Wimborne St GilesCE Primary School

What an incredible day in Wimborne St Giles! It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day for our PTA Scarecrow Trail and our village was filled with laughter, colour and creativity. A huge thank you to our incredible PTA for organising such a fantastic event and to our wonderful school community and village for coming together to make it such a success. From S'mores in the Forest to the wonderfully inventive and creative scarecrows dotted around the lanes and of course, all the delicious homemade cakes and soup so kindly donated by our wonderful families it was a true celebration of community spirit. Thanks to everyone who came along, joined in and supported the event and to the PTA and our team of willing volunteers for all their hard work behind the scenes. We're absolutely thrilled to share that we raised an incredible £1,798 for our school! Love, hope and joy shone through every scarecrow and every smile today thank you, Wimborne St Giles!

Yesterday, our Year 4s took part in a spectacular concert at Salisbury Cathedral with iSingPop and 750 children from our family of schools across the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust. We are so proud of all of our children who danced and sang with such enthusiasm and joy about hope, togetherness and love. Thank you so much to all of our families who came along to support us and to everyone who worked so hard to make it such a wonderful experience for our children. It was such a special morning! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive #LoveHopeJoy #isingpop

Our Forest School is such a special part of life at Wimborne St Giles CE First School and Nursery. Our children love their sessions in WSG Wild Woods a chance to explore, play and learn outdoors and build teamwork, resilience and confidence - whilst having so much fun! Led by the fabulous Jen, our fully qualified Forest School practitioner and registered Dorset beekeeper, these sessions bring learning to life in the most inspiring way possible from exploring the forest floor and building shelters to pond dipping and caring for our very own beehive! We're so lucky to have such stunning school grounds that give our children the space to explore, connect with nature and experience the awe and wonder of the outdoors. We're so grateful to Jen for everything she does to help nurture our children's curiosity and to instil in them a lifelong appreciation for nature and the world around them. #ForestSchool #OutdoorLearning #LoveHopeJoy

Every Friday, our children have the wonderful opportunity to work with our talented Artist in Residence, Clare Holmes, as part of our Grow and Give enrichment sessions. Clare helps our children to explore their creativity and develop their artistic skills through a wide range of media from drawing and painting to printmaking and sculpture. Each session is filled with imagination, colour and joy! We are so grateful to Clare for sharing her wealth of expertise and inspiring our young artists every week. Thank you for helping our children to see the world through an artist's eyes! #LoveHopeJoy #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive #ArtEnrichment #CreativeLearning

Today our little school family gathered at St Giles' Church for our annual Harvest Festival. We are so proud of all of our wonderful children who shared their poems, prayers and songs in such a heartfelt way. It was a time of gratitude, thankfulness and sharing – celebrating all that we have and giving to others. We were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our families. Thank you so much for your thoughtful harvest donations which will go directly to the Trussell Trust Food Bank in Ringwood - supporting those in need within our wider community. A huge thank you also goes to: Rev Jan Brown for presiding over the service John Radford for the beautiful musical accompaniment Caroline Barnes for kindly organising and serving refreshments as we arrived at the church Love, Hope and Joy shone through every smile, every song and every gift shared today. #HarvestFestival #SchoolFamily #LoveHopeJoy #Gratitude #TogetherWeGive

Today, on National Teacher Assistants' Day, we celebrate and give thanks for our wonderful Teaching Assistants, who do so much for our little school family. Every single day, they embody our values of Love, Hope and Joy - offering care, encouragement and belief in every child's potential. From small acts of kindness to moments of extraordinary dedication, our TAs go above and beyond to ensure that each child feels supported, valued and able to shine. Their patience, creativity and tireless commitment make a world of differencenot just in our classrooms, but in the lives of our children and families. We are deeply grateful for all that you do. You are an inspiration and, today, we celebrate YOU!

Last week, our Year 4 children began rehearsals for our iSingPop concert which will be held at Salisbury Cathedral in October. They came back to school buzzing with enthusiasm about their newly learned songs and dances! We are so proud of our Mighty Oaks who sang and danced their hearts out #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive #LoveHopeJoy #isingpop

Last week, we were delighted to welcome back Lucy Swift from Child of Hope Uganda. Child of Hope is a charity that operates a school and welfare program in the slums of Eastern Uganda, providing free education, healthcare, and welfare to vulnerable children and families. The charity also supports parents by offering social, numeracy/literacy, and business training to help them break the cycle of poverty. During her time with us, Lucy presented us with a beautiful Thank You card from some of the children from the schools we have supported and we are really looking forward to continuing to develop this relationship again this year - watch this space! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive #LoveHopeJoy #ChildOfHope

Elm, Ash and Saplings classes have loved their first forest sessions of the year with Jen! We are so grateful to be able to learn and play in such beautiful surroundings. #TogetherWeGrow #LoveHopeJoy

It was so lovely to all be back together as a school family for the first day of term! We have spent today catching up on each other's news, getting to know new teachers and children and enjoying the glorious sunshine in our beautiful surroundings. The school has been filled with so much love and laughter (and lots of hugs!) - it's been just wonderful. We are so excited for the year ahead and look forward to sharing many memorable moments with you all. Let the adventures begin! #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive #LoveHopeJoy

And so another school year comes to an endand what a truly wonderful year it has been. It has been filled with learning, laughter, growth and countless moments that have reminded us of the strength and spirit of our little school family. As I mark the end of my tenth year as Headteacher, I am filled with deep gratitude. It has been both a privilege and an honour to serve this incredible school. The values of love, hope, and joy have continued to shine through in all we doshaping our relationships, guiding our aspirations and bringing light to our everyday moments. I have been continually humbled by the dedication of our staff, and governors, the enthusiasm of our pupils, and the unwavering support of our families. Together, we have built something truly speciala place where children are nurtured, supported and celebrated. Thank you for trusting me with the leadership of this school. I have been truly overwhelmed by the kind words, messages and gestures of appreciation I've received over the past few weeks – from all of our families – past and present. Your warmth and generosity have touched me deeply and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We ended what has been an extraordinary year with the most wonderful celebration of our Year 4 leavers at St Giles Churcha moving and joyful occasion that captured the heart of our school. This was followed by our Learning Showcase; where we had the chance to reflect on and celebrate the many ways our children have flourished over the years. It was a true testament to their creativity, resilience, and growth. And just when we thought the last few days couldn't get any better, the PTA surprised us all with an ice cream vanan unforgettable treat that brought smiles to every face! To our leavers and the families who are moving on this year: goodbye and thank you. You leave behind a wonderful legacyone of kindness, courage and community spirit. Whether you've been with us for many years or just a short while, your presence has helped shape the story of our school. You will always be part of our school family and we wish you every success and happiness in the adventures ahead. To everyone in our school familythank you for making this year so special. Thank you for your trust, your encouragement and your belief in our shared vision Here's to the next ten yearsmay they be filled with even more love, hope, and joy as we continue to grow and flourish together. With heartfelt thanks to you all. Have a wonderful Summer! #LoveHopeJoy #TogetherWeGrow #TogetherWeGive

Oak Class had a brilliant beekeeping session with Jen this afternoon! We learned all about bee behaviours, looked for pollen on the bees and found some bee larvae. We even managed to spot the queen in her hive and tomorrow we will get a chance to taste some of the honey made this year! We are so grateful for such a wonderful opportunity to learn so much about these amazing creatures. #TogetherWeGrow

WOW! We had the most amazing day at the British Museum in London yesterday! We were thrilled to see up close and first hand all of the statues, monuments, tombs and mummies that we have been learning about in history and apply our growing knowledge of hieroglyphics to deciphering all of the messages written on the cartouches. We also learned so much about life (and after life) in Ancient Egypt and the beliefs held by the people of that time. A HUGE thank you to all of our grown ups who came and joined us on our visit and helped to make it such a success. We are so proud of all of our Oaks who behaved so beautifully and engaged so enthusiastically throughout the day. It was a really rich learning opportunity for us all - full of awe and wonder - and it was such a joy and privilege to experience it together. #LoveHopeJoy #TogetherWeGrow