D​ear Parents/Guardians,

While we are waiting on the responses from PGL about many of the questions we have posed regarding logistics of the upcoming trip, please find a kit list and menu below to give you an idea of what to expect should the trip go ahead.

Children need to have a case with wheels - there is a walk from where the coach drops us to our cabins.  Your child will be responsible for their own case.

Please, please send your child with at least 2 pairs of old trainers.  If one pair gets wet they will need the spare!  And please remind your child that it is not a fashion parade, the trainers need to be old and cheap. Please see the kit list below with what you will need to pack: 

Please see the menu PGL have provided us for the week of the trip below;

On Friday the government updated their guidance and residential trips will now be allowed from 17th May (as long as rates of covid remain low).
We have discussed the situation with PGL and they hope not to charge for any child who does not go (excluding the £50 deposit) if the parent notifies the school before Tuesday, 20th April 2021.
PGL have put in place measures to help control the spread of the virus and we will do everything we can to keep our children in a ‘bubble’ and safe. However, as you know, there are no guarantees with this virus and so it is really important that it is your choice to send your child.
Once we have an idea of how many parents would still like their child to go on the trip, we can confirm with PGL that it is still viable to run the trip. We need to have a reply from EVERY PARENT by Tuesday 20th April to allow time to discuss any refunds with PGL.
Please could you fill in the form below to indicate if you would like to withdraw your child from the trip, or if you are happy for your child to go.
To send your child on this trip we need you to agree that you will not send your child if they are displaying any signs of illness on departure day and that you will collect your child, if they become ill or if your child has been in close contact with a suspected case of Covid, as quickly as possible from the PGL site in Sussex (approximately 90 miles from Iver).


Miss Digweed

Please see the letter below to all young people, from the Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have continued to write up their information texts in English.  They have researched oceans, marine life and marine plants.  The children are excited to finish writing up their information and creating their own books using the information. In Maths, they have consolidated their understanding of dividing 2-digit numbers by a 1-digit number.
Year 4 – have continued to learn about decimal numbers. They have found the decimal equivalents of halves and quarters, compared and ordered different decimal numbers and have started rounding them to the nearest whole number. In English, they have begun planning and writing a 'What am I riddle' based on their class text 'Varjak Paw'. In Humanities they have finished off their learning about the Ancient Egyptians. They have looked at some of the different Gods and Goddesses, Hieroglyphics and finished with the River Nile. In Art, they have tackled the tricky task of perspective drawing and planning their final images.
Year 5 – have learnt so much about bike safety and how to be safe on the roads with lots of the Year 5s taking part in Bikeability training. All involved were very enthusiastic and relished the whole process. They have continued with their poetry unit based on the class book and have had the experience of writing their own poems.  Everyone realises now just how difficult poetry writing is.  They completed their fractions unit in Maths and have now begun to look at the relationship between fractions and decimals.  Year 5 will be continuing with this next week. They have also created Rangoli patterns as part of their Art unit, creating them using coloured sand. They all look great!
Year 6 – have been working really hard as it was Test week - well done to all of them for their efforts.  They have had a challenging week in Maths too, as they have been learning about algebra, the nth term and linear sequencing.  In English, the children have been planning and drafting their own ending to their book, Rooftoppers - they will read the real ending next week.  In Humanities, they have continued to look at the history of crime and punishment and have been focusing on the Medieval, Tudor, Early Modern and Victorian periods.

As you probably already know, everyone working in primary schools and Early Years settings is testing twice a week for COVID-19 to help keep the school community safe. While nursery and primary school pupils do not have to be tested, other members of their households can access regular testing and we urge you to do so - every case we can pick up and isolate helps to stop the virus spreading and ultimately keeps us all safer.

Anyone with a child at a primary school can get tested regularly by attending one of the four rapid test sites in Buckinghamshire, or you can go and collect test kits to do yourself at home. If it’s hard for you to go to a site, you can have test kits posted out to you – all the details are on the government’s website at:
​www.gov.uk/guidance/rapid-lateral-flow-testing-for-households-and-bubbles-of-school-pupils-and-staff

Thank you so much for playing your part in the fight against COVID-19. For more local information about COVID-19 and to find the locations of the Buckinghamshire rapid test sites, you can go to the Buckinghamshire Council website at: 
​www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus


Simon James
Service Director – Education
Buckinghamshire Council

​We are able to make some changes to Earlybirds and Bluebells Clubs after the Easter holidays.

We are only providing childcare for children whose parents have no other means of childcare

• To reduce the number of children mixing we are going to continue to keep the children in their year group bubbles.
• Places must be booked by the Friday, of the week prior to the childcare being needed.
• If you need a place in breakfast club or after-school club for the same week then a £2 late charge will be applied as we will need to adjust staffing accordingly.
• We are able to take bookings via our online booking form again. Please note, the form responses are timestamped so we will be you will not be charged extra for bookings submitted on the Friday evening.

 
Costs:
Breakfast Club:
£7.00 (or £9.00 if booked the same week)
 
After School Club:
£3.50 (or £5.50 if booked the same week)

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been multiplying 1-digit numbers by a 2- and 3-digit number.  They have been practising the formal method for multiplication and solving problems involving multiplication in Maths. In English, they have enjoyed using their research to begin writing their information text on the 5 Oceans of the world.
Year 4 – have been continuing to expand their knowledge of decimals. They have been using a place value grid to help them divide by 10 and 100 and have been applying these skills to word problems. In English, they have finished off their explanation text about cats. They were very excited about the fact that cats get to sleep for 12 hours a day!  In the afternoon, Year 4 have been jumping into their time machine and travelling to Ancient Egypt. This time around, they learnt about the pyramids of Giza and how to make a mummy. They have also started their Art topic and have created a biography about the artist, David Hockney.
Year 5 – have had another busy week creating rhyming couplet poems in English and finding fractions of amounts in Maths.  They have continued reading their class book 'Running On Empty' and story mapped the main events.  They have also completed assessments as well as continuing with their Indian art project.  They have produced a design to block print using string on card and printing onto strips of paper.  This produced a repeated pattern design.
Year 6 – have been enjoying reading more of their book, 'Rooftoppers' and only have a few more chapters to go now.  In English, the children have been re-telling a story and creating their own ending; they have been working hard on using techniques to engage the reader.  In Maths, they have been revising fractions and have also learnt about Roman numerals.  The children have begun their new Humanities topic which is the history of crime and punishment in Britain.  They have particularly enjoyed creating their own curse tablet, after learning about Roman forms of crime and punishment.

This year's Big Pedal, the UK's largest inter-school Cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge, will be taking place between 19th to 30th April and we are all invited to take part!
This year, the challenge is fronted by Dame Sarah Storey, British Paralympian and 38-time world champion in cycling and swimming.
The Big Pedal will see young people across the UK compete with one another to make the most journeys by cycling, walking, scooting or using a wheelchair. Let's get healthy and help reduce pollution with less car journeys!

To find out more, head to the Sustrans Big Pedal website: 
www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/projects/uk-wide/schools/sustrans-big-pedal/

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been working hard on learning the compact method for addition in Maths this week.  The children have mastered this operation and have solved many mathematical problems involving addition. In English, they have begun looking at non-fiction texts.  In the coming weeks, the children will be writing an information text on the oceans of the world so this week, they have been busy planning their research and discussing in groups what information they will include in their text. We are extremely impressed with how well the children have settled back into class and how hard they have worked this week.
Year 4 – have begun writing a non-chronological report about cats after reading their class text, ‘Paw’. They have been making notes about different cats, planning and writing their introductions. In Maths, they have been learning about tenths and converting them into decimals. In Humanities, they have begun their topic on ancient Egypt and have worked on map skills. They have even started turning their own portrait into a portrait of a pharaoh.
Year 5 – have returned ready to learn and happy to see friends. For Maths, they have been multiplying fractions this week.  They have edited and published the newspaper article that they wrote during the last week of online learning.  They have also spent some time reading the class book 'Running on Empty' and focused on writing expanded sentences using this week's spelling words. In Art, they practised drawing some Mehndi patterns, evaluated their ideas and drew a final design. Year 5 have also completed their Tree of life work thinking about their hopes, dreams, personal qualities and what is important to them.  They all enjoyed the discussion and thinking process.  The children took great care when producing their individual trees.
Year 6 – have settled in very well, it has been really lovely to see Year 6 back in class again!  Following on from writing short stories in English during the last week of online learning, the children have again been writing a short story now they are back in class and we are very impressed with their writing so far. In Maths, they have been re-visiting previously taught topics: rounding, number properties, negative numbers and BODMAS.  We have been continuing to read our story, 'Rooftoppers' during Guided Reading.  The children have been learning about the artist Leonora Carrington in DT and have been patiently making their own Dream Catchers.