Category: Uncategorized

This half-term the children in EYFS have been exploring puppets and puppet-making, which has been a wonderfully interesting and stimulating topic.
It was fabulous to finish this off with a visit from the Settle-based Lempen Puppet Company, which showed the pupils just how amazing and engaging puppets can be. The one man show, completely staged with homemade and handcrafted puppets, was based on the Brothers Grimm fairy-tales and was engaging from beginning to end.

A huge thanks to Liz and Daniel for putting on such an astonishing performance that left pupils of all ages inspired.

Each year both of our classes go to see a performance at Christmas time and this year was no different. Class 1 travelled to the Brewery Arts Centre to see Help, Christmas is cancelled! which was a wonderful festive performance including acting and puppetry. The festive show was fun and engaging whilst also dealing with environmental issues delicately through it’s arctic fox and polar bear characters.

The pupils from nursery up to year 2 loved watching the performance, getting involved, and being able to meet the performers afterwards. It was an inspiring afternoon which will hopefully live long in their memories.

Class 2 went to visit Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake to see an adaptation of Mary Norton’s Classic children’s novel The Borrowers. The pupils were all enraptured by the skilful performances of the cast as well as the magnificent set design and the array of songs.

The musical talent the small cast displayed was inspiring for the children, especially those who have been working towards performances themselves in school with Mr Fudge.

Pupils wrote great reviews of the play the following day which demonstrated their enjoyment and understanding.

Class 2 had a very informative and thought-provoking discussion with PSCO Jenna Eggleston when she came to visit today. Jenna had read the children’s letters about anti-social behaviour and helped to explain how the police have to balance the rights of different groups and individuals to respond appropriately to problems.

Jenna also took some time to talk specifically to the year 6 pupils about online safety as an early part of their transition to secondary school, and to fit in with their upcoming PSHE unit on keeping safe.

This week pupils took part in a tree planting ceremony, planting a tree in the car park field to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II. The planting was organised by Dent Women’s Institute, in collaboration with the Parish Council and with the YDNP trees officer Lee Johnson.

The pupils had to chance to hear about the importance of trees from Lee Johnson and then several of the older pupils helped to plant the tree.

Pupils had a sense of being able to contribute to a historical event in their own small way, and we are very grateful to the WI for inviting us to be part of the occasion, which was enjoyable even on a very cold day!

In Woodwork Club this term 12 pupils worked under the guidance of local joiner Brad Dalzell to prepare their moveable bird mobiles. The finished products were excellent and all of the pupils could proudly take home their own handiwork to hang up proudly at home.

Well done to the pupils for your hard work and thank you to Brad for the support. We’d also like to thank Friends of Dent for funding the materials and tools for this club!

This week the whole of Key Stage 1 & 2 travelled to Sedbergh Primary School to take part in an interfaith workshop organised by Andy Burgess and other local faith leaders.

The workshop gave pupils a chance to grill representatives of a wide range of different faiths and hear them present their beliefs. This was a challenging and thought provoking session and it was particularly good for pupils to see members of different faiths interacting with respect for each other despite their different opinions.

As part of their PSHE and personal development, Class 2 have again been visiting the Meditation Centre to have some time learning basic yoga and breathing techniques. The pupils developed their sense of how they can use manage their own bodies and have a sense of themselves that can be helpful to them in times of stress or difficulty.

KS2 Expedition Club had a wonderful first expedition of the year. All the year 6 pupils joined in for a 5 mile hike from Dent and an overnight camp.

The pupils set up their own tents before heading off on the walk, a 5 mile hike with 1000ft of ascent. All the pupils demonstrated their navigation skills by contributing to route-finding and map-reading.

While we walked we discussed the different aspects of the landscape around us and the types of farming and livestock we could see & which breeds pupils farm (I now know a Zwartble from a Texel), which helped us cement our understanding of our current geography topic.

Back at camp the pupils cooked their own meals on their trangia stoves, before we enjoyed hot chocolate and marshmallows round the wood stove.

Most people managed a good night’s sleep despite the wind and rain, and we packed up camp and trekked back to school this morning.

Well done Year 6!