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

A very happy Friday to you all. We’ve had a fantastic few weeks at school, filled with exciting learning experiences, trips and visits. As we move into our last week of the term, we are proud of the hard work and progress our children are making in their classrooms. 

This was celebrated with you all in our Autumn parents' evenings, which we saw rollover Wednesday and Thursday evening. A heartfelt thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to attend; your involvement and commitment isis vital in supporting your child's growth and development. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to discuss your child's achievements and next steps, and we appreciate the time you took to engage in these important conversations. Your partnership is key to helping our children thrive. For those families who were unable to attend, please make contact with your child’s class teacher; we aim to meet with all parents before the end of the half term. 

On Monday, we kicked off the week with an assembly celebrating Recycle Week. In a fun-filled session, we explored how recycling connects to the global themes that underpin our curriculum. We discussed how we can be agents of change, how our curriculum encourages us to reflect on our choices, and what actions we can take to help the planet. We also presented a challenge: how could the children persuade Miss Roper to change her mind when she stated, "Recycling isn’t important... Who cares what the impact on the world will be in many years’ time? That will be for a different generation to deal with—I just care about now." The children, initially speechless at the thought, spent the week developing their arguments, which they presented to Miss Roper during Friday’s assembly. We are pleased to say that Miss Roper was convinced by the children’s passionate responses and is now a committed changemaker too! Phew!

Monday was certainly a busy day, as we had the pleasure of welcoming PC Collier to Rockliffe to share stories about inspirational figures and leaders in relation to Black History Month. The police officer read to children from Reception all the way up to Year 6, which was met with great enthusiasm and excitement. We are also looking forward to welcoming PC Collier back to Rockliffe in Autumn 2, where she will discuss policing and safety with our children.

Parents' evening wasn’t the only time we welcomed parents into Rockliffe this week. We had a fantastic turnout for our Reception and Year 1 phonics stay and learn session. This event gave parents the opportunity to join in the classroom learning, followed by an informative presentation delivered by Mrs. Aliaj, our phonics lead. The session was fantastic as parents gained insight into how phonics is taught, saw firsthand the strategies used to support early reading, and learned practical ways to help their children at home. It was wonderful to see so many parents actively engaging in their child's education and strengthening the home-school partnership. Our tweet even caught the attention of Little Wandle, who commented that ‘it was fantastic to see so many parents and carers… we know what a positive difference it makes when families are involved in their child’s reading journey’.. Go Rockliffe! 

We look forward to welcoming our parents from Year 2-6 next Wednesday for our reading fluency and whole-class reading sessions. This will be another great opportunity to observe classroom learning in action and learn more about how we foster reading skills and confidence in older children. For more information please see the parental engagement letter. An email reminder will be sent on Monday also. 

On Thursday we were delighted to announce our Junior Leadership Team (JLT) for this academic year. The atmosphere during the assembly filled the hall with excitement and support. It was wonderful to see the genuine happiness and encouragement the children extended to their peers who were selected. These will not be the only leadership roles for the children at Rockliffe Manor as we believe that instilling leadership qualities in our young learners is crucial for their personal growth and development. It teaches them responsibility, confidence, and the ability to collaborate effectively with others. Our JLT members are sure to exemplify these qualities as they embark on their leadership roles, and we look forward to their contributions to our school.

And before we wish you well, we want to remind you that Chartwells will be joining us for our coffee morning next Tuesday in the music room. This session will be a wonderful opportunity for you to learn more about their lunch offerings. The Chartwells team will be on hand to answer any questions you may have and welcome your feedback. We encourage you to take advantage of this chance to discover more about the meals available to our children and share your thoughts directly with the team. We hope to see lots of you there! 

As we wrap up this week, 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 … 

Nursery this week have been enjoying learning all about their senses. The children shared and discussed what senses we have and what is its purpose. After they developed their understanding the children had an opportunity to explore their sense of taste and smell during a taster session. Dolce said ‘These crisps are too spicy, I’m going to need a drink’. Ted said ‘This spice smells so strong, it's tickling my nose’.

Children in Reception this week have been enjoying reflecting on their first term at school. We looked back at photos of our learning journey and evaluated what we enjoyed the most and what we did not enjoy so much. The children had the opportunity to collaborate and speak with their talk partners before sharing their likes and dislikes to the rest of the class. Arthur H said ‘I am going to use my phonics learning to help me write birthday cards for my friends’.

Year 1 has been busy this week on their first trip to the library! The children showed Rockliffe values walking to and from the library and loved exploring all the books on offer. They had the chance to pick out their own books to bring back to school and look forward to reading them during a story time session. They can’t wait to visit again next half term. 

In Year 2 this week, the children have been learning how to add by making ten. They used their knowledge of number bonds to ten to partition one number before adding the remaining part. They demonstrated a growth mindset while building this important skill. In English, the children have begun writing their final outcome, a letter of encouragement. Miss Roper has been impressed by their use of 'power of three' sentences!

In year 3, the children have been writing their 1st person narrative based on their core text; The Hunter. In order to complete their narrative, they needed to successfully use a range of expanded noun phrases and figurative language; the children have wowed Miss White with their writing so far. In Art, the children have continued to work on their final outcome and have begun their repeated pattern printing.

In year 4, the children have shown remarkable progress in their maths addition skills. Their confidence with adding 4 digit numbers has noticeably improved, and they work efficiently both individually and in groups. The class demonstrated a strong understanding of the key strategies, such as exchanging and breaking down complex sums. They also had a very successful trip to The Slade Church, linked to their RE topic on why worship is so important to different religions. 

Year 5 loved their core text, ‘A Long Walk to Water’ and they were delighted to have read the whole story. As part of their outcome, the children have written a biography using a range of cohesive devices to structure their writing. The children have been so proud of their learning and have enjoyed sharing their facts with others around the school. 

Year 6  has shown great enthusiasm and resilience in English. The children unleashed their creativity to write a very detailed internal monologue to express a character's emotions. It was enjoyable reading all their work and seeing how far the children have come since the start of the year.

• Monday 21st October 2024 - Year 2 Women Inventors Workshop

• Monday 21st October 2024 - Year 6 Natural History Museum Trip 

• Monday 21st October 2024 - 15:45 Reception 2025 visit 

• Tuesday 22nd October 2024 - Chartwells Coffee Morning - All Welcome

• Thursday 24th October 2024 PM - Reception Library Visit

• Friday 25th October 2024 - 3PM F.O.R Cake Sale - Music Room (please bake and bring change)

• Half Term Monday 28th October - Friday 1st November 2024 - Children return to school Monday 4th November 2024

• Wednesday 6th November 2024 - Vancols Individual & Sibling photos

• Thursday 7th November 2024 - 15:45 Reception 2025 visit

• Monday 11th November 2024 - 15:45 Reception 2025 visit

• Wednesday 13th  November 2024 - Oxleas Height & Weight Reception & Year 6 

• Thursday 21st November 2024 - 15:45 Reception 2025 visit

• Monday 25th November 2024 - 15:45 Reception 2025 visit

• Tuesday 27th November 2024 - Chartwells Coffee Morning - All Welcome

• Thursday 28th November 2024 - Oxleas Flu Vaccinations - Reception to Year 6

• Friday 29th November 2024 - School Closed for INSET DAY.