Earls Hall Primary School

It was a magnificent day for Earls Hall sports achievement today as our boys and girls table tennis teams took part in this years city tournament held at Alleyn Court. All of the children played to an incredibly high standard which saw the boys come in a brilliant fourth place whilst the girls smashed it and took first place! The girls will now move onto the Essex stage of the national tournament later in the term. Well done to all of our boys and girls, we are proud of you! Meanwhile, whilst the site managers fixed our swanky new cover to the giant sand pit and the children in the Foundation Stage classes enjoyed exploring through play both indoors and outdoors, the rest of the children enjoyed taking part in our Celebration Assemblies. As usual we awarded Earls Hall Stars to a child from each class for individual achievement or effort. Well done children, we are proud of you!  

It has been a fantastic first full week back in school and one which has been full of fun! The week saw us welcome the first three groups of new starters into the Foundation Stage classes each morning. The children settled in beautifully and have investigated the school in groups. They played in the Early Years garden, visited the goats and explored Mr B's office. We can't wait to welcome the remaining two groups next week! Outside, there has been so much cycling activity throughout the week. The children in Year Six and Year Four have both been taking part in Bikeability sessions. Some children have ridden a bike for the very first time whilst some of the older children have confidently taken to the roads surrounding the school. Well done to all of the children for trying so hard, we are proud of you. Yesterday saw the field full of fun as we held our inflatable fete after school. Hundreds of children bounced between 3.30pm and 6pm as the teachers oversaw them on a range of bouncy castles. There were refreshments served by members of the PTA and a great time was had by all. The event saw us raise a profit of just over £600. Thanks to everyone who came along and to all of the teachers who gave their time after school. Today saw us hold our first 'Celebration Assemblies' of the year where we presented Earls Hall Stars certificates to children from each class in recognition of individual achievement. The KS1 assembly also saw us present Rabbits and Badgers with our new infant attendance trophies for having the highest attendance in their year groups throughout the week. The children will keep the trophies in class until next Friday. Well done to all of the children rewarded in assembly this week, we are proud of you!  

It was a fabulous first day of the new academic year as the children from Years One to Six returned to Earls Hall after the Summer break. The children enjoyed a soft start to the year and spent much of the morning getting to know their teachers whist familiarising themselves with their new classrooms. As the Foundation Stage team went out of school in order to conduct home visits to this years new starters, the children in Year One spent time playing with familiar toys and games in their outdoor area so that they could be reminded of just how much continues to be the same as when they themselves were in the Foundation Stage. Throughout the rest of the school, many of the classes took part in team building challenges where they had to use their best communication skills in order to be successful. All in all, it was a calm and happy return to the fold with plenty of smiling faces to be seen throughout the school! Well done everybody!

It was a busy day at Earls Hall as the children and staff continued to head towards the end of the academic year! Throughout the day, the children from across Year Six took to the stage in order to perform the play 'the Wrong Way Round'. The play told the story of a brave group of pupils who go in search of their beloved teachers after they disappear in spooky circumstances. Once they have cracked the case they look back on their time at primary school and realise that they are ready for their move up to secondary school. the children sang, acted and danced their way through the story in front of proud parents and other family members and each and every child did the school proud! It was a magnificent way for the children to perform their final production at Earls Hall! Meanwhile, there were fond farewells being discussed between the staff as the team got together in order to wish some much loved members of staff a happy retirement. Mr Martin, Mrs Dale, Mrs Witsed, Mrs Read and Mrs Thompson are all bidding the school a fond farewell and so were treated to a buffet lunch and presented with gifts and flowers by their friends. It was a lovely way to say goodbye to much loved members of the team who have given the school decades of dedication!

It was a busy start to the final week of the year at Earls Hall. The morning started with the downstairs hall playing host to the final Reading Champions assembly where children from across KS2 were presented with their 'Ultimate Reading Champion' badges in front of proud parents in recognition of reading an amazing 250 times at home. Well done children, we are proud of you! Later in the day, the children in Foundation Stage came together in order to wish the lovely Miss Corder a happy birthday as she celebrated her twenty first. The children all sang together whilst the much loved TA was presented with flowers. In the afternoon, the playground was the setting for the Year Three, Four and Five disco before the Year Six enjoyed a disco in the downstairs hall after school. The children pulled off some amazing dance moves and had the time of their lives, making memories together in their final week.

It was a fantastic day for sport today as a squad of children represented the school at this years borough sports competition which was once again held at Garons. The children, who had taken part in training activities for the past few weeks, all tried their very best and their efforts saw many children qualify to the finals and many medals being presented. At the end of the competition, Earls Hall was presented with a shield for taking second place over all in our group. Well done to all of the children who took part, we are proud of you!

It was a full day of fundraising for charity today as the school council fun run day took place in school! Every class across the school was challenged to take part in a run around the school site in a bid to raise as much sponsorship money as possible for St Vincent's and the days events created a fantastic buzz of excitement across the whole of Earls Hall. With the weather being wetter than expected at the start of the day, the school council and Mrs Heard had to think quickly on their feet by changing the planned route on the wet and slippery field and rerouting the children to run around the paths around the school site. Each year group in turn ran as fast as they could around the back playgrounds and past the Early Years garden before zooming past the chickens and ducks, the Forest Friends area and round back to the starting point. Each child had been sponsored by generous family members which motivated them to complete the route as fast as they could. Throughout the day, the children were cheered on by the St Vincent's mascot, Vinnie, who jumped up and down at the finishing line to congratulate them for their efforts. It was a fantastic day, thanks to all of the children and staff members for giving the run their all!

It was a brilliant day for the classes in Year Two today as the children in Badgers, Foxes and Owls ventured out of Earls Hall in order to enjoy a fantastic trip to Barleylands Farm. The visit gave the opportunity for the children to learn about habitats and food chains. Throughout the day they investigated various areas of the farm and had a wonderful day learning about both farm animals and birds of prey. They also managed a tractor ride and some time of play! It was a great day which was enjoyed by everyone! Thanks to all of the parents who volunteered their time in order to come along and help on the day.  

It was a musical day for the children in Year Five today as they worked together to enjoy a day of steel band workshops with Mrs Potter and Miss Fitzgerald.  The children learnt to play the tune, ‘Come Back Lisa’ on the steel pans and used a variety of percussion instruments to recreate a Carnival atmosphere. The musical extravaganza formed part of a whole day focusing on their new topic 'The Windrush'. Alongside the steel workshop, the children also researched the history and geography relating to this period of history. The children used atlases to compare some Caribbean Islands to the UK and sequenced key events from post world war Two Britain. It was a fantastic day which the children really enjoyed. Meanwhile, downstairs, there was more musical talent on show as groups of children once again took part in Rock Steady sessions. Today some of the children were given the opportunity to switch places with other band members and try out a new instrument. The children worked together to make music by either performing vocals or playing the drums, keyboards, electric or bass guitar.