Dear Parents/Carers,

The children in Reception really enjoyed some of the new Gruffalo activities this week throughout the provision. These included: making a Gruffalo crumble using oats and other ingredients, making Gruffalo puppets using lollipop sticks and creating 'wanted posters' to help find the Gruffalo!

This week, the children in Year 1 and Year 2 were really excited to conclude their learning about Hinduism with an exciting visit from, Meera Aikkara. The children displayed curiosity by asking her a range of questions about Hindu worship. We are really proud of our children for wanting to know more about the religion that they have been learning about.

Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed Internet Safety day this week and they applied all of their learning about Online Safety to complete an interesting worksheet about scamming. In addition to this, the children finished writing their Haiku about the topic of 'freedom'. The children recapped the features of a Haiku to ensure they achieved all of these within their poems. The children had the chance to deepen their learning on Friday through their workshop with the poet Gita Ralleigh. They loved crafting their own poems and they felt so proud of their outcomes.

As part of their learning about Online Safety, Year 4 joined a live session focusing on 'phishing' and how to spot a scam. The children then used their knowledge to discuss and complete worksheets about key features of a scam and what to do when something seems too good to be true!

Year 5 were extremely enthusiastic during Internet Safety Day where the children focused on the term 'phishing'. The children looked as this in detail and focused on how to spot an online fraud, including how to determine whether an email was a scam or whether it was real. 

Throughout their maths learning this week, Year 6 displayed resilience and collaboration whilst they were developing their knowledge about angles. The children worked together in their kagan groups to name different types of angles and then draw angles with accuracy. 

On Tuesday, KS2 had the local Police come in to talk about Internet Safety to celebrate Internet Safety Day. The visitors spoke about age restrictions on phones and apps and the dangers of technology. The children then went back to their classrooms to reflect on this and the importance of being safe online. 

On Friday morning, JLT met with Governors virtually. We shared our workstreams for the rest of the academic year and how they feed into our school development priorities.

On Friday afternoon, the Finalists of Maundene's Got Talent performed in front of the school. We are honestly so proud of the children as it takes a lot of courage to stand in front of a crowd and perform. Well done to everyone who participated and to all of the Finalists! Thank you to Arisha and Olivia for being such responsible Year 6 and for organising Maundene's Got Talent. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend and half term. We look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 24th February. 

Miss Capes, Mrs Jackson and the Maundene Team

Developing strong oracy skills is crucial for children's success in school and beyond. It empowers them to express themselves confidently, think critically, and engage effectively with others. To support this vital skill, our weekly newsletter will feature fun and engaging oracy activities that families can enjoy together at home, fostering communication and building confidence in your children.