Molehill Newsletter

Molehill Primary Academy Newsletter

Term 2 2022 - 2023

Principal's Welcome

It has been yet another very busy term here at Molehill! With a number of sporting events at the beginning of the module, a Stone Age workshop and the plethora of Christmas events leading up to the Christmas break, pupils at Molehill have certainly enjoyed a variety of creative, innovative and unusual learning experiences.

We were also very pleased with our Parent Survey results. We always welcome ideas from parents about how to improve further and there was great engagement with the 'further comments' section. Lots of these comments focused on how wonderful the school is and a few parents gave us brilliant suggestions that we are looking forward to implementing this academic year. Over 95% of parents stated that they agree children are happy at our school, with 40.8% of parents strongly agreeing!

We know that there have been a variety of different challenges that families have faced, including chickenpox, colds and sickness bugs. Thank you for working with us to make sure that your children attended school as much as possible.

Thank you to all of our parents for your overwhelming support of us. We wish you all a fantastic Christmas break and a very happy new year. We look forward to seeing you all on the 5th January.

Mrs Laura Smith

Principal

PYP Inquiry

Little Moles

This term, Little Moles have continued to base their inquiries on the transdisciplinary theme 'Who We Are'. We had lots of exciting events celebrated from Halloween, Remembrance day, Diwali and Christmas to name just a few. The children enjoyed exploring and learning about what these different events were and what it meant to them. We used the core text 'Show the World' by Angela Dalton to help us understand and learn that everyone is able to express themselves through creativity and share their voice and vision of their world in a way that suits them as an individual. Little Moles have used this creativity to self express thoughts and feelings of these different events.

Kangaroo and Wallaby Class

This module we have looked at the Transdisciplinary theme, How we express ourselves with the central idea of Our voice is an important form of expression to communicate ideas, emotions and feelings. We used the core texts 'My beautiful voice' and the 'Colour monster' to support our learning. We started off by looking at what is a voice and what we do with our voices? We then looked at the different feelings and what makes us feel those feelings, what can we do when we feel angry or sad. We discussed how to show empathy and kindness in school and in our community and to understand more about who we are and to be able to express ourselves through different ways of communicating. Finally we have used our voice to bring joy through our nativity performance.

Key Stage One

For Module 2, we have explored the theme 'How we Express Ourselves'. Our inquiry based learning took us on a journey through the traditions and celebrations that we take part in in class, including Bonfire Night, Christmas and Diwali. Whilst learning about Diwali, we designed Rangoli patterns using paint, pens, pencils and fallen leaves. We even made some traditional coconut sweets! We have expressed ourselves in other ways with pattern making too, using shapes, jumper templates and coloured paper chains. Our science learning has been focused on the outdoor environment in school, and beyond, making links between weather, seasons and habitats.

Lower Key Stage Two

During Module 2, Lower Key Stage 2 undertook learning under the transdisciplinary theme How we express ourselves. Pupils investigated and recognised a wide range of different art forms and then compared the meaning of some of these.

They related art to their work in many curriculum areas. In RE they discussed a variety of art forms related to The Trinity in Christianity and this helped them to understand the meaning of this. In History, artefacts gave an insight into the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Paintings and sketches of Spain were used in Geography to investigate life in the Mediterranean region. In IT, children used a range of skills to create presentations that expressed their likes, dislikes and feelings. Collages in art allowed the children to express their feelings.

Upper Key Stage Two

During Module 2, Upper Key Stage 2 have explored the theme Sharing the Planet. Through a focused study of the book Hidden Figures, the children have investigated the concept of equality and the importance of having a fair and equal society where everyone has access to the same opportunities. Pupils have enjoyed learning about the lives of significant black women including Katherine Johnson and how, despite having to fight for the same rights as others, they were able to make a significant impact in the world of aeronautics and space exploration. This term's inquiry has allowed the children to explore the Earth, Sun and Moon, space; and our understanding of what is beyond our own planet. A focused study of the space artist Peter Thorpe has allowed the children to explore different painting techniques and work towards designing and creating their own piece of space art. The children have also studied the history of Rochester Castle, its dramatic siege and its connections with the Magna Carta - a great charter that some argue hinted at early human rights and equality for women.

Phonics Workshop

Earlier this module, we held an additional Phonics Workshop for all our EYFS and KS1 parents. The aim of the session was to support parents' understanding of how we teach phonics and early reading. The parents got to hear the pronunciation of the letter sounds for each grapheme and to understand how they can support their child's reading at home.

Stone Age Workshop

This module, Fox, Badger and Hedgehog classes were absolutely delighted to take part in a Stone Age Workshop. They learnt about how humans developed tools from stone which allowed them to survive; they went on a deer hunt; discovered more about climate change, such as the end of the last Ice Age, and explored why metal gradually replaced stone for use in making tools.

Lego Stem Workshop

We hosted the Lego Discovery Day where children from Oaks academy and our Year 5 children took part in an afternoon of exploring the Lego Spike Kit. We were very fortunate to have a member from GeTech come into school and deliver the STEM Lego Discovery workshop. The children used the Lego to make Spike the robot and programme him using the Scratch-based software to move. They worked as a team and used problem solving skills to get Spike to move forwards, backwards and create shapes. This was a wonderful experience and we are very proud of all the children who displayed the IB Learner profile attributes throughout the workshop.

Swimming Gala

Huge congratulations to our exceptional swimmers who competed in the Leigh Academy Trust Primary Swimming Gala on Tuesday 22nd November. We saw some incredible results. The swimming team placed fourth overall out of the fifteen schools that took part. We also shone for our individual performances, with Todor winning the freestyle in his race and Izzy placing fourth in the backstroke. What a heroic effort from the Molehill pupils in their first swimming gala, we're so proud of all you achieved.

Athlete Visit

On Friday 25th November we welcomed Jessica Fleisher, former Great British Champion Kickboxer to deliver a series of fitness circuits to the entire school followed by a motivational assembly as part of our sponsored fitness event. She spoke passionately about her journey and how starting small was the secret to her success. It was fun, high-energy and inspiring to all. We will not forget the inspiring words chanted by the school alongside Jess: 'Dream Big, Start Small, and Never Give Up'. Words of encouragement for not just sport but all areas of their lives.

Christmas Crafts

On Tuesday 6th December children and their parents from Reception and Key Stage 1 attended a Christmas Craft Workshop delivered by the Kent County Council Family Education Team. These workshops support interaction and provide quality time for families to have fun and learn together. The children and their parents worked together to produce creative Christmas decorations, wreaths, cards and all went home happy to decorate their homes.

Watch out for future Workshops taking place next year.

Film Night

We were extremely excited to host our first Pyjama film night. Our EYFS and KS1 all enjoyed getting dressed in their Pyjamas and started the evening with a little dance in the hall before settling down and snuggling with their favourite blankets and teddies to watch a christmas film. They enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and some biscuits to keep them warm.

Christmas Disco

We were delighted that so many children stayed on Thursday 8th December after school to take part in the first whole school event in our packed calendar of Christmas celebrations. Little Moles, EYFS and KS1 were the first to sample the delights of the disco where children and staff threw some very interesting shapes on the dance floor. The younger ones then settled down in their pyjamas to a film with hot chocolate and biscuits. The KS2 children danced non-stop with the favourite of the evening definitely being the Macarena which was superbly led by Mrs Tulloch and Miss Griffins who had clearly been practising for the event. Everyone was grateful for some refreshments half way through the evening and then it was back to dancing. Thank you to all the staff who stayed and made this event possible and to John Padmore for providing the music and keeping everyone entertained.

Christmas Dinner

Christmas lunch was again a tremendous success. Children and staff were joined by our volunteers. We all wore our Christmas jumpers and as our tradition dictates children were seated and staff served them their meals. This is a fabulous opportunity for us to share our excitement for Christmas and to continue to strengthen the relationships we have with our community. A huge thank you to Sally, our Chef, and her team as it is not an easy task making sure everyone's dietary requirements are catered for and everyone gets fed.

Salus Youth Participation Project

We are delighted to let you know that Fox class has taken 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.This supports them with social skills, educational achievement and emotional health and well-being. The children chose to work on a project to create a quiet area in the playground.

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

Fox Class Assembly

Huge congratulations to Fox class who led an informative, knowledgeable and highly-engaging assembly earlier this term. They shared all of their Stone Age Learning with us. They presented information clearly and the rest of the school very much enjoyed it!

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