VINELINES 13 JUNE 2025

Kindergarten - Balance Ability and The Tiger Who Came to Tea Party

Catherine Garlick - Kindergarten Teacher

This has been bike ability balance week and all the children have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in our cycling sessions. They have developed their ability to use the balance bikes by learning how to scoot, glide and keep control of the bike. Some of the children have begun to use pedal bikes and they have learnt how to start off without support, pedal, use their breaks and go around obstacles. It has been wonderful to see their progress.

On Thursday, we enjoyed our ‘Tiger who came to Tea’ tea party. In our classroom we have been exploring the story in a range of ways and we even had a visit from our very own tiger! We loved inviting our grown ups and new friends from Marlborough House to celebrate this book with us. There were tasty treats, crafts and face painting and it was great to join together for this very special tea party.

Reception

Holly Newton - Reception Teacher

What a wonderful week of bike ability. We have been learning how to control our bikes - setting off, cruising, slowing down, braking and stopping. We can all pedal without wobbling or being out of control and we have been focusing on being aware of our surroundings and navigating our way around obstacles. We have loved our sessions and grown in confidence enormously. Thank you so much to Mrs Lomas for all the fun.

We very much enjoyed going over to the Mitchell Pavilion to see the artwork on display. It was so exciting to see work created by our big brothers and sisters and to see their names and the title of their piece alongside their work. We discussed the materials we thought they had used and marvelled at their creativity.

In Maths we have explored sharing and experienced fair and unfair sharing by identifying whether objects are left over. We then used these skills to identify whether a number was ‘odd’ or ‘even’ by sharing into two groups. The children were encouraged to use the language ‘odd’, ‘even’, equal’ and ‘unequal’ to make links to the number of objects they were sharing. Some of the children spotted that even numbers are the numbers we say when we count in twos. I was very proud of them and their understanding!

We have also looked at the story ‘The Night Pirates' and made up our own stories about pirates with the small world toys. We included some princes and princesses and a unicorn too of course! It is lovely to see the children incorporating storybook language into their play and learning the meaning of new phrases, such as 'Shiver me timbers' being an exclamation of surprise and 'matey’ referring to a friend!

Year 1

Jacklyn Garwood - Year 1 Teacher

This week, Year 1 have been busy designing and creating their very own Bog Babies! The children began by thinking carefully about their designs, listing the materials they would need and deciding how each material would be used for different parts of the body. Using socks stuffed with fluff, they created the bodies of their Bog Babies and carefully sewed the tops to keep the fleece secure. There was a real buzz of excitement in the classroom as the children brought their ideas to life! Afterwards, they revisited their original plans to see how closely their finished creations matched their designs. They also reflected on how they could improve their designs next time. What creative ideas you had Year 1 - Well done!

Year 2

Louise Hawtin - Year 2 Teacher

We have been learning about life cycles in Year 2 so have been closely observing our caterpillars as they got bigger, transformed into a chrysalis and finally emerged from their cocoons as butterflies this week. After talking about their transformation we released them and the children were surprised at how reluctant they were to fly away at first.

Well done to all the children who took part in the art exhibition, their canvases are brilliant! During the Year 2 art lesson, Mrs Konyu took the children to the exhibition to look at all the art work. They reviewed all the work on display and talked about their own work too. Thank you to Mrs Konyu for organising this; the children loved being part of it.

Year 3 - Perpendicular and Parallel

Carina Everist - Year 3 Teacher & Religious Studies Teacher Years 3-6

This week Year 3 practised making parallel and perpendicular lines with anything straight!

Year 5 - And breathe...

Carina Everist - Year 3 Teacher & Religious Studies Teacher Years 3-6

As part of their RS studies, Year 5 have been exploring Buddhism and the benefit of trying to be 'in the present'. They did their best to play the Himalayan singing bowls this week.

Fun in the Sun!

Carina Everist - Year 3 Teacher & Religious Studies Teacher Years 3-6

The junior girls were keen to practise some of their gym moves last night, in Junior Activities!

Year 6 – Forest School

Acorn Clayton - Head of Modern Languages

6PW enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon at Forest School on Thursday.

This was our best Forest School session so far and the leaders praised the children's excellent progress over the year. Year 6 have been developing creativity, co-operation, teamwork and resilience through outdoor activities.

There were many different activities to enjoy: crafting with wool and pipe cleaners; balancing on the slack line; using woodwork tools; den-building; play 'cooking' in the mud kitchen and real cooking around the fire.

Harry M, Betsy and Sam built a luxury den in which to relax. Alice and Manuela cooked up some surprises. Noah, Kelly, Ivy and Mahaut loved creating beautiful bouquets of woolly dandelions, thistles and cornflowers. A group of friends created mini wooden bats, balls and stumps, then cleared a wicket and challenged pairs to play their version of forest cricket; Arthur kept score. The winning pair were Lucas and Rex.

Arthur and Harry D learned to identify edible ground ivy then Alexandra helped Harry D to prepare a delicious black olive and ground ivy tapenade which we sampled on crackers. This was followed by the ever-popular S'mores - toasted marshmallows served between chocolate biscuits, a two-course Forest School treat!

Year 8 celebration

Annabel Newcomb - EAL Teacher/ Year 7 and 8 EAL Mentor

To celebrate the end of the Common Entrance exams Yehor A and his host family entertained the whole of Year 8 by giving them a truly delicious tea in their forest. It was the start to making their end of Vinehall memories.

Year 8 had an unforgettable day on Tuesday climbing Snowdon in some cloudy conditions before perfect weather on the descent. The long hike was tough but rewarding, with stunning views all the way up. Everyone reached the summit, proud and tired, and enjoyed the incredible scenery and cafe/shop at the top. It was a great day of teamwork, fresh air, and adventure. Thank you to the 'Mountain Men' for leading Year 8 - brilliant instructors with lots of knowledge.

Slate Quarry Zip Line

Wednesday saw another amazing adventure at the slate quarry, where they braved a thrilling 650-metre zip line and an even faster one that had everyone buzzing with excitement. The group explored deep underground caverns, navigating ropes, steps, and zip lines through the vast mine tunnels. One of the highlights was the giant underground trampoline made of nets, complete with tunnels and slides — a truly unique and exhilarating experience for all!

Climbing and Abseiling at Lion Rock, Llanberis

On Thursday Year 8 tackled 12-metre climbs and abseils at Lion Rock near Llanberis, despite some rain throughout the day. Wet rock added an extra challenge, but the group showed great determination and teamwork. All pupils completed multiple climbs and abseils successfully, demonstrating growing confidence and resilience in tough conditions.

Music – Tea Time Concert

Sue Glossop - Director of Music

It is credit to our children that our tea time concerts are always oversubscribed and there is a waiting list for the next one already! We had 28 performances from children in Years 3 to 8, before Vivi L and Xavi O brought the concert to a wonderful finale with their performance of 'We Will Rock You!' None of this would have been possible without the help and support of Carina Everist and Dave Clarke and our wonderful team of Visiting Instrumental Teachers'. A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone.

Vinehall School Summer Art Exhibition

Tracey Konyu - Head of Art

After months of planning, the Vinehall School Summer Art Exhibition 2025 opened on Monday 9th June for the private view. It was good to see so many people there and to witness the pupils' reaction when they saw their work displayed at the Ryan Mitchell Pavilion.

The pavilion proved to be a fitting venue for the beautiful work on display from Vinehall and Salehurst CE Primary School.

Next, they fed the guinea pigs with dandelion leaves, which are used for therapy for the families that spend time there.

Finally, we had a relaxing time making friendship bracelets by Viking knitting before heading back to school.

What an amazing charity.

Congratulations!

Huge congratulations to Bridget who this week celebrated 25 years at Vinehall!

Judo Club

The children who attend Judo Club were very lucky and honoured to meet the wonderful Isabelle Everest, the 18 year old daughter of Paul Everest, Vinehall’s Judo teacher.

Isabelle came in to meet the children to share her stories and to show them her GOLD MEDAL won at the European Judo Championships Kata Riga last month.