Thursday 4th December all of Year 6
went to Hughenden Church to take part in
the voluntary activity called Christmas Unwrapped. It was all about the true meaning
of Christmas.
This was a really fun and interesting activity
which started off with a chilly walk to the
Church. And what a warm reception when
we go there! There was a film, a story and a
fab craft—lots of sparkles which some of the
boys decided to use as earrings!
We did a quiz about what really happened
at Christmas and it was surprising how
NEWSWORTHY
Earlier this term a Year 1 child called
Iona hurtled into the Rye whilst out
riding her bike. She said that she
was returning to the car when her
bike took a sudden turn and she
plunged down the bank into the river!
If you have a story to share contact
Lexi or Freya in Year 6
By Lexi Cornish
Everyone will get a chance to take part in
this event in Year 6 and later on in the year
there is also another trip for Easter Explained.
By Abigail Collins
A: Tinselitus
STAFF SPOTLIGHT—MRS O’NEIL
Q: Do you fit in?
A: Yes, very well. I’m doing
fine
Q: What was your previous
job?
A: I have taught in many
schools and I have worked in
science research
Iona managed to get out of the water
by swimming to the riverbank and
holding onto her dad, who helped
her out.
So remember learn to swim and use
your brakes…
Some parents helped on the day and the
event took 4 weeks to prepare. Helen Collins was asked what she enjoyed the most
about helping and said ‘watching the children learning the true meaning of Christmas.’
Q: What do you get when you eat tinsel?
She was catapulted over the handlebars of the bike into the middle of the
river and the bike followed her in,
sinking to the bottom. But at that
moment this was not the key issue.
The poor girl was cold and soaking
wet, but thankful she was able to get
out as fast as she did. Amazingly the
bike also lives to ride another day!
much we didn’t know, for example, Jesus
may not have even been born in a stable!
Q: What do you think about
the school?
A: I like the fact there is a good
atmosphere and creativity
Q: Why did you start the
school?
A: I heard there were nice children and the school has a good
reputation
Q: What are the two best
points about the school?
A: Good activities/community
Q: What is your favourite year
to teach?
A: I can’t pick they are all so
good
Q: If you had to choose one
word to describe the school
what would it be?
A: SUPER!
Q: What is your favourite lesson?
A: Art and Maths
Q: What would be the one
thing you would change about
the school?
A: That the children serving in
the canteen ad running club
should not go early and miss
MATHS!
Q: If you were the Head where
would you extend?
GAMES REVIEW
Minecraft—This is a great game for all ages and
is like Lego, but on a computer. You can build
anything you want from blocks. There are two
modes to the game—Survival and Creative. You
mine your own resources in Survival and defend
yourself against zombies, skeletons and spiders!
In creative mode there are unlimited resources
provided for you and no bad guys. There is no
limit to what you can build.
Many children will be going to see the Panto after the PTA organised tickets
WYCOMBE PANTO—DICK WHITTINGTON
This year Shane Richie is back performing Dick Whittington
alongside Kim Tiddy from Hollyoaks. A fairy has faith in
Dick to become the Lord Mayor of London. Can he do it?
Some children from Year 6 are also taking to the stage.
They are finding it fun joining in with the adults and stars.
Naomi Hand, Alex Aze and Sam Allum are all dancing, singing and acting on stage, with Naomi playing Queen Rat’s
assistant.
By Naomi Hand and Alex Ayes
There are also lots of books available to help you
learn to play but the best way is to experiment for
yourself.
By Luke Smart
FILM REVIEW
With the holidays coming up, here are a
few ideas for fun holiday films:
The Grinch (PG)
The Grinch steals Christmas, will Christmas ever be the same?
Nativity 3 (PG)
What will Mr Poppy do this time? A
teacher has lost his memory and forgets
he’s getting married! Hilarious!
A GOOD READ—BOOK REVIEWS
It’s nearly Christmas so we have got some Christmas
books and also other great reads including classics and
adventure books. All rating is out of 5.
First up for KS2 we have Amazon Adventure by Willard
Price.
A great book for animal lovers but at the same time gruesome and existing. The story line is about a dad and his
children go off to the Amazon to collect animals for Zoos.
There are lots of enemies in the Jungle animal and humans. What will happen on their adventure? And will
they make it out ALIVE?
Next we have for KS1 The Enchanted wood by Enid Blyton.
You might need a little help with this book as it has tricky
vocabulary. It’s about 3 children (Joe, Beth and Franny)
who find themselves living next to an enchanted wood
and come across an amazing magical tree. In which they
find characters like saucepan man and moon-face and
lots more. At the top of the tree they find a world then
world changes every time. In each world they always end
up in some sort of trouble.
Another one for KS2 and animal lovers is My Family &
other Animals, by Gerald Durrell.
Its about a boy who coms to live on a Greek island. He
loves animals. He collects a lot of creatures. What animal will he have next?
The last book for KS1, is Maisie Hitchens, The Case Of
The Missing Sixpence, by Holly Web.
An amazing mysterious book, which is set in Victorian
times. The main character is a young girl who wishes
to be a detective and solves mysterious. There are
more books about Maisie like The Case of the Vanishing Emerald. This is an amazing book!
Looking forward to hearing your views.
By Freya Ingham
3
STUCK FOR XMAS
PRESENTS?
Do you need some ideas
for presents for your family?
Shopping on-line (with a
bit of help from a grownup) can give you lots of
options, including personalised gifts
Mum: Personalised Tea
Towel Superhero Family
by Littlechook Personalised £13.00 from not on
the high street
FASHION FREAKS: KEY STAGE 2
As you all know Christmas is
coming up! This year Christmas
jumpers are the fashion. Primark
do a great range of festive jumpers so be sure to drag your parent
along. These jumpers go with
anything from leggings to jeans to
skirts.
people think, confidence is the
key to great fashion.
If you want more advice come
and find the resident fashion
freaks Naomi Hand and Lily Ellis
in Year 6.
If you want to be big and bold
and you like colours just express
yourself—don’t worry what other
Dad: Man Mug £9.95
from pressybox.com
Dad: Golf Ball Glasses
£9.95 from MenKind
FASHION FREAKS: KEY STAGE 1
Dad, Brother and sister:
Baffling Wire Puzzles
£9.45.Ebay
I’m sure you girls will love what we have in store for you! In Primark
you can find a great Frozen range from Tshirts to PJs. There’s no better time than
now!
Dad: Yeti Glove Ice
Scraper £5.95,
prezzybox.com
By Naomi Hand and Lily Ellis
Shopping out and about
is hard so here are some
shops you should start
with;
MenKind: is great for
dads and brothers for
little presents also big
depending on the money.
Lush: for all the family,
prices starting at £2.
Claire's Accessories: is
great for sisters.
By Freya Ingham
FASHION FREAKS: BOYS
At this time of the year shops like River
Island, Primark, Sports Direct and JD
Sports have sale on. There is lots to
choose from. JD Sports and Sports
Direct are great for shoes. Clothes
wise, bright colours are a great choice
for example yellow, red and orange.
Zara, H&M and Primark are amazing
for jeans, skinny jeans are on trend.
By Aaron Scott
4
GKCS SPORT
Swimming
GKCS has an active swimming team. In November Years 4,5 and 6 competed against Pipers Corner school.
The Year 4 and 5 competition was very close but unfortunately they lost. Year 6 were able to triumph and maintain the reputation of Great Kingshill.
There is another swimming gala coming up in January for
Years 5 and 6 at Wycombe Abbey school so lets wish them
all luck.
By Charlotte West
Tennis
Mrs Gill, the energetic school tennis teacher, is making tennis a very popular sport in GKCS. Around 50 people every
week come to train.
Last week year five had a mini tennis games tournament
against Maltman’s Green School wearing Christmas hats.
The thrilling match ended at 5-6, a close defeat for GKCS.
By Jake Taylor
Q: Why did the toilet roll, roll down the hill?
A: To get to the bottom
INTER-HOUSE SPORT—BENCH BALL
This term there was an interhouse bench ball tournament for
Key Stage 2.
There were mixed year 3 and 4 ,
and year 5 and 6 teams—6 children from each year and 12 children in a team.
Remi Sylvester in Year 6 was give
the best player award.
Yellow House won overall, with
Red House second. The Red
House captain Freya Ingham said
she was frustrated by the lack of
communication in the Red House
team, leading to the downfall of
the Year 5/6 team, despite heroic
efforts by the Red House year 3/4
team.
Who will beat Yellow House in
next terms inter house sports
competition? —rumoured to be a
basketball tournament!
Mrs Clarke feels strongly about
the importance of inter house
competition. She said it builds
skills like sportsmanship and
teamwork. The ability to win
gracefully and lose with dignity is
a much needed life skill and it
would be good if there more opportunities for children to learn
them.
By Lia Gaster, Lily Evans, Laura
Folker and Jessie Taylor
5
ENTERTAINMENT!!!!!
By Jack Foy
By Jessie Taylor