Dear Parents and Carers

The weather has taken a downward turn this week but the end of term is still ending on an absolute high after so many fantastic events that have taken place in recent days!

The children are loving the new gym equipment thanks to funds from the Sports Premium plus a generous donation from our amazing PTA!

On Monday lucky Year 5 spent the day at Chessington World of Adventures and as always, were great representatives of St Michael's throughout the day.

And on Tuesday I took my life in my hands (and face and feet as it turned out!) and took part in the Headteacher's Challenge! I had no idea in advance what it was to involve and it was even more gruesome than I had imagined. Luckily it was for a great cause and thanks to your generosity we raised a whopping £550.

On Wednesday and Thursday we held our virtual parents consultation sessions and also our "Lets Rock" members performed for their parents across the two days.

And now for today, which has already been full of Easter excitement...

The Easter bunny a visit this morning and the children have all taken part in the Tough Mudder event on the field throughout the morning too. Thank you to the PTA for helping to run yet another superb fundraising event. More field fun to follow at 2pm on the field - details below.

Finally, please enjoy this newsletter, outlining for your enjoyment and review all the varied and wonderful things that take place in our school.

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter break and see you on Tuesday 19th April.

Best wishes

AMG

Headteacher

Holiday Reading Challenge:

Over the break, explore your reading challenges, stuck in the back of your homework diaries and reading records

Find an author, genre or theme you haven't before - be curious!

You could:

Visit a local library

Book swap with a family member or friend

Listen to an audiobook

Find a perfect reading spot and delve deep into a story

Once you have finished a text, date and tick it off. Remember to give a brief summary of what you have read in the front of your diaries.

Your teachers will be looking through these and discussing with you all you have read after the holidays.

Happy reading!

HAYLEY BOSTOCK

YEAR 6 SCHOOL JOURNEY MEETING:

Wednesday 20th April at 8am

Nursery & EYFS Review:

It has been another action packed term at Mini St. Mikes. The children returned to school after the half term holidays to find a rather unexpected visitor stuck in the roof. After looking at the clues, the children decided it was Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk), this inspired lots of story retelling in the outdoor area. The children have been engaged in planting different kinds of seeds and you may have noticed our very own beanstalks slowly growing in the playground.

More recently we have helped the Little Red Hen to make bread and watched what happened to the cream as we shook it to make our own butter - apparently it tasted as good as the butter from Sainsburys! This term we have also started exploring the early phonics sounds and we have been impressed with the children's willingness to experiment with using these sounds in their mark making endeavors. We have also been working really hard on writing our names all by ourselves.

The highlight of the term has definitely been the visit from the chicks. They arrived as ten eggs and left as ten fluffy chicks. The children loved finding out all about the lifecycle of the chick, how long they stay in the shell and all about their special 'egg tooth' that they use to 'escape'. All the children showed great gentleness when exploring the chickens and we were sad to see them go. Mini St. Mikes would like to wish all the children and their families a very peaceful Easter break.

In Reception we have really enjoyed our dinosaur topic. Our favourite dinosaur themed book was Dear Dinosaur by Chae Strathie. After listening to this book we wrote our own letters to a dinosaur. We also designed and drew our own dinosaur islands with volcanoes and swamps for all the different kinds of dinosaurs. Green class are now dinosaur experts and can tell you lots of interesting dinosaur facts that we learnt from non-fiction books.

To create our own dinosaur fossils we followed a recipe and measured out ingredients to make salt dough. We used flour, salt and water. Next we then pressed a small dinosaur into the ball of dough. When the fossil was dried we painted them in lots of natural looking stone colours.

In our dinosaur museum role-play area we had lots of fun learning all about dinosaurs and looking at fossils and bones carefully using a magnifying glass to see all the details.

Reception children have also enjoyed learning about springtime weather. Particularly, why and how it rains! We discovered the three different types of clouds, and even created our own rain cloud experiments. Which then turned into a great sensory and messy play activity!

We have been focusing on how christians celebrate Easter. We have enjoyed retelling and sequencing the Easter story, including: discussing the donkey’s special job and reenacting Palm Sunday and Jesus’ last supper. We also spoke about the sad part of the Easter story to understand why the cross is so important to Christians. This led to some wonderful independent writing and artwork explaining God’s love for us.

‘The bread is Jesus’ body’.

‘The wine is Jesus’ blood’.

‘I have a special meal with my family on my birthday’.

We also had a great time celebrating World Book Day and Shrove Tuesday!

THE EYFS TEAM

Lower Phase Review:

We have come to the end of another fabulous half term in Key Stage 1. The children have continued to WOW us with their super attitude to learning! There has been some lovely learning taking place this half term in KS1!

Our Year 1 children have been loving their topic, Enchanted Woodland. They were able to make the most of our school environment by kick-starting their topic with a nature walk around the school; using their senses to observe the world around them. In English, Year 1 has been focusing on narratives and fact files. They have looked closely at the familiar book ‘The Gruffalo’ and used similes in their writing to describe the characters. The children loved to use their imagination to come up with some super sentences. In Maths our Year 1’s started to look closely at the patterns seen when counting in 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s. They have been working hard to ensure they understand the numbers they need to use. They ended this half term with a wonderful trip to Box Hill. Where they got the chance to embed their learning of woodland animals, plants, and trees by focusing on the artist Andy Goldsworthy. They took a nature walk around the area observing the woodland and finished the day by creating their own nature art.

Our Year 2s have also been working hard this term. They kick started their new Topic, Towers, Tunnels and Turrets by learning all about castles, their features and their history. This led them onto some exciting learning through history, where they studied the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Great Escape: the children thoroughly enjoyed stepping back in time! In RE they have been reflecting on the importance of the Cross at this time of year for Chrisitains, particularly looking closely at the open cross and the crucifix as well as other Easter Symbols. Over the half term, Year 2 has been busy studying Multiplication and division in Maths. They have learnt how to share, use the inverse to check their calculations and complete division problems. In English our Year 2 children have completed two excellent Big Writes this half term. Their first Big Write linked to their Design Technology project where the children had to write a double-page spread all about castles with a pop-up design. For their second Big Write, they used their wonderful acting skills to write a persuasive letter in the role of a chosen character. This was a brilliant end to the half term and showed the children's creativity and love of writing.

In true St Mikes fashion this term would not have been complete without a number of fabulous events taking place. Events such as World Book Day, Comic Relief, our Lent appeal with the ‘40 Acts of Kindness’ focus, a Lent Disco, Well-being afternoons, to name but a few. The absolute highlight of the term has to be the AMAZING Headteacher Challenge! We all got to witness Mrs Grant take on another of her famous Headteacher challenges. This year did not disappoint and the hall was full of fun, laughter and much excitement! Well done for being such a good sport Mrs Grant :)

GEMMA JENNINGS

Middle Phase Review:

As we reach the Easter holidays, we can look back at a particularly creative half term in Middle Phase.

In early March, Year 3 put on a wonderful assembly for their parents and three year groups, to showcase everything they have learned about art and famous artists in recent weeks as part of their Urban Pioneers project, from the ‘Angel of the North’ to works by Banksy. Not only did the children exhibit their own fabulous paintings and drawings, they also treated us to two amazing breakdance routines which they had choreographed themselves. The children collaborated well to explain all that they had been doing in class in this very colourful, energetic and informative performance! It was special to be able to do this in front of such a big audience at last.

Using their knowledge of Pop Art, Year 3 has recently been busy creating more artwork to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee - the children have enjoyed the different stages of creating their artwork as they prepared the background and then applied a portrait of the Queen using a variety of media and techniques. Lettering has been used creatively as well to highlight aspects of the Queen’s long reign. We are looking forward to the great exhibition next term where you will be able to see the results of the children’s hard work. Year 4 has been busy doing these too and can’t wait to display them properly next term.

As the weather is becoming warmer and sunnier, Year 3s have been using the outside learning space more frequently, for example to read outside and, in maths, to understand the difficult concept of fractions by physically experiencing different fractions with hoops and chalked patterns on the playground.

World Book Day was great fun and the range of innovative costumes was, as always, wonderful to see. This year was a little different in that the whole phase got together to explore one particular book, ‘The Great Kapok Tree’. Children enjoyed a carousel of activities as they considered the theme of the story about the rainforest through art, geography, music and poetry; each with a different teacher in a different classroom.

Year 4 has been loving the topic, ‘Traders and Raiders’, all about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings. Obviously, this is predominantly a history topic but we have also incorporated geography, identifying and locating the parts of Europe where these invaders travelled from to Britain and why they came. We have also used our creative and practical skills to make models of bejewelled Saxon brooches and worked in pairs to ‘build’ Saxon style houses out of cardboard, straw and sticks. We are looking forward to the finale of this topic which will be a visit to Fulham Palace in the first week next term to participate in a workshop to find out how the Anglo Saxons impacted our local area.

At the start of the half term, we also dedicated one week to science, learning about electrical currents. We experimented with wires, batteries, bulbs and switches to find out about circuitry, conductors and insulators.

In RE lessons, Year 3 has been learning about the role and emotions of different people in the Easter story; Mary Magdalene, Peter and Judas. Year 4 has focused on the significance of Holy Communion for Christians. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Linton Smith back to school to talk to us about communion at her church. The children asked thoughtful questions and discussed the meaning of community.

Funny highlights include dressing up in red for Red Nose Day and watching Mrs Grant enduring a ‘Gruesome Spa Treatment’ as her annual headteacher challenge which has raised over £550 for the Ukrainian Appeal. Thank you for all your contributions to our charity fundraising.

The warmer weather means that the children can get out regularly to the field at lunchtimes and Mr Rochford has reintroduced ‘the mile run’ when they are over there. We have also been learning tennis skills and honing our popping and locking dance moves in weekly PE lessons. As you will have seen, we have just had some amazing looking gym equipment installed in the playground which the children are excited about for next term!

On behalf of all my colleagues in Middle Phase, I wish you all, and your families, a restful and happy Easter. We look forward to welcoming the children back ready and refreshed at the beginning of next term.

RACHEL LEE

Upper Phase Review:

By far, one of our most enjoyable events this half term has been our "phase express" to celebrate both Year 5's Scream Machine topic and Year 6's, Bloodheart.

We were very lucky to have doctor Anna Mcclatchie join us for the morning to share her wisdom and expertise. In houses, the pupils were given a biology lesson on the heart, before rolling up their sleeves and dissecting one, looking closely at its features and functions - not for the faint hearted, but albeit a very memorable experience!

Meanwhile, the rest of the phase undertook a water experiment, exploring buoyancy and water resistance. Additionally, there was a whistlestop history tour of the Titanic, followed by a sketching lesson, looking closely at perspective.

Similarly, the phase had a brilliant World Book Day, in which they visited different activities led by staff. Walking around the classrooms there was all sorts of magic taking place: Quidditch, potions making and transfiguration to name a few. It was great to see the children engaged and immersed in the world of reading - thank you to all the parents who came along for our RFP session.

Year 5 celebrated the end of their Scream Machine topic with a fun-fuelled tour to Chessington World of Adventures. Before braving the rides, the pupils took park in a workshop, exploring the different ways the rides use a variety of forces. It was great to learn about the dynamics of each ride before testing them out!

Over the Easter, the children will be encouraged to delve into their reading challenges, pasted in the back of their homework diaries. The staff will be talking through this before Friday, in readiness for the break.

Once the children have finished a challenge, they simply date and tick off what they have read, before writing a brief summary in their diaries.

I know the teachers will be looking forward to hearing what they have read throughout the holiday.

Have a lovely break everyone, we look forward to seeing you back and ready to take on the final term!

HAYLEY BOSTOCK

A Review of the Half Term:

This term, the Inclusion team conducted a parent survey to ask opinions on a potential name change. The majority of parents supported a change from “Special Educational Needs” to “Additional Educational Needs”. We have also introduced an Inclusion Newsletter which we will produce termly. The first two newsletters focused on ADHD and ASD and can be found on the Parent Bulletin Board of the Inclusion page on our school website.

Our lovely reading volunteers, including Nelson and a newly recruited ex-parent, have continued to support our children 1:1 this term. We look forward to seeing them back in the Summer.

We have been enjoying our new sensory garden this term also. We sent a request out to all our classes to think of a great name for this new space. The children had some brilliant ideas but the winning name came from 6K with “The Garden of Wonders”.

We will look toward hosting an in-person Inclusion Coffee Morning in the Summer term, so keep an eye out for details after the Summer half-term break.

MICHELLE GRIGG

PE News:

PE Next Term

We had another amazing half term in PE doing tennis and dance. Once again I was so happy with the progress the children made through their hard work and determination. Next term we'll be focussing on striking and fielding skills and applying them in rounders and cricket. I am looking forward to seeing the children progress and judging by some of the batting and bowling skills I have seen at break and lunchtimes I am in for yet another amazing half term.

Gym Equipment

The installation of the gym equipment has now been installed and has gone down really well with the children. The equipment was funded by the PTA and the PE Sports Premium. The house and vice captains worked with me in the autumn term to pick the equipment and were the first to use the equipment. We have watched the videos on how to use the equipment and have incorporated it into PE this week and the feedback has been very positive.

60 Active Minutes Survey

I sent out a survey about the amount of activity our children do just before Christmas. Unfortunately we only had 15 responses so I will be sending this out again after Easter. Please look out for it and fill it out as this will help us evidence that our children are meeting the government requirement of 60 minutes of physical activity each day which I am confident our children are doing.

Daily Run

Now the weather has improved we have started our daily run at lunchtimes on the field. This is great for the children to improve their fitness by setting personal targets e.g. running half a lap then walking half. It is also great preparation for children that want to get into the cross country teams which we have already had a lot of success with this year.

Have a great Easter Holiday

CARL ROCHFORD

SAS Group:

It's been wonderful to have a chance to play outside this half term and to have the three little Mini St Mikes siblings join us occasionally too! We have also made Mothering Sunday and Easter craft and special keyring gifts and were thrilled to welcome Mrs Linton-Smith back to help us with some of them.

This week we said 'goodbye and good luck' to two of our members who are moving up to North Yorkshire over the holidays. We wish them well and will miss them.

Next term we will focus on April being "The Month of the Military Child" and also hopefully spend lots more time outside in the outdoor classroom, playground and sensory garden.

We are also looking forward to being involved with the special June celebrations for Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee.

CAROLINE JOPP

Our 2021-2022 school attendance target is:

97.5%

This term we achieved:

96%

Please also refer to the punctuality link on our website

http://www.stmichaels.wandsworth.sch.uk/our-school/attendance/

Summer Term 1:

Price per day: £2.60

Price per week: £13.00

Price per half term: £72.80

Change To Lunch Arrangements:

If your child wishes to switch from school lunch to packed lunch (or vice versa) next half term please be aware that the kitchen will need a week's advance notice.

If you are switching over, please do then stick with this decision for the remainder of the half term ahead.

At the end of each term, we sit back and think, wow that was busy but surely next term won't be as busy... But then it always turns out to be exactly as busy!

This term we welcomed our traditional Spring Social back and were delighted to finally be able to use the quiz written two years ago! According to the traditional PTA calendar, this year was intended to be an Auction year however we felt it wasn't the right fit at this point in time so decided instead to hold a Promises auction. This auction was exactly as we hoped it would be - lots of amazing lots which were very generously donated but at a price point we felt comfortable with. Thanks again to everyone who supported our spring fundraising!

Summer Term plans

Looking forward to next term, we have a second hand uniform sale on the second Friday back followed by two cakes sales before our summer fete. Please mark your diaries as follows:

Uniform sale - Friday 30th April

Cake sale (Green Class plus Year 2) - Friday 13th May

Cake sale (Years 4 and 5) - Friday 17th June

Summer Fete - Saturday 25th June

Summer Fete Update

We are delighted to release the theme of this years summer fete - The St Michael's Royal Garden Party! As always, the fete is a whole school effort and we have started recruiting volunteers but need your help! There are some stalls or areas that we need people to lead. For each job, we have created a brief summary of what is required and the time needed. These positions do not require a big time commitment, in most cases a few hours the day before the fete and a few on the day, so please have a look on our website and email us if you can help (pta@stmichaels.wandsworth.sch.uk).

https://sites.google.com/stmichaels.wandsworth.sch.uk/stmichaelsptasite/home/2021-22-events-calendar/summer-fete

Fundraising Update

Our fundraising efforts this year have been amazing and we are currently ahead of our budget by over £3,000. This is an amazing result to date and we are so appreciative of everyone who has contributed to this success.

So as we end this term on a high note with flowers blooming and summer not far away, we wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday!

We hope the Easter Bunny visits and the sun comes out to play. Enjoy the change of routine and we'll see you next term!

Rachel, Naomi and the PTA Committee