Friars Weekly Newsletter friday 8th NOVEMBER 2024

Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...

• First week back news
• Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day
• Children in Need
• School Photographs

Although we have only had four days with the children this week, we have had a great four days! It has been really nice to come back to some lovely weather too!

Our swimming for the year is up and running and our Year 2 and Year 4 children have had a super time splashing around in our pop-up pool. I have been visiting lessons regularly and I have been impressed with the high-standard of teaching the children are receiving. Our two swimming teachers are excellent and it has been lovely to see the pure enjoyment on the children’s faces. Some of the children have struggled with getting in and out of their hooded towels/ponchos this week. If you think your child might struggle with this – please send them in with a robe/dressing gown or an extra-large towel instead. Thank you.

Next week is Anti-Bullying Week – always an important week in the calendar. Although we talk about friendships and bullying regularly through our curriculum and assemblies, Anti-Bullying Week is an opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in related themes and to celebrate the differences that make us all unique. On Tuesday we will be doing just this as it is Odd Socks Day. A busy week finishes with Children in Need on Friday… Wow! Again, there is more about Odd Socks Day and Children and Need further on in this newsletter.

The week has finished with a Year 5 and 6 boys’ football competition over at the Len Forge Centre. I visited the boys around lunchtime and all was going well. When I left the team had secured five wins, one draw and three defeats and were sitting towards the top of the table. A full report will follow next week.

At the end of the newsletter there is mention of Odd Socks Day (Tuesday) and Children in Need (Friday).

Have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday.

Mr. Chris McClay, Principal

A New Entrance Sign

We have needed a new entrance sign for a little while. This morning Mr. Gladdy and Mr. Halls had the tricky job of putting it up... with how big it is, this was not an easy job! I hope you agree that it looks great!

Reception 2025 School Tours

We have had four fantastic tours of the school over recent weeks for prospective parents. Thank you to everyone who came along - it appeared that everyone was impressed by the school and our children!

Learning Conversation Evenings

Bookings for our Learning Conversations are now open. For all of our classes except Wrens class, appointments will take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November. Wrens class appointments are on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd November.

Parking

Thank you for your support with safe parking around the school. You might have seen that there has been a traffic warden on patrol this week. We did ask for this support so hopefully they will be able to attend on a regular basis.

School Photographs

On Monday 18th November, we have our rearranged school individual photographs. Please make sure that your child is wearing their full uniform on the day – ideally with their jumper or cardigan. If the weather is pleasant the photographs will be taken outside.

Year 6: Please can the children wear their PE kits to school and bring their uniform to change into.

Year 5: Please can the children wear their school uniform to school and bring their PE kit to change into.

Year 2: Please can the children wear their school uniform to school and bring their PE kit to change into.

Year 1: Please can the children wear their school uniform to school. Although Starlings class will have outdoor learning in the afternoon, they can stay in their uniform. Individual photographs will take place before morning swimming.

Nursery: If your child does not normally attend the nursery on a Monday and you would like them to have their photo taken, please pop along with them for 9:00am.

Nursery

Welcome back everyone, it has been lovely seeing the children return with smiles on their faces. One thing we have certainly noticed though, is the change in weather. Although it is not always cold, the temperature is changing throughout the day and can feel chilly in the afternoons therefore please ensure your child has appropriate clothing for outside to keep them warm. Our learning this week in Nursery has been full of colour, whilst finding out about the Hindu festival of Diwali. We have talked about how it is also known as the 'Festival of Light' and children have listened to and acted out the story of Rama and Sita. We have decorated nursery with Rangoli patterns and created firework pictures using glue and glitter and made clay divas using playdough and gems, as these are all part of their celebrations.

Reminder: Weather is changing – please ensure children have appropriate clothing for the outdoors.

Reception

It has been lovely to see everyone back at school this week. In maths we have been counting and comparing sets of items. Our phonics sessions have focused on 'ff' 'll' 'ss' and 'j' with our new tricky words being 'is' 'pull' and 'full'. This week we have started our shared reading sessions with the children. We have collected all of the books in and will send out a new book at the end of next week. The book that goes home with your child will be the one that we have shared in class. They will have a specific target related to that book to work on at home. Therefore, this week we would like you to share a favourite story at home and talk about with your child. Throughout the week we have told the story of the Hindu festival of Divali which the children have enjoyed.

Year 1

It has been lovely to welcome the children back to school this week after their well-deserved break.

In English we have begun to learn about verbs and have played charades to help us with this. We have started our new book called the “Emperor’s Egg” that we will be using for the next few weeks.

The children have done very well in maths, learning how to use a part-whole model to write number sentences. They have discovered that you can add numbers together in any order and it will still make the same total. Good work Year 1.

In science we have begun to look at the different types of animals. We have sorted and classified animals according to their attributes.

REMINDER: Swimming for Year 1 starts on Thursday 14th November. Please refer back to the letter about swimming for all of the information. If you no longer have access to the letter, you can find it on the school website. If you missed reading Mr. McClay's introduction to this newsletter - please only send the children with hooded towels if your child can get in and out of it easily. Some children have struggled with their hooded towels this week. Children can bring goggles if they have them. Thank you.

Year 2

We have loved having the children back after the half-term break!

This week in maths, we have moved on from adding numbers to subtracting them. We have been exploring different methods to use when taking numbers away from each other. In English, we have been reading different poems and identifying the nouns, adjectives and verbs used in some examples of poetry. The children came up with some great ideas when writing our class poems and they used this creativity to write their own poem about autumn!

We began our DT project this week and we investigated different types of puppets. We explored the different materials and uses of puppets. We will use these ideas to inspire our own puppet designs.

We had a very exciting week as our swimming lessons began. Children have been enjoying their lessons and often come back eager to share what they did during their lesson. We are looking forward to the lessons continuing next week!

REMINDER: Swimming for Year 2 will continue next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Year 3

It has been great having the children back in school this week!

We have been busy with diary entries in English, looking at the features and creating our very own diaries. We have also introduced our new layered reading book – George’s Marvellous Medicine!

In maths, we have finished off our addition and subtraction topic. The children have worked hard on understanding and using various methods to answer different calculations.

We have started our DT project this week, looking at different packaging and how the packaging is used to entice people to buy various goods.

In history, we created a fact file on Stonehenge as it a National Heritage site that still creates a lot of discussion around what it was used for and how it came to be.

REMINDER: Please ensure the children have coats with them in school.

REMINDER: Hoodies should not be worn for school, even in PE.

Thank you for the continued support around Reading Eggs and TT Rockstars. Year 3 classes are in direct competition with each other as to who can read the most on Reading Eggs during the week!

Year 4

It’s been a wonderful week back for Year 4 – and quite a busy one too. The children have enjoyed their first of their swimming lessons which have gone incredibly well so far.

In English, we revised word classes and began looking at the features of a diary entry in preparation for our writing next week. We looked at past tense and emotive language in particular. We were also excited to get back into our 'How To Train Your Dragon' text in layered reading. In maths, we have been focusing on area this week.

We have also launched our new topic in science on sound, and looked at how sound is created, how it travels, and how our brain interprets sounds that we hear. We labelled the parts of the ear which help us to hear.

In history, we looked at Viking warriors and we begun our art project this half-term which is linked to the Bayeux Tapestry. This will show the end of the Anglo-Saxon/Viking period in Britain and the beginnings of the Norman Conquest. We cannot wait to get our teeth into it!

REMINDER: Swimming for Year 4 will continue on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Spellings have been handed out this Friday and we will commence with tests from next Friday.

REMINDER: Please continue to access Reading Eggs and TTRockstars at home

Thank you!

Year 5

It was lovely to welcome back the children on Tuesday and we hope that you all had a great half-term holiday.

We got straight back into our lessons on fractions in maths. Their perseverance with converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers paid off and everyone felt more confident by midweek. We were able to move onto comparing and ordering fractions.

English saw us looking at persuasive language in the form of letter writing. The children wrote letters to Mr McClay in an effort to persuade him to extend the October half-term break. They included all of the necessary grammatical features and we eagerly await his reply.

In history, the children researched life in Ancient Egypt. They then created their own Horrible History skits, song or performance and shared these with the class. The children thoroughly enjoyed their lesson.

This week, we began our new science topic called Earth and Space. We used the internet and books to research the planets of our solar system.

REMINDER:Swimming for Year 5 starts on Wednesday 13th November. Please refer back to the letter about swimming for all of the information. If you no longer have access to the letter, you can find it on the school website. If you missed reading Mr. McClay's introduction to this newsletter - please only send the children with hooded towels if your child can get in and out of it easily. Some children have struggled with their hooded towels this week. Children can bring goggles if they have them. Thank you.

Year 6

We have started the half-term in an excellent manner with some great work being completed. Our English lessons have been working towards journalistic writing. We have looked at the historical event of an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria. We have used the records of that time to create our own newspaper columns.

In maths, we have been getting to grips with division and starting to show the process of long division; extending our working out down the page.

This week, 6B have been outdoor learning in the afternoons. They have been planning and creating birdfeeders using measuring, cutting and joining skills. 6L will be undertaking their sessions next week. 6L have been learning about light in science. We investigated the idea that light travels in straight lines and how to show this using scientific diagrams. In geography, we have been learning about trade. We played some trading games and looked at the things that the UK imports and exports.

In DT, we have started to investigate the cushions we will be making from the art prints we created last term.

Online Safety

Over the years, Fortnite has become a household name in the gaming community. It was one of the first titles in the ‘battle royale’ subgenre, where players are thrown into a chaotic free-for-all on a sprawling map and fight until only one remains. Its cartoonish presentation and satisfying gameplay loop make it a potentially attractive choice for young players.

guide, put together with expert input, tells you all you need to know about the safety concerns of this popular title and offers advice on how to protect children and young people as they enjoy the game.

PE & Sports

This week has seen the start of the swimming sessions. The children have been so enthusiastic and have been amazing in their lessons. They have been telling us how good the pool has been and how much they have enjoyed having it in school.

In other lessons, all of our classes have started a different sporting activity from last half term. Sports include: hockey, dodgeball, basketball, football, tennis and netball.

Today our boys' football team attended a tournament at the Len Forge Centre. Mr. McClay mentioned this at the beginning of the newsletter and more will follow next week. Watch this space...

Music and Singing Assembly

Mrs. Bemister was away this week, so Mr. McClay took the opportunity to talk to the children about Anti-Bullying Week, Odd Socks Day and Children in Need. Mrs. Bemister will be back on Wednesday, as will be Singing Assembly.

Outside Achievements

Logan and Bay brought medals into school this week! Logan played for Southend Rugby Club at a festival against four other teams on Sunday and Bay came first in a dance competition. Well done to our talented children.

Anti-Bullying Week

Next week is the national Anti-Bullying Week. There will be lots of related learning in our classrooms as well as a celebration of Odd Socks Day on Tuesday 12th November. Odd Socks Day started back in 2017 with the idea of it being a fun way to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week and appreciating that we are all unique as individuals! For Odd Socks Day, we are asking all of our children and staff to wear odd socks to school.

Children in Need

Also, next week we have Children in Need on Friday 15th November. We will once again be taking part in the annual fundraiser. School Council decided to ask everyone to come to school in non-uniform! Ideally something yellow or spotty but if that isn’t possible, do not worry. Of course, Children in Need merchandise can be worn too. Any donations should be given to class adults. We might also have a special visitor again…

PTA

Please continue to help us with Asda's 'Cashpot for Schools'.

Asda will donate money to our school for everyone who signs up and if you buy shopping in Asda, cashback will be given to Friars every time... Thank you in advance.