Maynards Green CP School
HEADTEACHER'S UPDATE
Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,
Firstly, I would like to welcome you and the children back to Maynards Green and the start of another exciting school year. To those of you that have just joined us, I offer a warm welcome to Maynards Green at the beginning of what I am sure will be a long and successful partnership. Having chatted to many of you on the gate, I know that you all made the most of the summer holidays and took advantage of the good weather, when it finally arrived, to get out and about with the children.
We too, have been busy over the break, refurbishing the KS2 toilets, brightening up various parts of the school with a fresh coat of paint and perhaps the biggest change, swapping around the library and the staff room. Aside from creating a cosy, new library space this project has enabled us to house two new ovens in the staff room to support our cookery and DT lessons across the school.
In other news, as you know Miss Phillips will be leaving Year 2, to go on maternity leave at the end of this term. In order to minimise any disruption to the children's learning, Mrs Townsend will be increasing her teaching time in Hedgehog Class to 2 days and will be joined by Miss McCaul. If Miss Phillips' happy news was not enough, Miss Turner has announced that she will also be having a baby, although not until the spring. I know you will join us in congratulating Miss Turner on this exciting news and wishing both mums to be, all the best.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to 'The Friends of Maynards Green' for organising the amazing Summer Fair and Colour Run! And of course a big thank you goes to all of you who attended and helped to the raise the magnificent sum of £ 1,611! towards our new activity trail.
Hopefully you will have noticed and will approve of our new look newsletter. It is very early days and we are still discovering how it all works so would be glad of some constructive feedback.
Kind regards
Karen Cromwell
Headteacher
Gentle Reminders
The Lost property BASKET is going.
We are teaching the children to be responsible for their belongings: coats, jumpers, snack pots etc. You could help your child by labeling everything
School Car Park
Please would you ensure that your children do not play or run around in the staff car park or grass area, before and after school.
Late arrival/ Early Pick up
Please ensure that you bring your child to the School Office if the gates are closed as they need to be signed in or out by the adult bringing them to school or collecting them.
Safeguarding Update
Attendance and Punctuality
Those of you who were able to attend the meet the teacher meetings will have heard the teachers stress how important it is for children to attend school all day, every day. However, I do know that as autumn moves towards winter, children are likely to pick up coughs, colds and bugs and it can be hard to know when you should send them in and when to keep them at home.
When should I keep my child at home?
It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses. This would include general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat. However, children should not be sent to school if they have a temperature of 38°C or above. We would encourage you to share the NHS ‘Is my child too ill for school?’ guidance with parents and carers in your schools and communities which has further information.
Reception
We are so proud of how the children have settled into school. They have been busy exploring the classroom and getting to know their new friends. This term our secret readers will be the children's preschool teachers. This week we had Jo from Horam Preschool as our secret reader!
Year 1
We have had a fabulous start in Year One! We have spent time getting to know the classroom and all the resources we have to use.
We have begun learning about a variety of toys, we were all shocked to find out lego and scooters are so old. If you have any old toys we would love to see them!
Year 2
In Year 2, we have had a fantastic start to the year. The children have loved some of the practical Maths lessons we have been completing. They also showcased their talents whilst acting out the letters from our English book, 'The day the crayons quit'.
I have loved hearing all about the activities they get up to outside of school and their own personal interests. Juliana amazed the class when she brought in a selection of snake skins. The children were all able to feel the epidermis and were very engaged whilst she was speaking. This led us to watch a video about why snakes shed their skins to expand our knowledge further.
Year 3
Thank you to all of you who have logged onto Boom Reader; I have been delighted to see all the comments from both parents and children! If you have not yet logged on, please could you do so as soon as possible, and start collecting your gems.
In Year 3, we have had a great start to the year! We have begun learning about the Romans in Britain, thought about our goals for the year and, in English, are writing our own version of Cottonwool Colin. We had a lot of fun coming up with our own characters; Duvet David, Blanket Bob, Pillow Percy and Feathers Freya were among the most popular.
In addition, many of the class have already begun working on their Homework Menu; so far, I have had 2 solar ovens, Christmas gingerbread men, a fitness programme, a Roman mosaic, not to mention playing board games and "Just a Minute" in the car! Well done to all of you so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing many more exciting pieces of homework in the coming weeks.
To immerse ourselves into our Ancient Egypt topic, we started our first English unit with work based on 'The Egyptian Cinderella' by Shirley Climo. Our first piece was all about the setting description for the story. The children wrote beautiful descriptive pieces, focusing on the five senses.
Year 4
We have had such a fantastic start in Year 4!
We started to explore our new Chromebooks and Google Classroom which has been very exciting! So far, we used our new computers to access reading materials, historical sources of information as well as maps in geography.
Year 5
The children of Year 5 have settled in very well and are beginning to immerse themselves into the Year 5 curriculum. They have already produced excellent pieces of descriptive writing in English, wonderful sketch work in art and are enjoying learning about the rise and fall of the Ancient Greeks.
The book that we are studying this term is the Watertower by Gary Crew.
During the first enrichment afternoon, Year 5 enjoyed learning the rules to Quick Cricket. They have a great competitive spirit and I look forward to involving them in the many sporting events Maynards Green enter each year.
Year 6
What a great start to the year we've had! Year 6 have quickly settled in, getting used to the routines and expectations in our class. So far, we've written descriptive spine poems about dragons and we are looking forward to doing even more writing about our new topic.
Miss Francis has been incredibly impressed with Year 6's knowledge and understanding in maths. We have enjoyed ordering and comparing numbers (including using Twitter followers to do this) and exploring the place value of digits up to 10,000,000.
David Law (a former Sussex Police Officer with a qualification for teaching PSHE) visited our class for a cyber-safety workshop. This workshop focused on personal safety and responsibility. This workshop gives young students the chance to discuss Online Safety issues that can make an impact early in the development of young people. Building resilience to these issues is vital and promotes a safer community for everybody.
David recommends parents/carers visit the CEOP website where there is an abundance of resources on how to keep responsible and safe on the internet. Sitting down and watching some of these videos with the young person can stimulate very helpful joint discussion.
The Get Safe Online website gives wider information on keeping the internet a safe place for everybody. It’s a great source of information.
CEOP Education (thinkuknow.co.uk)
Get Safe Online | The UK's leading Online Safety Advice Resource
Science around the school
Over the Summer holidays the seeds Year 6 planted in our restored raised beds certainly took advantage of all the water falling from the sky! The flowers bloomed and some are adding a rainbow of colour to our playground area.
When I came in I saw lots of happy pollinators enjoying the nectar and now comes the next phase where the plants go to seed. This means the next phase of wildlife, the birds, will be tucking into the seeds being produce. We will also be harvesting the seeds to ensure we get a good supply for next Spring!
Dr Kim Twinn, our resident STEM Ambassador, came in to help with a spot of weeding and to see how well the seeds have done! She will be continuing to share her science knowledge with the children this year with her visits to classes on a range of topics.
If you have any blooming marvelous photos of the seeds given out by Sow Wild last school year I'd love to see them. Email me at nalexander@maynardsgreen.org
Nurture Group
Heathfield & District Bonfire Society have offered Maynards Green CP School the chance to make a bonfire guy which will then be placed onto the top of their main bonfire at Sheep Setting Community Centre on their official bonfire night Saturday 14th October. Our Nurture groups are going to be working hard over the next month to make our guy and we are really looking forward to sharing the end result with you.
Growing Hope
This term, the 'Growing Hope' group will be planting Winter/Spring flowering bulbs and sewing vegetable seeds, for harvesting in the winter.
Any donations of bulbs or seeds (radish, turnip, leafy veg/salad greens) would be gratefully received!
Dates for your Diary
Term 1
Thursday 28th September - HCC open day
Thursday 5th October - Schools ICT | Parent Online Safety Session | book via emails sent or the school office
Thursday 5th October Councilor Christina Coleman- Chair of Wealden Council Talk & Lunch Swap- Fish Fingers/ Quorn Dippers & Chips with Ice cream
Tuesday 10th - Thursday 12th October Y6 London Residential
Thursday 12th October - Y5 cross country at Burwash
Monday 16th October- Flu Vaccinations
Tuesday 17th October - Governing body meeting
Tuesday 17th October 3.30 - 5.40 - Parents’ Evening
Thursday 19th October - Year 6 class assembly to parents
Wednesday 18th October - 5&6 Football U11 at HCC
Thursday 19th October 3.30 - 6.40 - Parents’ Evening
Friday 20th October - Welly Walk - 2pm
Friday 20th October - Last day of term - normal finish time
Term 2
Monday 30th October - first day of Term 2
Wednesday 1st November - 5&6 Football U11 at HCC
Wednesday 1st November - 9am - Open morning for Reception 2024
Thursday 9th November - Year 3 High Weald Heroes visit (Romans)
Tuesday 14th November - 2.30pm - Open morning for prospective students
Friday 17th November - Individual photos - Profile Photography
Friday 24th November - 9am - Open morning for prospective students
Tuesday 5th December - Governing Body meeting 2
Friday 15th December - last day of term - 1.30pm finish
Office Messages
Welcome back
Please ensure that all time off requests are made through the school office by filling out an 'Absence from Learning' form. This applies to holidays, medical appointments, and leaving early from school.
If your child is late into school they must be accompanied by an adult who can sign them in our signing-in system.
ARBOR
We have now changed to Arbor for all school communication and will no longer be using SchoolPing. If you need any help setting up your account or downloading the app, please come and see Hannah in the school office.
Headteacher Awards
Dormice
The whole class for being amazing in their first days at school!
Squirrels
Everyone in Squirrel Class for settling in to Year One so well.
Hugo for his amazing focus.
Joel for being a phonics superstar
Hedgehogs
All of Hedgehog Class for an amazing start to the year
Jessica for her amazing handwriting
Eden for great focus across all areas of learning
Rabbits
Thomas for excellent focus and achievement in maths.
Zoe for always trying her best in all subjects and producing beautifully neat work to a good standard.
Jesse for his enthusiasm and subject knowledge in our history lessons.
Foxes
Jake for an incredible start to Year 4!
Julietta for her insightful answers in history.
Ruby-Mai for her resilience in maths this week
Badgers
Grace for demonstrating excellent sketching skills in Art
James for excellence understanding of inference in reading
Nevaeh for showing great perseverance in writing
Deer
Lilly for and amazing, exciting story based upon a shipwreck picture..
Bobbi for a fabulous start to Boom Reader!
Citizenship Awards
Dormice
Ava for being a very kind friend
Squirrels
Boden for overcoming being brave and coming into Year One.
Eddie for being kind to teachers and peers.
Hedgehogs
Dylan for trying his hardest across all areas
Rabbits
Delilah for being so helpful in class.
Theia for always being so respectful
Foxes
Lottie for her impeccable manners and being so helpful to others
Pippa R for being a respectful listener and always giving her full attention to whoever is speaking.
Badgers
Freya for being a helpful and supportive friend
Oliver for demonstrating our school values and being a supportive friend
Deer
Ethan for settling well into the routines and expectations of Year 6. Keep it up, Ethan. You are a fabulous role model!
Sophia for showing respect to her teachers, classmates and belongings.
ai-virtual-friends.pdfSchool Council Elections
This week, Years 2-6 took part in School Council Elections. Candidates from those year groups gave speeches to their classes to share with them why they would make a good Class Representative.
On Thursday, all the children took to the Polling Station to cast their votes.
Congratulations to all the voted-in Representatives and well done to all those who campaigned this year.
School Council Representatives 2023-24
Year 2 - Juliana and James
Year 3 - Alice and Jesse
Year 4 - Sam and Lottie
Year 5 - Ivy and Rupert
Year 6 - to be confirmed once Year 6 roles have been given out
Friends of Maynards Green
Welcome back!
We were thrilled to start off our new term with a sunny and vibrant, late summer fair and colour run! Thank you to everyone who came and supported the event which raised a combined amount of just over £1,600! Huge thanks to our helpers, sponsors and supports.
AGM
Our AGM took place last week and I am delighted to announce that thanks to this wonderful groups of volunteers, we have been able to fulfil the following roles:
Committee:
Committee Chair: Lucie Watt.
Vice-Chair (joint role): Emma Adams & Crystal Colins.
Treasurer: Jess Woods
(Supported by Leanne Cooley).
Secretary: Sarah Barnard.
Social Media Support & Poster Design: Lyndsey Extence.
Class Representatives:
Reception - Emma Adams / Ross-Gobbey / Crystal Colins
Year 1 - Sarah Bothwell / Lyndsey Extence
Year 2 - Kate Brown / Becky Delves / Heather Jackson
Year 3 - Frances Misener / Donna Hilton / Jess Woods
Year 4 - Sarah Barnard / Leanne Cooley
Year 5 - Gina Feaver / Lucie Watt / Jen Silver
Year 6 - Rowena Voss / Katerine Cruttenden & supported by Tania Fitz-George Balfour
Our Aims
The primary aim of the FRIENDS is to raise vital funds to support projects which benefit our children & school, whilst also creating fun events throughout the year for the children and families.
The FRIENDS have already got our sights on a main fundraising goal for 2023/4, which focuses on renewing the Activity Trail in the school playground.
With the help of volunteer apps (which we trialled earlier this year), we hope that all families will freely be able to volunteer their help by delegating their time and knowledge to fit in around their own commitments.
Our next meeting will be taking place on Tuesday 26th September from 8:45am. We would be delighted if you would like to come and see what it's all about.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for your continued support.
Kindest regards,
Lucie & the FRIENDS of Maynards Green School
United Against Bullying Programme
Maynards Green CP school is taking part in the United Against Bullying anti-bullying programme provided by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA). ABA is part of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and works to reduce bullying in schools.
In order to make sure that we are doing all we can to prevent and reduce bullying and to improve pupil wellbeing, we want to find out the levels of bullying in our school and to find out how our pupils feel about school. For this reason, we are inviting all pupils in Key Stage 2 at our school to complete an anonymous survey in Term 1. We will then ask pupils to complete the questionnaire again in Term 3 to see if the changes made have had an impact. Please complete the consent form on Arbor by Tuesday 26th September to give permission for your child/ren to take part.
The following information is important since it will explain the survey and how the information gathered will be used.
What will happen with the information that your child gives us?
All information collected will be kept confidential and will be encrypted and carefully stored on a secure system held by ABA/NCB in accordance with the UK GDPR (Data Protection Act 2018 - “DPA” and EU Directive 2016/680 and Regulation EU/2016/679 – The General Data Protection Regulation “EU GDPR”):
Neither schools, nor the ABA/NCB will ever have access to pupils’ individual completed questionnaires – only year group or whole year reports which contain anonymous information.
For further details of how data about your child is collected, stored and analysed, please see the Data Protection Privacy Notice (ask at the school office)
Why has my child been asked to take part and what will they do?
The pupil questionnaire has been specially designed by ABA. It has been tried and tested with pupils with and without Special Educational Needs aged 8 and above. It is an online survey which should take about 15 minutes to complete. The answers your child gives to the questionnaire will not be seen by their friends, teachers or you, unless your child chooses an adult to help them complete the questionnaire.
Are there downsides to taking part?
There are no known risks or disadvantages to taking part. The survey has been very carefully designed so that it will be easy for children to answer. If there are questions they don’t like, they can leave these out. They will also be able to stop answering the survey questions at any time if they wish. Completing the survey should not cause them any distress. However, if they should become upset, school staff will be on hand to offer support. Information will also be provided about other sources of advice and help, e.g. talking to their family, calling ChildLine and so on.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
The school lead will receive an anonymised report of the survey findings for the whole year group that will help them review and support pupil wellbeing.
Your child’s responses will help shape the approaches we use as a school when trying to prevent and tackle bullying. For example, it will help us to make sure that the school’s anti-bullying policy covers all the important areas that concern children in our school. By asking these questions, pupils will also know we take incidents of bullying seriously as a school and that we care about our pupils’ wellbeing.
Schools will not have access to individual completed questionnaires and whole year group reports will be sent back to them anonymously.
Some of the headline results may be shared with key people, like the school’s governors and Ofsted. Again, this information is anonymised and it will not be possible to identify any individual pupils.
If you would prefer for your child not to complete the questionnaire, please email the school office.
Maynards Green CP School - Newsletter 22nd September 2023
'Growing the community, one child at a time'