Our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 choirs performed at their first Choir Recital last week. We invited their families into school to listen to the songs they have been learning this year. They all performed fantastically singing songs by Queen, Katrina and the Waves and some Disney classics just to name a few. An audience favourite was when the choirs joined together to sing the Gary Barlow song, 'Sing'. It blew us all away and we were extremely proud of their performance.
On Friday 7th June, we were delighted to officially open our amazing Sensory Garden. We were joined by members of our school council, PTFA, Governors, Cowley Trusts and representatives from Willow Homes who completed the design and installation of this fantastic new facility.
This project has been planned over several months to ensure the highest quality of design criteria, providing a welcoming and calming sensory space for reflection, mindfulness and sensory integration. The idea for this started with our school council, who researched into the market and considered what would need to be included to meet all elements of sensory input. This would not have been possible were it not for the generosity of the Cowley Trust and donations from Mukagee Johnson Trust, plus additional fundraising by our PTFA and School Council. We would also like to thank Spalding Farm Shop who match funded money raised by our school council to ensure a range of plants which provide visual, textured and aromatic sensory experiences. We are exceptionally proud to be able to offer this provision in addition to our multi-sensory suite, 3D immersive suite and kitchen facility which all provide further curriculum enrichment and sensory support for all of our children.
Year 6 London trip to Matilda
On Wednesday 5th June, members of our Year 6 cohort went on a school trip to London to watch the Matilda musical. They had a wonderful time making their way down to London to see the show and whilst we were there, the children loved it, you could hear some of them afterwards singing the songs. It was a wonderful experience for the children to have and I know how much they all enjoyed it. All the children that attended were a credit to the school and their behaviour both in the theatre and walking around London was incredible.
On Friday 10th May, we were delighted to officially open our repurposed kitchen area. This has been specifically designed to be accessible for children and provide a suitable learning environment where children can learn about food and nutrition and also enjoy varied cooking activities. In addition to enhancing our DT curriculum provision this also supports life skills and pupil wellbeing.
This is another fantastic addition to our school, following last year’s opening of our library, multi-sensory room and 3D immersive suite. We recognise how fortunate we are to have these facilities within a mainstream school environment, none of which would be possible were it not for the generosity of the Cowley Trust. We once again thank them for the enrichment opportunities offered to our children as a result of their donations.
Additionally, our fantastic PTFA will be funding further equipment for the kitchen for which we are incredibly grateful. The impact of our dedicated school and local community is incredible!
The children have really enjoyed using this new facility and when asked what they thought of the new kitchen one child said she was "Amazed that we can cook and bake at school!" and another child said the new kitchen made him feel "Happy!" He also said "I like cooking and it is exciting we can do it in school and then show our new skills off at home!"
Houses of Parliament and London Eye Year 6 trip
On Wednesday 21st February the Year 6 children from Donington and St Gilbert's travelled to the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. The children were a credit to the school and were fantastic all day. We went on the London Eye and managed to spot some the landmarks sights in London such as St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. We then walked across Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament. We were given a tour of the House of Parliament and even went into the viewing gallery and watched part of a debate taking place in the Houses of Commons!
On Monday 19th February our Key Stage 2 choir travelled to Sheffield Utilita Arena to take part in Young Voices, the biggest children's choir concerts in the world.
The children were a credit to the school and were fantastic all day. We joined in with performances from 13 year old drummer Nandi Bushell, singer Natalie Williams and YouTube star MC Grammar. We even got to see dance act, Urban Strides. This was an amazing day and a fantastic opportunity for the children involved.
We cannot wait for next year!
A visit from St Gilberts School
It was lovely to welcome our friends from St Gilbert’s in Year 3/4 and in Reception and Nursery on Monday 29th January. Linking with their topics this term they engaged in varied activities including visits to the immersive suite, practical learning and team building. It was lovely to see the children interact so brilliantly. We hope to build in more opportunities for collaboration between children as the term progresses including the Y6 visit to the Houses of Parliament and sporting events.
3D Immersive Suite Launch
On Friday 22nd September we officially opened our BRAND NEW 3D Immersive Suite in School.
Thank you so much to the representatives of the Cowley Trust, our Governing body and our School Council for joining us this morning to celebrate this amazing new space. We are extremely grateful to the Cowley Trust who have supported us in bringing this vision to life and opening endless possibilities for discovery for the children of Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School.
Our School Council enjoyed testing out the interactive games and exploring new worlds!
Kevin was impressed with the interactive floor, Ella felt like she was in a museum, Chenumi loved how it made her feel very focused and Binaya said it was a fun way to learn!
We would like to extend our thanks to the Lincolnshire Free Press for publishing our exciting news. Please follow the link for the article below.
On Wednesday 5th July the key stage two choir went to Lincoln theatre royal to take part in Singsation. A fantastic event where 11 choirs from all over the local area came together to perform. the children had an amazing time taking part in the singing event and we hope to go back next year!
Multi Sensory Room Opening
We are very excited to share with you that on Wednesday 19th April, we held our official opening of our brand new Multi Sensory Room in school.
Due to generous funding from both the Cowley Trust and East Midlands Railway Community Fund, we have been able to create a unique multi sensory room within our school.
For this opening, we were joined by representatives of the Cowley Trust, East Midlands Railway, our Governing body and the Lincolnshire Free Press to celebrate our exciting new room and to say thank you to those involved in making our vision a reality.
On Friday 24th February the whole school came together as we opened an art gallery in our hall. The children from EYFS all the way up to year 6 all had a piece of artwork which they had to show and present. The whole school have been working on the topic ‘Reflections’ so it was interesting to see all of the different adaptations and interpretations the classes had been working on. Throughout the afternoon the children all had a chance to come and look around the whole school art gallery which they all thoroughly enjoyed. Once school had finished, children were able to come in with their parents to proudly show their artwork to them.