Cora from Year 1 made Hama bead keychains and set up a table outside her house with an honesty pot. She raised an amazing total of £120 and she generously donated the money to Estuary League of Friends. Well done Cora!
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 What do people need? As I drove home the other day, I heard Benjamin Zephaniah read one his poems aloud. He had chosen to read this poem as he thought it was poignant for the time we are in now. I really liked it. I hope you do too. What do people need? People need people, To walk to To talk to To cry and rely on, People will always need people. To love and to miss To hug and to kiss, It’s useful to have other people. To whom to moan If you’re all alone, It’s so hard to share When no one is there. There’s not much to do When there’s no one but you. People will always need people. To please To tease To put you at ease, People will always need people. To make life appealing And give life some meaning, It’s useful to have other people. It you need a change To whom will you turn. If you need a lesson From whom will you learn. If you need to play You’ll know why I say People will always need people. As girlfriends As boyfriends From Bombay To Ostend, People will always need people- To have friendly fights with And share tasty bites with, It’s useful to have other people. People live in families Gangs, posses and packs, Its seems we need company Before we relax, So stop making enemies And let’s face the facts, People will always need people, Yes People will always need people. –Benjamin Zephaniah Staying in touch We are trying our best to keep in contact with you all, whether that be the teachers on Google Classroom, or myself, Miss White and Mrs Hartmann calling and texting families to check that all is well. I know that we have all really enjoyed the human contact and finding out how things are going. One thing we are trying to do is sort out niggles about home learning. If you do have a problem, please do ask. We can only help if we know there is a problem and we really do want to make sure that issues are resolved as swiftly as possible in these difficult times. We may not be able to solve it, but we will try. Please do get in touch if you need any help or just a chat. Our emails are below: epipe@topsham.devon.sch.uk mwhite@topsham.devon.sch.uk nhartmann@topsham.devon.sch.uk Have a lovely weekend Mrs Pipe Daisy (Big Acorns) found this beautiful adder sunbathing while she was out on a woodland walk - the snake slithered in to the grass and she noticed that it made the letter S as it moved!   Today marks a day in history that I know many of you will be celebrating. Not with the planned street parties and gatherings with families and friends but in your own homes and gardens. It is a day that I am sure will bring mixed emotions for some of the elderly in our community. Indeed, today will be even more poignant as they continue to remain self-isolating for their own protection. They cannot be with their loved ones to remember and celebrate. On behalf of the school: Thank you for all you did at that time. The sacrifices your generation made have ensured we in the UK can live as we do now. We will be forever in your debt. I watched the news this morning where they were interviewing women who had worked at Bletchley Park as code breakers, and men who had fought even on VE Day; their war wasn’t over yet. It was both moving and humbling to hear them talk about their roles. They also spoke about how much Vera Lynn’s song ‘We’ll meet again” meant to them throughout this unimaginable time. A time where family and friends may have been separated for years. A time when parents were separated from their children; not knowing if they would ever be together again. Unimaginable. It was this song that brought the hope that they would indeed see their loved ones again. It is a song that is becoming the anthem of today as we continue in lockdown. Today we have an army of doctors and nurses, and a whole host of other medical staff working around the clock fighting Coronavirus. Some new to their roles and some, like the ones pictured here, who have been called out of retirement to help. We have some of these amazing people in our community- I have seen them at the school gate this week. Medical staff who have continued to go into work even though they know the risks this may pose to themselves and their families. On behalf of the school: Thank you. I know too that there are many Key Workers in our community who, like the NHS workers, continue to work throughout the lockdown to keep the country fed, moving, lit, safe etc. An army of people working behind the scenes, keeping the country going. On behalf of the school: Thank you. Teaching staff are part of this group of Key Workers. I am proud to work within this group. My team of staff, like all Key Workers, continue to work each day, either remotely or by coming into school each day to care for the children of other Key Workers. They do this not just because it is their job, but because they care. They all have families of their own and like everyone, their own concerns, worries and challenges that are part of living in lockdown, under the cloud of Coronavirus. They work, like every other Key Worker, while balancing the home learning of their own children and other family commitments. As their Headteacher, I would like to say: Thank you. So, on this very special day, I know everyone will be taking a moment at 11am to remember and thank all the veterans from WW2; this includes all those that were part of the war effort in whatever capacity. Everyone, either in the armed forces or not at that time, played their part. Everyone’s role was just as important in securing victory. I know too that everyone will also be thanking all those Key Workers, who continue to work today as the country and the world work together to overcome a very different enemy. Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy an afternoon tea, raising a glass of something sparkly and singing “We’ll meet again”. We will. This too will pass. Take care of yourselves and your families. Mrs Pipe
Alfie in Year 5 and his brother Elliot in Reception have been very busy baking and colouring in preparation for their celebrations in honour of the 75th anniversary of VE Day. We hope the weather stays fine and you enjoy the day!  This weekend Stanley in Year 5 and his dad made a Tesla coil, which creates a field of electricity around itself so that if you hold a fluorescent bulb near to the coil it will light up, even though it's not touching the coil. Cool, eh? The really good ones will emit big sparks from the top, but Stanley's is only run on batteries not the mains (because Stanley's dad is a mad scientist, but not a reckless one). They did manage to make a tiny spark though. A very science-y weekend!
 Yesterday I was working with Mrs Phillips on a school policy; not exciting but a real pleasure to just be spending time with her- at the appropriate level of social distancing of course.
We were saying that even though this time is extremely challenging, it has provided some opportunities to meet with people and work through things that when the school is open as ‘normal’ we may struggle to find the time to do. As part of our work yesterday, we were linking our school values into the document and the word, opportunity, came up again. As you know one of our values is ‘Opportunity for all’. It made me stop and consider what opportunities this time has opened up. Having spoken to staff and seeing the photos on Facebook and the school blog, it appears that many in our school community are using this time to take the opportunity to try something new or work on things they really enjoy. I know that many of our children are enjoying cooking and baking treats, learning to play different card and board games, making playdough, making slime, carrying out science investigations, planting seeds and gardening, and many more activities that ignite curiosity and bring joy. I know that staff are taking the opportunity to try new things including knitting, painting, sewing, cycling, running, decorating, gardening and trying new recipes- what can be made with the last things that remain in the cupboard and fridge? This time is also bringing the opportunity to work and communicate with others using varying forms of technology. I have never been so grateful for my phone. To have the opportunity to speak to my family and friends and be able to see them, even if only remotely, is something I cherish. I hope this weekend, you all, have the opportunity, to spend some time with your family doing something that you all enjoy, whatever, that may be. Take care of each other Mrs Pipe  Louis from Y1 was set a weighing task for maths. Look at those gingerbread men, well done Louis!
Enjoy eating them after all your hard work. Hope has become a master UNO champion! She is playing most evenings and winning nearly every game!29/4/2020
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