We were greeted by smiley staff in bright red T-shirts. We knew this was going to be a great day. We went in through barns of horses, chicks, pigs and a herd of alpacas to name a few and then saw the huge selection of activities in the grounds.
There were set show times that we didn’t want to miss and lots of supervised activities for the very adventurous or those requiring a more gentle experience.
Tovi and Thomas went on the stage to feed the sheep and Daisy the cow ate lots of oranges… and wouldn’t leave the stage without being given yet another orange!
Bug ride zoomed around the park and you really had to hold on to your hats, well actually the steering wheel, we were soaked by pirates shooting water at us!
Crazy golf was a challenge with the hidden bumps and curves and a variety of styles were observed to get a hole in one, from gentle swings of the club to a little helping hand or foot to secure success!
Bumper boats caused a splash and an excuse to bump in to a friend.
‘Land ahoy’ as Reception climbed aboard the big ship which was standing room only!
Lunch in our very own covered picnic area was a real treat and lots of birds followed us.
Spider towers, tractor rides and a great wooden adventure area left the children just wanting more.
We ended the afternoon with ice-lollies and we thanked the staff at the farm for their kind attention. They told us it had been a pleasure to have Alton Convent School visit for the day as all the children were very polite and well behaved. What a great day!

The Lower Prep were blessed with very fine weather for their annual sports day. All children from Reception to Year 2 took part in a whole host of different races and events, including a number of serious events, in which some outstanding times were recorded from these fine young athletes (well done Christian!), as well as the now traditional fun races, including the ‘Going Home’ race and the ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’. Team events, such as the grand relay and train-and-tender rounded the aft

All children from Nursery to Year 2 enjoyed a wonderful day last Thursday when Miller's Ark animals came to visit, bringing with then an array of friendly animals.
The children were able to groom a very patient pony, stroke and cuddle two very delightful goat kids and even stroke a lamb when her mother would allow! The guinea pigs were a hit with the older children who were able to confidently handle them. All the children seemed fascinated by the chickens, ducks and geese and were amazed at the difference in their eggs.
Nursery and Pre Prep were delighted with the Kuni Kuni piglets who were very accommodating and enjoyed all the attention, seeming not to mind being sat on!
One of the goat kids aptly named 'Trouble' delighted everyone with her antics. She particularly enjoyed wandering off to the adventure play area to say hello to the older children much to the amusement of the younger ones!

Pupils in Reception, Years 1 and 2 enjoyed a visit from two Alton librarians on Thursday 24th April. They brought an exciting collection of books suitable for different ages and interests and also talked about many other items that children may borrow, including DVDs and Play station games.

The special events organised by the Library were also of great interest, and our visitors were very impressed with the show of hands demonstrating children who took part in the Summer Reading Challenge; apparently this year’s challenge will have an Olympic theme.

Early years and KS1 enjoyed some exciting Easter activities on Tuesday.

The day started with an egg rolling competition in Reception, where the children rolled their hard boiled eggs across the playground, trying to get their egg to land nearest to the Easter egg target. Hannah and Maddie were victorious, but all the children enjoyed the challenge and lots of interesting techniques arose!

The Easter Bunny had been hard at work in the woods, and all year groups enjoyed searching for the Easter eggs, which he had thoughtfully left behind. This was certainly the highlight of the day for many, and we had some very vigilant Easter egg hunters! The eggs came in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, and were found in some unusual places! Fortunately we were very thorough and every class ended up with a sizeable collection to share out.

Following the success of last year’s Year 2 boys’ activity afternoon, we extended the scope of the afternoon this year to include both boys and girls in Years 2 and 3. Prep and Senior School staff laid on a varied programme of taster sessions for some of our co-curricular clubs, with Mr Carpenter running a Karate session, touch rugby from Mr Hoffman, art inside and out from Mr Heath and Mrs Davis respectively, drama with Mrs Hillier, and some creative ICT with Mr Berry. The children certainly seem

Bird World came to visit us and we saw a parrot called Fred and Fred started to speak. Then we saw a barn owl called Whisper and she was as white as snow. She was very nice. We saw a family of mice and a guinea pig. The mouse was called Smokey and the guinea pig was called Joy. The mice were very small and I got to touch one. we saw a snake called Eddie. He was very friendly. Next we saw a stick insect and an Australian cockroach, which hissed when it was frightened. Its bones were on its outside and it was very firm. We saw a tarantula spider called Chili. She had eight legs and eyes and when she was scared she shoots out hairs.

Linking the weekly ‘show and tell' to the curriculum has proved to be a great success in Years One and Two. Subjects have included places the children have visited, something to give thanks for and favourite story characters when items brought in varied from Peter Rabbit to a football shirt!
This term we asked parents to support our work in science by designing and making a musical instrument. Parents and children have been very imaginative using bottles, tissue boxes, sticks and paper plates to create a variety of sounds by plucking, shaking and banging. The children eagerly played their instruments to create background sound effects to a story and have really enjoyed experimenting with loud and soft sounds, and thinking about how different sounds are created. We would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to parents for the support given each week, which has enabled this venture to become so successful and enhances work done across the curriculum.

English

During the Spring term the children will develop their phonic skills, reinforcing their knowledge of phonemes, vowels and syllables. In grammar, we will be examining compound words, antonyms and the use of different tenses. Writing skills will be built-on through story settings, developing known stories and writing book reviews. We will continue to use comprehension as a way to encourage the children to examine the texts they are reading and to develop their understanding. The children will be given the opportunity to work with greater independence and encouraged to practise their handwriting skills.