St James’CE Primary School

It was an absolute privilege and pleasure for our Year 4 children and staff, to join the Leavers at Salisbury Cathedral from across our Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust family this week. It marks the start of a long goodbye, but we still have so much to accomplish in the time we have left. Well done to Ethan and Darcey who represented the school as our banner bearers. #DSATFamily

Our annual Summer Social, hosted by the St James' PFA was once again a resounding success and was a fabulous way to end Sports Day. There was a rich sense of community as parents, carers and the wider school family enjoyed the afternoon in the sun. A huge thank you to all the stall holders, especially Bournemouth Bouncy Castles who donated their hire fees to Abby's Heroes. St James' PFA are an incredible team, whose relentless efforts not only help raise vital funds for the school but help us celebrate all that makes St James' special. Words cannot express our thanks, but thank you so much!

What a fantastic Sports Day! Well done to everyone who represented their team with pride; throwing the furthest, jumping the longest and running the fastest! It really was a great day and I know every child demonstrated our school values in abundance. A huge thank you to all those who volunteered to help set up, park cars, take photos and officiated the results. Thank you for coming out and enjoying the family fun and supporting our community. And of course, well done to Yellow Team who came away victorious! (Again)

On Friday, we welcomed Vikki Slade 4 Mid Dorset & North Poole to St James' First School and Nursery - Wimborne to tour the school and spend time answering questions in Owls Class. As well as being able to show off all we do to meet the needs of our children, I was able to express some of the acute challenges facing the education sector. Owls class then posed some challenging questions which were answered by Vikki and helped to reinforce the importance of our British Value of democracy.

And that's a wrap! Well done to everyone for such a fantastic, action packed, pocket sized half-term. As always, we've squeezed so much into a short space of time and have so much to celebrate. Why not take 5 minutes to read our Summer One Newsletter. https://www.stjames.dsat.org.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=164&type=pdf

What a tremendous day we have all had raising money for Abby's Heroes. Our day began early this morning with an impromptu staff dance to get the party started and from then on in, the dancing never stopped. Children came out in shifts to dance their hearts out and show their support a wonderful charity that is so close to our hearts. After five and half hours of dancing we all gathered for a final rave and to hear how much we had raised. Needless to say, we are all completely blown away. With gift aid contributions added in, the children of St James' First School and Nursery - Wimborne raised an unbelievable £5500. Thank you for all those who helped set up, pack down and put the work in the background to make our day such a memorable community event.

The party has started St James' First School and Nursery - Wimborne in our all day Danceathon for Abby's Heroes. Staff had a little treat to get the dancing started!

Good morning all, today's the day. We've got our dancing shoes at the ready and we are doing our bit to raise a huge amount of money for a charity close to our hearts. If you want to find out more and cheer us on why not check out our Just Giving page. Abby's Heroes https://www.justgiving.com/page/stjamesdanceallday

Year 3 and 4 had a fantastic trip to Lighthouse Poole to watch and perform as part of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's - Four Elements concerts. The children learnt about the four main groups of instruments in the orchestra, heard from composers and joined the performances in various pieces they had rehearse in school. For most, it was there first experience of watching a full orchestra and we hope this moment sparks a love of music that will see them pick up an instrument in the future. A huge thank you to the parents and carers who came and helped support our visit.

Foxes Class had a wonderful parent share event which showcased their instructional writing, their art and their ability to follow instructions independently in order to make their own sandwich. Cucumber and homegrown cress made for an excellent sandwich ingredients for their Royal Tea Party. Thank you to all those parents who came out and joined in your child's learning.

In the Nursery, we've had an amazing week centered around our theme "One Little Butterfly." The children drew and labeled butterflies, boosting their creativity and vocabulary. They also explored the butterfly life cycle, from egg to caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. We have focused on the letter "i" for insect, with the children learning new insect-related words. We're thrilled with the children's enthusiasm and growth.

On Friday 23rd, St James' First School will take to the dance floor to Dance all Day in a fundraising Danceathon to raise money for Abby's Heroes. Whilst we won't all be dancing for 6 hours, the idea is to make sure the music is always playing and that the school never stops dancing. Our children will be collecting sponsorship from parents, carers and friends. Howver, you might not have any children in the school and want to show your support. To find out more about why we are fundrasing and perhaps give yourself, why not check out our Just Giving page. https://www.justgiving.com/page/stjamesdanceallday

A huge thankyou to The Stone Zone & Landscaping Supplies for their generous gift of ground mulch and stone for our developing Forest School area. Your donation will go a long way and enables our continued investment in the space.

Year 4 have had a brilliant time on our annual residential at Hooke Court and we cannot be more proud of them! The action began as soon as they arrived, with their bags unloaded they headed to the forest to make their own shelters and to complete a number of challenges on the low ropes course. The evening was dedicated to fossil making and wide games in the grounds before their first night. Despite an early start (apparently 5.30am in the boys room is time to rise and shine), everyone had a wonderful day engaging with our history topic for the day. The children tried their hand at Anglo-Saxon cookery, they made pendants and runes, constructed their own Wattle and Daub fence before recreated a famous battle. In the evening, everyone enjoyed their time around the bonfire singing and laughin together. On our final day together, the children had the opportunity to construct their own model rockets which were then launched to much delight. A huge thank you to the staff team who gave up their time (and their sleep) to give the children such a wonderful experience.

What a wonderful afternoon celebrating some rich traditions at St James'. Children from all classes, joined by parents, carers and wider family, performed a number of country dances culminating with Owls dancing around the maypole. A huge well done to all the children who, despite the heat, danced their hearts out. Our afternoon wasn't over and it was wonderful to join as a community together for cream teas, cake and ice cream (and a huge amount more). Well done and thank you to St James' PFA for all your hard work - it is a blessing to the school. Enjoy the bank holiday weekend - see you Tuesday!