Special Events

Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, prepare yourselves for lots of fun!

What an entertaining start to the Federation New Year thanks to the amazingly talented actors of M&M Theatrical Productions. The children had been waiting in anticipation for this exciting day to arrive and they were certainly not left disappointed with the colourful pantomime which was packed full of fun, adventure and age appropriate humour.

The children were thoroughly engaged by the hilarious antics from the characters: Jack, Jill, Jack’s Mum, Buttercup the Cow, The Scary Giant, Squire Bogey (Booo…) and not forgetting the Giant’s 7 foot baby! Their adventures took them to the dizzy heights of Nursery Rhyme Land where they met even more interesting characters along the way, including the infamous Humpty Dumpty. The climb was well worth the effort as they found a sparkling, golden egg which paid off their rent debt to the dastardly Squire Bogey (Booo…)

The enthusiasm from the audience was a wonderful sight to see, the broad smiles on the children’s faces were contagious as they laughed, booed, cheered and clapped along. They especially loved singing and reciting their multiplication knowledge to the times tables song!  

Jack and the Beanstalk was a great hit with its wonderful costumes, superb scenery and magical special effects all combined to deliver an electric atmosphere and guarantee our young audience a truly imaginative, enthralling journey into the world that is Pantomime. Every year group engaged well with this live theatrical performance.

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As part of promoting a love of reading and extending our reading experiences, we were lucky to have a return visit from the author Julia Edwards. Julia writes time travelling novels for different periods in History, many of which we have studied. She has written three new books since she came last time!

Julia spent the morning with all of the year 6 children. She introduced to them her new book The Ring from the Ruins, which is the last book in the series of The Scar Gather. The book is set in WW2 Liverpool. The children learnt all about the main events leading up to the start of WW2 and were introduced to the main character Joe Hopkins, who is a time traveller. This was a very exciting session for Year 6, as they will be learning about this in more depth later in the year. They really benefited from her workshop and we could see what the children knew already and what we will focus on when we study it in History.

The children were able to read the first chapter of the book and talk to Julia about the events of the story.

In the afternoon she spoke to all the children in the school. Julia told them about her inspiration for her first book with Joe Hopkins and about him travelling back in time to Roman Times. She read from The Golden Cage her first book, she shared facts and events from her book about Joe and the Romans.

Julia introduced the other books in the series they cover the Vikings, Tudors, Great Fire of London, Georgian and Victorians.  She told the children that each time Joe time travels, he meets Lucy, he remembers her but she does not recognise him.

The children really enjoyed recalling the facts they already knew about the different periods in history, showing that they have remembered what they had been learning and they enjoyed hearing about how Joe dealt with all the differences of each time period.

The children were able to buy her books at the end of the day, this was very popular. There was a huge queue to meet her and have eight books of each title in our Junior library so that everyone can enjoy them.

You can check out her website at https://www.scargatherer.co.uk/  Her books are available from her or from Amazon 

All through the month of December artwork from every year group in the federation will be on display at the Dereham Windmill. The gallery opens on the 6^th of December 2019!

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The theme of the gallery is Christmas, and every year group worked on applying the skills they have been learning and revisiting in their art lessons to create the art. There are 5 pieces from every class across the federation on display and if your child’s artwork has been selected they are able to go and visit the windmill free of charge!

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We think the gallery looks amazing and are so proud of everyone! We hope you love it too.

Please visit the Dereham Windmill’s website for more information.

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“Sing we joyous altogether! Fa la la la la la la la la!

Heedless of the wind and weather, Fa la la la la la la la la!”

On Thursday 28^th November, Toftwood Junior School Singing Club helped celebrate the switching on of the Christmas Lights at Dereham’s Dencora Shopping Centre by performing a selection of traditional Christmas carols.

I think we had all imagined a Christmas card scene of crisp glistening frost and perhaps the first wispy flakes of snow. Instead, as we arrived on the evening we were met with driving rain and gusty winds which turned umbrellas inside out and sent song sheets tumbling through puddles.

Undaunted, and with the kind cooperation of the manager of QD who allowed us to shelter in the shop’s doorway, the children gathered together and performed to a hardy and appreciative audience.

This was the children’s first time taking singing out into the local community and they did a fabulous job. It was a joy to hear the group performing carols like ‘Away in a Manger’, ‘Silent Night’ and ‘We Three Kings’ that are so much part of our national heritage, and to know that these are being kept alive by a new generation.

We would like to say a massive ‘Well done!’ to all of the children who took part and our heartfelt thanks to the family members who stayed, ‘heedless of the wind and weather’, to show their support.