YOUNG ECO ENGINEERS RACE DAY

On Sat 18 May 13, 5 children from Elephants Class attended the Young Eco Engineers Race Day at BAE Systems, Rochester. 

The 5 were part of a group of 8 children who have built an electric car from a kit; designed the outer shell and created their own team strip from eco-friendly materials.

This years’ car, named the Pink Elephant by the team, won the shield for the best looking car. 

All the children who attended the race day had the opportunity to drive the car and compete against other drivers.   All agreed it was a great day and the shield was just the icing on the cake. 

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Martin Allen, Manager of Gillingham Football Club visit.

On Monday, 12 November 2012 we were very pleased to welcome Martin Allen to our School.

The following has been taken, with kind permission, from Gillingham Football Club's Matchday Programme, vol 11

"Last Monday I had a wonderful half day on my very first invitation to a function in the Gillingham area.  I took a Riverside Primary School assembly at Rainham and then did a football games session out on the playground.  It was lovely for me personally to talk to the children about their dreams and their plans and what we all have to try and do to achieve our dreams.....

My special thanks to all the teachers and pupils at Riverside Primary School that made me so welcome.  It helps me keep my feet on the ground which I think is good for the job that I have to do."

 

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 Au Revoir to our friends

As year 6 move on we wish them every happiness and success in the future at their new schools.     This picture was taken prior to Year 6's recent production of Oz which everyone agreed was brilliant!

We also bade a fond farewell to Mrs Beck and Miss Marrable who retired.  Everyone enjoyed their "This is your school life..." and the presents their classes made them were beautiful.                                                                                           Well done Rhys! On the last day of term Rhys decided to sacrifice his hair for a good cause.  Everyone gave a donation; whether it was some of their pocket money, their tuck money or their bus fare home!    Rhys raised a whopping £55.46 to give to the trust fund set up to help Terry Kiddie.  Terry's family joined the assembly and witnessed the ceremonial 'chopping off' by Mrs Slade (pictured right).    Mrs Kiddie was very emotional as she received the money and thanked Rhys for his kindness.

 

Congratulations (Friday 6 July 2012)

Congratulations to all our Upper key Stage 2 Children who took part in the Bikeability (cycling proficiency) programme and those who passed.  The ladies delivering the course were very impressed, saying all the children who took part were very well behaved and were a pleasure to teach.

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Archery at the Kent Games

Four children from Riverside Archery Club attended the Kent Games on Thursday, June 20^th  2012.  The club held heats last week to select the team and then all fingers were crossed that the weather would be good enough to allow the event to go ahead.  There were huge sighs of relief when Wednesday turned out to be a lovely day.  The sighs turned to cheers when the team met Olympic athlete, Dame Kelly Holmes who exchanged ‘high-fives’ with the Riversiders and wished them luck for the competition. 

Competition was fierce as the majority of competitors were from secondary schools, and most had been competing for several years.  However, our team all achieved personal bests with one child hitting ‘gold’ 9 times with 36 arrows!  The children were presented with tee-shirts and certificates to mark the day and everyone agreed they had had a fantastic time.

Let's Celebrate! 

On Friday 1^st June 2012 we hung up our bunting and celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.  Everyone dressed in red, white and blue and we had a street party on the playgound.  The various activities they enjoyed included; Tin Can Alley, Maypole Dancing, Tombola, Hoopla, Pin the Tale on the Corgi and Hook-a-Duck.

  

They watched a DVD of the Cornonation whilst eating an icecream.   Parents and Carers joined at the end of the afternoon for the Grand Jubilee Parade.   During the week the children enjoyed reading “The Queen’s Knickers” by Nicholas Allan.  Mrs Frame held a competition where the children desgined knickers for the Queen to wear if she visited our School!

On Wednesday 23rd May we were invited by Mr Rehman Chishti MP to take a group of children to visit parliament. 

 

It was a glorious sunny day when a cross-section of 12, very excited, Key Stage 2 children boarded the train to London.  

A guide gave them a tour of the Palace of Westminster where they saw great works of art and learned about the history of the site, our Kings and Queens and the workings of parliament.  Unfortunately the House of Commons were in session but the children were able to go into the House of Lord’s Chamber.     The guide said that our children were extremely polite and a pleasure to take around and talk with.

 

On Saturday 19 May 2012 a team of 4 children represented Riverside and joined 45 other schools from all over Kent and Medway to race their car at the YEE Grand Prix.      Many thanks to Mr Brand and Mrs Slade who helped out on the day.    They will be racing again on the 9th June 2012 at Detling Showground.  If you would like to go along and support them at a fantastic day of speed and fun for all the family please contact Mrs Ward for a visitor's pass.

To mark the end of their topic on the Tudors, our Key Stage 2 children recently recreated the sights, sounds and smells of Tudor England at a banquet they held in School's main hall.     Adults and children dressed in period costume and the children served up tasty dishes they had made themselves, including knot biscuits, bread, vegetable broth, porridge and of course chicken legs!    The children entertained with jesters, Shakespeare's plays and dancing.   A great time was had by all!

     

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Sponsored Bike Ride    On the 25th March 2012, 3 Year 6 children; William, Lauren and Connor, along with Mrs Slade and her son Matthew, cycled from Rainham to Sheerness and back - 27 miles!   They raised a total of £276.85 to buy a bench in memory of Mrs Walker.  It was a cold day and a long way, so many congratulations to them all for a fantastic achievement!

  

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A team of 5 Year 6 children walked off with the top honours in this year's Bridge Building Challenge at the Royal Engineers' Museum on Friday 9th March 2012.  Using just some string, four drawing pins, two lengths of dowel, three short paper sticks, a few pieces of card and some paper, they built a bridge that was able to carry more than a 12 kg load. (The Judge ran out of weights!) Ten schools and a team of Royal Engineer soldiers took part in the National Science and Engineering Week 2012 event.

  

Mr Chishti introduced himself and told the Council his role in decision making at Parliamentary level.  He explained that he also supports decision making as part of Medway Council as a Councillor, elected by the community.

He asked the children if anyone would like to become a Prime Minister. 

Two children said they think they would.  Mr Chishti asked what they would have as a priority if they were the Prime Minister; Callum replied that he would want our environment improved and litter to be cleared up, especially when it is thrown into school grounds where it is a danger to children.

Jamie would look at the cost of everything now that there is less money for people to spend and how to prioritise a budget for food.  Kirsty would also be concerned about the wildlife in our community and the countryside around us.  Mr Chishti mentioned the recent discussions about the proposal that there should be an airport near the Nature Reserve.