World Book Day 2024
Wonderful Words!
World Book Day was on Thursday 7th March. The whole school made an amazing effort and every child came dressed as a Wonderful Word. The children and teachers were dressed as 'colourful, transparent, explorer, sparkling, sporty, tired, impeccable' to name just a few of the Wonderful Words! This year the children labelled their costumes with their word which looked brilliant. The children had a Reading Cafe session, created a Smitham bookmark and were part of a Smitham Wonderful Word Parade in the afternoon. Here is what some of the children thought:
'Best World Book Day ever! So fun! Wish it would have lasted longer.'- Oliver, Year 5.
'I liked it because we were able to dress up.'- Charlie, Year 3.
'I saw some great costumes.'- Finley, Year 2.
Here are just a few photos of a fantastic day.
Jeanne Willis
We had a fantastic visit from Jeanne Willis this term. The gifted author, who has written more than 80 books including The Bog Baby, spent a day with the Year 1, 2 and 3 children. Jeanne's accolades include the Children's Book Award, the Silver Smarties Prize and she has also been shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.
She talked about her life as a children's author, her love of animals and the environment and all the books she has written.
Mrs Mohanan, Year 3 class teacher, said: "The children had an amazing day and were so inspired by Jeanne. We took part in a really exciting assembly and even made our very own Bog Babies and created the perfect environment for them! It was a day we will always remember!"
Storyteller Andy Copps
We had a wonderful visit from the storyteller Andy Copps for Nursery and Reception this half term. Andy used puppets and props to tell a number of different tales under the theme of Heads & Tails with an African animals focus. He had the children in the palm of his hand as he made the sessions full of fun and interactive.
Andy's website is: https://www.andycopps.com/
Here are a few quotes from some Reception children about the visit:
'He was a storyteller, I got to draw an elephant that gobbled up Oh Nananas children in our story.'- Oliver.
'I really liked all the animals he had, like the parrot, the lion, crocodile and the spider. It made me laugh.' - Jeremy.
'I liked him because he made his own story, the story was so fun.' - Savannah.
We hope to have Andy back next year. Thank you very much Ms Hall, from Hallways Estate Agents, for funding his visit- very much appreciated by us all.
Joshua Seigal
Years 1- 6 had a very special visit from the highly acclaimed poet and author Joshua Seigal this term. Joshua really put on a show for the children as he performed a number of poems from his books ‘I don’t like poetry’, ‘Yapping Away’ and ‘Who Let the Words Out’. Joshua told the children all about his lovely cat, Bluebell, and even read his poem inspired by her, explaining how this poem was written as a poem of thanks to his furry friend! Joshua also led poetry writing workshops with Years 4 and 5, giving them tips about writing a poem. He told the children that poems don’t always need rhyme, they can be written about anything and showed them how to bring the words alive!
Everyone had a fantastic time and we hope to see Joshua Seigal again in the future.
