We have had such a lovely spring term celebrating so many different events at school. The children had fun participating in different workshops for World Book Day, Children's Mental Health week and they brought joy to everyone for Comic Relief. We also welcomed lots of our families to school for our Reading Workshop where you could see the school in action. We've ended the term with a fabulous 'Bunny Hop' sponsored walk organised by our wonderful PTA. What a brilliant term! Thank you all for you continued support in making St Margaret's the special place it is.
As the Easter break begins, we wish you all a wonderful time. We look forward to continuing the fun and learning in the summer term - we have lots more fun events planned!
A note from our Governors...
The Governors have had a busy Spring Term as we continue to monitor the various aspects our school and strive to ask the important questions to ensure the school is doing the very best for its students. As a newly appointed Foundation Governor I have enjoyed learning more about the workings of the school and observing the importance of the Governing Body.
I am a smallholder and have a keen interest in the school’s sustainability and rural connections. In my new role I have attended training with two other Governors and am looking forward to meeting with the Quality of Education Committee early next term.
The first event I attended as a Governor was the Reading Workshop, it was impressive to see so many parents and carers at this event. The content of the presentation was inspiring and informative and it was well delivered with great touches such as the video messages from some of the children. It was heartening to observe the children enjoying their reading in their classrooms afterwards. How wonderful to have such enthusiastic readers here at St Margaret’s! On behalf of the Governors I would like to thank all those involved in creating and delivering the workshop. I hope you all found it as inspiring as I did.
Other work the Governors have been up to this term include meeting the Collective Worship team and visiting Collective Worship. Some of us met to discuss SIAMS training recently undertaken by one of our Governors. For those that are unaware SIAMS is the inspection process for Church Schools.
Lastly I would like to take the opportunity to recognise the hard work the children and staff have been doing on the school vision ‘The roots to grow and the wings to fly’. They have created a fantastic video which details the meaning behind our school vision and its importance. If you haven’t seen it please do look out for it on the Facebook page!
Wishing you all a Happy Easter and an enjoyable Easter break. Tess Hunt (Foundation Governor)
Reception
What a brilliant term we have had. We started with our 'Ticket to Ride' unit where we spent time learning about space and then learning about transport from today and the past. We went on a brilliant trip to the British Motor Museum where we saw those old cars in real life! We also had to develop our STEM minds whilst we built cars with axles and a chassis, before we tested who's went the furthest. We really enjoyed trying this out in class as well!
During the second half term, and our 'Come Outside' unit, we have been thinking about the changing seasons, searching for the signs of spring and investigating different plants and their life cycles. We can't wait to find out what we will be learning in the Summer term!
Year 1
This week Year 1 have received a letter from Coco Bear asking the children to help him! Coco is going for a tea party with Edie Teddy and Maggie but they are not sure how to make some tasty jam sandwiches. The children loved making Jam sandwiches and they have written some outstanding instructions for Coco.
Year 1 loved our trip to the Zoo. We have learnt more about carnivores, herbivores and omnivores which fits perfectly with what we are learning about in science this term. We even made two new friends who have come back to school with us!
Year 2
The spring term has been a very busy one for Year 2. They had their trip to a Jewish synagogue in Leicester which completed their recent RE unit. The children were able to bring their learning to life through this visit and really enjoyed finding out even more about how some Jewish people live. The class also shared their knowledge with the whole school when they led a Collective Worship.
Some of the Year 2 children were also lucky enough to represent our school at the RE Pupil Conference with Mrs Yeomans.
Safety Seymour paid the children a visit to teach them about the dangers of carbon monoxide and how to look out for it and prevent it. They took part in the workshop with confidence and were very respectful of our visitor Conor who led the morning.
In English, Year 2 have been looking at poetry and after learning lots of ways to play around with words, they wrote some repeated patterns poems about habitats as well as a Haiku poem which linked to their new text 'Toby and the Great Fire of London by Margaret Nash'. We have some budding poets in the making!
Year 3
Year three has had an extremely busy and fun filled spring term full of lots of learning! We enjoyed a visit to a local Mandir where we met a local Hindu who shared his culture and dharma with us.
We also participated in a historical workshop where we went back in time and experienced everyday life in the stone age. We sharpened flint, hunted wild animals, set up camp, practiced our fire building skills and explored animal bones and traditional clothing.
During World Book Day we enjoyed a Harry Potter theme in which we were sorted into our wizarding houses and took part in magical story writing and herbology classes! We can't wait to see what next term has in store for us!
Year 4
Year 4 have had a super term, but we especially enjoyed bringing joy on Comic Relief day.
We learnt about the charity behind Comic Relief, and why laughter is so important for our well being.
We took part in some laughter Yoga, which really made us giggle, especially when we practised our deep belly laughs! We told jokes and had a go at writing our own, we watched funny animal videos and couldn't keep straight faces and we read a funny book together. What a funny day we had! Everyone looked great with their crazy hair and funny accessories and we had so much fun for a good cause.
Year 5
Year 5 have been having a super spring term, from skipping to working hard, they’ve been doing a little bit of everything! Earlier on in the term, the whole class went to Green Towers where they had a skipping workshop with ‘Skip2bfit,’ which was amazing! It was great to see the determination in everyone!
Lots of learning has taken place this term. Our recent geography work has seen us finding out about people trying to reach the summit of Everest ~ ask Year 5 what the greatest mystery surrounding Mallory and Irvine is and see what they tell you! We’ve been comparing the Himalayas to the Cambrian Mountains and using salt dough to recreate the scenery…it’s been interesting to investigate!
In our science we have been dissecting flowers and learning about reproduction and in history, everyone has enjoyed learning about the Battle of Britain in 1940. We had a fabulous trip at the RAF museum where we found out even more and saw some aircraft and exhibits!
Year 6
Spring term is incredibly industrious in year 6 and we are now at a point where the children are seeing the rewards of all of the effort they are putting into their learning. This year in their English lessons, the children have enjoyed studying Shakespeare's Macbeth. Thanks to donations from the community and the PTA, the children were each able to access a text and loved building balanced arguments which discussed whether Macbeth was a 'tragic hero' or 'dastardly villain'.
We continue to look forward to our weekly book talk sessions in year 6 where the children discuss group texts they are reading in a 'book club' style. We are currently reading books which range from the harrowing refugee crisis in 'No Ballet Shoes in Syria', Michael Morpurgo's 'The Lost Bear' which explores climate change, as well as enjoying the magical world of Harry Potter, ensuring our children are exposed to the modern classics! Remember that reading is the most beneficial thing you can do with your children to aid their learning. We love reading in year 6 and our Bookflix board in the classroom is full of the great reads we've had this year.
In geography, year six have started learning about fair trade and are looking forward to investigating this further in the coming weeks. If any parents work for companies involved in fair trade, please get in touch.
Have a fabulous Easter holiday year six; we have lots of fun to look forward to in the summer term as a celebration of the end of your time at St. Margaret's!
RE Pupil Conferences
Throughout the world, many people practice different religions. As our world becomes more global and diverse, it is important to respect each other and how similar and different people are. Year 2 have spent a wonderful day exploring this idea with other Year 2 children from across Leicestershire.
The Year 6 children had a wonderful and inspiring day with children from across Leicestershire gaining deeper knowledge about Muslims, Christians and Jewish people
Sporting Achievements at St Margaret's
Swimming Gala - Our fabulous swimming team took part in the Hinckley Schools’ gala on Saturday evening in March. The children were all absolutely fabulous and showed amazing determination and team spirit. We were incredibly proud of them and their 3rd place in small schools result. Well done swimming team!
Cross Country - A temperature of -4C didn’t stop our most determined runners from turning up to the cross country earlier on in the term. They were all fantastic and it was great to see such perseverance from them ~ especially considering how cold it was! There were some excellent results including a 3rd place from Rosie (year 3) and a 7th place from Max (year 6). Well done to all those dedicated runners who turned up!
Circus Skills - We had another brilliant day of circus skills thanks to Andy from Kings Lodge. The children were able to have a go at a whole range of different activities and test out their levels of perseverance! There were some children who really made good progress with different activities and some who are budding performers! It was a super day and we can’t thank Andy enough for giving us this experience!
Kurling - Our fabulous ‘New Aged Kurling’ team faced tough competition in, what was to them, a new sport. They went with the aim of enjoying it and doing their best. How fabulous it was for them to return to school with certificates for the KS2 team and the winner’s trophy for KS1! Well done team!
Dodgeball - Our dodgeball team were fantastic when they went to the Hinckley Schools’ tournament. They began with 4 wins and a draw which put them through to the semi-finals which they won. Next, it was the final which was closely contested ~ they were just pipped to the post and came away with a fabulous 2nd place. The children showed such super values throughout the whole afternoon and were a real credit to St Margaret’s. We were incredibly proud of each of them!
Credits:
Created with an image by U2M Brand - "Cosmos flowers beautiful"