Author visit - Vashti Hardy

Today, we were very excited to have the author Vashti Hardy come to our school. All children, from Year 1-6, attended her author talk, where she told us what had inspired her to write, introduced us to facts about some real life explorers and showed us a video clip of  Bear Grylls escaping from quicksand.

In her book "Brightstorm", two of the main characters are twins. You can see them in the corner of the front cover. Murphy class and Vashti, thought our twins looked very similar to her characters.

Throughout the rest of the day, the children in Years 5 and 6, undertook workshops, made their own maps to inspire their writing and even got to dress up.

It was a great day and we ended it with many children coming into the library to get their copies of the books signed and meet Vashti in person. She welcomed then to the crew and encouraged them to seek out adventure through reading.

She has a new book coming out later this year and Brightstorm is in our school library.

Year 1 reading challenge

Well done, to those of you who have already started your reading challenge and many thanks for organising a book swap. What a wonderful idea!

Don’t forget, some of the books are available in our own school library and you can reserve books from Ware public library. This can be done online if you can not make it in person, but you will need to go and collect the book.

Don't forget to return your sheet each time you have read 10 books!

Book Club - The Explorer

Katherine Rundell, an exciting new author whose name will replace the current Horowitz class, has given us another great read - ‘The Explorer’. Four children find themselves plunged into the Amazon Rainforest after their plane crashes. As the only survivors, only courage and determination will ensure their survival…

The Book Club members enjoyed listening to the first chapter, which hooks the reader in immediately with the crash. The children imagined themselves in the airplane before and after the engine cut out; it was interesting to hear the different thoughts going through their minds.

The group then carried out an extensive role play, in which they had to decide where to make a camp after the crash.  We then read an extract which highlighted some of the dangers faced by the book’s characters, and the children imaginatively role-played scenes of themselves in the jungle with various threats and dangers appearing. It was all very dramatic!

We finished off the session by reading an extract in which the characters eat some disgusting and dangerous foods, and mimed eating food that we might find in the jungle. This led to a lot of dying!! A really exciting Book Club today which had everyone’s imagination fired.

Mrs Barlow 

BOOK CLUB Using drama to explore books

Tuesday 8th May at 12.30pm

Budi wants to play for Real Madrid. Football is his passion and a great escape from the reality of his harsh life, working long hours in an Indonesian sweat shop, sewing football boots together.

Members of the Book Club were moved and shocked by extracts from this bittersweet novel, which will have you rooting for Budi as he tries to make his way in life. The group came up with situations in which people might have to work against their will, and then thought about what they would dream about in order to get through the day. This culminated in a piece of drama in which reality merged into fantasy. We saw a group of farm labourers digging manure and then being transported into another, less smelly, world!

We then went on to recreate a scene in the factory sweatshop where Budi worked, layering movement, sound, facial expressions and words to create a repetitive and moving montage. The group then imagined that there was an ever-growing earth tremor whilst they had to continue with their labours. It was a moving piece to participate in and watch, which helped us to imagine how it may have felt to have been in Budi’s shoes.

Mrs Barlow


Book Club uses drama techniques to introduce children to a range of books and takes place once every half-term (Tuesdays at 12.30pm). It is not expected that the group members have read the book in advance, though it is hoped that some will be inspired to go away and read it!

If KS2 pupils would like to attend, please see Reception.

BOOK CLUB Using drama to explore books

Book Club: Tuesday 13th March at 12.30pm

‘Black Beauty’ was first published in 1877 and was originally written as a way of highlighting the mistreatment of working horses in Victorian England.

The Book Club members were introduced to the idea that novels can be written with the intention of making a positive change in society, and heard extracts from ‘Black Beauty’ about the cruel bearing reign that was used at the time.

The group went on to create their own story which would make a positive change in today’s society – they decided to explore the issue of littering. They put a beginning, middle and end into still images, and then devised and acted out one of those scenes. We talked about the power of books to change things,
just as Anna Sewell’s book helped to bring about the abolition of the bearing reign. An empowering session!

Mrs Barlow

Book Club uses drama techniques to introduce children to a range of books and takes place once every half-term (Tuesdays at 12.30pm). It is not expected that the group members have read the book in advance, though it is hoped that some will be inspired to go away and read it!

If KS2 pupils would like to attend, please see Reception.

Reading is child’s play thanks to new £10,000 school library

 On Monday , Christ Church School celebrated the official opening of its newly refurbished library.  

 

The Mayor of Ware, local c hildren’s author Alice Hemming, pupils, staff, the School PSA,  School Governors and  the Vicar of Christ Church  were  all there for the official opening.

 

During the ceremony, the pupils gathered together for a whole school assembly, led by author Alice Hemming.  Alice spoke to the children about her love of reading and writing  stories and shared her own book,  Bibble and the Bubbles. 

 

Alice Hemming donated a collection of her books to the school.

Alice signed the books

The school PSA, supported by parents, raised thousands of pounds to refurbish the new library and members of the whole school community got st uck in themselves, painting, decorating and doing whatever was needed to finish the £10,000 project.

Part of the team that made this project possible.

 

Year 6 pupil Natasha   said: "It was so exciting to see the library opening; everyone was clapping when the m ayor cut the ribbon. We can’t wait to start enjoying all the  new  books."

 

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Alice Hemming with the plaque which thanks the PSA and the whole Christ Church community for all of their hard work.