Welcome to issue 149 of our school newsletter. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram for regular updates on achievements, class news and school updates.
Coming up in this issue:
Learning updates
Attendance
This Week's Instagram Posts
Upcoming events
Gift of a book
Notices
Little Leaders
Reading for pleasure
FOMS
Wellbeing connect
Tanya
Behaviour
Parent Teacher Meetings
Author Visit
Parental engagement sessions
Vision Screening
Harvest
Appreciation
Foundation Stage Children in Foundation Stage enjoyed a Connect workshop. They had great fun playing games, turn taking and sharing.
Key Stage One What a busy and exciting week we have had in KS1! We have started our shared writing inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, programmed Bee-Bots in Computing and practiced drawing facial features in Art inspired by Frida Kahlo. In History, we have been comparing parts of old and modern planes and thinking about how they have changed over time. We also had lots of fun during our PSHE Wellbeing Connect workshop, where we had the chance to get to know new people, play with different friends and develop our teamwork and confidence.
Lower Key Stage Two We have had another busy week in LKS2! As part of our PSHE learning, the children took part in a Connect workshop, linking brilliantly with our term’s focus on the Five Ways to Wellbeing. In History, we continued exploring life in the Stone Age, looking at how people lived, from early cave shelters through to Neolithic settlements such as Skara Brae. We also discovered how important fire, flint and tools were for survival. The children then became prehistoric artists, experimenting with charcoal and different techniques to create their own cave art. We are very excited to build on all of this learning during our trip to Creswell Crags next week! In PE, the children are also really beginning to enjoy Drumba, developing their sense of rhythm and coordination as they learn routines and practise moving together in unison.
Upper Key Stage Two It has been lovely to see the children settling into our routines and high expectations during Week 4, supporting and encouraging one another. Our Connect wellbeing focus and workshop have helped children explore belonging, relationships and supporting others, while our Year 5s enjoyed a conflict resolution workshop with the Lincolnshire Stay Safe Partnership. In English, we have been inspired by Shadow Girl, writing diary entries from her perspective, while in Maths the children have shown determination and positivity when tackling the challenge of rounding. In Music, the Year 5s have already learnt three chords in three weeks, much to Mrs Ellis's delight! Thank you for your continued support with homework and reading—please encourage those good habits and remember to add reading to our Reading Padlet!
Last years whole school attendance figure was 96.3%
Our aim for the academic year is 97% or above
Current whole school attendance is 98%
Our class attendance for this week is:
1st October- LKS2 trip to Creswell Crags
1st October- National Poetry Day
Advanced Notice
5th October Cycle to School Week
6th October- Flu Vaccinations
8th Octover- Harvest Assembly (reception parents invited)
If you would like to gift a book to school for a special occasion or 'just because', please see our Amazon Wishlist for some ideas. All books donated are marked with a special 'gifted by...' message and added to our library or class libaries.
Here are this year’s sports crew! We’re really looking forward to an exciting year of promoting physical activity and sport at Metheringham Primary. We can’t wait to represented the school with enthusiasm and team spirit. Let’s make it a fantastic year! Our first newsletter will be coming out soon.
Eco-committee met for the first time this week and collated ideas for this year’s sustainability missions. Watch this space for updates from our little leaders. 🌎
Watch this space for the announcements of our new mini leaders in other roles across the school.
📚🌍 Take 10 to Read – Can we make history?
On Thursday 8th October, we’ll be joining the National Literacy Trust and British Council in an exciting attempt to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most people reading online in 12 hours!
As a school, we’ll be aiming to take part in one of the special online reading sessions during the school day. 🎉
But we’d love our families to join in too! There are sessions throughout the day for different age groups, so why not choose a time, curl up with a book and take 10 minutes to read together at home? 📖❤️
It’s a brilliant way to celebrate reading for pleasure – and you could even help us make history!
Find out more information about how to register and join in here: https://literacytrust.org.uk/events/take-10-record-attempt/
FOMS helped us connect and focus on our wellbeing this week by booking wellbeing connect workshops with Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Games.
Everyone learnt about resilience, the power of relationships and how connecting can improve our wellbeing and happiness.
A huge thank you to FOMS. The pennies that are raised throughout the year mean we can offer these enrichment opportunities to our children. I'm sure they all made lots of lasting memories.
Last year, we reviewed and developed our whole school approach to supporting pupils' wellbeing. As new classes and relationships build in September, every class is focusing on 'CONNECT' to teach children ways to make friends, build relationships and to use this to feel happy and safe. To support this focus, we booked a workshop for each class to participate in activities to allow adults and children to play games, share, build resilience and connect. There were smiles all round and the children were highly engaged. The workshop experience will be used as a discussion point throughout the term to continue to build an understanding of how 'connections' can support general well being.
We are thrilled to be welcoming Tanya back into school this week. This will be our third year working with the charity to provide enrichment and wellbeing opportunities for pupils at our school. For the benefit of new families to Metheringham Primary School, Tanya is a therapy dog who visits our school for sessions throughout the year. She is fully vetted and works in many community venues across the county. Tanya is supervised by her owner and a member of school staff. She provides a calm and reflective space for pupils, listens to children read and gives lots of cuddles. Children will work with Tanya via invite only and permission from home will always be acquired prior to any sessions starting. Our wonderful Happy and Healthy Ambassadors will be the first group of pupils to work with her during term 1.
We have three school rules: ready, respectful and safe. Everyone follows these rules to ensure our school is a welcoming, safe and happy place to learn. At Metheringham, 'We do what is right because it's the right thing to do.'
Here's what our pupils had to say about the start of the school year during some pupil interviews this week:
'Everyone is safe at our school and it's always very calm'
'There is lots of kindness on the playground'
'My teacher always listens to me and makes me feel comfortable'
'We all follow ready, respectful and safe to make our school a happy place to be'
Parent teacher consultations will take place on:
Tuesday 13th October
Thursday 15th October
Teachers will meet parents in the school hall for 10 minute appointments. These will focus on transition, well-being and starting points for this academic year. You will also have time to look at your child's learning books outside their classrooms.
Appointments will be bookable on the Arbor app from Wednesday 30th September at 10:00. Bookings will close on Friday 9th October.
📚 We’re Going Matt Goodfellow Mad! ✍️
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that award-winning author and poet Matt Goodfellow will be joining us at Metheringham Primary School on Tuesday 13th October!
We’re huge believers in the power of reading for pleasure, and we can’t wait for our children to spend the day immersed in stories, poetry and writing. Our KS2 children will enjoy fun, interactive workshops exploring Matt’s books, what inspires him and what makes a great writer, while our KS1 children will enjoy a special poetry reading.
And there’s more… Matt has kindly agreed to do a book signing at lunchtime! KS2 children can bring along a copy of one of his books to be signed.
Please note that a letter with further information about Matt’s visit has been sent out via Parent Comms.
We’re counting down the days until we can welcome Matt into school and get inspired by his brilliant words, stories and poems!
Let the reading adventures begin! 📖✨
This year, we will be inviting parents into school for parental engagement sessions across the academic year. These sessions will be curriculum focused and will give you the opportunity to see your child's learning in action or even take part in some curriculum based activities with your child.
The following sessions are planned for Term 1 and Term 2:
Chicks & Robins – 8th December @2:45
Puffins – 10th November @2:45
Kingfishers –18th November @2:45
Penguins - 22nd October @2:45
Toucans - 22nd October @2:45
Eagles - 7th December @2:45
Woodpeckers - 7th December @2:45
Owls - 19th November @2:45
Please don't worry if you can't make the first session, there will be more opportunities across the year. All children will still take part.
Our friends at the Lions Charity will be back on 4th November to offer free vision screening to all children again. Please check your emails for more details and information on how to consent.
Our Harvest Festival will take place on Thursday 8th October.
We would like to invite the Parents and Carers of our new Reception pupils to join us for this event in school. Unfortunately, due to limited space, we cannot open this to all parents.
We are asking pupils to bring in food donations for our school community larder. Any donations are welcome over the next few weeks. Please send them into school with your child if you are able to help.
A very happy Teaching Assistant Appreciation Day to our incredible team. Our school just wouldn't be the same without them.