Forest Academy Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers, 

Geography Awareness Week

This week at Forest, we have been celebrating Geography Awareness Week. This is an annual event that celebrates the importance of geography and its impact on our lives. This week-long observance aims to raise awareness about the significance of geography, environmental issues, and spatial understanding. It encourages people to explore the world around them and appreciate the interconnectedness of global issues. In today's assembly, pupils from each class presented the outcomes from their learning this week. Thank you Mr Narh for organising such a fabulous week for our children!

Cultural Dress Up Day

To align with Geography Awareness Week, we asked children to come to school in traditional or cultural dress in celebration of their heritage. It was lovely to recognise the diverse community we serve and celebrate the different cultures and traditions.

On Tuesday, Agata from Croydon Sport's Partnership led a second training session for aspiring sports leaders from Years 5 and 6. The play leaders continued to gain valuable insights into effective coaching techniques and learned how to adapt activities to suit different age groups and abilities. We hope that these pupils will become our next Play Leaders - leading play at lunchtimes and modelling excellent behaviour.

Admissions Consultation Policy

The consultation outlines two changes to the admissions policy.

Please use the link below to find out more.

https://www.forestacademy.org.uk/page/?title=Letters+Home&pid=35

As always, we wish you all a fabulous weekend.

Mrs. Lloyd and Mrs. Dennis 

Reception children have had a wonderful time learning about woodland animals! They learned the names of different 

woodland animals and drew detailed pictures, capturing the animals' unique features, from bushy tails to sharp claws. 

To reinforce their understanding of numbers, they have been building numbers 4 and 5 using colorful cubes. With great care, they counted each cube to ensure they had the correct amount, making learning both fun and engaging.

Later in the week, the children were truly embracing their creativity! They have been using a variety of materials to bring their woodland animals to life, making their artwork even more vibrant and expressive. As the festive season approaches, they have also started rehearsing their Christmas nativity songs, filling the classroom with joyful melodies.

As part of Geography Awareness Week, the children found out and discussed where their parents and grandparents originally came from. They identified the flags of the world and the flags of their respective countries. They coloured in the flags to show their national and cultural identity. They watched documentaries about human activities and their impacts on the planet. They are much more aware of all the dangerous human activities that are causing climate change and extreme weather conditions in the world.

In PE, the children practised how to balance their bodies by taking a short-distance flight. They learnt how to jump over a spot with one leg first followed by the other leg. In order to balance, they need to stretch both hands sideways or lift them up to distribute their body weight evenly. They applied the skills they were taught to balance properly.

In English, the children wrote noun phrases to describe the food items in Little Red Riding Hood's basket. They collaborated and rehearsed their sentences in their Kagan groups using a stem sentence, 'In her basket, there was ........' They wrote the sentences to describe the food items in the basket and correctly punctuated them.

It has been an exciting week for the children, participating in Geography Awareness Week. To celebrate all things geographical, we started the week by learning all about the four flags associated with the United Kingdom. We looked at the flags for Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland as well as the Union Jack flag that represents all 4 nations. We coloured in the 4 flags, taking care to use the correct colours. Later in the week, we designed our own flags to represent our own, fantasy countries. There was a football crazy land and a unicorns and rainbow land. 

We enjoyed watching a David Attenborough documentary titled 'We Need Immediate Actions to Stop the Extinction Crisis' and we noticed how much damage is being done to our planet. We also used the Purple Mash app to label a map and identify important features of a rainforest.

Pupils have had a fun-filled week, immersing themselves in Geography Awareness Week. They have been learning a lot about the features of a river and discussed the significant physical features of each section. Pupils have loved building models and further identifying the parts of a river and how they may be identified. Pupils have begun to compare the features of the Nile with that of the Thames, comparing one locality to another. Building on this theme, pupils competed with each other and named the River Nile vs The River Thames in TTRS this week to further build awareness. 

Furthermore, pupils each received a pack at the start of the week with texts and activities related to climate change and sustainability, which they have loved working through! Friday was our Cultural Dress Up Day and ahead of time, pupils had been researching flags related to their identity.

Pupils have had a practical week revising written and pictorial methods for solving addition and subtraction questions where they are required to exchange. To mark the end of the unit, pupils played games, quizzing each other and working through solving questions together practically. 

This week in Design and Technology, the focus has been on creating a drawstring bag. The children have been cutting out their chosen fabric and measuring a seam. As part of International Geography Awareness Week, the children took part in a fun and interactive virtual workshop on climate change created by Geobus. 

They loved using the 3D glasses to look at images and took part in a quiz. They also learned about the role of sea ice in maintaining the global temperature. On Friday, the children dressed up in traditional clothing that represented their cultural background and presented their learning to the whole school. 

Year 4 have worked hard to prepare for their class assembly to the whole school and their parents. They did a fantastic job! 

In geography, the children have been learning different ways that football promotes a sustainable way of life from using recycled kits to having on-site allotments. They discussed how different football clubs changed to become more eco-friendly. One of the most visible ways football clubs have gone green is through the development of eco-friendly stadiums where they use energy-efficient lighting, water conservation systems and renewable energy sources. 

Global warming was a key topic in our geography lessons this week. The children discussed the different ways we have harmed the environment, and the impact of this on our planet and came up with solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change for instance reducing our carbon emissions and eating more plant-based meals.

This week, Year 6 have been taking part in Geography Awareness Week. They started the week by researching their table country table name and creating a PowerPoint that included details about their physical location, population, cuisine and culture. They then learnt about the world's water crisis and created a poster of ways to save water.

In English, the children learnt how to correctly punctuate dialogue and use it to advance the action. In maths, the children learnt how to add and subtract mixed numbers. They converted the mixed number to an improper fraction, found a common multiple and then added or subtracted as needed. In PSHE, the children learnt about discrimination and how they can challenge it.

If you have concerns about a child (or their families) welfare, contact Croydon Council’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) 

Telephone: 020 8726 6400 

Out of hours: 020 8726 6400 (ask for out of hours team) 

Email: childreferrals@croydon.gov.uk 

Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 16:00 

If you think a child is at risk of immediate harm telephone 999