Although I am proud of the quality of digital learning available to our students, it was great to see the real depth of experiences our children are getting at Marden. From outdoor learning sessions with Mr Townsend, volcano making in 3B to some quite exceptional pieces of writing coming out of Year 6. Having access to technology is great but, it's the impact it can have on our understanding of the world and the quality of written outcomes which is key.
It was great to see you at coffee morning this week, having an open dialogue with parents and carers has always been something we've wanted and my only regret is that our first coffee morning has taken this long to come as a result of the governmnent restrictions. We look forward to putting your suggestions into action and I have organised with the kitchen to rustle up some treats for the next coffee morning!
Mr N Dosad
We held our first coffee morning of the academic year this week. It was lovely to take the time to talk to parents and hear their views on the academy and ideas for further coffee mornings. As a leadership team, we are reviewing all of the comments from the suggestion box and we will share a coffee morning schedule with you soon. We also welcomed some younger siblings to the coffee morning who wanted to share their thoughts. I think that James had a particularly good point with his suggestion below:
Replika is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot companion that its developers claim users can form an actual emotional connection with. Once users have created an account and chosen a 3D avatar, they select the type of relationship they want with the chatbot: friend, mentor or romantic partner. Using a neural network to hold an ongoing one-on-one conversation, Replika gradually becomes more like the user as it gathers data from their responses. It isn’t the only AI chatbot app available, but Replika pushes the boundaries of the concept to offer a highly realistic conversational experience.
In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as possible addiction, inappropriate content and in-app purchases.
In classrooms, staff are working with children to build skills with understanding and connections, to help develop their sense of number as well as learning and remembering facts. This helps them when problem-solving.
For example, think about knowing 4 + 7 = 11 simply as a memorised fact. Now think about knowing that 4 + 7 = 11 because it is a 3 + 7 and 1 more (linked to knowing that 10 is an important number).
The understanding of this relationship can help a student to think flexibly about 64+27. In the same way, it can be thought about as 60 + 20 + the 10 (that was made by the understanding of 4+7) and 1 more = 91
As a parent, you can support your child in thinking flexibly about how numbers are related:
What other numbers or facts is this connected to?
Example: 6 + 7=? This is like the double I know of 6 + 6 and then 1 more.
What do you know that might help you get there?
Example: 7 x 4 =? I remember that 5 x 4 = 20, so then I have to add on two more 4’s, which is 8, to get 28.
What is another way that you can know that?
Example: 4 x 25 =? I can think about money and know that 4 quarters is ÂŁ1.00 so 4 x 25 = 100
Covid-19 Update
On Wednesday 19th January, the Prime Minister announced that all Plan B measures will be removed in England, with a full return to Plan A by Thursday 27th January.
In education and childcare settings, this means:
From Thursday 27 January, face coverings are no longer recommended in communal areas for staff, and pupils and students in year 7 and above.
This decision comes in response to national infection data showing the prevalence of COVID-19 to be on a downward trajectory.
This means it is right we remove the most stringent restrictions around wearing face coverings from the academy, but the virus is still with us, and continuing with proportionate protective measures remains vital to protect education.
Times Tables Rock Stars
A big congratulations goes to this weeks winners of the class Rockstars competition, who are again 6CK, narrowly pipping 4WB to the title again. Who will be the class to knock them off their perch?
They get to keep Ringo the Rockstar Teddy due to their victory!
Excitedly, 2D have joined in the weekly battle as they begin work on their multiplication fact knowledge.
The individual class winners are:
2D: Damian D
3B: Percy P
3/4D: Jack W
4WB: Rowan T
5DK: Darcy S
5A: Lewis M
6CK: William M
In the LAT schools battle, we find ourselves in second place, but not by much. There is still 12 days to go so every chance for Marden to claim first place.
1/2S Outdoor Learning
Year 5 Outdoor Learning
As part of their Inquiry into the use of technology around the world, year 5 explored the idea of what life would be like without technology and spent some time outside learning how to make hot chocolate and bread over an open fire.
Office Messages
You want to support your children grow and develop with the resilience they need to not only face the setbacks that inevitably will come (and not just pandemics), but also be able to thrive in life. Children and young people can learn to deal with uncertainty, with your support helping them to develop the skills and strategies to bounce forward.
Raise Resilience has supported over 5000 parents, up and down the country, since March 2020, and we’ve helped them in a way that is practical and based on science. Parents recognise the benefits of spending a little time with us to learn and understand the ideas for themselves (always useful) and then use our resources with their children at home.
Join us for six 1-hour sessions to explore and build your own resilience, build self awareness about what might be getting in the way as well as helping you to notice what is going well and your strengths as a parents. You will receive learning materials to use at home with your children to help you structure the way you build resilience.
We love you to join the live sessions if you can, however if you are unable to, each session is recorded and available to catch up on-demand.
This course has been fully funded through the Frank Brake Community Foundation and Kent Community Foundation and is FREE for up to 600 parents.
RM: Erwin has had an exceptional week! He has used his inquiry skills to carefully join K - nex together to initially make parts spin but towards the end of the week created a Ferris wheel. Erwin has demonstrated outstanding engagement and commitment to developing his original ideas!
RMC: Matthew has impressed everyone this week with his phonics knowledge. He has successfully blending words to aid his reading and segmented words to be able to write them. He also has been a risk-taker and had a go at reading some tricky words that he wasn't sure about and got them right! This attitude to learning is fantastic Matthew!
1M: Delilah has worked so hard on her maths this week. Even when she finds it challenging she shows just how resilient she can be! What a fantastic Risk- taker!
1/2S: Daisy never fails to impress us. She is always keen to learn and do the right thing. She demonstrates fantastic learning behaviours every day and we are so proud of her. Well done Daisy. Keep being amazing!
2D: Mia L has shown fantastic resilience in all her learning this week, taking independent steps and giving things a go before checking in with an adult. What a great attitude to continue to develop!
3B: Amelia-Rose is always so enthusiastic towards her learning. She has had a brilliant week showing her understanding of our inquiry work. We are so proud of you! Well done.
3/4D: Franek has shown brilliant knowledge in our new maths unit of measurements. Franek has been more independent in his maths.
4WB: Annabella has had a fantastically positive attitude this week and it is really reflecting in everything she does in class (including having a big smile on her face.) It is really lovely to see and we hope it continues.
5DK: As seen on our social media channels, Betsy has completed independent action, researching and feeding back to the class on climate change. Superb work, Betsy.
5A: Arwen has had a great week. She has improved her working ability and this is reflecting in her work. Through her research, it is evident that Arwen can read a passage and understand the contents. Well done Arwen!
6CK: Ollie has been a great thinker this week, particularly in his writing, where he has carefully considered his choices of vocabulary for the greatest effect on the reader.
Billy is always sharing his love of reading with friends, during phonics sessions and during child initiated learning time. This week, he blew me away when he took my place at storytime to read a story to his friends. Billy communicated brilliantly!
Throughout the week, we have been looking closely at how we can use natural resources to created art and record our outdoor experiences. To capture the sounds of the outdoors we created wind chimes. Jordan shared his knowledge of the changing seasons when selecting colours we wanted to use.
RM Class Reminders
Team RM have enjoyed reading our new decodable texts this week. Please ensure that books are in school on Mondays and Thursdays so we can exchange then for new, exciting texts.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Johnnyjames has been an excellent communicator this week. He set out to build a helicopter, using the large loose parts in the garden, and explained, clearly, to his friends what he was doing and what the loose parts represented. Johnnyjames explained "The planks of wood are the propellers.' Well done Johnnyjames, keep up the imaginative play!
Ethan has been very knowledgeable this week. During Maths, we have been looking at ways we can make 5. Ethan was able to independently find ways to make 5 using Numicon and then he pushed himself and investigated different ways in which he could make 10. Well done Ethan, keep applying your knowledge and investigative skills!
RMC Class Reminders
Please ensure that reading books are brought in school every Monday and Thursday to be changed. We have some exciting new texts in school that we will be sharing with the children and give them the opportunity to bring home a read!
Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday for another exciting week of learning!
You have been so knowledgeable this week during our inquiries. You have shared so much information and have had a wonderful inquiring mindset. Keep it up Kai!
You have been a great risk-taker this week. You have taken on tasks that are challenging and you have tried to be the best that you can be at all times.
1M Class Reminders
If your child does the KS1 football club, please note that next week the club will be on Monday 31st January rather than the usual Tuesday. Any queries regarding this, please contact the Office.
What an incredible inquirer you are Sophie! Your Polar Bear fact file was evidence of this. You have asked questions and researched the answers to create a great piece of work. Well done!
Olby you have been trying new things and really getting stuck into your learning without any hesitation. You have been a risk-taker with your learning and we are so pleased to see you thrive. Well done Olby!
1/2S Class Reminders:
If your child does the KS1 football club, please note that next week the club will be on Monday 31st January rather than the usual Tuesday. Any queries regarding this, please contact the Office.
Well done this week Lily: you have been really knowledgeable within our inquiry work, not being afraid to put forward facts or ideas to develop all our learning. Keep up this fantastic effort as it is bringing you many successes!
You have been a real risk-taker this week Emilia and it has been wonderful to see how successful you have been with your learning. Your problem solving in maths is but one example of how far you have come- well done!
2D Class Reminders:
As you may have already seen, 2D are now involved in the weekly Times Table Rockstar battle against the KS2 classes. It would be great to think that our Year 2s could win the weekly battle so, in addition to any sessions we do at school, please encourage your children to practise their multiplication facts at home. As well as being fun, it will also help your children become more confident in the facts we are learning.
If your child does the KS1 football club, please note that next week the club will be on Monday 31st January rather than the usual Tuesday. Any queries regarding this, please contact the Office.
Has been an amazing communicator this week sharing her understanding and becoming more confident in her maths work. She has shown her understanding of mathematical language. We are very proud of you!
Tremaine has been extremely knowledgeable in his maths work this week, demonstrating his understanding of multiplication and division. He is always challenging himself and is enthusiastic to share his answers and methods. Well done!
3B Class Reminders
Please keep reading and recording on the children's bookmarks to ensure the children reach their target to receive their reward afternoon.
Another reminder that our PE day is Thursday. The children must have their PE kit in school.
Joe has been a brilliant thinker this week. He has shown great perseverance and concentration in all areas of learning, this is reflected in the work that he has produced. Well done Joe. Keep up the hard work.
James is consistently taking risks in his maths. He is confident in his knowledge and is able to explain his understanding to his peers to support them in their work. Well done James.
3/4D Class Reminders
Regular practise on TTR and Languagenut.
Read a minimum of 5 times a week for ten minutes or more.
James was brilliant at showing off his maths knowledge this week. He was being a great active participant in the lesson and was able to communicate his understanding really clearly. Well done, James.
Ethan was amazing at demonstrating his Spanish knowledge this week and was able to communicate using great pronunciation. Well done, Ethan.
4WB Class Reminders
Read, read, read!!!! We are still quite a way from the target that you set yourself and this is mainly due to lots of people forgetting to bring their reading bookmarks to school on a Friday! Remember to show off how much you have read and work towards our target.
We are always so close to beating 6CK in TTRockstars - let's see if we can do it next week! Your challenge is to try out the times tables that you find the trickiest this week, rather than the ones you already know really well...so why not try your 7's and 8's and steer away from the 2's and 10's.
HOME LEARNING:
Remember, there are only 2 more weeks of term (and then a week off.) Which of the areas of the homework tasks have you already completed? If you are yet to do any, remember to plan out which parts you are going to complete and when. There are 4 different elements: make, write, research and design. All of the details are on Google Classroom (home learning.)
Alfie has been an excellent inquirer this week, thinking about how we can use technology to support developing countries. He has researched different methods for improving lives and thought critically about sustainability.
Frankie has tried hard to improve his knowledge this week, pushing himself to learn about how technology is used around the world. He has also contributed excellent ideas to our class discussions.
5DK Class Reminders
Swimming:
Reminder to parents to please provide goggles for swimming as the swimming pool will not provide goggles.
Home Learning:
Remember, there are only 2 more weeks of term (and then a week off.) Which of the areas of the homework tasks have you already completed? If you are yet to do any, remember to plan out which parts you are going to complete and when.
Luca's research on Africa has been thoroughly observed. He has written about the technology that is used in Africa and has identified why transport and industries are important for a nation. Well done Luca for being knowledgeable.
Robbie has been incredible at maths this week. He has been trying to work on his own to solve multiplication and division questions. Robbie has shown that he can work independently and also ask for help when he needs. Well done Robbie for being a risk-taker.
5A Class Reminders
Swimming:
Reminder to parents to please provide goggles for swimming as the swimming pool will not provide goggles.
Home learning:
Remember, there are only 2 more weeks of term (and then a week off.) Which of the areas of the homework tasks have you already completed? If you are yet to do any, remember to plan out which parts you are going to complete and when.
Louis has produced an excellent descriptive narrative this week, integrating fantastic language in his writing to create imagery and drama. He has used emotive language and figurative language to great effect. Well done, Louis!
Lucas has proved himself to be an excellent communicator this week. He has expressed his ideas and knowledge confidently through his inquiry by experimenting with sentence structures and vocabulary to create a highly descriptive narrative. Lucas has also shown his strengths as a communicator when working cooperatively with others. Well done, Lucas.
Year 6 Class Reminders
Next week we will be conducting a practical investigation to help us understand how light travels in straight lines. Please could you all bring in a cereal box by Tuesday next week (make sure you have eaten the contents first!).
Please make sure you are keeping up to date with homework. We have set 2 weekly pieces so far (rainforest art and 'Wonderscape' - creating a new realm), both of which are not due to be handed in until after half term. However, if you are struggling to access the learning at home, please come and speak to us - we are only too happy to help. Mrs Williams will have a homework club on a Monday lunchtime for anyone who would like additional support. Weekly homework challenges are set on a Monday and are placed in the Home Learning Google Classroom within 'Module 3'.
Please remember that you are expected to read every day for at least 20 minutes as well as spending time practising basic skills such as times tables and spelling.