Is your child starting school in September 2025? Come and visit us! More information can be found in 'Additional information --> Starting school in September'
Holy Trinity and St John's Church of England Primary School
Scroll down to find out about some of the exciting and interesting things that we see and do in Woodland School.
Mrs Chantler
Woodland School Leader
Mrs Chantler is a Qualified Forest School Leader (Level 3)
We have been awarded the Bronze, Silver and Gold RSPB Wild Challenge Awards in 2022
We were awarded the Kent Wildlife Trust Bronze level award in July 2022
NOVEMBER 2022
Everyone in Year R enjoyed their first fire bowl experience in Woodland School this week, with toasted marshmallows to enjoy! YUMMY!
We enjoyed listening to the crackling wood fire and watching the flames too.
Everyone in Year R enjoyed their very first Treasure Hunt in Woodland School this week!
The children had to find 6 Gruffalo characters, which were hidden in Woodland School!
A SPECIAL BIRD OF PREY HAS BEEN VISITING WOODLAND SCHOOL! IT'S A SPARROWHAWK!
Sparrowhawks rely on the element of surprise to catch prey.
WOODEN PEG DOLLIES! A member of the local community kindly donated some old-fashioned wooden clothes pegs...
We used natural materials to create peg dollies
We can use wool to wrap leaves around the pegs.
This peg dolly is a super hero with feather wings!
OCTOBER 2022
OUR FANTASTIC DAY IN BLEAN WOODS!
We went on the red route. It's two and a half miles.
We had so much fun together!
The woods were so quiet and peaceful.
Some tall trees had blown over in a storm!
It was such a happy day!
We saw lots of English Oak trees and Sweet Chestnut trees.
These mushrooms were found growing underneath the leaf-litter. A sure sign of Autumn!
The Wood-mouse will enjoy eating these...
Children from across the school have enjoyed using clay, twigs and acorns to make and decorate these hedgehogs.
Ta-dah! All finished
It's nice to have our learning outside, especially with a hot chocolate too!
SEPTEMBER 2022
We have some new buckets, spades, rakes and watering cans which we can use in the garden and in Woodland School.
We've been using the buckets to collect sticks, conkers and pine cones.
Riley found this Orange Bonnet fungus in Woodland School today!
This fungus is growing on a rotten tree stump.
Gruffalo enjoyed making toasted marshmallows with some Year 1 children today!
He did a big GRUFFALO burp afterwards!!
We have been delighted to be able to welcome some children from Ukraine to our school. Today they had a very happy time making a stick man family in Woodland School.
Carefully tieing the wool...
This stick lady has a leaf skirt!
Leaves can be capes...
Here's the stick family in the den!
BONKERS FOR CONKERS....PART 2
We are learning how to play conkers!
Here is a new hanging bird table which was gifted to us by a member of staff.
It has been hung in the bushes to discourage Steven Seagull from using it!
Here is a new bird bath that was gifted to us by Liz from The Secret Garden Centre at Quex, to replace one which had been stolen in the summer holidays.
Thank you Liz for your generosity.
Construction work has begun on a fabulous new tree house and den in Woodland School. We are hoping that it will be finished by the end of October.
Year 1 enjoyed using the wood chunk cylinders to make this wall.
We had to use some trial and error to make it balance
The tree house framework is now in place.
Mr Phil will be busy building our tree house this autumn!
BONKERS FOR CONKERS !!!! There's plenty of conkers in Woodland School! Anyone fancy a game?!!
We used a figure of 8 knot as the stop end.
Some children from Year 5 enjoyed playing with the new wood chunk construction kit and with the new RSPB bird teddies. Lots of investigation and problem solving took place as we constructed a home for the toys.
We have a blue-tit, a robin, a chaffinch, a greenfinch, a sparrow and a blackbird toy!
Dragonfly and Honeybee had a wonderful time exploring Woodland School for the very first time today!
We had fun making things with the log chunks.
July 2022
Have a GREAT summer holiday everyone!
Remember to make time for nature...
See you all in September.
With love from Mrs Chantler and all of our furry and feathery friends in Woodland School xx
Children from Dragonfly Class and Honey Bee Class have loved playing with the giant construction kit and have had so many creative and imaginative ideas!
A boat..
Stairs ...
A vet surgery...
A great hidey-hole!
Hedgehog class enjoyed cooling off with an ice pole in the shade of the Horse Chestnut tree.
Icy...icy...very nicey!
Our new giant wooden construction kit has arrived and the children are enjoying using it to create a hundred and one things!
We can make all sorts of things with this kit! It's great!
Some of our lovely Year 6 children helped to make this GIANT stick man for the younger children to play with in Woodland School! He is super!
His name is Henry. He's on look-out by the teepee!
Mrs Wiles, a member of our staff, made these lovely little owls for the children to play with in Woodland School. THANK YOU!!
Mrs Wiles is very good at crochet!
Children from Years 1 and 2 have worked collaboratively to create this wonderful "Woodland Animals" totem pole!
We used natural materials, collected in Woodland School, to decorate the animals.
Children from Years R, 1,2,3 and 4 have enjoyed spending time in Woodland School engaged in creative, imaginative play.
Pattern making with natural materials.
The wood chunks can be used to create homes for the teddies...
We like trying out ideas...
This hollowed out tree trunk section makes a great boat!
JUNE 2022
Here is our Woodland School wildlife record board for June...
We are very lucky to have such an array of wildlife on our site.
Two Privet Hawk Moths in Woodland School!
WOW! Two beautiful and uncommon Privet Hawk Moths were found today!
We have purchased these beautiful wood sculptures from Bruk's tree surgery in Birchington. The children think that they look wonderful!
The mouse from The Gruffalo!
A beautiful barn owl in flight.
Hedgehog class had a lovely time putting up the tents and playing with them and the teddies, in the warm sunshine. Some of our lovely Year 4 children helped to put the tents up!
Having fun in the sun!
Thank you to Year 4 for helping...
Working well together...
This tent was put up without adult help! Well done!
Both the Jay and the Green Woodpecker have been sighted every day this week! The Jay is a juvenile and has been coming to the bird feeders to eat the fat-balls. Some children in Year 2 got a very close up view of it. The Green Woodpecker has been feeding on bugs in the grass on the bank and has also been seen clinging to the trunk of the tall Sycamore tree on the bank.
A lovely new cast-iron weather vane, complete with a squirrel, has been fitted on to the den in Woodland School. This is as a result of a request from a Year 3 pupil!
You will be able to see the weather vane when you arrive and when you leave school.
We are having great fun decorating these NATURE GLASSES using natural materials that we have found in Woodland School.
The Year One Woodland School After School Club found this Collared Dove egg yesterday!
The chick has hatched and will be living in the immediate area somewhere...
The Wildlife Trusts are launching a national event called "30 days Wild" in which everyone is encouraged to do something "wild" every day in the month of June.
Sign up online for a FREE activity pack!
Here is a 30 DAYS WILD activity calendar for the month of June!
Badger class enjoyed a JUBILEE CORGI HUNT in Woodland School this week! There were 70 corgis to find...WOOF!
Badger found 68 corgis...There are 2 still hiding in Woodland School somewhere!
A local artist recently gave us some off-cuts of wood for free, from their art studio. Children from Years 1 and 2 have enjoyed using the chunks of wood to create structures for the teddies.
We have purchased a large bird bath, two small bird baths and a new bird feeder for Woodland School.
The children think that it is funny that birds will take a bath in here!
This is for sunflower seeds for small birds to eat.
A small bird bath for ground feeding birds.
Birds need access to water especially in the hot weather!
A group of children from Year 2 worked collaboratively to make this little wooden teepee shelter for the tiny teddies. The carpet is made from soft, green leaves and there is a rocking horse and a Christmas tree inside!
The tiny teddies would like to stay overnight in their teepee!
We were delighted to welcome some of our parents to a Look and Learn event in Woodland School this week!
Some girls from Year 6 made these super "Colour Boxes" using flowers, leaves and petals found in and around Woodland School.
Swifts are here for the summer and they can be seen flying over Woodland School in the mornings.
Swifts arrive in the U.K in May.
Woodland School has just been awarded the RSPB GOLD LEVEL Wildlife Award!
The children in the Year 2 lunch club have had some very close up views of a Wood Mouse feeding on some sunflower seeds. The Wood Mouse has worked out that the seeds sometimes fall onto the floor, from the squirrel picnic table. It has made a nest in the fence directly underneath the squirrel picnic table! We sat delightedly for several minutes watching the Wood Mouse dart in and out, eating the seeds!
PETER RABBIT HUNT Can you name ten characters from Beatrix Potter stories? Badger class can! We had a great time taking part in a Peter Rabbit treasure hunt this week and found all ten hidden characters! Well done Badger class!
We found you Mr Tod!!
Here is Tom Kitten!
BLUE TIT NEWS! Children in Years 1, 2, and 5 were lucky enough to be able to watch a male and female Blue-tit repeatedly flying in and out of a nest box in Woodland School today. The birds are going in and out roughly once every minute. This means that there are chicks inside the nest box and the parent birds are very busy flying in with bugs for the chicks to eat!
We are very fortunate to have blue tits raising their chicks in our Woodland School!
Slow Motion Footage of a blue tit entering a nest box.
Watch how the blue tit flies around the building and then into the nest box!
CLEVER CROW ... A very clever crow visited the school garden today. It had a dry, hard piece of bread in it's beak...too hard to swallow. The clever crow dipped the hard bread into the dish of water, which is left out for the birds. It carried on doing this until the bread was soaked and soft enough to eat...The crow then ate up the bread and flew away. CLEVER CROW!
Crows can solve problems...so can YOU!
Year 6 girls calmly and competently worked together to put up the Polish Army tent today.
The girls showed polite and considerate behaviour towards each other.
A group of Year 6 girls found a variety of minibeasts in Woodland School today. We saw a beautiful Red Admiral butterfly at very close range and also this Green Shield Bug.
We put the shield bug very carefully onto a leaf!
A group of Year 2 children made a TOAD HALL today! It is a wildlife home for amphibians.
We like to look after wildlife at HTSJ !
APRIL 2022
Anyone fancy a brew ?
Year 6 used our new whistling kettle on the camp fire and had a nice cup of tea!
Badger class had a lovely time this morning, making butterflies. This is a good example of the holistic learning that we do in Woodland School: We learnt about symmetry, texture, colour and shape.
We tried to make the wings symmetrical.
We looked for small leaves and flowers.
Carefully applying the decoration!
We love to do our learning outdoors in the sunshine.
We can share with our friends.
Super symmetry!
A group of Year 6 girls learnt how to make a camp fire this afternoon and then enjoyed making and eating hotdogs and S'mores! Delicious!
Our Head boy, Warona and fellow Red Kite pupil Alfie G helped to split up logs into kindling this afternoon, using large wooden malletts and our Dewalt axe. They did an absolutely amazing job!
Alfie was amazed at Warona's strength with the mallett!
Both boys were legendary...we now have lots of kindling ready for the camp fire.
A group of Year 3 children enjoyed making an A-Frame shelter with a DD Tarp in Woodland School this morning. They quickly and confidently set about this task...GREAT LEARNING boys and girls!
A real team effort!
A shelter is a great place for a snack and a chat.
The children can use the equipment with confidence.
Some Year 2 children planted up some peas this morning. We used some sticks that we found in Woodland School to use as stakes for the young pea plants to grow up.
We could see lots of thick, white roots.
The pea plants are in a good sunny spot.
Sticks from Woodland School will support the plants as they grow.
We gave the plants a good drink.
We have a pair of robins in Woodland School at the moment and they are taking it in turns to feed their young fledgling. We have been lucky enough to watch them at very close range. The parent birds have been breaking off tiny pieces of the fat-balls and then hopping down on to the den and feeding it to the young robin. Robins can become quite tame and we are hoping that we may be able to carry on watching them feeding in Woodland School this spring.
Everyone in Year 2 took part in a creative, open-ended task this afternoon, making items of play equipment for the Woodland School fairies. We had a GREAT time!
We used wool and sticks.
We worked co-operatively in small teams.
We were able to problem-solve!
Some of us were able to make free-standing models independently.
We tried out the play equipment to make sure that it worked.
We used our winding and tieing skills!
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL ! We have already been very busy in Woodland School during these first few days back ...
A group of girls from Year 6 had a try at the Hapazome art technique.
We discussed colour, pattern, design, shape, texture and symmetry.
We enjoyed trying out different ideas.
The group were focused on this learning for the entire afternoon!
We've had a busy first week back in Woodland School.
Year 3 have been learning to use the I-pads to take photos and enjoyed visiting Woodland School to take some close-up shots of the natural environment.
Year 2 have been up on a minibeast hunt and found lots of different creatures.
The lunch club children have been very busy looking after the school garden...the herbs and the potatoes are doing very well on the new decking area and we hope to be able to give some potatoes to our school cook in May or June to use in the school dinners.
The Horse Chestnut tree has burst into leaf and looks wonderful. Our resident Wren is singing loudly in the spring sunshine and there are Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies flitting about.
We are looking forward to spending time in Term 5 in Woodland School!
A very HAPPY EASTER to everyone in our HTSJ community!
MARCH 2022
Here is our Woodland School wildlife observation record board for the month of March.
Some children from Year 6 enjoyed making and eating S'mores at the campfire!
The hot gooey marshmallow melts the chocolate on the biscuits...mmmmm....
What a beautiful sunny morning! Hedgehog class had a lovely time collecting natural materials to use when decorating their springtime birds.
Maya did her weaving all by herself!
It's fun do to our learning outdoors.
We were all very pleased with our birds!
Badger class were busy making woven spring birds using natural materials that we collected in Woodland School.
It's fun making things in the sunshine...
We like getting creative!
Wow! Look what we have made!
What do you think of our birds?
We have now been awarded the RSPB Wild Challenge SILVER LEVEL Award!
This award is in recognition of the learning we do in Woodland School.
We are proud of our latest award!
We used our gadget to make camp-fire popcorn at the fire bowl. Yummy!
Mr Palmer made us a gadget using two metal sieves.
We can use the gadget to make our own fresh popcorn over the camp-fire!
Some children in Year 5 learnt how to split logs safely, using an axe and a mallet. We will use the split logs in the camp fire!
Everyone showed determination and we got the job done!
Some children in Years 2 and 3 learnt how to use a fire striker and how to make a camp fire...then enjoyed eating hotdogs at the log circle!
YUM!
We'd like another one please!
A hotdog party is fun!
Year 2 have been busy making images of The Green Man using natural materials.
The Green Man is a medieval legend.
He brings Spring to the Woodland.
You can often see a Green Man carved in wood in churches.
The Green Man is associated with the coming of Spring.
Hot chocolate keeps us warm on cold mornings in Woodland School!
...even nicer with a chocolate biscuit too!
We have seen a pair of Jays today in Woodland School!
Look out for the striking turquoise flash on the wing.
Year 1 saw a beautiful peacock butterfly on their way back from Woodland School today!
This is the first butterfly we have seen this spring!
Year 3 were investigating how many living things could be found within the perimetre of a hula hoop. They found 7 different plant species and 3 different types of minibeast.
We used the magnifying glasses to get a close up look!
Year 2 have been bird watching in Woodland School.
We have noticed an increase in the number of birds visiting Woodland School.
FEBRUARY 2022
Some children in Year 2 have been using the early spring leaves to create colour palettes and pictures.
A bird by Olivia
A bird by Inga
A colloborative group colour palette
Year 5 enjoyed eating some jacket potatoes that had been baked in the camp fire. They were yummy.. even if the skins were a little burnt!!
We enjoyed eating and chatting altogether in Woodland School at the end of our session.
Jacket spuds with butter and cheese...mmmmmm....
Some children used this RSPB resource to create a colour palette using natural materials from in and around Woodland School.
Despite it being February, we were able to find over a dozen different natural colours.
A Woodland School fairy (...possibly called Chantler-bell)...has hidden ten fairy bags... Can you discover what's inside them?
Try to find all ten bags and see what's inside!
Some children in Years 2 and 3 have been learning how to use a palm drill safely to make a hole in a wood cookie.
We made the decorated wood cookies into a necklace.
We have Wood mice in Woodland School!
Mrs Rowden took this photo on her phone!
Wood mice are one of Britain's most common rodents. They can be found in woodland, rough grassland and in gardens. They have large ears and large eyes, relative to their size. You can find more information about Wood mice on the Wildlife Trusts website.
Woodland School has just been awarded the RSPB Wild Challenge BRONZE level award! Fantastic news!
We will now work towards getting the SILVER award!
There are lots of fun activity ideas from the RSPB for us to try!
Year One have made these bird fat-cakes and they have been hung up in the trees.
Hopefully the Blue-tits will eat these all up!
The new bug hotel has arrived...
We used our Morrison's vouchers to get this little bug house!
JANUARY 2022
JURASSIC PARK IN WOODLAND SCHOOL !
There are 20 dinosaurs roaming around in Woodland School! We need help from any dinosaur hunters out there please!
Careful, this one is a carnivore!
This one needs to be captured!
Beware of those big teeth!
The dinosaurs are well camoflagued in Woodland School!
NEWS FLASH ...a pair of blue tits are investigating one of the new nest boxes in Woodland School!
Hopefully the blue tits will raise some chicks in our nest box this spring!
Welcome to our very own, very special ...MR LOG !!!
Mr Log is waiting to meet you in the little log circle in Woodland School.
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!
HERE COMES 2022!
DECEMBER 2021
A very Happy Christmas to you all with lots of love from Mrs Chantler and all our furry and feathery friends in Woodland School.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS !
Some children from Year 6 had a fantastic time making stick people and then made up funny stories about them!
A very carefully made stick lady.
Stick friends!
Felicity with her yoga mat.
The whole stick family!
This is Bob, he likes disco!
Tall Gerald and his girlfriend Trish.
Wood Cookie Christmas Decorations
Here are our decorations ready to go on the Christmas tree!
We used a palm drill to make the holes.
NOVEMBER 2021
VIKING INVASION IN WOODLAND SCHOOL !!
Sixty young vikings invaded Woodland School today. They arrived kitted out with helmets and shields ready for battle with Mrs Chantler and Mr Palmer. Fortunately the viking hoardes decided to make friends with Mrs Chantler and Mr Palmer! The vikings shared their tasty home-made bread which was eaten along with a delicious viking vegetable stew, which was cooked over the open fire.
The wonderful vikings also made shelters with the sails from their longships.
Not a scrap of stew was left over when they marched away at the end of the afternoon for their next adventure!!
VIKING INVASION IN WOODLAND SCHOOL !!!
60 young vikings from the Kingfisher clan and the Nightingale clan invaded Woodland School
Some children from Year 2 and from Year 3 made Pudsey and Blush collages with natural materials.
Here is Pudsey!
This is Pudsey's girlfriend, her name is Blush!
Pudsey Bear is in our Woodland School!
There are ten Pudseys hidden in Woodland School. Can you find them all?
We found a huge centipede near the log circle!
OCTOBER 2021
Two squirrel picnic tables are now in place in Woodland School.
Mr Phil made this one! Thank you!
A member of the local community made this one! Thank you!
Hot dogs are a tasty treat which we have enjoyed this term in Woodland School.
SEPTEMBER 2021
The BIG BAD WOLF is hiding somewhere in Woodland School! Come and let Mrs Chantler know if you see him!
He'll huff and he'll puff...
...and he'll blow your house down!
Year 2 saw a Buzzard flying over Woodland School on Monday!
A Buzzard is a large bird of prey. It has a wingspan of up to 120 cm.
A Green Woodpecker has been visiting our Woodland School recently. It has a green body and a red head.
Green Woodpecker
The Green Woodpecker has a loopy, undulating flight. It has a loud, unusual call which sounds like laughing or abit like a squeaky door! You can find out more about this bird on the RSPB website.
DD Tarp 3m x 3m - 11 shelter set-ups. We have these DD tarps in Woodland School.
This video shows 11 different ways to set up a shelter with a DD tarp!
DD tarp diamond ground shelter in Woodland School
NEWS FLASH! Squirrel picnic tables are on the way!
Mr Phil is making these mini picnic tables for the squirrels to use! Squirrel-tastic!
This week we have been creating shelters and dens using tarps, paracord, tent pegs and mallets.
What a great den!
Team work makes the den work!
Making a good shelter involves planning, decision making and testing out ideas...
Super problem solving was needed to create this extended den.
Year 6 in their den.
We used our knot tieing skills to create the dens.
Year 1 had a visitor in Woodland School...He has purple prickles on his back, knobbly knees and turned out toes...
It's the Gruffalo!
We used natural materials to make pictures of the snake, the owl and the fox from the Gruffalo story.
The snake...
The owl...
The fox ...
We have been toasting marshmellows at the fire bowl. YUMMY!!
We know how to sit safely at the fire bowl.
Here is our fire bowl!
We really enjoyed this activity!
Some children from Year 6 have been learning how to use a fire striker safely.
Using a fire striker in Woodland School.
We have been learning how to tie a reef knot and then using this skill to tie wool when making our Harry Potter wands!
Tieing a reef knot.
We loved making Harry Potter wands!
It takes patience to tie a knot...
Our fantastic wands! Ta-dah!
There are lots of these little black and red creatures in Woodland School at the moment...they are ladybird larvae!
Ladybird larvae
We found a HUGE garden spider sitting in the middle of a large and very beautiful web!
garden spider
Reef Knot
Simple demonstration of tying a reef knot. Please practise this knot at home, it will be very useful for our Woodland School activities !
Kent Wildlife TrustA great website for finding out about all things to do with nature in Kent. There are also activity ideas on this website for children and families.
The Woodland TrustA lovely website with activity ideas and lots of information about trees.