Simba Issue 48 - Bablake Junior School

In this Issue...

SIMBA

News from Bablake Junior

From The Headmaster

The Spring Term often brings so much. We move from cold, dark days to increasingly bright and warm ones. In many ways, the children’s education goes through a similar Age of Enlightenment during this term – both literally and metaphorically. The learning becomes increasingly secure, the challenge of the year is more readily accepted, and the pupils begin to flourish and shine.

Hence, it is a pleasure to bring you this Simba, complete with some amazing activities, experiences and successes. You will see what each year group has been engaged in, and the range of trips, sports, music and art available to them. It is a breathtaking array: did we really cram this much into just ten weeks?

It is often reported that the time up to the age of seven years old is key in putting the foundations in place for each future character. Whilst this is undoubtedly rooted in good reason, I can also push back that it is in these next four years that the full potential starts to be revealed. Our children demonstrate such good manners and behaviour; they are helpful and engaging; when challenged, they rise to the highest levels. Our pride in all they achieve is understandable.

So well done to the skiers, the hockey players, the musicians, the councillors, the artists, the animal lovers, the runners, the scientists, the fundraisers, the readers, the netballers, and to every child who has given their all to making Bablake Junior School the best. You keep our lion roaring!

Mr Warren Honey Headmaster

From Knights to Galaxies

Our Year 3 pupils have really grown into school life. They are settled and contributing well. The trip to Warwick Castle enabled us to write some creative explanation texts informing medieval soldiers how to defend a castle.

The Year 3 Sleepover was a big hit and enjoyed by everyone. There were treats around the fire, a planetarium and a video night. Another highlight of the term was when we stretched our legs and explored the historical buildings in Coventry.

Warwick Castle

On Tuesday 3 February, we went on a trip to Warwick Castle to find out the wonders of its history. We learnt about how to defend and attack a castle and we met an archer who told us about different arrows: the swallowtail and the fire arrow. In a place called the killing zone there are murder holes: that’s where they pour boiled sewage through!

We learnt how to use the weapons. Swords were not useful in the battlefield as there wasn’t enough space to use them. Chainmail was useful because it protected the body from wounds, and if you get a wound it can get infected and you can die.

By Reyaansh (3P)

Milky Way Galaxy

We had an exciting sleepover at Bablake School on 18 February. We started off the day by having tasty hot dogs for snacks in the afternoon. We set up and gathered around the campfire, roasted some marshmallows on a stick and shared spooky stories with each other. Next, we changed into our pyjamas and set up our sleeping bags in a classroom. Then we thoroughly enjoyed pizza, popcorn and cookies for the dinner while watching Sing.

Here comes my favourite part of the sleepover! We went into the dome-shaped planetarium and learnt about our solar system and Milky Way galaxy. Finally, we brushed our teeth and snuggled up inside our cosy sleeping bags while quietly chatting with our friends until all of us went to sleep. In the morning, we made our own breakfast before we went home. It was the best sleepover ever!

By Jasmine, Lily, Poppy, Cora & Scarlett (3C)

Whole World In A Wardrobe

Year 4 pupils have been flourishing this term, academically and in extra-curricular activities. A number of the year group went on the Italian ski trip and loved it! Read more about the ski trip later on page 11.

Narnia Day was enjoyed by all. It provided a wonderful theme for exploring all things mystical. Some of our Year 4 pupils were instrumental in leading the Neurodiversity Awareness Day.

Narnia Day

We loved reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, imagining that we were going through the wardrobe door as the portal was so exciting. The branches and the setting description made it feel so magical, we felt like we were actually there, imagining ourselves as one of the characters. Reading about the characters and strange people that we could meet was exciting, knowing that they might betray you was exhilarating.

During our Narnia Day we created Aslan lion drawings with paper collage manes, we tasted Turkish Delight like Edmund did in the book and fell in love with the chocolate covered one! We also acted out the battle scene from Narnia, working in pairs or threes we created a fight scene showing good versus evil. We loved our Narnia Day and absolutely loved this amazing book too.

By Savannah and Maddison (4HJ)

Galleries, Gurdwaras and Godiva

It has been a busy term for Year 5. They visited the Herbert Art Gallery to explore Anglo-Saxon life. The children dressed up as gruesome Vikings and enjoyed making longboats. Read more about this from Cece below.

On Tuesday 14 March, Year 5 went to the Gurdwara as part of their work on Sikhism for RE. The children greatly enjoyed their visit and learned a lot about the faith. Thank you to Mrs Green for organising this trip and to the temple for being so welcoming.

Life as an Anglo-Saxon

Our trip to the Herbert Art Gallery to learn about life in Anglo-Saxon times was incredible. When we arrived, we were split into two groups. One group went with the tour guide to learn more about Lady Godiva and her life in Coventry during Anglo-Saxon times.

As part of this, we were lucky enough to try our hand at screen printing to create our own design inspired by the Anglo-Saxon era.

We based these on runes and shapes taken from artefacts such as swords and shields. The other group went to explore the gallery which was so much fun. The exhibits showcased an impressive collection of the history of Coventry.

By Cece (5Y)

Well done to Sam in 5L who helped raise money for the Earthquake Appeal. Read more about this on page 13.

The children were delighted to see the first bulbs planted last term have emerged to brighten up the surrounding area, despite some cheeky squirrels who tried to feed on them!

Just One Term Left

Year 6 pupils are starting to realise that their time in the Junior School is nearing its conclusion. Just one term left before they make the exciting move to Bablake Senior School.

Casting for the end of year production has taken place amid huge excitement. Look out for a full review of the production in next term’s Simba.

The Animal Man

Darwin Day was a real highlight this term. The children ‘dressed to impress’ as animals or explorers and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The Animal Man visited us to show some of his incredible animals. He described how they have evolved and adapted to their environments.

Girls’ Sport

Well done to everyone competing in the sports teams this term for your hard work. A special thank you to all the parents for your support at the matches whatever the weather.

Mrs Haywood and team

Netball

Netball this year has been absolutely amazing! We have had to cancel some matches due to the weather but have still had an incredibly busy term, with many fixtures and tournaments still able to go ahead across all four age groups with so much success. Well done to all our 11 teams across the age ranges who have won an incredible 78 of the 93 matches that we have contested over the season. Once again we have three of our teams unbeaten for the whole season and two teams only losing once. Many of those losses were from our brilliant U11s at the regional finals who were playing at an incredibly high standard. Most importantly all the girls in all the year groups have had lots of fun and everyone has represented the school in matches.

Hockey

The U11s played amazingly well in In2 Hockey Warwickshire Championships to qualify for the Midlands Finals. Drawing with The Croft 1-1, losing to Solihull 2-1 and winning against Warwick 3-2.

The Midlands In2Hockey Midland Championship Finals

What a day it turned out to be! The girls were again amazing, playing against the top 20 Midland sides. They did incredibly well winning against the Staffordshire winner Litchfield Cathedral 2-0, winning 4-0 against the Nottingham winner, Linby Papplewick, and Shropshire’s Old Hall 1-0, drawing 1-1 against Worcester’s Bromsgrove and losing narrowly to Derbyshire’s Repton 1-2 and Leicestershire’s Fairfield 0-2. A fantastic effort from all the girls to finish third in their group, narrowly missing out on a semi-final place. This is the highest level Bablake Junior School have ever qualified to play in.

To say we are proud of the girls is an understatement, they were really fantastic.

Football

The girls have loved playing football this term and the older girls played in their first football tournament. They played really well winning three and drawing six matches.

Boys’ Sport

Football

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All the boys in the School have had the opportunity to represent the school and the buzz and excitement of taking part in a fixture remains as high as ever.

The U8 teams have worked really hard to develop their skills and after some challenging fixtures were eventually rewarded with a fine win against Solihull School. There is real promise in the year group and with continued hard work and dedication they will be a good group of footballers in the future.

The U9 teams have done exceptionally well this year and they have gone from strength to strength. With real quality in the A team there has been great success and they should be proud of all their victories. The B team has also done well and exceeded all expectations. The boys have all really enjoyed themselves in lesson time, training and matches, and this has undoubtedly led to their fine performances and success.

The U10 teams have also done really well and whilst they were hit with injury and illness, they would always carry on working hard and try their best. There were fine wins against King Henry VIII and Blue Coat School for the A teams and the C teams also recorded some great victories.

In their final football season together the U11 teams proved that they are a really strong group and they have played some fantastic football. The A team only lost one game all season and played really well at The Croft tournament and were undefeated. Every boy in Year 6 has contributed to this success and they have been a real pleasure to coach over the last 4 years.

Cross Country

We were delighted to welcome 300 runners for the Coventry Primary Schools Cross Country Championships.

In excellent Cross Country conditions, heavy rain, wind and lots of mud, Bablake Junior School A and B teams won both their races with the top 4 runners coming in the top 10 in both events. This is a fantastic achievement.

Well done to all the runners.

term’s football has been another successful one with over 70 matches.

Cityscape Collages

Year 3 further explored colour and texture in creating experimental backgrounds for their Coventry inspired drawings. They have learnt to use a variety of mixed media approaches to create vibrant and exciting final pieces. Starting with the Bablake front door, they used observational drawing and tracing to complete various depictions of historic buildings. Can you guess which famous buildings they are?

Gargoyles

From start to finish, Year 5 have enthusiastically thrown themselves into our great pottery showdown.

From creating a jaw, adding exaggerated features and making textural marks, to applying glaze and carefully transporting them twice to the Senior School kiln, they have shown determination and skill. Mr Cleaver commented on how realistic some of the self-portraits are! Thanks to the Senior School Art Department for allowing us the opportunity to explore the wonderful process of firing and glazing.

This term we are focusing on some incredible artwork from Years 3 and 5.

Rush Hour Concert

On Thursday 16 March pupils treated us to some fantastic performances in our Bablake Rush Hour Concert. It was wonderful to see so many performers take to the stage to showcase their talents.

The programme included piano music, strings, saxophone, percussion and guitar. The evening also featured a performance from the Bablake Junior School Choir.

We look forward to welcoming you back to our summer concert. Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming dates in our calendar.

It was a great experience to perform in the Rush Hour Concert. I was nervous at the start of the performance but really enjoyed it. I would definitely do it again. I performed Green Day’s Holiday on the electric guitar which I have been working on since the start of the year.

William (Year 5)

This was the first concert I’ve ever performed in and it was a great experience. Everyone was brilliant playing their instruments. I played a song called Ten Tonne Skeleton. It was amazing playing in front of everyone. I had a super time and so did everyone else.

by Zachary (Year 6)

Rush Hour

Aprica February 2023

Aprica is a fantastic resort, nestled in the Italian Alps with traditional Italian architecture and beautiful scenery – perfect for our trip. With Years 4, 5 and 6 children all learning how to ski for the first time, the nursery slopes right on the hotel’s doorstep made for easy logistics and prompt timings for five hours of ski school a day. The progress by all the children was clear to see after every session.

By day three all 24 skiers were given the green light by our ski instructors that they were competent enough to go to the top of the mountain on the big chair lift. The views at the top of the mountain were stunning and it was great to see the children truly blown away by the scenery. They were then hit with the realisation that they needed to ski back down the mountain.

The children were all fantastic ambassadors for the school.

On the first day skiing all of us fell over. It was like dominoes; one fell over then the rest of us did. During the second day we got poles and had a go on the magic carpet which was not the one from Aladdin. We also went for pizza apart from Zac who had a burger. On the third day we finally went on the button lifts, there were two. One short way up and one long way up. I successfully did not fall off the button lifts unlike some people who barely made it halfway up the mountain.

We also went up the chairlifts. Four days in and we went even higher up the mountain. Clouds covered the bottom of the slopes and it was barely visible! On the final day skiing we went about three quarters of the way up for one final lesson. A little jump ruined my chances of not falling over for the entire day. Some of the activities that I forgot to add include were bum boarding, shopping, awards night and hot chocolate (twice!).

By Abigail (6H)

Connections

This year Science Week was a fun event for children at Bablake Junior to learn about connections. Each year the British Science Association sets the theme and this year it was ‘Connections’. The topic of connections lets us explore teamwork and a huge range of creative ideas. There are connections everywhere in science and technology, from chemical bonds to the world wide web.

Each classroom contained an entertaining activity which year groups took turns to experience. The teachers provided each group with paper and tape so we could make connections to form brilliant structures such as the tallest tower, the lightest boat, the slowest ping pong ball drop, the strongest table and the fastest paper aeroplane. The activities tested our minds and knowledge of Science.

Forest School

Our regular Forest School sessions in our woodland sites continue to be enjoyed by all the children.

There was great excitement for Year 3 when they went mini beast hunting. They developed their scientific knowledge and understanding of organisms and their habitats. Worms, slugs, snails, centipedes and even a beetle was discovered.

Year 6 had a new topic on fires this term. They developed a sense of adventure and curiosity through using a flint and steel to create a spark, whilst appreciating their natural surroundings. Not only did they build and light their own fires, but they also used them to cook up some tasty treats.

Charity Fun

My fundraising ideas all started when I heard about the tragic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. As I knew that my mum had a friend at work whose relatives were affected by them, I knew I had to do something about it. Since I was School Councillor for 5L, I talked to Mrs Hancock (Head of School Council) and everyone at the Council. We finally settled on the idea of activities in each classroom and donating one pound to enter them. The activities included: knex, lego, colouring, chess, Just Dance (the most popular), computer games, film, cartoon drawing, reading and word searches.

I was given special permission to walk around the school to see how everyone was doing and I must say it was a lovely experience seeing all my friends and peers having fun. Of course, all of the money went to charity (UNICEF) and it went directly to the Turkey and Syria fund.

We raised the incredible amount of £180 which will help many families when they most need it.

By Sam (5L)

Fitness Fundraising

Our hearts were racing at our Fitness Fun Fundraiser on Valentine’s Day. We raised £160 for the British Heart Foundation.

World Book Day

World Book Day celebrated 25 years this year on Thursday 2 March. The message for all children was ‘you are a reader’. What fun our children had coming to school in their pyjamas and enjoying bedtime stories throughout the day.

The Library

In each Simba edition we will be going ‘behind the scenes’ showing you just a little part of what makes Bablake Junior so special.

BEHIND THE SCENES

This edition we are looking at our Library and introducing Heidi O’Neill who keeps our lovely library nice and tidy with fantastic displays. Mrs O’Neill runs the library from 12:30pm each day providing wonderful guidance to the children in terms of which good books to choose next.

She creates eye-catching displays in the library each term and is in charge of selecting the books that adorn the shelves for each new cohort of children to fall in love with reading.

“I like to think that the library is where the children can let their imagination take them anywhere when they are reading. We have some great discussions.” Mrs O’Neill

Making Rainbows

Children’s Mental Health Week was so much fun because the homework helped us to think creatively and express ourselves.

One of the tasks we completed as part of Taskmaster was making a rainbow. It was amazing to see all the different ideas. The second task was designing an outdoor game with only three rules. We also had to choreograph a dance and make a self-portrait out of leaves, sticks and other items we found in nature.

Looking after your mental health is really important and this week taught us a few ways in which we can maintain a positive outlook on life.

Have you spotted our new refreshed branding?

We recently completed a branding review to ensure the Bablake brand accurately reflects our rich and long history but also our vital present. It was important that our brand evolves without losing its historic brand equity.

After researching the school’s identity and listening to feedback, we have made some small adjustments to the brand so that it

reflects our proud Bablake community. This refreshed look offers more flexibility in execution and brings Bablake’s brand to life in a new way.

Our new branding will be rolled out across the School over the next term. Look out for new signage around the site and a new website coming soon.

Term Dates

Term begins – Tuesday 18 April

May Day Bank Holiday – Monday 1 May & Monday 8 May

Half term – Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June

Term ends – Thursday 6 July (12 noon)

Open Event Dates

Summer Open Evening Friday 23 June 5pm - 8pm

Autumn Open Morning Saturday 23 September 9.30am – 12.30pm