Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, Year 5 began their two-week intensive swimming programme. It has been wonderful to see how much they have enjoyed their sessions, and we are already seeing fantastic progress in their confidence and ability in the water. We look forward to seeing them continue this momentum into next week. Year 1 also visited St Luke’s church as part of their RE learning which they also thoroughly enjoyed. 

On Wednesday, we were thrilled to be joined by Banji Alexander, a self-published author. He led inspiring assemblies for the children and held a book signing session afterwards. It was a great experience for our pupils to meet a real-life author and hear about his journey.

As well as our letter directory sent out this week, we have sent out specific communications directly to Pine and Ash classes. If your child is in one of these classes, please ensure you look out for these letters as they contain important information.

Looking ahead, next week is Parents’ Evening. If you have not yet signed up for a time slot via Arbor, please do so as soon as possible. During the evening, you will also have the opportunity to meet Tim, our LCC Chair. He will be available to provide more information about the work of the Local Council Committee and how you can get involved. We are still looking for new members, so please do stop by for a chat!

A reminder that next week is our last week of the term. We look forward to seeing you then.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

This term, we have started to explore a new value: Collaboration. This week, we focused on the importance of sharing to enable good collaboration. We discussed that it is important to take turns and give things to others. A story was read to the children about how people shared food with a villager to help make a large dish that was able to feed many. It is important that we share with others to help us all!

Ask you child:

• Do you share?

• Why is it important to share with someone?

• When should we share with someone?

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following on from the success of last year’s Parents’ Forum, we are now in the process of setting this up for this academic year and next. The Parents’ Forum provides a valuable opportunity for the Trust to hear directly from our parent community and gather feedback on key aspects of school life.

Last year, our parent representatives reviewed the uniform policy and contributed to discussions on the Trust’s strategic plan. This year, we are looking to expand the forum and involve a wider group of parents.

If you are able to commit to meeting online three times a year and are willing to share your ideas and perspectives, we warmly encourage you to register your interest in joining the Parents’ Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other parents across the Trust and help shape our ongoing development.

Please register your interest by Friday 16th February using this form.

Thank you for your continued support.

Nest

It has been another bustling week of discovery here in the Nest! Our little learners dived headfirst into sensory play as we explored with oats, spoons, and containers. As they felt the oats, many children began describing the unique textures, building their descriptive vocabulary while engaging their senses. We also seamlessly incorporated early mathematical skills into our play; by filling and emptying containers and carefully counting each scoop, the children began to grasp the foundations of volume and quantity. Alongside this, we have continued our journey through our five main areas of learning with a focus on construction. Using various materials, the children have been building together, practicing the vital social skills of waiting and taking turns to stack blocks or connect pieces. These collaborative moments are wonderful to watch as they foster new friendships and help our children navigate social relationships with confidence. 

Saplings

This week in Saplings, we have been exploring Chinese Lunar New Year, creating lanterns and fans to prepare for the celebrations. The children have enjoyed learning the story of the great animal race and how each animal got chosen to represent each year.

In literacy, we have been exploring 'Little Red Riding Hood', discussing the characters feelings, allowing the children to combine our new feelings with how the characters may feel in the story, such as happy, scared and confused.

In Numeracy, we have been introducing the new mathematical vocabulary ‘Subitise’, using dice and number cards, the children have been learning to recognise the quantity of a number without having to recount it, such as 4 dots on a dice and 5 spots on a number card.

Reception

It has been a great week in reception, this week we have started to look at the book ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. We have had great discussions about the characters and how they felt, the children particularly enjoyed our hot seat activity where they were able to really explore the emotions of the characters. These discussions have been a fantastic way to build our confidence and explore new vocabulary.

Alongside our storytelling, it has been a joy to see the children's progress with their handwriting. We have noticed a real improvement in their fine 

motor control as they begin to master correct letter formation and take pride in the marks they make on the page.

In our Maths sessions, we have been exploring the properties of different shapes and the relationship between quantities. The children have been practicing 

their estimation and subitising skills, using clear mathematical language to compare different amounts. We have been focusing on identifying when a group of objects is "more than," "less than," or "equal to" another, which is a vital step in building their number sense and logic.

Reminders:

Pear Class have a trip to Ashburton Library on Tuesday 10th February, any parent helpers would be greatly appreciated.

Parents Evening is on Wednesday 11th & Thursday 12th February, if you have not booked your slot then please do so via Arbor.

Year 1

It’s been another busy week in Year 1!

On Thursday, the children were excited to visit St. Luke’s Church. Father Sam showed us some of the church features such as stained glass windows, the font altar and lectern. It was lovely for the children to see in real life, the things we had been talking about in class. We also spent time learning about why Jesus is a leader for Christians. Thank you to those parents who accompanied us on our trip.

In Maths, we learnt about counting in 10s and 1s using resources such as ten sticks and ones. We identified numbers represented in part-whole models and drew our own. We have introduced an arithmetic lesson where we are increasing our fluency in number. This week we focused on adding numbers within 10.

In English, we have been learning about recounts. We learnt about time adverbials, writing events in order and adding feelings. We also introduced the conjunction “because” to extend our sentences. Then we wrote a recount of a school day.

On Wednesday, the children loved meeting the author Banji Alexander in person, and we had some amazing hats and footwear!

Thank you for sending in resources for our art work. The children really enjoyed making their crowns.

Year 2

What a spectacular week we have had! The classrooms have been buzzing with energy, creativity, and a genuine love for learning. It has been a joy to see the children dive so enthusiastically into every challenge set for them.

The highlight of our week was undoubtedly the visit from the award-winning children’s author and songwriter, Banji Alexander. He completely immersed the children in the world of his story, Lockdown Looms: Reggie’s Party.

The children were captivated by his storytelling and music, and many now have a special keepsake to treasure—a signed copy of his book! It was an inspiring session that has certainly sparked some "author ambitions" in our classrooms.

This week, we have officially introduced the multiplication sign (X)! The children have been learning how to read and write multiplication sentences and have been exploring how this links to repeated addition. We also began looking at the concept of sharing, which is our first big step into division.

• Top Tip: Ask your child to show you how they would "share" 10 or 20 objects equally between their toys at home!

In our writing sessions, the children have been working as editors and authors. We took a modelled text and set a challenge: Make it even better! Using the wonderful ambitious vocabulary we have been collecting over the past few weeks, the children have upgraded their sentences to make them more descriptive and engaging. We are so impressed with the "wow words" they are choosing to use.

Thank you for your continued support!

Year 3

In DT, the children have been channeling their inner engineers as they move into the final, high-polish phase of their CAM mechanism project. They are currently applying the finishing touches and vibrant colour schemes to their designs, ensuring their moving parts transition from functional prototypes to aesthetically pleasing models. Central to this process they have been understanding linear measurement; the children have learned to navigate between millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm) and meters (m) with shapes.

In the classroom, they have also been writing detailed reports on deforestation. They have truly soaked up the facts, showing a clear understanding of why forests are being lost (the causes) and what happens to our planet as a result (the effects).

In Maths, we’ve been learning how to calculate the perimeter of rectangles and other rectilinear shapes. Many of our pupils are already achieving fantastic results in their multiplication checks — some even scoring 25 out of 25! Please keep practising at home using TT Rockstars and the MTC check to keep those skills sharp.

In History, our lessons have taken us back to Ancient Greece, where we’ve been exploring how direct democracy was formed and discussing whether it was truly a fair system. We then compared it to our modern representative democracy, which led to some lively and thoughtful debates in class!

In Science, we’ve really enjoyed creating electrical circuits and investigating which materials act as conductors and which are insulators. The children have loved the hands-on experiments and demonstrated excellent teamwork and curiosity.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and enjoy a well-deserved rest!

Year 5

In Maths, we have advanced our multiplication journey! Our focus has shifted to mastering 3-digit by 2-digit and 4-digit by 2-digit calculations. As the numbers get larger, we are reminding the children to carefully follow each step of the formal written method. Accuracy is key, so we are remembering the zero placeholder rule and ensuring all exchanges are added correctly to reach the right total.

In English, our lessons have moved into an exciting creative phase. Using the emotive language they have carefully collected over the past week, the children are now planning and writing their very own versions of the poem. It has been fantastic to see them applying their vocabulary to show the strong relationship between Leonard and Grandma.

This week, the children successfully completed the first week of their intensive two-week swimming block. All the adults are incredibly proud of the effort and resilience the pupils have shown, especially when tackling new challenges in the water. We have been discussing how swimming is not just a fun physical activity, but a vital life skill that builds personal confidence and ensures water safety for the future. Well done to all our swimmers for a brilliant start!

Year 6

In Maths, we have been bridging the gap between ratios and fractions. The goal this week was to ensure the children can confidently and accurately compare the two concepts. We spent time drawing bar models and part-whole diagrams to "see" the math. For example, if the ratio of red to blue beads is 3:2, the children visualised that the fraction of red beads is actually 3/5. Beyond just calculations, the class tackled "prove it" questions, explaining their logic in writing to ensure a deep understanding of how parts make up a whole.

In English, we have officially begun our informative writing units focused on World War II. The children are learning how to structure a non-chronological report that is both engaging and educational. We have started crafting powerful introductions and organising our research into clear, topical subheadings. To maintain an authoritative tone, the children have been practicing: Using words like must, should, will, and might to express degrees of certainty or necessity. Moving away from casual speech to use sophisticated, precise vocabulary suitable for a historical report.

We are using in-app messages to communicate with parents through the app - please could parents ensure they are able to log-in and Arbor is set up to accept these messages - they should be visible in the Communications section of the portal.

Parents who have the app should enable Push Notifications - this will alert you through the app that a message has arrived.

Over 90% of our parents have logged into Arbor - if you are having difficulty, please talk to the office who can help.

Check your Child's Data

Please log in to Arbor and check your child's/children's details are correct - and let us know if not. You can also request changes directly through the app which will take place once we have seen them - if we have questions, we will get in touch. Or you can let the office know directly.

It is important we have the correct data for all our families.

Please remember to check Arbor - either the Parent Portal (at https://login.arbor.sc/) or the parent app (available from the App Store or Google Play).

Parents who log in can:

* see their child's attendance

* log consent for local trips and those further afield

* pay for trips and book and pay for clubs

* receive In-App messages - and message the school

* book parent consultations

* see their child's details and request changes to ensure they are completely up to date

If you have more than one child at the school, they should be visible via a drop-down so you only need to login once.

To set up your account, you need the email you use for school communications and the date of birth of one of your children. Follow the Forgotten Password link on either the app or the website.

If you need support with logging in, please talk to the office team who will be glad to help.