FMfm's blog

On Wednesday 24th February, we had a special visitor in school. Mike Dewer from Greater Manchester Fire Service came to school with two of his rescue dogs. He came to talk to us about how the dogs were used to help rescue people. The dogs were all Labradors. The two dogs he brought to school were called Lucy and Anna. Lucy was yellow and Anna was black. Mike told us he also had another dog called Echo. Unfortunately, Echo was in quarantine for 6months as he had been working in Haiti to help find people who were trapped following the earthquake. Quarantine is a place where animals go when they have been out of the country. This is to check they haven’t brought any diseases back with them.

Firstly, Mike talked to us about the different jobs the dogs did. Lucy was used to sniff out the cause of fires. If a fire has been started deliberately, Lucy can smell what was used to start the fire. When a fire is started deliberately it is called arson and is against the law. Anna was still in training as she was only 2 years old. She was being trained to find people who were trapped in a fire or building. When she found a person she would bark loudly. This would tell the rescuers where the person was. She still had 3 weeks left of her training.

Mike showed us the harness the dog had to wear. This told the dog that it was work time and not play time. He also showed us the little boots that the dogs wore when they went into a building. These would protect the dogs’ paws from being cut on glass or metal.

Later on, we went into the playground to meet the dogs. They were very excited but soon did as they were told. First, we met Anna who was very cute. Mike showed us how she would bark in response to finding a person. He used a toy to make her bark. He said it was very important to reward and praise the dog when it did as it was asked. It takes two years to train a dog to do this.

Next, we met Lucy. Before she had come out of the van, Mike put a drop of White Spirit on the playground to see if Lucy could find it. She was fantastic and it only took her 20 seconds to find the smell. Lucy had a short tail as it had been caught in a building and had been cut off.

We really loved meeting the dogs and were very impressed with what they could do.

By Mrs Batters' Literacy group.

On Thursday 11th January the Year 2 and 3 children had a very important visitor in their classroom. A local historian called Freda Millet came to speak to the children about life in the cotton mills in Oldham. She is a very important lady and has written lots of books about Oldham. We were very excited, and were looking forward to hearing the stories she had to tell.

She told us lots of stories about children who worked in the mills in Chadderton including one about a very young girl who lived in Waterhead. This young girl worked part time at a mill in Chadderton and had to walk from Waterhead to Chadderton every morning. She had to be in the mill ready to work at 5.50am every morning as the machines started at 6.00am. We couldn’t believe how far she walked in the morning to get to work. Freda told us that you had to be 11 or 12 years old to work in the mill but lots of children worked when they were only 9. She said that they used to use the back door of the mill so the Bobby (policeman) wouldn’t catch them. Nobody in the mill ever asked how old the children were.

It was very dangerous for children working in the mills and there were lots of accidents. Freda told us about one young girl who lost two fingers in the machine. She had to go to hospital and then went straight back to work. The owner of the mill felt sorry for her and let her sit on the skip until the end of the day and then he took her home to tell her home to tell her mum what had happened. Another man lost four fingers on one hand when they became trapped in the machines. He was given £30.00 compensation for his injury, which was a lot of money at that time.

The mills were very noisy places to work and the children had to learn to lip read, as they couldn’t hear what anyone said. Freda said that children were so good at lip reading that they were always late going to sleep at night as they could communicate with their brothers and sisters without their parents hearing.

We all thought we were very lucky that we don’t have to work in the mills like those children did. We had a lovely morning talking to Freda and thank her very much for giving up her time to visit us. We would also like to thank BH’s mum and grandma for putting us in touch with Freda Millet.

By Year 2 & 3

On Wednesday 2nd December the children and staff from the Development Stage went to the Bolton Octagon to watch Oliver Twist. The children were very excited as many of them had seen the film or had read the story before.

During the journey to the theatre we had a practise of the songs for the Christmas performance. The coach driver was very impressed with our singing and clearly couldn’t wait for the journey home.

When we arrived at the theatre we were a little early for the performance so we waited in the bar area upstairs and watched all the other coaches arrive dropping off children from other schools who were coming to watch the play. In the auditorium we sat excitedly in our seats and waited for the performance to begin. Suddenly, smoke began to fill the stage and all the lights went out which made some of us jump. Thankfully the music began and the lights came on the stage where we were taken back to London in the Victorian times. There were lots of children singing and dancing Christmas songs which definitely put us in the Christmas spirit. We were soon introduced to some of the main characters including Oliver. He had a dirty face and torn clothes. It wasn’t long before he came out with the famous line, “Please Sir, I want some more!” Some of us thought Mr. Bumble looked funny running around trying to catch him. However, we felt very sorry for him when he had no choice but to run away.

The next character we were introduced to was Dodger, he was played by a tall boy with a long coat. We also met Fagin who did a silly dance whilst the other children showed Oliver how to steal handkerchiefs from his pocket. At this point in the show we met Nancy who we really liked as she was so kind and caring towards the children.

We were a little disappointed when the interval arrived as some of us thought the show was over. At this point we all ate our tuck and had a drink.

The second part of the show was just as exciting as the first and some of us were a little afraid when Bill Sykes came on the stage. He looked very scary and shouted at Nancy and the boys. We were very glad when Oliver went to live with Mr. Brownlow, as we knew he would be taken care of. Mr. Grimlock was Mr. Brownlow’s friend and he made us laugh by saying he would eat his head if Oliver returned from the bookshop without stealing the money.

In the last part of the play we were very sad when Nancy died and think that Bill Sykes was very cruel and unkind. However, the story ended on a happy note when Oliver found his family and was well cared for.

Oliver Twist was a fantastic play that we all enjoyed very much. It was incredible how such a small cast managed to play so many different roles. We also thought about making sure our Christmas performance was just as good as the one we watched.

Years 1, 2 & 3

What an action packed day we had at the farm this week! Although the weather was a little chilly the children had a great day.

As we arrived we were met by one of Santa’s helpers who took us to meet the horses. It was then onto the tractor for a festive ride around the farm. The children and staff kept warm by singing a range of Christmas songs, although Mrs Patterson would insist on adding in new words to confuse me. (It doesn’t take much!!!).

It was then off to feed the goats, all the children loved this and we got some lovely pictures. The children then got a chance to see the man himself, Father Christmas!!
I am amazed at the length of some of the children’s lists, including Holly’s!!

Once we had looked at some newborn animals, it was time for a sit down, a warm and a well-deserved lunch.

In the afternoon the children had a chance to play in the soft play area, which they all enjoyed. Some even came out looking like scarecrows after playing in the hay!

Our final activity was to watch a nativity, which some of the children joined in. This was lovely and the staff all had a tear in their eyes!

View Photographs

On Wednesday Dr D came to school to talk to us about medicines and who should take them. The first thing we saw was a big brown bag it looked like it carried a lot of medicines which he used at the doctors. He started to get out a lot of interesting medicines and a lot of sharp and pointy needles. When he had finished getting every thing out he showed us a stethoscope, which he uses when he needs to check a patients heart. Then he showed us a thermometer, which Dr D uses for checking your temperature. He also had some thing which measures your blood pressure. He used this monitor to test Miss Monaghan’s blood pressure and said it was fine. He showed us how medicines can be taken and how we should be safe when using them.

By two Year 3 pupils

On Tuesday the 10th of November the pupils from years 4 and 5 travelled by coach to Beamish Live Museum. It took a long time, but we were allowed to take our electronic games and this helped pass the time. When we arrived there was a rainbow in the sky, we ate our tuck and then walked through the Museum until we reached the Victorian School.

We had to line up girls on one side and boys on the other side, a teacher dressed in Victorian clothes introduced herself as Miss Wright (what a coincidence) and then we were allowed to sit on the benches. Miss Wright gave us a book and showed us how to use the old-fashioned ink pen to write our names and the date, but we had to change the year to 1875. We then did some arithmetic (numeracy) chanted our nine times tables which she had written on the blackboard, and we learned about old money e.g. 9d was nine pennies, 12d was the same as a shilling, we then did some sums using money. Handwriting was next and we wrote “Manners Maketh Man” in our books. On the back of the book there was a poem called “Little Drops of Water”, we had to read it out aloud as a class THREE TIMES.

Miss Wright gave each of us an old penny and we were asked to draw one of the sides of the coin, either Britannia or Queen Victoria. At the end of the lesson Miss Wright passed all our books to Miss Byram and thanked us all for visiting. We left the classroom only to see that our tram was leaving, we all ran as quickly as possible but we missed it! Fortunately, a very old car came along the tram tracks and offered to take us into town. My Mum was horrified when she heard this and I had to explain that he was part of the museum!

Our next stop was the Victorian Tea Rooms, which had a very big Moose Head on the wall. It was quite scary! After we had eaten lunch we bumped into a lady who told us there had been a murder in Beamish Town. She explained what she had seen and we had to become detectives and work out what had happened. She showed us into the Ladies Room at the station and there was a dead man (a pretend one) lying on the floor! There were clues scattered around the dead mans body and we were all split into smaller groups to try to work out where he had been and who had murdered him. The dead man turned out to be Charles Bullturn, and the murderer was called John Smith.

After we had solved the murder we were allowed to walk around the Town and look in all the shops. We visited the Dentist and the man in there talked to us about teeth and how he treated people in the Victorian times. We then went to the Sweet Shop and spent some of our money (yum yum). Time was running out so we were not able to buy anything else. We caught the tram and travelled back to the Main Building.

There was a shop in the Main Building that sold souvenirs. When we had finished in there our visit to Beamish Museum had come to an end and we boarded the coach for our very long journey home. When we arrived back at school Mums and Dads were waiting for us, because we were a bit later than planned. We had a great day at Beamish and can’t wait to go again!!

by a Year 5 pupil

We were all ecstatic about going to The Opera House to see Horrible Histories. Norman drove us down on Wednesday 4th November to see a show all about The Great War, which is what we’ve been studying during our History lessons for ‘Our World.’ When we arrived we were given 3D glasses, which got us even more excited, as we knew there were going to be some special effects!

The main character in the show was called Anjelica. She was researching things on her laptop about The First World War, when she was suddenly zapped into it!
She met a German and an English man who argued about who was right and wrong. They sounded ridiculous.

She also met a boy who fought in the war who was only 16, but he lied about his age, as many boys did.

After the break it was all in 3D and we learnt how the soldiers could get rid of the rats:
· Splat it with a trench spade
· Shoot it with your rifle

The next set of tips were how to kill the lice on your body and uniform:
· Burn them with a lighter
· Pop them in your fingers
· Have a bath every 2 weeks!

Every time they were destroyed they came out of the screen at us, making us all scream, (including the boys)!

The show ended with poppies falling from the roof, which looked beautiful but made us all feel quite sad. It was a fantastic show. Thanks to Mr. Lengden for organising a great trip.

By two Year 6 pupils

On Monday 19th October, Year 4 and 5 went to visit the Liverpool Maritime Museum. We set off at about 9.15am, after pairing with a Year 4. I was with George. While on the motorway we played noughts and crosses. Half way through the journey we hit traffic on the M62. It took about one and a half hours to get there.

When we arrived in Liverpool it was a grey, dull day. When we got in the museum we went to the WC.

After we had been to the WC we went into the National Slavery Museum. We first saw a statue, which had been made by a famous black person. We all wrote a quote from the freedom wall. I chose, “The secret of freedom is courage” by Thueydide, 4th Century BC. We went into a room, which showed us how Africans lived before slavery. Then there was a short film about how slaves were treated on the ships and how they were put at the bottom of the ship. It showed a man being sick. It was horrible and gruesome. It also showed how the slaves would be forced to change their diets, name and put a muzzle on. It showed tight pack, which is when slaves have to lie on the boat on their sides and loose pack when they lay on their backs. Through the door there was a Civil Rights exhibition.

On the Civil Rights wall, it had about America in the 1960s. It showed the Ku Klux Klan and how they would burn black people alive. It really shocked me that people would do that. It had Malcolm X and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. It showed the National Front and the British National Party (BNP) I felt really scared. It also showed the Black Panther Movement.

After lunch we saw famous black people like Martin Luther King, Pele, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Whitney Houston and Barack Obama.

Later we went into the maritime section of the museum. It had a model of the Titanic and another ship called the Lusitania. In the museum it had where different foods came from. It had about World War Two and the Battle of the Atlantic.

I would like to thank Mrs Bennett, Miss Byram and Mrs Berry for the trip and a brilliant day.

by a Year 5 pupil

On Wednesday 14th October Year 2 went to Morrisons. We got to see all the different areas of the supermarket that you would normally see and lots of the areas you wouldn’t normally see. In the bakery we learned how the bread was made in giant ovens and we were amazed how quickly the lady made a strawberry gateau. At the deli counter we got to taste lots of different cheese and the lady told us lots of interesting facts about the cheese and where it was made. We shivered our way through the freezers and got to hold all different types of fish including Salmon.

One of the most popular things we did was play on the tills which was very exciting.

We designed our own pizzas we will be passing over to Mr B and eagerly awaiting the results to see who has won.

We would like to thank Mr B and all his staff for showing us all these wonderful things, we had a fantastic time!

by two Year 2 pupils

The children recently had a day in school dedicated to different European countries and their cultures. It started with a continental breakfast and finished with an assembly presentation about everything the children had learned throughout the day. They completed lots of different activities. Here are some of the comments from the children about their experiences.

Boules
I loved the boules because I was on the winning team, Switzerland. It was a new experience and took a lot of skill and made the adrenalin pump!

Eiffel Tower building
I really enjoyed making the towers although I ran out of straws. It was a challenge trying to get the structure right.

Researching on the Internet
It was good searching for different greetings and I found out lots of new words in different languages.

German Taster Session
I thought it was going to be all about food! It was good getting to know German numbers and the game of bingo let us practise our new skills.

Games and Puzzles
This was great fun! It allowed us to learn a lot about different languages whilst working in teams.

Singing in French
Mr. Woodward said we were experts by the end. I liked singing the songs as a larger group. It sounded wonderful.

On Wednesday 30th September all of Year 3 went to Morrisons. Below is a copy of a thank you letter to all the Morrisons staff.

Dear Morrisons,

Thank you for taking us to Morrisons on Wednesday the 30th of September 2009. It was a fabulous trip.

When we went to our first activity, the fish department, I did not like the look of the slimy, cold octopus. I really liked the tiny ones. We then went onto the bakery. The man showed us how to make bread. First of all we saw what went into the bread. It smelt horrible. Then he made the bread properly and showed us where to put the bread to make it warm. Then we moved on to the cake department and they showed us how to make a cake. First of all the lady put a layer of sponge down and then put squirty cream on top with another layer of sponge finished with a piece of marzipan. The last thing we went on was the checkout till. We also got a receipt which said on it all the things that a Year 3 pupil had bought and thank you for shopping at Morrisons. Finally we watched a video about washing hands in a cafe, had a quiz, tasted things and then went home on the coach.

by a Year 3 pupil

On Monday 14th September all of the emergent stage went to see Macbeth.

Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare who wrote many other great plays. Out of all the plays I have seen I would say Macbeth is the best. Macbeth is the tale of a warrior called Macbeth. He has his fortune told by three weird sisters. The prediction comes ture and Macbeth gets closer to the throne. Macbeth gets power quickly and then kills Duncan the King of Scotland. The King's sons flee Scotland! Macbeth the becomes King, he holds a party to celebrate but is haunted by what he has done. Then finally Lady Macbeth takes her own life and Macbeth gets killed.

I really enjoyed the songs and the actions!

by a Year 6 pupil

We visited The Imperial War Museum North in November to support our learning on The First World War this term. We already knew lots about The Great War and we think we impressed the staff with our answers and explanations at the Timestack handling sessions. We looked at The Horrible Histories Exhibition, learning about the rats in the trenches, and splatting a few! The movies were very scary and serious. It made us see how terrible war can be.
We also watched a puppet show called, 'A November Day.' It was about two brothers who go to war together and how the eldest one copes with the death of his younger brother throughout his life. It was extremely sad but very enjoyable. The puppets were very life-like.

Finally we climbed the tower and we could see the whole of Manchester.

Thank you to Mr. Lengden for organising the trip. We'd love to go again!

Year 6 children

Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen and fellow pupils.

I came to Firwood Manor as a little boy and now I am leaving as a young gentleman. I would like to thank my Nan and Mum for being such fantastic role models to me along the way.

It has been a great privilege to be a pupil at Firwood Manor for the last six years. I have developed both educationally and socially. In my educational development I have been through difficult times but have come out on top.

I remember my first day here at Firwood when I was trying to find the toilet and got lost and Mr. Blackburne showed me the way. Most recently our trip to Spain was filled with much fun especially when we buried Tom from head to foot in sand. One thing which will stay with me is the amount of support which is given to one another.

I have had some fantastic teachers throughout my long but fast journey. I have made some great friends along the way and they will be dearly missed.

I feel very grateful to all the teachers who have helped me and modelled me into a young gentleman. I would like to make a special thank you to Mrs. Wild who is an amazing headteacher and feel very privileged to have been taught by her. Next I would like to say a big thank you to my class teacher Mr. Lengden for his untiring help and care all the time I have been in his class. It would not have been plain sailing through my years at the school without the help of the rest of the teaching staff and to all of them thank you so much for making your contributions one way or the other. Before I end this, I want to say thank you to the cooks for their fantastic meals and their patience during dinner times. I would like to make one last thank you to Mr. Blackburne and to the office staff, Mrs. Toms and Mr. Wild, for all their support.

After a very smooth journey by coach and plane, we arrived at the airport in Santander where we were met by our guide for the week, Pablo. A short coach ride took us to the hotel which was to be our home for the week in Santillana del Mar. We settled into our rooms and had a supper of very traditional Spanish paella followed by ice cream. We were all in bed very early and, despite our excitement, fell asleep very quickly.

We were awoken quite early on Tuesday in readiness to explore the city of Santander and then to enjoy time on the beach. We thoroughly enjoyed the town trail which took us through the central part of the city and ended at the cathedral. We then took a coach journey to el Sardinero, a beautiful beach where, as you will see on our photographs, we had a jolly good time!! This was followed by an ice cream treat – must be one of the best ice creams in the world. In the evening we were able to explore the village of Santillana del Mar, which is like walking back in time through narrow cobbled streets edged by very old wooden houses all decorated with lovely window boxes.

Wednesday was another early start. We visited Cabarceno Wildlife Park where animals are kept in surroundings as close to their natural ones as possible. We thoroughly enjoyed a spectacular display by birds of prey which flew so close to our heads that we could feel our hair stand on end. We oohed and aahed our way to the souvenir shop, had a picnic lunch and climbed aboard the coach which then took us to the Altamira Caves.

The caves house paintings completed 20,000 years ago. Unfortunately, the public are no longer able to go inside because it was found that people’s exhaled breath was damaging these precious works of art. So, a replica cave has been made. Despite the fact that we knew we were not looking at the real thing, the experience was very humbling. The children commented on how the paintings inspired one to want to draw. We were amazed at the high standard of the work and compared the tools and techniques at our disposal today with what was used all those years ago. We marvelled at the way the painters had to draw from memory. We felt it was such a privilege to be able to see the work and were grateful to those who had preserved the original caves. Despite the simplicity of the tools the stone age people had demonstrated tremendous creativity and we were impressed by the patience they must have had. It’s amazing to think that the original paintings are still there. We felt a little jealous that some people had been able to see the real paintings but felt that the right decision had been made to build a replica. We all kept saying “Amazing!” We had a drink and biscuit in the café to celebrate Ben’s birthday – what a way to spend your tenth birthday!

Before supper, inspired by the start of the European Championships, we had a game of football in the local park and later fell into bed dreaming of far away people and their cave dwellings.

Thursday was another cultural day. We visited Gaudi’s Capricho in Comillas. This “amazing” building is now an expensive Italian restaurant. It inspired us to discuss the meaning of capricious. The building certainly wowed us all. We were amazed and awed by its flowery theme. It had wavy and bendy lines and made us dizzy.

We left Comillas for Bilbao and the Gugenheim Museum. We had a fabulous time in this amazingly different building all listening to our own audio units. We saw the exhibition of Asian men standing in different poses but wearing the same clothes and the same smiling expression. None of them, however, had any feet. We were able to walk amongst the figures. We saw the huge puppy planted with many different flowers. A very tired group travelled back to Santander, not too tired, however, to admire the wonderful views of the sea, beaches and the mountains of Northern Spain.

On Friday, we had a much deserved lie in before visiting the local village to buy presents and souvenirs of our memorable holiday. Mrs. Wild was thrilled to meet a lady who had lived in Russia for a time and had called her dog Laika. We said “Goodbye” to our hotel and enjoyed a quick dip in the pool in Santander before leaving for the airport.

We had a great flight back to Stansted but it was a very tired group of children and staff who arrived back at school at 12.15 am on Saturday morning.

Mrs Wild, Mr. Lengden and Mr. Woodward were delighted to receive a card from one of the children which reads,

“XXXX has had a wonderful time in Spain. Thank you for taking the time away from your own lives to be with the children last week”

Do you know what? It was an absolute pleasure and a real privilege.

This week every child has created a piece of art work in preparation for our Art Exhibition on Tuesday, 24th June. Here's what they've been doing:

Year 6 created a piece of work based on the artist they have been studying for their art project.

Year 5 worked in detail looking at various landscapes with a focus on colour, we tested the oil pastels to blend new colours and create vibrant pictures.

Year 4 looked at Lowry's work and chose one to copy using charcoal.

Year 3 have created their pictures by using water colour/paint and silhouettes of Egypt as they have been studying Ancient Egypt.

Year 2 made pictures of Ancient Egyptian Gods, by colouring and shading with art pencils and making a mosaic background of golden shades.

Year 1 created a piece of work based on Monet's Water Lilies.

Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) created a piece of work based on Van Gogh's Field of Crows.

Our pictures have now been taken to be framed. We can't wait to see them in their final form - we feel like "real life" artists. Please come and visit our exhibition which is open to the public from 6pm.

On Saturday, 17th May, I took part in the Junior Greater Manchester Run held at the Manchester City Stadium.

When I arrived I walked around the stadium to get my bearings. I needed to find the start line, finish line and the meeting place for families.

Ten minutes before the race I joined 699 other boys in the pre-race warm up. Somehow I managed to find my friend amongst all those people.

At 12.00 precisely, the start gun sounded and we were off. It was a struggle to get into a rhythm at the beginning because we were all together in a pack.

We jogged along Joe Mercer Way towards the B of the Bang, then picked up speed round the athletics track, headed back towards the Manchester City superstore, then sprinted to the finish line, a total of 2.4 kilometres. Here everyone was given a “goody bag” which included a medal.

I was sponsored by family and friends, raising £42 for my chosen charity the “British Heart Foundation”. This charity helped my grandma a lot after she had a heart attack at the beginning of this year.

By A Year 5 pupil

Every Thursday evening after school, two of our Year 1 pupils attend Rainbows. Rainbows are aged between five and seven and are the youngest members in the Girl Guide movement.

The girls have lots of fun at Rainbows, making thing, learning new songs and playing games with the many friends they have made. They are both very excited about the first ever Rainbows’ Sleep Over next weekend.

On Wednesday, 7th May Rainbows celebrated their 21st birthday. To mark this special occasion, Rainbows across the country wore their uniforms to school. Our two girls wore their uniform at Firwood Manor for the day. They also went to a Princess Tea Party the following evening at the Church Hall where the Rainbows meet.

I am writing to tell you about some of the things we did last term.

We have had a Unicef Day for Change in which it was own clothes day. We abandoned normal lessons for the day and did lessons based on the work Unicef do. We learned about child solders and what horrible things they go through.

We had a discussion with Mrs Shaw who told us about Russia. She also showed us some pictures and some Russian items. They included some Russian Dolls that were passed round the class for us all to see. I think we all learnt a lot about Russia on that day.

Our Headteacher, Mrs Wild, brought her mum, to school to give us a talk about WW2 because she was an ARP Warden during the war. She also brought some items in to show us e.g.: medals and some photos showing people and their activities during the war. It was a very interesting afternoon and I really felt like I benefited from it.

In addition to all this there was a Mad Science Day. The day started with an assembly in the school hall on molecules and vortexes, we also learnt some rules from Generator John. Then we had fun making some slime with different chemicals like sodium borate. Afterwards, we set off a rocket in the school playground. Everybody learnt a lot about science. It was really mad.

At Firwood Manor we really care a about Fairtrade, helping third world countries to get better deals for their products. So the decision to join in on the Fairtrade Fortnight was taken by the School Council. Parents and children joined in making the fortnight something to remember. A Fairtrade stall was set up in the school hall by children bringing Fairtrade items to sell. We sold a wide range of Fairtrade stuff. In addition, we had a Fairtrade breakfast morning where we had Fairtrade hot chocolate and toast. We have also started a Fairtrade tuck day. Every Tuesday we are allowed to bring in an item of Fairtrade tuck.

We joined World Book Day, where we had to dress up as someone from one of Michael Morpugo’s books. It was harder this year to design our costumes; it was fun and interesting to see what costumes people came in. Making a Michael Morpurgo crossword or word search was great fun.

We looked at the brain in our Brain Awareness Week (BAW) and how clever it is. It has three different parts: the Reptilian brain, Limbic system and Neo cortex. We also learned how many brain cells we’re born with. Can you guess? One hundred billion brain cells and they are very eager to learn. At first it was more of a revisit of what we did last year but we learnt new things further on.

Chairperson of the School Council

Today is Tuesday and it is one of our busiest days of the week. Mr. Wild opens the door at 8.30 to let us come in. We go to our classroom upstairs and unpack our bags. We put our coats on the back of our chairs because we go swimming. Mrs. Batters takes the register to check who is here and we line up ready for the baths. With a partner, we walk downstairs and get on the coach at the front of school. Our swimming teacher is called Mrs. Sharratt. She is very kind. Swimming is really good fun but the water is sometimes cold. When we have finished our lesson we eat our tuck – Tuesday is Fairtrade Tuck Day – and go back on the coach to go back to school. When we arrive back at school we have our milk and order a sandwich if we want one.

Our next lesson is Art or Design Technology, which we have in the Art Room. We are making packages for a new Fair Trade product at the moment. After Art we go back to our classroom ready for Numeracy. Some children go to Mr. Woodward for Numeracy and some stay with Mrs. Batters. We always start our Numeracy lesson with a number game or activity like Bingo. We work in our books or do a practical activity like weighing or sorting shapes and numbers.

After all this hard work, we are all ready for our lunch. We line up and walk downstairs to wash our hands which is very important. We have our lunch in the hall and sit at tables with other children from Year 1 and 2. The Year 3 children are monitors and clear the plates and cups for the younger children. Each week, Mrs. Batters chooses a table of the week. The children on this table get their lunch first and have a Fairtrade cookie in assembly. Our lunches are cooked by Mrs. Wroe and Mrs. Harris who work very hard. We always try to have a clean plate so we can have a lunchtime merit. When we have finished our lunch we play outside or go back to the classroom to read with Mrs. Batters. There is always a lot of equipment outside for us to play with. Miss Wright, Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Hughes look after us at lunch.

At 1.25 we come back inside for our exercises with Mrs. Batters and Mrs. Greenwood. We use the mats in the hall to do our exercises. Some of our exercises are tricky but we always have a go. They are called parachute, sea anemone, the fish and the octopus. When we have finished we line up to go upstairs for registration.

Our next lesson is literacy. We usually start on the carpet where we read a story or look at some information. All our written work goes in our yellow books, except our special writing which is called Exceptional Writing and goes in a special blue folder. Every few weeks Mrs. Batters chooses someone’s exceptional writing to go on display in the entrance hall. Our next lesson is called “Our World” which includes History, Geography and Religious Education. This lesson is always very interesting and we have learnt about Greece, ancient and modern, animals in danger and Fairtrade tea and coffee. We have been learning how to carry out our own research and have pretended to be Spartan soldiers.

At 3.10 we go into our house groups for activities. Our school houses are Elk, Fox and Raven. Our activities this half term are cross-stitch, book club and choir. We have been reading James and the Giant peach in book club and Mrs. Berry always puts on funny voices for characters.

Finally after such a busy day we go back to our classroom when there is just enough time to count our merits for the day and share a story. At 4.00 we go downstairs ready to go home or into Stay and Play with Mrs. Cluskey, Miss Wright and Mr. Lawton. After a quick snack, the younger children stay downstairs and play and the older children go upstairs into the Discovery Room for Homework Club.

By Mrs. Batters’s Class

Our Value after the holiday is "Cooperation", our Habit of Mind is "Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision" and thinking skills will focus on "Dialogue".

My body is round,

I can be every colour.

I am cold as snow because I am bald.

I am armless but not harmless -

I will smash your windows!

I am legless but can fly like the wind.

Humans hate me -

They boot me down the street;

Like a fish, they seize me in a net.

If a man does a trick with his hat

While a crowd watches,

He writes famous names on my skin:

Don't pressure me too much!

What am I?

By two Year 4 Pupils

Welcome to FMfm, the Firwood Manor Pupils' Blog and Podcast. This blog is created and maintained by Firwood Manor pupils. If you want to contribute, please contact the editor at:

FMfm@firwoodmanor.org.uk

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