Ripon Cathedral School Update

Lovely Lindisfarne

Year 5 Report

Last week, Year 5 embarked on their residential trip to Lindisfarne. We were blessed with good weather throughout the visit and the children had a fantastic time discovering what life is like on an island.

On the first day, the children visited the Heritage Centre and Lindisfarne Priory, where they were inspired to write some fabulous poetry, which they later performed. We also visited St Cuthbert’s Beach, where the children completed their own scavenger hunt, searching for sea glass, seaweed, shells and other treasures.

After dinner, the children headed out on an exciting night walk, armed with their torches and ready for an evening of adventure.

On the second day, the children visited Lindisfarne Castle and the lime kilns before heading to the beach for some rock pooling. They also took part in a competition to see who could build the biggest pebble tower! In the afternoon, after enjoying a well-deserved ice cream, we visited another beach where the children created fantastic beach art and enjoyed jumping down the sand dunes. Some even bravely ventured into the North Sea for a paddle!

On the final day, before heading back to Ripon, the children enjoyed an exciting boat trip around the Farne Islands. They were thrilled to spot lots of seals and a wonderful variety of seabirds. We then enjoyed some delicious fish and chips before making our final stop at Alnwick Castle. Here, the children took part in an exciting workshop, taking on the roles of English and Scottish soldiers as they battled on the Barbican.

It was a fantastic few days filled with adventure, learning and lots of happy memories.

The children represented our school brilliantly throughout the residential, and we were incredibly proud of them.

Quotes from the Children

"The best bit [of Lindisfarne] was rolling down the sand dunes and going in the sea," - Maxwell S

"I really liked the boat trip on the last day, we saw lots of seals including a baby one. We also saw Grace Darling's lighthouse," - Isla-Grey P

"I cannot decide my favourite thing about the Lindisfarne trip, they're all too good," - Edward H

"Going to St Cuthbert's Island," - William H

Open the Book

This week, Open the Book joined us again to tell the story of the conversion of St Paul. Lily, Cleo, Martha and Gracie helped to act out the tale of a man named Saul, who was known for persecuting people because of their faith. On the road to Damascus, he was blinded by a light and heard the voice of God, calling him to change his ways. After Ananias enabled Saul to see again, Saul became Paul, and went on to preach the word of the Lord. Thank you to our friends at Open the Book who always bring to life these significant stories from the Bible.

An Afternoon of Music

Year 3, 4 and 5 were treated to an enjoyable afternoon of music on Wednesday, with a singing workshop led by the fantastic Jervaulx Singers!

The children were taught about breath control and posture, and got the chance to try out some fun vocal warm-ups and a range of songs, including one in Italian, one about monsters and another about a fruit salad!

We hope the children enjoyed this great enrichment experience (and that it may inspire some of them to join this year's Young Voices choir!).

In the 'Local Events' information at the foot of this newsletter, please check out the poster from Connaught Brass for another exciting musical opportunity.

Finally, instrumental lessons can be provided in school time by North Yorkshire's peripatetic teachers. These lessons are arranged by parents directly with the service. Please use this link for more information https://northyorks.eepos.fi/#/splash

Staff News

We hope you all received the letter earlier in the week sharing the news that we will be saying goodbye to two well-loved members of staff at the end of this term.

Mrs Pitt and Mrs Rich will both be saying farewell in December – Mrs Pitt to take up a role with Ofsted, and Mrs Rich to begin a well-earned retirement. We know you will want to join us in saying goodbye and good luck to them both, and we would like to thank our two wonderful colleagues for their years of service to the school.

Below, you will find details of these and other vacancies, as we work towards a smooth transition for our Early Years and our admin team.

Please use this link to the Staff Vacancies page on our website for further details of the posts advertised below, where application forms are also available to download https://riponcathedralschool.org.uk/Staff-Vacancies/

Our Weekly Superstars

Congratulations to this week's stars, celebrated in worship this morning:

Nursery - Ava for being an enthusiastic learner, and always trying her best.

Reception – Violet for her fabulous independent writing this week. It has been brilliant to see her recording her Little Wandle sounds in the provision.

Year 1 – Harry for wowing us all this week with how incredibly helpful he has been, both during Forest School and in the classroom. He has been so eager to lend a helping hand to his teachers and classmates! What a kind and caring role model!

Year 2 – Daria for engaging brilliantly with our Terrible Beast hunt and trying her best to write a description of the beast using adventurous adjectives.

Year 3 – Arjun for always trying his best in everything he does, being ready to learn and bringing a cheerful, positive attitude to our classroom every day.

Year 4 – Noah for his excellent enthusiasm and contributions to class discussions across a range of subjects. Noah is ready to learn, well done!

Year 5 – All the class! for a wonderful time at Lindisfarne, especially when visiting Lindisfarne Castle where the staff were super impressed with your behaviour and questions.

Year 6 – Mercedes for a fantastic attitude to learning, taking on an active role in lessons and for challenging herself.

Harvest Festival Monday 5th October 2pm in the Cathedral

Parents are welcome to attend the service led by our Year 3 and 4 classes. We would also be delighted to receive donations which we will pass on to Community House. Here is a reminder of the message posted on ClassDojo earlier this week:

Community House has specifically asked for tinned meals (e.g. stew, sausages in baked beans etc.), deodorant, washing up liquid, shower gel, shampoo. Apparently they have an abundance of rice, pasta and dried foods so would prefer not receive any more, sorry!

Thank you for all contributions already received.

Reminder: Midday Assistant Staff Vacancy

Working in the lunch hall at school is a great way to have a part-time job within school hours, and no work in school holidays! Several of our teaching assistants also started as Midday Supervisory Assistants and have moved on to longer hours working in classrooms, so it can be a good way to discover if you would like a career working with children. Please contact Mrs Rich in the office if you would like more details, and feel free to share the advert with any friends or family who might be interested.

School Website Staff Vacancies Link

North Yorkshire Vacancies Link