https://www.alexandraprimaryschool.co.uk 16th May 2025 Issue No. 14

Message from the Headteacher

This week has been a shining example of how our school community lives out our values: curiosity, courage, kindness, and responsibility.

Our Year 6 pupils have shown tremendous courage and resilience as they tackled their KS2 SATs this week with maturity and focus. We are incredibly proud of the way they approached each day, ready to give their best. Their determination and positive attitude were inspiring, and they have shown responsibility in their commitment to their learning.

Across the school, we saw many acts of kindness, from classmates encouraging each other to our staff members who have been supporting Y6 pupils to do their best and offering words of reassurance. Each day, many of our staff helped to serve SATs breakfast to ensure a positive start to the day. Our other students understood the need for quiet and calm around the school environment during the assessments.

In lessons, curiosity has been alive and well! From the Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole Day in Year 2 to the Play Project in Early Years, children have been engaging deeply and creatively with their learning, as you can see in the news items below.

Please take a moment to read the message about this year’s Summer Fair from our chair of Governors, Caroline Schloss. As Caroline states, we can’t do it without your help!

Thank you for reading and enjoy the sunshine!

Summer Fair - We need your help!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are excited to announce our upcoming Alexandra School Summer Fair on Saturday 21 June from 12-3pm . Those of you who attended the fair in previous years will know that this event is a highlight of the school year and a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together for a day of fun, games, food, and fundraising!

To make the fair a success we need your help. We are looking for parent volunteers to assist with:

Collecting Raffle Prizes and finding sponsors
Setting up stalls and decorating the playground
Running games and activities
Serving food and drinks
Supervising some of our exciting attractions
Cleaning up after the event

Whether you can spare half an hour or the whole day, your support will make a big difference. If you're available to help, please contact Mrs Clarke, Ms Birch or Ms Shah. Our next planning meeting will be on Wednesday 4th June, at 8:45 am.

Thank you for your continued support — we can’t do it without you!

Warm regards,
Caroline Schloss

Chair of Governors

What's been happening this week?

SATs Assessments

Well done to our Year 6 children for their hard work this week as they completed their SATs assessments. SATs are the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests taken by Year 6 pupils in England.

To help get the children ready for their assessments, we invited them in for a special SATs Week breakfast. The children loved having breakfast at school and it was a great start to the day.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the Year 6 team and to the additional staff who supported the assessments!

Year 2 Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale Day

In History, Year 2 are exploring the theme of Identity and Power and are focusing on two amazing women - Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.

The children were sent back in time to the hospitals in the Crimean War in the 1850s. They learnt about the lives of these wonderful nurses, explored artefacts from the time and also marched in their regiments around the playground. What a fantastic day of learning!

Year 4 Nicaragua Music Lesson Sharing

Last week, Year 4 Nicaragua class welcomed parents into their music lesson for a special showcase. The children were excited to share what they have been learning and demonstrated their growing confidence and musical skills. It was a joyful session filled with rhythm, teamwork,and proud smiles all around!

Year 1 Balance Bike Training

Year 1 have had their Balance training last week. The children learned how to ride a bike without stabilisers. Those who could ride already became even more proficient at it. The instructors have shared that they are even better than some older children! They had a blast!!

Well done, Year 1!

Year 5 Venezuela Class Assembly

Venezuela Class in Year 5 had an incredible assembly showcasing their fantastic learning from the Spring Term! They wowed everyone with their guitar skills, playing notes on the strings E, B, and G.

The class also shared fascinating facts about Earth and Space, explaining how the solar system works and why we have day and night. They talked passionately about the Amazon Rainforest, highlighting different animal species, the importance of protecting this vital environment, and the impact of deforestation.

In English, they shared exciting journey stories they had written, capturing their adventures beautifully. To top it all off, they performed a wonderful rendition of "Golden" by Jill Scott, filling the hall with music and energy. Well done to Venezuela Class for their hard work and creativity!

Year 2 Exploring Sculptures

Year 2 have been continuing exploring sculptures. We are working towards each creating a sculpture of an animal head out of papier mache.

This week, we first designed our animal heads and then we made the armatures for them out of newspaper, masking tape and cardboard. The tricky thing was to attach the ears!

Play projects in EYFS

At the heart of our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision, we are delighted to be embracing the philosophy and practices of Greg Bottrill’s Play Projects—a powerful approach that celebrates children’s voices, imaginations, and intrinsic motivation to learn through meaningful play. Play Projects are immersive, collaborative experiences driven by children’s ideas, passions, and explorations. Rather than dictating what children should do, practitioners act as co-adventurers, helping bring children’s concepts to life—whether that’s building a dragon lair, creating a superhero rescue centre, or designing a café for forest creatures.

Each project is open-ended, often evolving and encouraging children to deepen their thinking, language, creativity, and problem-solving skills. It’s real-world learning, wrapped in imagination!

The children love working collaboratively !

Mila Rae made a TV!

Zayad made a vehicle!

George made a volcano!

VE Day

Last week in Venezuela Class, students learned all about VE Day, what it is, why it is an important milestone in history, and how it is celebrated around the world. To bring their understanding to life, they designed their own commemorative coins and medals, using themes related to VE Day.

The children’s designs were impressive, showcasing their imagination and their appreciation for the significance of this historic event.

It was a fantastic way for them to explore history through art and design!

Literacy Comes to Life in Year 3 this week

Year 3 Bolivia class brought their core literacy text, Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx, to life through an exciting role-play session.

The children stepped into the shoes of the characters, exploring the story’s themes of bravery and adventure while deepening their understanding of the plot and vocabulary.

It was a fun and engaging way to connect with the text!

Slow Down – Calm Transitions Around School

This term, we are focusing on calm and quiet transitions throughout the school. All children are expected to walk sensibly when moving around the building to help create a calm, safe, and respectful learning environment for everyone.

Thank you to all our children for helping make our school a calm and safe place.

Year 3 - Exploring Volume

This week, Year 3 have been learning about volume and capacity in maths.

Pupils have enjoyed using measuring jugs, beakers, and containers to estimate, compare, and accurately measure different amounts of liquid.

It’s been a fun and practical way to deepen their understanding of measurement.

First Language Book Corner

At Alexandra Primary School, we are proud that over 40 different languages are spoken within our community. As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting and celebrating first languages, we are excited to be creating a dedicated First Language Book Corner. This space is designed to reflect and support the rich diversity of our children and their families.

If you have any spare books in your home language that you would like to donate, we would be very grateful for your contribution. Your support will help us grow our collection and inspire a love of reading in all languages.

Year 3's last forest school session

Year 3 have thoroughly enjoyed their Forest School sessions this term. They ended their final session with a special treat - gathering around a campfire to toast marshmallows and sip hot chocolate. It was a fantastic way to celebrate their learning and time outdoors!

Creative Club

Last week, in Creative Club, we made whipped cream biscuits with sprinkles.

First, we had to make the whipped cream, which took a while as we had to whisk by hand, but we all had a go and we were able to create the right consistency for our biscuits! We placed this in between two biscuits and sandwiched it with the whipped cream. Lastly, we rolled the biscuits on their side in colourful sprinkles.

We had a lot of fun making these biscuits and they tasted yummy too!

New Playground Champions

We are thrilled to welcome our new Playground Champions from Year 5, who have stepped into their roles with enthusiasm and dedication! You’ll spot them easily with their bright orange bags and brand-new badges, proudly displaying their commitment to making our school a welcoming and supportive space for all.

Every lunchtime, these fantastic students are on hand to help in both the playground and lunch hall, ensuring everyone feels included, safe, and happy during their break. Whether it’s assisting younger children, encouraging positive play, or offering a helping hand when needed, they are already proving to be a wonderful addition to our school community.

A huge thank you to our new champions for embracing their responsibilities so well. If you see them around, don’t forget to say hello!

Monitoring Cycle: Positive Behaviour & Relationships

From the start of the year, children are involved in discussions about classroom rules. These rules are simple, clear, and built around shared expectations of Ready, Respectful and Safe. This week and next week we are working with staff and pupils to understand that making mistakes are part of learning — including learning how to behave. Through regular conversations and gentle guidance, children will become more aware of their actions and more confident in managing themselves. As a parent you can help too by talking to your child about the school rules at home and asking them what they mean to them. If your child mentions a behaviour issue, use it as a chance to reflect and plan together for next time.

Together, we can build a strong foundation for positive behaviour — helping every child do their best, both in and out of the classroom.

Recyclable Materials Needed for Activities

To keep our imaginative learning environments well-stocked and eco-friendly, we’re reaching out to our wonderful families and community members to help us collect a range of clean, safe, recyclable materials.

🧻 Cardboard & Paper-Based Items

Cereal boxes, egg cartons, cardboard tubes (e.g., toilet rolls, kitchen rolls), shoeboxes and small packaging boxes, scrap paper, newspapers, and magazines, old greeting cards and calendars, paper bags and tissue boxes

🧴 Plastic Items

Bottle tops and lids, clean yoghurt pots and butter tubs, transparent plastic bottles, fruit punnets and plastic trays, takeaway containers (washed and safe)

🧵 Fabric & Craft Scraps

Fabric offcuts, ribbons, buttons, and wool, old clothing suitable for craft use

Attendance

Celebrating Attendance Improvements! 🏆

We are continuing to recognise the dedication and effort that many children and their families are making to improve attendance. To celebrate this, we will continue awarding children who achieve 100% attendance each week.

Additionally, Ms Sharni will now be on the main gate every morning and is happy to answer any questions you may have about attendance or how we can support your child to be in school every day.

Our whole school attendance target is 96%

Best Attendance for this week:

EYFS – No class has met our school target of 96%

KS1 – Well done Costa Rica Class 96.30%

LKS1 – Well done Bolivia Class 99.11%

UKS2 – Well done Espana Class 97.41%

Important Dates

Half term: 26th - 30th May

INSET Day: Monday 2nd June

First day back to school (Summer term 2): Tuesday 3rd June

Summer Fair planning meeting/coffee morning for parents: Wednesday 4th June, at 8:45 am

Reception Eye Test by NHS: Friday 6th June

Year 4 Multiplication Check Week: 3rd - 6th June

Year 1 Phonics Check: 9th - 13th June

Year 6 Bikeability training: 3rd - 13th June

Sports Fun Day EYFS - Tuesday 17th June - Timings TBC

Sports Day - Yr 1, 2, 3 - Wednesday 18th June 9am - 12pm

Sports Day - Yr 4, 5, 6 - Thursday 19th June 9am- 12pm

Date Summer Fair: Saturday 21st June, at 12:00-15:00

Last day of the school year: Tuesday 22nd July

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