Recently our Upper Key Stage 2 children took part in The Primary Maths Challenge. This national contest involves pupils from schools all over the country competing against each other. The problem solving challenge requires children to think outside the box, solve logical problems and try their best. Our Year 5 and 6 pupils were fantastic - a real credit to our school. The results are already in and we had lots of bronze, silver and gold awards. Gold awards were achieved by: William Y, Arthur W, Sebastian M, Skye P, Flynn L, Peter D, Effie S, Mila T, Thomas C, Spencer P, Sofia D, Rose TH, Max M, Sebastian B, Neo R and Eva F. Well done to everyone who took part! 

Tuesday 31st October- Lower KS2

The aim of this session was to demonstrate to the group the impact Humans can have on the planet, by litter picking at Crow Point. We certainly did that, with a whopping 8kg collected in an hour! Every individual was so enthusiastic to clean up the strand line and show what they were finding. Piper even found a crisp packet from 1991! We played a few games in the process too, including finding the most variety of coloured plastics. The session was cut slightly short due to the weather, but despite this the children were in great spirits to have a chat on the minibus about what they found most interesting on the litter pick; bird bones and different compositions of rocks were included in this.

Wednesday 1st November- Upper KS2

Storm Ciaran had a different plan for this group's session, but we didn’t let it stop us! Despite being indoors to shelter from the weather, Southmead had great fun with a plastic pollution workshop at RMB Chivenor’s Church Hall. We began the session with a children’s book about environmental issues ‘It’s Up To Us’ to introduce the theme of their session. The group then took part in various activities:

1. Being a Voice for Nature- if you were an ocean creature, what would you be? This got the students thinking about how different animals live in the sea, and how human pollution can impact this.
2. Why the Ocean is so Important- thinking about all the things we use the ocean for, and why we should keep it healthy.
3. Mindful colouring- this gave the students time to take in their thoughts from the session, get imaginative but also have a take home reminder of what they learnt.

It was lovely to see the students supporting one another throughout the session. Leon was particularly kind to Jacob and Harry R had outstanding manners. It was a real pleasure to be around them.

Tuesday 14^th November- Lower KS2

Southmead had an extraordinary time in the Douglas Classroom at Rosemoor’s Education Centre. They began by looking at different types of exotic seeds and then interactively learnt how seeds grow- Piper made a fantastic seed! Harrison shared some great knowledge about photosynthesis, confidently telling the group about how ‘leaves are like a natural solar panel for the plant’. It was wonderful to see him so involved in his first CEET session! It was also Frank’s first session, which he loved. He frequently told Ella how much fun he was having and how excited he was to now be on CEET sessions.

As the sun came out, the students got the opportunity to explore the gardens whilst foraging for fallen seeds. They then learnt all about how seeds get dispersed. They finished the session back at the centre, repotting violas and planting pea seeds to take back with them. As always, everyone was a pleasure and so much fun to learn with.

Wednesday 15^th November- Upper KS2

Southmead had a glorious time at Northam Burrows Country Park in the sunshine with Ranger Rose. They got the opportunity to explore the new visitors centre, an immersive facility all about the history, flora and fauna at the burrows. Ranger Rose then talked the group through how to safely use a variety of tools which they then used to help the Rangers clean up after some conservation work, they had undertaken on the sand dunes. The session got the students working together in small groups and their teamwork was exceptional. It was so lovely to see their enthusiasm for being outdoors and getting stuck in with some practical work. Orla even said that although she wasn’t sure what her dream job would be, it would have to be outside!

For the second half of the session, we swapped our tools for litter pickers and cleaned up any plastic waste found in the sand dunes. The students got lots of thanks from members of the public for their hard work, they should all feel proud of their achievements.

Tuesday 28^th November

This Southmead Lower KS2 session was spent at Northam Burrows Country Park with Ranger Rose conducting some out of classroom Hydrology Science! Before the session even began, Frank said ‘this is so great!’, it was lovely to hear him so excited. They started with an exploration around the visitor’s centre, many of the group had never visited the burrows or the visitors centre before, so it was fantastic to open this opportunity up to them. Whilst exploring on the interactive boards, Noah said he was learning so much and discovered lots of new species of animal and plants.

Each week, the Rangers monitor the underground water levels and this week the students got to assist and learn how to use a Piezometer. Ranger Rose took the students on an informative tour of the land, pointing out various interesting flora and fauna whilst also allowing them to roam free in certain areas and simply enjoy the fresh air and greenspace they were in.

Wednesday 29^th November

Southmead Upper KS2 got to experience the wonders of RHS Rosemoor on this session, getting into the festive spirit exploring their winter garden. The students learnt about different plants that thrive in the winter months and then found them growing within the garden, identifying their Latin names. They also foraged for colourful leaves to use in some arts and crafts back at the education centre. In the Douglas Classroom, the group had the opportunity to make a variety of Christmas crafts to take back with them including wreaths and cards, as well as making snowmen cups to plant pea seeds in! They thoroughly enjoyed these activities and were a pleasure to have festive fun with.

Bremco North Devon Cross Country League saw its final race event of 2023 on Sunday 26^th November at Coxleigh Barton, Equestrian Centre.

Halfway through the Cross Country season and the Southmead contingent is growing from strength to strength. The U9s Southmead girls' team are currently in the lead out of all North Devon schools with 868pts, a massive 41pt gap from second place Woolacombe School. Incredible!

Helping us maintain this position is: Maisie C, winning every single race, Maggie T, on Maisie's tail in second and Dakota H, Freya S, Lana L, Bella-Blue S, Freda S, Zephine G-B and Aimee B who all place in the top 25 every race. An amazing collection of athletes. The sole flag bearer for the U9s boys' team is Issac B, who is doing an incredible job of raising the Cross Country profile for Southmead in his age group coming 27^th out of 73 runners on Sunday. Great job Issac. The U11s girls and boys' teams are doing well too, with consistency in the top 25 for Esme J, Nanise K, Arno W-D and Winter S.

Well done all of you incredible runners, we are all very proud of you. Good luck in 2024 for the second half of the season.