The Olympic and Paralympic flame is still burning at
Columbia!
Emerald class were asked to provide a backdrop for some filming by
Jonathan Edwards, World Record Holder for Triple Jump. They played basketball
with Russell, Philippa and Julie, whilst Jonathan filmed to camera. Jonathan
stayed at school and came to a special assembly with all of KS2.
Some children
from Pearl Class showed him their triple
jump; Jonathan thought he should show us all how to do it correctly. He showed
us how to do a ‘hop, step and jump’.
We all stood up and had a go all together!
Jonathan showed us just how long his World Record jump of 18.29 metres actually
was; he walked the length of the hall and then had to go out of the door and up
the stairs too! Wow! Jonathan told us he didn’t dream of being a triple jumper
when he was younger. He told us to do the sports we enjoyed and to always try
our best.
The last day the summer term didn't go out with a whimper; it went out in a blaze of light as both the Year 2 classes paraded into the school assembly with their special Olympic Torches.
The torches were made of cardboard but held a special secret. Inside they had their own electric circuit that the children had made! With the lights dimmed in the hall, the children turned on the paperclip switches and marched through, opening the last assembly of the year.
We met some famous athletes in assembly on Tuesday. We met
'Jessica Ennis', 'Tom Daley', 'Steve Redgrave', 'Victoria Pendleton' and 'Andy Murray'.
Olive talked to each one to find out what they liked to eat for breakfast. We
also had some excellent chefs on hand to make the athletes their healthy
Olympic breakfasts. We found out that Steve Redgrave likes to eat 3 Weetabix!
Each athlete enjoyed eating their breakfast after assembly was over!
What a fantastic celebration of sport and cultures we had on
Monday! But it wasn't over yet. We had a Grand Closing Ceremony. Every member
of the school was squashed into the Middle Hall. We marched in to some joyous
music. Mary presented every class with a special certificate from LOCOG signed
by Lord Coe. We enjoyed watching a special film of the day made by the
'official' photographers. There were images of every class participating in
their sports and activities. Finally there was a surprise event. The teachers
fired golden confetti all over us! We all felt happy, special and excited. We
clapped to 'Shine' as we marched back to class. Our parents could look at
the film of the day on the lobby screen to see what we had been up to.
When athletes were not competing in their events, they were learning
all about their country. All over the school children were 'going global'. Some classes learned to speak a few phrases in a different
language. One class learned to samba and made masks for a Brazilian carnival.
One class learned to use chopsticks and wrote in Chinese script. Year 6 had
visits from Australian and Jamaican visitors who answered their questions about
the countries. Some classes also made their own Olympic medals and wrote their
names in Russian. One class made Bulgarian aprons and many classes made their
own mini flags to bring to the Closing Ceremony.
Columbia athletes took over every available space in the
school to compete in their sports. Each class participated in a different
sport. The athletes demonstrated all the Olympic and Paralympic Values.
'Official' photographers visited the events and took photos of remarkable
achievements. Many personal bests were made and some were bettered.
We staged our very own Olympic Games on Monday! All classes
participated in a Grand Opening Ceremony. There was a Procession of Flags with
each class parading their country's flag and name. There was a special torch
relay and lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Two children had written a new
athletes' oath specially for the ceremony. They took the oath on behalf of all
pupils whilst standing at a golden pedestal.Mary announced that the Games had
begun and we all danced out to some fun music.
