Maynards Green CP School
HEADTEACHER'S UPDATE
Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,
What an amazing first term! From sporting competitions to visitors and visits, the learning (and fun) hasn't stopped. Kim Twinn, our STEM ambassador, visited the school to give the children a talk for World Space Week (see the science update later in this newsletter). Both children and staff thoroughly enjoyed her presentation and learnt about rockets, astronauts and living in space. We also invited Christina Coleman the Chair of Wealden Council to visit us. She led a whole school assembly on Thursday 5th October and explained about her role in the council and talked about her passion for environmental issues - encouraging the children to think about reducing waste and recycling. We were also visited by PJ the vicar, who came to oversee our Harvest Assembly and was delighted by the children’s singing and the very generous donations our families had made towards the Hailsham Foodbank.
The big news this term was the Year 6 residential on board HMS Belfast. This was a departure from our usual activity based residential trips, instead, offering the children a number of cultural experiences, including visits to famous landmarks, seeing a West End show and taking a Horrible Histories cruise down the River Thames. Feedback from children and staff would suggest that we will be repeating this experience with Year 6 next year!
A big thank you to all parents and carers who were able to attend parent's evenings this week. These meetings are an important opportunity for you to discuss your child's progress with their class teacher, understand the targets they have been set and to discover ways to support your child with their learning at home.
Next term is always a long one and a tough one, for children and adults alike. The cold weather, dark mornings and evenings and all the run up to Christmas festivities are exhausting, so please make sure you get the most out of the half term break, spend time with family and friends as well as taking time out to recharge your batteries!
Kind regards
Karen Cromwell
Headteacher
Gentle Reminders
No jewellery, nail varnish or coloured trainers please.
Please remember that our school uniform policy does not permit the wearing of jewellery except plain stud earrings. I would also remind you that trainers/ schools shoes must be plain black and nails, unvarnished.
Eco Champion!
Boden in Year 1 has obviously remembered everything we have been learning about looking after our environment and was setting a great example to us all by litter picking on the Cuckoo Trail this weekend. Well done Boden!
Cold Weather!
Weather will be getting colder and wetter next term, so please ensure your child comes to school each day with appropriate (named) clothing i.e. waterproof coat, hat and appropriate footwear. If your child wears wellies to school, please also send indoor shoes for them to change in to.
Safeguarding Update
Parent Online Safety Workshop
Thank you to those parents and carers that attended our presentation last week. Here are some links that those who were not able to attend might find useful.
Each September lots of our safeguarding policies are reviewed and updated. A number of these policies you will find on our school website. If there are any policies that you can't find, please feel free to ask for a copy at the school office.
Holiday Food & Fun
With Half Term approaching , remember to check out what activities are on offer during school holidays: Welcome to Holiday food and fun | East Sussex County Council
Reception
In Reception, we received a letter saying that the Evil Pea had taken all our veggies! We spent a lot of time searching for the Evil Pea and protecting the veggies from his evil tricks! This week we have also been making bread rolls and discussing if the Little Red Hen was fair to not want to share her bread. It led to a very interesting conversation about how to be kind and helpful.
The Reception team would also like to say a big THANK YOU to Mr English for building a lid for our wood work station. We cannot wait to use it now!
Year 1
In Year 1, we have been having a great time during our enrichment. We have had D&T, PE, art and outdoor learning. It has been really fun getting to learn with different teachers and getting to work with the year twos!
In our English lessons we have been learning all about Traction Man, we got to make up our own adventure for Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush.
Year 2
The children have been very engaged in our topic about the Muslim religion. Over the course of the term, we have been learning about the importance of prayer, who they pray to and how many times a day. We finished off this topic by creating our own prayer mats using weaving techniques.
The children have been focusing on their reading at school and it is great to see some of you have already started accessing Boom reader. Just a reminder that they will bring home a reading comprehension book each week that is based on their level from the last round of tests. They will keep this book for the course of the week and then swap it for a reading for pleasure book to share with you over the weekend.
Year 3
In Year 3, we have been learning all about the Romans. We have looked at some famous Romans and decided which one was the most important. Then, we created a fact file detailing all their achievements.
For Harvest Festival, we joined a Live Lesson in conjunction with the NFU. In this lesson we learnt:
Where chapati flour comes from
How to safely prepare chicken
Where garlic comes from
All about yoghurt and met some brand-new calves
The functions of different parts of plants and their requirements for life and growth, animal and human nutrition.
How a variety of ingredients are grown, reared and processed.
If this has whetted your appetite, there is a link below to an after lesson recipe which you might like to try at home!
Year 4
Year 4 had a very exciting afternoon, welcoming the residents of the Young at Heart charity into our school. We spent an hour getting to know each other and playing board games. It was incredible watching the children being so considerate of other people's needs and ensuring everyone was included in all activities. We look forward to our future visits.
We also started writing an ode poem about Nicola Adams, in celebration of her achievements in sports. We tried to get into the role through drama activities which then allowed us to create some powerful imagery to describe Nicola and what an amazing boxer she is.
Year 5
In Year 5, we have made a good start learning all about the Ancient Greeks. We have looked at time lines and maps and discovered what everyday life was like during than time period. In English, we are basing our work on the book titled 'Hidden Figures' . It's an inspirational story with lots of interesting angles to explore.
Sporting update:
Maynards Green sent a team of 10 Year 5s to represent the school at the Heathfield area Cross Country tournament. They all performed remarkably well and displayed great resilience and determination. Five of the runners have made it through to the next round at Beacon Academy in November. Well done to you all!
Year 6
Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their residential trip to London. Our itinerary was packed full of exciting things (and lots of walking)!
We went to Shrek's Adventure, the London Eye, an acting workshop, The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre and a Horrible Histories Thames river cruise. As we were staying on the HMS Belfast, the only ship like this that you can stay overnight in the world, we got to learn all about life on the ship during the war as well as the signals and flags that were used.
All in all, our trip was a great success. As a class, we have matured and bonded and this makes the year ahead seem even more exciting!
Science around the school
Year 1: Autumn Exploring
We have been learning all about the 4 seasons in a variety of ways and enjoyed exploring looking for Autumn clues around the school.
Year 2: Living things in their habitat
We have been learning all about habitats and in particular microhabitats around the school. The children really enjoyed getting close up to the minibeasts amongst the log piles!
Year 3 : Solar oven investigation
We have explored all the main features of scientific enquiry in Year 3 with lots of mini investigations including adapting solar ovens, cleaning coins with acidic and alkaline substances and also the chemistry involved in baking cakes.
Year 4 : States of Matter
We have been looking at solids, liquids and gases and how the particles arrange themselves. We've explored the different melting points of solids and drew graphs to show different metal boiling points.
Year 5: Forces investigations
We have explored a whole range of forces including gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction by carrying out and writing up experiments carried out.
Year 6: Classification of Living things
We have learnt about the important work of Carl Linnaeus who created the classification system for living things. We created our own classification charts, researched scientific names of various animals and looked at different variables involved in mould growth on bread.
If your child carries on their science learning at home I'd love to hear about it so please email me: nalexander@maynardsgreen.org
Mrs A
Science Lead
World Space Week 4th - 10th October: Visitor talk
Our resident STEM ambassador Dr Kim Twinn joined us to mark World Space Week. She gave a very informative talk to children in Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 about her own experience of astronaut training. She also shared her knowledge of what it was like for astronauts like Tim Peake, who have travelled to live on the International Space Station, to live day to day in Space.
The children were particularly excited when she demonstrated the pressure needed to lift a rocket into orbit when she launched a pressurized film canister into the air in front of them!
You might well have heard about how astronauts deal with the less glamorous part of space travel like toileting , where she used some inflatable 'poo' to demonstrate some of the challenges faced!
Community Spirit
Thank you so much for all you kind food donations! We were amazed by how generous and thoughtful the donations were. These will be delivered to the Hailsham food bank and given to the people that most need it.
Mrs Green - RE lead
Our after-school gardening club has finished for this year. The children (myself and the volunteers included) had lots of fun last term. The weather was on our side and we were able to be out in the garden every club session.
We packed in lots of activities! Our large bug hotel needed rebuilding, so we made small tin insect hotels and ladybug hotels. Our garden has its own scarecrow now ( we named her Beryl). The children loved decorating the willow arch and they also created a painting on a large canvas. We made wind chimes from willow and peeled the bark using vegetable peelers. We had fun with clay and the children made mud faces and other sculptures using clay and natural materials. We sowed broad beans and radishes, that are growing nicely and planted strawberries in old wellies. We made a start to a wild lawn and planted some ox-eye daisies, hoping to brighten our garden. The children collected seeds from runner beans and sunflowers we grew this year, picked blackberries and we were busy planting spring bulbs in pots and lawn the last week of the club, hoping to bring us lots of colour and attracts insect next spring.
There were other jobs in the garden like weeding, watering, deadheading, and cutting back flowers. The children we happy just exploring the garden sometimes, digging, looking for worms, bugs, butterflies, bees and just experimenting and playing with their friends and making new ones.
It was a busy but fun six weeks, which wouldn't be possible without our volunteer helpers. I would like to express my big thanks to Hayley (Alex and Oscar's mummy), Mary (Riley's grandma), and Julie (Grace and Alfie's grandma) for giving up their time and all their support.
We are looking forward to our school garden adventures next year!
More information to follow in the new year. If you have any questions or suggestions, or you think you can help in any way please contact smcfall@maynardsgreen.org.
Šárka McFall
Teaching Assistant
🌼 Gardening Club 🌿
Nurture Group
During our Nurture Groups this term the children have been focusing on social skills, particularly communication. They have taken part in a variety of wonderful and carefully planned activities, including a nature scavenger hunt where they worked in pairs and shared/discussed their findings Bridge building using planks & stepping stones where they worked in teams to travel from A to B. Autumn tree collage creation working together to create an Autumn tree picture. Guy making where they discussed ideas, worked together and shared with local community for Heathfield Bonfire Night. The Guy is currently relaxing in the staff room but is being collected by Heathfield Bonfire Society on Friday 13th October where the Nurture Group children are going to have the opportunity to wave him off!
Mrs Jones SENCo
Growing Hope
During our Growing Hope sessions with Year 5 this term the children have shared memories & feelings and written these in journals. Activities this term have included weeding, tidying, dead heading, watering, checking on growth & changes over summer. Planting up strawberry runners, seed collecting, sorting, labelling & storing. Decoupaging planters in leopard print, spring bulb planting and memory stone painting. The Growing Hope Project for Year 5 will end at the end of November. The Year 5 children have benefitted immensely from this project and I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Mrs Procter for all of her hard work, dedication and incredible ideas to make this project so successful for the children.
For more information about this project please visit
www.winstonswish.org/growing-hope
Mrs Jones SENCo
School Council
The first meeting of the School Council took place on the 2nd October. All the School Council Representatives (including the Year 6 Representatives, Leo and Jackson) were present and we discussed our roles and responsibilities. We agreed our code of conduct as well as discussed issues brought by teachers (eg. School Values, computing and e-safety, the anti-bullying campaign etc.).
With great excitement, Representatives agreed their first fundraising venture will be to support Children in Need charity. On 16th November the children are welcome to dress in spotty clothing in exchange for £1 donation to the charity. Please click the link to donate via Parentpay- Donate here
All the children are also encouraged to take part in the 'Bearpee' challenge by stating how many 'Bearpees' they are challenging themselves to complete in 1 min. They can then ask their grown ups to donate in cash to the great cause and to motivate them to push themselves!
Well done to all our School Council Representatives for their active participation in the meeting.
Mrs Holton - School Council Teacher Representative
Headteacher Awards
Dormice
Dormice will start receiving head teachers awards next term!
Squirrels
Phoebe - for trying her best in all areas of learning.
Eli - for fabulous maths work.
George C - for working really hard on his handwriting.
Lyra - for fabulous handwriting and using her phonics to help with her spelling.
Hedgehogs
Emilia - for her amazing focus during her Maths test
Mollie- for her verbal Maths reasoning skills
Ember- for her amazing focus during precision teaching
Jessie, Freddy and James- for their amazing teamwork whilst building a tudor house
Rabbits
Emily - fantastic place value work in maths
Freddie - writing with imagination and flair
Teddy - excellent verbal reasoning in maths
Foxes
Pippa R - for her fantastic continuous line drawing
Alice - for her Ancient Egyptian version of Cinderella
Inika - for all the wonderful homework she completed with so much enthusiasm
Tilly - for her resilience in maths
Badgers
Sam - For working really hard on his presentation
Tristan - For working really hard on staying focused and on task
Deer
Leo - great work with multiplication and division facts
Preston - writing an interesting story with characterisation through dialogue.
Thomas - excellent reasoning skills in maths and science this week.
The Whole Class - for impeccable behaviour and attitudes during our London residential trip
Archie-Lee - for improved focus, presentation and stamina for writing
Citizenship Awards
Dormice
Oscar P - For showing kindness and respect to his friends
Willow - for showing kindness to a friend who was upset
Squirrels
Dolly - for perseverance with her reading.
Charlie - for always giving his work a go.
George C - for his resilience with his reading.
Hedgehogs
Joshua- for showing positivity during the Star assessments
Aurin - for his resilience in writing his acrostic poem
Rabbits
Martha - for showing resilience in maths
Mason - for showing resilience in writing
Stella - for showing positivity towards all her learning
Foxes
Sam - for his resilience in reading every day!
Jaxson - for his resilience in Roman numeral challenge
Jasmine - for being a very supportive learning partner
Badgers
Isabel -for demonstration perseverance in Maths
Rupert - for demonstrating great sportsmanship in PE
Deer
Charlotte - for showing resilience when faced with setbacks.
Preston - for showing kindness and respect to his peers and teachers during our London residential trip
Dates for your Diary
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
Thursday 16th November - Children in Need - Wear something spotty for £1
Friday 17th November - Individual photos - Profile Photography
Tuesday 21st November - Positive Dog Training Talks and Assembly
Friday 24th November - 9am - Open morning for prospective students
Tuesday 28th November- PTA Movie Night
Tuesday 5th December - Governing Body meeting 2
Thursday 7th December - Y1, 2 and 3 Christmas play AM and PM performances
Tuesday, 12 December - Reception Nativity
Wednesday 13th December - School Christmas day - Christmas Fair, Jumper and Dinner
Thursday 14th December - Y4, 5 & 6 Carol Concert to parents
Friday 15th December - last day of term - 1.30pm finish
Messages from The School Office
Thank you for your patience while we learn our new system Arbor.
If you have any feedback, please email Hannah at: office@maynardsgreen.org
We are currently trialling Google Calendar for Parents. You will be able to see all events taking place each week and also add the calendar to your own!
Please follow this link: Maynards Green Calendar
Clubs
Please visit your Arbor Parent Portal to sign up for Art & Crafts Club with Miss Street on Thursdays from 15:15-16:30.
The cost is £30 for 6 sessions, Years 2-6.
Lego Club
6 sessions starting from the week commencing 30th October.
Please click the link below to book the day you would like your child to attend:
New Autumn Winter Menu starting after the October Holidays
Chartwells, our school meal provider, will be launching their exciting new Autumn/Winter menu after the holiday. Full of hearty, flavoursome recipes that have been lovingly created by a team of chefs and nutritionists, these dishes are packed with all the things children need to grow strong and healthy. Plus, they have been given the thumbs up by children so are really tasty too.
Please visit the School Meals page on our website for the new menu and FAQs.
Maynards Green CP School - Newsletter
'Growing the community, one child at a time'