Molehill Newsletter

Molehill Primary Academy Newsletter

Term 1 2022 - 2023

Principal's Welcome

This module I have been, once again, incredibly proud of our whole school community and this culminated in our celebrations during our Harvest Assembly.

Our pupils' behaviour is exemplary and there is a supportive and collaborative partnership between pupils across the school. Examples of this can be seen during lesson time when they are helping each other to problem solve; kindness demonstrated in the corridors when holding doors open for one another; or on the playground when our Peer Mediators support younger pupils to develop fantastic friendships with one another.

We have been immensely pleased to welcome a significant number of new prospective parents to our Open Events this term. They left our school after making comments such as, 'I'm so impressed,' 'This is such a lovely school' and 'you must be so proud'. In a short space of time they had also recognised that it is truly the pupils and the staff who make Molehill such a wonderful place to learn.

Thank you to parents who joined us for our 'Fabulous Finish' this term. It was very well attended and we loved seeing how much your children enjoyed sharing their learning with you. Our focus was reading, its importance, and how you can help us to ensure that this continues to be a priority at home as well as at school. It's one of the greatest gifts we can give our children

As you will see from this newsletter, pupils have taken part in a range of exciting opportunities and we are looking forward to the next module when there are even more events planned, lots of which we will be inviting parents to attend.

Wishing you a wonderful October break, full of fantastic family time.

Mrs Laura Smith

Principal

Parent Survey

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PYP Inquiry

Little Moles

Little Moles have had an excellent start to the school year. The children have settled well into their class and daily routine and have already learnt so much about who they are and how they grow following our transdisciplinary theme of 'Who We Are'. Feelings have also been a big part of our learning this term and I have enjoyed watching the children learn about their different emotions and how it's okay to feel different ways. We have created feeling tubes and we can express ourselves using these tubes by moving them onto the different emotions represented through colours. Using our core text 'Welcome to our world', the children were able to compare similarities and differences between themselves and others and understand who they are as an individual and become more aware of the others in the class. Through play they have learnt to take turns and share.

Kangaroo and Wallaby Class

This module our EYFS children have all settled into their classes and routines, learning new knowledge and skills. We had a focus on discovering 'Who We Are' with the central idea of understanding myself and others, helps me grow. We used the core text 'All are welcome' by Alexandra Penfold to help us understand and learn that all children are welcome in our class no matter their race, religion or background. Throughout the module we discovered what makes us special, our similarities and differences, likes and dislikes, and went on a virtual trip around our community with a focus on how we can come together in a positive community of learners. We looked at the aspects of the IB PYP Learner Profile attributes, with a focus on being open-minded, and being caring and how we can live and learn using these attributes to become wonderful members of our school and community.

Key Stage One

This term, Key Stage One have based their inquiries on the transdisciplinary theme 'Who We Are'. The three central units of inquiry looked at our similarities and differences to see what makes us individuals, why health is important to our lives, and what connections we have in the community. The children were particularly intrigued by the old photographs of Shepway and our school; it was really interesting to see how much things have changed over time. The children have focused on the learner attributes this term, especially being principled, as they have learned to follow new year group rules and routines. We look forward to seeing the children take on new challenges next term.

Lower Key Stage Two

This term, our inquiries have been based around the transdisciplinary theme 'Who We Are'. Pupils have investigated the meaning of communities and culture and what makes communities unique.

They have researched the Stone Age through the lens of a boy who travelled back in time in the book 'Stone Age Boy.' The children recognised that communities develop for various reasons, including Stone Age communities and have their own cultures and beliefs. During the inquiry, Hedgehog Class built Stonehenge out of biscuits to understand the difficulties people faced without modern technology. Badger Class recently made Ice Age domes, again showing the developments of communities, and Fox Class studied cave paintings which gave them a real insight into culture at this time. They then created some fabulous cave art of their own based on their learning. The children have also developed their learner profiles particularly being principled and caring which has helped them make an impressive start to the new school year.

Upper Key Stage Two

This term, Upper Key stage 2 have been investigating the transdisciplinary theme, 'Who we are' using the text ' A Kind of Spark' to delve into the idea of what makes us human and understanding the differences between people. They have enjoyed investigating the Tudor period and linking this to the witch trials upon which the book is based. They have produced some lovely argument writing and newspaper reports as well as artwork based on Tudor portraits and the artist Hans Holbein. We have also learned about the human stages of development and compared these to the gestation periods of other mammals in Science which led Eagle class to complete a school-wide investigation on the different heights of school children. Additionally, Kestrel class manipulated the inquiry into a different direction and have been designing their own scones that reflect their personal beliefs and culture. They have all had a fantastic start to the year and we are very excited to see how we can push ourselves to be the best we can be next term.

Harvest Celebration Assembly

On Wednesday we had a very special assembly to celebrate Harvest. The pupils sang beautifully and we are particularly proud that they had all learnt Sign Language and throughout every song, were both singing and signing. We learnt about how and where Harvest is celebrated across the globe. Our Arts Council also read a poem about Harvest.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Vine Food Bank as part of our celebration, we have received this message that they have asked us to share with you all:

'Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and donations so we can continue to meet the needs of people in and around this community. Please thank the staff, pupils and parents for their kindness and generosity at this particularly difficult time for our nation and world.'

New iPads in EYFS

"Advancements in digital technology are changing the way we live, learn, work and communicate. The digital strategy of Leigh Academies Trust is to develop an integrated digital ecosystem that harnesses these advancements across the various elements of the Trust, which in turn will produce mature, responsible digital citizens who are ready for the world of employment in a 21st century workplace." LAT Digital Strategy

To support this strategy the EYFS has received new iPads which will help support their learning and start gaining computing knowledge and skills. The children have enjoyed scanning QR codes and listening to nursery rhymes and stories and using them to practise their maths skills they have learnt. We have used the iPads to go on a virtual trip around our community using google earth and had lots of fun finding our school and homes.

Football Tournament

Earlier this term, on Wednesday 12th October, 36 teams entered into The Stones Community Trust (The SCT) Under 11s Boys/Mixed Tournament held at The Gallagher Stadium. Molehill Football Team took part and played exceptionally well - demonstrating resilience, sportsmanship and pride in their school.

Each School represented a country taking part in the Men’s World Cup in November 2022. We were representing America! The team returned back to school with medals and certificates! We are all very proud of them all.

Sunflower Competition!

Congratulations to Riley from Kestrel Class the winner of Molehill's sunflower growing competition. As you will see from the picture, Riley has grown the most fantastic specimen. The sunflower is so tall that Riley and his family have found it impossible to measure! However, when compared to Riley's height, it is clearly the winner. I think we will all be asking Riley for tips before next year's competition. Well done Riley!

Scarecrows!

The EYFS children initiated the inquiry into making a scarecrow after being inspired by our harvest assembly singing practise.

They used a book called 'How to make a Scarecrow' to make a list of what they needed and then worked as a class to put him together. He is named 'Sid the Scarecrow'.

Healthy Living

KS1 have been learning about healthy living as part of their inquiries this term. The children completed data handling activities to determine their favourite fruit, before designing delicious looking fruit kebabs as part of their Design Technology lessons. I'm sure you will agree that the end results were fantastic!" EYFS children initiated the inquiry into making a scarecrow after being inspired by our harvest assembly singing practise.

They used a book called 'How to make a Scarecrow' to make a list of what they needed and then worked as a class to put him together. He is named 'Sid the scarecrow'

Grab and Go

St Martin's Church will once again be sharing free food with people from the local community on the 27th October between 1pm-3pm - all the ingredients needed to make a tasty meal plus some weekly staples which we know will be appreciated especially during the half term holiday.

Salus Youth Participation Project

We are delighted to let you know that Fox class will be taking part in Salus's Youth Participation Workshops starting on the 10th November for 6 weeks. Youth Participation Workshops allow young people to get involved in bespoke projects of their choosing which allow them to increase their sense of belonging both in the school and wider community. We look forward to sharing with you in Term 2 what community project Fox class decides to do.

Previous projects have included:

Enhancing our school environment
Welcome to our school – parent/child picnics
Raising money for local charities
Care home visits – board games/carol singing/afternoon
Road safety awareness
Eco-projects

December Dates to Remember

December is going to be an extremely busy time for the children and staff at Molehill, not just for Father Christmas and his elves! We have some exciting events coming up. Details to follow next term.

8th December School Disco (KS1/KS2) and Film Night (EYFS)

9th December Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day

14th December Christmas Lunch

15th December KS1 Nativity 9.30am EYFS & Little Moles Nativity 2pm

16th December Children's Christmas Fete for all years Father Christmas Grotto for Little Moles, EYFS & KS1

19th December EYFS & Nursery parent and child Christmas craft session 2pm

20th December Church Service

Little Moles Nursery

You can apply now for a space in our Little Moles Nursery

Parents are able to claim 15 free hours a week across 38 weeks in the year, with eligible working parents able to apply for up to 30 hours. You can find out how easy this process is here.

More information, including an application pack, can be found on our website.

An Important Message from the EYFS Team!

We are always busy creating and planning exciting projects. Please help us

out by not throwing away any of these items, we would love any you may

have.

Attendance

Attendance at school is vitally important.

If your child needs to be absent from school FOR ANY REASON please contact the school as soon as possible on the 1^st day of absence, clearly stating the reason for absence. If you are unable to do this, please reply to the text or email sent to you. As a final resort please send a note to school with your child on their return to school.

Tel: 01622 751729

Email: contactus@molehillprimaryacademy.org.uk

Text: 07860054135