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

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s been another fantastic week here at Rockliffe Manor. As the weeks go by, we’ve noticed the weather cooling and the rain setting in, but that won’t stop us from enjoying all the exciting activities we have planned. With the colder days ahead, please make sure children come prepared with jumpers or cardigans and waterproof coats so they can continue to enjoy playtime outdoors. As always, do ensure all items are clearly labelled to avoid any mix-ups!

We’ve now passed the midpoint of the Autumn 1 term, and it’s incredible to reflect on just how quickly time is flying—especially when we’re having so much fun! The children have been diving deeper into their learning, and many classes are beginning to plan and create their final projects in English and Art. We can’t wait to see their creativity shine.

This week also saw the launch of National Poetry Day in assembly with Miss Nelson. She introduced the idea of a slam poetry assembly, where each class will learn and perform a poem to the whole school next Friday. The excitement in the hall was wonderful to see, and the children couldn’t wait to head back to class to begin practising. We are all looking forward to seeing their poetic performances!

It’s also been a busy week of trips, with Year 5 visiting the Science Museum and exploring the Wonderlab, testing out exciting scientific activities and learning more about friction through hands-on experiments. The Year 3 children also had a brilliant day at the Natural History Museum, where they became palaeontologists for the day in a Dino Dig workshop, linking their discoveries to both science and history and Year 2 enjoyed their local library trip, sparking a love for reading and inspiring them to explore new books. Their excellent behaviour made us very proud!

We also welcomed new families for our first Reception Open Morning. Parents had the opportunity to see what life is like here at Rockliffe Manor, from our youngest children to our oldest. They toured the school and saw first-hand the wonderful provision and learning environment we strive to achieve.

We are excited to welcome families into classrooms for our first Reading Morning of the year. This is a wonderful opportunity to share in your child’s love of reading, see the strategies they are learning in school, and spend some quality time enjoying books together. We know how important it is to nurture a love of reading both at home and at school, and mornings like these are a fantastic way to strengthen that connection.

We can’t wait to see so many of you joining us, thank you, as always, for your support in making these events so special for our children.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend and we can’t wait to see you all in school on Monday. 

With very best wishes, Mrs Cook and the Rockliffe Manor team

Let’s take a look at some of the learning this week … 

In nursery this week, they have been looking at how everyone in the class are the same and different during their literacy carpet sessions. They were also discussing what features they liked about each other while beginning to explain why. Arif said that he likes Bora's hair because it is always pretty. The children have also enjoyed making autumn potions in the provision and they have really enjoyed the week! 

Reception this week has had lots of fun during their maths lessons. The children started off the week by comparing size and really enjoyed going around the classroom and collecting 2 different sized objects to bring back to the carpet to compare and share with their peers. They discussed  which item they thought was bigger and which they thought was smaller. It was really nice to see the children engaging in the activity and applying their developing mathematical vocabulary. Reception have also enjoyed learning a new song all about kindness during music that they wish to perform to the rest of the school eventually.

This week in year 1, they were lucky to have a workshop with Chartwells where they spoke about food waste and how to use leftover food to make a healthy stir fry. This was the highlight of the week and the children thoroughly enjoyed eating the stir fry- there wasn’t a wasted pot in sight! Also this week, the children have enjoyed art where they have been using paid to print patterns. 

In Year 2, the children had a great trip to the library, where they were very excited to choose a new book to take back and read at school. The children represented Rockliffe beautifully! In science, the children have been looking at microhabitats and went on a walk in our nature garden to identify any microhabitats they could find. Coryn was so excited to find a log that had insects under it, she also added that the dirt was wet which the insects loved! 

This week in year 3, the children visited the Natural History Museum where they did a Dino Dig workshop, learning how fossils are created through mineralisation as well as becoming palaeontologists and digging up their own dinosaur skulls! The children really loved this trip and were excited to link it to their science learning of rocks and their history learning about the Stone Age.

In Year 4, the children have been developing their reading skills by focusing on text marking and prosody to enhance their fluency. They have been practising reading with automaticity, using expression, intonation, and phrasing to bring the text to life. This not only improves their comprehension but also builds their confidence as fluent and expressive readers.

Year 5 had a fantastic trip to the Science Museum where they engaged in a range of exciting scientific activities. They particularly enjoyed testing the different slides to identify which one had the most friction, linking their practical experiences to their classroom learning. The children made us very proud with their enthusiasm and curiosity, and their excellent behaviour was noticed and complimented by museum staff.

In Year 6, the children worked collaboratively in maths to budget menus, applying their knowledge of the four operations in real-life contexts. They showed great problem-solving skills and used reasoning to make decisions while working within their budgets. Their teamwork and communication were excellent, and it was wonderful to see them supporting each other to reach their goals.

• Monday 6th October 2025 Reception 2026 visit - Open Afternoon 3.45pm

• Wednesday 8th October 2025 - Reception trip to Rockliffe Gardens

• Thursday 9th October 2025 - Year 1 Library Trip

• Thursday 9th October 2025 - Year 2 Science Museum Trip 

• Wednesday 15th October 2025 - Parents Evening

• Thursday 16th October 2025 - Parents Evening

• Thursday 16th October 2025 - Reception Library Visit

• Monday 20th October - Friday 31st October - Half term break 2 weeks. 

• Monday 3rd November 2025 - Children return to school 

• Wednesday 5th November 2025 - Vancols photography visit 

• Thursday 6th November 2025 - Reception 2026 visit - Open Afternoon 3.45pm  

• Monday 10th November 2025 - Reception 2026 visit - Open Afternoon 3.45pm

• Friday 28th November 2025 - Inset Day - School Closed to Children