Horbury Bridge CE J&I Academy

23rd October: Newsletter 7

Thank you so much to everyone who has been able to donate to the Class 1 collection for our local foodbank in Ossett. We appreciate that life is difficult for many of our families at this time and are very grateful for your generosity. The children are delighted that their class focus on 'Community' will be helping families and children who are facing particular difficulties at this time.

In preparation for potential further interruption to schools and to help us provide continuity of learning, we have been planning for the possibility of remote learning.

If your child needs to self-isolate but is still well enough to learn, they will still be able to access some of the key learning happening in school. Please see the email which has been sent out with more details.

Class 2 and 3 have been practising using Google Classroom this half term. They can log onto their account quickly using this button, which is also on the school website.

Individual and family school photos will be taken on Monday 2nd November. Unfortunately this year, the photographer is unable to offer sibling photos which include any children who do not attend our school, but we will ensure all siblings in school have a photograph taken together.

We are still planning on holding our Christmas Discos this year but will hold these separately for each class. As these will all take place in the hall, we have increased changeover time between the sessions to allow for cleaning and as an additional measure, older and younger children sessions will be on separate days.

More information on how to book tickets will be sent out after half term. Please see dates section for times and dates.

50 Things To Do Before You Are 5

If you have a child under 5, you may be interested in downloading the new App, '50 Things To Do Before You Are 5', which offers parents lots of ideas for activities to keep their under 5s busy!

It has been designed to help children from 0-5 become school ready. It has been developed with families to produce a fun resource that offers a wide range of experiences that builds skills, promotes language and supports brain development in young children. Children in Nursery and Reception willI bring home a copy today or it can be downloaded at

Apple store https://apple.co/2BLNwJh and Google play store https://bit.ly/3gCVsLw

Parent Governor Ballot

The election for our 2 parent Governor vacancies is now open. All parents are eligible to vote for 2 candidates. You can vote here: https://forms.gle/Brg38Ro4hW5BaS1u7

Please use your email address known to school so the vote can be verified.

Build Our Futures Children and Young People's Virtual Summit

Wakefield Council are celebrating young people with a free 'Build the Futures' summit for children 8 years and above

"It’ll be a day where young people’s voices will be heard, as you share your thoughts and ideas on the things that affect you. Your say will help inform and develop services that affect young people across the district – with this year raising bigger issues than ever before. Of course it’s an online event, but they’ll still be lots of fun workshops, guest speakers, and competitions to be a part of.

So if you’re aged 8 – 18 sign up! The day will provide a powerful platform for everyone to talk about modern life and being a young person.

Adults and carers are welcome too but they need to also book a place.

Details: Saturday 28 November 2020 - 10.30am – 2.00pm"

Foundation Stage

We have been thinking about Autumn this week. We have used magnifying glasses to look at leaves, conkers and acorns and have made hedgehogs. We had to use our strong muscles to mould the plasticine into the right shape and push matchsticks and googly eyes into the body. Then our hedgehogs could go snuffling into the nature tray.

Nursery children also made pumpkin soup for the class. We talked about the vegetables we were using. Jack thought the skin of the onion sounded like a cracker! We talked about how the vegetables grow and what they might taste like. The children were really surprised when the vegetables were blended together. We all enjoyed tasting our soup. Yummy!!

In Forest School we have continued the autumn theme and made a hedgehog using a pumpkin and hammering sticks in for spikes. Our nursery children are enjoying their time in Forest School and are developing their new skills brilliantly.

Miss Painter, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Stearne, Mrs Ali

Class 1

This week we have loved taking part in The Great Pumpkin Investigation. Each child picked their favourite - the huge one, the medium one or the small white one. Then they drew it, described it, measured it, predicted whether it would float or sink and finally weighed it. Today we have cut them, scooped out the flesh and counted the seeds.

Mrs Ball, Mrs Swallow

Class 2

What a week to end a brilliant first half term back to school! We started by looking into our global community and how the Fairtrade label helps farmers, growers and producers all over the world to get a fair price for their goods. The children considered where our products come from in the world and whether or not the farmers actually get a fair price. The children were astonished at the huge impact Fairtrade has.

In forest school, the children built a fire, lit it and kept it alive. They also cooked some food in the embers. From roasted butternut squash and cooking soup in the can, the children loved cooking outdoors. They especially liked the baked potatoes with homemade butter.

In science, the children explored how our digestive system works. They looked at all the organs involved in absorbing nutrients from our food and the journey it takes through our bodies. They used sandwich bags and a pair of tights to model our digestive system. Everyone enjoyed 'eating' the food - especially dealing with the waste afterwards!

That’s not all!! Class 2 have been learning about local sculptors, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth and used their work as inspiration to create their own sculptures using clay. The children thoroughly enjoyed trying to recreate the shapes and forms that the artists used in their work.

Mr Hammond, Mrs Brammer, Mrs Ross

Class 3

This week, Class 3 have been finishing their learning about crime and punishment. They have written brilliant balanced arguments discussing which period in history had the best justice system. On the whole, many children decided that prison was the best form of punishment but think that Victorian prisons were more effective!

On Friday afternoon, we welcomed a special visitor (Miss Riley's husband), who came in to answer all of the children’s questions about modern day police work. We found out about crime scene investigation, police dogs and even whether police eat lots of donuts!

Miss Riley, Mrs Callaghan