​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been really excited about their swimming lessons! They have all joined in and have made all of their teachers proud. They have finished their potions instructions in English and have had a lot of fun letting their imagination run wild. They have created a range of potions from ones that make you invisible to others that create portals into movies. In Maths, Year 3 have begun looking into capacity and have looked at different ways that they could make liquids up to 1 litre like using division. In Science, they have been looking into the muscles in their body and have discussed how muscles help our skeletons to move in different ways (contracting and relaxing). Year 3 have ended the week by completing their assessments this week and have been showing off how much they have learnt so far this year!
Year 4 – have worked hard on their end of term assessments and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to swim during the end of the week. They have worked brilliantly in groups on their DT projects this week. They have designed and made an electric loop wire game (steady hand game). The hardest part of the task was making sure that the electric circuit was connected correctly and that everything was in the correct place. They spent an afternoon testing each other’s games and running a product analysis on them. In English, they have been writing a narrative about a subject of their choice. There have been some brilliant ideas from a gangster duck to a cat that wants to go on a dog walk. We can't wait to share them with each other! On Tuesday afternoon, Year 4 and Year 5 swapped stories that they had both written during their English this term. It was so lovely to see them all working so hard. They have also completed their science investigation on tooth decay, coming together to see what effect the different drinks had on an egg shell that represented our teeth.
Year 5 – have been busy working on their maths and reading assessments and have really impressed us with the amount of effort and determination they have put into every single paper! In English, they have finished their formal letters and have published them to an excellent standard, meaning they are now ready to be delivered to their intended recipient. In Science, they have been sharing everything they have learnt about outer space and the planets this term, collecting the information to plan and present an expert talk. The talks were presented with excellent confidence and were filled with scientific facts about each planet, some groups even delved into sharing how our perception of the solar system has changed throughout history. During DT, the children made excellent props for these presentations, which were their very own models of the solar system. The children carefully painted each planet and put them into a sturdy base in the correct order. Year 5 have had a great week and great half-term and we wish them a well-earned break!
Year 6 – have shown great resilience this week as they have undertaken their mock SATs. They have worked hard and tried their best in their tests.  As well as the tests, the children have been finishing off work from the rest of this term.  In English, they have finished writing the story of 'The Lighthouse' from a short video clip and have used some great descriptive vocabulary for the setting and character description. The children finished their science topic of electricity with a report showing what they had learnt from the topic.  In PSHE they have worked together to plan possible money-raising activities for a chosen charity.

There are spaces after the Easter break in the IRock bands!

Activity clubs for next half term are now available to book. Please note, you are now also able to book Earlybirds and Bluebells for the full Summer term.
PLEASE NOTE, IF YOU PAY BY CHILDCARE VOUCHERS, PLEASE EMAIL THE SCHOOL TO RESERVE THE CLUB PLACE YOU REQUIRE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND WE CAN ALLOCATE THE SPACE, IF THERE ARE SPACES AVAILABLE.
Mondays:

• Inventors Club with Miss Begum - Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths based club

Tuesdays:

• Netball with Miss Booth 
• Lego Club with Mrs Chapman Allen
• Spy Craft and Codebreaking Club with Miss Rowe: Maths based club

Wednesdays:

• Lower School Football with Mr Bailey
• Book Club with Miss Digweed
• Purple Mash Club with Mr Clifford

Thursdays:

• Upper School Boys Football with Mr Bailey
• Yoga Club with Miss Templer - Yoga/Pilates/Meditation based club
• Art Club with Miss Rowe

Fridays:

• Upper School Girls Football with Mr Bailey

As before, clubs will show as a payment on your child's School Money account (www.eduspot.co.uk). Please do not pay this unless you want to book your child a space. Club payments that are not paid/needed for will be removed from your account after Monday 24th April. 

Clubs start Monday 17th April and run through to the last week of the half term, the last club being Friday 26th May. All clubs are 3.15pm to 4.30pm with pick up at the front of the school. Clubs cost £7 per club and can be booked for the full half term (£42 or £28 for Inventors Club taking both bank holiday Mondays into consideration). We are still offering a discounted rate to any children entitled to Pupil Premium (the discounted cost will show automatically to anyone entitled).
​
Should you have any issues logging into your School Money account, please email [email protected].

This Week In School…
Year 3 – have created some fantastic diary entries in English, all about the Stone Age. They have slept in caves, searched for fire wood and even gone hunting! In Maths, they have been learning about mass, weighing in grams and kilograms. In RE they have been exploring symbols of different faiths, the focus this week was symbols within Hinduism. They have begun their new Science topic learning about animals, including humans. They have been investigating the role of producers and consumers and learnt the names of bones in the human body.
Year 4 – have written fantastic setting descriptions in English. They have used adjectives, the five senses and figurative language to describe a snowy scene that really resonated in the readers’ minds! In Maths, they focused on subtracting factions and will be moving on to decimals in the upcoming weeks. In Music, they practised playing the African drums to Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’ and had a go at singing the lyrics with Ms Carrera. They did a great job! In Science, they discussed the function of teeth and moved on to comparing teeth found in carnivores and herbivores. They are looking forward to their swimming lessons next week and eventually building their electric loop games in DT.  Lots to look forward to before the holidays! As part of Humanities this week, Year 4 took part in a Now Press Play drama activity. They got to take on the role of a child who had travelled to Pompeii on a school trip and ended up falling back through time to the day before Mt Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii, covering it in 7 meters of ash.
Year 5 – have been working exceptionally hard in English to write a very persuasive letter to somebody in school. They began by conducting some excellent research, in order to have lots of evidence to back up their arguments. They are excited to complete these letters at the beginning of next week and get them sent straight over to their recipient. In Maths, they have been practising perimeter and area of lots of different shapes. The children have even completed some trickier problems within this topic, where certain shapes have had missing lengths for them to solve as an additional step. In Humanities, Year 5 were introduced to the longest serving king of the Maya times, Pakal. Both classes enjoyed creating quiz questions to test that everyone in the class knew all of the fun facts that there was to learn about this great king. They were also very lucky to have a visit from the local church this week, who gave them loads of information about the origins of Christianity.
Year 6 – have been enjoying their swimming sessions as well as working hard in class.  In English, they have been planning and starting to write a narrative based on a film clip called 'The Lighthouse'.  The children have been looking in particular at writing character and setting descriptions and have made some great suggestions for this descriptive writing.  They have finished their topic on the Tudors in Humanities by looking at plays written by Shakespeare; and started their new topic, Electricity, in Science where they have been experimenting with circuits to investigate the brightness of bulbs.

​Dear Parents/Guardians,
 
Lower School swimming will start week commencing 27th March:
Year 3 will be swimming on Monday 27th AND Tuesday 28th March
Year 4 will be swimming on Wednesday 29th, Thursday 30th AND Friday 31st March.
 
Your child will need to bring:

• swimming costume (Boys must wear swimming trunks (not shorts) and girls must wear a one-piece costume)
• 2 towels (one to stand on whilst changing)
• A swim hat
• Goggles (if the goggles consent form (below) has been signed)
• Flip flops (shoes to wear to and from the pool from the changing area)
• Dressing gown to put on after swimming to walk to the changing rooms

 
Parents should be aware that the pool forbids the wearing of earrings. If your child has a verruca, they will still be expected to attend swimming but they must wear a verruca sock.
 
Goggles
Whilst they are not considered to be essential, we recognise that children who swim frequently or whose eyes are susceptible to irritation may prefer to use goggles for swimming. They may help maintain the required body position and improve vision through the water.  Therefore, parents may request that their child uses goggles during the lessons by filling in the form below.
I should inform you that it is your responsibility, as parent, to teach your child to put on and take off goggles in the correct and safe fashion. Our advice would be to read the manufacturer’s instructions for putting them on and taking them off. This is important to ensure protection of eyes from impact damage through stretching the eyepieces away from the face with wet fingers.
Please ensure that goggles are of a good quality. Goggles should be British Standard Institution (BSI) Goggles which includes makes such as Speedo or Zoggs, which will include instruction on the package for the correct way to put them on and take them off. You should be aware that on occasions your child will be asked to remove their goggles in order to safely perform certain aquatic activities.
If you would like your child to wear goggles during swimming lessons in school, please complete the form on the paper copy of this form given to your child or email [email protected] with the following:  

• Your child's name and your name
• If you would like to request that your child wears goggles during their swimming lesson at school.
• That you understand that it is your responsibility to ensure the goggles are in good condition and that your child knows how to take them on and off safely. You also recognise that there will be occasions when they may be asked to remove their goggles.

On Wednesday 22nd March, some of our Years 5 and 6 children will be taking part in a water safety swimming lesson. The lesson is designed to give children a feel for swimming with clothes on in case they ever fell into water.

​Please send your child into school with their full swimming kit PLUS a set of clothes with long sleeves and full trousers for example, pyjamas or leggings. They will still need to wear their swimming kit underneath their clothes. Please make sure the clothes are not baggy and no onesies or tracksuits.

Thank you.

​Miss Digweed