Ripon Cathedral School Update

We are always delighted to be able to offer so many educational visits to enrich children's learning. We would like to thank all parents who make the contributions, as it really would be impossible to offer such a variety of trips without your continual support.

Last Thursday, it was brilliant that even our youngest children could enjoy a bus journey and an amazing learning experience at Bland Close Farm. All of the children were very well behaved and asked some really good questions. A great day was had by all and we had some very sleepy children on the bus home!

Last Wednesday all classes were involved in our RE Journey Day exploring the world faiths. We have selected three classes to share their learning.

Year 2 had a fantastic time today during our RE Journey Day, where they explored the world faith of Hinduism. Throughout the day, they learnt lots of interesting facts about Hinduism, including who Hindus worship, where they worship, the different parts of a mandir, and some of the key objects used during worship. They also listened to the story of Rama and Sita to help us understand the significance of Diwali, the Festival of Light. Working in groups, the children acted out the story to become more familiar with the events and then created their own story maps to retell it. In the afternoon, they explored a variety of beautiful mandalas, discussing the shapes, patterns, and symmetry used in the artwork. The children then had the opportunity to design and draw their own mandalas.

Year 4 explored Judaism on RE Journey Day as this is the world religion they will look at in more detail next year. The children had a fun packed day. It started with a timed knowledge run where each team had to find some information around the classroom, remember it and share it with the group within 20 second slots! The children then shared the information about Jewish beliefs, places of worship, festivals and much more. The children created excellent fact files about the religion. Next we watched and read the story of Hanukkah. Following this, we went out to the peace garden (lovely and shaded) and created small drama pieces to tell the story of Hanukkah. They were great fun to watch. Finally, the children spent the afternoon creating artwork around the Star of David symbol. They created a giant star out of wood and carefully wrapped material to make it look beautiful. They also created individual watercolour pieces. What a busy (and hot!) day we had!

As part of our RE Journey Day, Year 6 spent time learning about Buddhism. They explored the key beliefs and teachings of the religion and discovered how Buddhists live out their faith. The children designed and coloured their own beautiful mandalas, learning about their importance as symbols of balance, focus and mindfulness. They also discussed the Buddhist story of the Hungry Tigress, exploring the theme of sacrifice and what it teaches about compassion and selflessness, before asking and answering questions in a hot-seating activity. They then worked their way around a range of learning stations to create a mini book all about Buddhism. Each station focused on a different aspect of the religion, including beliefs, symbols, clothing, festivals and sacred scriptures. The class showed great curiosity and respect as they explored a religion that was new to many of them. Well done, Year 6!

Year 6 have been learning about the circulatory system. They have explored what blood is made of and acted out the journey of blood flowing around the body, collecting oxygen from the lungs and carrying it to the rest of the body through the arteries and veins. This week, they finished the week by examining and labelling a real pig's heart. They began by identifying the left and right sides of the heart and discussing what they could see and feel. They then had the opportunity to cut open the heart to identify each atrium and ventricle, as well as locate the aorta and the vena cava. The children were surprised by how small some parts of the heart were, how tough some of the blood vessels felt and how much clotted blood remained inside. Fortunately, the smell didn't put too many of them off! They worked responsibly and safely throughout the activity and thoroughly enjoyed putting their learning into a real-life context. Well done, Year 6!

A big thank you to our brass teacher, Mark, for visiting the school on Friday to talk to the children about brass instruments and the opportunities to learn them. We enjoyed some fantastic performances, including a solo, a duet by two of our pupils, and a wonderful performance from our school brass group. It was a brilliant opportunity for everyone to hear the instruments in action and be inspired. If your child is interested in learning a brass instrument, please see the poster below for more information about lessons.

Well done to last week's stars who were announced in worship this morning.

Nursery – All the Nursery children for being so polite and respectful on the farm trip.

Reception – Isaac W for demonstrating excellent enthusiasm and engagement during our RE Journey Day. He was able to confidently recall a wide range of information and contributed thoughtfully to discussions. He should be very proud of the effort and knowledge he displayed.

Year 1 – Jensen, for showing fantastic resilience and determination whilst experimenting with different ways to build a strong base for his animal enclosure. He worked carefully and took thoughtful risks!

Year 2 – Stella, for showing fantastic resilience and determination in all that she does. Stella approaches challenges with a smile and a 'can do' attitude.

Year 3 – Amelia, for her enthusiasm for reading. She has made such impressive progress and we are so proud of her.

Year 4 – Evelyn, for her excellent resilience when designing her Star of David water colour piece during Judaism Journey Day. It was beautiful.

Year 5 – Kacper, for trying so hard this week in assessments, being on task and for always being inquisitive in his learning.

Year 6 - Vinnie, for his enthusiasm in production practice and for ensuring he knows all his lines.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported the summer fair on Friday afternoon. We were really pleased with how well it went. Takings were over £950, which is amazing for a couple of hours. There are expenses to take out, but this is a great total. Huge thanks for all the donations and for coming along if you could. It's also not all about the money; we loved seeing the older children enjoying helping and the school community getting together. Year 6 had the chance to give a 'sneak peak' of the summer production, performing one of the songs from 'I'm an 11 year old, get me out of here!' and the brass ensemble had their second performance of the day. They all did so well!

Thank you to everyone who helped on the day. If we try to pick out and name the main organisers, someone may be missed out, but we all know how hard the core group worked to make this event a success. They went above and beyond and we are really thankful.

We would like everyone to have the opportunity to buy a raffle ticket so that was not drawn on Friday. We will probably open up a ParentPay item and maybe sell tickets at next week's shows too. Keep your eye on ClassDojo for details! The huge cuddly dog's name is 'Cupcake'. If one of the parents of the winning child would like to collect her from the office please, although Mrs Rich might miss her new colleague!

Please can KS2 parents make sure they have purchased their first set of tickets by the end of today (Monday 29th June) following the instructions emailed home for total tickets per show/family allowed in the first instance. We expect there to be availability for further purchases and these will be opened up on Tuesday. Tickets will be issued on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd July.

Currently tickets are only on sale to parents of KS2 children as the younger children do not feature in the show. If spaces remain when we issue the KS2 tickets, and EYFS/KS1 parents are interested in attending, we will sell extra tickets from Thursday 2nd July to all.

Thank you to everyone who bought white t-shirts and sunglasses on ParentPay. These have now arrived. We will give them to children on the day unless you notify us otherwise. As we bought in packs of 10 to reduce costs, there are a few spares which you can purchase on ParentPay if you wish.

We are fundraising for our new school library, so all sponsorship is greatly appreciated. As it is difficult for us to have large amounts of cash in school, we are asking parents to collect the sponsorship money, then when you are ready, to pay in the money online using ParentPay. The payment item for contributing sponsorship money has also been assigned, but of course we don't expect you to use it until you have had a chance to collect from your child's sponsors, thank you. Thank you for your support for this exciting project.

Sorry that parents will not be able to attend the event (pick up at normal time). This is for safeguarding reasons to ensure there is sufficient and safe space for the children to participate. There's no doubt you will be able to see that the children have had fun participating in a colour run when you pick them up from school!

Thursday 2nd July - St Peter’s School visiting Year 5 pen pals

Friday 3rd July - Colour Run 2.30pm (children only)

Tuesday 7th July - Transition Day

Wednesday 8th July - KS2 Production – afternoon and evening performances

Thursday 9th July - Year 2 trip to Whitby

Thursday 9th July - KS2 Production – afternoon and evening performances

Friday 10th July - 10am Year 6 Leavers’ Service at the Cathedral

Friday 10th July - Year 1 trip to see the Magic Flute at Ripon Theatre Festival

Monday 13th July - Year 6 trip to Flamingoland

Thursday 16th July - 9am Year 6 Leavers Assembly in school

Friday 17th July - Year 6 Fun Day and last day of term

FEAST is back this summer, offering holiday activities with a healthy meal for young people aged 16 and under across North Yorkshire. Better yet, if you are eligible for benefits-related free school meals then your place is fully-funded.

Funded places are available for children who receive benefits-related Free School Meals (or who are eligible by exception – see the FEAST FAQs for details). Each activity you book includes a free healthy meal for your child.

Families who are not eligible for funded places may be able to book paid places directly with providers. Visit the FEAST website to explore what’s on this summer.

Email: admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk
Website: www.riponcathedralschool.org.uk
Location: HG41LT, United Kingdom
Phone: 01765 602355
Facebook: facebook.com/riponcathschool