Family Matters Easter 2019 | Frome and West Wilts.

FROME AND WEST WILTS EDITION

ISSUE 53 • MARCH/ARPIL 2019

prizes to be won!

the value of pocket money

www.familymatters-uk.co.uk

easter play ideas

Grand Opening Mother’s Day - 31st March Sweetea’s Tearooms & Coffee Shop

Newly refurbished throughout The Rose and Crown has become the heart of the village.

With the easy access garden and warm cosy ambience inside comes an ever-changing menu, and entertainment program, from Quiz Nights, Live Music, Poker Nights, Movie Nights and Bingo.

There is always something going on.

Please visit the new website for up to date events and offers on our 6 en-suite rooms.

NEW FOR 2019 comes the Tearooms/Coffee Shop which will be open from 8am daily. Serving a wide range of drinks and food throughout the day, including Afternoon Tea served on the finest Bone China.

The Rose & Crown, High Street, Hinton Charterhouse BA2 7SN 01225 722 153

www.theroseandcrownbath.com

WELCOME Easter is nearly upon us and we’re excited to share a whole new set of Easter-themed events with you as well as all your school news! It looks like you have all been very busy during the first few months of 2019!

We’re hoping that the weather starts to brighten up so you can enjoy your time off school and have some family time in the sunshine, though lighter nights are on the way, so make sure you make use of them by taking some walks and getting out in the countryside – it’s the perfect way to enjoy each other’s company while working off all that extra energy from the chocolate eggs and treats you'll have been eating!

Have a wonderful Easter break!

p4 Easter around the world

p7 the history of mother's day

p19 staying safe online

p11 leaving children home alone Published by Ignyte Media Ltd - email: info@ignyte-uk.co.uk call: 01761 410141 While every care has been taken to ensure the data contained in the publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party for loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Ignyte do not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication. All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system in any form without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Easter celebrations around the world In the UK, Easter is a time to spend together as a family, some focus on more traditional Christian activities and go to Church services where they celebrate the resurrection of Christ, while others exchange Easter Eggs and enjoy Simnel Cake and Hot Cross Buns. While Easter is an important celebration here, it isn’t something that is celebrated all around the world, but for those that do celebrate it, the traditions are very different to here in the UK. Here are a few of the Easter celebrations across the world:

Dressing up as the Easter Witch

Easter In Sweden, children dress up as urful colo ts, skir long ring witches wea eks. che red ted pain and s arve dsc hea ing trad e hom They walk from home to e hop the in ings draw paintings and of receiving sweets.

Beating up straw dolls

In Brazil one of their main Easter traditions is creating small straw dolls to represent Judas, who in the Bibl e stories was the apostle that betrayed Jes us.

These little dolls are then hung up in the streets and beaten. On Easter Sun day, or SĂĄbado de Aleluia, there are carnivals held to celebrate the end of Lent.

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Presidential parties

osts President h y Easter the er n ev w , la A e S U th In the Roll on Easter Egg . It ay d on M r the Annual aste House on E of the White ave started in the 19th h is thought to each president has century and nal touches r own perso brought thei ti ra on. to the celeb

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Massive omelettes

Decorating trees with eggs

of Haux in n square adition to w to e th In ual tr n is an ann France, it melette in the tow o n 0 a 0 te ,0 crea nd 5 sing arou square u elette is so huge om eggs. The y feeds a few it usuall people. thousand

ey ing eggs, th ther than hid ra s y, et an re m st er d in In G d on trees an are displaye elebrations C e. ir m ad to e n yo er d it is for ev Thursday an here start on en only eat gre tradition to things.

Egg fights

In Bulgaria, eggs aren’t hidden, they’re thrown! Whoever finishes the game with an unbroken egg is the winner and assumed to be the most successful member of the family in the coming year!

Smashing pots

In Corfu, reside nts have been known to take part in Po t Throwing, w hich takes place on the m orning of Holy Saturday.

People throw pots and pans out of their window s so that they sm ash on the street outside.

Showering girls with water

is for In Hungary and Poland the tradition or cologne ume perf er, wat nkle spri to men because over young women. It’s supposedly lityferti and ling hea , ning water has a clea it is t pec sus we but ct, effe cing indu a lot of fun for young boys with sisters they like to torment!

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for a Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt Saturday 13 - Monday 22 April, 10am-3pm This Easter the animals of Stourhead have been inspired by Palladian architecture. Judge which of the animals has made theirs the most fashionable home, and there's a chocolatey prize at the end. £2.50 per hunt, plus normal admission.

In partnership with

nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead

© National Trust 2019 . Registered charity, No. 205846. © National Trust Images \Trevor Ray Hart.

Join us at Stourhead

The history of Mother’s

Day

In the UK, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent (exactly three weeks before Easter) and is nothing to do with the American holiday of the same name.

Historically it’s a religious holiday in Christianity.

Originally the idea of Mother’s Day was when children who worked as servants, mainly girls, were given the day off of work to spend it at home with their mothers.

Children of poorer families were often sent away to other towns or villages to work, so getting a day off to return home was something to be celebrated.

Because Mother’s Day always falls on a Sunday, it would be expected that when they got to their family home they would also visit their ‘Mother’ church, ie, the church they had attended when they lived with their parents.

Back then, it was customary to return to their family church in the middle of Lent, and as many children would pick wild flowers to take home to their mothers as a gift after the service, historians think this is where the idea of heading to your mum’s home with a gift came from.

These days, Mother’s Day is a way we can all celebrate mothers, whether they are biological mums, step mums, adoptive mums or if your mum is no longer with you.

There are lots of ways to honour your mum on Mother’s Day whether that’s by quietly reflecting on your relationship or indulging her with gifts and treats. However you are choosing to spend the day, we hope that it is one that is filled with love and happiness.

There are some easy and thoughtful ways you can celebrate your mum this Mother’s Day. Dad’s, older siblings, grandparents or mum’s partner are great helpers to help create something special for mum like a scrapbook, memory box, breakfast in bed or a bunch of flowers.

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The Value of

Teaching children the value of money and how to budget is an important lesson and one that can be stressful to parents, especially if your child’s peers are receiving large allowances each month that are just out of your price range.

Pocket money can be the cause of many family arguments, we’re sure your children use the “but (insert name here) gets more than me” routine all the time but it is important to stick to your guns when it comes to your children and pocket money.

Clear boundaries will ensure you remain in control and that your children get the chance to learn more about how money works.

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POCKET MO NE Y With society becoming more and more consumer focused, it is no wonder that studies are reporting that 71% of under sixteen year olds are using savings accounts or current accounts to keep track of their spending. According to reports the average child is now earning around £13 a week, which amounts to over £600 a year, so showing children how to understand the value of money and the importance of saving and budgeting is becoming more and more important.

Financial advisers are therefore handing out information to parents on how to make their kids as money savvy as possible, so here are a few tips to help you out along the way.

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Start talking to them about money from a young age

We understand that this isn’t always easy, explaining wages and taxes is something that goes over most adults’ heads, let alone kids and we’re not all comfortable talking about our finances, but letting them play with coins or handing them money and letting them pay for goods when out shopping is a good way to equate money with products. It will also help them not only understand the value of money, but also will give them a head start when it comes to adding and subtracting, especially if you supervise them counting out what they’ll need or get them to wait for change.

Show them the importance of saving

These days children, particularly older ones, will get given money for their birthdays or as Christmas presents and this can really add up, particularly if you are part of a large family. While they might be tempted to blow the lot, see if you can encourage them to save the money instead. Many banks offer savings accounts to under sixteens and some even have current accounts with differing interest rates.

Encouraging the use of an account like this can be useful in helping them save for something really big or even just as a useful tool for understanding how interest rates work.

Giving out pocket money

We know this can be a tough one, but it is a great way to give children control over their own spending and to gain a real insight into saving and budgeting.

The trick is to be consistent about how much you give them and when, so start out with small amounts over a regular payment cycle that is in line with your own budgets. This can help them get used to being paid on a certain day and how to make their money last until the next pay day. You can also use house hold chores as a way to teach them how to earn money, so instead of paying for a cleaner or a gardener every week, save a few jobs for the kids to do and pay them instead.

Learning by experience

We never want to let our kids make mistakes and it can be particularly difficult where money is concerned, but one great way to teach your children about the value of money is to let them learn by experience. If they want to spend all their cash in one go, let them but be sure that they know they won’t be getting any more until the next pay day and if they have an advance, they’ll have it docked from their usual amount. They’ll soon learn about the importance of budgeting and saving when they realise that the Bank of Mum and Dad has a limit.

Don’t overcompensate

If you are co-parenting with an ex, it can be tempting to overcompensate with money, particularly if it is a messy break up. It’s important that you are on the same page when it comes to pocket money.

Grandparents can also feel that they have a right to spoil the children and can compete with each other and you with pocket money. Make sure you speak to everyone involved so that they understand your goals and come to a compromise, perhaps the Grandparents would like to open and maintain an ISA or something similar, so that they are giving pocket money without undermining what you’ve decided.

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At the end of the day, whether or not you give out pocket money and if so, how much, is entirely down to you and your family.

If you want to find out more about the benefits of pocket money, there are lots of online guides that offer great resources.

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Join us for a Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt at Avebury 6 – 22 April, 11am-4pm £2.50 per trail plus normal admission charge You can celebrate Easter and have fun at Avebury Manor as you follow the nature-themed Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt to win a delicious chocolate prize.

In partnership with

nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury

Should you leave your child home alone?

Leaving your children home alone is a pretty contentious issue, some parents think that at a certain age, children should be left alone for short periods to help them learn independence, others think children should be in their late teens before you even think about it. For the vast majority of parents, they feel safe leaving their children alone for a few hours once they start secondary school, especially if they have older siblings that can keep an eye on them. For some, with busy lives, leaving them alone for a few hours can be the only solution.

If it is something you’re considering, it is important to know that there is no legal age limit for leaving a child on their own, but it is an offence if it places the child at risk. It is generally advised that children under 12 shouldn’t be left alone for long periods of time. The only real question is whether or not your child is mature enough to be left on their own. Just with everything else when it comes to parenting, if you’re worried about it, don’t do it. If you’re worried about being over protective, you could always leave them for a short time, such as popping into the garden or out to the car, to see how you feel and they react.

If you find yourself thinking about whether you can leave the children alone for a little while, here are some things for you to consider.

• How far away will you be and how long do you think you’ll be?

• How mature/responsible are your children?

• Do they feel comfortable being in the house without you?

• How well do they know the neighbours? Would they be comfortable approaching them for help if they need it?

If you do need to leave your children at home on their own for a little while, the general advice is to ease into it. Don’t put any extra pressure on yourself by having a deadline or important appointment the first time. It is also a good idea to be close by for the first few times, so it is easy to get home straight away if you need to. If you decide that your child is mature enough and happy to be left alone for short periods of time, there are some things you can do to ease both your and their minds.

• Make sure they understand how important it is not to answer the door if they are at home alone.

• Leave clear instructions in case of emergency and make sure they know not to use any appliances such as the oven or microwave.

• Tell them what time you will be back and stick to it.

• Leave contact numbers and make sure your children know how to use the phone to get hold of you.

• Leave a contact number for someone else you trust in case you are unavailable.

• Set some ground rules so your child knows what they can and can’t do while you’re not there.

As ever though, you know your child best and everything depends on their maturity and your comfort level. There are so many variables, as your eldest child might be completely trustworthy and sensible, but your younger child might not be. It is all down to your discretion.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Get in touch on Twitter and Facebook @UKFamilyMatters

New for 2019

Jungle Grotto

Sat 30th March - Sun 2nd June 10:30am - 4:00pm ÂŁ3.99 per person

Book tickets online at: www.whitehallgardencentre.co.uk Whitehall Garden Centre, Lacock, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN152LZ

Enter now at www.familymatters-uk.co.uk

Win Prizes

Win Kids Takeover Racing Funday tickets with Bath Racecourse on Monday 6th May

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been racing, the whole family will love seeing the horses up-close in the Parade Ring before soaking up the atmosphere as the horses thunder down the home straight and across the finishing line in the seven races taking place throughout the day.

The sweetest race of the year will also be taking place as Shetland Ponies battle it out with young jockeys on board in the track's annual Shetland Pony race. The prize is a family ticket for two adult tickets and up to four kids tickets (under 18s) and a bag of donuts.

Win 4 tickets to Splashdown Poole or Quaywest Spring is in the air and it's time to shake off the Winter blues to get out and about with the family and where better than at a Splashdown Waterpark where there are flumes galore, twisting tyre rides and a whole lot of fun for the family. We have 2 family tickets for 4 people to be won at the south west’s favourite waterparks; best of all you can choose whether you wish to go to Splashdown in Poole, Dorset or Splashdown Quaywest right on the beach in beautiful South Devon (opens for Easter Bank Hols). Tickets may be used anytime in 2019 subject to opening it doesn’t include any transport, just admission for up to four people. Worth over £60 per family.

Win a family ticket to The Royal Bath and West Show 3 x pairs of adult tickets to giveaway (children go free). Taking place at the Bath & West Showground from 29 May to 1 June; England’s Royal four day show offers an array of attractions for all the family to enjoy.

Keep the little ones entertained with hands-on demonstrations including mozzarella making, butter making and apple juice making. Or meet everyone’s favourite little green tractor, Tractor Ted. Jumping into the Main Ring with their daredevil stunts is this year’s Main Ring attraction, the Extreme Bike Battle! The impressive team will be pushing boundaries twice daily at this year’s show. Adult tickets are now on sale, with children under 15 years going FREE. Visit www.bathandwest.com to get your tickets today!

Win a family ticket to Wookey Hole There’s always fun and adventure to be had at Wookey Hole Caves and Attractions... Hidden away beneath the Mendip Hills is a spectacular underground network of breath-taking caverns! Wookey Hole is the UK’s largest show caves system, home to the infamous Witch of Wookey Hole and the new Chamber 20 with rare rock formations. With these world famous caves PLUS over 20 magnificent attractions, Wookey Hole is a great day out for all the family. Prize is for 2 adults and 2 children.

TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING THESE FANTASTIC PRIZES, simply visit www.familymatters-uk.co.uk, click on the Competitions button and complete the form. It couldn’t be easier! Closing date for entries: 25th April 2019

10 quick and easy

Easter Play Ideas The holidays were made for play and Easter has to be one of the most fun times of the year for children - I can’t think why?! If you are looking for some suitably themed activities to keep little ones busy over the break without the chocolate component, while hopefully giving yourself five minutes peace for a quick cuppa (and a Malteser bunny!) then here are my favourites, all using everyday items which can be found around the home or sourced cheaply from a pound shop and all super quick and easy to set up.

Salt Dough Hot Cross Buns Paper Envelope Bunnies

All you need are some brown paper bags, a pink highlighter, black marker pen, sellotape, scissors and pink or white fluffy balls. Draw the bunny’s face on the paper bag then cut and colour his ears and feet before sticking on along with the fluffy tail!

Perfect for collecting sweet Easter treats!

Mix together half a cup of flour, half a cup of salt and one cup of water. Make dough and shape! Put in the oven on a low heat for two to four hours then cool overnight before painting and playing! Perhaps you could use some old takeaway coffee cups and get them to open their own bakery?!

Perfect for some Easter role play!

Plastic Eggs Plastic eggs are a great Easter resource, offering so many opportunities for suitably themed play and can be used throughout the year providing real value for money.

Easter Tray

Gather together all of your Easter resources and present them to your child on a dip tray. Then just let the play unfold and develop naturally, inviting your child to use their own initiative and imagination to create whatever activities their mind allows. Simple but effective!

Planting Flowers

Invite little ones to plant their very own spring garden for lots of fun filling, scooping, pouring, planting and smelling. Just fill a tray with soil then provide chickpeas, black beans, pots, tools and faux flowers sprayed with perfume.

Feeding The Rabbits

Fill a tray with beans, lentils, peas and of course carrots (real or fake), pop in some cuddly rabbits and add little pots, utensils and tongs for transporting the food from tray to the rabbits hungry mouths!

Make Noisy Shakers Make noisy shakers by filling with leftovers from your kitchen cupboards i.e. Rice Crispies, sugar or pasta shells.

Alternatively add different herbs to alert their sense of smell! Great for babies!

Practise Hand Muscle Control

Get your child to practice hand muscle control by filling them with rainbow rice or pasta using a spoon.

Easter Egg Hunt Finally, of course, a good old-fashioned Easter egg hunt never fails to keep the kids entertained!

Scooping Practise

Add to a water tray with tongs and a sieve for scooping practise. Great for outdoor play when the weather warm and sunny!

Content supplied Claire Russell, founder of www.playhooray.co.uk

what’s on 19th March - 20th May Spring Escapades Explore St Michael's Hill, steeped in wildlife and history. Pick up a trail from reception. Montacute House, Montacute.

23rd - 24th March Super Hero Weekend Children and their grown-ups are invited to dress up as their favourite heroes and enjoy amazing activities throughout the weekend including fancy dress discos!

Puxton Park, Hewish. www.puxton.co.uk 23rd - 31st March Mothering Sunday Afternoon High Tea This Mothering Sunday, why not treat your Mother to an Afternoon High Tea in our Lavender Lodge Tea Room & Bistro at Whitehall Garden Centre in Lacock.

Book online at www.whitehallgardencentre.co.uk 30th March - 2nd June Explore the Jungle Grotto NEW this 2019 Begin your quest through the Jungle with your map to complete tasks and answer questions. Find the monkeys and spot the parrots. Whitehall Garden Centre, Lacock.

31st March Mother's Day Gert Posh Tea Farrington Farm, Farrington Gurney www.farringtons.co.uk 31st March Sparkling Mother's Day Afternoon Tea Set in the old library of the manor. Bookings must be made

before 29th March 2019 to allow the chef time to create your special menu. Avebury Manor, Avebury 6th April Animals of Lytes Cary Trail Head down to the woodland walk and follow the Explorers' trail to find out more about the animals that lived at Lytes Cary.

Lytes Cary Manor, Somerset.

6th - 24th April Easter Egg Trail Search the museum to find hidden clues in this Easter trail.

Normal admission applies. Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury.

8th - 12th April Get your Cape On A super hero spectacular of arty, crafty action packed selfytastic fun. Meet our special hero guest plus enjoy the chance to win a super prize bundle.

The Galleries, Bristol.

8th - 22nd April Lacock Easter Egg Hunt Bring the whole family together for fun and nature-filled discoveries as you spot the first signs of spring. Follow the clues to finish your adventure with a delicious, chocolatey treat Lacock Abbey and Gardens, Lacock.

9th April Crafty Cats ‘Bugs and Buds’ The theme will be ‘Bugs and Buds’ and children will have the chance to create bug hand puppets, coffee filter butterflies and a tree blossom picture. www.bishopspalace.org.uk 10th April Make a tissue paper flower - Family Activity Spring is here and the flowers are blooming. Make a tissue paper flower to take home and keep. Normal admission applies - free to members. www.glastonburyabbey.com

For further information about each event

11th - 18th April Nature Ninjas The Palace Garden team will be holding “Nature Ninjas” activity sessions in the Community Garden, aimed at getting little ones engaged with nature and gardening.The team will have lots of horticulturally-based fun activities for all ages. 11am - 3pm.

Included in admission. www.bishopspalace.org.uk 12th April Paint a glass tea light holder - Family Activity Decide on how to decorate your tea light holder and the colours you wish to use before painting or drawing these onto your glass tea light holder with glass pens and paint. www.glastonburyabbey.com 12th - 19th April Easter Trail Follow the Easter trail around the abbey - collect letters to claim your prize. Costs £2 plus normal admission. www.glastonburyabbey.com

13th - 14th April Come along and bring the family to see Magic Moments animals, Chuffy the train, Children’s entertainment, Face painting and Farm Shop Tastings. You can also come and meet the Easter chicks from Lackham College. This is a free event, no ticket or pre-booking needed.

Whitehall Garden Centres, Lacock.

13th & 14th April Fire & Water Join the ‘Star Tugs’ from 1980s children’s TV and take a trip down memory lane! Admire some of the original models from the TV series on their first outing to the Avon Valley Railway.

Enjoy a trip onboard Bristol’s historic fire-boat ‘Pyronaut’ which will be offering short trips on the River Avon at the end of the line (small extra charge applies). www.avonvalleyrailway.org 13th - 22nd April Easter Egg Hunt at Stourhead This Easter the animals have been inspired by Palladian architecture. Judge for yourself who has made the most fashionable habitat to enjoy a chocolatey prize at the end.

Stourhead Garden, Stourhead.

19th - 22nd April Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt Bunny is back and this year he's brought some friends along with him. Hear the tales of famous rabbits throughout literature, solve the clues and claim your Cadbury chocolate prize at the end. Dunster Castle, Dunster.

19th - 22nd April Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt Barrington Court is the best place for a great Easter Egg Hunt. Lots of space to run around, plenty of fresh air and a chocolate prize!

Barrington Court, Somerset.

19th - 22nd April Chocolate Train This Easter sees the return to steam of the old Fry’s chocolate factory steam locomotive from Keynsham. Plus there’ll be FREE Fry’s chocolate for every child! www.avonvalleyrailway.org 19th - 22nd April Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt Hop along to Lytes Cary Manor this Easter Weekend and follow the clues to be rewarded with a Cadbury chocolate prize.

Lytes Cary Manor, Somerset.

26th - 27th April Wells Film Festival - The Kid Who Would Be King The Bishop’s Palace in Wells is delighted to be hosting the Wells Film Festival for its 4th outdoor screening on the Croquet Lawn. This year’s film is “The Kid Who Would Be King”, a family fantasy action-adventure film about a band of young kids embarking on an epic quest to thwart a medieval menace. www.bishopspalace.org.uk 6th May May Day Fun With plenty of fun activities going on, there will be something for everyone to enjoy at Barrington Court's May Day celebration – including a traditional maypole dance!

Barrington Court, Somerset.

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KEEP THEM SAFE ONLINE With the amount of gadgets and phones being given as Christmas presents, it is likely that your children are accessing more and more digital features and spending more time on social media. Cyber bullying and children being groomed or scammed online is a huge problem, it’s something that parents and schools are doing their best to tackle, so we’ve put together some resources to help navigate the difficult world of the internet.

ACCORDING TO STUDIES ON CYBER BULLYING: Girls are more likely to be victims of cyber bullying Children are 7 times more likely to be bullied online by people they consider friends than strangers.

70% of students have reported seeing bullying online.

Children who are being bullied online are also more likely to be the victim of identity theft.

Victims of cyber bullying have a higher risk of the behaviour having a negative impact on their mental health in comparison to more traditional methods of bullying.

Bullies aren’t using the internet to find victims but are accessing the profiles of people they are already having issues with.

BUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THE SITUATION? Without alienating your children by banning all devices that connect to the internet, there are a few things that can help the situation.

• Create a safe environment where children feel comfortable enough to discuss the harassment, either at home or at school, so that the situation can be monitored and the perpetrators spoken to. Listening to your child’s concerns is an important first step and talking to them through the situation will help them feel supported.

• Become familiar with parental controls on social media sites and how to use them.

• If your children are actively using social media platforms, make sure they know about blocking, muting and reporting when they see bullying taking place.

• Use parental controls on games consoles, this is an important thing to do if your child is regularly messaging others when playing games.

• Because the majority of cyber bullying cases involve people that are known to each other, make sure the school is aware of any examples of bullying.

• Collect as much information as you can, screen shots can be helpful if you need to go to the school or if something criminal has taken place, for you to hand over to the police.

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LAMBING AT LACKH AM

H T 4 2 30TH & 31ST 23RD & 2019 H C 4PM Y R M R ARCH 2019 A T M5PM LAST EN 10–5PM L AST ENTR 10– Y

4PM

TICKETS ON THE DAY

TICKETS IN ADVANCE ONLINE

£8 per adult (over 16)

£6 per adult (over 16)

£6 per child

£4 per child

£25 per car

£20 per car

VISIT SHOP.WILTSHIRE.AC.UK TO BOOK TICKETS Lambing at Lackham is an annual fundraising event, with all proceeds going to the maintenance and improvement of facilities for college students. Wiltshire College & University Centre is a registered charity.

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You could be reading YOUR advert 01761 410141 info@ignyte-uk.co.uk

Music by Special Arrangement with Sony/ATV Publishing Adapted for the Stage by Jeremy Sams Based on the MGM Motion Picture Licensed Script adapted by Ray Roderick This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI Europe www.mtishows.co.uk

Join us for a Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt

at Lacock Abbey 8 - 22 April, 11am - 4pm £2.50 per trail, plus normal admission Bring the family together for fun, nature-filled discoveries as you spot the first signs of spring in Lacock Abbey's woodland garden. Follow the clues to finish your adventure with a delicious chocolate treat.

In partnership with

nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock

Music & Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Tues 7th - Sun 12th May 2019 Evenings: 7pm Tues - Sat, Matinees: 2pm Sat & Sun Tickets: Adult £17, U16 & OAP £15, Group booking £14 (10+) Family Ticket £60 (4 tickets, no more than 2 adults)

Frome Memorial Theatre Book online at www.fmt.website or call 01373 462795 Monday to Saturday 9.30am - 1pm

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YOUR SUCCESSES

News and Reviews A PEEK INTO THE PAST AT SELWOOD ACADEMY! As part of Selwood Academy’s 60th year celebrations, the school have been researching the history of the school. They have recently uncovered a time capsule which was placed in the Year 5 block when it was built in 1983. An 11 year old pupil, Nina Sherrin, won a competition to choose items to place in the box. As reported by the Somerset Standard at the time, the items included a Rubik’s cube, a magazine, a crisp packet and a dentists’ mould of her teeth! The school have managed to contact Nina who no longer lives in the area but was delighted that the time capsule had been found.

She said: “I am happy to think that after all these years I still have a place within the heart of Selwood! Perhaps my capsule could be hidden again but be joined by one from 2019. I hope the contents can generate discussion and inspire a new cohort of Middle-schoolers!”

The pupils certainly were inspired! They were fascinated by the contents and are now eagerly planning what they will put into their own capsule!

EGG BOX CHALLENGE WINNERS The Friends of Leigh School’s egg box challenge has been a huge success with many of Leigh on Mendip’s children taking part and raising loads of money. Well done to all the children for their wonderful creations and big thanks to Tatiana Hart from Eliart, for judging the competition. It was a difficult job choosing the winners as all the children’s entries were a high standard, but the winners were: Lottie F in Year R, Gregor M in Year 1, Moe B in Year 2, Oliver T in Year 3 and Isaac P in Year 4. Well done everyone!

GOOD OFSTED REPORT AT HAYESDOWN Haysedown First School recently celebrated their Good judgement from Ofsted following their inspection in December. The Ofsted report commented positively on the pupil’s attitudes and behaviour, stating that they were ‘courteous, behave well and are friendly.’ The school was recognised as being a calm place to learn and offered a good quality of education. The school has also recently launched their new School values, REACH, which stands for Responsible, Enthusiastic, Ambitious, Confident, Happy and Healthy.

OAKFIELD CANTEEN VISIT

BERKLEY AUTHOR MEETING Year 4 children from Berkley School were lucky enough to go to the Cheese and Grain and meet three authors along with Year 4 children from other schools. The three authors were Maz Evans, Nicki Thornton and Kiran Millwood Hargraves, they all had their own style and spoke very passionately about the writing process. They each talked about the importance of scribbling things down in a note book and each child there was given a note book of their own for this purpose.

One book from each author has been purchased and are now in Owls’ Classroom waiting to be read.

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Oakfield's School Council spent time visiting the canteen recently, meeting staff and discovering how over 500 meals a day are produced for their school and other First Schools in the Frome area. Suggestions were made regarding additions to the menu, and staff from Edwards & Ward (the Caterers) were very grateful for the feedback.

They hope to have milkshakes available again soon! All Council members agreed that the food in general was very popular and offered a wide variety of dishes. @UkFamilyMatters | familymatters-uk.co.uk | 23

ELMHURST VISIT PIZZA EXPRESS! At the end of January, Elm Class from Elmhurst Primary School walked to Pizza Express. During the visit, they were fortunate enough to make their own margherita pizzas! The children learned how to spread the tomato base, leaving a gap around the edge so it didn’t burn and taste bitter, they also discovered that margherita pizzas were named after Queen Margaret! All the children represented Elmhurst brilliantly and really enjoyed eating their creations.

LEGO INSPIRES STEM The Y2 Children from Paddington Class in Rode and Norton St Philip School Federation became STEMgineers for two days creating Space ships to help Emmet save Lucy in the new Lego Movie 2. The children were in charge of all of the design and build elements covering Maths, Art, Design and Technology objectives. This was part of the STEAM curriculum that is being taught throughout the school, helping all children to see the value of engineering. The nine completed spaceships were very unique and awesome!

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GYMNASTICS AT SELWOOD ACADEMY Congratulations to Daisy, Evie, Maya and Stanley who represented Selwood Academy at South West Milano School’s competition. Team Selwood won 1st place in the U11 mixed group category taking them through to the National Finals in March. Stanley and Maya earnt 1st place in their age category with Daisy and Evie taking joint 2nd place.

WESTWOOD RADIO AT WILTSHIRE HEIGHTS Westwood Radio always feel very privileged to be invited back to Wiltshire Heights, a Residential Care Home in Bradford on Avon, to present a live show with the residents.

Taking and using their portable radio station, each show comes live from the dining room and is always attended by many residents, who enjoy watching and listening to the children present. Furthermore, they always love being given the opportunity to interview the residents and to learn more about their lives. This time the theme was occupations and it was fascinating to listen to them talk about their work as microbiologists, teachers and even someone whose horse beat the Queen’s in a race in Bath many years ago!

Working within the community is so important to everyone at Westwood with Iford School and the opportunity for cross-generational discussion and interviews adds so much to the Westwood Oral History Project their successful ongoing project to capture memories and experiences from people in the local community. You can listen to the show at https://soundcloud.com/westwoodradio/friday-show-1819-ep14-1319 or find out more about the Oral History Project at http://www. westwoodheritage.uk/

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MP VISIT FOR BRITISH VALUES DAY Bitham Brook Primary School held a British Values Day at the end of Term 3. They were visited by their MP, Dr Andrew Murrison, who talked to Year 5 and 6 pupils about Democracy. They asked him a lot of questions about - among other things - Brexit, whether he has ever met the Queen or Donald Trump and what Theresa May is really like!

Year 1 pupils also had an interesting visit, when two local policemen and a police drone came to see them. The drone was flown over the school and took some fantastic aerial photos!

WESTWOOD WITH IFORD DANCERS DOMINATE THE STAGE!

OVER £700 RAISED AT OAKFIELD

The fantastic dancers of Orchid class at Westwood with Iford School recently took to the stage once again to perform at the annual West Wilts Dance Festival at the Forum in Bath. The children had been expertly trained and encouraged by Karen Hobson, who had put together a fantastic routine. Once again the children dominated the stage, playing out a story to the theme of Love, appropriately on Valentine’s Day, for the evening’s proceedings. The performance was mesmeric and caused a hush in the auditorium throughout the performance. At the end the hard work of the dancers drew an enormous cheer from the audience, which was so very well deserved and filled the Forum. All of the children showed such confidence and made teachers and staff so proud in the way that they represented the school. Well done everyone and thank you for another magical evening!

Oakfield Academy Fundraisers held a very successful Family Bingo evening on Friday 8th February, in total £783.00 was raised for the Academy.

This money will be used to support projects to increase the number of outside exercise machines, seating benches, as well as welcome books for new Year 5 pupils in September.

HEAD SHAVE FOR CHARITY A huge audience crowded into Oakfield Academy's Hall after school on Friday 1st March to support Lunchtime Supervisors Sue Webb and Connie Warder with their charity head shaves in aid of Dorothy House and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The ladies were overwhelmed with the encouragement of the crowd, which included close family members and friends.

Both Connie and Sue would like to thank local hairdressers Eve from 'Studio 7' and Tamsin from 'The Cutting Bar' for giving up their time to perform the haircuts!

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OAKHILL PLAYGROUP GYM The children absolutely love gymnastics, as you can see from the picture of them with their gymnastics records and their instructor, Karsten Temple. He comes in on a Wednesday in his own time to run the sessions. It gets them moving and thinking, last term the topic was healthy eating and this term, it’s the weather. If people would like details of our playgroup they can call playgroup leader Katy on 07870 672996.

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THE WESTBURY AREA SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP (WASP) 3RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE – A GREAT SUCCESS! The one day event in Westbury was the main teaching and learning opportunity of the year for Westbury Town schools, as well as offering an opportunity to network with peers sharing experience and best practice. This year’s theme was on language and writing which is an aspect of school improvement, which all the schools are working on.

The conference was well attended by teachers and TAs across the town schools of Bitham Brook, Matravers, Westbury Infants, Westbury Leigh and Westbury Juniors all of whom form part of Westbury Area Schools Partnership (WASP).

The conference took place on Monday 25 February with Steven Donohue from Wiltshire Council kicking off the day with a talk on `the importance of vocabulary in developing every child’s potential`. This theme was then echoed through a number of workshops across the morning where a host of lively and informative guest speakers including staff from schools led sessions ranging from using sentence structures, how to mark effectively and getting the best from their writers in schools.

WASP Chair, Debbie Grimsey reflected on the morning, “It has been an energising and thought provoking day for all of our staff. Each year we see more and more contributions from local schools leading workshops which is a huge accolade to the great staff in our schools. We are very grateful to everyone who led a session or co-ordinated the event behind the scenes, for enabling us to bring our schools together in a thoughtful reflective morning. Each school will leave with ideas and strategies that we hope will be put to good use and help us continue to raise standards for the children of Westbury.”

WELL DONE SEBASTIAN AND EMILY! Oakfield Academy would like to congratulate Year 5 pupils, Sebastian Galbreath and Emily Honor, as the 'Accelerated Reading' winners from their year group. Class 5R, the leading Year 5 class, were represented

by Ryan-John Hodges.

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PLAYGROUND FUN AT WESTBURY JUNIORS Children at Westbury Junior School couldn’t wait for their break time and a chance to try out the brand new playground equipment!

Lottie from Year 5 won the competition to be the first child in the school on the apparatus, closely followed by a long line of eager children.

The decision to add to the playground’s ‘adventure trail’ followed a campaign by the school council to improve the site. The whole school voted on their favourite option and the new climbing wall and balancing poles won. School Council lead and Year 4 teacher, Eleanor Marsh, said: “We are so pleased with the new additions to our playground, especially as they were voted for by the children themselves.”

SELWOOD’S FIRST SKIERS Selwood School have made history with the first ever Selwood Ski Trip to Andalo Italy. 44 Year 7 & 8 Students and 6 members of staff left Frome on Saturday 16th February on a 22 hour bus journey through France, Germany, Austria and arrived in Italy on Sunday 17th February.

The students were upgraded to 'Hotel Continental' which was situated on the slopes, opposite the beginners run and gondola to the top of the mountain. With three beginners groups and one intermediate group the week started out with lots of awards for Wipe-out’s, Eddie the Eagle and slips of the day. As the week progressed the students became more confident and headed further up the mountain to experience the spectacular views.

Selwood Skiers also experienced a variety of après ski in the beautiful town of Andalo with a pizza night, hot chocolate and Italian ice cream afternoon. The staff also enjoyed the trip with a 'Onesie Wednesday' so the students could identify them on the slopes. All the staff are very proud of all the students and what they achieved during the week on the slopes. They were all outstanding ambassadors for Selwood Academy and are now officially Selwood Skiers. At the end of the week each student was awarded a medal and certificate for their skiing ability. Well done Selwood Skiers.

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All activities are FREE!

Easter Fun at The SHIRES

Tuesday 9th April 11-3pm

Animal Petting Farm

Thursday 11th April 11-3pm

Face Painting

Tuesday 16th April 10.30-12.30pm / 1.30-3.30pm

Easter Craft Ceramic Egg Cup Painting

Wednesday 17th April Balloon 11-4pm Modelling Thursday 18th April 11-3pm

Face Painting

Check out our website for more information www.shirescentre.co.uk The Shires, Court Street, Trowbridge BA14 8AT Tel: 01225 777255