Latest posts by Mr Johnston

Fortnightly Review

Skill of the week for next week

Speaking confidently and clearly.

Learning Highlights

There have been a number of highlights in and out  the classrooms over the past two weeks.

Monarchs (Year 6) have been working incredibly hard developing their understanding of fractions and mixed numbers.

Admirals (Year 5) have been completing some amazing persuasive texts in order to purchase a school cat.

Cardinals (Year 4) have commenced their learning on the class topic of India.

The focus of the children in Tortoiseshells (Year 3) is amazing in their daily guided reading sessions. Children are really interested in the tasks they are completing.

Emperors (Year 2) are thoroughly enjoying their new topic on The Great Fire of London.

Moonbeams (Year 1) have been producing some amazing work on shapes which is on display in school.

Reception (Firetips) have been very productive in their phonics sessions. I often see children recording their phonics learning in many different ways, including on the windows.

Skippers (Nursery) thoroughly enjoy their physical development sessions. It is very important for children to develop strong gross motor skills.

Reminders

We have had some donations of second hand books which are on display in the entrance foyer. Come and help yourself to something to read at home! Some of our families have been very kind with their donations.  

Our early morning library takes place every Tuesday and Thursday. Keep an eye out on our social media feed for different members of staff sharing their favourite story.

We have been informed by Hertfordshire County Council that Carnegie Road will be closed for all traffic and parking between Wednesday 29th Jan and Friday 31st Jan - between 9.30am and 4.00pm.  Cars need to be moved off the road by 9.00am. Please allow additional time to travel to school as traffic may be busy around the local area.

New Website

The best way to keep up-to-date with what is happening in your child’s class is by visiting the class pages section on our new website. Our Facebook page also provides families with important updates. Thank you to Mrs Arnott who has worked incredibly hard to get our new website up and running and to all the teachers who regularly update the class pages to keep you informed about what is happening in school.

We hope it makes you feel well-informed about what the children are learning in class.

Considerate parking

The increasing number of cars outside school at the beginning and end of the day is a common issue for the majority of schools.

We encourage families to choose active and safe travel methods where possible and politely request that parents and visitors to school park in surrounding roads with thought and consideration for the children, other adults and the local community.

Please obey the restrictions and markings in place and do not park in an obstructive manner.

Think before you park!

• Walk, cycle or scoot to school if you can.
• Avoid congestion around the school by parking at Toulmin Drive Playing Fields and walk the rest of the way. Parking and striding is an excellent option!  
• The markings are designed to keep the children safe. Obey these at all times!
• Do not block the driveways of our neighbours.
• Do not block dropped kerbs. We have wheelchair users and plenty of families with pushchairs that need to access these areas.

The safety of the children is our number one priority. Thank you to everyone who parks in a safe and considerate fashion.

Big Up Your Book

Tayyibah in Monarchs (Year 6) recommends Wonder by R J Palacio. It is story about a boy who has a deformed face. He is home-schooled but his parents decide it would be best to send him back to school at the start of a new school year. Unfortunately the main character is bullied by other children because of his looks. He does not let anyone know about this. He eventually finds a good friend and in every chapter the story is written from a different friend’s point of view. The story concludes happily. 

Tayyibah would recommend this book for all children and adults so they can fully understand how it feels to be bullied and made fun of.

Learner of the Week

Firetips (Reception) – Gisele and Lily-Mae  

Moonbeams (Year 1) – James and Millie  

Emperors (Year 2) – Anaya and Shakeeb

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – India and Maya

Cardinals (Year 4) – Musah and Yasmin

Admirals (Year 5) – Max and Talulah

Monarchs (Year 6) – Chloe and Millie

Playground Star of the Week

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Evie

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Maruf

Golden Expectations Award (from teacher nominations)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Eliza and Joshua

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Taylor and Rosa

Golden Expectations Kindness Award (from Admirals – Year 5 and Monarchs – Year 6 nominations)

Jessica, Louis, Arisha and Grace.   

Give Me Ten

25 times

Emperors (Year 2) – Alexis, Connor, Zara.

50 times

Firetips (Reception) – Austin.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Eliza.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Sofia, Lydia, Idris.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Ramana.

75 times

Emperors (Year 2) – Aizah, Aaron, Ed, Shakeeb.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Zahra.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Sofia.

Admirals (Year 5) – Fiona, Yousaf, Ibrahim.

100 times

Firetips (Reception) – Zaheera.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Adam, Millie, Kayden.

Emperors (Year 2) –Teah, Alyssa, Evie, Zaki, Drake, Aizah, Arisha.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Amal, Maya.

Cardinals (Year 4) –Sebastian, Kiya, Daya.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Nikola, George, Anoosha.

Terrific Times Tables

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Maya, Rylie, India.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Emily, Issa, Finn, Sebastian, Roma, Zander, Ramana, Esme, Emily, Hannah.

Admirals (Year 5) – Akeem, Fiona, Subhan.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Summer, Aleeyah, Maruf, Chloe, Nikola.

House Points

Whitlock Whites and Brownlee Blues

Active Travel

Cardinals both weeks

Attend to Achieve!  

We need the support of all families in school to achieve our ambitious attendance target. Unauthorised time off school results in missed learning across all areas. Let’s work together to improve attendance and punctuality! The percentages are for this academic year.

Firetips (Reception) – 94.3% = must improve!

Moonbeams (Year 1) –95.5% = must improve!

Emperors (Year 2) – 96.8% good attendance!

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – 94.3% = must improve!

Cardinals (Year 4) – 97.3% = amazing attendance!

Admirals (Year 5) – 95.6% = must improve!

Monarchs (Year 6) – 92.8% = must improve!

Our whole school attendance must improve if we are to be above national average by the end of the academic year.

Dates for your diary

JANUARY

Tuesday 28th – Firetips (Reception) Share and Learn morning

FEBRUARY

Tuesday 4th – Governor visit to Tortoiseshells (Year 3) and Cardinals (Year 4) to focus on writing  

Wednesday 5th – Admirals (Year 5)  Maths Challenge at St Adrian’s RC Primary School  

Thursday 6th – Governor visit to Moonbeams (Year 1) and Emperors (Year 2) to focus on PSHCE and Religious Education

Friday 7th – Number Day

Tuesday 11th – Safer Internet Day, Cardinals (Year 4) Sharing Assembly

Friday 14th – Staff well-being meeting  

Monday 17th – Half term week

Monday 24th – Children return to school after half term

Wednesday 26th – Governor visit to speak to children about the curriculum

 

Fortnightly Review

Skill of the week for next week

Reading for enjoyment and pleasure and shares thoughts on reading with others.

Learning Highlights

Happy New Year!

The children have settled back in to school very well this week. It is nice to be back in a routine after having the opportunity to reflect and recharge over the holidays. I have particularly enjoyed my time teaching in Year 4 and 6 this week. 

This term we will be focusing on kindness throughout the day but particularly on the playground at playtimes and lunchtimes. Children in Year 5 and 6 will be nominating individuals who demonstrate this key life skill. The Year 5 and 6 children place their nominations in the kindness post box and an award will be presented in our Celebration Assembly to those children who are demonstrating this important Golden Expectation. So far this week there have been over 100 nominations.

On Monday morning the staff were involved in a very informative and practical training day lead by our Maths Advisor from Herts for Learning, Gill Shearsby-Fox. The session focused on maths fluency sessions which are happening across the school 3 times a week in the classrooms. We also focused on furthering our understanding of the importance of concrete, pictorial and abstract opportunities in Maths for all pupils. The afternoon session focused on provision for pupils with special educational needs. Our SEND information report was shared with a group of parents this week and the updated version will be placed on our school website. Thanks to Miss Palmer for leading this part of the day. 

We have had a number of prospective parents visit the school this week as the deadline for Reception places closes next Wednesday. If you have a child in our Nursery or know of anyone with a Nursery aged child be sure to encourage them to apply for a place.

Reminders

Don’t forget our school library is open every Tuesday and Thursday before school. We would like to see an increasing number of children and families access this. Keep an eye out on our social media feed for different members of staff sharing their favourite story.

On Friday 17th January there will be a meeting for parents of children in Year 6 about SATS. This meeting will be repeated on Tuesday 21st January for those unable to attend this date.

We have been informed by Hertfordshire County Council that Carnegie Road will be closed for all traffic and parking between Wednesday 29th Jan and Friday 31st Jan - between 9.30am and 4.00pm.  Cars need to be moved off the road by 9.00am. Please allow additional time to travel to school as traffic may be busy around the local area.

Big Up Your Book

Ilyas in Moonbeams (Year 1) recommends The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. The pictures are great, I am good at drawing the Gruffalo and the book is fun to read. It is good to draw the characters and read the story with an adult. Julia Donaldson's books are great!  

Learner of the Week

Firetips (Reception) – Noah and Alex

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Kayla-Grace and Kayden

Emperors (Year 2) - Christopher and Stanley

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Sofia T and Layton  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Sofia and Secret

Admirals (Year 5) – Akeem and Ben

Monarchs (Year 6) – Aleeyah and Anoosha

Playground Star of the Week

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Becca and Zaki   

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Poppy and Subhan

Golden Expectations Award (from teacher nominations)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Max and Annabel

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Ruby and Rosieann

Golden Expectations Kindness Award (from Admirals – Year 5 and Monarchs – Year 6 nominations)

George – Admirals (Year 5)

Isaiah – Monarchs (Year 6)

Give Me Ten

25 times

Firetips (Reception) – Lily-Mae, Ella, Bella.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Amber.

50 times

Firetips (Reception) – Jeremi, Noah.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Yaqub.

Emperors (Year 2) – Shakeeb.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Scarlett, Rylie, Mustafa.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Esme. 

75 times

Firetips (Reception) – Frankie.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Maya, Felicia, Jessica.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Saeed, Eashan, Harry.  

Admirals (Year 5) – Mehmoon, Ellia.

Monarchs (Year 6) – George, Isaiah, Millie, Oyedapo, Layla, Anoosha, Bobby.

100 times

Firetips (Reception) – Eli.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Niamh, Max, Jay, Annabel.  

Emperors (Year 2) – Elliott.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Poppy, India, Ruby.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Chloe, Issa, Hollie, Brody, Hannah, Saeed, Eashan, Morgan, Emily, Dylan, Scarlett, Roma, Rosa.

Admirals (Year 5) – Ryan, Shane, George, Max, Daisy, Arlen, Ryan, Eleanor, Akeem.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Kristian, Dorian, Tayyibah, Hila, Chloe, Aleeyah, Bobby, Layla, Isaah.

Terrific Times Tables

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Idris, Mia-Rose.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Ramana, Dylan, Esme, Brody, Morgan, Katelyn.  

Admirals (Year 5) – Enzo, Ben, Kenzie, Eleanor, Mehmoon.   

Monarchs (Year 6) – Isaah, Amirie, Rosieann, Sadia, Summer, Diane, Louis. 

House Points

Brownlee Blues both weeks

Active Travel

Cardinals (Year 4) both weeks

Attend to Achieve!  

We need the support of all families in school to achieve our ambitious attendance targets. Unauthorised time off school results in missed learning across all areas. Let’s work together to improve attendance and punctuality! The percentages are for last term.

Firetips (Reception) – 95.3% - keep working hard to get to 97%

Moonbeams (Year 1) – 95.7% - improving every week, keep working hard to get to 97%

Emperors (Year 2) – 96.8% - well done Year 2 children and their families.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – 94.5% - keep working hard to get to 97%

Cardinals (Year 4) –97.5% - well done Year 4 children and their families.

Admirals (Year 5) – 97.2% - well done Year 5 children and their families.

Monarchs (Year 6) – 93.4% - keep working hard to get to 97%.

Dates for your diary

JANUARY

Friday 10th – Swimming starts for Cardinals (Year 4) and Admirals (Year 5)  

Friday 17th – Monarchs (Year 6)  SATS Meeting with parents and children at 3:15 pm

Tuesday 21st - Monarchs (Year 6)  SATS Meeting with parents and children at 3:15 pm, Governor visit to Year 5 and 6 to focus on reading.

Wednesday 22nd – Governor visits (Safeguarding and Curriculum)

Thursday 23rd – Tortoiseshells (Year 3) walk around the local area

Tuesday 28th – Firetips (Reception) Share and Learn morning

Friday 24th – School Nurse in for Firetips (Reception) screening

FEBRUARY

Tuesday 4th – Governor visit to Tortoiseshells (Year 3) and Cardinals (Year 4) to focus on writing

Wednesday 5th – Admirals (Year 5)  Maths Challenge at Garden Fields

Thursday 6th – Governor visit to Moonbeams (Year 1) and Emperors (Year 2) to focus on PSHCE and Religious Education

Friday 7th – Number Day

Tuesday 11th – Safer Internet Day, Cardinals (Year 4) Sharing Assembly

Friday 14th – Staff well-being meeting  

Monday 17th – Half term week

Monday 24th – Children return to school after half term

Wednesday 26th – Governor visit to speak to children about the curriculum

Fortnightly Review

Skill of the week for next week

Working hard to overcome challenges in class to make accelerated progress.

Learning Highlights

Over the last two weeks there have been some amazing learning opportunities in school.

On Monday 9th December the children took part in a fantastic Aspirations Day organised by Mrs Gibbs. The day began with an assembly and a number of workshops run by local Transformation Coach, Sarah Bramall. She talked to the whole school about the importance of being resilient even when times are tough and then worked with each class in Key Stage Two about areas that they could improve in their own lives.

In the afternoon, 22 visitors from a variety of careers and backgrounds joined the children in the hall to talk to them about what they do day-to-day and how the children could achieve their own goals. There was an officer from the British Army, a midwife from the NHS, the owner and chef of The George Street Canteen, the owner from a local performing arts academy, a digital sports journalist, an emergency ambulance technician and many more. Even Key Stage One had their own exciting afternoon. They took part in workshops run by Phoebe Shergold-Willis, owner of a local Performing Arts School. The children had great fun!

Back in the classrooms, the children were involved in thinking about their dreams for the future and how they could achieve these. In the school there are aspiring police officers, swimming teachers, artists, musicians, café owners, army officers, footballers and many more. The children enjoyed the day enormously and all of the visitors enjoyed attending too.

On Monday 2nd December the children in Year 2 Emperors were involved in an African themed day to consolidate and extend their learning about life in Africa. The following Monday the children also had the afternoon with our Vice-Chair of Governors, Val Male, sharing resources and stories about her experience of life in Kenya. Opportunities such as these are fantastic and enjoyable for the children.

On Tuesday 10th December we had our first Spelling Bee Celebration Assembly for the year. It was great to see so many children achieving their personal best in order to make good progress in spelling.

I have also had the opportunity to visit a number of classes over the last 2 weeks to complete observations of Teaching Assistants. Being in the classroom regularly gives me a good insight into what is happening in every class. I have been very pleased the see the children putting a great deal of effort into the challenges they have been given.

Special events

On 19th and 20th November Ofsted visited the school. A copy of the inspection report and letter to parents has been sent to families today and will also be available on our school website. Ofsted will publish the report on their website on Friday 20th December.

Thank you to our hardworking PTA for organising a fantastic Christmas Film Slumber event last Thursday night. It was a nice way to lead into our Occasional Day. Today we have the Festive Fun event taking place in the school hall after school.

Year 1 Moonbeams and Year 6 Monarchs have also had their rescheduled Parents Evening. Thank you to those families who made the effort to attend their appointment. Thank you to the class teachers (Miss Saunders and Mrs Rigarlsford) for preparing for these important updates for families.

Year 2 Emperors also had their Family Fortnight class workshop yesterday which was very well attended. Thank you to the families who were able to attend this.

This morning after Celebration Assembly a working group of parents met to look at the some changes to statutory guidance, policy and resources for Relationships and Sex Education. There will be some changes next academic year which I will communicate with the wider community closer to September 2020. Thank you to those parents and governors who were able to attend this important meeting.

Reminders

The school day has been concluding at 3:15 pm and clubs have been concluding at 4:15 pm for the past half term. The staff and children are benefiting from the regular communication between one another to plug gaps in children’s learning in order to plan for the next day. Thank you to the families who consistently arrive on time to collect their children from school at the end of the day in order to make this happen.

Precious Little Seeds have been very helpful in accommodating care for children who may have been collected late for a range of reasons. They have commented positively on how well-mannered and polite the children are. If parents collect their children from Precious Little Seeds it is essential they cover the cost of the care they provide in a timely manner. The cost for after school care if parents are running late is £5.

Our Christmas Concerts are taking place next Wednesday 18th December at 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm. Parents are welcome at both. It is essential that children return to school at 5:45 pm, meeting at their own classrooms through the outside doors in order to start promptly at 6:00 pm. Please wear Christmas Jumpers to school on Wednesday and keep these on for the evening performance.

Big Up Your Book

Elliott in Year 2 Emperors recommends “I Know a Rhino” by Charles Fuge.

The story is about a little girl and her teddies. She imagines that the teddies are real African animals and she does lots of different things with them. It rhymes and the illustrations are really good. Elliott recommends the book for children in every class.

Learner of the Week

Firetips (Reception) – Sam

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Millie

Emperors (Year 2) - Duchess

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Scarlett

Cardinals (Year 4) – Issa

Admirals (Year 5) – Arlen

Monarchs (Year 6) – Nikola

Playground Star of the Week

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Zara

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Zander

Golden Expectations Award

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Jay

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Rosieann

Give Me Ten

25 times

Emperors (Year 2) – Coralie and Alexis.

50 times

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Ilyas

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Sofia H and Zahra.

Admirals (Year 5) – Mehmoon  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Louis

75 times

Firetips (Reception) – Gisele, Becca and Zaheera.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Adam, Jay, Max, Niamh, Millie and Kayden.

Emperors (Year 2) – Alyssa, Evie, Drake, Teah, Stanley, Aizah, Duchess, Zaki and Anaya.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Sofia T, Ruby, Amal and India.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Sebastian, Tia, Morgan, Rosa, Sofia, Kiya and Roma.

Admirals (Year 5) – Subhan, Akeem and Oscar.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Isaah, Nikola and Aleeyah.

Terrific Times Tables

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Layton and India.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Finn, Kiya, Chloe, Rosa, Issa, Hannah and Amber.

Admirals (Year 5) – Shane.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Rosieann, Oyedapo, Hila, Aleeyah, Sadia, Summerm Chloe and Nikola.

House Point Winners

Whitlock Whites

Active Travel Award

Cardinals (Year 4)

Attend to Achieve!  

We need the support of all families in school to achieve our ambitious attendance targets. Unauthorised time off school results in missed learning across all areas. Let’s work together to improve attendance and punctuality!

Firetips (Reception) = 95.6% this is below our school target. It would be great to see this improve next week.

Moonbeams (Year 1) = 95.8% this is below our school target. It would be great to see this improve next week.

Emperors (Year 2) = 96.9% keep this amazing attendance going!

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) = 94.7% this is well below our school target. A toast party with Mr Johnston will be awarded if everyone in the class is in school for the whole week.

Cardinals (Year 4) = 97.5% - WOW!

Admirals (Year 5) = 97.4% - WOW!

Monarchs (Year 6) = 93.8% this is well below our school target. A toast party with Mr Johnston will be awarded if everyone in the class is in school for the whole week.

Dates for your diary

DECEMBER

Tuesday 17th – Foundation Stage Christmas Production, Swimming Celebration Assembly.

Wednesday 18th – Christmas Dinner and Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas Concert

Thursday 19th – Whole School Pantomime

Friday 20th – School Closes at 1:30 pm

JANUARY

Tuesday 7th – Children return to school at 8:40 am  

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a happy and safe Christmas. 

Mr Johnston

Fortnightly Review

Skill of the week for next week

Reading for enjoyment and pleasure and shares ideas about their reading with others.

Learning Highlights

Over the last two weeks I have visited the classrooms on numerous occasions to see what the children have been learning in class.

Skippers have been working incredibly hard on their physical development, riding bikes and using a range of apparatus to develop strong gross motor skills.

Firetips have been focusing on writing their tricky words in so many different ways. They have produced some amazing writing on the animation of The Snowman.

Moonbeams have been engaged in the learning about the Great Fire of London and have made some fantastic model houses which they are looking forward to burning in a controlled, safe environment.

Emperors have been able to talk about their learning about Africa with great clarity, using a range of technical vocabulary.

Tortoiseshells have worked hard to develop a range of strategies to answer subtraction calculations with confidence.

Cardinals have thoroughly enjoyed trialling the use of Times Tables Rock Stars to help them with their rapid recall of key multiplication and division facts.

Admirals have been producing some amazing learning in a range of key learning areas which they will be ready to share with their families and the rest of the school in their Sharing Assembly next week.

Monarchs are fully immersed in their learning about World War 2. They are fantastic at recalling key facts about the war and have used a range of historical enquiry skills to analyse propaganda.

Special events

This week we have commenced our class workshops for Family Fortnight. We have had excellent attendance at these workshops so far.

All of our Nursery parents were present for their Share and Learn morning, Year 1 had excellent attendance in their focused morning on reading, Year 3 looked at strategies to improve problem solving skills in Maths, Year 5 also focused on Maths in their session which was very well attended.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, an Ofsted inspection was carried out at Margaret Wix. It had been approximately three and a half years since Ofsted last visited the school. The staff and children welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate the journey that the school has been on since the last inspection.

The report for parents will take roughly a month to publish and until then, staff and governors are not permitted to discuss the outcome in terms of judgements or specific details.

Many thanks to the parents who took the time to complete the Ofsted Parent View.  

Big Up Your Book

Will be back in my next fortnightly review just in time for Christmas.

Learner of the Week (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips (Reception) – Ella and James

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Ilyas and Eliza

Emperors (Year 2) – Ed and Drake

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Jessica and Lydia  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Tia and Roma

Admirals (Year 5) – Taylor and Ellia

Monarchs (Year 6) – Hila and Grace

Playground Star of the Week (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Drake and Alyssa

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Summer and Lily-Rose

Golden Expectations Award (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Zaheera and Yaqub

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Ramana and Felicia

Give Me Ten (for the past 2 weeks)  

25 times

Firetips (Reception) – James, Jeremi, Alia and Lily-Mae.

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Eliza and Kayla-Grace.

Emperors (Year 2) – Christopher.  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Scarlett, Lexi, Mia-Rose, Maliha, Idris and Lydia.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Finn.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Oyedapo and Lacey-Leigh.

50 times

Firetips (Reception) – Alex.

Emperors (Year 2) – Ed, Aaron and Arisha.  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Jessica, Felicia and Maya.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Eashan and Harry.

Admirals (Year 5) – Yousaf, Ibrahim and Ellia.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Nikola, Oyedapo, Summer, George, Amirie and Anoosha.

75 times

Firetips (Reception) – Eli

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Annabel

Emperors (Year 2) – Elliot, Carys and Arthur.

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Poppy and Skye.

Cardinals (Year 4) – Hollie, Brody, Issa, Hannah, Emily, Daya, Dylan, Scarlett and Chloe.

Admirals (Year 5) – George, Shane, Daisy, Arlen, Max, Ryan and Eleanor.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Chloe, Dorian, Holly, Kristian, Tayyibah, Rosieann, Diane, Hila and Summer.

Terrific Times Tables (for the past 2 weeks)  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Skye, Amal, India, Maliha and Mustafa.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Rosa, Finn, Saeed, Emily, Esme, Ramana, Sebastian and Morgan.

Admirals (Year 5) – Eleanor, Mehmoon, Akeem, George and Noah.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Millie, Nikola, Isaah, Dorian, Isaiah, Chloe, Diane, Layla, Sadia, Louis and Grace.

House Point Winners (for the past 2 weeks)

Whitlock Whites both weeks  

Active Travel Award

Cardinals (Year 4) both weeks

Attend to Achieve!  

We need the support of all families in school to achieve our ambitious attendance targets. Unauthorised time off school results in missed learning across all areas. Let’s work together to improve attendance and punctuality!

Firetips = 95.8% - work hard to be in school every day up until Christmas.

Moonbeams = 95.9% - work hard to be in school every day up until Christmas.

Emperors = 96.4% - keep up the good work!

Tortoiseshells = 95.1% - I am looking forward to our Toast Party when we have completed 100% attendance for the whole week!

Cardinals = 97.4% - amazing attendance and punctuality!

Admirals = 97.8% - leading the way! Admirals love being in school! Great work!

Monarchs = 94% - it would be great to see Monarchs achieve 100% attendance in the lead up to Christmas.

Dates for your diary

DECEMBER

Monday 2nd—Year 2 Africa Day, Year 6 class workshop

Tuesday 3rd—Year 4 Parent Workshop

Wednesday 4th – Year 1 and 6 rearranged Parents Evening

Thursday 5th—PTA Christmas Film Night

Friday 6th—School closed (Occasional Day)

Monday 9th – Aspirations Day

Friday 13th – Relationships and Sex Education Parent Group Meeting

Tuesday 17th – Foundation Stage Christmas Production, Swimming Celebration Assembly.

Wednesday 18th – Christmas Dinner and Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas Concert

Thursday 19th – Whole School Pantomime

Friday 20th – School Closes at 1:30 pm

JANUARY

Tuesday 7th – Children return to school

 

 

 

 

 

Skill of the week for next week

Always being kind with words and actions.

Learning Highlights

A number of learning highlights in and out of school over the last two weeks. Year 6 visited RAF Hendon to support and consolidate key knowledge they have learnt about World War Two.

The children have been learning about the importance of observing Remembrance Day and have developed an excellent understanding of the need to respect and honour this important day in the calendar. The way the children observed the minutes silence on 11th November was a credit to the school community.

On Wednesday of this week the children had the opportunity to take part in a No Pens Day. The teachers planned a range of motivating and interesting activities designed to develop the speech, language and communication skills of all children across the school. 

Special events

Over the last two weeks we have celebrated two special events in school. Children in Year 4 and 5 took part in “The Big School Swim” today during their swimming lessons. Thanks to Mrs Ison, Mrs Clinch and Mrs Jubb for leading this.

Our School Council also organised a cake sale and the opportunity to wear something spotty for Children in Need today. Huge thanks to our School Council, Miss Saunders and Miss Giddens for organising the drive to support those who are less fortunate than us.

Thanks to all parents who attended the Autumn term Parents’ Evening on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. It is important for all parents/carers to have important updates throughout the year on the progress of their child.

Big Up Your Book

Felicia in Year 3 recommends Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It is one of the best loved books ever written. Alice has some exciting adventures and meets some amazing, fun characters along the way. She meets the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Mock Turtle. I recommend this book for all children in from Year 2 to Year 6.

Learner of the Week (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips (Reception) – Evie and Treyvon

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Adam and Kayden

Emperors (Year 2) – Alexis and  Aizah

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Skye and Maliha

Cardinals (Year 4) – Zander and Emily

Admirals (Year 5) – Oscar and Noah

Monarchs (Year 6) – Louis and Rosieann

Playground Star of the Week (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Jeremi and Eliza

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Zahra and Kenzie

Golden Expectations Award (for the past 2 weeks)

Firetips, Moonbeams and Emperors (Early Years and Key Stage 1) – Niamh and Sam

Tortoiseshells, Cardinals, Admirals and Monarchs (Key Stage 2) – Katelyn and Musah

Give Me Ten (for the past 2 weeks)  

25 times

Firetips (Reception) – Noah, Luke, Alex, Austin, Mohamed.  

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Ilyas, Joshua.

Emperors (Year 2) – Shakeeb.  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Zahra, Mustafa, Scarlett, Jibran.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Secret, Zander.

Admirals (Year 5) – Noah, Taylor, Mehmoon.

Monarchs (Year 6) – Holly  

50 times

Firetips (Reception) – Becca. Eli, Frankie, Evie, Zaheera, Gisele.  

Moonbeams (Year 1) – Jay, Millie, Niamh, Max, Annabel, Adam, Kayden.

Emperors (Year 2)  - Anaya, Alyssa, Stanley, Carys, Elliot, Teah, Evie, Arthur, Zaki, Drake, Duchess, Aizah.  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Skye, Poppy, India, Ruby, Amal, Sofia T.  

Cardinals (Year 4) – Daya, Hollie, Emily, Hannah, Kiya, Scarlett, Morgan, Saeed, Roma, Chloe, Dylan, Sebastian, Brody, Issa, Rosa, Tia.  

Admirals (Year 5) – Max, Eleanor, Ryan, George, Daisy, Arlen, Shane, Kyle, Oscar, Akeem, Subhan, Fiona.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Isaah, Aleeyah, Dorian, Kristian, Rosieann, Tayyibah, Hila, Chloe, Diane, Millie, Bobby, Isaiah, Holly, Layla, Sadia.

Terrific Times Tables (for the past 2 weeks)  

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – Layton, India, Skye, Zahra, Felicia.   

Cardinals (Year 4) – Ramana, Emily, Amber, Brody, Finn, Eashan, Rosa, Dylan, Saeed, Esme, Katelyn, Hannah, Jayden, Morgan, Scarlett, Sebastian.  

Admirals (Year 5) – Daisy, Max, Shane.  

Monarchs (Year 6) – Millie, Kristian, Layla, Diane, Louis, Isaah.  

Active Travel Award

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) both weeks

Most House Points Collected

Brownlee Blues both weeks

Attend to Achieve!  

We need the support of all families in school to achieve our ambitious attendance targets. Unauthorised time off school results in missed learning across all areas. Let’s work together to improve attendance and punctuality!

Firetips (Reception) – 96.8% - Fantastic Firetips!

Moonbeams (Year 1) – 96.3% - Moonbeams need to keep working hard to get closer to 97%

Emperors (Year 2) – 97.1% - Excellent Emperors!

Tortoiseshells (Year 3) – 95.7% - Keep working hard Tortoiseshells to get to 96%

Cardinals (Year 4) – 97.3% - Cardinal’s attendance was excellent last year and continues to be excellent this year.

Admirals (Year 5) – 97.9% - Amazing Admirals making the most of every opportunity for learning.

Monarchs (Year 6) –95.7% - Keep working hard Monarchs as we need you to set the example.

Dates for your diary

NOVEMBER

Friday 15th —Year 4 and 5 The Big Swim

Monday 25th —Year 5 Parent Workshop

Tuesday 26th —Year 3 Parent Workshop

Wednesday 27th — Open Day for prospective parents

Thursday 28th —Year 1 Parent Workshop

DECEMBER
Monday 2nd —Year 2 Africa Day, Year 6 class workshop
Tuesday 3rd —Year 4 Parent Workshop, Year 5 Sharing Assembly
Thursday 5th —PTA Christmas Film Night
Friday 6th —School closed (Occasional Day)
Monday 9th – Aspirations Day