Woodside Weekly

Kindness Respect Excellence Collaboration

Friday 13th October 2023

Our whole school Attendance

this week is..

93.9%

Our whole school target is 95%

“Treat every living being, including yourself, with kindness” – Gautama Buddha

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been yet another busy week here at Woodside. On Monday, we were visited by our school improvement partner who spent the morning speaking to leaders and staff, and undertaking a whole school learning walk. We are really pleased with the progress being made across the school and know our next steps and priorities are in-line with each other.

I was fortunate enough to visit Foxfield Primary School in Woolwich, one of the schools in our trust, with other heads. It was a chance to explore teaching and learning; moving forward, we are fortunate to have some additional support from the Trust to move forward in our teaching and learning.

We have seen a rise in sickness and illnesses across the school, both with staff and children. Can we please encourage our children to wash their hands and follow good hygiene practices.

We look forward to seeing everyone next week for the final week of term!

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

Attendance

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!

These are this week's attendance figures and leading class in each phase:

EYFS: Apple 95%

KS1: Hawthorn 96.2%

KS2: Rowan 97.6%

It is essential your child is in school everyday.

Inclusion

Woodside Surplus Food Store

Look what we received into our Surplus Food

Store this week!!

Help us in the fight against food waste and come along and have a look next week.

Our Surplus Food Store is available in our Community room;

Every Wednesday 8.45am – 9.15am and 3pm - 3.20pm

and Thursday 8.45am – 9.15am

Polite reminder - We are operating a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ model whereby you pay what you can afford for the food and the money will go towards buying produce that we wouldn’t usually receive through the project such as pasta and other non-perishable goods. Please bring your own bags and if you are able to donate any spare bags, they would be gratefully received.

Transfer to Secondary School September 2024

The deadline for applications is

31st October 2023.

Applications are made online through eAdmissions which can be accessed through Croydon Councils website

- click on the link below;

Apply for a secondary school place: step by step | Croydon Council.

For any Parents/Carers needing support to make an application, please make an appointment to see Mrs Georgiades. You will need your council tax reference number to make an application.

The Mental Health in Schools Team (MHST) are running another set of Online Parent/Carer Webinars during the Autumn term. These are free to join - use the link below to sign up;

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/mhst-parent-webinars-2674189?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

There are many charities and organisations that are able to offer support and advice. Please click on this link to find information relating to local agencies:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRcmrSSp7_bOfF5PSTlGApLTTuQ4JslGCviwX2U5YXz0Id7nJv82_GHAgE5KSBqq0rXSiKP-ZTDafk2/pub

PE Updates

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.

Please find below information below on Sports Attack. Within Woodside Primary school we offer the following after school clubs: -

Tuesday 3:15 - 4:30 Years 1+2 Football

Wednesdays 3:15 - 4:30 Years 3+4 Football

Thursday 3:15 - 4:30 Years 5+6 Football

Friday 3:15 - 4:30 Years 1-6 Multi sports

Clubs are run by coach Dre, Nathan and Derek.

Classes can be found via the link below or contacting us on 07462419194 sportsattackacademy@gmail.com

https://sports-attack-academy.class4kids.co.uk/

EYFS

If you or anyone you know, has a child that would like to join our caring nurturing Nest provision, we currently have three spaces available in the afternoon session for

2 years olds, 12.30 - 3.30pm.

For more information and to find out if you are entitled to 2 year old funding, please enquire at the office

or email admin@inspirewoodside.co.uk.

Nest

This week in the Nest we have been continuing to embed our core text “It's Okay to be Different”. Children have been building models of themselves using popiods, naming the body parts, for example; “ legs, arms, face and hands”. They also have been making portraits of themselves on a paper plate, using a variety of different materials, for example; wool for hair and buttons for a nose. All the children were really keen to join in and enjoyed the activity. Whilst engaged they were naming the features and talking about their hair colour and eyes.

Nursery

This week in Nursery, we have been talking about our five senses. For each sense we did different activities to support our understanding. During this time, we also learnt new vocabulary linked to each of the senses. We used our sentence stems to describe what we saw using our sense of sight. We also described things that we touched for our sense of touch. We have also learnt about the sense of hearing by playing listening games which is part of our everyday learning. Our playdough area has also supported our sense of smell as it smelt like oranges. In Maths, we have been learning about 2D shapes indoors and using some shape rhymes to talk about their properties. In our outdoor area, we were matching objects to numerals and selling seeds in our garden centre.

Reception

This week we made class rules and talked about why we need them, for example,

‘We keep our hands to ourselves, so we don’t hurt anyone,’ and Alaiya said, ‘we walk so that we don’t fall over or bump into our friends.’

In Literacy: This week we started a new traditional story, ‘The Gingerbread Man’. The children have really enjoyed listening and joining in the story and repeating the refrain, ‘Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!’

Home Learning: Retell the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’. Can you remember what happens and in what order?

Phonics: This week, we have been learning the graphemes (letter name) and phonemes (letter sound); h, b, f, l.

Home Learning: Please continue to practice letter formation. Write a letter and ask your child to trace over it. Can your child write their own letters? Whose letters are better?

In Maths: We have been sorting objects by colour and size. We talked about what makes them the same and if there was an odd one out.

Home Learning: Play snap and other matching games. What makes the objects match and why? Is there an odd one out and why?

Thank you to those of you who have been bringing in newspapers.

We developed our fine motor skills, tearing, scrunching, rolling and sticking and had great fun making beanstalks, bats and balls, trumpets and telescopes.

Well done, Reception class for having another great week of learning!

The Reception Team

Key Stage One

Year 1

In maths this week the children have learnt about ordinal numbers - first, second, third etc. up to tenth. They have created number lines from 0 to 10, found missing numbers and then used the line to find more or less than a given number, by making jumps forwards and backwards.

In writing, children have used all their knowledge from previous weeks to independently write the story of 'The Lonely Beast' and then used their best handwriting to publish their work.

In art, they have continued with their printing using their styrofoam stencil to create a repeating pattern.

Year 2

This week, Year 2, loved engaging with the character from their core text ‘Izzy Gizmo’. Izzy is a young girl who loves inventing new things, however, when things don’t work out, she gets frustrated and wants to give up. As part of the learning journey, the children explored themes of mindset, resilience and determination and they were able to empathise with Izzy.

In Maths, children compared numbers to 100, with visual models to help. They compared and ordered numbers from 0 to 100: used <, > and = signs, recognised the place value of each digit in a two-digit number (tens and ones).

Lower Key Stage Two

Year 3

For English this week the children have been busy writing up their finished biographies, Katherine Johnson, from the book ‘Hidden Figures’. Their writing will be displayed in the Year 3/4 corridor by the middle of next week.

In maths, we have moved onto addition and the children are learning different ways of adding numbers that cross into the tens and hundreds columns.

In our Computing lesson this week we learnt how computing networks send and receive messages with other networks. Each table represents a unique network with one child on each table being the ‘switch’, the others were the computers. Each computer wrote messages to other computers around the classroom and sent them by delivering them to the switches.

Year 4

Year 4 students at our school have been inspired by the book 'The Girl Who Stole an Elephant' to write a news report exploring the moral dilemma of stealing for a good purpose.

The book tells the story of Chaya, a young girl who lives in a poor village. She is known for her quick fingers and her willingness to steal from the rich to help the poor. One day, Chaya steals the Queen's jewels in order to help her village. However, she soon finds herself in danger as she is pursued by the Queen's soldiers.

The Year 4 students were drawn to the book because it explores complex moral issues in a way that is accessible to children. They were particularly interested in the question of whether it is ever right to steal, even if it is to help someone else.

In their news report, the students interviewed each other to get their different perspectives on this issue. Some students argued that it is never right to steal, no matter what. Others argued that there are times when stealing is justified, such as when it is necessary to save a life.

The students also discussed the consequences of Chaya's actions. They considered how her theft affected the people she was trying to help, as well as the people who were pursuing her.

In the end, the students did not come to a consensus on whether or not Chaya was right to steal the jewels. However, they did agree that it is an important issue to think about. They also learned that there are different perspectives on this issue, and that it is important to respect the views of others.

The students' news report is a testament to their critical thinking skills and their ability to engage with complex ideas. It is also a reminder of the power of literature to inspire and challenge young minds.

Upper Key Stage Two

Year 5

In English, Year 5 were editing and publishing their playscripts based on the core text ‘The boy and the Globe’. They also completed the final art piece - a portrait of William Shakespeare. During this week they transferred their sketches onto a newspaper and added acrylic paint to colour it. We have discovered that Woodside has talent when it comes to drawing! Some of the final outcomes will be displayed in the school corridors for all to see.

Year 6

In Science Year 6 are focusing on the Circulatory System. They had to create a spread using all the correct information acquired through engaging explicitly with the topic. They came up with excellent facts using correct vocabulary when explaining their understanding. The children articulated their understanding extremely well, resulting in a rich and purposeful Science spread.

Key Dates

Wednesday 18th October - SEND coffee morning 8:45am

Friday 20th October - End of Half Term

Monday 23rd - Friday 27th October - Half Term Holiday

Sunday 29th October - Clocks go Back 1 Hour

Monday 30th October - School Open

Monday 13th - 17th November - Y5 & Y6 Bike Ability Training

Friday 24th November - INSET Day

Monday 27th - Friday 1st December - Parents Evening Week

Friday 1st December - Theatre Whole School

Thursday 21st December - Last Day of Term

Primary Admissions

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

We warmly invite you to join our school community. Mr Atwal was delighted to show a group of prospective parents the school this week; please make sure you also 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

Year 6 Secondary School Applications

Applications for secondary school close on 31st October 2023.

All year 6 parents must make an application before this date to ensure your child has a place at secondary school in September.

This link will take you to the Croydon admissions page which will support you through the admissions process.

You can find out the dates and times of secondary open events here.

Some schools have particular entry criteria - you should check these on each school's website.

If you need any support with this process, please ask at the office.

Communication

You can now find any letters sent home by email on our school website.

Recent letters:

Woodside Community Values
RAAC update 2
School Priorities
Curriculum

Follow this link for more information: https://www.woodside.croydon.sch.uk/page/?title=Letters+Home&pid=23

School photographs:

You should by now have received your photograph proofs from Braiswick.

Please follow the instructions in the pack to place your order either online or via school. If you are ordering through school, please ensure you return your order before Tuesday 31st October.

Many thanks.