Monthly Archives: November 2017

Moonlight Sonata, 14th November 1940

Today, 77 years on, we remembered the night of the Coventry Blitz on 14th November 1940, ‘Moonlight Sonata’. We thought about what happened and had previously watched some interviews with people who were in Coventry on that night. We then wrote memories of the bombing today. We will be finishing these tomorrow, but it seems fitting to post a couple of very sensitive pieces of writing today in remembrance of that night.

 

 

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The life-changing pact… A ghost story by Porpoise21 (Not to be read before bed!)

In 1945, at the end of World War II, a tragic death was witnessed: Arthur Wilson, 24, was shot in the dark depths of ‘No-man’s land’. When Arthur was buried, a mysterious ‘man’ called Frederick Ward paid him a visit and told him he could have the chance to be human again. Instantly, Arthur agreed to this ‘life-changing’ chance. Before he knew it, he found himself in an ancient, crooked boat. Quickly, he realised the ship was haunted: torn, damaged sails; a toxic odour; an enchanted green mist seeping from the lower decks.  A green, shiny potion dripped into his mouth. As the strange substance trickled down his throat, Arthur’s eyes gradually opened: the potion was working!

****

Since a few months after his birth in May 2000, Eliot Wilson had been brought up by his grandad, Arthur. Arthur’s job as a coastguard was to watch the boats come in so he wasn’t at home very often. Eliot had always been interested in what his grandfather did so, on June 19th, 2007, Eliot bravely asked Arthur if he could go to work with him. When Arthur’s reply was an abrupt “NO!”, suspicions whirled around Eliot’s mind.

One misty night, Eliot followed Arthur. Creeping in the shadows, Eliot quietly tiptoed to the harbour. Without warning, Arthur made a sharp turn and clasped Eliot’s arm with a firm grip then fiercely dragged him to the edge of the path.

Suddenly, a cold shiver crept up his spine. An old, faint finger was placed in the small of his shivering back. When Eliot slowly turned to his grandfather, he realised he wasn’t there. Faint laughs circled round his head. Feeling dizzy, Eliot tried to see if there was anybody to help him but his eyes felt weak and gradually started to close.

Waking up, Eliot knew he wasn’t at the harbour any more: creaking floorboards; faint voices; a lethal odour all suggested he was on board a ship. Able to see now, Eliot carefully and quietly stepped onto the damp floor. Under Eliot’s frozen bare-feet, there was a strange, green substance oozing between his toes. Unexpectedly, the ancient door swung open. CREAK! CREAK! Loud footsteps echoed round the room.

A strange figure stepped cautiously into the room: he had big dusty boots, an old ragged coat and an enormous cobweb-covered hat that covered most of his face. Whilst puffing large rings of smoke out of his pipe, the mysterious man walked closer to Eliot. The man had a long, pointed nose, an old, wrinkly face and familiar misty blue eyes.

“Grandad?” Eliot hesitated for a moment… Grandad? Is that you?”
“Hello,” his Grandad finally replied in an oddly creaky voice.

“W…Why are you glowing?” Eliot reached out for his grandfather’s hand but he stepped back and rapidly revealed a razor-shaped blade!

Sour tears suddenly tricked down Eliot’s smooth cheeks as his grandfather yanked the blood-covered sword from the boy’s heart. Eliot’s heart was already broken from never being able to see his parents but now there was also a hole in his heart from the blade held by his grandfather.

Bitter tears rolled down the old man’s face as he watched his grandson fade away.

“What have I done?” muttered Arthur. As Arthur remembered what happened in ‘No-man’s land’, he fell to his knees with his face cradled in his hands. Guilt raced round his head until, at last, he summoned Frederick Ward.

“Please,” Arthur begged as he cried, “Take off this despicable curse and let me be with my grandson!” He begged and begged.

“The curse has worn off but…” As Frederick was explaining, Arthur interrupted,

“Thank you!” Arthur yelled, “Thank you.”

“But… the curse will haunt you so beware!” With that, Frederick went with a blink of an eye.

 

Arthur got his wish to be with his grandson but beware…the ghosts of Eliot and Arthur Wilson still haunt that harbour now…

Posted in Ghost stories, Literacy, pupils, Year 6 | 4 Comments

Ghost stories – be warned: not for the faint-hearted!

Screen Shot 2017-11-14 at 20.37.02I will gradually post some examples of your ghost stories over the next few weeks. They need to be paced as some of them are quite scary! We probably ought to have an age warning on some of them!

For anyone outside of Year 6 reading these, we were inspired by a picture from the book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. We had a lot of fun writing these and we clearly have some very imaginative and quite scary writers!! Well done Year 6. You worked hard on these and I’ve enjoyed reading the stories. I hope you all enjoy them too.Screen Shot 2017-11-14 at 20.37.38

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Cartoon kid STRIKES BACK!!!! by Jeremy Strong


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Blue Planet II

Screen Shot 2017-11-12 at 10.09.11Has anyone been watching any of the new Blue Planet II series? I’ve only caught one so far but it was amazing. Fish seem to be a lot more intelligent than we thought.. Some of the things they do are fascinating.

Apart from hearing more from the inspiring David Attenborough, this show also gives an incredible insight into sea-life of all kinds and reveals how they have adapted to their environments. It also, sadly, shows the effect that humans have had on the oceans and why we need to take global warming and water pollution seriously.

Posted in pupils, Science, Year 6 | 2 Comments

What’s so good about Harry Potter?

Screen Shot 2017-11-12 at 09.59.21In this CBBC clip, children talk about why they love Harry Potter books. Do you agree? What is it that makes them special for all you Potter fans?

Is there anyone brave enough to say they prefer other stories and why?!!!…

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Lucy M. Boston’s House at Green Knowe

Screen Shot 2017-11-12 at 09.35.30If you do get interested in Lucy Boston’s stories (see previous post) and want to see if you can experience the magic yourself, you can still visit her house and feel like you are actually part of the stories. The 900-year-old house is just outside Cambridge in Hemingford Grey. The gardens are open every day and the house can be visited by making an appointment online.

Click on the picture of the house above to follow the link to the House at Green Knowe website.

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Lucy M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe

Screen Shot 2017-11-12 at 09.13.24Although it doesn’t really feel like it, this is now quite an old story (originally published in 1954). If you like history, adventure and mystery and don’t mind a bit of a challenge, you might enjoy this book. You may not fully understand what is happening all the time but, even though they are mysterious, the stories seem like they could really have happened and you gradually find yourself more and more involved with the characters.

Toseland has an unusual childhood (as well as an unusual name!) and seems to be rather lonely: his mother is dead and his father and stepmother are abroad in Burma. He normally spends his holidays from boarding school with his head mistress (Miss Spudd!) and her aged father which is not a lot of fun. This holiday, he is rather excited because he is going to stay with his great-grandmother who, oddly, he has never met. When he arrives, he discovers her house is surrounded by flood-water and he has to be ferried there in a rowing boat by the elderly, but jolly, Mr Boggis (whose family seems to have been involved with the Oldknow family for hundreds of years). Mr Boggis suggests Great-Grandmother Oldknow will be very happy to meet him. He finally arrives to discover a strange old house with winding staircases, mirrors and ancient intriguing objects everywhere. Toseland, a highly imaginative boy, feels like he has arrived in a magical castle.

Great-Grandmother (Granny), who is very welcoming, encourages Tolly to explore the house and gardens as freely as he likes. She names him Tolly —a nickname adopted by all previous Toselands in his family— but, even so, she is always making mistakes with his name and thinking he is Toby. Mysteriously, Granny suggests that other children do sometimes visit the house so he may not be alone for long…

Soon after Tolly’s arrival, he is shown a large oil painting of his ancestors from the 17th century (three children and their mother and grandmother) which fascinates him. He discovers that the three children were called Toby, Alexander and Linnet. He notices that many of their belongings are still in the house and, because he is so observant, he even rediscovers some that have been lost for many years. Tolly loves hearing his granny’s stories about the house and, as the stories develop, he becomes more and more fascinated by his family’s past and even begins to imagine that the children in the painting could be his ‘brothers and sisters’…

This book was made into a popular TV series in the 1980s and can still be found on DVD. It also developed into a series of books which have been widely enjoyed. Lucy Boston was awarded a Carnegie medal for one of them: A Stranger at Green Knowe. The original books were also illustrated by her son, Peter, with intricate black and white drawings. They have more recently been republished in more modern designs and the first book (this one) and the second The River at Green Knowe can now be read in one volume.

Posted in Book Blog, Book reviews, pupils, Year 6 | 1 Comment

The Switch by Anthony Horowitz


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Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett (by Lemur24)


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Posted in Book Blog, Book reviews, pupils, Topic (History and Geography), Year 6 | 2 Comments