Welcome to our weekly newsletter!

Welcome back, everyone! 

I am very pleased to inform you that on Monday 22nd April, Mrs Rymill had a beautiful baby girl weighing 8lb 10oz.  

Mum and baby are both doing well.  

Earth day

We would like to say a massive 'Thank you' to Friends of Cheam Common for the wonderful Rainbow which is painted in our 'quiet area' of the playground.  

This completes our sensory/quiet corner of the playground where children can go for some quiet time as well as share a book.  

The children thoroughly love the space.

Thank you!

This week Nursery read the fairy tale 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.   

Can they tell you who the characters in Jack and the Beanstalk are?

Developing their fine motor skills, they have made their own beanstalks using different materials.  They have also measured the height of the beanstalks using cubes.  They have also been practising their letter formation in salt as well as writing some letters while holding a pencil correctly.  

They have also had lots of fun learning how to programme the Beebots.  

Amazing work!

 This week Reception have been learning all about nocturnal animals. They read 'Owl Babies' and wrote speech bubbles for the owlets.  They independently wrote owl facts, labelled an owl and created story maps.

In science they have been sorting nocturnal and diurnal creatures and thinking about why some animals prefer to stay awake all night.

Our number of the week was 12. In maths children have been practising combining amounts by 'counting on' from 5. They have also practised doubling using feathers.

Can you ask them what double 3 is?

For Earth Day the children used giant leaves to create a giant footprint in our outside area. 

Well done Reception!

Year 1 have really enjoyed their learning this week.  They are all feeling very settled in their new English groups and are confidently showing their abilities to their new teachers.   The children begun the week writing how the little girl was feeling and joined two ideas using 'and' or 'because'. The children re wrote the story of 'Wild', using time words writing the beginning, middle and end.  They tried really hard to use time words, include adjectives to describe and join two sentences. They wrote some lovely stories about Wild.. 

As mathematicians, the children have been learning doubling. They begun the week painting spots on butterflies and finding doubles to 20 and practically explored using numicon. They moved onto writing doubles 3 +3  = 6, 8 + 8  =16 and used their maths no problem book, seesaw and journal to really embed doubling.

Can you ask your child - What is double 6? What is double 9? 

As scientists, the children are continuing their learning about plants and different types of plants. The children explored a variety of plants and flowers and sorted them. They loved planting their own seeds and beans and are excited to see them grow. 

Can you ask your child - What do plants need to grow? 

As geographers, the children recapped the similarities between the town and countryside. They identified physical features and human features in both towns and countryside. 

Can you ask them to find some human features on your walk home from school?

Acting as an Artist, the children continued their learning on 'Flora and Fauna'. 

In P.E. the children enjoyed learning ball skills, trying to catch with control and throw with accuracy.  They used large balls to start and moved onto smaller balls and they found catching a smaller a lot more difficult, some really liked the challenge. 

This term, Year 2 are reading Roald Dahl's 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. This week they have been looking at the features of instructions - to help them make potions! 

Can they give you any examples of 'bossy'/imperative verbs?

As geographers, they have started looking at, and learning facts about, the country of China.  

Can they tell you any facts about China e.g. the capital city or one of the longest rivers?

In maths, they have been looking at the properties and names of different 3D shapes as well as using part-part whole to identify different ways of making 2 digit numbers.

Can they tell you the properties of a cube?

Please check the dates section regularly as dates may change and new dates will be added.

Friends Update

There are many different views about physical chastisement, but it is widely accepted there are much more effective ways to teach children right from wrong. 

As a local authority, Sutton has seen a number of children coming to the attention of police and social care due to the use of physical chastisement and as such has worked with other local authorities on an initiative to reduce this number. 

In line with this initiative, we agree that anything that causes harm to a child is unacceptable.

As a school, we have a duty to report incidents of suspected or confirmed physical chastisement to social care and the police and this can be with ot without visible bruising, grazes, scratches, minor swelling, cuts as well as stress injuries from prolonged standing, position holding as these are banned by law in the United Kingdom.

Smacking or chastising that does not leave a mark is now illegal in Wales and Scotland, and there is currently pressure being placed on the Government to make it illegal in England and Northern Ireland too. It is therefore important to understand that even if a child has been smacked but no injuries are visible, social care or the police may still choose to take further action.

If you would like support on how to manage your child’s behaviour at home, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help. 

Safeguarding Team

DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION TALK

On Tuesday 30th April, Alison Szalay, who is the Senior Specialist Advisory Teacher for Wiltshire County Council is delivering a talk about "Dyslexia Friendly Teaching".  She will be discussing what dyslexia-friendly schools look like, why developing a dyslexia -friendly school is important, what a dyslexia -friendly school looks like in practice and the impact it can make.

The last 15 minutes of the talk will be a chance to ask questions. 

If you would like to attend this Virtual webinar, please register by emailing: cda.meetings@gmail.com

Surrey County Council encourages residents to foster

Fostering is an incredibly rewarding experience that can transform the lives of both the children being fostered and the foster carers themselves. Children who enter the care system have often experienced trauma and instability in their lives, and a caring, stable foster family can make a significant difference in their wellbeing and development.

Nationally, there are currently over 70,000 children living with foster families in the UK. However, there is still a significant shortage of foster carers, with around 9,265 new foster families needed in the next year alone. In Surrey, there are over 1,000 children in care and Surrey County Council have just under 400 foster families.

Foster carers come from all walks of life and backgrounds, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to fostering. Whether you are single or married, young or old, own your own home or rent, you can still become a foster carer. The most important thing is a willingness to provide a safe and loving home for a child in need.

This is the message that Surrey County Council is promoting in national recruitment film ‘Any of Us’. The short film has been jointly funded by over 80 councils across England and aims to raise awareness about fostering, particularly among those people who may not have previously considered themselves suited to fostering. The film looks at the potential of three people from different backgrounds to become foster carers, and the potential of children they care for to grow and thrive. ‘Any of Us’ will be available to watch from 26 September.

If you have ever thought about fostering, now is the time to take that first step and find out more. The more people who consider fostering, the greater the chance of finding loving, stable homes for children in Surrey who desperately need them.

You can contact Surrey County Council Fostering Service on 0800 096 9626, via email at fostering.recruitment@surreycc.gov.uk or by visiting the website; www.surreycc.gov.uk/fostering

You can watch ‘Any of Us’ via Any of Us - YouTube and connect with the Fostering Service on social media via @surreyfostering

Dads' Football

Some Cheam Common School Dads get together on a weekly basis to play football and have a good chat. 

Join us in our WhatsApp group! ( https://chat.whatsapp.com/FwN7SksNXnBIxanYRJ9TEc) 

See you on the pitch!

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Thank you