News and Updates from the CU team
March in London is as busy as ever – and, as always, it’s a great place for a family day out. With Mother’s Day and a host of other festivals and events, there’s a lot happening in the capital. March is a lovely time of year being the first month of spring, a time when we will start to see all of the plants growing and things coming to life within our community and the wider world, which is why we think it’s a brilliant time to be celebrating our green spaces.
We are pleased to be planning to be working with Queens Park community Council this month on a community little pic.so if you’re interested in coming down with your school and doing some community service and making our area a better place for everyone, please get in touch with us and we will book in your slot so you can come and join in and help us contribute to the conditions in our local environment and taking action to make it a better place for us all.
If getting out into the open is something you’re interested in, there are lots of exciting opportunities coming up this spring. We are very near Kensington Gardens, being just a 36 bus ride away from us, on Friday the 17th of March from 12 am to 1:30 pm. You can go on a guided tour of the gardens walking around the venue, discovering its hidden stories and statues and learning about its history, you can book tickets for this on the royal parks website at £12 each.
Visiting Kensington Gardens and playing in the beautiful Diana Memorial playground is completely free as is taking in culture at the Serpentine Gallery, or making friends with the ducks and swans. So, make sure you take a chance to get down there if you can, and celebrate the beginning of the growth period for UK plants and creatures during this, the first month of spring this year.
Since we’re talking about being outdoors and enjoying the beginning of the spring, how about booking yourself a visit to the Sky garden visits are free and you can visit between 10 am and 6 pm during the week and 11 am and 9 pm on weekends. The venue offers amazing views of across London and the there is plenty to see and do.
On the 22nd to the 23rd of this month, we will all be going to celebrate the beauty and educational value of film with over 1000 of us going to into film festival showings this year. We will be going twice as usual and in March we will be watching Matilda, Raya and the Dragon and Fireball in different venues across London. Going to the cinema is a great way of experiencing new learning and exploring new topics together while getting out and about in London so we are really excited and thankful for into film for allowing us to take part.
The deadline for the Puss-in-Boots competition is the 3rd of March and the children from Queens Park and Hallfield School have taken part in this. So, by the end of March, we will be closer to knowing what the winning entrants look like (as the winner will be chosen on the 3rd of March); they will recite receive a whole list of amazing prizes which will be delivered directly to their school.
If you get to go with your class to one of the amazing screenings, You can write a review for the review 500 competition where you could also win prizes here, you would write a 500 word or less review of the film you have watched and submit it to your children’s university coordinator and they can upload it and enter it online for you (or send it to me and I will do it for you). It’s a great way to practice your analytical writing skills and to share your opinions.
The 31st of March is another competition deadline as it is the Poetry by Heart deadline. All through March, will be encouraging schools to get active and engaged with the art of performance poetry. There’s a great selection of poetry for you to pick from on the website. So get on board and take a pick from the great selection of poems to choose from that are suggesting for this year’s competition. Then, all you have to do is practice the poem, learn it by heart and bring it to life with your acting skills. The lucky winners, who are picked by the judges after submitting their videos, will get a chance to perform on the great stage at the Globe, which will be an amazing experience for anyone who is interested in literature and acting. We can’t wait to see everyone’s performances.
We are really pleased to announce that we have another therapy dog with us now at WCU, who may be visiting your schools with their friend and owner Goo who will be visiting and running wellbeing sessions in schools and nurseries near you.