LEARNING

The children have settled back into school after the half term extremely well, take a look below to see what each year group has been up to this week!

EXCELLENCE

Doodle Maths and Times Table Rockstars

• Children across all years at Brookfield have been working hard on their Doodle Maths and times tables both at home and at school which is great! See below for the Top Doodlers and TTRStars Leaders.

• Please see further below for each year group and the learning that has been taking place this week.

OPPORTUNITY

FOREST SCHOOL

We are delighted that our children have regular access to our Forest School area. Nicky Joseph is the Forest School lead across LEO Trust and she does a fantastic job of both maintaining and enriching the Forest School environment as well as running exciting and informative nature based sessions with the children. It is great to know that such worthwhile learning is taking place outside the classroom as well as in it!

Follow our Twitter- @BrookfieldSM3 to see lots of the amazing opportunities the children at Brookfield have.

Week Commencing :

24/05/2021- Achievement Assembly

07/06/2021- Achievement Assembly

Please see the video link to our recent SRE meeting where we discussed our updated Relationship and Sexual Education.

Slides for the RSE Presentation

Further Guidance can be found on the DFE website here

We have had a great start to the half term. The children have loved being outside this week enjoying the sunshine. Reception have enjoyed reading the story 'whatever next' and learning about space. They have also been learning about time. In nursery the children have been enjoying exploring the beebots and programming them to go in different directions. They have also loved playing in the new train station role play area.

What a sunny start to our final half term in Y1! At the end of last half term you may recall our playdough flowers that we made as part of our art work. This progressed into clay flowers that we were all very proud of and we hope that yours is in pride of place on display at home! The end of our Great Fire of London topic was very exciting as Mrs. Joseph set fire to a row of houses during forest school so that we could all experience seeing the houses burn!

This week we have enjoyed starting our new book in Literacy : The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield. The children have already written a letter to Bear giving him reasons to either stay in his home forest or to head off to the city to play the piano for hundreds of people to hear. In maths this week we have been learning to recognise and name the coins an d notes … you may like to quiz your child to see which coins and notes they can name!!

Year 2 have had a great first week back! In Maths we have been revising lots of different topics such as counting money, addition, subtraction, shape and fractions. In Reading we have started to read a book called George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. We have started to write about the ingredients and equipment needed to make our own marvellous medicine! The RE topic this term is Hinduism and we are learning about where Hindus worship. We have also started learning about The Great Fire of London for our Topic lessons. In our PE lesson this week, we learnt how to improve our static balance.

Year 3 have had a fantastic first week back. In Reading, we have used Nearpod to respond to prediction questions about the book 'The Legend of Kevin'. In Maths we have continued learning to measure time in hours, minutes and seconds, both in the analogue and digital form. The RE topic this half term is Hinduism and this week we have learned where Hinduism originated and what countries practise this religion in modern times. We had a great time in our PE lessons and we practised our balance and throwing skills. In Spanish, we learned how to say what our favourite colour is.

Year 4 have had a very busy first week back after half term. Our writing focus has been writing persuasive letters as one of the characters from the book Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo . We have also been reading for pleasure around the school as you can see in the pictures below. In Maths, we have been continuing to explore Geometry, focusing on horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines of symmetry. We have just begun a new science topic and have found out about different types of electricity and have created scripts to demonstrate our knowledge of electricity. We are then going to make our own videos from these scripts. As part of our World War 2 topic, we have been exploring how much food would be in a war time food ration.

Year 5 have had a fantastic first week back after half term. In Maths, we have started looking at translating polygons- lots of concentration is needed to make sure we are accurate. In English, we are continuing to read Who Let the Gods Out. This week we have read a particularly funny chapter and many of the children were highly entertained- we wrote a newspaper report recounting the events of a disaster wedding. In Science, we started to learn about Space and have already acquired lots of useful facts. We created mnemonics to remember the names of the planets and filmed them on Flipgrid. We reviewed our understanding of timelines and chronology in Topic so we decided to create interactive timelines and make QR codes so we can display them in the classroom. This week has also been a very active week as we are competing in the Brownlee Challenge.

Year 6 have had a busy first week back. In English, we have started our Romeo and Juliet project. They were tasked with understanding the prologue and exploring Shakespeare's language choices. Maths allowed the children to become creators. They worked really hard creating their own theme parks, ensuring they were always working within their budgets. We have also began studying a new book - 'Can You See Me' by Libby Scott. The discussions around autism and how people cope with it were excellent. We were also very lucky to have been visited by Youth Engagement Officers, who spoke about the anxieties children face when transitioning to high school.

On Tuesday 25th May, Pratyush, Sophie and Ruvini took part in the Count on Us Primary Challenge. They competed against many schools across London and they did an amazing job. The competition began with the Tangrams activity followed by the Pentominoes, the 24Game and Code breaking. The activities were quite tricky but these 3 children did their very best. Well done for representing Brookfield! We are very proud of you.

Playsafe Flyer

Following recent training sessions we wanted to share some resources with you to support your child with GSuite.

Slides from the session

Youtube recording

Google Classroom Interactive Guide

Supporting Parents Helpfinder - Answer six questions to find out how you can support your child's mental health during the pandemic, see link below:

Young Minds - Supporting Parents Helpfinder

Please find below a reminder of our procedures for communicating with the school

The School Office is open daily from 8:00am – 4:30pm

Please only visit the school office/reception area if your enquiry is essential and cannot be dealt with over the telephone or by email.

If you do need to come into the school office/reception area, PLEASE ensure that you wear your face mask (unless you are exempt).

Also please note that there is a 1 in 1 out policy. If there is someone in the reception area please form a queue outside and wait your turn.

The phone number is 020 8644 8616 (the phone lines are open from 9:15am to 4:30pm)

Email: bfoffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk

Our website address is http://www.brookfield.sutton.sch.uk

The office staff can deal with all general queries and take messages for our teaching staff. If any problems should arise, please let us know as soon as possible. Class Teachers continually monitor every child’s progress and will contact you with any concerns about academic progress, behaviour and application in the classroom. Pastoral care is also offered to the children in their class and across the school. Your child’s class teacher should always be your first point of call with any general concerns that arise. If you still have ongoing concerns, please make an appointment to speak to a Middle Leader. Our Middle Leaders/Year Leaders are - EYFS Mrs Lilly Holden, Y1 Mrs Paula Holmes, Y2 Mrs Sylvia Keen, Y3 Ms Eva Rubio, Y4 Mrs Michelle Underwood, Y5 Mrs Catherine Davies, Y6 Miss Sara Brice. Any concerns that you feel still have not been addressed will be escalated to the school’s Senior Leadership Team. Our Senior Leaders are - Ms Sarah Pearson (Inclusion Manager), Ms Rachel Mander (Vice Principal), Ms Prathayini Wright (Principal) and Mrs Alison Day ( Executive Principal).

All staff have attended safeguarding training. This training is updated yearly.

The designated staff for safeguardng are Ms Prathayini Wright (Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mrs Rachel Mander (Vice Principal and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead), Ms Sarah Pearson (Inclusion Manager, Vice Principal and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mrs Catherine Davies (Class Teacher and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) and Mrs Claire Langford (Office Manager and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead). Please see our safeguarding policy and procedures on the school website.

You will be aware that the school does not authorise any holidays. Very rarely we are able to authorise leave in exceptional circumstances. You must complete a ‘Request for Special Leave’ form which are available from either Office Reception Area or the school website in order for the request to be sanctioned.

ATTENDANCE MATTERS, because…

• Children with good attendance achieve much better in their learning

• Time off disrupts learning for your child, and also for the rest of the class

• Children who miss school miss out on their right to a full education

• It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends school regularly

• Persistent unauthorised absence could lead to court action, including fines

Attendance 96% to 100% - 0 to 7 days missed per year – your child’s good attendance will give them every chance of being a successful learner who makes good progress.

Attendance 92% to 95.9% - 8 to 15 days missed per year – you should try to improve your child’s attendance to make sure they have the best possible chance of success at school.

Attendance 90% to 91.9% - 16 to 19 days missed per year – your child’s attendance is dangerously close to falling to a level which can stop them making progress at school.

Attendance below 90% - 20 or more days missed per year – your child is considered a ‘persistent absentee’ in government statistics, and their poor attendance is putting them at serious risk of underachieving at school.

DID YOU KNOW

½ day missed every week = 90% attendance

1 day missed every week = 80% attendance

1 school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons MISSED

1 school year at 80% attendance = 8 whole weeks of lessons MISSED

By the time a pupil is persistently absent (85% attendance) they have missed 6 weeks or half a term of schooling.

The simple message is: the greater the attendance, the greater the achievement.

Please where possible make dental, medical or other appointments during the holidays or out of school hours. If the appointment is during school hours we will require an appointment letter/card as proof of the appointment. If the appointment is urgent or last minute, please advise the school as soon as possible. Please do not keep your son or daughter out of school the whole day when they have appointments. When a child is collected early for an appointment it is disruptive for the class and the office staff.

Praise and reward good attendance at home and at school. During the year we will reward termly 100% attendance with certificates. Bronze certificate for 100% attendance for one term, silver certificate for 100% attendance for two terms and gold certificate for 100% attendance for three terms.

If a school can improve attendance by 1%, we will see a 5-6% improvement in attainment (Department for Education). Please help us and your son or daughter by ensuring their attendance remains above 97%, allowing them to achieve their full potential.

As you know we encourage families to walk, cycle or scoot to school where possible. I would like to remind you - cycling and scooting are not permitted on the school premises. Anybody caught doing so will be asked to get off their scooter or leave their scooter outside the school gates. Please park bikes and scooters safely and securely and ensure they are clearly named.

Safer parking at the school gates

We realise that there are some parents/carers who have no alternative but to drive their children to school, however, many are driving short distances where walking is a real option. Even those who have to drive to school can do their bit by parking away from the school entrance and walking for part of the journey.

What can you do to help keep everyone safe around the school gates?

• Please do park thoughtfully and not park in front of the local residents’ drives.

• Please don’t block the road - emergency vehicles and other traffic may need access.

• Please don't park on yellow lines, zig-zags or block the school entrance.

• Please don't park on the pavement, across dropped kerbs or residents’ driveways.

• Please don't park opposite or within 10 metres of a junction.

• Please don't park where you will cause inconvenience to other road users.

• Please don't leave your vehicle with the engine still running as the children and adults nearby will be inhaling those dangerous fumes.

• Please don't stop in the middle of the road to drop your child off, even for a few seconds.

These changes make a real difference to the congestion around school, making the school run less stressful and far safer for everyone. Not only that but they will help your child’s education. Research has shown that children who walk or cycle to school are more receptive to learning at the start of the school day than those who travel to school by car. Stopping or Parking on the yellow zigzags is illegal and is endangering your child.

Please park safely.

Walk to school and save fuel, if you can!

• If your child suffers from asthma they must have an in-date, spare inhaler in school at all times along with a spacer. These should be given to the office who will store them securely. Please check on a yearly basis that the inhaler is still fit for purpose. Please also ensure any child with an allergy has appropriate medication in school, i.e Epipen/Piriton etc. This could be life-saving.

• We ask that pupils bring in their own water bottles daily. The bottles need to be clearly labelled with the child's name and only have water in them.

• Please leave buggies and prams outside the school buildings, as it could be very hazardous in an emergency. Currently, the office is operating on a 'one in and one out' policy. Please ensure you wear a mask if you enter the school building.

• Please remember that all children in KS2 are encouraged to bring fresh fruit or vegetables to school for a mid-morning snack during playtime. Many children are really hungry by lunchtime and will be happier and learn better if they have eaten something at playtime.

• Only children in Year 6 are permitted to bring a mobile phone into school and only if absolutely necessary. Phones are stored in the office during the school day.

• No pets in the playground please especially dogs! (Excluding guide dogs). This includes owners carrying their dog in their arms. We cannot permit any pets on the premises.

• Please do not let your children climb on the climbing frames in the KS1 or KS2 playground.

• No smoking is allowed anywhere in the school or grounds.

• I would like to urge parents to remember to park thoughtfully and not park in front of the local residents’ drives or on the yellow zig zag lines in front of the school. We would like to see as many families and staff as possible walking, cycling or scooting to school.

• Please ensure that you look at your Arbor account as we are a paperless school and all information is sent via this portal. If you have any queries, please contact the school office.

We have a number of exciting opportunities arising across the Trust:

LEO Academy Trust Vacancies

Sutton Schools Nursing Service

Children, young people and families with any concerns can contact the school nursing service via phone. For parents, the school nursing duty line number 0208 770 5409 from Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. For children and young people who require support, the contact number is 0208 770 4409 9am-5pm, or the email address is

schoolnursing@sutton.gov.uk

Learning Support

Sutton College is offering to help parents support their child/ren with FREE online Family Learning English and Maths workshops and courses. Please see the link below for further details.

Family Learning

Our local jobcentre

https://www.jobcentrenearme.com/

We've asked pupils at Brookfield what they love about their school: find out what they say here!