Micklem Newsletter

Learning in Classrooms

It's been a super (and also super hot!) last two weeks at Micklem. The children have been working so hard in their lessons. They also have had lots of opportunities for extra experiences this last fortnight such as STEM workshops, the music soiree, Year 5 and 6 production rehearsals and even Hemel Hempstead's Big Brass Band coming to play on the playground.

In Reception, the children were learning all about the continent of Africa. They used their Geography skills to find Africa in the atlas and also learnt all about the different animals that can be found in Africa.

In Year 5 and 6, the children have been working hard on their production of Peter Pan. Today they have had a dress rehearsal and they all look absolutely amazing in their costumes! There are some super singers and actors in Year 5 and 6, and we can't wait to see the final performances on Tuesday.

Year 1 has been reading a super book called Alan's Big Scary Teeth! In the story, Alan, an alligator, has razor-sharp, shiny teeth and uses them to scare the other animals in the jungle, but it turns out that his teeth are actually... false and later they go missing! The children wrote some super 'Wanted' posters describing Alan, explaining his crimes and stating the reward.

In Year 3, the children have been doing lots of learning in their foundation subjects. In Science, they have found out about the way new plants arrive in our country. Harleigh created her own new plant species that would be suitably adapted and has all the different parts of a plant. In RE, Fatima found out all about the River Ganges and explained why it is important. She wrote some fantastic explanations of different photos and used lots of technical vocabulary.

Experiences and Opportunities

Forest School

At Forest School this week, we had a great time connecting with nature by filling 'jars' with natural resources.

The Sunshine room children made 'damper bread' and experimented with different fillings. We then cooked them on the fire at Forest School. A big well done to the two boys who persevered and lit the fire!

STEM workshops - Building, Coding and Creating

Last week, our Year 3, 4 and 5 students had loads of fun taking part in some hands-on STEM workshops. They built their own LEGO robots with moving parts, then connected them to iPads using Bluetooth.

Once everything was set up, the real challenge began – using coding to make their robots move across a mat from point A to B. It took some trial and error, but the students worked together, problem-solved, and got their robots moving!

It was a great mix of creativity, tech and teamwork – and everyone had a brilliant time.

Music Soiree

On Tuesday, parents came along to enjoy a lovely music soiree where the children showcased their talents on piano, guitar, clarinet, and brass instruments. Year 4 performed together on cornets, including playing their version of “We Will Rock You.” The event also featured a special Makaton signing performance. Well done Micklem - you have so much talent!

Celebrating Success

Class Dojo

This year, we have introduced Class Dojo. A way of celebrating individuals and classes that are following our school rules of:

Be Kind. Show Respect. Aim High.

Children will be able to receive one or two points for these core values from any member of staff. We will keep an eye on which individuals, classes and house groups are being the kindest, most respectful and ambitious over the year.

Blue House

563

Green House

496

Red House

563

Yellow House

472

Highest number of levels passed:

1st) Earl- Year 2

2nd) Wyatt- Year 1

3rd) Evie- Year 1

Most minutes played over the last 14 days:

1st) Fatima- Year 3

2nd) Alex- Year 3

3rd) Antonia- Year 5

Sports Day Winners

Blue House

Green House

Red House

Yellow House

Attendance

Nursery

90.6%

Reception

97.6%

Year 1

89.1%

Year 2

93.4%

Year 3

91.8%

Year 4

93.6%

Year 5

91.5%

Year 6

91.5%

Congratulations to Reception for aiming high with their attendance this week. The class will receive bonus Class Dojo points for Aiming High!

Learning of the Week

Every week, we celebrate extraordinary learning that has taken place in classes. It may be that they have pushed passed an obstacle in their learning; worked on their presentation; thought about how to help others amongst other things.

Our Learning of the Week for the last fortnight goes to:

Reception

Juno - Well done to Juno for being really switched on this week! She has been focused on her learning which is amazing!
Johnny - Well done to Johnny for telling Mrs Walker all about our learning in Reception. He was able to tell her about omnivores, carnivores and herbivores.
Aria - Aria, you have shown amazing knowledge about the natural world this week. You know so much about African animals! We are so proud of you.
Maya - Maya, you have shown great enthusiasm for all your learning this week and have listened beautifully. We are very proud of you.

Year 1

Evie - Evie has tried her best in her lessons. She has worked really hard and also made a fantastic ‘Wanted’ poster about Alan the alligator.
Eliza - Eliza gave lots of brilliant answers in our History lesson learning about how technology has changed the last 60 years.
Alessya - This week we have started writing information texts to tell people how to look after our dragons. Alessya has been able to independently start her writing and has used some adventurous vocabulary to stretch herself.
Edward - For working really hard in Technology today, he listened to all instructions and he was able to independently cut up a range of fruit and vegetables and gave some a try that he hadn't already tried.

Year 2

Savannah - Savannah has been working hard this week on creating her own adventure story about The Magic Finger sequel. She came up with great ideas and was able to write her plan of key events to begin writing next week.
SJ - SJ has aimed high this week and completed all tasks set for him. Another achievement this week, is that SJ found climbing across the slide tower tricky, however he persevered and now enjoys exploring the slide tower freely.
Harry - Harry has been working hard with telling the time and was able to show past and to in 5 minute intervals.
Charlotte - Charlotte has been working really hard with writing her adventure story about the magic finger and The Coopers. She was able to use subordinating conjunctions to connect her ideas and explanations.

Year 3

Amy - During Maths yesterday, Amy was able to show a great understanding of different 3D and was able to create her own using multilinks cubes!
Mason - Mason has tried his best this week in English, when trying to write his own letter and using all the different features.
Fatima - Fatima had a great English lesson the other day, when she was able to identify features of a letter and include them in her own response.
Amber - Amber was able to show great perseverance during Maths on Wednesday when understanding the difference between parallel and perpendicular lines.

Year 4

Maisie - For having such a great attitude this week! Maisie has read nearly every day this week and has put so much effort into each day! Great job Maisie!
Ellis - For being incredibly honest when it was really tough this week. This shows such great growth and shows us you are nearly ready for Year 5.
Jamie - Jamie has shown such a great mature reflective attitude this week. We are so proud of you!
Sofia S - Sofia keeps challenging herself and always tries her very best. She is a great role model to the rest of the class.

Year 5

Oliver - For super progress with his spelling! Oliver nearly doubled his score from February. Well done and keep up the good efforts.
Tasmia - Tasmia got a fantastic score in her spelling test of Year 5 and 6 words this week. Well done for super efforts and progress.

Year 6

Amani - This week in science we looked at the cardiovascular system. Amani produced a lovely piece of writing and was able to recall lots of facts and constantly had her hand up. In history we are learning about rebuilding Britain after the war and again Amani has constantly had her hand up and has shared some really great ideas thinking about cause and effect. Keep up the hard work Amani and well done!
Tafari - Tafari has had a really positive week. He has produced some good writing including a recipe for cottage pie and an information text about the cardiovascular system. He has also been able to remember key details about the cardiovascular system and has shared these with the class. Tafari has also been really helpful in the play doing all the music. Well done Tafari what a great week mate! Keep it up.
All of you - You have all worked really hard towards your production so you are all learner of the week! Well done.

Well done to everyone who worked so hard this week, it is fantastic to see so many positive learning experiences!

Pupil Leadership

School Council

Watch this space for further updates.

Letters

Please find all of our latest letters here: https://www.micklem.herts.sch.uk/letters/ . If you have any questions regarding anything coming up, do not hesitate to ask.

PTA

The big day is almost upon us! We hope to see you all at the Summer Fayre tomorrow from 11am til 2pm. If you haven't already brought tokens or wristbands, these will be available to purchase by card or cash at the fayre.

If you are able to help the PTA in anyway then please get in contact: pta@micklem.herts.sch.uk

Facebook page: Micklem Primary School PTA