Maynards Green CP School
HEADTEACHER'S UPDATE
Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,
It doesn't seem like 5 minutes since we returned to school in September and yet in one more week we will have reached the half way point of the academic year. In order to keep you informed about your child or children's progress so far and to make sure both you and they know what they need to work on to achieve their targets at the end of the year we will, as usual, be sending out interim reports during the week beginning, 4th of March. Please do take the time to read these and share them with your children. If there is anything about the report or the targets that you would like to discuss with your child's class teacher, we will be holding 'drop in' sessions after school in the week beginning 11th March.
Following conversations with parents regarding the number of parents and carers trying to exit school through only one gate from the Reception playground, I wanted to share with you the reason for this. Once children have been passed to their class teacher/ TA and are in the care of the school, we have to be sure they do not leave the school grounds and therefore all gates must be manned at drop off time. However, we do not have enough staff to be in the classrooms and on all 4 gates at the same time, so we decided to have only 3 exits in the morning: Tubwell Lane, the Cuckoo Trail and the main entrance. After careful consideration of your comments, we have decided that in the afternoons, when children are released back into the care of their parents and carers, we will open both Reception gates to ease congestion. However, parents and carers need to be aware that the gates will be unmanned.
I know that if you have any issues with school or the education of your children your first port of call is always their class teacher but I am aware that some of you may not be confident with who to go to for help after that. As we have recently added a Phase Leader for Year 1 and Reception to our structure, I thought I would give a 'who's who' of the leaders in the school:
Christina Green - Phase Leader Reception and Year 1
Jane Taylor - Phase Leader Year 2 and Year 3
Sophie Francis - Phase Leader Years 4, 5 and 6.
In addition: Amy Jones-SENCO and Carly Townsend-Designated Safeguarding Lead & Deputy Head
Finally, on behalf of the Governors and staff, I would like to thank everyone who completed the Governors' online Parent/ Carer Survey, the responses to which were overwhelming positive and have been shared with all staff.
Kind regards
Karen Cromwell
Headteacher
Gentle Reminders
Communication - How can I find out what is going on at school?
Arbor messages and emails - these provide reminders, emergency and health messages as well as information about class visits and visitors.
Newsletters - These let you know what the children have been learning in school, celebrate achievements, provide dates of future events and useful safeguarding information
Website - Curriculum information by subject and year group as well as knowledge organisers - all of which let you know what your child will be learning across the year.
Face to Face - Book looks, drop- ins and parents' evenings as well as informal chats will keep you abreast of the progress your child is making.
Measles
As you will have seen in the media, cases of measles are rising across England, including among children. It’s an infection that spreads very easily and for some people can cause serious problems.
As there’s no specific medical treatment for measles, the Government recommends that the best protection for children and adults against measles and becoming seriously unwell is to get both doses of the MMR vaccine.
Please click on the below for more information.
What to do if you think your child has measles
Boom Reader
As you know, reading is a high priority at Maynards Green. We appreciate that if children are not fluent readers then they will struggle to access the other areas of the curriculum. In school we give daily reading and phonics lessons to all children, daily story time, regular visits to the school library as well as raising the profile of reading through Book Fairs, World Book Day etc. What can you do to help? I hear you ask. The answer is read, read, read with your children and share their progress via Boom Reader. If you are unable to access Boom Reader or have lost your password, please ask your child's class teacher.
Attendance
Link to our attendance policy - click here
Year R - 97.1%
Year 1 - 94.8%
Year 2 - 97.1%
Year 3 - 96.5%
Year 4 - 96.8%
Year 5 - 96.4%
Year 6 - 96.8%
There are a number of ways that we promote British Values. One of these is through stories. Click to find suggestions of stories that support the teaching of Democracy that you read at home.
Reception
We have had a great time learning about space! We have watched the video of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and Chris Hadfield brushing his teeth in space. We have also learnt about Mae Jemison and the way she was the first Afro-Carribean lady in space. All of these astronauts had big dreams when they were children and they all got to achieve those dreams of going into space.
We are also on our second week of Drawing Club where we have watched 'The Jetsons' and made a design for a robot to do all their chores. Each drawing the children have made will have a code. This code can do whatever we want from making the robot four hundreds time bigger or letting it clean our bedroom!
Year 1
This term in Year One have been learning about Kings and Queens. In class we begun learning about Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II and the line of succession.
We had so much fun at our Kings and Queens workshop. We travelled back in time to meet Queen Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Henry VIII and Queen Victoria. We got to dress up and act out parts of history, we even had all six of Henry VIII's wives there. We can't wait to apply all our new knowledge to our learning in class.
Year 2
We have been learning about the artist Hew Locke this term in year 2. We became increasingly inspired by his ship sculptures and each week we developed designs of our own ships. We thoroughly enjoyed bringing our designs to life and creating our ships using a mix of materials. Some of us designed boats with fishing nets, some with cannons and others designed boats for leisure and relaxation.
This has linked well to our topic of explorers which we are covering over terms 3 and 4. This term, after learning about the oceans and continents of the world, we created itineraries for our dream adventure. We are excited to learn more about explorers such as Ernest Shackleton and Ibn Battuta in term 4.
Year 3
In Art, we have been working on a piece of collage inspired by the Australian artist Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson. We began by enlarging a drawing of a cow on a grid. By focusing on each individual square, we were able to recreate the picture on a large scale. Next, we practised our colouring mixing skills using powder paint. As you can see, we created a lot of different shades and tones by adding white and black in varying quantities. We then painted the our picture, taking careful note of the colours in the photo. Lastly, we applied newspaper, coloured card and paper to create the final collage effect.
This week was also National Storytelling Week. To celebrate, we made up stories and retold them to Year 1. The Year 1s listened very carefully and the Year 3s realised how exciting it could be to tell as story rather than to simply read it. As you can see, a good time was had by all!
Year 4
We've had a busy Term 3 in Year 4 so far! We worked hard on our writing by creating our own 'Teacher Pleaser' Machines. They were a true pleasure to mark and put a big smile on my face!
We also dived into our Geography topic and have been learning about European capital cities and will zoom in on Poland and Czech Republic's geography next. We are looking forward to sharing our learning in our class assembly next week.
This week, we also enjoyed another lovely visit from Young at Heart residents. This time, we set up a little Sports Day in the hall with different challenges. The children were very helpful: they collected and handed out equipment, explained the rules of the games and helped set up new activities.
Year 5
In Year 5, the children have been learning about the formal methods of calculation in all four operations. The children have been working really hard to understand the different methods used and have all performed well in class.
In History, Year 5 have been learning about Crime & Punishment from Roman times to Modern day. They have been particularly interested in how 'creative' some of the punishments were!
Sporting News: Children from Years 5 & 6, took part in the Heathfield Area Indoor Athletics Tournament. They were involved in a number of sporting events including: standing triple jump, javelin, obstacle race, long jump and relay. They all performed extremely well and demonstrated great resilience and sportsmanship.
Year 6
Term 3 has been a busy one in Year 6!
We're sure that you're all wondering how our fractions learning is going? During our maths still going with fractions. We can now add and subtract mixed numbers with different denominators and many of us have completed our homework task linked to fractions with ease!
Geography topic we were able to use Digimaps and/ or atlases to locate countries and capital cities in South America. This definitely tested our resilience and made us excited to learn more about South America!
We also enjoyed a visit from Mr Hilton, linked to our 'Electricity' topic in science. He brought in lots of electrical equipment to show us and spoke to us about his job as an electrician. This has helped with our science knowledge this term - thank you, Mr Hilton!
English News
WORLD BOOK DAY
World Book Day is nearly here! This year, our theme is “Adventure” and as such, we invite the children to dress up as their favourite character from an adventure book and bring along a copy of the book too. Below is a small selection of books that feature adventures to give you inspiration, but there are many, many more!
There will be a small prize in each class for the most creative costume: remember, often the best costumes are the most simple and need not cost anything at all! If you need any further inspiration, please speak to your child’s teacher who will do their best to help.
There will be a small prize in each class for the most creative costume: remember, often the best costumes are the most simple and need not cost anything at all! If you need any further inspiration, please speak to your child’s teacher who will do their best to help.
We are also delighted to announce that the Scholastic Book Fair will be in school again from 11th - 14th March 2024. Last year was a resounding success, raising almost £500 to spend on books for the library. Please support this wonderful event again and choose from the wide range of books on offer, whilst doing your bit for the school! The children can also spend their World Book Day token at the book fair.
The National Literacy Trust is an organisation dedicated to empowering people with literacy skills for life. As part of this, there is a parent section which gives lots of great ideas for you to try at home with your children. Here is the link to the site: Words for Life
I would be very pleased to hear about any of the activities you try so please email the office with any pictures or comments.
Miss Taylor
KS1 and English Lead
RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch
It was great to hear how many of the children enjoyed taking part in the Big Garden Bird Watch this term. These are just some of the photos sent in.
At the time of writing this, the top three birds spotted in Sussex over the weekend were:
House Sparrow
Blue Tit
Starling
From your emails I received it sounds like the children spotted a big variety of birds in our area.
Check out the RSPB website to keep track of the latest news from the count.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch/submission
Mrs A
Science Lead
SEND INFOMATION
New Local Offer leaflets are in the front foyer please help yourself.
Find out more at https://localoffer.eastsussex.gov.uk
We are excited to be getting involved in Children's Mental Health week 5th-11th February. A poster was sent home on 29th January via Arbor explaining all the activities we will be doing in school.
Any questions please speak to class teachers.
Mrs Jones SENCo
School Council
The School Council have been busy this term collecting views of their classmates on important issues: new playground equipment and games, Attendance Award ideas and DT curriculum. They also had a chance to speak to the Governors about the work they have been doing since their appointment.
In Term 4 the representatives are going to have some training on how to deliver Picture News assemblies in front of the whole school. This is such an exciting opportunity to practice and model oracy and presenting skills and we can't wait to share how they get on.
Headteacher Awards
Dormice
Oscar P - for being an amazing poet
Oscar W - for fantastic writing in phonics
Tilly - for amazing progress in phonics
Squirrels
Phoebe - for beautiful writing in English.
Kiera - for great understanding in maths.
Bonnie-Lou - for fabulous adjective work.
Hedgehogs
Lola- for her fantastic oracy skills in maths.
Lily- for making a special effort with her handwriting.
Lenny- for his amazing efforts in learning.
Rabbits
Emily - for wonderful colour-mixing in art
Kaitlyn-Mae - for earning her pen licence.
Delilah - for completing the Little Wandle fluency assesement.
Foxes
Julietta - for her incredible progress in her times tables!
Hattie - for her amazing postcard from a European capital city
Evie - for her resilience throughout her learning but also her courage to say: I need some help.
Badgers
Rupert - for his excellent reasoning skills in Maths
Lucas - for the excellent way he discussed his artwork and explained the processes involved in creating a Picasso style painting.
Deer
Abigail - taking pride in her work; creative presentation, using her prior knowledge and asking interesting questions about our history topic.
Sophia - unstoppable confidence in maths. You are becoming a fraction master and you understand that this is because you have your 'fast track pass'.
Phoebe - excellent work in maths this week. You listen carefully, produce a good amount of work and you make notes to help you.
Citizenship Awards
Dormice
Robyn - for being a respectful member of the class
William - for working towards all of our school values
Willow - for being a very kind friend
Squirrels
Eloise - for showing kindness and being supportive of her peers.
Harley - for always being respectful to his teacher and his peers.
Eddie - for showing respect to the teachers.
Hedgehogs
Pandora- for always showing kindness to her classmates.
Dylan- for showing resilience in the playground.
Rabbits
Zoe for always demonstrating responsibility around the school.
Emily B - for showing resilience and determination in sentence formation.
Bissy - for demonstrating respect and kindness as a learning partner.
Foxes
Elena - for impeccable manners and being respectful
Oliver - for approaching all his learning with a positive attitude.
Kendra - for always being so helpful
Badgers
Oliver - for being kind and supportive towards the Reception readers
Nevaeh - for being a kind and supportive learning partner
Deer
Sensi-May - becoming independent and taking responsibility for her own learning and progress
Joshua - for being a kind, helpful and supportive friend and peer.
Oscar - consistently displaying all of our school values no matter where he is in the school! A true role model.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
INSET DAYS: 28th Mar '24 24th May '24
Term 3
Monday 5th February- Reception Vision Screening and National Childhood Measurement Programme
Thursday 8th February- Y4 assembly to parents
5th-11th February- Children's Mental Health Week
Term 4
Thursday 7th March- World Book Day
Thursday 7th March Y1 assembly to parents
Friday 8th March- FRIENDS Mother's Day Sale
Friday 8th March Interim reports to parents
Friday 8th - Sunday 17th March - British Science Week
Monday 11th - Friday 14th March- Scholastic Book Fair
Tuesday 12th March 3.20-4 pm Optional parent drop-in session to discuss Interim reports
Wednesday 13th March- Y4 High Weald Heroes Stone Age Workshop
Wednesday 13th March- 3.20-4pm Optional parent drop-in session to discuss Interim reports
Thursday 14th March- Y5 Big Dance
Wednesday 20th March -Y3 High Weald Heroes Anglo Saxon Welly Walk
Thursday 21st March - FRIENDS Disco
KS1- 15:15-16:15
KS2 16:15-17:15
Term 5
Monday 15th April- Swimming lessons start
Monday 15th- Friday 19th April - Y5 Bikeability
Thursday 2nd May Y2 assembly to parents
Wednesday 15th May- Y3 Trip to Wakehurst Place
Thursday 16th May Y3 assembly to parents
Term 6
Friday 7th June- Class Photos
Wednesday 12th June- Y5 Rye Watersports Trip
Thursday 13th June - Y3 Visitor Kim Phillips- Food production
Friday 14th June- Father's Day Sale
20 – 21 June - Y4 Residential
20th June - Reception assembly to parents
Thursday 27th June - Sports Day
Tuesday 2nd July- Y6 Transition Day- HCC
Friday 12th July- FRIENDS Summer fair and colour run from 3pm
Tuesday 23rd July- finish at 13:30 for summer holidays
Swimming Lessons
Starting on Monday 15th April
Mondays
09.00-10.00 Year 4
10.00-11.00 Year 2
11.00-12.00Year 3
13.00-14.00 Year 5
14.00-15.00 Year 6
Tuesdays
09.00-10.30am Year 1
10.30-12.00 Reception
General Health & Safety precautions
children will need to wear a swimming hat and (for girls) a one-piece costume (no bikinis). Goggles are optional (all items, including pants, socks and towels, should be named, please)
children will not be allowed in the pool if they have verrucas unless they are wearing a special verruca sock. (These may be purchased from any pharmacy)
children are not permitted to enter the pool if they have plasters covering an open cut or graze
sleepers/studs should not be worn in the pool
Have your say on the East Sussex Local Transport Plan
Consultation 27 November 2023 – 25 February 2024
We want you to have your say on the future of transport in the County.
The draft East Sussex Local Transport Plan 2024 – 2050, sets out how we will plan and provide transport for people taking every day journeys in East Sussex, which include getting to school, work or for leisure, now and in the future.
The plan recognises factors that are important for journeys to school such as enabling safer and more accessible journeys, the benefits to health and wellbeing from more active travel, even if this is part for part of your journey or being undertaken on certain days of the week.
Many of you will often be combining the school run with other journeys, so undertaking multiple trips, to get to work or for other purposes, so the plan recognises the importance of having a connected transport network.
To take part please select this link and complete the consultation questionnaire: http:eastsussex.gov.uk/DraftLTP4
If you want to contact ESCC to discuss this you can do so in the following ways:
Email - LocalTransportPlan@EastSussex.gov.uk
Telephone: 0345 608 0190 lines (open 8am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8am to 4.30pm on Friday) and ask to be put through to the Local Transport Plan Team
link to questionnaire
Maynards Green CP School - Newsletter
'Growing the community one child at a time'
Safeguarding Update
Mrs Townsend
Safeguarding Lead