Ripon Cathedral School Update

Year 4 had a fabulous trip to Bradford on Wednesday. The day started at the Gurdwara Singh Sahba, where the children looked around the gurdwara and see where the Guru Granth Sahib sleeps each night. They also inspected and asked questions about some Sikh artefacts including the 5 Ks, which each Sikh receives during initiation. After lunch, the children moved to the Science and Media museum. Here, the children were able to explore a gaming room with all past video games and machines. Also, the Wonderlab, where the children explored different sound and visual apparatus and had a talk about the solar system. To finish the day, the children watched a 3D film in the iMAX called T:REX.

On Thursday, Year 5 were delighted to welcome their pen pals from St Peter’s C of E Primary School in Leeds for a fun-filled day of activities and friendship. After reconnecting with their pen pals, the children paired up and took part in a variety of activities designed to foster good teamwork .

The day began with a school tour an orienteering activity, where the children worked together to find hidden letters and unscramble them to reveal words all about friendship. Next, the children tackled a tower-building task, working in teams to create the tallest and most stable structure using a mixture of materials. It was fantastic to see their imagination and problem-solving skills in action! There was even a musical element to the day, with children from both schools sharing songs they are preparing for their upcoming school plays.

Over lunchtime, everyone enjoyed their packed lunches on the school field and had plenty of time to play and chat in the sunshine. To round off the wonderful day, everyone cooled down with a well-earned ice lolly in the sunshine.

It was a fantastic day of connection, laughter, and learning—one we’re sure the children will remember for a long time!

This week, Year 6 travelled on the 36 bus, walked through the centre of Harrogate and took part in Crucial Crew at Harrogate College. This fabulous event provides children with the opportunity to gain essential life skills to help keep them safe. During the day, children participated in a range of workshops led by various agencies, including the police, fire brigade and Insight. They learned about internet abuse, the dangers of drugs, rail safety and fire prevention. There was also great hands-on workshop about smoking and vaping prevention, which gave them important information to support healthy lifestyle choices. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and engaged well with all the sessions. You were fab, Year 6!

The choir were excited last week to take part in a charity concert extravanganza at the Royal Hall in Harrogate on Friday night. They performed two songs on their own on the stage - Three Little Birds and Sing From Your Heart - as well as joining all the other singers and performers from the other schools in two numbers from the Greatest Showman. It was a long afternoon of rehearsals, but the pupils were incredibly patient and listened well to all the instructions and guidance they were given. They finally got to perform on the stage to a full house in the evening and represented the school wonderfully, singing with enthusiasm and smiles on their faces! Thank you to everyone who came along to the concert. We have not yet been told the final amount raised for Growing Healthy and The Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre but we were proud to play our part in fundraising for two great causes. The choir will resume rehearsals in September. We are currently on the waiting list for Young Voices, as the Sheffield dates have already sold out for next year! We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to get a space in one of the concerts, but if not, we will look for some local events to take part in so that the children have chance to continue gaining experience of performing to an audience.

Year 6 have been diving into the fascinating world of the circulatory system. They've explored what blood is made of and acted out the journey of blood through the body - collecting oxygen from the lungs and travelling through veins and arteries to deliver it where it's needed.

On Wednesday, the children had an exciting (and slightly messy!) hands-on experience as they examined a real pig heart. They began by identifying the left and right chambers and discussed its size and appearance. Then came the real challenge - cutting open the heart to locate each atrium and ventricle as well as spotting the aorta and vena cava.

The children were surprised by how small some of the heart’s parts were, how tough certain blood vessels felt and just how much clotted blood remained inside. And although the smell was a little strong for some, most of them weren’t put off!

They worked with great maturity, showing excellent teamwork and curiosity throughout. It was a brilliant opportunity to bring their classroom learning to life and they thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck in.

Well done, Year 6, for your enthusiasm, focus and for making the most of this unforgettable science lesson!

Congratulations to this week's stars:

Nursery - Vinny for being a helpful member of nursery and doing super tidying up!

Reception - Marcie for working amazingly hard to remember the songs, actions and directions for the school production. In every rehearsal Marcie has performed brilliantly.

Year 1 - Jimi for showing perseverance with his letter formation. We have seen how much focus he is showing in writing sessions. We are proud of your continued efforts.

Year 2 - Cleo for always being a star, she could earn this title every week! She's a calm, kind and caring presence in our classroom. She goes out of her way to embody and promote our school values with her eagerness to learn and support others.

Year 3 - George Ga for his fantastic bread making skills, weighing ingredients carefully and working well with his team.

Year 4 - Elsie for representing our school well on our Aldi visit. She organised her baking group and wrote fab instructions for the recipe.

Year 5 - All of Year 5 for an amazing day yesterday with our pen pals from St. Peter's, and an amazing job in our final English write.

Year 6 - Brooke for having a fantastic attitude on our trip and for getting involved when dissecting a pig's heart.

On Wednesday 9th July, children will spend the morning in their new classes with their new teachers. The teachers have visited the classes this week to introduce themselves. Our class structure from September will be as follows:

Nursery – Miss Powell

Reception – Mrs Pitt

Year 1 – Miss Mayes

Year 2 – Mrs Linkins

Year 3 – Mrs Spencer and Mrs McIlmurray

Year 4 – Mrs Perkins

Year 5 – Mrs Beckett and Miss Hutchinson

Year 6 – Mrs Shawcross

To help support any children who may be feeling anxious about moving to a different class and teacher, we will be ensuring that there are familiar support staff in the classrooms on Wednesday and that there are further opportunities for some children to visit their new class and teacher after the transition morning.

KS2 Production

Tuesday 15th July 1.30pm, 6.30pm, Wednesday 16th July 6.30pm

EY/KS1 Production

Monday 7th July 2.15pm, Tuesday 8th July 2.15pm, 6.15pm

Parents of children in the younger years should look out for tickets coming home in book bags today. We will be allocating the seats and sending tickets for Peter Pan next week.

Please be sure to support our young entrepreneurs at the market in Ripon on Thursday! Year 3 will be selling their homemade sandwiches and Year 5 have designed and printed t-shirts. Pop along, you'll be sure to pick up a bargain!

Monday 7th July - EY/KS1 performance (afternoon)

Tuesday 8th July - EY/KS1 performance (afternoon and evening)

Wednesday 9th July - school transition morning

Thursday 10th July - Year 3 and Year 5 market stall

Tuesday 15th July - KS2 performance (afternoon and evening)

Wednesday 16th July - KS2 performance (evening)

Friday 18th July - school closes to pupil for the summer holidays

Tue 22nd - Thu 24th July - Oscar's holiday club (booking essential - now live)

Tue 26th - Thu 28th Aug - Oscar's holiday club (booking essential - now live)

Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school (staff training day Mon 1st September)