Woodside Weekly

Kindness  Respect  Excellence  Collaboration


Friday 20th October 2023

Our whole school Attendance

this week is..

94.8%

Our whole school target is 95%

“Each of us has value beyond measure”– Albert Einstein

Dear Parents and Carers


We have come to the end of the first half term of the year. It feels as if these past 6 weeks have flown by. Firstly, I want to say thank you to the children, staff and community for their welcome to Woodside. I am thoroughly enjoying this new adventure and joining the Woodside community. This term, we have worked hard to identify areas of strengths and areas of development and we are starting to address these areas. A key area is parental communication and whilst we are still finessing our procedures, I hope you all feel there is an improvement from last year.


This week, we have had some additional visitors come into school to evaluate our progress. We were joined by our school improvement partner from Croydon LA where on Monday she met with our leadership team and toured the school. We were also joined by our Chair of Trustees Rob Carpenter on Thursday. We are pleased with the outcomes of both visits where they noted the improvement journey we are on and commented on some of the tangible changes that are already evident. 


We are sending out a letter where we will be holding a pumpkin carving competition for an Autumn celebration. Please look out for that. Also, we can confirm that parents evening will be on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November. A letter about parents' evening will be sent near the beginning of next term.


I wish everyone a restful and enjoyable half term break. We look forward to welcoming back our community on Monday 30th October.


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 94.6%

KS1: Hawthorn 95.9%

KS2: Maple 97.6%


It is essential your child is in school everyday.

Inclusion 

Year 6 Secondary School Applications

Transfer to Secondary School September 2024


Applications deadline 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.


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

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

October Half-term Discounted or Kids Eat Free!!! 


Click on this link October Half-term Discounted or Kids Eat Free for a  list of restaurants and cafes that are offering discounted or free children's meals for the holidays. Follow links to the relevant websites for further information on each offer - please ensure that you check the terms and conditions before you set off.


Challenging Times

These are very challenging times for everyone with the increase in the cost of living, but there is a lot of help available. Below you will find the contact details of a number of organisations to go to if you need help or advice: 

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

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

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 year olds, from 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 we have been reading the story 'Elmer the Elephant'. Children have been enjoying listening to the story and answering simple questions. They have been doing an activity of making Elmer the Elephant collage, using different materials. We talked about the texture of the materials and colours they chose. We have been learning about different foods, naming a variety of fruits and vegetables in our home corner. The children in the Nest have enjoyed playing with the farm animals and making all the different sounds they make.

Next term our core text is 'The Family Book'. We will be talking about all our families, different cultures and different foods. Below is our topic table called “You and Me .. are family”.

Nursery

This week in Nursery we have been reading the story ‘Funny bones’ to support us in understanding that we also have skeleton bones. We learnt about the skull, the backbone, the rib cage, the foot bone and the toe bone. It was very exciting to try and dance to the skeleton song, ‘them bones, them bones.’ It was also funny that our bones could not move as fast as those of the skeleton in the song. We have also enjoyed putting back the mixed up skeleton bones to the body and using the right vocabulary. This week we took time to talk and learn about looking after our teeth. In Maths, we were sorting and learning about  2D shapes in small groups. We found a lot of real life shapes in our environment.

Reception

The children have had a great week. They have enjoyed enhancing their learning based on the story ‘The Gingerbread Man’. It’s been great seeing the children using their knowledge of sounds to practice writing their names and drawing self-portraits.


In Literacy, the children recalled the story of 'The Gingerbread Man' and used their knowledge of sounds to write speech bubbles. They wrote initial sounds and sounded out words such as: run, ran, man and then practiced writing these words.

Home Learning: Children to practice writing their name using correct letter formation and  practise writing words/initial sounds to describe characters in the story (The Gingerbread Man) : dog, cat, pig, hen, fox, man.

   

Phonics, this week we have been recalling phase two sounds previously learnt: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, c, e, u, r. We practised blending and segmenting cvc words such as: red, hug, man and duck.

Home Learning: To continue to practice letter formation by correctly holding a pencil using thumb and finger.


In Maths, the children have been comparing two groups of objects by using a 5 frame. They used two sets of objects e.g counting bears and cubes to make number five. They discussed which objects there are more or less of and were able to visually see what number is bigger/smaller.

Home Learning: Draw a 5 frame by drawing 5 squares and using two sets of objects to compare groups. You could use any two sets of objects. Encourage your child to place the objects on the 5 frame and talk about how many of each object they have. Can they show that number using their fingers. How many ways can they show 5?


Reminder: Please return any reading books your child has taken home. Our libraries are looking very empty. 

WE NEED YOU!! Please let our team know if you are available to support and help us in class.


Please look at the children’s excellent learning on our publishing board, which shows some of their work this term. Well done!

Have a lovely half-term holiday.

Key Stage One

Year 1

In maths this week, the children have learnt about Part Whole Models. They learnt how to partition objects up to ten into two or more parts. They were also introduced to addition number sentences using the information from the Part Whole Model.


In English, children have reflected on their learning journey in English and art. They wrote what learning they enjoyed the most. They also reflected on their narrative writing when writing their self-assessment. They wrote the skills they have learnt and how they could improve. 


In art, they have continued with their printing using their styrofoam stencil to create a repeating pattern on canvas for our display!

Year 2

This week Year 2 have had a very creative week exploring their identities and what makes them who they are. They used the work of 'Jane Davies', an artist who uses different mediums of art and collages them on top of each other. The children thought about and discussed what an identity is and what goes into their identity, i.e. culture, family, hobbies etc. They then focused on their face, exploring the different shapes found within their eyes, noses, and mouths, they used different mediums to represent their different features. They used charcoal, oil pastels, sketching pencils and chalk to create their own self-portraits, thinking about what colours best represent them and why. In English, Year 2 have been publishing their wonderful character description on 'Izzy Gizmo', based on our core text ensuring they are using their best handwriting. In Maths this week, Year 2 have begun learning their 2s, 5s and 10s times tables using their learnt knowledge applying it to more reasoning style questions.

Lower Key Stage Two

Year 3

This week in English, children have been writing their book review on ‘Hidden Figures’. The children recorded their thoughts on their likes and dislikes of the story and then looked at an example of a book review and identified the topic of each paragraph. In Maths, our focus is on covering strategies to subtract a 1-digit number from a 2-digit number crossing a 10, then working towards subtracting 1s and 10s across from a 3-digit number.

Year 4

As we approach the end of this half term, I wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for the unwavering support you have shown throughout the recent challenges our children have faced, particularly in homework and times tables. Your dedication to their learning journey has not gone unnoticed, and the results have been truly remarkable.

Over these past weeks, we've witnessed incredible growth and development in our Year 4 students. It is with great pride and joy that we acknowledge the tremendous strides they have taken. Your encouragement, guidance, and active involvement have played an integral role in fostering this progress.

The children's commitment to their learning has shone brightly, and their hard work has resulted in some truly outstanding achievements. Their publishing work in art and newspaper writing has been nothing short of fantastic. The creativity, dedication, and effort they have put into these projects have been truly inspiring to witness.

We understand that these tasks were not always easy, and your support at home has made all the difference. Your encouragement and reinforcement of the importance of education have contributed significantly to this impressive growth. It's evident that a strong partnership between parents and educators can have a profound impact on a child's educational journey, and we are grateful to have such committed and involved parents in our Year 4 community.

As we move forward into the next term, we are excited about the continued progress and achievements that lie ahead. Together, we can nurture and shape the bright minds of our Year 4 students.

Once again, thank you for your incredible support and dedication. We look forward to the ongoing collaboration in the coming term and witnessing more of the incredible growth and achievements of our students.

Wishing you and your families a well-deserved rest during the upcoming break.

Upper Key Stage Two

Year 5

This week in English, the children performed a role play of their play script depicting Toby’s journey from the gutter to being a pickpocket. The children used their oracy skills to add expression and gestures to their performances. In maths, the children learnt about multiples and factors and were able to use their times table knowledge to find factor pairs. To showcase the children’s learning from this half term, a display was created to celebrate their hard work in both English and art.

Year 6

The children have worked extremely hard in delivering their final outcome. They have engaged well with our core text ‘ Pig Heart Boy’ as well as art inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci. This allowed them to deliver astounding newspaper reports as well as a carefully sketched image of the heart. This positive mindset to persevere even when tasks are challenging permits an excellent display, that they are all very proud of. Well done year 6!

Some of our year 6 embarked on a journey around Croydon as part of Croydon Bus Day. They engaged with scenarios and asked questions that will enable safer traveling. A brilliant initiative for our children to be part of.

Key Dates 

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

Tuesday 31st October - Pumpkin Carving Competition

Tuesday 31st October - Last Date for Submission of Secondary Applications for Year 6 Pupils

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

Friday 24th November - INSET Day

Wednesday 29th - Thursday 30th November - Parents Evenings

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

Communication

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

Recent letters:

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.

Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday next week to:


Derin  -  Owls


Lawson  -  Maple


David  -  Sparrows


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