Children First – Aspire – Challenge – Achieve

Dear Parents/Carers,

Our learners’ positive attitude from last term has continued into this term. The weather at the beginning of

this week presented us with the frustration of some indoor break and lunchtimes. During the indoor break

sessions, it can be quite frustrating for many of our children to not be able to run off their energy but,

again, their improvement in managing impulsivity meant that they adapted well and the afternoon sessions of

learning were smooth.

Something else which has helped the children arrive more prepared for the term is the fact that parents

and carers of our learners are working on Reading, Writing and Maths at home. Numerous members of the

school have commented on how some children have clearly continued to learn over the week away from

school. It makes a big difference to the children if parents work in partnership with the school to ensure

that learning does not stop once the child is at home during the holidays.

We are now seeing some improvement in the attendance levels which is positive news. We are, however, not

yet achieving the levels of attendance that we are aiming for. This is an area we very much need to improve

on within our school community and has a huge impact in the level of progress that the children make. Poor

attendance is directly linked to (lack of) progress. To further develop the home school partnership, this is

something we would like to see further pushed by parents and carers.

Many of our teachers have noticed that they have been sending an increased amount of messages home

about P.E kits. As a school, we very much value children’s learning of all areas of the curriculum including P.E.

For children to participate in the P.E lessons, they must arrive with P.E kits. More of our learners would

have been able to fully participate in P.E lessons if they had their full and correct P.E kit in school.

I am sure you are aware of the expected weather for the coming week. It may well arrive during the

weekend but we are expecting some plummeting temperatures and possible snow showers. As before, please

ensure children come to school with adequate clothing and be understanding if weather conditions affect

some regular routines as we understand that the weather can have an impact on travelling to and from

school.

Mrs J Murphy

Headteacher

Newsletter 22

23rd February 2018

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS

We are still outstanding a lot of payments for the production of Alice in Wonderland. Please pay your £1 via Parentpay or put in a name, sealed envelope and hand in to reception. Thank you.

Book Club is held every Tuesday - please put money in a sealed envelope with name and class on – thank you.

Y1 parents need to pay for the trip to Wingham Wildlife the cost is £17.50 payable through ParentPay, you can pay in instalments. Please return your permission slip to your child’s teacher.

Thank you to parents of Y4 children going on the residential trip who are up to date with payments. Please check on ParentPay to see how much you have paid. (Should have paid £135 by 28th Feb.)

Please can Y5 parents return the form to school showing whether or not you would like your child to see ‘Shrek’ Please pay for the trip via ParentPay. Children will not be able to go unless this has been paid.

Nursery

We started the week in Nursery up at Forest

School. It was very wet and cold, so we created a

huge canopy in the trees. The children loved listening

to the rain and talked about what they could see and

hear.

We learnt a new Forest school song and got to experience how the woods

change in different kinds of weather.

Please ensure that all children in Foundation Stage have Forest School clothing, it is still cold and can

be muddy. Children need to be dressed appropriately for the weather that can be so changeable this

time of year.

We have duck eggs arriving next Monday! The children will be able to see ducks

hatch and grow over the next two weeks. Details about a

‘Duck Cam’ will follow.

Reception

In Reception this week we launched our Topic ‘What can you

hear?’

Our Wow moment began in our very own secret base in our

Forest School, we listened carefully to the sounds we could

hear in our surroundings.

We shared what we could hear by taking

turns at holding our special Forest School

Mascot and sharing our ideas. The children

listened carefully to each other speak.

During our Forest School sessions we dug

for bugs. We had to be very careful with

using metal tools. We also did tree painting and used

magnifying glasses to look at the things we found.

We had such an amazing first week back at Forest

school!

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been using role play to retell the

story of ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’.

In our ICT lessons we used the

internet safely to search for

images and photographs of

different animals, comparing the

similarities and differences

between the two.

Year 2

This week we have settled back down to our learning and have started to

produce some fabulous pieces of work. In English we have been producing

descriptive writing about a character and the

setting. In Maths we have been counting in 2s, 5s

and 10s and recapping on our

understanding of place value for 2

and 3 digit numbers.

Year 3

This week, Year 3 had a crime to

investigate! Iron Man had fallen down the cliff and Year 3 had to

investigate what may have happened!

We also worked hard building robots

from cube and cuboid nets in order

to see what the robot may have

looked like when put back together!

Finally, friction was the topic of the week and the children had a go

at making human thinking maps to link with World Thinking Day.

Year 4 In Maths we have been reading analogue clocks and working out intervals of times. We have made a

huge improvement in this over the week - ask us to tell you the time this weekend.

In English we have been planning and writing a diary entry as if we had just climbed

a mountain. We have been focusing on using fronted adverbials and a range of

adjectives to make our work more interesting.

In topic we have been learning about the water cycle and also about the seven summits of

the world.

Year 5

We have started our topic of ‘Time Traveller’. The children

have designed their own time machine. They have looked at

the features of a mosque and created a plan of one. In

English we are writing our own story set in times gone by. We

have had fun practising our tennis

skills - maybe ready for

Wimbledon!

DON’T FORGET

Dress up for World Book Day (1st March) children can dress as a book character of

their choice and bring their favourite book to discuss and share with their class.

Prizes will be given for the best character costume in each year group

If your child is in Year 1 or 2 and they require a sandwich for lunch then please let your

child's class teacher know. Children are encouraged to have a hot dinner rather than a

sandwich unless requested by the parent/carer.

Buster’s Book Club Winner of Buster Book club this week

for improving the number of children

reading in a class is Ash – well done!

Next week there is an in-school

competition prize for the winning

class

A reminder that the challenge day is

to read to an adult at home on a

Wednesday.

Thinking Maps This week’s map is a BRIDGE MAP.

This map is used to show the links between

two ideas.

This map is used to break down a physical

object into different parts.

How many stars are

there in the sky?

Next week’s

‘Thunk’ is …..

TEAM POINTS

This week the ‘Holcombe Cup’ has been awarded to Castle.

Attendance Ace Shared by Ash, Oak and Pine with 100% - Well Done!

Punctuality Penny Elm with 1 late.

Golden Tie

Congratulations to:

Oak – Jacobi

Ash – Maddie

Elm – Alfie

Beech – Duru

Hazel - Maci

Maple – Harry M

Birch – William

Pine – Aisha

Spruce – Elsie-Jane

Apple – Ben G

Cherry – Thomas

Damson - Teon

Conifer – Lennycole

Hawthorn – Sophie

Juniper – Fareeda

Sycamore – Callum

Achievement Alley

Oak – Hanna

Ash – Yvie

Elm – Luke

Beech – Kamara

Hazel – Kayla

Maple – Stephanie

Birch – Gracie-Mae

Pine – Yameen

Spruce - George

Apple – Max

Cherry – Bethany

Damson - Tayo

Conifer – Jack

Hawthorn – Maks

Juniper – Jacob

Sycamore - Kya

Upcoming parent workshops and meetings:

Weds 28th February - Year 1 Phonics Check meeting (2.15pm or 6pm) This meeting will

provide you with information about the Year 1 Phonics Check.

Weds 7th March - How to support you child at home with phonics (2.15pm). This workshop

will provide you with ideas for games and activities to help your child at home with phonics.

Thursday 8th March 2018 - Maths Calculation Policy (2pm & 5pm). This meeting will provide

you with information about our Maths calculation policy and the methods that we use for

addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in Years 1-5

Weds 14th March - Y2 SATs Test Information (2.15pm or 6pm)

This meeting will provide you with information about the Year 2 SATs Tests.

Dates for your Diary – Term 4 Every Tuesday morning ‘Book Club’ is held – don’t forget to send your child’s money into school

in a clearly named envelope

Monday 12th to Friday 16th February – Half Term

Weds 28th February - Year 1 Phonics Check meeting (2.15pm or 6pm)

Thursday 1st March – World Book Day – Dress up as favourite character from a book

Weds 7th March - How to support you child at home with phonics (2.15pm).

Thursday 8th March – Maths Calculation information session for parents 2pm & 5pm

PTFA meeting – Friday 9th March at 9.00am

Weds 14th March - Y2 SATs Test Information (2.15pm or 6pm)

Monday 16th April - Y2 Wow event - Dress up as Pirates