The Great Egg Mystery

There was great excitement at school when children at Mandeville noticed a large nest being built on the canopy outside Year 3. It grew in size until one morning a giant egg appeared in the nest. An emergency assembly was called to discuss the finding. During the assembly, a police van drove onto the playground and four officers cordoned off the area for safety reasons. The police then took statements from the children and reported the findings to the Museum of Strange Objects.

A letter was submitted to The National Museum of Strange Objects informing them of this unusual discovery.

National Museum of Strange Objects

1 Talistory Street

Camden

WC1 2HT

Dear Ms. Claire Whitehouse,

I am writing to inform you on the latest news. An unknown sized egg appeared in the school grounds under enigmatic circumstances. Once the news spread, all pupils’ minds were flowing with enquiries, which positively altered the way the police, who arrived at the scene, thought. This morning, the egg was deposited on the canopy above year 3. What this egg is remains a mystery and we don’t recognise what is encased past the outer layer. Most students here believe there is a creature (big or small) inside the impenetrable shell.

Lofted high above the year three classroom, which is adjacent to the lunch hall, is a protective, cushioned nest formed from twigs and branches that have been spotted in different areas around the school before. Inside this nest, lays an upturned egg, slightly on an angle. Clearly, it is rough textured and grooves cover the outside. On the other hand, it has a white shell and is lined with little dark speckles. Unlike other eggs, it is substantially vast in comparison. We have never noticed anything like this before.

We plead for your aid in this sector of expertise. If you are able, it would be a privilege to endeavour as a team to find this out. We will scavenge for evidence and report our discoveries. To conclude, we have come across an egg that jeopardies our safety, but this is all still an oddity…

Yours sincerely,

Joe 

The National Museum of Strange Objects replied with the following letter:

The Great Egg Mystery Children's Investigations:

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5 

Year 6

Coronation Art

A big thank you to Miss Daniel (Ladybirds Class Teacher) for organising this amazing project to show progression of drawing skills through the school from nursery to year 6. We were so impressed with all the wonderful crowns that children drew to celebrate the Coronation. Please click through the pictures to see how the artwork changes from nursery to year 6. What fantastic learning and fantastic progression!

Themed and Historical Visits

Planetarium Experience

Year 1 and Year 6 were treated to a fantastic star and planet experience when a mobile, inflatable planetarium run by the University of Hertfordshire landed in the school hall. The pupils were mesmerized by the dome projections learning out about the stars, constellations, galaxies, Earth, sun and moon and even the Northern Lights. It was an amazing experience and really brought their class topics to life.

Alban Arena Choir

On Wednesday 22nd March, our choir joined 250 other young singers from St Albans and performed a fantastic concert at the Alban Arena. After many weeks of rehearsing and a long day of singing we think they all performed brilliantly. Here is what some had to say about their experience:

It was fun and colourful because the lights were going around like a rainbow. I sang in front of hundreds of people. I felt confident and happy. My favourite song was “Kookaburra.” The singing went well. -- Havana

I really enjoyed it. It was very fun. I felt happy as well as nervous because there were lots of people. I really liked it when the grown-ups sang their parts because some of them were funny. I also think the band did a really good job. -- Isabelle

During the rehearsals, I felt nervous, but in the actual concert, I felt bold and really confident. Even though there were hundreds of people, I smiled a lot. I especially enjoyed the joke about the galaxy, and my favourite song was “Eagle” from Abba. I found “Birds” really tricky because a bit was added to the beginning. When I got home, I felt really proud of myself. My family said that I sang well. -- Alice

I was so proud of all the children that stood on the stage representing Mandeville so well on Wednesday. You sang with every ounce of enthusiasm that I have come to expect from Mandeville. I was incredibly proud of the brave children who sang in the small groups and those who read so beautifully and with such expression. I really was the proudest head teacher in the room - I hope you heard me clapping and cheering so loudly! -- Mrs Longhurst

Well done everyone!

Mrs Brown & Mrs Dollin

Royal Albert Hall

History Week and Roman Day

Local History Week

The week of the 12th June  we were learning about and celebrating the wonderful history that we have on our doorsteps. Local History Week forms an important part of our History curriculum; helping the children to develop an awareness of and be curious about the history that they see around them. It helps them to think about the process of change over time and question these changes. On Monday, we welcomed a visitor from the St Albans Guided Walks team who lead our assembly with an excellent whistlestop tour of the chronology of our fabulous city. Throughout the week, every year group has visited a different historical site ranging from the watercress beds and St Stephens church in KS1 to a tour of the City in Year 5. Year 4 even made it up the clocktower to discover its interesting history and some of them got caught out in the torrential rain as they were admiring the spectacular view!

Roman Day

To end the week, children from year 1 to 6 came in dressed as Romans. We saw some absolutely fantastic oufits which you can see in the pictures. What a fantastic day was had by everyone today. "Roman Day has been so much fun because everybody dressed up and looked like actual Romans," (Oliver). Isla agreed: "It was fun to see all the costumes that people made."

In the classrooms, lots of learning about the Romans happened. "I've learnt a lot about what the Romans gave to Britain, such as the sewage system, street lighting and the calendar," (Jenson).  "I enjoyed learning Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Latin. It's just fun to learn a song in a different language," (Erin). Roman Day was certainly a great way to end our fabulous History week.

This morning, All children from Years 2 through to 6 watched a special assembly - some of the teachers performed the classic book, The Gruffalo in Latin. "It was really fun to watch and try to understand, but we were able to figure out what was happening even though it was all spoken in another language," (Jocelyn). See below for a sneaky peak at our amazing teachers going above and beyond... again!

Year 1

Natural History Museum

Year 1 had a fantastic time at the Natural History Museum in London learning about all things dinosaurs! They have  come back to school and have done some lovely writing about their day.

Year 2

St Albans Cathedral

Year Two are learning all about St Albans this half term. On Tuesday, our two year 2 classes walked to St Albans Cathedral to bring their learning to life. They spent the day learning about all the the different parts of the building and then had two workshops where they made tiles out of clay and were even able to dress up as bishops! Ms Fenner reported that the children were beautifully behaved on the trip, a real credit to Mandeville in that they were very respectful and curious about all they saw. The children have since been doing some fantastic writing about their trip in class time.

Year 3

Celtic Harmony

On Wednesday we went to Celtic Harmony. It was the best day of our lives. We did lots of activities. First we saw our leader who showed us around the camp. After that they showed us how to make a fire in their time and it looked amazing. Then we made a shelter, it looked so cool. We can't wait to go on our next trip.' Gilly & Marissa

British Museum

Our trip to the British Museum was amazing because we got to see all sorts of Greek artefacts and some of them we could touch! Our favourite part was looking at all the pots, one of which was enormous. We also enjoyed seeing the coins because they were so small and had lots of different heads on them. We got a quiz too. It's amazing how those things were held by people thousands of years ago. Gilly and Zain

Smoothie and Pizza Making Workshop

On Friday 28th January, we blended a smoothie with exercise bikes.  We pedalled the bikes which powered the blender and smashed up the fruit.  One of the smoothies was blueberry and oat milk.  The other one was a mixture of tropical fruit and water.  Most of us thought the blueberry one was delicious.  Some of us tried them but didn't like the taste or the texture.  Smoothies are healthy because you use lots of fruit and they make part of the rainbow which we need to keep our bodies healthy.

In the activity studio, we started with sticky dough that we had to knead.  Once the dough was not sticky, we spread tomato sauce and then out more rainbow toppings on.  There was sweetcorn, cheese, pineapple, ham, courgette and onion.  We tried new toppings and thought it was delicious!

Kew Gardens

On Monday, Year 3 went to Kew Garden.  We went into Palm House and Temperate House.  There were massive leaves on the rainforest plants.  We saw lots of plants which grow food like: banana tree, cocoa beans, coffee beans and even lemon trees.  There were trees from different rainforests around the world and even a waterfall.  Fun fact  - did you know the world's oldest pot plant is at Kew?  It is about 300 years old.  Next we went up over 100 steps to get to the top of the treetop walk.  There was a platform above the trees.  Some people were scared but we thought the view was magnificent!  It was a fabulous and interesting day.  Everyone should visit Kew! (Reehan and Leon)

Year 4

Verulamium

 Our two year 4 classes went on a trip to visit the St Albans Museum and Verulamium park. They enjoyed a fantastic workshop in the museum and handled all different kinds of artefacts, they even got to dress up as Romans! They then visited the Hypercourse, Roman gate and wall in the park. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and did so well walking to and from the museum.

London Aquarium

Ivinghoe Beacon and Sleepover

Year 4 enriched their curriculum topic on "Mountains" by climbing to the top of Ivinghoe Beacon and then camping out in their classrooms over night! Here are some reports from the children:

On 12th May 2023, the whole year 4 went on a trip to Ivinghoe Beacon. We walked up the steep, rocky hill trying to avoid the puddles. When we got to the top, the view was spectacular! All of us gazed at the lush green fields which were empty. It was time for a snack and a selfie. After lunch, Mrs Davies put us into groups so we could build dens. Anaaya started sinking in a pile of leaves. No-one rescued her! The hardest part of the day was trudging back up the hill to the coach. Now we know how it feels to be a mountaineer! (Anyaaya, Summer and Zayan)

We arrived back at school at 6pm for our sleepover. Our first activity was a super dance party where we played games and had a huge pillow fight! Next, we went outside to eat dinner which was a delicious BBQ with sausages and burgers. Once we got inside, we played some really fun games! Then we got into our pjs and set up our beds. We drunk hot chocolate and ate cookies while we watched Tangled and Cars. Amazingly, some people sleeptalked and snored! 

In the morning, we went outside and had croissants. As soon as we had packed away, it was time to go home. The teachers were relieved! (Debee, Raseel and Evie)

Mountfitchet  Castle and Norman Village

Our exciting new topic is 1066. To support this topic, we have planned a fun filled trip to Mount Fitchet Castle & Norman Village in Essex. At the castle the children will have the opportunity to explore the castle and roam through the Norman village hidden behind the castle walls, smell the log fires burning and feel the ambience of a bygone lifestyle.  There will also be a chance to meet and hand feed the tame fallow deer and other rescued animals that roam freely throughout the 10 acre site.

We liked that everything we looked at was interactive as it really felt like we'd gone back in time! One of our favourite parts was learning about the ducking stool which was used on women who were accused of being witches - even though it was super cruel! We also loved seeing all of the animals walking around, especially the peacocks as we'd never seen one with its tail feathers out.   Grace, Eleanor & Bea (Hawks)

Year 5 

Lincolnsfield

 Our Year 5 classes went on a trip to Lincolnsfield centre in Bushey. Children got to experience what it was like to live in the 1940's. Today both classes have been doing some excellent writing about their day.

Maths Masterclass

Chatterbooks Trip to the Globe Theatre

Public Speaking Competition

 Year 5 pupils participated in a public speaking competition. For this challenge we had to choose between 4 people who stood for equality. Those people were called Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Emeline Pankhurst and Nelson Mandela. After you had chosen your person, you would make a speech about them and why they were the most important. In the class, the teacher chose 4 people to be in the competition. Just a week later, we presented our speeches to the judges. This year the finalists were Annie, Khadija, Brendon, Anaiyah, Gabriella, Areeya, Matilda and Erin. The winners were Khadija, Anaiya and Gabriella.

Written by Khadija and Anaiya Year 5

Victorian Day

Year 5's topic this half term is 'The Victorians'. To explore the topic in more detail on Wednesday they visited St Albans Cathedral and participated in two workshops, Victorian Pastimes and a Victorian Classroom. To add to the excitement and feeling of the day, children could wear Victorian dress. We saw some fantastic outfits and a great day was had by all!

Year 6

Hampton Court

 Last week Year 6 made the journey to West London to visit Hampton Court Palace. Exploring the home of Henry VIII really brought our Tudors topic to life. The children warmed themselves by the fires in the huge kitchens and sat proudly on the high seats in the great hall. They discussed the problems of the day in the council chamber and lost themselves in the Maze.  It was a fabulous day full of curiosity and wonder.

Legoland

Year 6 went on an exciting trip to Legoland in Windsor on Thursday 8th June.  To support learning in our next theme “Scream Machine”, the aim was to develop the children’s understanding of the ways rides are designed to cause an adrenalin release in people.  Not to mention, having fun!

Bikeability

Year 6 have spent a week learning all about road safety. They all had a great time, cycling around the local streets and learnt how to ride safely and look after their bikes albeit on the hottest week of the year so far!

We would like to thank the Bikeability instructors and Lizzy Cooil for organising this for us.

Residential Trips

Condover Trip 2023

Condover Hall Trip 2019

“On Friday, most of Year 6 travelled on a coach to Condover Hall.  We started the activities off by doing either Abseiling or Ariel Trek.  For all groups, the Ariel Trek was the most enjoyable activity because it felt like you were flying.  After our delicious dinner, we did a run around quiz where you had to run around and find quiz answers.  Over the next two days, all three groups had 5 activities each day.  The most popular ones were: sensory trail, leap of faith, zipwire and rock climbing.  All the Year 6's were exhausted by the time we go back to Mandeville!” (by Aimee and Amy, year 6)

Sky Academy Studios Trip

“On our trip to Sky Academy Studios, we all had loads of fun recording and watching back our scenes. We were allowed to shoot, edit and play around with the videos as well as having some fun time afterwards. The whole time we were all as amazed as we were when we first arrived! As well as this, we learnt more about Sky Studios and how it has changed over the years. We found out that in the last three years, Sky has managed to get rid of all plastic that used to be used. To test our memory on a video we watched, we did a small quiz. Out of eight questions, we got six right. Overall, the experience we had was amazing and I doubt any of us will ever forget this trip. I believe anybody would enjoy this trip as much as we did.” (Amy B, Year 6)

Mandeville's Reading Hut

Thank you to Vicky and Louise for refurbishing our fabulous reading hut which we have re named 'Reg's Reading House' after our elderly neighbour who so generously left us £500 in his will. The refurbishment means that classes can use the house for lessons again and that children can use the house at play times for reading and other quieter activities. Here is Year 2 demonstrating this beautifully!

World Book Day 2023

World Book Day Assembly – Cate Cooper

On Wednesday we arrived to find Mrs Longhurst dressed as a giraffe dancing her way through assembly! Why? She was reminding us that it is the week when we celebrate World Book Day where we dress up as book characters and bring money for Book Aid International. This is an important charity that send books to children in Africa who wouldn’t otherwise have anything to read. Some of the Year 2 children were also dressed up to inspire us with characters such as Alice in Wonderland, The Cat in the Hat and Nancy from Oliver Twist. Thanks to Mrs Longhurst for making us all start the day with a smile!

Letter to McDonalds

We are very proud of Annabel in Year 1 who wrote this amazing environmental advice letter to McDonalds.

Thank you to everyone for a dazzling array of book characters around the school on Thursday. The whole school got together to celebrate in Assembly and we gave a special round of applause to all the fabulous home-made costumes. A special shout out to Jack in Y5 who was walking dictionary, Carter in Y1 who showed his love for Beegu and Ferris who made a whole Roald Dahl book cover by himself. The aim of the day was to share a love of reading and the children all spent lots of the day reading either independently, with buddies or as a class.

Children also should have received their £1 World Book Day voucher. It can be exchanged for a book at your local bookshop.  

Eco Friendly Advice

 From Year 1 student.

"Try, just try to use as little plastic as possible because it goes in to the sea and animals are dying. Some ideas for stopping plastic getting in animal homes:

You could make a pig out of a bottle and four old pens. The bottle is the body and the pens are the legs. Draw a mouth and two nostrils on the lid.

Or you could go litter picking which would stop it from being blown into rivers and streams.

But most important of all try to stop using plastic (just trying will work) and when you go to the shops if you can, go to the ones that use less plastic."

                                                                     By Beatrix 

Caitlin and Imogen

Sisters Caitlin and Imogen showed their community spirit and did lots of litter picking teamwork along the streets near the school. They filled a bin bag of rubbish to the brim! They hope people find their walk to school a bit cleaner! Well done girls, this is amazing example of showing our Mandeville community spirit. 

Sports

Cricket Tournament

On Tuesday 28th February 8 very excited (and slightly nervous) cricketers went to Roundwood Park School in Harpenden. They played 8 matches and after they played their first match they completely forgot about being nervous! It was fantastic to see the excited faces and enthusiasm. I was so impressed with the cricketers team work and organisational skills when fielding. What a fabulous way to spend the afternoon!'

Mrs Warnes

'On Wednesday afternoon some year 4's went to play quick cricket with lots of other schools. To score points, you had to hit the ball through the gates. Gates were two cones next to each other. If the ball went through the gates, you scored 4 points. Once you had hit all the balls you had to run criss cross. When you field, you had to work as a team and put the balls on the tees. We worked really well as a team!

In our team there was Tarah, Hadley, Arthur, Kaleem, Lina, Zaidan, Samuel and Amelia.

When we arrived, most of us were excited but some were nervous.  Our first game was against Prae Wood and we lost. Our closest game was when we lost by 3 points. We were 100% sure that we had the best fielding team out of all the schools! It was great fun!'

By Kaleem, Arthur, Tarah and Amelia - Year 4

TAG Rugby

On Tuesday 7th March we got to do tag rugby. It was an exciting day, we were nervous but were confident. It was really freezing, muddy and snowy! It wasn't a competition but we all got a certificate and had great fun!'

Elias and Jordan Yr 5

Hockey Tournament

We went to Oaklands College on Tuesday to play hockey. We learned lots of things, like collaboration and better sportsmanship. We worked hard and tried our best. Our team won three matches, drew two and lost four. We played nine matches altogether and we came 6th place in our group. Thank you to miss Steventon for training us and to the teachers for getting us there to play.

(Marine, Sidra, Chellvhin, Toby, Kaden and Samir)

Singing Workshop

Pete Letanka who is leading the Big Sing Festival in St. Albans Cathedral on 26th January at 6.30pm is also leading a series of singing workshops at our school.

This is a unique opportunity for our Year 4 children to get involved in making music and taking part in this fun filled celebration of music. Our children will spend the day learning new songs in variety of styles and at the end of the day there will be a performance for the whole school.

If you would like to experience one of his inspirational workshops along with your child, workshops begin on 26th January at 11 o'clock at Marlborough Rd. Methodist church, but you will need to register.

World Thinking Day

This Wednesday, 22nd February it was the Scouting and Guiding World Thinking Day. Our pupils who are members of the Scouting and Guiding Associations came into school in their uniforms and we enjoyed hearing all about the badges they have earned and the fun that they have out of school.

The first World Thinking Day was established in 1926 to commemorate Lord Robert Baden-Powell's birthday, who founded the scouting movement. The purpose of the period was to allow scouts to reflect on the significance of their pledge and the global scope of their movement.

World Thinking Day remains one of the most important dates in the scouting and guiding calendar, and every year the theme of the event encourages members to think about the big issues affecting them and their global community. Previous World Thinking Days have tackled the subjects of poverty, gender inequality, environmental sustainability and access to education.