Cheam Common Weekly Newsletter
Friday 29th November 2019
Cheam Common Junior Academy: Kingsmead Avenue, Worcester Park KT4 8UT Tel: 020 8337 1844
email: ccjoffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk www.cheamcommon.org.uk
Learning Together, Aiming High
News & Information
RE DAY: SIKHISM
Last Friday, we learnt about Sikhism during our second RE day. So what did we get up to?
Year 3 explored the first Guru (Guru Nanak) through retelling the story, as well as using religious vocabulary in order to understand the 5Ks and why they are significant to Sikhs. In the afternoon, Year 3 looked at the symbolising and importance of Sikh naming ceremonies and got creative when learning about Baiksaki (Sikh New Year) by sketching the scene of celebrations.
Developing from their knowledge last year, Year 4 used their chromebooks to create a table to record notes about the 10 Gurus and created their own Gurdwaras within class and learn about the different rituals and symbols that are important to Sikhs. In the afternoon, Year 4 were learning about what it means to commit to something and what they could do to achieve their vision. Using this, they related this to Amrit (Sikh baptism) and retold the story of the Khalsa which influence Sikhs' committing themselves to God.
Year 5 learned about the inspirational Fauja Singh and how faith in a person, yourself or belief can help you achieve your goals. Year 5 were also lucky to have Mrs Judge to provide an insight into worship at home. In the afternoon, they explored Sikh marriage rituals by making comparisons between other religions and Bandi Chorr Divas (known in the Hindu religion as Diwali) and completed a comic strip to tell the story of Guru Hargobind and the emperor.
In Year 6 the last Guru (Gobind) was the key person of interest. When looking at worship, Year 6 learnt about The Golden Temple (which is in India) thinking about the key symbols and importance behind The Golden Temple and other places of worship in other religions. In the afternoon, Year 6 learnt about Sikh funerals and their perspective of life after death. With these in mind, Year 6 generated questions and informed responses to understand why funerals are important to Sikhs. When learning about festivals, Year 6 explored the celebrations of Holla Maholla, drawing our key messages from festivals and annotating storyboard messages with themes and messages.
It is clear to see that we all enjoyed our second RE day and look forward to our next one on 14th February on Buddhism!
SUTTON BOROUGH ATHLETICS' HEATS
On Monday 25th November, a group of children visited Sutton High to compete in the Indoor Athletics Borough heats. We knew that, if we wanted to qualify for the Sutton finals in January, then we needed to finish in the top 2 places.
The competition was split into two sections: Track and Field events. Field events included both jumping and throwing events, such as the Soft Javelin and the Triple Jump. The track events consisted of a variety of relay races, including the Under/Over race and Obstacle race.
We performed extremely well and our results were consistently within the top three places. Highlights from the day were the Girls’ Obstacle team, who finished 1st and fantastic performances from Bolu and Omari, who also finished 1st in the 1+1 relay race. Marlene’s incredible performance in the Speed Bounce competition was also impressive!
It was a tense wait to see whether we had qualified for the next round. At the end of the day, it was announced that we had finished 2nd overall, with St Elphege’s finishing 1st. We were all incredibly proud and are excited to compete in January!
VISIT TO CHINA 2020
This week, we held a Parents' Meeting for our Year 5 children who currently attend Mandarin Club to have the opportunity to visit China in 2020! If your child is in Year 5 and you’d like them to get involved with our Mandarin Language Programme or Sister School visit to China in October 2020, please see Miss Gunner. Details from this meeting were emailed to those children's parents who currently attend Mandarin lessons this week.
YEAR 6 B TEAM ACTION
Well done to our Year 6 B Football team for a great performances during this Monday's Sutton & Cheam League football match at Sutton United. We played an exciting 2-2 draw v. our friends from Cheam Park Farm. Well done all and good luck the rest of the season.
CHRISTMAS DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Over the next few weeks, classes across the school will be working on a Design & Technology project to create a variety of Christmas crafts ready to sell to children and parents. After school, on Wednesday 11th December, parents and carers will be invited to purchase the crafts. Which class and year group will create the most successful business? How many products can we sell? How much money can we raise? Watch this space to find out what your class/year group will be creating!
BOOKS FOR SCHOOLS CAMPAIGN
START COLLECTING TOKENS TODAY!
We have signed up to The Sun's Books For School Campaign. The Sun are printing tokens in their paper for schools to collect this month. If we reach the target, we will receive a bumper pack of books containing more than 100 titles, worth £600. Each box will also contain bonus picture book There’s A Snake In My School, by No1 best-selling author David Walliams.
Please start collecting as many tokens as you can from family and friends. The tokens can be posted in the school office. Thank you for your support!
ATTENDANCE MATTERS!
Here is our weekly attendance round up, with figures for each class since the start of the year. Our target for our attendance is 97%.
Well done to 3H, 4S, 3B, 5J, 4SM and 5A for their ‘gold’ attendance.
As the winter weather begins, lots of children may develop colds and coughs. Wherever possible, please send your child to school. Most often, once the school day is underway, children perk up. If they are too unwell to be at school, a member of the school office would contact home.
Please remember that our school gates close at 8:45am. Children who arrive after this time are missing a significant amount of learning time in the classroom as they begin fluency activities from the moment they arrive. If a child arrives at 8:30am, they are completing an extra 30 minutes of fluency tasks every day; this adds up to 2.5 hours a week. Children arriving at 8:45am will receive an extra hour and 15 minutes of extra fluency work compared to children who arrive after this time. This makes a huge different to children’s learning and progress they make.
If you would like to discuss any issues with regards to attendance then please see Miss Gunner.
CHOIR & ORCHESTRA CONCERT
Come & join us for our annual Junior Choir & Orchestra Christmas Concert next Wednesday, 4th December, at 9.15am in the school hall.
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN LEARNING THIS WEEK?
Year 4 have been carrying out their own lines of enquiry in Science this week linked to their topic, Teeth and Healthy Eating. They worked collaboratively on Google Sheets to produce a graph to show their results.
This week was the final week of Barvember and Year 6 have been busy coming up with solutions to the daily challenges from White Rose. We were delighted to hear that their work was spotted by White Rose who awarded them as this week's winners! Well done all!
Year 6 have also been working collaboratively to come up with three different methods to solve their In Focus task in Maths.
Inspired by the Saga of Bjorn, Year 4 have been designing their own clay pots. They practised using the coiling technique with Plasticine, ready to move on to clay next week. We can’t wait to see how they get on!
YEAR 6 SATS WEEK
MONDAY 11th – FRIDAY 15th MAY 2020
If your child is in Year 6 they will be taking their KS2 SATs in May. Children in Year 6 must attend school during the week commencing 11th May 2020. As these tests are a statutory legal requirement and cannot be taken at any other time, the Governing Body does not allow Miss Gunner to authorise absence for any reason during this period, therefore any absence will be unauthorised and the Local Authority could take further action. Please consider this when booking holidays for next term.
CASUAL CYCLE INSTRUCTORS
£12.23 - £13.61 per hour
The Sustainable Transport Team is seeking to recruit Cycle Instructors in the Sutton area to deliver Bikeability, the national cycle training programme for children. As one of our professional trained instructors you could earn up to £420.16 per week to deliver our standard Bikeability courses involving 20 hours of contact with riders plus time for course administration and travel. Our Bikeability sessions are typically 10.00 - 12.00 and 13.00 - 15.00, plus travel time. All instructors must train on a 4-day National Standard Instructor course. It is an advantage if you already hold this qualification although not essential as training will be arranged for the right candidates.
So if you are a regular cyclist, have good road sense, are a good communicator and enjoy working outdoors, then this could be just the job for you. If appropriate you will receive further training in First Aid and Cycle Maintenance.
For an informal discussion about these positions please telephone Eric Chasseray, Sustainable Transport Officer on 020 8547 5826 or email eric.chasseray@kingston.gov.uk
PLEA FOR BOARD GAMES
Wanted!
We would like to start a board game lunchtime club. If anyone has any unwanted board games we would be most grateful.
Please hand them in to the office or give them to Mrs Hart.
Thank you, as always, for your support.
WEATHER UPDATES
In the event of snow or extreme weather over the winter period, please check the school website for updates or changes to the school routine.
We will also update our Twitter Page and the Open Check website.
SNACKS AT BREAK TIME
A reminder to parents that we encourage children to bring a piece of fruit or vegetable for their break time snack. The children get quite hungry during the course of their morning lessons. Please remember other snacks are not permitted for morning break time. No crisps, chocolate or nuts!
Thanks for your support.
YEAR 3 DRUMMING ASSEMBLY
Our Year 3 children are looking forward to sharing what they have been learning in their music lessons this term. This assembly will take place on Tuesday 10th December.
Each class will have a 15 minute rehearsal before the performance.
Each class will perform at the following times in the school hall:
3H - 9:15-9:30am
3B - 9:45-10:00am
3L - 10:15-10:30am
3G - 10:45-11:00am
Please come along and support the children - Grandparents are welcome.
CHRISTMAS PRODUCTIONS
Year 5 & 6 Christmas Production - Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
Monday 16th December
9.15am, 2pm and 7pm
Year 3 & 4 Christmas Production - Five Gold Rings
Tuesday 17th December
9.15am, 2pm and 7pm
Please book your tickets online at: https://cheamcommonjunior.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/
Shows will open for bookings on Monday 2nd December at 9am.
We are anticipating a high demand for seats for the evening performance so in the first instance these are limited to two per family. Tickets for the daytime performance are unlimited. These performances are perfect for Grandparents and other family members.
BREAKFAST & AFTER SCHOOL CLUB DATES
Please note that Cheam Common After School Club will finish at 6pm on Thursday 19th December and will return on Monday 6th January 2020 for Breakfast Club at 7:30am as usual.
SCHOOL CHRISTMAS DINNER - 18TH DECEMBER
Our School Christmas Dinner will be on Wednesday 18th December. If your child is usually a school dinner on this day then they will have this as usual. All children will receive a Christmas Cracker!
If you would like your child to have a Christmas Dinner then please pay via ParentPay. A letter with further details will go out shortly.
You can also find the menus for this half term here.
Follow us on Twitter!
You can get all of the latest news and updates from Cheam Common by following us on Twitter. We use our Twitter account as the news feed of Cheam Common Junior. We also use Twitter to keep parents up to date with residential trips, sports and music news, year group trips and other areas of school life.
Please find below our term dates for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
These are also available on our website.
Learning
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Each week we put a brief synopsis of one of our Battle of the Books in the newsletter from a year group’s book list.
This week’s book is ‘The Boy who Biked the World’ by Alastair Humphreys.
Tom really wants to be an explorer. His favourite book is an atlas and he follows adventurers not footballers. His schooldays are spent daydreaming about travelling from Tibet to Timbuktu. A private wish blurted out loud started his freewheeling adventure: I'm going to cycle round the world. His classmates laughed. No one believed him, least of all his teacher. The mountains will be too high! The desert is too hot! Everyone shouted their reasons why his dream was impossible. It was a funny thing, the more that people told him he couldn’t do it, the more Tom found himself wanting to prove them wrong.
Remember to fill in a book review once you have read a book so that your teacher can stamp your bookmark!
You can find your child's Battle of the Books suggested book list on our school website via the following link:
http://www.cheamcommon.org.uk/website/supporting_the_curriculum/331291
Here you will find most books listed, however we are continually updating and showcasing our recommended reads as new books are released.
MAD ABOUT MATHS
Welcome to our weekly science bulletin. Here you will find interesting facts and activities all about science! Every week we will discuss a new topic and we will also be finding out what each year group have been learning about in their science lessons. If you complete the follow up activities or research the topics please present your findings to Miss Lane. Your work may even make onto our twitter page!
This week… Conversation: Wildcat Kittens to be reintroduced to England
Wildcat kittens are going to be released into the wild in England for the first time in 150 years. The species was once widely seen across England and Wales but the animal has not been seen in natural conditions in more than a century, largely due to loss of habitat and because of hunting.
There are still a few dozen of the animals in Scotland but it is at risk of extinction. But now a conservationist in Devon has started his own breeding programme. Derek Gow is a farmer and expert on mammal reintroduction and has a wildcat breeding complex on his farm. He hopes to breed the wildcats and release some into the wild in three years time. The British wildcat resembles the sort of cat you might have as a pet, but is larger with a wider face and thicker fur. These animals have been living in Britain since the last Ice Age!
Over to you! Why is it important that animals do not become extinct? You can find out more about the wildcats and the programme here https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/50208175
Please present your findings to Miss Lane!
PETRONAS TOWERS
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
Can you find out the answers to these questions?
Present your answers in anyway you like and give them to Mr Wood by 6th December.
Found in…(Country/Continent)
Opened in…(Date)
Designed by…
Fun fact...
CHRISTMAS PUDDING CAKE POPS
Ingredients
200g madeira cake
140g-160g white chocolate
1 orange, zest finely grated
To decorate
300g dark chocolate, 60-70% cocoa solids, broken into chunks
50g white chocolate, broken into chunks
Sugar holly decorations or red and green writing icing
Method
Pulse the Madeira cake in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over just simmering water or in the microwave. Shop bought Madeira cake can vary in texture so you may need to add a little extra melted white chocolate to make the mixture stick into balls. Stir the orange zest into the chocolate, then work the chocolate into the crumbs using your hands.
Form into 10 small truffle-sized balls, then roll gently in your palms to smooth the surface. Arrange the balls on a baking parchment-lined dinner plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the mixture to set.
Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave or over a bowl of just simmering water. Dip a lolly stick into the melted chocolate about 1.5cm in and poke half way into a cake ball. Repeat with the remaining balls. Put them back on the plate. Return to the fridge for five minutes.
Dip the cake pops one at a time into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off and spin the pops to even out the surface. Poke the pops into a piece of polystyrene or cake pop holder if you have one, keeping the pops apart. Allow to set for about half an hour.
Heat the white chocolate in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Allow to cool for a few minutes until it has a thick, runny consistency. If the chocolate is too hot, it will melt the dark chocolate underneath so make sure you do not overheat it. Spoon a small amount on top of the cake pops and tip them back and forth so that it runs down the sides a little. If you have holly decorations, set one on each pop. If using writing icing, wait for another 20 minutes or so until the white chocolate has set. To avoid a bloom on the chocolate, cover the cake pops in chocolate on the day you want to eat them – or the day before at the earliest.
Pipe on holly leaves with the green icing and two little dots for berries using the red. Once finished, store them in a cool place, though not the fridge.
Why not ask your child how they used our Word of the Week?
Year 3:
prompt
Year 4:
immediate
Year 5:
abrupt
Year 6:
instantaneous
Excellence
Star of the Week Certificates
Congratulations to the following children who received the Star of the Week Awards last week:
Year 3
3B: Thomas
3G: Iylah
3H: Abhi
3L: William
Year 4
4H: Pema
4RM: Danyo
4SM: Emma
4S: Tosin
Year 5
5A: Michael
5C: Louis
5J: Hamza
5W: Brooke
Year 6
6C: Charlotte
6K: Marlene
6P: Boris
6S: Sara
PRIDE Values Certificates
Congratulations to the following children who received the Pride Values Awards last week:
Year 3
3B: Barnaby
3G: Ethan
3H: Alexander
3L: Tommy
Year 4
4H: Darcey
4RM: James F
4SM: Jack A
4S: Daniel
Year 5
5A: Usman
5C: Callum
5J: Ryan
5W: Jack
Year 6
6C: Crispin
6K: Chuck
6P: Emma C
6S: Harry M
Cheam Common Rights Respecting Schools' Certificates
Congratulations to the following children who have displayed outstanding, respectful behaviour last week:
Year 3
3B: Ezre
3G: Hudson
3H: Sally
3L: Leo
Year 4
4H: Uswah
4RM: Pratyusha
4SM: David
4S: Sesandi
Year 5
5A: Aurora
5C: Shreya
5J: Sarya
5W: Nisha
Year 6
6C: Rose
6K: Tiffany
6P: Marcus
6S: Jake
144 Club
The children in the 144 Club know all their times tables up to 12 x 12. Membership of the Club has to be achieved each term! Congratulations to the following children who are now members of the club:
Year 3:
Kaelen, Dhwarika, Alexa & Eunyu
Year 4:
Sophie, Uswah, Jacob & Jack A
Year 5:
Cameron & Amy
Year 3 have started preparing themselves to enter the 144 club by completing 72 times table questions in under 5 minutes.
Congratulations to
Megan, Sebastian, Seyi, Shafiq, Silvia, Sofian, Thomas, Orla, Harry, Khyrell and Cian
who managed to get into the Year 3 '72 Club.'
Times Table Rockstar Leader Board
This week saw the boys take on the girls in a whole school Times Table Rockstar Battle. It has been a close competition all week with the leaders changing daily, however it was the girls who came out on top! Congratulations! Below are also the leading 'Rockstars' for the boys and girls this week. Well done all!
Opportunity
LEO Lottery
- Start supporting us TODAY for only £1 per week.
- Buy a ticket this term and you could win £25,000.
- 40% of the ticket sales goes to our trust.
- There is a GUARANTEED cash prize winner every week.
- It only takes a couple of minutes to buy a ticket
- Click HERE to buy your tickets today
- Tickets can be purchased by anyone over the age of 16 including parents, staff, family members, friends and work colleagues so please help us promote this new initiative. The more tickets we sell, the bigger the prize pot!
You can make a BIG DIFFERENCE to our trust!
Sporting Fixtures
Here are some of the dates for our sporting fixtures so far this term. Please check the dates section regularly as new dates may be added.
GIRLS' FOOTBALL:
Monday 9th December, CCJ vs Barrow Hedges, Y5&6 Girls’ Borough League
Thursday 16th January, CCJ vs Dorchester, Y5&6 Girls’ Borough League
Friday 31st January, CCJ vs All Saints Benhilton, Y5&6 Girls’ Borough League
Friday 14th February, CCJ vs Robin Hood, Y5&6 Girls’ Borough League
Y6 BOYS' A FOOTBALL:
Thursday 5th December, CCJ vs St Dunstan’s, Y6 Boys’ A Sutton & Cheam League
Tuesday 14th January, CCJ vs Cheam Park Farm, Y6 Boys’ A Sutton & Cheam League
Friday 24th January, CCJ vs Westbourne, Y6 Boys’ A Sutton & Cheam League
Friday 6th March, CCJ vs Avenue, Y6 Boys’ A Sutton & Cheam League
Friday 20th March , CCJ vs St Cecilia’s, Y6 Boys’ A Sutton & Cheam League
Y6 BOYS' B FOOTBALL:
Monday 25th November, CCJ vs Cheam Park Farm, Y6 Boys’ B Sutton & Cheam League - 2:2
Monday 2nd December, CCJ vs St Cecilia’s, Y6 Boys’ B Sutton & Cheam League
Thursday 12th December, CCJ vs Avenue, Y6 Boys’ B Sutton & Cheam League
Monday 3rd February, CCJ vs Avenue, Y6 Boys’ B Sutton & Cheam Cup 1st Round
All league games above to be played at Sutton United with a 3.45pm Kick Off.
Dates For Your Diary
Here are the dates for this term. Dates may change and we will notify you as soon as possible if this happens. Please check the dates section regularly as new dates may be added.
DECEMBER
Monday 2nd December – Christmas decorations up this week!
Wednesday 4th December – Orchestra & Choir Christmas Concert to Parents, 9.15am
Wednesday 4th December – Orchestra & Choir Christmas Concert to the school, 10am
Thursday 5th December – Year 3 Science Museum & Sleepover
Friday 6th December – Science Day
Monday 9th December - School Council visit to Houses of Parliament
Tuesday 10th December – Year 3 Music Assembly to Parents
Tuesday 10th December - Rock Steady Concert to Parents
Wednesday 11th December – Christmas Pantomime for all Year Groups, 9.30am - TBC
Friday 13th December – Christmas Jumper Day
Friday 13th December – Y5&6 Christmas Production to the school, 10.45am
Friday 13th December – Y3&4 Christmas Production to the school, 1.45pm
Monday 16th December – Y5&6 Christmas Production, 9.15am, 2pm and 7pm
Tuesday 17th December – Y3&4 Christmas Production, 9.15am, 2pm and 7pm
Wednesday 18th December – Christmas Dinner, 11.45am – 1.30pm
Wednesday 18th December - Class Christmas Parties, 1.15pm – 3.15pm
Wednesday 18th December - House Point Winners’ - MUFTI Day
Thursday 19th December - End of Term Merit Assembly, 9:15am
Thursday 19th December – Christmas Carols & Songs in the Hall at 11am
Thursday 19th December - Last Day of Term, school finishes at 2:15pm
Friday 20th December – Friday 3rd January – Christmas Holiday