Christmas Carols in the Field

Do please bring along your friends and neighbours.

School Lunches:

For the Spring term the costs are as follows:

Per Day: £2.75

Per Week: £13.75

Spring Term 1: £77

Spring Term 2: £82.50

Per Term: £159.50

All children should stick to either a school lunch OR a packed lunch for the whole half term unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please do not send in any sweets, chocolate or anything with SESAME OR NUTS.

Thank you.

EYFS: Nursery & Red & Green Classes

Early Years have had a busy second half to our Autumn term, full of exciting new learning and experiences. We are so proud of all the children, especially how hard they have worked and how they have continued to enjoy school, walking in every day with big smiles on their faces, ready for the day.

In Reception, we have been focussing on our Nativity and our unit of ‘Starry Night’. For our Nativity, the children had to learn their lines, remember their cues and remember the lyrics to their songs. All of the children showed great persistence and collaboration during all of our rehearsal and the performance was amazing! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

All of our Nativity practices have supported our learning in RE this term, where we have been learning in detail about the Bible Story, The Nativity. We have focussed on how Mary felt, the journey Mary & Joseph took and the role of the angels and star to guide.

In our unit of Starry Night, the children began by learning all about nocturnal animals. We made bats, cats and foxes in class and the children used their phonics to segment, blend and write their words to match their animal. We also went on a walk over to the field to find some habitats that animals may live in. It was exciting to see the children recognise habitats and discuss why animals would choose to live there. We celebrated our learning with our workshop from Explorer Dome. We discovered stories about the stars, looked in detail at the planets and learnt all about the moon - it was so magical!

During our busy half term, the children have completed all of their Phase 2 phonemes and have shown amazing progress in recognising the sounds and blending CVC words. It has been a pleasure to watch the children grow in confidence and begin their reading journey! They have been so excited to read their phonics books at school and home and it is amazing to see.

In Maths, the children have continued to learn their numbers to 5, focussing on the numbers 4 and 5. As well as the shapes, circle, triangle and squares. Our Starry Night unit also supported our learning of time, where we have learnt about day and night.

In Nursery, the children have continued to settle well and have shown great resilience in their learning and following of routines and expectations. The children have slowly joined in with more school activities and have watched both, the Year 2 and Reception dress rehearsals. We were very impressed with how well the children listened and joined in! A great start nursery!

In their learning, the children have continued their unit of ‘Me & My Community. We have been fortunate enough to be visited by the Police service this half term and the children asked questions and were intrigued in the other ways they help our community. The children were so excited to try on the uniforms and use these jobs in their role play. We have also explored the roles of doctors, paramedics, vets and firefighters. We have talked about all the situations these people can help us and when to call 999 - only in an emergency!

This half term we have also begun to explore groups of objects that begin with the same phoneme. Our weekly ‘What’s in the box’ focus has introduced the Nursery children to the first group of sounds. This focus will continue in the Spring term alongside more of an emphasis on blending phonemes together to make words. In maths we have continued to explore subitising, being able to recognise a small number of objects without counting them. The children are also beginning to notice groups within groups, for example, ‘I can see one at the top and two at the bottom’.

We would like to wish all our families a very merry festive season and a peaceful new year. We look forward to seeing you all in the Spring term.

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Chloe Fryer, Early Years Phase Lead

Lower Phase:

It has been a fun filled half term for Key stage 1. We have been super busy with Nativity performances, special visitors and fieldwork taking place around Southfields. It has been pleasing to see that the children have continued to show persistence and collaboration in many aspects of their learning as they continue to grow into young people of the community.

Year 2 have been busy with their learning of the local area and got the chance to develop their map skills further. They ventured out on a small walk around the local area using a map to guide them. They focused on compass points and how to best read a map to help them find their way around. They have also been busy learning all about Jesus and the light fo the world. The children learnt more about Chrismas in the view of Christians and got the chance to make their own christingle focusing on what each part of the christingle represents. The children ended their unit in DT of Food and Nutrition by designing, making and evaluating their own healthy sandwhich; thinking carefully about each component and how they can make healthier chocies in a simple way.Year 2 have also been working hard on their writing skills developing their understanding how to use rhetorical questions, similes and alliteration. The children have produced two Big Writes, of a poem and a speech, working on varied writing structures.

Year 1 have been learning all about the past looking into old toys and the history of toys over time. The children have been focusing on key skills of chronological order and even had visitors of grandparents who came in to discuss their experiences as a child. The children have also been focusing on Henri Matisse in Art. They looked into collage and explored materials in many different ways making collages focusing on complementary colours and expressing their creative sides and created many pieces of art including paper bead necklaces inspired by the artist. In English, Year 1 have been focusing on Goldilocks and the three bears, The three little pigs and the leopards drum. They have been focusing on their super sentence rules as well as sequencing the stories. They produced some lovely written work such as a book review. In Science, the children have been looking at everyday materials. They explored the outside areas around school and identified different materials and their properties.

As a school we had a first aider visit us to support us in an emergency. We thought carefully about what to do in an emergency and were given some homework to try to memorise our home addresses to help us if we were ever in an emergency situation!

It has been a half term for lots of celebrations. The children have worked extremely hard and have shown that continued efforts in their learning is contributing to their successes. The children are ready for a restful Christmas break and I am sure they will come back with their positive attitudes for what 2023 has to hold!

Charlotte Weller, Lower Phase Lead

MIDDLE PHASE:

This half term, Middle Phase pupils have been particularly creative. In Year 3, the children have been exploring the world of Pop Art and made some fabulous 2-colour prints of their own. Year 4 children have been digging deep into their imaginations to create similes to describe the ocean in poetry format. Both year groups enjoyed the Black History workshops at the start of the half term, using their innovation to role play and create ‘freeze frames’ about black British people who have made a significant impact including Sir Lenny Henry, Malorie Blackman, Rosalie Jones and Nicola Adams.

Year 3 have been learning about Stone Age Britain and have been finding out how people lived back then by researching the ancient settlements at Skara Brae in the Orkneys. A highlight of the term was the trip to the Tate Modern which extended their understanding of Pop Art. The children were amazed and absorbed by the wealth of artwork on display and took the time to sit and sketch some of the exhibits. An added point of interest was spotting the miniature street art (painted on dried chewing gum) as they walked across the Millenium Bridge. In Maths, the children have moved on from addition and subtraction to the multiplication and division unit. English lessons have been based on the classic story, The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. This has inspired detailed diary entries and rhyming couplet poetry.

Year 4 have been working hard in DT lessons to understand the benefits, both economical and nutritional, of seasonal foods. Their brief was to plan and prepare a tasty winter warmer soup using fresh seasonal vegetables. The finished soups were delicious and hearty, and the children evaluated them to conclude this food tech project. Included in this topic was a trip to Pizza Express where the children had fun making their own pizzas and learning about the importance of food hygiene. In Geography lessons, Year 4 have been comparing Spain and the UK, learning about physical features such as climate, mountains and rivers as well as human geographical features including population and industry. In Maths, we have also moved on from addition and subtraction to multiplication and division. English lessons have been interesting as we have learned about the life and work of Jacques Cousteau using Manfish as our text, which inspired a biography and also haiku, kenning and simile poetry.

All the children showed tremendous persistence during assessment week, showing what they have learned in Maths and Reading, Spelling and Grammar. This year, we have really worked hard in Whole Class Reading sessions, putting our VIPERS skills into practice. (Please ask your child what VIPERS stands for!) Remember to keep reading throughout the holidays, please.

These last two weeks are always exciting with all the Christmas festivities. Well done to the children who are part of Chamber Choir and to Mrs Minster for the lovely carol performance at the Southfields light switch on. So far, we have all enjoyed the nativity rehearsals and the fabulous fun of the Christmas Fair. It is always amazing to see the flurry of snowballs in the playground and to hear the squeals of joy. We are now very excited about the Christmas lunch, Nine Lessons and Carols and pantomimes to finish off the term!

Thank you to all the Middle Phase staff for their dedication and hard work, and to parents for their support as well. We wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year.

Rachel Lee, Middle Phase Lead

UPPER PHASE:

The second half of the term has gone by as quick as a flash! The children have been steadily progressing on their learning journeys. The children have enjoyed all the exciting events including the PTA Christmas Fair and the fabulous Pantomine. We are truly in the Christmas spirit and ready to celebrate the holidays with friends and family.

Year 5 had a fantastic Autumn 2 which saw the learners presenting their Anti-Bullying week assembly. The learners took creative control by organising some of their own lines which allowed them to innovate and be responsible for their part in the assembly. The year 5 learners enjoyed the Black History Month workshop where they learned about Black British figures and their contribution to Britain. What has been an exciting topic has been Earth and Space! Our budding scientists have enjoyed spotting the moon and recognising a full moon in the sky. Who knew St Michael’s playground was the perfect place to spot stars and the Moon? This laid the groundwork for our fabulous visit to the Science Museum.

In Year 6, the children have been enjoying learning about Scandinavia. A highlight for the learners was enjoying the most well-known Scandinavian concept, hygge (pronounced hue-gah) refers to a sense of cosy togetherness or feeling content with the present moment. The learners were clothed in their most snuggly clothes, enjoyed hot chocolate and audio stories to get a full sense of being in the moment. Moving towards the end of the Autumn term, the learners truly got into the Christmas spirit with the wonderful Christmas fete. Many staff commented on how responsible and organised the year 6 learners were as they took responsibility for their stall. Finally, the icing on the cake was this year's spell-binding 9 lessons and carols. The singing was truly sublime and allowed many to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

It has a busy Autumn 2. As we draw close to the end of the year, it is wonderful to be able to reflect on what went well and how can we improve to be even more successful in spring. There have been so many wow moments in learning, jokes, laughter, and successes. As we enter into a busy Christmas season, take a chance to have a hygge moment with those special to you. It is important to be still and present during the busy festive season. Thank you again to all the staff in the upper phase who have made this term run as smoothly as possible. Thank you to the parents who support the learners and teachers. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2023!

Adele Stewart, Upper Phase Lead

The children have performed really well in their PE units this term developing their football, hockey, dance and gymnastics. We have had our house competitions to finish each unit with Granville winning the football competition and hockey results will be announced in the new year. I have dropped into some dance and gymnastics lessons and the children and Louise are doing a great job with developing this part of our curriculum. The children will be starting netball/basketball and apparatus gymnastics in the new year.

60 active minutes per day

The government has a goal for all children to be active for 60 minutes on average per day (same as 7 hours per week). This could include a range of activities such as active transport (walking, cycling, scooting etc), sports clubs, PE, active play times, playing in the park and dancing at home. At school we track the children's activity levels through their participation in school active clubs and active clubs outside of school. We will be running lunchtime clubs for our least active children in the new year based on this data and it is our aim for all children to part in at least one active club at school. Our after school club programme offers a great range of activities so please do your best to sign up for at least one of these clubs each year. We are exploring ways to ensure that all families can have fair access to these clubs.

Here are some of our achievements for this term:

We participated in 8 inter sports competitions including a AEND competition with 97 participants across all competitions.

• Success at competitions including 1st in the PPSSA cross country, winners of the PPSSA netball and football leagues. Semi-finalist at a private school netball competition which was the childrens first time playing 7-a-side netball.

• 5 boys and 2 girls were selected to represent Wandsworth at the London Youth Games for Cross Country.

• We entered competitions/festivals for target groups - year 4 girls festival and panathlon for AEND festival. The girls' development and progress was very evident at this festival. The children got silver for the primary panathlon..

• The skills progression and learning is beginning to embed now and children are showing confidence in the skills and knowledge.

• House captains, vice and PE ambassadors had their first leadership training with Nick Miller from the Wandsworth School Games. Their leadership in clubs has enriched the experience of the younger children and developed the year 6’s leadership skills.

• Teachers are much more involved and proactive in dance and gymnastics with Louise.

• Extra curricular program for sport in the Autumn Term included 12 active clubs with 231 participants.

"Learn to Love to Read would like to wish everyone at St Michael's a wonderful Christmas, and thank you for your support of our work this year.

We are running a series of Early Years classes from January - details on how to sign up are below. Also here is a link to our Winter Reading Magazine with all sorts of ideas and links on how to keep your children reading over the holidays.

We are very keen to recruit new reading volunteers for weekly in-school or after school online reading sessions - if you are interested please email helen@l2l2r.org for more information."