Friars Weekly Newsletter

Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...

It’s Friday! A hugely busy week comes to an end but for many of our Year 6 children… not quite. We hope to see our Ilam Hall residential children (and staff) very soon. It has been an excellent week in the Peak District. The weather has been kind, and everyone has been in brilliant spirits. We pack a great deal into the five days, and it is always a pleasure to lead the trip. A very big thank you to the adults who gave up their weeks to accompany me and to make it all happen; Miss Gibbons, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Shuttleworth and Mr. Grout. Later in the term, I will be taking a Year 5 meeting to talk with parents about next year’s trip. Please do come along if you have a child currently in Year 5. The children who did not attend the residential enjoyed Southend Week which has been very fun too. Also, this week, we have had the Nursery and Reception Sports Days. Thank you to everyone who attended and well done to the children who participated with enthusiasm. The PTA ran the annual Father’s Day sale this week, and lots of lovely gifts were purchased, raising important funds for the school. Recently we met with the PTA to discuss events of this year and future financial support. It is fantastic to have such a committed and active PTA and they are always looking for new members to help. Good luck to the children who will be participating at ‘Supersports’ at Garon Park next week. These are the children who were placed in the finals at the Key Stage 2 Borough Sports. I’m sure you will all do extremely well. Next week finishes with Reception’s first educational visit… to Hyde Hall! Exciting! Have a fab weekend. Mr. Chris McClay, Principal

Nursery

Nursery have gone sports crazy this week. During our outdoor sessions the children have enjoyed trying out lots of new sporting skills which they put into practice during our Family Fun afternoon. Thank you to those who were able to attend, we hope you enjoyed yourself. We have also thought about the important men in our lives, celebrating dads, brothers, grandad and uncles. The children made cards for them and talked about why these people were important to them.  With the warmer weather slower creeping in, please ensure all children have a water bottle. We have had days where so many children have been without them that we have run out of spares to give out.  REMINDER: All children to have water bottles, sun hats and sun cream applied. 

Reception

Owls and Robins have continued to learn about London, specifically Trafalgar Square. We’ve learnt about Admiral Nelson, some facts about him and how Trafalgar square got his name. We’ve thought about the lions at the base of the column and how to make them more comfortable, since they are not in their natural environment. We’ve also begun to learn a little about Buckingham Palace; who lives there and who keeps them safe. Alongside our London work, we have mentioned the FIFA World Cup as England began their quest to bring footfall home on Wednesday! We’ve been keeping track of the scores across all the group games, especially those of our allocated Friars Sweepstake teams! We’ve looked at the flags of the nations and the shirts of the teams whilst, of course, keeping a close eye on England and Scotland as well! On Thursday we enjoyed our annual sports day. It was lovely to see so many of you here and a great time was had by all. Alongside all this fun, we squeezed in a bit of phonics and maths as well, understanding and using positional language and writing simple sentences that make sense, have a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop.

Year 1

Wow this week has flown by! We have been consolidating our learning in maths by taking part in various activities this week. We have partitioned 2-digit numbers, found one more and one less than given numbers, practised number bonds to 10 and 20. The game “chopper squad” on the topmarks website was a particular favourite of the children’s. In English we have researched whales after reading the story “The Storm Whale”. We have organised our facts into topics and used sub- headings.  In science, we have discussed the similarities and differences between birds and mammals. The children enjoyed learning about Southend in the past, we watched a clever timelapse video that the children were fascinated with. They carefully studied photos of the past and thought of questions to ask.  Starlings had another great swimming lesson this week, their confidence is growing which is lovely to see. Have a super weekend. 

Year 2

We have been very busy this week in Year 2. At the beginning of the week, we started our new maths topic about statistics. The children had the opportunity to create their own tally charts to record the number of objects they found in the classroom and on the playground. We then moved on to learning all about bar charts. In English, we focused on diary entries, reminding ourselves of the features and using our knowledge to write our own diary entry from the perspective of Kevin the koala.  In science, we explored features of the rainforest and discussed how it is being destroyed by pollution. We then carried out a litter audit in the Environmental Garden to record the impact that litter can have on a habitat. The children discussed how we care for our environment which linked to our RE learning about the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated). 

Year 3

Year 3 have been looking at describing dragons using poetry such as alliteration, powerful verbs and adventurous adjectives and thinking about where they live and even pretending to be a dragon to really help us think about how they move and act. In maths we have been using dice to recall our time table even faster where a child was a pilot and the other a navigator, using three dice to add to numbers and multiplying the third dice number. Great fun! We made paper aeroplanes and test ran them to make modifications and find out how these made a difference by further test runs and comparing them against our prototype.

Year 4

We have had another busy and productive week of learning in Year 4. In English, the children completed their NFER assessments and spent time revising key grammar skills. We would like to say a huge well done to everyone for their effort, resilience and positive attitude throughout the tests. Maths lessons continued our work on shape, where pupils explored triangles, quadrilaterals and other polygons. We also investigated lines of symmetry and parallel lines, developing our understanding of the properties of different shapes. Science focused on how particles behave in solids, liquids and gases. Using water in its three states, the children observed and discussed how particles are arranged and move differently in each state. In geography, pupils planned routes to local attractions, including Gunners Park and the museum, using their map-reading and navigation skills. DT saw us begin creating our circuit shoebox projects, applying our knowledge of electrical circuits in a practical and creative way. PSHE lessons continued our learning about healthy online friendships. The children explored the features of positive relationships both online and offline, discussed how to manage friendships respectfully and considered what to do if an online relationship does not feel safe or positive. In RE, we continued learning about Hinduism, focusing on how Hindus show their faith through daily life. Pupils explored the artefacts used during Puja and considered how worship can involve all of the senses. PE included striking and running skills, where children practised batting techniques, body positioning and tracking the ball. Dance lessons also continued, with pupils building confidence and creativity in their performances. Music lessons focused on composing EDM (Electronic Dance Music), using notation to create melodies and refining improvisations by considering rhythm and pitch. In French, the children developed their conversational skills by talking about shopping for food, including asking what someone wants, expressing their own preferences and using partitive articles correctly. Well done to everyone for another fantastic week of learning and effort. REMINDER: Please continue to practise times tables regularly on TT Rock Stars and remember that this half term's spellings can be found on Showbie. Also, the year 6 cake sale is on Wednesday 24th June.

Year 5

This week in Year 5 we have revised a range of areas in maths in preparation for our tests next week. We practised our use of the written methods for the four operations, revised mixed fraction knowledge and looked at measure and line graphs. Keep up with TT Rockstars at home. We are proud of the children's efforts in their English papers this week. We started with a spelling test, moved onto a reading paper where children explored three different types of texts - one being about food and finished the week with a grammar paper. Keep practising your weekly spellings. Year 6 isn't far away! We explored more map work in geography where the children investigated the imports and exports around Ancient Greece. Grapes, pottery and olive oil was a big export of Ancient Greece, as it still is today. We had many children that used careful detail with this skill. Another successful dance lesson kicked the week off. The children have made excellent progress with the routine. We look forward to the school disco! We had an insightful visit from some staff at Southchurch High School where the children explored more of their maths skills. I'm sure they have discussed with you!

Year 6

Sports & PE

Well done to those children who will be attending the Supersports events next week. They will now be competing against all the other top competitors from the schools in the other groups. Due to having so many responses for the Brownlee Triathlon, 30 names were selected at random from the forms that were returned. All places for this event have now been filled. Well done to our Nursery children for their sports day on Wednesday and to our Reception children for their sports day on Thursday. It was great to see so many budding athletes enjoying their sports.   REMINDER: Invites for supersports places will be sent out as soon as the organisers confirm who they are expecting. Track events on 23rd June between 4pm and 6pm. Field events on 24th June between 4pm and 6pm. Confirmation of places for the Brownlee Triathlon have come out today. Thank you for the amazing interest from over 90 children. Unfortunately, we only have places for 30 children so names were selected at random.

Online Safety

Roblox is hugely popular with children, offering millions of user-created games and social experiences. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explains how the platform differs from traditional video games, and why its scale, self-rating system and automated moderation can expose young users to inappropriate content or unsafe interactions.  Aimed at parents and educators, the guide explores concerns including online communication, in-game spending and compulsive play. It also shares practical advice on parental controls, limiting chat and encouraging open conversations, helping adults support children to enjoy Roblox more safely and responsibly.