Musical production is nearly “rapped” up
Cundall Manor “School of Rap” – Thursday March 3rd The pupils in Leckby have been hard at work since September writing, producing and performing their own musical theatre production, “School of Rap”, loosely based on the High School Musical story. Between them all, they have written the script and all the songs, produced the necessary backing tracks, and now they are hard at work rehearsing it for their performance on Thursday 3rd March. To write an entire musical is an amazing achievement. They have had the opportunity to develop their creativity and practise many of the skills required for both music and drama at GCSE. All are welcome to the performance.
GCSE Art students find inspiration in London
GCSE London Art Tour This year’s GCSE art trip was a very action-packed two days. On day one, the students discovered that The Natural History museum, Science Museum and V&A are treasure troves and the groups split to make the most of the time to sketch and take photographs for their sketchbooks. After a few hours of intense exploration and a spot of lunch, they explored the more contemporary works of the Saatchi museum. The current exhibition features a number of up and coming artists whose varied and experimental ways of working gave the students lots of ideas. The evening was spent singing along to Abba songs at the internationally acclaimed production of Mamma Mia at the Novello theatre. Day two started with a hearty breakfast followed by Mr Vale’s magical mystery tour of the City and its iconic buildings. The group climbed the 311 steps of Monument Tower to be met at the top by gale force winds! Next was the Tate Modern via Borough market and the Cutty Sark to see the Alexander Calder exhibition, a fantastic collection of the late Kinetic artist’s sculptures. The permanent collections gave the opportunity to see a wide variety of artists’ works. The river boat to Embankment gave students the opportunity to rest their legs and view the city from the water. After lunch, a busy afternoon was spent viewing the amazing collections at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Seeing so many famous works reaffirmed the point that there really is no substitute for seeing works of art “in the flesh”. The students returned with heads spinning full of ideas and hundreds of photos and sketches to process. The results of the students’ work will be exhibited for all to see at the annual Summer Art exhibition in June, we hope to see you there!
Pre-Prep’s Astronaut Training
Pre-Prep Astronauts PP2 had an exciting afternoon on Thursday training to be astronauts as part of their Space topic. They developed co-ordination skills learning the “Bear Crawl” and the “Crab walk”, worked on their fine-motor skills, fastening a bolt wearing thick, bulky protective gloves and even got to try real space food – dehydrated ice-cream! Watch out Tim Peake – we have a number of budding astronauts eager to take your place at the International Space Station!
Cundall’s Lunchtime Concert
Lunchtime Concert at Cundall Church A very enjoyable half hour was had by a most appreciative audience of family and friends watching some of our musicians perform at Cundall Church last Friday lunchtime. Despite the bitterly cold conditions, the children performed extremely well. For many, it was their very first public performance and it was almost too much for Amelia, but she managed to fight off her nerves and play her piece very commendably. There was quite a wide range of music, instruments and voices, and a range of ages from Form 1 through to Form 6. As ever, it was wonderful to hear how the children are progressing and developing their skills and musicianship. Well done to you all.
Roald Dahl Week in Pre-Prep
Can you spot the stories? PP2 loved learning to write like Roald Dahl last week! What will they get up to for World Book Day in March…?
Going Dotty at Emma Bridgewater Pottery!
Emma Bridgewater Potteries trip 2016 Last week the whole of Year 7 enjoyed a day trip to Stoke on Trent – the home of British pottery production. First stop was the Potteries Museum, which houses a world class collection of Staffordshire pottery, allowing pupils to engage with the history behind the industry. The children toured the galleries sketching their favourite pots and exhibits. Next stop was the Emma Bridgewater factory where the slip cast ceramics are still produced using traditional techniques. The children toured the factory to learn about the production of our favourite mugs, plates and jugs. It was fascinating to see that they are still hand-made and decorated, each pot passing through thirty processes and sets of hands. The pupils decorated their own piece of Emma Bridgewater ware in the decorating studio. They used cut sponges and underglazes to create their own designs. The glazed pieces will arrive in school shortly and will be displayed in the school office. Mrs Pearson would like to thanks Mr Vale, Ms Poulton and Mrs Massey for help on the day.
Pre-Prep Discover Fun at Eureka
Eureka! On Friday 5th February the children of Reception, PP1 and PP2 headed off for a day out at Eureka, in Halifax. The children had the most fantastic day exploring the different areas of the museum. They changed tyres in the garage, made deposits and withdrawals at the bank, weighed and posted the mail at the Post Office and even did the weekly shop in Marks and Spencer! Their favourite area was ‘All About Me’. Here they learned about how we grow, had the opportunity to climb inside a large set of teeth and some were even brave enough to peer up the giant nostrils!