Activity clubs for next half term are now available to book!

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:​

• Upper School Cricket Club with Miss Yandell 

Tuesdays:

• Yoga and Fitness Club with Miss Yandell

Wednesdays:

• Tennis with Miss Yandell
• Ukulele Club with Rebecca from The Slough Music Trust - Please note, this is a 5 week club.

Thursdays:

• Chess and Puzzle Club with Miss Imam

​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 the first day of each club. 

Clubs start Monday 15th April and run for the full 6 weeks of the half term, the exception being Cricket which will be 5 weeks due to the Bank holiday and Ukulele which runs for 5 weeks. 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 (£35 for Cricket and Ukulele). 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].

How exciting... FISA's 'Wonka' bars are now up for pre sale on our School Money Shop!
FISA are selling chocolate bars with a twist - some of the bars will have a golden ticket with some fantastic prizes! 
Bars will be on pre sale until Monday 25th March and FISA will be handing out the sold chocolate bars at the end of the day on Wednesday 27th March where you can unwrap to reveal if you have won a prize!
Please note that the chocolate bars will not be for sale on the day they must be pre-ordered.  
Use your child's school money account to pre-order.  

If you have any donations for our next Bag2School collection, please bring them in on Wednesday 20th March! For the full details of what is being collected as donations, head to: ​ bag2school.com/what-we-collect

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have had a busy week. In English, they have been writing a diary about the adventures of The Iron Man with a focus on using expanded noun phrases. In Maths, they have been learning about equivalent fractions and have moved onto exploring mass and capacity. They have started their Science topic about forces by identifying different forces with an exciting activity, firing marshmallows across the playground, using a paper cup and a balloon to provide the force. In Computing, they have been learning about creating graphs and databases on Purple Mash.
Year 4 – have continued to learn about fractions - adding fractions and mixed numbers, subtracting fractions from whole amounts and subtracting from mixed numbers. In English, they have continued to write their newspaper report about the vanishings of cats in Varjak Paw. In DT, they designed their electrical loop game which they will be making at the end of term. In History, they learned about the events leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and during the eruption.
Year 5 – have begun planning a persuasive leaflet about Cuffley camp. In Maths, children started learning how to calculate the perimeter of rectangles, rectilinear shapes and polygons; they also learnt to calculate the area of rectangles. The teachers were impressed by the effort the children have been putting in to complete their tasks. In PSHE, the children discussed body image and relationships with food - their insights and opinions were remarkable. The children also consolidated their knowledge about Mayans in Humanities by embarking on creating a PowerPoint presentation on Mayans. It has been a fun but a busy week in Year 5!
Year 6 – have continued writing non-chronological reports on owls, they have gathered lots of interesting information and facts on these fascinating creatures - did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament?  In Maths, the children have begun working on area, perimeter and volume.  In History, Year 6 have researched King Henry VIII and have prepared a PowerPoint presentation on whether he was a good or bad king.  The children have also thoroughly enjoyed art this week, they have investigated the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud, Yayoi Kusama and Jeff Koon.  They will now make their own sculpture inspired by one of the artist's work.

​Dear Parent/Carer,
Year 3/4 Swimming
This term, we have an EXCITING opportunity! We have hired a pop-up swimming pool for 3 weeks. Within this time, we are able to offer Year 3 and Year 4 the opportunity to start to develop their swimming skills as part of the PE curriculum. Having the pool on our site means that we will not have to waste time travelling to the pool and as a consequence the children will have more time in the water! 
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.
Year 3 children will have 2 lessons on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th March and Year 4 will have 2 lessons on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28st March.  This will then be continued and developed next year.
The company supplying the pool will also supply a qualified swim teacher and a lifeguard. There will always be a member of IVJS staff with the children who is also trained in school swimming lessons.
Your son/daughter will be taught the national swimming curriculum which includes the following skills and strokes:
●              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.
 
To help us group the children according to their swimming ability we would appreciate you filling in the form on the paper copy of the letter sent home or emailing [email protected] with permission to take part and roughly how many meters they can swim.  

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – had a fantastic visit to Cuffley camp on Monday. They braved the climbing wall, supported each other on the low ropes course and made fantastic shelters! In English, they have used the knowledge of shelter making to help them create instructions for how to build a Stone Age den, with a focus on including imperative verbs. This week in Maths, they have continued to learn about fractions, looking at fractions on scales and on number lines. Year 3 have begun their next DT project and have been busy designing and begun to make their 'moving monsters' using pneumatics to control their moving parts. It has certainly been a busy but brilliant week!
Year 4 – had an exciting day at Cuffley Camp on Tuesday where they climbed, used ropes and built shelters. In Maths, they have continued to learn about fractions and equivalent fraction families. In English, they have started writing a newspaper report about the vanishing cats in Varjak Paw. In History, the children have learnt about different Roman Gods, written some interesting facts about them and designed a shield for their own Roman God!
Year 5 – have engaged in many activities: fire-building, archery and gladiator (obstacle frame) were really fun! It was truly a unique experience! Children have also taken the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of percentages, decimals and fractions in Maths. In English, they finished publishing the narrative that they worked so hard on in the past week and worked really hard on their presentation and their handwriting. The children also explored more about the planets in Science and learnt all about the decline of the Mayans. It was a fun and exciting week in Year 5!
Year 6 – have started a new writing task in English - they are preparing to write a non-chronological report about owls.  The inspiration for this comes from the class book they are reading (Skellig) in which two of the characters have an encounter with some owls.  So far, the children have done some research about owls and have planned their reports, ready to get down to writing them next week.  In Maths the children have been working with decimals and will be moving on to area, perimeter and volume next week.  They have started a new topic in Humanities which is their first history topic this year - Tudors and Monarchs.  They had a great day out at Cuffley Camp on Thursday and we were very impressed by the skills they showed in archery and axe throwing; and with the perseverance and resilience many of the children showed on the Gladiator climb!

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
• Googles (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 or email [email protected] with permission. Please note, 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. There will be occasions when they may be asked to remove their goggles.
No goggles may be worn without the signed form/emailed consent.
​

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been investigating a “crime scene” in the school courtyard! They found a giant footprint, lots of metal cooking equipment scattered around and messages written on the wall saying 'feed me!' and 'I'll be back'. They have come up with many theories about who the “intruder” could be. In Maths, they have started to learn about fractions with a focus on identifying the denominator and numerator. They have been ordering unit fractions and finding the whole. In Humanities they have worked with a partner to create an information booklet about Pre-historic times. They then presented their work to the class.
Year 4 – have been learning about mixed and improper fractions. In English, they have been writing a character description about a Mr Men or Little Miss character they designed. In Science, Year 4 were excited to use their knowledge of the digestive system to help them replicate it. In History, they explored art from Ancient Rome and practiced their own mosaic pattern. In DT, Year 4 researched and analysed a range of children's toys.
Year 5 – have begun writing a narrative about a time when they had to time-travel due to an unfortunate incident - they had such creative ideas! They have also used a lot of the success criteria and have impressed the teachers very much! The children have also worked hard in Maths exploring percentages and deepening their understanding by looking at percentages as fractions and decimals. In Science, children have started a new topic - Earth and Space. In Humanities, the children learnt about King Pakal and found out why he was an important King for Mayans. The teachers have been impressed by the children's positive attitude towards learning and how industrious they have been!
Year 6 – have once again worked really hard across all areas of the curriculum.  In English, they have edited and published their letters, ready to send to Miss Digweed, persuading her to allow them to have another Year 6 Take-over day in the summer term.  In Maths, they have continued solving problems involving algebra, these have included: finding pairs of values and solving problems with two unknowns.  In Science, they have enjoyed planning and carrying out an experiment to see how shadows behave; they have now completed their learning on the topic of light.