PE days are now Tuesday and Wednesday for this half term.

This half term our geography lessons will be moving on from studying volcanoes to exploring the fascinating world of earthquakes. We have been thoroughly impressed by the outstanding projects the children have created at home, including incredible models and fact files. It is wonderful to see such enthusiasm and dedication in their learning.

In Maths, we are continuing to focus on fractions. Specifically, we are currently focusing on addition and subtraction of fractions. This is a crucial skill that will strengthen their understanding of numbers and build a solid foundation for future mathematical concepts.

In our literacy lessons, we will be comparing the cultural story of "The Rough Face Girl" to the more familiar fairy tale of "Cinderella." This comparative study allows the children to explore different perspectives and gain a deeper understanding of storytelling and cultural diversity. It promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking topic.

In design and technology, our current focus is on researching the market before designing and creating savoury pastries. This project not only nurtures their creative skills but also introduces them to the concepts of market research and consumer needs. It was great to see so many children feeling confident to taste new things.

In P.E, we will be focusing on tag rugby and gymnastics. Both of these activities promote teamwork, coordination, and physical fitness.

Our Spring 2 topic is ‘Exploring Europe’, we started our topic by identifying the different continents. We then zoomed in on Europe and identified the countries and capital cities using atlases.

In literacy, we have started to look newspaper reports, we read ‘Tuesday’ by David  Wiesner, the book doesn’t have many words so we had to use our inference skills to work out what was happening. We are going to be writing our own newspaper reports by week 3.

In maths, we have been continuing to look at fractions, decimals and percentages. We have converted, ordered, multiplied and added fractions and decimals. We are working on our problem-solving skills.

Last term in French, we studied the weather, we learned the different types of weather in French and also created our own weather reports in French.

In computing, we used TinkerCAD to create 3D models of buildings using the select, rotate, resize, group and merge tools. The children designed their own buildings on paper and then transferred this onto TinkerCAD; their designs look incredible and every one’s looked so different!

As part of our R.E curriculum we were fortunate enough to visit the Shah Jahan Mosque.  We learned about how the mosque was built and how all of the different religions came together to build it. We had a tour of the mosque and were able to ask questions about its history and purpose.  We all learned lots of facts which we applied to our R.E lessons.

We finished off our space topic last half term by looking at the phases of the moon. We used oreos to recreate the different phases of the moon to help us understand the difference between waxing and waning.

At the end of last term, we started our new World War 2 topic, ’Blitz and Pieces’, with a fantastic workshop with Mr Dilly. We learnt so much about the War and even got to role play being air raid wardens and being in the Blitz, it was very loud and very disorientating! The children had so much fun and over the half term they have managed to remember a lot of facts from our morning.

In literacy, we are continuing to read ‘War Horse’ and the children are really enjoying it. So far, we have written: diary entries, a balanced argument and a newspaper report about the beginning of the Blitz. The children listened to old radio news reports and then worked on creating their own.

In maths, we have been continuing to look at fractions, decimals and percentages. We are focusing on converting them and solving problems including them.

In computing, the children have now finished their Scratch games with moving objects and they have evaluated each others by playing them. This half term, we are moving onto creating our own webpages! The children are very excited about this unit and can’t wait to get started!

In art, we completed our street art unit and had a go at screen printing  our own designs they had made using positive and negative space. The children were very pleased with their results.

In DT this half term, we are going to be creating our own phone cases. The children will research materials to use for it and then learn a number of different sewing stitches. The children will then plan their own design and select the stitch they feel is best. Once they are completed the children can take them home and use them!

In PE, we finished our carnival dance unit and filmed our samba dances. The children did a great job at timing their moves and making sure they were all synchronized.

Online Safety

Believe, Achieve, Succeed

As part of Safer Internet week, we had class online safety workshops with our parents.  In these sessions we learnt about how to stay safe on the internet; this included cyberbullying, keeping details secure, how to be kind online and age restrictions. Here are some tips we have put together about what we have been learning.

Thank you to everyone that contributed their used or unwanted clothing items to our Happy Bags collection on Thursday 22nd February.  With your help, the collection raised £121.55 for School Fund.  Thank you!

Please can we remind parents that school dinners should be paid for in advance. Please ensure that payment for the week ahead is made by the Monday morning, the cost for one week is £14.50 (£2.90 per day). Please also note that it is also possible to pay for more than one week at a time.

Please click here to view the menus via our school website - School Meals

In addition to the above no extreme hairstyles are permitted including overly spiked, sculptured, shaved areas and razor lines/pictures. If in doubt, please ask before a visit to the hairdresser/barbers.  

All hair bands/ clips/ bows must be plain and in school colours only which are black, white, navy or sky blue, grey, or matching the school summer dresses.

As a reminder if children wish to wear a headscarf to school please ensure it is a short pullover plain navy blue or plain black scarf.

A gentle reminder earrings are not permitted.  

Lastly, a reminder that all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should only have bookbags not rucksacks in school.

If your child has recently borrowed spare clothing from school, in particular children in Reception class, year 1 and year 2 please can we ask that these are returned.  We have a washing machine onsite so you can be assured that any items returned are washed as needed.  

We are also looking for donations of spare clothing such as underwear, leggings, jogging bottoms in small sizes such as ages 4 - 8.  Please either hand into the office or to the class teacher.  Thank you for your support. 

Measles is circulating in the UK and globally, with both adults and children infected this year

Recent figures show that measles is on the rise and not enough people in Surrey are protected against this infection. Parents and adults are urged to check their families Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) records as only 83.1% of residents have had both doses the MMR vaccine by age 5, far below the 95% needed to protect all of us from the disease.

It's never too late to protect adults and children from measles:

• Please ensure your children get both their MMR vaccines – just after their first birthday and then before they start school

• If you or your children missed the MMR vaccine, please ask for it from your GP practice, particularly before travelling abroad or attending festivals this summer where social mixing gives measles the chance to spread easily.

Having the MMR vaccine benefits everyone. If enough people are vaccinated, the disease cannot spread effectively to those who cannot be vaccinated such as immunosuppressed people and very young babies.

Measles infection

Measles is extremely infectious and is mainly spread by coughs and sneezes. It often starts with cough and cold like symptoms, high fever and red sore eyes. The rash starts a few days later and can be harder to see on brown or black skin than on pale skin. It is infectious to others for several days before rash onset, and very disruptive, as those infected must avoid contact with others for 4 days after the rash begins.

You may not know if someone has measles and even passing contact presents a high risk of spreading the infection.

Most people recover fully but it can make you feel very unwell. For some it causes serious illness requiring hospitalisation and (rarely) can be fatal. Measles in pregnancy increases the risk of complications.

If you think you may have measles, please do not attend your GP surgery or hospital without phoning first, so they can provide advice.

We are aware that the pandemic has had an effect on families, but the expectation is still that every child should now be attending school full time. If you consider that there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request, please let the school have full details. Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis.

Penalty Notices to Address Poor Attendance at School

A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school (absence without the agreement of the school or not covered by a medical note) and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances :-

1. Pupils identified by police and Inclusion Officers (formerly Education Welfare Officers) engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.

2. Leave of absence in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more).

• Please be aware that The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment)  Regulations 2013, which became law on 1st September 2013 state that Headteachers may  not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

• The Headteacher is also required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.

• In such cases the Headteacher/Governing Body must decide whether there are exceptional circumstances.  They may request that the Local Authority issue Penalty Notices when the absence is not authorised.

Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.

3. Finally, the issuing of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance.

This will be considered when a pupil has incurred 7 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous 6 school weeks, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.

If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you act without delay to secure their regular attendance. 

If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement in your child’s attendance, please contact your child’s school or the Inclusion Officer.

Penalty Notice relating to Exclusions

If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours. 

This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion.  Failure to do so will render the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made available from the sixth day of any exclusion.)

Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice

The amount payable for a Penalty Notice issued in any of the above circumstances is currently £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the Notice, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.

If the Penalty Notice is not paid, the local Authority must consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court for the offence for which the Notice was originally issued.

Please be aware that each parent is liable to receive a Penalty Notice for each child who incurs unauthorised absences, for example, if there are two parents and one child, each parent will receive one Penalty Notice.

If there are two parents, and two children incur unauthorised absences, each parent will receive two Penalty Notices, which in this case would amount to £120 each if paid within 21 days.

Advice and support is available from an Inclusion Officer by contacting your local Education Office as follows :-

North West    - Tel: 01483 518130 South West      -   Tel: 01483 517179

North East    - Tel: 01372 833588  South East   -       Tel: 01737 737777

Please see below for PE days for the Spring Term

The children will need to wear their correct PE kit on their PE day. Correct PE kit consists of:

·        Sky blue Maybury t-shirt

·        Navy blue or black hooded jacket

·        Navy blue or black jogging bottoms

Trainers (only lace up if your child can tie their own laces please) 

Please bear in mind that all of these dates are subject to change