St James’CE Primary School

As part of Collective Worship this afternoon, we marked the first day of advent by lighting the Hope candle which was lit by George who demonstrated our school values in abundance this week. We also decorated our tree which was kindly donated by Mannington Heath Farm Christmas Trees. When children join St James', they each create a decoration that they use each year and they take on with them as they leave in Year 4. Our worship concluded with a wonderful performance by Owls class who will be singing in local nursing homes in the last week of term.

What better way to learn about hibernation than to have a visit from a tortoise! Our Nursery children loved meeting Aldi the tortoise and learning all about why some animals hibernate over Winter.

It was a huge privelege to host our first Priory Cup event of the year and welcome Wimborne St Giles CE VA First School and Nursery, Cranborne CE First School and Nursery and Trinity CE First School to compete in a highly contested Football festival. For our children, competing as a school is so important and builds a rich sense of belonging and community. After reaching the final, we were beaten in the final minutes of the game but we were delighted to cheer on Trinity with a well deserved win. With our Netball fixture after the Christmas break, we are looking forward to competing for that top spot once more.

A huge well done the St James' Choir who performed for the Mayor of Wimborne Minster Town Council at his charity brunch at The Olive Branch. They did an amazing job starting what was a packed line of school and community choirs and musical performances.

On Friday, we had a fantastic evening at our annual St James' PFA Movie Night. A huge thank you to the team involved hosting and organising the event which not only gives the children a fun evening out with their friends but also raisies vital funds for the school.

Reception 2025 application deadline is the 15th January but there is still time to book a tour at St James' First School if you've not quite decided - a beautiful village school set just outside the heart of Wimborne. You can book a school tour with the headteacher using the link below. We'd love to show you around our beautiful school. https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/StJamesFirstSchool@dsat.org.uk/bookings/

Owls have enjoyed working in small groups to demonstrate fantastic teamwork in order to make their own papier-mâché volcanoes. The children showed excellent creativity and were able to use their technical vocabulary to explain what happens during an eruption and label the key parts.

This afternoon, Squirrels class welcomed their parents and carers to celebrate their incredible learning on Stone Age Britain. Their learning journey began with a visit to Hooke Court which inspired some fantastic writing and Stone Age art work. They were proud to present all they had done and celebrate their success - well done Squirrels class.

A huge thank you to Tradpots who treated Owls class to a wonderful afternoon of Christmas pottery. It was a fantastic opporunity for children to learn a new skill and be guided by a team of pottery experts! Our Christmas decorations are off to the kiln to be fired and we'll come back together to glaze our final products.

In Cottage our Nursery children have been inspired by Andy Goldsworthy art, making beautiful patterns in nature. How amazing do their creations look?! If anyone is off for a woodland walk this weekend why not have a go!

Despite the torrential rain, it was wonderful to see so many children, parents and carers coming back to buy cakes as part of our BBC Children in Need bake sale. Assisted by our wonderful St James' PFA, school council members took some huge sales, with the mufti total from earlier in the day, we raised a huge £300. A massive thank you to everyone who baked cakes and braved the mud to come and support such a worthwhile cause.

On a day where we are also raising funds for BBC Children in Need, it is wonderful to see so many Christmas Shoeboxes ready to send to children across the world as part of Operation Christmas Child. We so delighted to see so many shoeboxes this year, thank you for incredible generosity - let's hope Miss Roberts can fit them all in her car!

Over the last two weeks, we have welcomed Sports Leaders from St Michael's CE Middle School who, as part of their leadership training, had prepared a series of fun Tag Rugby activites for Year 3 and 4 to enjoy. A huge thank you to those leaders who planned and delivered such fun activties for our children.

Today, the children of St James' First School and Nursery - Wimborne and the wider community joined together to remember those we have lost and all those have served our country as part of the armed forces. During our Remembrance Service, everyone was invited to plant a poppy in our Peace Garden which the children had all had a chance to make over the last week. Thank you to all the children who took part in the service, read poems or led our prayers of reflection. Thank you to the parent team who came together to help paint and construct this beautiful display.

As term came to a close before the half-term break, the St James' PFA hosted our annual Autumn Festival. As part of the celebration, children decorated and carved pumpkins, took part in a colouring competition and then enjoyed an afternoon of Autumn festivities. Whether it was welly wanging, apple pressing, Autumn crafts or a photo opportunity on a vintage tractor, we all had a great time. Once again, thank you to all those involved who made the event so special and well done for another £700 raised for the PFA pot.