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News
Newsletters
Gilah sends a weekly newsletter to parents. Please click to read this recent edition:
Weekly Themes
Please take a look at Gilah's weekly themes for this year.
Term Dates
Following advice from the CST, term dates are not available online. Please consult any of the school noticeboards or contact us for this information.
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Recent Events
Paradise Park
We were very excited about our trip to Paradise on 18th June and for many children this was their first time on a coach.
When we arrived at Paradise Park we went to see alpacas, lions, camels, lioness, reindeer, zebras, meerkats and wallabies.
At 11am we were the first passengers of the day on the Woodland Railway Ride and saw lots of scary animals including parrots, toucans and dinosaurs. We walked to see huge rabbits, lemurs, macaw, cockatoos, red panda, tigers, cheetah, otter and alligators.
Afterwards we were treated to a show in the Jungle Theatre. We saw the "Weird & Wonderful Show", a Madagascar hedgehog, an albino ferret and a skunk, who were all being trained using treats and a chicken.
It was then lunchtime; we picnicked in groups sitting at the tables. The fresh air had certainly sharpened our appetites.
After lunch we went to see the Birds of Paradise Show where we saw a barn owl and an eagle owl. The ducks had a race. They were called Peking, Crispy and Pancake and Pancake was the fastest! We all cheered for our favourite duck.
After the show we went to see wolves, had a tractor ride and then went to see penguins, emu and "tiny" monkeys and then went to the Reptile House and finished at the Farmyard.
We were all glad to walk back to the coach for a sit down after such a packed day. The traffic on the M25 delayed us slightly, but gave those who were having a nap a few more minutes before we got back to Gilah at 2.25pm.
Lag B'Omer
We celebrated Lag B'Omer with a Teddy Bears' Picnic on Tuesday 12th May. The cold wind prevented us eating outside, paper plates and plastic cups would have quickly blown away. The children used plastic knives to spread their sandwich fillings. All the Gilah children picnicked together, sitting on rugs in the upstairs hall of the new building. The morning finished with Teddy Bear songs and stories.
Sponsored Bounce
On Monday 11th May, all the Gilah children were invited to take part in a sponsored bounce. We were able to set the Bouncy Castle up in the garden and were fortunate to have warm, sunny weather to bounce. So far we have raised £486.50, which we would like to use to buy new bookshelves and books for the younger rising 3's. Hopefully the total will rise when the rest of the sponsorship money is collected.
Yom Ha'atzmaut
Gilah celebrated Israel's 61st birthday, dressed in blue and white with a wonderful outdoor party. We had a warm, sunny morning and were joined by Ilyse for singing and dancing in the fresh air. We ate pitta filled with cucumbers and tomatoes for our snack. Please have a look at some photos of our celebration (courtesy of DM Photography).
Seder
This year our Seder was held in the Kol Rinah Hall, ably led by Raymond Rubenstein, Gilah Treasurer. The children were led on the journey from slavery with a mixture of story, songs and dancing in a lively, happy atmosphere. The afikomen was found and each child had a small chocolate treat to celebrate. The caretaking staff had prepared the room beautifully, we were surrounded by spring flowers and Ilyse enlivened our singing with her guitar playing.
Purim
We celebrated Purim coming to Gilah in fancy dress. We were entertained by Lisa Freedman who has been working throughout this school year with children, linking their physical development work to our themes. We exchanged Mishloach Manot with our friends and ate Hamantashen at snack time.