Headteacher’s Comment

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the festive season and all found some time to relax and enjoy yourself over a busy holiday. I would like to welcome Miss Panagiotidou (Year 3) and Mrs Panteli to our teaching staff and Mrs Wilson and Miss Byres, who will be teaching maths booster.

Achievements

Well done to Charlie Wood, Callum Kealy-Johnson (Mrs Campbell/Miss Gibbs’s Class) Erin Taylor, Harry Harmer (Miss Panagiotidou’s Class), Chelsea Lawn, Evie Moss (Miss Bektas’s Class), Sydie Peck, Nicole Constantinou, Ella Dewing, Charlie Williams (Mr Davey’s class), Eddie Plowman (Mrs Sach’s class), Ben Rowe, Alfie Willis (Mrs Haslehurst’s class), Charlie Hiscott (Miss O’Riordan’s Class) who received Green Cards this week.

Attendance

Well done to Mr Davey’s Class who had the best attendance this week with 100%.

Launch Days

On Monday we will be launching this term’s topics. As part of the day, children can dress up in the following:

Year 3- Anglo Saxon clothing

Year 4- Tudor clothing

Year 5- Native American clothing

Year6- Ancient Greek clothing

It is not expected that you buy anything special as a lot of the costumes can be made out of clothes the children may already have or indeed bed clothing!

Spelling

As part of the school’s drive to improve the standard of spelling and grammar, we have changed the way we are teaching spelling. Children will experience a spelling rule for two weeks with 4/5 activities during this period as part of their literacy lessons.

Rather than a weekly spelling test, the children will have a dictation exercise at the end of the two week period. These scores will be recorded in the Pupils’ Progress book. We have found that children are learning their spellings, but are not using these in their writing.

Children will not be sent home with a list of words, but parents will be informed of the spelling rules/strategies that are being used. Miss Biggs’s is in the process of preparing a book to support learning at home.

The rules for this week are as follows:

Year 3- Homophones (words that sound the same but are spelt differently) eg hare/ hair, see/sea, one/won

Year 4- adjacent consonants eg farmer, girl, milk

Year 5- Homophones eg their (belonging to someone)/ there (place)/ they’re (shorten form of they are)

I went to their party.

There is a party over there?

They’re going to the party.

Year 6- Unstressed vowels (we tend not to say the vowel when speaking eg different we say diff rent instead of diff e rent, category we say categ gry rather than cate gory.

Miss Biggs will be organising a ‘Spelling Bee’ completion later in the school year.

Homework Club (13 January 2015)

The first Homework Club will be on Tuesday 13 January 2015 between (3:15 and 4:15pm). Please remember only children with homework should attend.

Dates for your diary

Monday 12 January                 Launch Days

Wednesday 14 January                        School Nurse in for Weight and Height Year 6 (9:30am)

Thursday 15 January               Governing Body Curriculum meeting (6:30pm)

Wednesday 21 January                        Governing Body Personnel (6:30pm) and Finance (7:30pm) meetings

Monday 26 January                 Year 4 Trip (Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge)

Thursday 12 February             PTA Valentines Disco

Thursday 12 February             Break up from school (3:15pm)

Monday 23 February               Return to school (8:45am)

Wednesday 4 March                Full Governing Body meeting (7:00pm)

Friday 13 March                      PTA- Mother Day Gifts

Friday 20 March                      PTA- Quiz Night

Friday 27 March                      Break up from school (3:15pm)

Monday 13 April                     Return to school (8:45am)

Wednesday 22 April                Governing Body Curriculum (6:30pm) and Budget (7:30pm) meetings

Wednesday 29 April                Governing Body Personnel (6:30pm) and Finance (7:30pm) meetings

Monday 11 May                      End of Key Stage 2 Tests (Year 6)

Tuesday 12 May                      End of Key Stage 2 Tests (Year 6)

Wednesday 13 May                 End of Key Stage 2 Tests (Year 6)

Thursday 14 May                    End of Key Stage 2 Tests (Year 6)

Friday 15 May                                     End of Key Stage 2 Tests (Year 6)

Thursday 21 May                    Break up from school (3:15pm)

Monday 1 June                                    Return to school (8:45am)

Tuesday 23 June                      District Sports (Field Events)

Friday 26 June                         Transition Day

Tuesday 30 June                      District Sports (Track Events)

Wednesday 1 July                   Year 6 Residential

Thursday 2 July                                   Year 6 Residential

Friday 3 July                            Year 6 Residential

Wednesday 15 July                 Full Governing Body Meeting

Friday 17 July                          Break up from school (3:15pm)