A Message From Miss Quarmby
Hello! I hope you’re all ok. I’m not quite sure where this week has gone — it seems to have absolutely flown by in school! Reception had a very exciting visit from the Police on Thursday, and Years 1–6 enjoyed a lovely assembly led by Reverend Claire from St Mary’s, focusing on the theme of forgiveness. The forecast keeps hinting that we might see some snow, although nothing definite is showing at the moment. Please remember that unless you hear otherwise from us, school will remain open. If we do need to close, we will send an Arbor message and place a pop‑up alert on the school website. We would always aim to do this as early as possible. Let’s hope the next wintry spell passes us by! Have a super weekend!
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 99.58% are RJS. In second place are 2KD, with 99.04% and in third place are 5AS with 98.65%. A shout out also goes YNAT, 1LR, 2CH, 3RD and 4AB who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. The whole school attendance this week is 96.07%: can we beat this next week? The only way to do that is if we all come to school as often as we can. Please remember look at the NHS guide Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) This is used to determine which reasons for absence will be authorised or unauthorised.
let's take a look at what each year group has been up to this week!
EYFS
Pre-school have blown Miss Tree away this week with their Maths learning, focusing on shape, space and measure. The children have explored capacity, investigating which items do or do not fit in differently sized containers. They found containers large enough that they could fit inside! Using our small world resources, the children explored using positional language such as “next to,” “on top,” “under,” “in front,” and “behind.” What super mathematicians we are!
This week in Reception, the children were excited to welcome our Community Police Officers, Gemma and Nigel, who came to visit and talk to us about their important role within the local community. The children learned all about how police officers help to keep people safe, who they can turn to for help, and why it is important to follow rules to keep everyone protected. Reception thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to try on parts of the police uniform, explore the police van, and discover the equipment used by officers in their day-to-day work. One of the highlights of the visit was getting to hear the police siren! The children asked lots of thoughtful questions and showed fantastic listening skills throughout the session. We are very excited to also welcome our local Fire Service, and Paramedics in the coming weeks!
LOWER school
In Year 1 this week we have been planning our storyboards in Computing, ready to create them using the Pic Collage app next week. The children showed wonderful creativity and are excited to turn their ideas into digital collages. We also continued our gymnastics lessons. We’ve seen some amazing gymnasts in action, and the children really enjoyed sharing their experiences of gymnastics at home - such confidence and enthusiasm!
Year 2 have had a wonderfully busy week, diving into division in maths and growing in confidence with their new skills. In geography, the children compared life in Kenya, exploring the vibrant city of Nairobi and contrasting it with the traditions and lifestyle of the Maasai tribe. We were also delighted to welcome back Miss Hickman to 2CH, and the children rounded off the week by creating brilliant animations in computing and adding their own voice‑overs.
This week in Year 3, we have explored how to use column multiplication to solve problems. In Science, we investigated different types of soil and their purposes. In Computing, we are learning to code microbits to control and make patterns using LEDs.
UPPER school
This week in Year 4, the children became radio presenters and created their own radio reports about the dangers of flooding in our local area. They really enjoyed taking on different roles, including witnesses, local residents and members of the emergency services, to help make their broadcasts realistic and informative. In PSHE, we have been learning about staying safe in our community. The children discussed different risky situations such as swimming in rivers, setting off fireworks and skating on frozen lakes. They then ordered these activities by how risky they are and talked about sensible choices we can make to keep ourselves safe. In maths, the children have been practising multiplying 2- and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers using the formal written method, developing both accuracy and confidence. In Computing, we have been designing questions to use in our own online quizzes, thinking carefully about how to make them clear and engaging.
This week, Year 5 have been busy practising their sewing skills. Working together, we learned how to thread a needle, tie a knot and practise running stitches. The children were wonderfully supportive of one another and showed exceptional patience. We cannot wait to see how your sewing skills develop over the coming weeks!
Year 6 have had a really busy week this week. In English, we have been writing persuasive arguments to encourage visitors to holiday in different biomes. In Science, we have continued to learn about adaptation and invented creatures that might thrive in different habitats. And in DT, we have begun to create our soft toys for Reception children. Well done Year 6!