Staff Tribute...

Today was sad day for Bitterne Manor Primary as we said goodbye to Mrs Mellor and Miss Starling! Fortunately, there were tears of a different sort as the staff formed their own tribute band and performed in assembly in front of the pupils and Governors...! I'm sure you will all join us in wishing Mrs Mellor and Miss Starling the very best as they move on from Bitterne Manor.

Good Bye!

Just a quick good bye from Mrs Mellor! It has been a fantastic pleasure being the headteacher at Bitterne Manor. The children are a real credit to us all. Merry Christmas to everyone and I wish the school every success in the future.

Christingle Service

Due to the poor weather, we held this year's Christingle service in school and not at the Church of the Ascension. Rev Graham was still able to come and support us and the parents of reception children and narrators were invited to see our nativity. This is always a really nice way to end our term and, with only a few days to go before Christmas, to remind us all of the story of the baby Jesus. We hope you like the pictures!

Christmas Show 2012

Please enjoy a few pictures of this year's Christmas Show.  If you were able to see it, we very much hope you enjoyed it and thanks for all the support you gave the children to make it another success.

Year 3 trip to Highclere Castle

We were all very excited to visit the home of Lord Caranavon who financed Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankamun.

As well as exploring the grounds and gardens of the castle we were able to:
  

View a collection of Egyptian antiquities from over 4,000 years ago to the Ptolemaic period, including a beautiful coffin and information on hieroglyphs.

Travel along the path to the discovery of the tomb, introducing Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter and looking at their lives, travels and excavations.

Experience what it would have been like for Carnarvon and Carter discovering the tomb. This was scary even with our tealights!

Visit  the "Hands On" room where we dressed up in replica Egyptian costume and jewellery, handled replica artefacts, drew pictures, using stencils, read, built a pyramid, made a cartouche with our name in hieroglyphs and more.

An exciting day was had by all and we were commended on our knowledge of ancient Egypt by the tour guides. Miss Judge was very proud of us!  

Egyptian Feast Year 3

 

Year 3 all enjoyed their Egyptian Feast!

We designed and made sandwiches fit for a Pharaoh. There were some exciting ingredients used  this year that i don't think the Pharaoh will be forgetting in a while.

 Great fun had by all. 

Christmas Hamper Raffle Tickets: On Sale NOW!

These are the two star prizes for this year's Christmas Hamper Raffle. Tickets are available now from the school office and the draw will take place this Wednesday. There are 24 hampers to be won in this year's draw - thanks to all those of you who have already given generously. But all the hampers need a good home for Christmas, so remember you have to be in it to win it and buy your ticket now!

Christmas Craft Sale!

On Thursday 20th December Year 6 will be holding their craft sale! The children have worked very hard, designing and making the items. There will be a variety of Christmas goodies available including tree decorations, gift bags, crackers and sweets.

Parents are invited to visit the sale in the Year 6 classroom from 8.30 - 9.00. Later in the day the crafts will go on sale to the rest of the school. Prices range from 10p to £1.
Please come & take a look!

School Disco

Last Friday night was school disco night! All the children had a fantastic time and were raising money for the school at the same time. A special thanks to the PTA for organising and running the event so well. We should also show our appreciation to the DJ for playing 'Gangnam Style'...several times!

Market Research

Year 6 are taking their Christmas Craft Project very seriously this year. Here they are at Haskins carrying out valuable market research into which ideas are the best selling ones this year! They'll be going into full production next week to ensure they offer the best year 6 Christmas Craft Sale ever...

Eco Team Assemble!

Our Eco Team has been hard at work over the last few weeks getting the whole school to think about sustainability. They've been organising competitions to look at recycling, saving energy and heat and keeping our school tidy. Each class gets a certificate and has to look after our Eco mascot squirrel called Rex.

Plant Revamp!

Some of you may have already been admiring the new plants in our main corridor. If you haven't already noticed, please pause and admire the recent renovation and restoration of this lovely feature of our school. This is thanks to one of our parents, Mrs D'Arcy, who happens to have a professional interest in plants. She has given up her expert time to get this bit of our school looking really fabulous once more!

Year 5 & 6 writing project

Over the past few weeks Year 5 and 6 have been studying 'The Wolves in the Walls' by Neil Gaiman about a family who are chased from their home by wolves that live in the walls! They have produced some fantastic writing based on this story, including a retelling from the point of view of the wolves. They had the opportunity to share and enjoy their hard work.

STAR Project in Year 6

Year 6 have been visited by a group called the 'STAR Project' (Southampton Talking About Relationships). Through these fun sessions the children explore issues such as self-esteem, friendship and transition to secondary school. It is a great opportunity to share worries and concerns.

Year 1 investigate...

This week, year 1 have been investigating which material would be best to make some clothes for Barnaby Bear. He needed some clothes that would keep him nice and dry in the wet weather that we have been experiencing recently! We used paper towels to help us measure and record which materials were the most waterproof.

Guildhall Choir meeting

This year's Guildhall Christmas Choir have been busy rehearsing in preparation for next week's concert, joined by other school choirs across the city.

If any parents of choir members have queries about the evening performance, you are invited to a short briefing meeting at 3:30pm in Year 4 this Friday 30th November.

For those that have been involved before, there are no changes. Do hope you enjoy the performance!

City Mission

Years 5 and 6 enjoyed a fantastic R.E. day with members of the Southampton City Mission. Through games and team activities the children explored the themes of 'Belonging' and 'Rites of Passage'. In the afternoon they worked in groups to create some amazing collages showing the story of the baptism of Jesus.

Going Pyjamas for Children In Need!

Today we went 'Pyjamas' for BBC's Children In Need! We also held our own 'Scootathon' - each class scooting a number of laps round our playground - in pyjamas, of course. This was great fun! Thanks to all of you who supported the event with donations - we've raised over £170 so far - well done!

Year 6 survive on a desert island!

As part of Science Day, Year 6 were investigating how to survive if they were stranded on a desert island! With only dirty water to drink, they would not last long. So how could they make the water clean again? Using various equipment they explored ways of filtering, boiling and then condensing. Eventually they were able to collect clean water!

Celebrating Science Day

The whole school was buzzing (and  not just from the giant Operation Game) as classes propelled balloon rockets, visited an inflatable Astrodome, explored science through IT, launched paper planes at speed (then compared by throwing them by hand), operated on a giant patient whilst trying to hold on to their 'three lives', met Billy Blood Drop and investigated a whole manner of exciting questions in class. Wow, what a day! The children were inspired to write about their activities in Science journals. What a great record of the fun, and learning, that went on. Thanks for the support from many of the governors too. Well done, everyone.

 

 

Message from year 6!

Hi Everyone
Today has been amazing...
Abseiling, trapeze, raft building and the sensory trail.
Tonight it's the disco! Mrs Hemnell can't wait!
See you all tomorrow with some very muddy washing and very tired out children and teachers!

Book Week Characters!

characters

y2

Tuesday...

Tues

Strange events occur at Bitterne Manor during book week... Ask the children for more information!

Year 6 at Osmington Bay

We have had great fun trying new challenges like "The Giant Swing", "Jacob's Ladder", tunnels and quadbiking. The PGL leaders are really impressed with our teamwork skills. We are all well. The food is great and we are really enjoying ourselves.

From osmington collage

The Iron Man comes to Year 4

Year 4 have started to read the book Iron Man by Ted Hughes. We will shortly be making 2D moving models using levers follwed by 3D models with light-up eyes and moving parts. What an exciting time ahead!
Thank you for the empty boxes that have begun arriving, ready for our model making.

Y4s news round up

To celebrate the end of last term's topic, Year 4 held a Roman themed day. The children looked amazing in the costumes that they wore, topped off with the shields and swords they made as part of their homework project. What a talented class! Everyone helped make a vegetable soup as part of their CENA meal which was soon polished off in the afternoon! The class enjoyed presenting some of their work to parents at the end of the day.

 

As part of Book Week, Year 4 really 'got into' the story called Tuesday and we wrote our own sequels called Next Tuesday.

 



The children loved reading a selection of books by the author Kaye Umansky, and had the privilege of meeting her - she was very entertaining! As the class were dressed as their favourite characters, we were a big hit at the Book Fair. Kaye loved the outfits. Well done Year 4 for finishing your first term on a high.