Friday 18th June Newsletter
Article 31
Every child has the right to rest and leisure and to engage in play and recreational activities.
The Prime Minister's announcement and what this means for our school
The government has always been clear that 21 June 2021 was an indicative date for progression to Step 4 of the roadmap, which would be guided by data and not dates.
On Monday, the government announced a 4-week pause at Step 3. Step 3 restrictions remain in place, including those set out in the COVID-19 operational guidance for your setting. It is expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July 2021, although the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced. The government will continue to monitor the data and the move to Step 4 will be confirmed one week in advance.
It is our priority that we deliver face-to-face, high quality teaching to our children. At a time when further easing of restrictions has been paused, the current system of controls should continue to be implemented in education and childcare settings. This means that we would ask that you continue to:
- Arrive promptly to your allocated gate at the correct time and vacate the site as soon as possible
- Social distance when dropping off/collecting and keep your child by your side
- One adult drops/collects
- Wear a face mask when dropping and collecting children
- Send children to school with sanitiser/tisues from Yr 1 - Yr 6 daily
- Support the measures school that has been put into place to keep your child and staff as safe as possible.
Thank you to those parents who are still following our guidance, we really would appreciate your support with this, so that we can keep all of the children and staff as safe a possible until the end of term.
Help and support please?
For health and Safety reasons please do not let children climb on walls and railings on the school premises. Particularly on the carpark and by the Nursery ramp and entrance - we have had a couple of bumps before the school day has started as a result of this. We ask you to supervise your children before and after school/Nursery. Also, if you have more than one child to collect, please vacate the premises and then return at your next allocated time. Many thanks for your support with this.
Recent events and activities in school
Nursery
The Nursery children have been learning about the season of summer. They have been looking at different flowers and plants that grow during the summer, the weather and different insects that they may see. The children have also been discussing fruits and crops that grow, plus all of the lovely activities that they can do during summer season.
"The sun comes out in the summer and you can have a BBQ". Oliver
"In summer you wear dresses and hats and sunglasses. Sunflowers start to grow". Bella
"I saw some apples on the tree outside. They were growing on the tree. Some were big some were little. They were quite round. When they have grown we can eat them". Daisy
Reception
In Reception this week, they have been exploring Summer Holiday. The children have used their 'Fantastic Lenses', to discuss what they had noticed at the seaside, what they would hear and how they would feel if they were there. The children then created their own postcards in Literacy and Computing. Here are some of the postcards.
KS1 Author Zoom - Dapo Adeola
On Friday 11th June, KS1 had the chance to join a Zoom conference with illustrator and author Dapo Adeola. Dapo has illustrated recently acclaimed books with author Nathan Bryon - 'Look Up' and 'Clean Up'. He has now released his first book as an author, called 'Hey You' in collaboration with a range of illustrators from across the UK, including Diane Ewen from Walsall.
The children really enjoyed the session, and were able to get their question answered by Dapo. Here are some of the wonderful things the pupils said following the lesson,
1W
Eleanor - 'I really like drawing and it was fun to draw along with Dapo.'
Joseph - 'We have to try our best at school every day, just like he did.'
1C
Everly - 'I liked the books that he shared with us and I enjoyed listening to the story.'
Abel- 'He is a very great author and I would like to be an author one day.'
2P
Ruby W - ' We must always dream and never give up because we can do anything we set our mind to.'
Jacob P - 'I really enjoyed listening to Dapo's story called 'Hey You'. I loved all of the illustrations in the story.'
2B
Jonty M - 'We are all unique because we are all special in our own way.'
Violet P - 'He told us that we need to dream big and work hard to be the best we can be!'
Year 2 Drumming
The children in Year 2 have really enjoyed their drumming lessons over the past 2 weeks. They have been learning how to copy various beats using different body parts. Children have then progressed onto playing the drums and other instruments. Children are now beginning to learn about music from different cultures including samba.
Pupil voice:
Sammy - 'I really enjoyed having a go on the big drums and copying Dell's beat.'
Jaxon - ’Dell spoke to us about Samba music, it was really fun!'
Next week in Year Two, some magical rocks will be arriving at school, as part of their ‘stunning start’ for English. Children will be describing the magical rocks using adjectives and new vocabulary. They will be thinking about what magical powers that they would like their magical rock to have, such as turning vegetables into sweets! Children will then be using their ideas and new vocabulary to create their own poem.
KS2 Author
Today, Key Stage 2 had a virtual visit from an author (David O'Doherty) and an illustrator (Chris Judge). In the session, David read from his new book “The Summer I Robbed a Bank” and took pupils on a madcap summer adventure, sharing the inspiration behind the story and setting. Illustrator Chris then hosted a fun-filled draw-along based on the book.
“A laugh-out-loud, heart-warming tale about Rex, who is not only facing his parents’ separation, and moving to secondary school, but also spending his summer holiday with his strange Uncle Derm, on a remote island - with lots of unruly sheep for company. Things get even stranger when his Uncle announces his plan to rob the local bank…. and he needs Rex to help! A madcap robbery and a summer of discoveries come together in this hilarious adventure.”
Children across Year 3/4 and 5/6 thoroughly enjoyed the session. 3/4C had a question answered by David, and they got a ‘shout out’ too!
Demi (3/4O): “I thought David was really funny and was amazed by how he could think of drawings to go with his stories really quickly. He got Chris to draw things for the story to make it more interesting.”
Lewis (3/4O): “I liked how he made the stories. I enjoyed him reading the story to us because he had more detail to add to the story. I would like Mrs Oliver to read it to us as a class story because she adds funny voices.”
Joseph (3/4D): “I enjoyed the author visit because I liked the writing. I liked the pictures Chris drew and I drew my own pictures with a giraffe in it.”
Willow (3/4D): “I enjoyed when David made up words. We had a go at making up our own new words.”
Mason D (3/4C): "I really enjoyed our Zoom with David O'Doherty and Chris Judge. I especially liked the draw along and hearing some of the book has really made me want to read the whole thing!"
Sienna (3/4C): I really enjoyed the Zoom call and the best thing I loved about it was how he read the book and I really liked to draw the happy wasp. Our class got a 'shout out' from the author too which was really fun."
Laila (Y5-6B): "I liked the author's enthusiasm and I liked how he acted the characters out. He was very funny!"
Jack (Y5-6B): "I found the 1st bit of the book funny because the uncle was singing about Rex. It made me want to finish reading the book. David (the author) was funny when he described all of his fears."
Oliver (5/6R): “I liked meeting the author because we got to listen to parts of the book and we got to draw the characters.”
Elizabeth (5/6R): “I enjoyed the meeting because of all the creative pictures. It was fun listening to the author reading the story.”
3/4
We've had an exciting week in 3/4C.
In English, our work has been around an animation called 'The Catch'. We have written diary entries, generated dialogue and used our inference skills.
In Science and PSHE, we have been learning about how our bodies grow and change and how we can stay healthy by eating a balanced diet, getting exercise and having healthy sleep habits. In Science, we took part in an investigation to see who had the longest forearm (Radius bone) and to draw conclusions about what effects the length of our bones.
Liam T - "I really enjoyed measuring our forearms in Science and it really surprised that it was a Year 3 child in our class who had the longest radius bone. I have loved writing description of a chase through the rainforest in our English lessons."
Dougie S - "I really liked writing our diary entry because we could use really good vocabulary and I wrote mine completely on my own. I also really liked only being allowed to watch a tiny bit of 'The Catch' at a time because it made me excited to find out what happened in the end."
5-6 Science this week: Evolution and how scientists’ ideas of developed.
Following the work of Carl Linnaeus, Charles Darwin worked out the Theory of Evolution having researched tortoises, the Peppered Moth, plants and finches for over 20 years. He explained that evolution happened by nature choosing or selecting how species would exist or die off. This natural selection of genetic features allowed some species to be better suited to an environment. This is called ‘Survival of the fittest’. We’ve learnt about the four types of finches living on different Galapagos Islands. Darwin noticed that the beaks of finches on the different islands were slightly different and so were the environments in which each species lived. Some ate seeds or berries; others ate worms or larger fruit. He believed they had changed over time due to animals adapting their eating habits because the environments in which the species lived were also different.
Our task was to design a beak shape using playdoh for a finch that drinks sap from inside a tree. Take a look at our photos. Do you think our designs would be successful for the finches?
Priya: “My beak is curved because the finch can collect sap far down in a tree.
It’s just like Charles Darwin who discovered that finches, from the Galapagos Islands, had different beak designs to be able to eat different foods on the islands they lived on.”
Caitlin: “It was quite hard to make a beak; I had to think about its features and if the finch could survive and eat its food.”
Grace A: “It depends where an animal or plant comes from to determine its features for survival.”
Iris: “Survival depends on the characteristics of a living species.”
Daniel E: “My beak will be good for the finches because it’s large and curved and it can collect the nectar; it will reach right inside.”
Paige: “It’s amazing how each island had a finch with a different beak shape and it was able to eat different foods that were only available on that particular island.”
Sofia: “I made a long and strong beak with a long, thin tongue inside. So, my finch can lick the sap out of the trees.”
Grace H: “I enjoyed learning about Evolution and inheritance. I especially enjoyed making a finch beak.”
Leon: “Evolution shall go on and adaptation will continue.”
Joel: “Charles Darwin discovered different islands in the World which had different habitats for various species of finches.”
Jack: “My finch will survive because he has a long, thin beak that will reach inside the trees to get the sap.”
Ruby: “I’ve enjoyed learning how some living things have evolved over time, for example, finches’ beaks.”
Laila-Mai: “Charles Darwin found evidence of ‘Survival of the Fittest and new species evolving due to ‘Natural Selection.
Araya: “It was fun learning about Natural Selection and how Charles Darwin found evidence of animals evolving over time.”
Dexter: “Survival of the Fittest is really more like Survival of the ‘most adapted’!”
Bella: “I learnt about Charles Darwin and he created a theory about Evolution after 20 years of research. He discovered that finches’ beaks only allowed the birds to eat ONE type of food due to their designs.”
Emily: “We’ve been learning about Evolution and how there is evidence from years ago. My favourite part has been learning about the ‘Natural Selection’ of the Peppered Moth!”
Poppy: “I really enjoyed learning how pollution gave the Black Peppered Moth an advantage over the White Peppered Moth. It could camouflage into trees that were covered by pollution.”
Oliver: “Evolution has been a fun topic because it’s amazing to see how different the animals look from the original ones.”
Tia: “It’s been nice to learn about different scientists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace who worked out the Theory of Evolution.”
Ethan M: “I enjoyed learning how different animals and plants have adapted to suit their environment.”
Polite reminder
Could you please support our high standards and expectations regarding school uniform please. Children should wear grey (not black/Navy), shorts, trousers, skirt or pinafore and red polo shirt or a red and white checked dress – summer uniform. Shoes should be black, so many children are wearing trainers. We would rather the children kept their fashion trainers to wear at home. Thank you in advance for supporting us with this.
Nursery Parents January onwards starters.
On Friday 9th July Miss Porter or Miss Steadman will call you for a quick update about your child’s progress, there will be no formal report sent for the children who began Nursery from January onwards and are not beginning school this September.
Could you foster?
Nexus Fostering is a well-established and highly regarded fostering agency, based in Birmingham, who are urgently seeking full-time & respite foster carers throughout the area. The agency is rated Ofsted 'Outstanding' in all areas and place a high premium on the quality of support and care that they provide to every one of the foster carers and, in turn, the children and young people placed with them.
To find out more about becoming a foster carer or a respite carer in Dudley and surrounding areas please call 0800 389 0143 or email foster@nexusfostering.co.uk
Let's hope the sun begins to shine again over the weekend!
Mrs Miller and Miss Stanton
Forthcoming Dates
- July (Date TBC) – Sports Day – closed to parents – in house only.
- Friday 9th July – Reports home to Parents from Reception to Year 6 only
- Monday 12th July – Reports home to Nursery Parents
- Tuesday 13th July – Yr 6 Video recording - TBC (who have consented)
- Wednesday 14th July – Nursery Parents (only those children who receive a report – September school starters) 3.30 – 4.30pm – telephone consultations to discuss elements of reports or staff may request to talk with you about your child’s progress
- Wednesday 14th July –KS2 Parents call –3.30 – 4.30pm – telephone consultations to discuss elements of reports or teachers may request to talk with you about your child’s progress
- Thursday 15th July – Reception and KS1 Parents call –3.30pm – 4.30pm – telephone consultations to discuss elements of reports or teachers may request to talk with you about your child’s progress
- Friday 16th July – Yr 6 Leavers Trip (more details to follow)
- Monday 19th July – 3/4D Parents call 3.30 – 4.30pm – telephone consultations to discuss elements of reports or teachers may request to talk with you about your child’s progress
- July (Date TBC) – Sports Day – closed to parents – in house only.
- Tuesday 20th July – School closes for the summer holidays at the usual time
- Wednesday 21st July – Staff Inset day- school closed to pupils
