Friars Weekly Newsletter

Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...

• SATs Week, next week...
• Havens Hospices Fundraising
• New bike rack!
• Boogie Bounce
• Dance with teachers from the Amanda Restell Academy of Dance
• Attendance and the new Ofsted inspection framework

After the Bank Holiday weekend, only a four-day week. A reminder that the last week of this half-term is also a four-day week as we are closed for children on Friday 22nd May. We might have only had four days but we have packed a lot in as usual. Possibly the most exciting thing this week have been our ‘Boogie Bounce’ workshops. Across yesterday and today, children from across the school had energetic trampette sessions with the Boogie Bounce instructor. It was so much fun and our staff joined in too. Next week is the Year 6 SATs Week. Across the country, children will be sitting tests in Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS), Reading and Maths. The children have been worked hard in their preparation for SATs and I am sure they will do their very best. Good luck everyone! Year 6… don’t forget that we have the Y6 SATs Breakfast Club from Monday to Thursday. This is free of charge… bacon sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, beans on toast… yum! If the children would just like cereal or toast, we will have that too. Please don’t forget that next Friday, Friday 15th, is a non-uniform day raising money for Havens Hospices. More information about this is below and it ties in with my own personal fundraising for the same excellent charity. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Tomorrow’s weather looks especially good 😊 Mr. Chris McClay, Principal

Havens Fundraising

Friday 15th May Non-uniform day for Havens Hospices - donations to be added to buckets at the start of the day... May Half-term Mr. McClay is taking part in a hiking challenge in the Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) for three days with other members of his running club, the Leigh-on-Sea Striders. Mr. McClay isn't a big fan of heights so this will certainly be challenging! Should anyone wish to sponsor Mr. McClay directly, the charity link is below.

JustGiving Link

New Bike Rack

We have a new, sparkly bike rack outside the Y1 Gate! The new rack should help some of our littler-legged children on a morning now that they do not need to walk to the main bike shed. It looks perfect under the trees. Please don’t forget to lock bikes and scooters. Thank you.

Nursery

The children were so excited to come back into Nursery this week to see how their beanstalks had started to grow. This generated lots of talk about height, and words such as tall, taller, and tallest were being used to compare them. The children have started bringing these home, if they continue to grow, we would love to see pictures of them. This week the children have enjoyed Bounce Boogie where they had the chance to try out a short trampoline session. Each child had their own small trampoline and a short routine was taught to them. It was really good fun and every child enjoyed themselves (it may have even worn them out a little).  

REMINDER:  Next week, Nursery children will have the chance to go over to the environmental garden with Mr. Brady. If it is particularly wet, please send children with wellies or old trainers to put on.

Reception

It has been another fun week in Reception. We have been learning about how plants grow and how to look after them. Each child has planted their own sunflower seed, and we are excited to see how they grow over the next few weeks. There have been opportunities to draw flowers and bugs in our environment, as well as to use iPads to take photos of plants in our garden. Our maths sessions have focused on understanding two-digit numbers up to twenty and counting beyond twenty. We have continued to read longer words in phonics by chunking them into syllables, e.g. chim/pan/zee. Our new tricky words were: there, when, what and one.

REMINDER: Please keep practising the words in your child’s reading record. It really does help with their confidence, and they love receiving certificates.

Year 1

We have been very busy in Year 1 this week. In English, we have been writing our own versions of “Handa’s Surprise” using animals and fruits found in the UK. In maths, we have begun our work on fractions – this week focusing on halves of shapes and learning that the halves need to be equal.  In science, we explored the school grounds to identify different types of wildflowers.  We found a lot of daisies and dandelions and learned how these plants play an important role in supporting wildlife. Our geography work has seen us continue our learning on Kenya, learning about the “big 5” animals, we then created beautiful watercolours of lions! In DT, we have tasted many fruits in order to consider which we might like to include in our fruit kebab designs for next half term – exciting stuff! 

Year 2

Although this has only been a short week, Year 2 children have learnt lots of new things. We have been learning how to find ¾ of shapes and amounts and solved challenges including different fractions. The wonderful story of ‘Geronimo’ has been the focus of our English lessons this week. We have explored nouns, adjectives and verbs to describe the character of the baby penguin who thought he could fly! In science, we have researched the food eaten by the minibeast that we found in the environment garden last week. We have learnt the meaning of the words: producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore and omnivore. Ask your child if they can give an example of each, we're sure they will be able to give a few examples from the garden. The week ended with a fabulous session with ‘Boogie Bounce’. The children certainly bounced their way to the weekend and hopefully tired themselves out too!

REMINDERS:

• Please read with your children regularly and write any comments in their Reading Record.
• The children are doing well in their spelling tests. Thank you so much for supporting them at home!

Year 3

In English, the children began writing their own narrative about a dragon. They worked hard to develop their ideas by thinking carefully about setting and character descriptions. We were really impressed with their imaginative ideas and the effort they put into making their writing detailed and engaging. In maths, we focused on adding and subtracting money. The children practised using different methods to solve problems and became more confident in working with pounds and pence in real-life contexts. During the afternoons, the children enjoyed a practical activity where they made dough balls. This was in preparation for creating our own Roman pizzas later in the summer, which everyone is very excited about! It was a fantastic opportunity to follow instructions and work together.

Year 4

This week, 4A thoroughly enjoyed their outdoor learning, taking part in activities such as building fires, cooking over campfires and, of course, enjoying delicious marshmallows! Meanwhile, 4L were busy in science, experimenting with electrical circuits and linking this to their DT work, where they continued investigating circuits, including breakers and switch mechanisms. In geography, pupils explored the features of mountains, learning about the five different types and how they are formed. PE lessons focused on developing throwing skills using a range of equipment, helping to build accuracy and control. French lessons involved learning how to talk about the weather. Both classes also engaged thoughtfully in PSHE and RE. In RE, we learned about Desmond Tutu and how religious teachings can influence a person’s actions. In PSHE, pupils discussed when it is appropriate to keep a secret, when it is not, and who they can talk to for support. We were also lucky enough to take part in Boogie Bounce on Thursday, which was fantastic fun and thoroughly enjoyed by all! REMINDERS:

• please start bringing in shoe boxes (or similar sized boxes) for upcoming activities
• Next Friday (15th May) is a non-school uniform day in aid of Havens Hospice.
• Also, don’t forget that this half term’s spellings can be found on Showbie.

Year 5

What a busy week we have had!   We started the week by writing a news report based on the battle between Hercules and Hydra. We then paired up with a partner and wrote a report using the view of a reporter and an interviewee. By the end of the week, we recorded our report using a green screen and hope to edit our news network logo into the background. In maths, we finished our latest topic on shape, which consisted of coordinates, translation and symmetry. Next week we will going onto to learn about decimals. During our afternoons we dissected an egg in science and labelled the different parts, this was part of learning about the life cycle of birds and reptiles, in history we learnt about how the Olympics were different back in Ancient Greece and then compared it to what the Olympics are like today. We finished our week by enjoying a half hour Boogie Bounce session! Not only did we have lots of fun..... So did our teachers!

Year 6

It has been another busy week in Year 6!  We have continued with revision of English and maths. Our first session of the morning has been extra comprehension lessons. The children have worked hard to improve their skills of inference and are continuing to make sure they are including all necessary evidence in the answers. After break, we have been revisiting areas of maths in order to close any gaps. This week we have looked at money word problems, comparing and ordering fractions and the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentages.   On Thursday afternoon, we thoroughly enjoyed our session with Boogie Bounce. We had been able to hear the tunes all morning and the activity certainly lived up to expectations. 

Computing

Due to the bank holiday, only two year groups had computing this week; however, both Year 5 and Year 6 made excellent progress.    In Year 6, pupils continued developing their programming skills using Lego Spike, building a new and more adventurous carnival game following their previous mini golf project. This week, children were given the choice of designing either a Bowling Alley game or a High Stick Hockey game. They worked effectively in small groups to construct their models and then programmed them to respond in a variety of ways.   Year 5 also worked with programmable Lego, taking on the challenge of creating a “quirky creation”. Working collaboratively, they designed either a robot helper or a high-tech playground, demonstrating creativity, problem-solving and teamwork throughout.   Each time we meet, pupils are learning new programming skills, building towards the confident creation of their very own projects later in the year.   In other computing news, the 3D printer has been working on overdrive, as has Mr. Browning, to produce the Year 6 Tinkercad designs. The finished prints are truly impressive, and we are looking forward to sharing photographs soon. The children have invested considerable time and effort into their creations, and this is clearly reflected in the quality of the final results. Well done, Year 6.      

Sports & PE

It has been great to see classes enjoying the warmer weather with summer sports now taking place within lessons. We are all looking forward to the school’s sports days, which are fast approaching.  Well done to those attending clubs to help improve their skills. More sessions will be happening in school in preparation for the borough sports to help those that will be attending.

Outdoor Learning

With the warmer, drier weather the children probably do not need a change of shoes for outdoor learning.   If you would like your child to wear different shoes or trainers for outdoor learning, please make sure that these are in their bag and not worn to school if they are not all black.

Online Safety

Neurodivergent children are often drawn to technology, so early, supported experiences online are key. This guide explores how adults can model positive digital behaviour, set age-appropriate limits and create open, judgement-free conversations about online safety. It also highlights the importance of balancing screen use with offline activities to support wellbeing and development. It also unpacks emerging challenges, including AI-generated content and the blurred lines between real and simulated interactions. With clear, practical advice on boundaries, critical thinking and safe communication, this guide helps educators and families build confidence in supporting neurodivergent children to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly.

PTA

Our very own reception teacher Mr Burnham has written a book - The Whispering Wall   We will be having a book signing and pta sale on Thursday 14th May 3:00-4:00 in the KS1 hall.     You are welcome to come and buy the book at the sale or you can purchase a copy using the link below: https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QS0JIUK1  We have limited copies in stock. When making payment, please include your email address, child's name and class in the name box. Books can be collected and signed by Mr. Burnham at the KS1 Hall on Thursday, 14th May. If you are unable to attend, the book can be sent home with your child after the event.  Please let us know by emailing friarspa@gmail.com whether you would like: • just a signature, or • a personalised message including your child's name.