Balksbury Junior School

Clubs and Community Links 2000-2001

Rainforest in the hall	There are several clubs and after school activities run at the school. Here are a few of them.	Amphitheatre
Year 3 art	Chess club is run for children of all ages who can either play chess, or who want to learn. It is run during a lunchtime with the children sometimes attempting to beat the computer!	Netball team practice
Year 3 constructed a pyramid from paper	Writers' Club offers children the opportunity and encouragement to write stories and make books from their work, under supervision from the Literacy Coordinator.	Playground
For children in Year 6, there is the chance to learn road safety and maintenance of their bicycles. This is run under Hampshire County Council guidelines and involves the children learning to ride safely on the roads around the school.	This year there have been several links with the community.	There are regular visits from the Community Police Officer, who works with the children on aspects of safety and is highly popular!
The school attended a carol service, arranged by two of the teachers, in St Michael's Church in December, in which some of the children read and everyone joined in with the singing. This is one of our most popular events of the year and the church is always full to capacity. We were greeted by the vicar, Chris Rankine, new to the Church this year, who made us very welcome.	Shields made during a study of the Celts and Romans	Wessex Books and Scholastic Books have also paid us their annual visit to show the children the latest books on sale.
Finding out how to program a Roamer	This year, Year 5 participated in the annual Country Dancing Festival, which takes place at John Hanson School, one of our local secondary schools.	Year 6 examined a painting by a well known artist, painted a part of it and made a 3D representation of the painting
Year 4 were luck enough to learn about Dr Thomas Barnardo from a Barnardo's representative. This was in preparation for their topic on th Victorians at the beginning of Year 5, and they learned about conditions suffered by Victorian children and the work done by Thomas Barnardo.	Kandinsky - on the computer!	Visits during the school year included Marwell Zoo, Southampton, Andover Museum of the Iron Age, Sparsholt, and the British Museum .
Fund-raising efforts this year have involved: Barnardos, Poppy Day, the Macmillan Cancer Relief appeal, the NSPCC 'Stop' campaign and an initiative by one of our pupils to 'wear your football kit to school' to raise money for St John Ambulance Brigade.	Frogs in the school pond	Although the school currently does not have a PTA, parents at the school have organised a school disco, which took place at the end of the school year and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

Click here to find out more about Balksbury's school year.