Welcome to the summer term newsletter. It's been a very busy term with sporting events, music, and drama productions showcasing our talented students.
It was lovely to see so many parents coming to watch the impressive KS2 performance of Hansel and Gretel. Bramble Class visited Thorpe Woodlands for their residential trip and shared their adventures at the end-of-year Assembly, looking back at the photos with many giggles.
The Senior School had some downtime following their end-of-year assessments. They all actively took part in our own 'Curriculum Olympics', where they worked on team building, problem-solving skills and physical challenges at 'The Playground', which became quite competitive!
Photos of these events are included in this issue and can also be seen on the screen in the Reception area, so please pop in.
As this is my last newsletter, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the families, students, and staff who make Cherry Trees and Brookes a wonderful place to learn and work. Wishing you all the best for the future.
Kind Regards
Natalie Taylor
During the summer term the Early years have been enjoying the great outdoors
Reception Visit to West Stow
Alfresco Yoga
Reception class loved their yoga today. Being in the fresh air can reinforce your breathing and nurturing your inner calm. Stretching is good for well-being and general happiness. Yoga is great for keeping children fit and flexible and holistically is one of the best forms of physical activity a child can do!
Reception Visit to West Stow
Sports Carnival
Caterpillars -Creating a farm
Lower School Trip to Felixstowe
On Friday 21st June, Years 1-6 spent the day at Felixstowe for an end of term treat. They were incredibly lucky with the weather - it couldn't have been more perfect! Pupils were split into house groups and did a range of activities including a Felixstowe feature finder, pebble painting and plenty of time to play in the playground. Lunch was eaten on the beach (luckily no-one complained about sandy sandwiches!) followed by a paddle and sandcastle building. The day was rounded off with an ice lolly before hopping on the buses back to school.
Humanities
Brookes is blessed by being surrounded by beautiful countryside and some stunning historical monuments.
As part of their work on the reformation year eight visited Castle Acre to explore the Priory. We imagined what life would’ve been like before the reformation and how it would’ve impacted places like Castle Acre.
In the afternoon we visited the remains of the castle at the other end of the village, revisiting the work completed last year on Medieval Castle building.
We were blessed with beautiful weather and the students were exemplary.
Humanities
FOOD TECH
Cooking with KS2
Years 3/4 and 5/6 have started a new program of cooking this year and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The autumn term was all about learning new skills, working with others and following a recipe. We made shortbreads, cheesy vegetable scones and explored the different pasta shapes
FOOD TECH
During the spring term the students investigated dough. Pizza wheels, chapati and hot cross buns were on the menu for this term. We even managed to cook in the forest- making damper bread.
In the summer term our focus for cooking reflected the culinary dishes of the countries that have been the focus during assemblies with Mrs Lynch. The countries explored were Romania, France, South Africa and Turkey. It has been wonderful to introduce the students to new foods and seeing them try and enjoy them!
FOOD TECH
Cooking with KS1
Year 1 and 2 have had a wonderful year being introduced to cooking.
In the autumn term they were introduced to basic skills such as chopping, blending and mixing. We finished off the terms cooking with a delicious pumpkin soup.
FOOD TECH
Cooking with KS1
The spring term saw an expansion of their cooking skills, developing their independence. The students favourites was the pancake skewers on Shrove Tuesday. In the summer term we alternated between sweet and savoury bakes developing their reading of a recipe and following instructions. My personal highlight was the doughnut muffins- yummy!
House News
Overall House Point Totals
It's been an action packed year for the house competitions. Each house has shown immense dedication, creativity, and sportsmanship, making this years' competitions truly memorable.
Highlights of the year have been the Pancake Race, Colour Day, House quizzes, Swimming Gala, Science Week and of course our annual Sports Day. As we conclude this term's house competitions, let's remember that the true victory lies in the friendships we’ve strengthened and the experiences we’ve shared.
IT NEWS
Looking back over the last academic year. The students have developed skills in using computers for writing, editing picture and music files, and creating digital artwork, spreadsheets and presentations.
GCSE groups have looked at the nuts and bolts of how computers work and how we connect with other users around the world. We have, of course, been looking at how we can all stay safe whilst using social media and connections via the internet. With this in mind, I like to remind you all to be aware of what your child is doing online. I hope you all have a great holiday and I leave you with these tips from the national online safety website.
DatesFor YourDiary
Sept
22nd August GCSE results
2nd & 3rd September staff inset day
4th September Start of term
12th September Welcome Evening Coffee stop and uniform sales the 1st Thursday of every month
27th September Macmillan coffee morning 8.30am
Brookes Olympics…
The senior students took part in our ‘Brookes Curriculum Olympics’. They were grouped in vertical age groups and were given challenges, tasks and problem solving activities over 3 days. A highlight was a trip to The Playground testing their physical abilities and endurance ski
Sports Day this year was the best ever!
We were blessed with warm and sunny weather with a wee breeze to cool the students off as they worked through a thoroughly long list of events. Cheered on by our amazing parents, the students excelled themselves by all giving their absolute 'Brookes Best' in each and every event. There were lots of impressive running, hurdling, jumping and throwing and also fine performances in the obstacle course challenges which was new to Sports Day this year. Also new was the 'tug of war' which was the last event of the day and there is no doubt it was the most popular and noisy!! Each house tensed their muscles and sinews to the limit to test their strength and teamwork. It was so great that our Year 11s and some parents combined to take on our staff in a final 'tug of war' and well done to the parents and Year 11s for getting a great victory which they achieved after being inches from defeat. After all the events the final scores were incredibly close but congratulations must go to Falcons for securing the narrowest of victories.
A farewell to the boarders.
As the boarding students move on to new opportunities, I would like to reflect on the past year. The students have witnessed each other at their best and supported each other through challenges. They have shared laughter, late-night study sessions, and I am sure countless memories will stay with us long after we leave Brookes. They all contributed to making our boarding house a warm, welcoming home away from home.
As we move forward, let's carry the lessons we've learned here into the wider world. The resilience, camaraderie, and respect we've fostered are invaluable. Remember that no matter where life takes us, we'll always have the bonds we've formed in this house.
And finally………
Prize giving & Cherry Trees graduation
The annual prize giving took place on the last day of term. Mrs Taylor and Mr Rose both gave speeches rounding off the end of the academic year. The Brookes Education board were also present. The sun shone and the kitchen supplied a lovely array of cakes for the afternoon tea on the playground.
Cherry Trees graduation performance was a song about planets and the solar system reflecting a recent project in Butterflies.
