Following the Prep’s brilliant House Poetry Competition, Farleigh continued their English-themed activities with another week of creative fun.

Ready for bed!

Pre-Prep came to school dressed for bed on Thursday, accompanied not only by their favourite bedtime story to share with their friends, but also their favourite cuddly toys, dressing gowns and some seriously cosy slippers! After a lovely morning of story time, where the children relaxed and found a quiet moment to immerse themselves in their books, the children were divided up into their Houses, in mixed year groups, to enjoy four brilliant book-themed activities. They made Gruffalo crispy cakes, learned the Funnybones dance and used sticks to create skeletons, designed Huey’s New Jumper and brewed George’s Marvellous Medicine!

Prepped for action!

It was the Prep’s turn to celebrate on Friday, with a new theme this year of animal and non-human characters. The children took to the challenge with gusto and it was wonderful to see a vast array of characters brought to life with creativity and flair. From Oompa Loompas, to Narnia’s Aslan, The Faraway Tree’s fairies, The Cat in the Hat, Fantastic Mr Fox, and the classic, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, among so many others!

We were also so impressed with the brilliant effort from the staff this year, where year group themes continued – in particular, Year 3’s The Wind in the Willows, featuring Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger, and Year 5’s Winnie-the-Pooh, including Pooh Bear, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. An extra special mention to Mrs Dean’s Peter Rabbit ensemble!

We started the day with a whole-school assembly, featuring some fantastic performances from 7S, before breaking off into our classes to complete some fun and topical exercises linked to some of our favourite authors.

Gruesome Guidance…

Years 3-5 were treated to a special visit from, Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and the Bethany series, who dropped in at short notice. He invited pupils to join him in the Library for creative writing workshops, where he shared handy hints for plotlines and twists, with a suggestion that all the best novels start with a happy place, and then swiftly segue into a dark disaster… think Macbeth, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes… or closer to home with Amelia Fang, Percy Jackson, Alex Rider… Many pupils’ happy places involved flowing rivers of chocolate, maple syrup or honey, although, more reassuringly, these places also involved their friends and families. 'BUT THEN' – the phrase Jack advised us all to use – enter the dark place, where these delicious rivers turn to stinky cheese and friends are kidnapped by lurking shadows… It was a glorious fest of fun and a great way to celebrate World Book Day.

A group of keen readers are currently working their way through Jack’s books to review for the Farleigh First News Club. We can’t wait to hear their thoughts!

Special Places

Trained as a marine biologist, before becoming a teacher and farmer’s wife, Gina Rees brings a wide variety of talents to her beautifully self-illustrated books. Walking the fields with her beloved dogs, Puddles and Rosie, she observed the crops growing and moving like the sea, with her companions diving in and out as they discover wonderous sights and smells. She decided to share the joy of having an imaginary world and the role of farmers in growing these special places through the changing seasons.

Gina brought her teaching skills and enthusiasm to the fore in helping all the Pre-Prep children access her books in different ways over two days. Kindergarten sang songs and role played, Years 1 & 2 enjoyed a reading and completed pages from the accompanied colouring book; all had cuddles with the gorgeous characters that Gina has crocheted, before reciting their poems in front of parents with Gina judging the brilliant winners.

A huge thank you for all the energy and enthusiasm brought to this fantastic festival of all things books by our eager staff, not forgetting all the input from parents for those fabulous costumes. It has certainly galvanised us all to read for pleasure – the main aim of World Book Day!