A message from Miss quarmBY
Thank You for Supporting Our Remembrance Pebble Path! A big thank you to all our families and children for the wonderful effort you put into creating our Remembrance Pebble Path. Throughout the week, the children took time to walk the path, stretching from the Reception unit all the way to the small playground doors pausing to look closely at the beautifully decorated pebbles and reflect. We are so grateful for the care, creativity, and thoughtfulness that went into each pebble. Thank you for helping us create such a special tribute.
Our Year 6 pupils represented Whitkirk brilliantly on Monday – just as we knew they would! A huge thank you to Mr. Stout for organising this event and supporting the children so well. On Wednesday, we hosted our EYFS Open Evening, and what an incredible turnout! The school was buzzing with visitors, and we couldn’t have been prouder of our existing Whitkirk pupils who helped throughout the evening. They were absolute stars and the perfect example of why our school is such a special place. Have a lovely, lovely weekend!
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 99.14% are 1LR. In second place are 2CH, with 99.07% and in third place are 2KD, with 99.04%. A shout out also goes YNAT, RLE, RJS, 1VM and 3RD who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. The whole school attendance this week is 96.8%: 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
This week in Pre-school, the children had a fantastic time learning all about measuring and mixing! They followed a simple recipe to make gingerbread playdough, carefully counting out scoops and pouring ingredients. The children really enjoyed noticing how the texture and colour changed with each new ingredient! This activity gave the children a chance to practise early maths skills like counting and measuring, as well as developing their arm muscles mixing the mixture! These skills will come in handy very soon when we bake a birthday cake together very soon!
This week in Reception, the children have amazed us with their independent writing! We’ve been learning how to use Fred Fingers to help identify the sounds in CVC words (consonant–vowel–consonant) and then using the Read Write Inc letter rhymes to form each letter. We were blown away by the children using these skills independently already during independent learning and cannot wait to see where their learning journey takes them throughout the year!
LOWER school
This week in Year 1, the children showed great respect and curiosity as we learned about Remembrance Day. During our DT lesson, we enjoyed tasting a variety of smoothies and had fun guessing the different ingredients we could taste. In Maths, we have been learning to name and describe 3D shapes, exploring their features and where we can find them in the world around us.
This week, Year 2 have been busy exploring 2D shapes in Maths, identifying their properties and spotting them in everyday objects. In Science, the children enjoyed testing a variety of materials. To finish the week, we visited Halton Library, where everyone had a wonderful time listening to stories, choosing books, and sharing their love of reading.
What a great week in Year 3! In Maths, we have been learning to divide by sharing and grouping, helping us consolidate our times table facts. In History, we have been researching life in the Stone Age and comparing their lives to how we live today. In Art, we have enjoyed planning our animal mosaics, taking inspiration from Antoni Gaudi!
UPPER school
This week in Year 4 we explored vibrations and how they create sound — including a fun experiment with metal coat hangers! For Remembrance Day we made some brilliant animations on Keynote. Even though it was assessment week, everyone stayed enthusiastic and has worked really hard. In PSHE we started learning about democracy and how the Government works, and we made some great posters showing what democracy means to us.
On Tuesday, before observing the two minutes silence impeccably, Year 5 learnt why we have Remembrance Day. We learned about World War; how horrific it was and how wearing Poppies came about. The children were exceptionally grown up and asked some very thoughtful and sensitive questions. In French we learned how to count to ten; in English we continued reading Beowulf, learned how to write scary setting descriptions and how to describe the Grendel (the monster in the story).
Year 6 have had a very busy week this week. We have been blown away by the determination and resilience they have shown with their assessments. In between that, they've managed to fit in learning the colours in French, exploring food packaging in Science and begun to learn about how to make stop motion animations (like Nick Park uses when he makes Wallace and Gromit). Well done Year 6!