Dear Parents and Carers

This week has been a busy one! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating Bonfire Night last weekend. The skies were full of colour and excitement and I heard lots of stories of children enjoying the night.

In KS1 this week, we have been working on expectations with children where they have been focused on engaging with their learning, maintaining focus and trying their best. It has been lovely this week to see children reminding themselves of the Woodside Learner.

Next week, we will commence the festive countdown - we will share our plans with the community. We hope what we have planned makes everyone happy! As per our key dates, Parents Evening will be on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November. A letter will be coming out soon with details.

We wanted to bring everyone’s attention to our school website (https://www.woodside.croydon.sch.uk/). We have added a section under the Children tab for if children are worried as well as staying safe online. Also, under our ‘Helping your Child’ section in the Parents and Carers tab, we have added a whole new section with advice around nutrition, sleeping, reading, learning maths and more (https://www.woodside.croydon.sch.uk/page/?title=Helping+Your+Child&pid=33). Feel free to check it out and explore.

For everyone who is celebrating Diwali or Bandi Chhor Divas, we hope you have a great time. We look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

We expect pupils to maintain a high standard of attendance here at Woodside. We want all our pupils to be able to achieve their very best and in order to do this, they need to be in school as much as possible so they don't miss out on any learning. Everyday is a new learning opportunity!

Zones of Regulation 

This week we have been talking about the zones of regulation at school. We have been thinking about recognising the zones and how we describe our emotions. During class assembly the children watched videos and talked about which zone the characters were in. If you would like to watch the videos with your child to talk about the zones, please follow the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkyKyVFnSs   (Key Stage 1 and Early Years) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embYkODkzcs  (Key Stage 2)

Please note that this year, we are asking children to change in school. They should bring in their PE bags and keep them in school for the term and take them home at the end of the term. Thank you for supporting us with this.

All children need elastic fronted plimsolls for indoor/outdoor PE which are best kept in a drawstring bag on their cloak peg. Children will need black/blue shorts and a white t-shirt in their PE bag to wear for PE lessons. 

Nest

This  week we have been celebrating Diwali. Children made Diva Lamps using clay and decorated them with a variety of colours while learning new vocabulary. We talked about why we are making the Diva Lamps. In the Nest, children were excited to make fireworks pictures, some of the children spoke about the noise and colours of the fireworks they had seen and heard. Continuing to embed our core text “The Family Book”, the children made face features using play dough on the face mats. Children talked about who they were making for example “mum, dad, grandma, uncle, sister and baby”.

Nursery

This week in Nursery we have been learning about different celebrations in our families. We talked about what we see during celebrations. As some of our families will be celebrating Diwali, we decided to make our own Diva Lamps and Rangoli patterns. It was tricky trying to mould the clay to get the shape we needed. However, we used our perseverance skills and we made lovely Diva Lamps which we decorated with our favourite colours. In our outdoor area, we had a go at creating Rangoli patterns using rice, beans and pasta. We now know that Diwali is the festival of light.

Reception

This week, the children have enjoyed exploring a range of activities and got creative with making firework displays using paint and different resources. 

In Literacy: The children recalled their knowledge about the story, ‘Here We Are’ by talking about space. This week, the children explored planet earth and discussed what is found on planet earth and understood that this is where we live.  When discussing planet earth, the children talked about all the things that we see on planet earth: animals, people, buildings, shops and hospitals.

Phonics: We progress through Phase 2 phonics and introduced the children to; ‘v and w, x, y’  When drawing and labelling planet earth, we used our knowledge of sounds to practise making, reading and writing cvc words: man, big, hill, bug, pig, sun and hot. Our tricky words were ‘and, has, his, her’.

Home Learning: practise writing words with the initial sounds : v, w, y (van, wig, won, wag, yak) 

In Maths: We used the Enormous Turnip song to help children with their learning on finding ‘one more’ and ‘one less’ than a given number. The children understood that when adding ‘one more’ the number gets bigger and when having ‘one less’ the number gets smaller. 

Home Learning: Line up to 5 objects (this can be anything: pencils, cars, fruit, spoons and etc)  Ask your child to count the objects. How many are there altogether? Say “one more/less  than___ is ___” as you add or take away one object.

Reminder: Please help your child to practise writing their name using the correct letter formation. 

Well done children for having a good week!

Year 1

In maths we have been learning to find number bonds within 10. We used cubes and the part-whole model to support us and wrote addition sentences.

Eg. number bonds to 3.    0 + 3 = 3        1 + 2 = 3        2 + 1 = 3

Given 3 numbers in a part-whole model, we have also looked at fact families. 

                         5 + 4 = 9

                         4 + 5 = 9

                         9 = 4 + 5

                         9 = 5 + 4

In English we are continuing with Little Red Riding Hood. We created a story map and sequenced pictures from the story using time adverbials such as next, later, after a while and finally. We also role played parts of the story. 

Year 2

This week in English, Year 2 worked collaboratively and explored different adjectives to describe a character. Children understood the definition of an adjective with many examples like: what an adjective is? And how adjectives can enhance a sentence and make it more interesting. Children also discussed the importance of editing their work and re-wrote sentences to improve them.

In Maths, children learned partitioning and applied different strategies to work out their answers. They used a part whole model to find their calculations. They also used number tracks to complete their calculations.

Year 6

We are delighted to share the exciting experience that our Year 6 pupils had during their recent visit to The Design Museum. As part of our Design Technology theme, "Design Maker," the children were immersed in the fascinating evolution of technology and the underlying reasons behind it. The museum provided a rich environment for our pupils to explore and understand the intricate connections between design and technology. Witnessing the excellent evolution of technology not only captivated their minds but also fueled their budding desires in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The trip was carefully designed to stimulate their curiosity and strengthen their attitudes towards their final outcomes in their Design Technology project. 

Primary Admissions

Is your child 4 years old before 31st August 2024?

We warmly invite you to join our school community. Mr Atwal would be delighted to show any prospective parents around the school; please make sure you sign up to join us for a school tour and to meet the team. 

Existing Nursery children will also need to apply for a Reception place.

There are a number of dates on which you can visit - use this form

or call the office to let us know when you will visit.

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020 you are now able to apply for them to join Woodside for a Reception place in September 2024. Applications for Reception next year should be made via the Local Authority. Information about the application process can be found HERE

Belongings and equipment

Please remember that children should not bring pencil cases, toys or other items to school - we cannot be held responsible if these items go missing or are damaged. Pencil cases are a distraction - we provide all necessary equipment for our students to use during lessons.

In line with our school policies, we ask that children do not wear smartwatches during school hours. This ensures a fair and uniform approach to the use of technology within the classroom setting. 

To avoid confusion and loss of personal items, please ensure your child's name is clearly written on all of their clothing. This includes uniforms, PE kit, jackets or coats, and any other items they may bring to school. This simple step greatly aids in the quick and accurate return of lost belongings. Please regularly check that your child is returning home with their own property.

Thank you for your support on these matters.

Collaboration matters   Excellence in everything   Community first   Equity for everyone   Continuous growth