Movies to watch.
Elf
The Muppet's Christmas Carol (Mr Britten's favourite Christmas Movie)
The Santa Clause
A Miracle on 34th Street
The Snowman
Things to do
Attend a Christingle Service at your local church
Make some reindeer food Clumber Park, NottinghamshireTinsel Trek29 December 10am-12pm - Walk off all that turkey! Attempt the Christmas Cryptic Quiz (See below)
Christmas Quiz Can you identify these Christmas Tunes (You can probably find the answers to these using Google. Just think how much more satisfying it will be when you work them out without it!)
Small city of Judea
Colorless Yuletime
Singular yearning for twin anterior incisors
Loyal followers advance
Righteous darkness
Weather: cloudless; Arrival time: 2400 hours
Far off in a feeder
Array the corridors
Bantam percussionist
Monarchial triad
Nocturnal noiselessness
Father Christmas en route to borough
Initial Christmas
Frozen precipitation commence
Proceed and enlighten on the pinnacle
The quaduped with the vermillion proboscis
Delight for this planet
Give attention to the melodious celestial beings
Hence arriveth Kris Kringle
To descry matriarchal osculation of yuletide anthropomorphism
On Wednesday afternoon, Year 1-4 and pre-prep are off to the panto!
Jack and the Beanstalk at Mansfield Theatre.
Former Dr Who Colin Baker stars as the Giant's henchman Fleshcreep in a traditional pantomime which also features Chris Pizzey as Simple Simon, Emma Nowell as Jack and Stephen David as Dame Trott.
Jack is a young lad living with his widowed mother. Their only means of income is a cow. When this cow stops giving milk one morning, Jack is sent to the market to sell it. On the way to the market he meets an old man who offers to give him "magic" beans in exchange for the cow.
Jack takes the beans but when he arrives home with no money, his mother gets angry and throws the beans out the window and sends Jack to bed without supper.
As Jack sleeps, the beans grow into a gigantic beanstalk. Jack climbs the bean stalk and arrives in a land high up in the sky where he follows a road to a house, which is the home of an ogre. He enters the house and asks the ogre's wife for food. She gives him food, but the ogre returns and senses that a human is nearby:
Fee-fi-fo-fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman?
Be he 'live, or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.
However, Jack is hidden by the ogre's wife and overhears the ogre counting his money. Jack steals a bag of gold coins as he makes his escape down the beanstalk. Jack repeats his journey up the beanstalk two more times, each time he is helped by the increasingly suspicious wife of the ogre and narrowly escapes with one of the ogre's treasures. The second time he steals a hen which laid golden eggs and the third time a magical harp that played by itself. This time he is almost caught by the ogre who follows him down the beanstalk. Jack calls his mother for an axe and chops the beanstalk down, killing the ogre. The end of the story has Jack and his mother living happily ever after with their new riches.
The Actors
Colin Baker
Colin Baker was the 6th Doctor Who
Christopher Pizzey
Worked with Basil Brush as Mr Stephen
Emma Nowell
Hi-5 Star
Jokes of the week
Do giants eat Englishmen with their fingers?
No, they eat their fingers separately!
How did Jack know how many beans his cow was worth?
He used a cowculator!
Jack stole a golden harp from the giant. Why couldn't he play it?
Because it took a lot of pluck!
Jack was always a grubby boy. You know what they say?
You can lead a boy to water but you can't make him wash!
Knock, knock.
Who's there? Fifi.
Fifi who? Fifi fiefie fofo fum I smell the blood of an Englishman!
Knock, knock.
Who's there? Sarah.
Sarah who? Sarah giant living here?
Knock, knock.
Who's there? Boo.
Boo who? There there ... giants don't cry!
Puzzle of the week Ram divided 15 pennies among four small bags. He could then pay any sum of money from 1p to 15p, without opening any bag. How many pennies did Ram put in each bag?
First mounted in 1975, National Tree Week is UK's largest tree celebration annually launching the start of the winter tree planting season.
Sporting Success
The last few weeks have seen sporting success for children at Salterford House. The girls under 10 swimming team won the ISA Midlands Swimming Trophy, the mixed hockey team were runners-up in the Midlands ISA Hockey tournament, the girls netball team won the Old Vicarage netball tournament and the athletics squad qualified for the Gedling Indoor Athletics final. There was also individual success at the National Swimming Final for Alex (Year 6) and Katie (Year 5).
Puzzle of the week was solved by Ned in record time. This week's puzzle is found below.
Ned has spent the last year providing jokes for the blog and board. He is an encyclopaedia of one liners. We now need someone else to take his place. Have you got any funny jokes? Hand them to Mr Britten. A red square for all jokes used.
Jokes of the week Q: What did the tree wear to the pool party?
A: Swimming trunks!
Q: What did the beaver say to the tree? A: It's been nice gnawing you!
Q: Why did the leaf go to the doctor? A: It was feeling green!
Q: What is a tree's least favourite month? A: Sep-timber!
Q: What kind of tree can fit into your hand? A: A palm tree!
Q: How do trees get on the internet? A: They log in.
Puzzle of the week
An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower wins. After wandering aimlessly for days, the brothers ask a wise man for guidance. Upon receiving the advice, they jump on the camels and race to the city as fast as they can.
Children in Need
This Friday is Children in Need Day
I found this info on the BBC website
The BBC's first ever broadcast appeal for children was a five-minute
radio broadcast on Christmas Day in 1927. The response was phenomenal
and it raised £1,143 18s 3d which was split between 4 prominent
children's charities.
The first televised appeal was the 1955 'Children's Hour Christmas
Appeal', presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day Appeals
continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, raising a total of
£625,836.
The presenters included Terry Hall, Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther,
Michael Aspel and the rising star of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show - Terry
Wogan - who made his debut appearance in 1978.
In 1980 the appeal was broadcast on BBC One in a new telethon format,
hosted by Terry with Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen. The telethon was the
brainchild of Mark Patterson, who went on to be the Executive Producer
for nine years. It captured the public's imagination to such an extent
that the donations increased dramatically and broke the million mark for
the very first time.
Terry Wogan remains the telethon's mainstay who has been joined by a
diverse line-up over the years that includes Joanna Lumley, Sue Cook,
John Craven, Andi Peters, Gaby Roslin, Natasha Kaplinsky and Fearne
Cotton.
Bonfire Night
Many thanks to everyone who came to the Firework Display on Saturday night. A good time was had by all! Extra special thanks to Galaxy Fireworks Display Team. The fireworks, lasers and music were amazing. It gets better every year.
Puzzle of the week
I purchased two different pieces of candy. Together they cost £1.10. One
candy cost one pound more than the other candy. What was the price of
each piece of candy?
Joke of the week
Q. What did the grape do when it got
stepped on? A. It let out a little wine!
A busy week ahead at school. Saturday is the school bonfire party. Tickets are available at the office.
The school's swimming team are at the ISA Midlands Swimming Championship at Walsall on Tuesday.
This video is to inspire them.
The school's mixed hockey team are at the ISA Midlands Hockey Championship at Cannock on Wednesday.
Friday is the 11th November.
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.
At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.
The children will stand silent for 2 minutes at 11.00am to remember all those ho sacrificed their lives for us during wars.
Puzzle of the week
A riddle
You throw away the outside and cook the inside. You eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?
Jokes of the week Q: What do you call a big white bear with a hole in his middle? A: A polo bear!
Q: Why do polar bears like bald men? A: Because they have a great, white, bear place!
Q: What do polar bears have for lunch? A: Ice burger!
Q: What's a teddy bears favorite pasta? A: Tagliateddy!
Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.
The Tradition begins...
The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. Lancelot Andrewes delivered the first of many Gunpowder Plot Sermons. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten! Hence the words " Remember , remember the 5th of November" The poem is sometimes referred to as 'Please to remember the fifth of November'. It serves as a warning to each new generation that treason will never be forgotten.
In England the 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes (the guy). The 'guys' are made by children by filling old clothes with crumpled newspapers to look like a man.
Tradition allows British children to display their 'guys' to passers-by and asking for " A penny for the guy".
Joke of the week
Q: What do you get when you cross a dinosaur with fireworks?
A: DINOMITE!
Puzzle of the week
Fill in the missing words so that a chain is formed with each word suffixing the previous word and prefixing the following word.
It's the week we've all been waiting for.
This week is National Baking Week!
National Baking Week is about getting Britain into the kitchen and
baking — but that's not all! We want you to share your baking, your
recipes, your ideas with the people around you.
Here are a number of recipes you might want to try. Bring in your samples to school and Mr Britten will kindly assess your cooking ability.
Puzzle of the week Last week provided much head scratching and debate. Two children excelled at the challenge and will receive their prizes at school on Monday. I will display the answers on the board at school.
A cooking theme this week.
You
have two egg-timers.
One is a
four-minute timer and one a seven-minute timer.
How do you
measure nine minutes?
Jokes of the week
Q: What's the best thing to put into a pie? A: Your teeth! Q: Waiter, this food tastes kind of funny? A: Then why aren't you laughing! Q: Did you hear the joke about the peanut butter? A: I'm not telling you. You might spread it! Q: Why do the French like to eat snails? A: Because they don't like fast food! Q: Why shouldn't you tell an egg a joke? A: Because it might crack up! Q: What kind of nuts always seems to have a cold? A: Cashews! Q: Waiter, will my pizza be long? A: No sir, it will be round! Q: What is green and sings? A: Elvis Parsley
World
Sight Day 2011 (WSD11) has the official, global date of the second
Thursday in October, which this year falls on the 13th. It will be marked
by organisations and institutions around the world, in many different
ways, on or around that date.
An estimated 284 million people
worldwide are visually impaired, yet 80% of cases are due to causes
which could have been prevented, treated or cured. 90% of blind people
live in developing countries, and this needless waste costs individuals,
families and communities billions of dollars every year.
Puzzle of the week
This week is a special puzzle of the week with a prize!
A question sheet can be obtained from the board at school - If they have all be taken - see Mr Britten for a copy.
They are all based on questions such as these - 1 = H on a U
1 = W on a U
1 = GL for M
2 = P in a P
3 = B M (S H T R)
Jokes of the week
Provided by Mrs Birchmore and Mr Britten
What is a horse's favourite sport?
Stable Tennis!
Why did the pony feel unwell?
He was a little hoarse!
This week
The boys have an under 11 soccer tournament in Birmingham on Tuesday. There is also a Big Fish Uniform Sale on the same day. It will be in the music room from 3.00pm
As is well known by now throughout the world Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963. That image went on to become the most recognizable symbol of good will and good cheer on the planet.
As the years passed Harvey Ball became concerned about the over-commercialization of his symbol, and how its original meaning and intent had become lost in the constant repetition of the marketplace. Out of that concern came his idea for World Smile Day®. He thought that we, all of us, should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts throughout the world. The smiley face knows no politics, no geography and no religion. Harvey’s idea was that for at least one day each year, neither should we. He declared that the first Friday in October each year would henceforth be World Smile Day®. Ever since that first World Smile Day® held in 1999, it has continued every year in Smiley's hometown of Worcester, MA and around the world.
The wall this week - Draw a smiley face and write about what makes you smile.
Monday 3rd October Netball at Trent College, Year 5,6 rehearsal after school
Tuesday 4th October Year 4 trip to York
Wednesday 5th October
Thursday 6th October
Friday 7th October Football and netball at Plumtree
Joke of the week What is the special offer at the pet shop this week? Buy one get one flea!
Puzzle of the week Rearrange the following letters so as to form one word: NEW DOOR
On Friday afternoon the children at Main School will be taking part in a sponsored sporting event.
110m Hurdler, William Sharman will be our special guest. He will talk to the children about the life of an athlete and his ambitions for London 2012. William recently competed in the World Athletics Championship and qualified for the final.
The children will be raising money for school and to help athletes achieve their dreams and compete for Team GB.
Puzzle of the week Last weeks puzzle proved too difficult for most and remained unsolved until late on Friday when Mrs Stopher (with help) finally solved it. Hopefully, this week's puzzle is slightly easier! It has a sporting theme Four good friends have four different favorite sports. Read the clues to find out who prefers which sport. There are four children - Hannah, Jane, Danny and Robert. There are four sports - Soccer, rugby, cricket and tennis. 1. Hannah likes neither soccer nor rugby.
2. Danny used to like rugby and cricket best, but he has changed his mind.
3. Neither of the boys here likes soccer best.
Jokes of the week Provided by Mrs Birchmore What is a athletes favourite food? Runner Beans
Where does an athlete stand to keep cool? Next to the fans!
Which athlete keeps warmest in winter? The long jumper!
On the 21st September it is International Day of Peace.
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.
Puzzle of the week last week was solved by Sarah (Year 5) 1 Red Square
Apples and pears 59 miles
The bread oven 57 miles
Caviar Couture 76 miles
How far is it to Gold Galore?
Joke of the week
Nobody provided me with a joke last week so it’s another Mr Britten special!
What's the chilliest ground in the premiership ? Cold Trafford
Many thanks for all of you who sponsored me for CP Sport. I managed to complete the triathlon and raise over £400 for Cerebral Palsy Sport.
This Week
Roald Dahl Day takes place every year on 13 September, on the birthday of the World's No. 1 Storyteller. And 2011 will be no different! There are events happening all over the world. This year we are celebrating the very special 50th anniversary of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.
Joke of the week - This year, I will be publishing a joke of the week on the blog. If you have a good or bad joke - tell Mr Britten and you may get to see your joke on here. Who shouted "Knickers!" at the big, bad wolf? Little Rude Riding Hood!
Many thanks to all those of you who have sponsored me so far. It's not too late. You can sign up on the form at the main entrance. You can also visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MatthewBritten
Training Update – The chain on my bike snapped and took most of the gear wheel with it on Thursday, ended up on Mrs Britten's pink one. Hannah has come back ill from a week away with her school. This meant no swimming for me this week. I went for a little run on Sunday and nearly passed out with the heat. Other than that, all is going well. I am getting a new bike on Monday.
Hoping for an incident free week.
Mon 11th Year 2 Graduation PP visit to Brackenhurst Year 3 River Trip
Tue 12th Meeting for parents of children moving to Pre-Prep in September
Wed 13th 10 30-2 30 Yr 5 visit to Newstead Abbey Meeting for parents of children moving to Year 1 in September
Thu 14th
Fri 15th Year 6 Graduation
"This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s seven billionth inhabitant. This is an opportunity to celebrate our common humanity and our diversity. It is also a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for each other and our planet."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for World Population Day
11 July 2011
Last week's puzzle of the week was solved by Sarah in Year 5.
Which word suffixes SEAS, STEPS, FLAG, CART and LESS?
The answer was “on”
Well Done Sarah!
This week's puzzle
In your pocket you have £6.70.
It is made up of four different denominations of coins and the largest denomination is 50p.
There is exactly the same number of each coin.
How many of each coin is there and what are their values?
I can cycle a bit, run a bit and swim doggy paddle! Doing all three...
On Sunday 14th August, Mr Britten will attempt to complete his first ever triathlon. Inspired by his visit to the Paralympic World Cup, he will be raising money for Cerebral Palsy Sport at the Erewash Triathlon.
Cerebral Palsy Sport is the sports organisation for people with cerebral palsy, providing sporting opportunities to individuals of all ages and at all levels from the recreational right through to paralympic competition.
It is also an advisory agency for disability sport issues and is recognised and respected within the international arena.
It was a founder member of the British Paralympic Association and is also a member of CP ISRA, the international sports organisation for people with cerebral palsy, which in turn was a founder member of the International Paralympic Committee.
Cerebral Palsy Sport's primary aim is to attract more people to become involved in sporting activities for the pursuit of excellence or for fun and enjoyment. Among the activities covered by CP Sport are athletics, boccia, bowls, football, swimming and table cricket.
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.
We have got back safely and are probably all very tired and ready for bed by now. The last day was spent playing "Survival" in the woods. It's a fantastic game. All the children had fun and really got into all the concepts involved in the game. I don't want to say too much about the game in case any year fives are reading this and |I don't want to spoil it for them.
Miss V and Mr Britten would like to thank all the children for their excellent effort this week and their superb attitude and behaviour. Cranedale Staff all complemented the children after all the sessions.
All that's left is...
30 things I found out at Cranedale
1. You can buy wellies in every colour under the sun.
2. Purple coats make everyone look cool.
3. Oliver P doesn’t share his polos.
4. Miss V doesn’t drink tea.
5. When you are active, you can eat a full English breakfast, every morning , without gaining weight (hopefully).
6. Lee thinks a shower is the same as a rain shower.
7. Oliver S thinks everything is improved by mermaid tears.
8. Jordan is fantastic at hiding in heather.
9. Mr Britten knows very little about fashion.
10. Elise now knows why boys go behind a tree.
11. Red eyed crabs are evil and need to be destroyed.
12. A packed lunch is not for sitting on.
13. Olivia can do an uncanny impression of a headless chicken in most games that involve running.
14. Harry can survive without video games for a lot longer than he thinks.
15. Rain comes in a variety of different forms.
16. You can never be too dry or too warm.
17. A flask is useful in June.
18. Josh A can bounce on a low rope.
19. Rebecca can leave a clean plate at breakfast.
20. Feather dusters are similar to fish gills.
21. Playing tag is the same as learning about eco-systems.
22. Nicole can fit more in a rucksack than anyone else on the planet.
23. Josh W can be heard from space.
24. Most things are either “sick”, “well good” or “very niiice”
25. Sam has been to a lot of steam fairs.
26. For a swimmer, Oliver B doesn’t like getting wet.
27. Other schools cry and moan, Salterford House sing and skip up a mountain.
28. Shortbread warms you up.
29. Alex P has a career in perfume to look forward to.
30. Five days go by very quickly
The children have spent the day exploring the North Yorkshire Moors. It has been another wet day although the children didn’t allow the rain to spoil their fun and remained positive throughout the entire session.
The day began as usual with breakfast. Toasted teacakes made their first appearance of the week. As did two sixth form groups who are here completing course work for their A levels. After eating their own body weight in toast, the teenagers left to explore sand dunes while we got ready for the moors.
Oliver P has joined the exclusive “Purple Coat Club”. Tired of wearing his flash Notts County Cricket Club waterproof, he has seen the light and borrowed a Cranedale waterproof. Who looks like an old granny now?
A rumour has started that Lee is the only member of the group not to have experienced the shower facilities at the centre yet. He claims he had a shower yesterday but was informed by Sam that rain doesn’t count.
Nicole and Jordan, sporting the most stylish wellies seen in North Yorkshire for many a year, have somehow managed to stay clean and fashionably aware all week. Even the offer of the coveted purple waterproof couldn’t persuade them to change outfits.
Rebecca has left us for the day, so thirteen children , Mr Britten and Miss V set off for the moors. We were promised rain and got rain. We experienced all types -heavy, light, fine, horizontal and vertical. Remarkably, the river bed we were walking along was empty. The children were given the task of finding water! A rather simple task but unfortunately rain didn’t count. We continued along the valley until eventually finding a stream. Along the way, the children were shown how to eat nettles safely and were promised a night on the moors if they could find food, shelter, warmth and toilet roll. Bog moss is apparently as good as Andrex according to our leader, Mark, today. We’ll take his word for it.
Lunch was again eaten in the rain and consisted of a variety of cobs, French fries, fruit and shortbread. Miss V made an interesting discovery - Shortbread warms you up!
Some children have brought flasks with them this week. I saw them on the kit list but thought - “Why wouldn’t anyone want a hot drink in the middle of a walk in June?” All those with flask sat supremely smug with their delicious, warming mugs of tea while the rest of us enviously looked on. Miss V, who declared that she didn’t even drink tea, would have happily handed out 20 red squares for the child willing to give her a flask of the brown stuff.
After lunch, the children made a study of the stream. They measured speed, depth and width and recorded all the information on a worksheet. The sheet was attached to a clip board with was covered with a plastic bag. The bag was just big enough to get your hand under and still manage to write.
The children then carried out a kick sample. This involves using a net and kicking the bottom of the ground. All this kicking scares every living thing in the area and the conveniently hop into the net. The children take the contents of their net and use a tree diagram to decide what variety of creature they had kicked into the net. No creatures were killed during this experiment although something did lose a leg. I’m sure he’ll cope with just five L
The rain continued and the children still had a mountain to climb. Amy, a Cranedale member of staff, informed us that in three years of working at the centre, only two schools had made it to the top of the mountain without moaning or crying! This was a challenge we liked. Elise and Olivia basically ran to the top. Alex P led the troops with a variety of songs. Harry, Josh W and Josh A all fell over but bounced straight back up, grinning, and skipping merrily to the top. Miss V followed at the rear - for our safety apparently - and we duly became the third school in living memory to conquer the beast without moaning - result!
At the top, there was just enough time to play another classic Cranedale game - Fox and Grouse. This game involves two foxes chasing out the grouse from behind the heather. Tag by another name. The children learn an important lesson about eco-systems and food chains. I just hope they realise it.
Our last evening meal was vegetable soup, roast pork and chocolate cake and cream. We are now going out to set moth traps in a nearby wood.
well known by now throughout the world Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963. That image went on to become the most recognizable symbol of good will and good cheer on the planet. 
