This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been developing their writing skills by completing a set of instructions describing how to build a robot. The inspiration for their robot came from their class text, 'The Iron Man'. In Maths, they have started their topic on different measurements. They have measured different items on the playground in m and cm. They have also been learning about how to convert between different measurements. In Computing, they have been analysing different data sets using bar graphs and pie charts. During PSHE, they have been continuing to work as a team to build a garden for a group with specific needs. For Science, they have been adding to their understanding of light by looking how reflections are formed.
Year 4 – have had a go at making their own switches in Science and seeing how opening/closing them impacts the flow of electrical current. In Art, they learnt about Esther Mahlangu and her unique and creative style. They discussed her use of symmetry, geometric patterns and bold colours. They will be designing their own art work next week using these ideas as inspiration! In English, year 4 have been writing their own non-chronological report about cats.  In Maths, they have been working hard to recall their times tables and use this to help with solving division problems. In Computing, they discussed how to create line graphs through inputting data onto spreadsheets.
Year 5 – have been putting in a lot of effort to consolidate their understanding of multiplication and division, they have even started multiplying fractions. In English, they have watched an engaging video featuring an intriguing figure who gives lovely dreams to children in an orphanage. The orphanage's setting has been superbly described by the children, and they have also written some incredibly in-depth descriptions of the dream-giver. We are very impressed by how effectively they have organised their writing and added so much detail. Practise really does make perfect! In science, they have carried out some fantastic experiments, investigating how Newton metres can be used to measure the force of gravity and carefully creating helicopters to test how falling objects are affected by air resistance.
Year 6 – have continued their topic on ratio and proportion and have worked hard to solve problems using what they have learnt. In English, they have continued to read the story of Skellig and are now preparing to write a diary entry from the perspective of the main character, Michael.

On Wednesday 1st February, our school will be closed to the majority of pupils. We will have some support staff in school and will prioritise places for children who have additional needs. On Monday, we will be contacting parents of children who we are able to offer a place to.
We know that this national action will cause some parents and families difficulties with childcare arrangements and we do hope that the situation is resolved in a timely way.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been busy writing a diary entry about the Iron Man in English. They have used lots of description and their feelings and thoughts to empathise with a character. In Maths, they have worked hard to solve division problems using the short formal method. They have begun their new Science topic about light, discussing sources of light and investigating which materials are the most reflective to incorporate in their book bag design. In French, they have been learning the names of musical instruments. 
Year 4 – have been very busy this week. In Maths, Lisbon and London have been learning how to multiply two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers, using their knowledge of times tables to help them. They had a go at writing their own short stories, based on their own mini Lego characters! They followed the story mountain stages and tried to include lots of the features of short stories. In Computing, both classes have been recapping how to stay safe online and then learning about spreadsheets. In Art this week, they had the chance to create their own designs using clay and practised the different skills involved in this. It was great fun!
Year 5 – have written some fantastic setting descriptions of their classrooms. They discussed ideas using their 5 senses and added loads of detail throughout. In Maths, they have been practising the formal method for short division, with the children applying their excellent times table knowledge to complete problems with 4-digit numbers. In Humanities, they have continued their learning about the Mayans. The children used real artefacts to decide what they think the Mayans were really like.
Year 6 – have finished their narratives inspired by Skellig. We are so impressed with the creativity shown in some excellent pieces of writing! In Maths, they have begun to learn. about ratio and started to apply this knowledge to scale drawings. They have also finished their Humanities topic related to North America by learning about natural disasters, types of trade and economies found across North America.

Dear Parent/Carer on Years 5 and 6,

Next half term, we have an EXCITING opportunity! We have hired a swimming pool for 3 weeks so that children in Year 5 and 6 can develop their swimming skills in line with the Statutory School Swimming Programme as part of National Curriculum Physical Education. By the time a child is ready to leave primary school they should be able to swim, know how to get out of trouble if they fall into the water, know the dangers of water and understand how to stay safe when playing in and around it.   This includes understanding and adhering to national and local water safety advice, being able to use appropriate survival and self-rescue skills if they unintentionally fall in or get into difficulty in the water, and knowing what to do if others get into trouble.

Swimming is effectively ‘Wet PE’.  As such, in addition to the above, our aim is for pupils to be physically active during their School Swimming lesson and have opportunities to:

• Engage in competitive situations (both against themselves and others) and co-operative physical activities,
• Communicate, collaborate and compete with each other,
• Develop an understanding of how to improve; learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

 
Your child will have a 2 week programme every day of 30-minute lessons, starting on the 13th March 2023. 
The company will also supply a qualified swim teacher and a lifeguard. (There will always be a member of IVJS with the children who are also trained in school swimming lessons).

Your son/daughter will be taught the following skills and strokes in different water-related contexts:

• how to enter and exit the water,
• floatation,
• submerging,
• rotating from back to front and front to back and regaining an upright position,
• pushing and gliding and an understanding of streamlining,
• aquatic breathing,
• moving effectively and efficiently through the water using alternating and simultaneous strokes on front and back, such as front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, side stroke,
• swimming longer distances and for increasing amounts of time,
• using swimming skills and strokes for different purposes such as water polo and synchronised swimming,
• survival and self-rescue skills: treading water, Heat Escape Lessening Position (HELP) and Huddle positions, floating and resting in the water, attracting attention, sculling and swimming in clothes/buoyancy aids,
• water safety: knowledge and understanding of different water environments, how to stay safe when playing in and around water including recognising flags and warning signs and understanding national and local water safety advice,
• what to do if others get into difficulties: stay safe: shout, signal; throw, do not go into the water; raising the alarm 999,
• play competitive games such as water polo and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending.

 
Please complete the slip on the paper copy of this form (sent home with the children) with the following information:

• Permission given for children to participate in school swimming lessons.
• How many metres they can swim (0 metres/ up to 10 metres/ 25 metres or more)

​Dear Parent/Guardian,

I am pleased to tell you that this term we will be participating in the NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. online programme. This consists of an online assembly and supporting classroom based activities. Speak out. Stay safe. is a safeguarding programme available to all primary schools in the UK and Channel Islands. It aims to help children understand abuse in all its forms and to recognise the signs of abuse in a child friendly way. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a trusted adult or Childline.

In the online assembly, the Speak out. Stay safe. messages are delivered in a fun and interactive way with the help of their mascot Buddy as well as special guest appearances from Ant and Dec. We have studied the content of the materials and are extremely confident that they are appropriate for primary-school-aged children. By the end of the programme, we’re convinced children will feel empowered – knowing how they can speak out and stay safe.

If you would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme you can find information on the NSPCC website http://www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout or I would be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.

Additional resources:

Adapted assembly for home use
The NSPCC has also developed an adapted version of their assembly for parents/carers to use at home with their children.  This can be found here: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/safety.  With the help of celebrities, the film focuses on how a child can get support if they have any worries or concerns.
To complement the assembly, there are some resources that can be used to enable further discussion whilst doing activities with your children.  These are hosted on the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk/activities. 
​
Online safety hub
You may also like to visit the NSPCC Online Safety Hub where you will find advice and information on a range of different online safety topics including gaming, social media, sharing nudes, parental controls and more.
You will also find online safety information for families of children with additional needs and disabilities. We have worked with Ambitious about Autism and parents and carers who have children with additional needs and disabilities to create activities to help talk about online safety which you can find at www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-families-children-with-send.

Childline Under 12’s Website
Childline also have a website with age appropriate advice for primary school children on topics such as bullying.  It also has games and other interactive tools. Your child can visit it at www.childline.org.uk/kids.
If you’d like to know more about the NSPCC’s work, or take a look at the wide range of information and advice which is available for parents and carers, please visit their website www.nspcc.org.uk/parents.

Talking PANTS with your children
Talk PANTS is a simple conversation to help keep your child safe from sexual abuse. From P through to S, each letter of PANTS provides a simple but valuable rule that can help keep your child safe. You can find out more and download the free resources at www.nspcc.org.uk/pants.
Penguin and Ladybird have partnered with the NSPCC to create a brand new Pantosaurus book aimed at children ages 4 - 8. You can find copies of the new book on sale, either in Matalan’s selected stores and online, selected SPAR stores or at https://shop.nspcc.org.uk/. All profits from the sale of this book will support the NSPCC.

Support the NSPCC
You may be interested in the NSPCC’s new selection of BUDDY goodies available from the NSPCC shop at https://shop.nspcc.org.uk/collections/buddy which make perfect gifts for children - and all profits go to help keep children safe.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Mrs Chapman-Allen
SENCO and Inclusion Manager

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been completing their newspaper about the intruder that visited the school. They have used commas for lists, capital letters and speech marks to ensure that their newspapers inform the people of Iver. In Maths, Year 3 have been developing their multiplication skills using column method to multiply 1-digit by 2 digits and have even challenged themselves by multiplying 1 digit by 3 digits. In humanities, year 3 have been exploring the 7 continents and the 5 oceans as well as locating different seas. They have investigated mountain ranges and researched the highest peaks in the world. They have also written fact-files about the world's major rivers completing their humanities topic this term. In PSHE, they talked about their dreams and aspirations for the future.
Year 4 – have been working hard in English to write some challenging animal riddles. These have been tricky to solve and are leaving their teachers very confused as to what animal they have been describing! In Maths, they have been working on solving problems that require them to either multiply or divide a number by 10 or 100. In Science, they have investigated how circuits work and had to make several different circuits to test whether they were complete or incomplete. Their enthusiasm for this lesson was lovely to see. In Humanities, they have started learning about some of the natural disasters that have happened to Africa and are working together to perform an interview where they will tell each other what has happened to their town or village. Keeping with the same continent in Art, they began their unit on African art by looking at traditional African crafts and have produced their own paper beads made in traditional ways. Using the templates to cut the paper the correct shape was tricky but they persevered and have some amazing paper beads to show for it.
Year 5 – have started their new topic on multiplication in Maths. They have been multiplying 4-digit numbers using their formal method and have done extremely well remembering each step. In English, they have watched a great video that told the story of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The children worked hard to describe each of these characters in detail and produced some very creative character descriptions as a result. In Humanities, Year 5 are diving into their topic on the Mayans and got to see some exciting pictures of the amazing Chichen Itza. Later in the week, the children practised their French vocabulary, describing the weather they could see outside.
Year 6 – have begun writing their own narratives inspired by the story of Skellig by David Almond. They have worked hard to build atmosphere and suspense into their writing and create engaging setting and character descriptions. They have begun their new geography topic about North America and have been fascinated by the continuous eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii.

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

​As a treat for our pupils, we have managed to secure a visit from the Hobgoblin Educational Theatre Company for tomorrow for our very own pantomime performance! The show will be during school time for the entire school and is designed for school children so has a strong focus on literacy, presented in a way to make sure all the children are engaged, interested and enjoying learning!

If you would like to help contribute to cost of this event, you are able to make a donation via the Shop tab on your School Money account (suggested donation: £2). We will also be accepting cash donations tomorrow.

https://eduspot.co.uk/

Thank you in advance.

Mrs Chapman Allen