Dear Parents and Carers,
Our second week of school has flown by, with a range of activities occurring across the year groups. Do please read on to find more about what we have all been up to.
Swimming
All children have ventured to our swimming pool this week. Some have braved cooler weather, while others have enjoyed the bright sunshine! Our pool is a wonderful resource and we hope to make the most of it while the weather is reasonably kind; therefore, it is intended for us to swim up to the end of September; after which a review will take place, considering weather, heating costs and so forth. Learning to swim can be daunting for some, and we would encourage parents to support their children where possible in becoming confident in the water and honing their swimming skills. It is after all a skill for life.
Many thanks again to those parents who have willingly given up their time to either clean the pool or been a second pair of eyes on pool side, facilitating our lessons – THANK YOU!
Links with the church
We are very fortunate to have Fiona Hedges from St Michael & All Angels’ Church visiting each Thursday to lead an assembly. Fiona has involved the children and shared two stories to date from the Old Testament, which have been thoroughly enjoyed. Fiona’s assemblies will link to those planned for the term, and we also look forward to seeing her at our Carol Service, which will be held at the church on 13th December at 16.00, to which all are warmly invited.
Resilience
Our focus for this week during our assemblies has been the topic of resilience. At the start of the week we considered how a variety of Roald Dahl characters showed resilience, while Mrs Clasby turned to the animal kingdom and looked at the lessons that can be learnt about resilience from their behaviour and how this in turn can help us understand useful skills that can support us all to overcome challenges – such as asking for help or working hard and collaboratively.
Harvest Festival
Parents, friends and family are welcome to attend our Harvest Festival on Friday 30th September at 14.45 in our school hall. Donations this year will be sent to the Gillingham Food Bank, please see a list below of items the Foodbank are in particular need of. Fresh produce is also welcomed and this will be gathered together, ‘hampered up’ and raffled off on the day of the Harvest Festival, so please come with your purses and wallets to the Festival to buy a strip or two for a good cause!
The foodbank have a particular need for the following items:
- UHT fruit juice
- Small packets of rice
- Small jars of coffee
- Sponge puddings
- Tinned meat
- Tinned carrot
- Tinned mushrooms
- Small ketchup
Also household items and toiletries, with the following being appreciated:
- Shampoo & conditioner
- Liquid handwash
- Bars of soap
- Toilet rolls
- Kitchen rolls
- Toilet cleaner
- Washing up liquid
PTFA
The PTFA AGM will be held after the Harvest Festival, so do please come along and get involved.
A questionnaire from the PTFA is attached to this newsletter, and your responses are key, so do please complete and return your forms, with any queries to Sophie Hayter – haytersophie@hotmail.com or drop a note or your questionnaire into Mrs Pike in the Office who will ensure they are forwarded appropriately.
Class Room News
Oak Class
Our subjects this week included grammar, science, writing and PSHE. We have looked at using modal verbs for possibility and we had a delve into some of the vocabulary of The War of the Worlds – some of our favourites were desolation, deliberation and arrested (stopped). We have been rounding numbers to 100,000 and compared the conditions of different planets. We also looked at how the Universal Convention on the Rights of the Child isn’t always followed in all countries.
Next week, we are looking to explore more descriptive writing using the film ‘Avatar’.
Chestnut Class
Chestnut Class have started their English text, The Stolen Spear and are getting to know the characters in the story.
In Maths, the children have been working on partitioning numbers in different ways.
The children were very excited to use the electrical components and create a working circuit to make bulbs light up and buzzers buzz.
Beech Class
This week the children have been focusing on identifying verbs within rhymes and coming up with their own verb choices to alter the meaning of the original versions. In Maths Year One pupils have been reviewing numbers to ten, how they can be represented in digits, pictures and words; while Year Two pupils have been reviewing numbers to one hundred. The class ventured outside and collected natural materials to make their own ‘natural paint brushes’ and attempted to use these to paint. Natural products used included grass, leaves and feathers as the bristles. Next week the children will attempt to make their own paints using natural materials – it could be messy!
Hazel Class
This week we have been talking about our feelings, sharing a smile and learning how to resolve problems by saying sorry. The children have had a lovely time painting their portraits and exploring colouring mixing. Next week we will be reading Wow! Said the Owl and looking around the natural environment for all the different colours.
Diary dates for the forthcoming week and beyond
Dates in red have been amended or added since last week’s listing.
Monday A reminder to all that school will be closed on Monday 19th September 2022 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Tuesday Reading Meeting for Reception and Year One parents (Hazel and half of Beech Class) – 15.30 in the Reading Room.
| 19th Sept
|
All day
|
School closed
|
| 20th Sept
|
15.30 | Reading Meeting (Reception & Year 1 parents) |
| 30th Sept
|
14.45 | Harvest Festival in the hall |
| 30th Sept | 15.30 | PTFA AGM – all welcome
|
| 12th Oct
|
15.00 | Open Classroom afternoon (children to share books with parents) |
| 17th Oct
|
15.30 – 17.30 | Parent Meetings |
| 18th Oct
|
17.30 – 19.30 | Parent Meetings |
| 21st Oct
|
15.20 | Half term |
| 31st Oct
|
08.50 | Second half of term starts |
| 18th Nov | All Day | Children in Need Day
|
| 1st Dec | 09.00 | Christmas Tree Service & decorating the tree
|
| 7th Dec | 14.30 | Nativity in the Hall
|
| 13th Dec | 16.00 | Carol Service at St Michael and The Angels’ Church, Stour Provost – all welcome. |
| 16th Dec
|
15.20 | End of Term |
Best wishes,