SHOBNALL PRIMARY SCHOOL Dear Parents We have pleasure in presenting the Spring Newsletter which brings you the latest information and the range of activities which have been happening within the School during the first half of the Spring Term 2014/15 The school is very proud to announce that a new area is being specially created to enhance pupil’s social and emotional support Fantastic News – A new group of parents have volunteered to support the school with PFA activities PFA Watch this space!! New Curriculum Teachers have been working passionately on delivery of the new curriculum to make your children’s learning exciting and fun Forest Schools The school is having great fun developing the children’s love of the outdoors through its status of the Forest School The children have regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence through hands-on learning in a woodland environment. CELEBRATING OUR LATEST NEWS Sensory Room
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SHOBNALL PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents
We have pleasure in presenting the Spring Newsletter which brings you the latest information and the range of activities which have been happening within the School during the first half of the Spring Term 2014/15
The school is very proud to announce that a new area is being specially created to enhance pupil’s social
and emotional support
Fantastic News – A new group of parents have volunteered to support the school with PFA
activities
PFA
Watch this space!!
New Curriculum
Teachers have been working passionately on
delivery of the new curriculum to make your
children’s learning exciting and fun
Forest Schools
The school is having great fun developing the children’s love of the outdoors through its status of the Forest
School
The children have regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence through hands-on learning in a
woodland environment.
CELEBRATING OUR LATEST NEWS
Sensory Room
NURSERY
This half term children have been enthused by our Superhero topic and have taken an active part in class discussion and role play around this theme. Children have designed their own Superhero costumes and vehicles and have listened to a range of music, exploring different ways to move.
They have needed to solve problems and investigated different materials to make a costume for a flexible Superhero as well as trying to free people from ice blocks which ‘Mr. Freeze’ created! It has been not stop learning but so much fun!
RECEPTION
The children have really embraced the daily ‘phonic time’ which has had a huge impact on the children’s progress in both reading and writing. The children are using their blending skills to read words, as well as building up their recognition of key words and are now progressing with writing, trying very hard to construct their own sentences.
The children in the Nursery began this term by learning about Winter, we went for a Winter walk around school and talked about the clothes we need to wear to keep us warm. The children used their creative skills to draw snowmen using white chalk and black paper. They were amazing!!
The children have been busy using their ICT skills to sequence the building of a snowman on the computer and to programme a programmable toy.
We have also been thinking and learning about Superheroes. The children have talked about the different powers Superheroes would need and how they might use them. The role play area has been set up as a Headquarters with Superhero dressing up clothes in for the children ‘to get into the part’.
We have read Superhero Books, such as ‘Traction Man’ and this led to the children using their mark making skills to write about their favourite Superhero.
In mathematics the children have been ordering numbered snowmen and matching numerals to quantities. They have also been working very hard to count a number of items saying one number name for each item. The children used their observational skills to match patterned hats, scarves and gloves and to spot the differences between snowmen.
In PE the children are learning how to throw and catch balls. They have worked very hard.
We continue to follow activities of Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds on a daily basis. The children also have a shared reading session every other week.
A gentle reminder to please name your child’s clothing and shoes so there will be no confusion after PE. Thank you.
Our classroom is a showcase of their efforts, which they are all so proud of.
YEAR 1In Year 1 this term, we have been learning about stories with repeating patterns and instruction writing. All the children thoroughly enjoyed reading counting stories and produced their own counting book. One of the children’s favourite stories was ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late’.
During this unit of work the children have been writing ‘shouting sentences’ and have used exclamation marks effectively.
During this half term the children have been making their sentences more interesting by adding in wow words and captain connectives. The children have been continuing to read and spell the high frequency words and are making excellent progress.
In Numeracy, we have been practising counting forwards and backwards in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Our curricular target has been to halve small numbers. The children have also been learning how to add and subtract 10 on a hundred square. Everyone has been practising their number bonds to 10 and are getting much quicker at recalling these facts. We have been learning about the value of different coins and have put coins in order starting with the smallest amount up to the largest amount.
We have been learning about a variety of different light sources. This unit has developed the children's understanding of the need for light in order to see objects. Year 1 have been learning that darkness is the absence of light and enjoyed learning about reflective material. They understand that in the absence of sunlight other light sources are seen more easily.
YEAR 2The main themes for this term were different stories by the same author and explanation texts. In particular year 2 have been looking at the author, Julia Donaldson
Year 2 have been using number lines to work out written calculations and focused on practical investigations. This term we have also looked at fractions by cutting up pizza slices!
We also looked at the Great Fire of London this term, developing our understanding of life in that era. The children also created some fantastic diary accounts in the style of Samuel Pepys.
The standards of skills that the children are producing are developing well, and I am thrilled with the confidence in the children. The focus for our PE lesson has been gymnastics. We have been fortunate enough to continue to have the assistance of Mr. Atwood, who helps the children to develop super co-ordination and gross motor control. We also used the large apparatus, focusing on different ways of traveling on them.
In science the children will be learnt about electricity, its uses and dangers and made simple circuits involving light bulbs and buzzers.
YEAR 3Literacy The children have been exploring a variety of Greek myths. They have enjoyed discovering the various features and mythical and had a wonderful time creating their own mythical creatures using lots of descriptive language. They have also used their imaginative skills to describe what would be in their own Pandora’s Box which resulted in lots of exciting ideas. The children have developed their story writing by planning and completing their own myth quest. I’m very proud of all of the children for editing and improving their work to produce fantastic myth quests.
Numeracy This half term the children have been learning about different measurements and have had the opportunity to take an active role by estimating and measuring objects using various metric units. They have also been confidently subtracting larger numbers using number lines. They have been successful in identifying a range of strategies to complete addition problems and have used these to solve a variety of word problems. They will continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of these throughout the term.
Science The children have enjoyed identifying the various nutritional content found in a range of foods and recognised how this can benefit both humans and animals. They have enjoyed creating meals for a variety of diets and used their knowledge of the food groups to support this. The children have been fascinated by the functions of the human skeleton and have enjoyed making comparisons with those of animals. They will continue to develop their understanding of humans by focusing on muscles and joints for the remainder of the half term.
LiteracyThe children have been following the new National Curriculum for Year 4. We have been studying various elements of different genres of writing, beginning with narrative stories based on familiar stories such as the Horrid Henry books. The children have been writing their own Horrid Henry style story!
YEAR 4
Computing The children have been learning about how Wiki Pages are created and have had the opportunity to create their own page about the Vikings. This was done through the use of the school’s iPads and other computing facilities
NumeracyThe topics we have looked at this spring term are Place value and the ordering of decimals, rounding numbers to the nearest ten or hundred, reading numbers from scales, properties of numbers and number sequences, mental calculation strategies, pencil and paper procedures, using money, making decisions and checking results, problems involving measuring, shape and space, fractions, problems involving time and data handling.
Mr Yates has a close friend who works in dental technology who agreed to come into school and share his expertise with the class. This involved practical activities designed to inform the children about the different roles each type of tooth plays
Science
We have been looking at ‘Teeth and the Digestive System
ArtThis term, we are studying Van Gogh. We are exploring how his use of colour is unique to his work.
YEAR 5LiteracyIn Literacy, we have been writing diary entries from the point of view of two different characters. Our curricular target has been to use a wide range of punctuation and, as well as revising basic punctuation, children have also learnt to use more sophisticated types of punctuation, such as colons and semi- colons.
Recently, we have been learning about different types of genres of writing. We have read several of the stories from the book ‘Short’ by Kevin Crossley-Holland, and this has helped children to develop their understanding of the key features of different genres of writing. We have now moved on to writing mystery stories of our own
NumeracyIn Numeracy, we have continued to follow the objectives set out in the new National Curriculum. Our curricular target has involved learning to read and write Roman numerals. We have learnt about place value in 6 digit numbers, as well as numbers with two decimals places. We have developed strategies for addition and subtraction, including adding and subtracting decimal numbers. We have also learnt about negative numbers and finding the difference between these.
ScienceIn science this half tem, we have been learning about the properties of materials. We have learnt about the properties of solids, liquids and gases, including how the particles in these different materials behave. We will continue our study of the properties of materials after half term.
HistoryOur history unit for the whole of the Spring Term is the Victorians. We have learnt about where the Victorians appear on a historical timeline, as well as the names of other monarchs that have ruled England. We will continue to investigate the changes that occurred during the Victorian period and how these events have shaped Britain today.
ArtFor Arts Week, in Year 5 we investigated Venetian masks. We looked at a wide range of Venetian masks and then designed a mask of our own. Finally, we made our own Venetian masks, using a papier mache mask that we decorated with paint, glitter gel, feathers, gems and ribbon..
Also in art, we have been learning about the artist, William Morris. Mrs Taylor, Chair of Governors, has shared her expertise in art in these lessons. William Morris is famous for his symmetrical designs and repeating patterns. We designed our own patterns and then transferred them onto polystyrene tiles. We then printed our designs onto paper, experimenting with different coloured paper and ink.
SwimmingYear 5 children are reaching the end of their swimming lessons- the swimming session is in the last week before half term..
The children have been attending weekly swimming sessions at the Meadowside, and have been working hard to develop their swimming skills and are working towards achieving swimming certificates
YEAR 6
SATSThe pace is gathering in the year 6 class in the build up to the SATs preparations. It is amazing how quickly this time of year seems to come round once again and the children are working incredibly hard with a particular emphasis on literacy and numeracy
LiteracyThe children have had the opportunity of writing their own Science Fiction story since returning from the Christmas holidays and some of the work produced is absolutely fascinating. The children continue to display a creative spark whilst also managing to show off their talents with so many examples of effective punctuation.
NumeracyThe children have been testing their skills with past papers and have certainly found this challenging. However, these papers have certainly enabled all children to realise that to achieve a good level, effective techniques need to be employed. We have spent so much time ensuring that the children read questions carefully, move on if they experience difficulties, making time to revisit it later and many other strategies
GeographyThe class has started a new geography topic this term, looking at rivers and have enjoyed watching short video clips, identifying some of the world’s greatest rivers and how they are used by the people living near to them.
ArtThe art work completed has certainly tested the children’s drawing and creative skills as we have been working with Mrs Taylor on producing out Toby Jugs. The children have selected a prominent figure from the 20th Century before recreating this person into the style of a caricature. This image was then transferred onto clay and at the time of writing, the children have managed to roll the clay into a cylindrical shape before adding the detail to the face on the front.
The week beginning Monday 9th February the whole school part in an internet safety week. Each class completed three different activities during the week. At the start of the week KS1 and KS2 had an assembly on Internet safety. Please find a list of useful websites for tips to keep your child safe while using the internet.
During Art week, Year 1 completed lots of different activities to help them find out facts about Japan.
The children answered the register in Japanese. Here are some simple phrases.
Good morning = ohayou gozaimasu Good afternoon = konichiwa Good evening = konbanwa
ARTS WEEK
The children found out how to count in Japanese. We listened to a rap and made up actions to help us learn to count to ten in Japanese. The children had the opportunity to make Koi carp fish using coloured paper. Year 1 also made some fantastic Japanese fans using paints to create a cherry blossom tree.
Arts Week Year 4
During Art Week Year 4 have been studying two artists in particular.
As part of our Art unit we have continued to study Van Gogh and have looked at two paintings in detail; Starry Night and Olive Trees. The children have attempted to replicate how Van Gogh painted his Sun and Moon scenes. The work the children have produced has helped create a wonderful new display in the Year 4 classroom complete with some accompanying poetry.
In addition to this the class have been examining paintings by Picasso as our class topic for the forthcoming Multi-Cultural Week is Spain. The children have created a portrait using Picasso’s style of distorting the features of the face and by using bright opposing colours.
During the week commencing 9th February 2015, the Travelling Book Fair came to Shobnall Primary School. It was held during Parents’ Evening on Monday 9th February and Wednesday 11thFebruary. There was a wide range of books on offer, as well as a selection of stationery, and, a big thank you to all our parents as it was very well attended.
BOOK FAIR
After school hockey club for years 3. 4. 5. and 6 will restart after half term.
Children attending this club will be hoping to represent the school in hockey tournaments being held at Shobnall Leisure Complex in March. Schools from around East Staffordshire and Derbyshire will also be taking part.
At the after school club children will be able to work on their skills and game play and learn attacking and defending and positional play.Children will need to bring outdoor PE kit, training shoes, gum shields and shin pads to take part and are advised to bring gloves as the weather may be cold.
HOCKEY
Grateful thanks to Mrs Dixon and Mrs Howell, who kindly volunteered their time to run the book club
The sessions will be held at Shobnall leisure Complex - children will be walked down after school and be picked up from the Complex by parents at 4.30pm.
This term, Year 3 and 4 having been doing Gymnastics in PE with Mr Attwood where they have been developing their flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance. In particular they have been developing sequences which consists of different types of ‘travelling, jumping, rolling and balancing’ on and off apparatus.’
GYMNASTICS
‘A group of Year 3 and 4 pupils have also successfully completed a Multi-Skills course with Mr Attwood, where there have been trying out and learning new sports such as Tag Rugby, Dodgeball and Benchball.’
FOREST SCHOOLS RECEPTION
15 Reception children, wrapped up warm, began their exciting journey into Forest Schools this term with Mrs. Farrington. We are very lucky to have access to private woodland near to Hoar Cross which the children have been visiting on a regular basis. They have loved exploring this area and have grown in confidence week by week as their familiarity with this space grows. ‘Explorer Ted’ hides in the woodland each week and waits patiently for the children to find him, giving them clues as to what they may be learning about.
Children have used a range of natural materials to create shelters for animals, have made a stick man, artwork and have made music with woodland resources. Each week the children discover the delights of what this environment brings whether it be spotting birds nests, catkins and pine cones on trees or the evidence of nuts that the squirrels have been eating. The children show a great respect for the woodland and are beginning to love mud and ’muddy puddles’!
Since then we have had five adventures at our Forest School and you can follow our journey on our Forest School Blog on our school website at shobnallprimaryschool.com
NETBALLOn Thursday 15th January 2015, Shobnall Primary School had a representative team playing in the District Tournament at the Meadowside Centre, Burton upon Trent.
Mr Cruise was unable to attend the event so Mrs Ellerton and Mrs Dixon stepped in and attended the event to support and coach the children.
Our team began the tournament in strong fashion, defeating St. Modwens 2-0 which boosted the children’s confidence. Next we faced our old, strong adversaries, Thomas Russell and unfortunately, we faced defeat only narrowly losing the match 2-1 and having seen most of the action in our attacking end of the court.
A win against William Shrewsbury and we were still in the running. We needed to finish in the top spot in our Group to secure our place in the final and Oldfields, again strong competition, had beaten Thomas Russell making it possible for us to close down that No. 1 spot.
It came right down to the wire… our final match was against Oldfields. It was crucial that we won, or so we thought, as we believed them to be in that No. 1 position. However, it wasn’t to be and they held them to a draw.
The final was just out of our grasp, we were, in fact, level with Oldfields in terms of points but they went through to the final on goal difference 6-5.
The team should be extremely proud of their efforts and now look forward to the Dove Valley tournaments where they can once again, get the chance to show how well they all play.
Well done to Phoebe C, Isabel D, Georgia E, Teal S, Reiss M, James M and Lucas Y and thank you to Mrs Ellerton and Mrs Dixon and all the parents who came along to support our children. Next time……watch this space!
SAINSBURY’S VOUCHERS
Once again Shobnall school will be collecting Sainsbury’s vouchers.
The vouchers enable the school to purchase vital equipment for PE, after school clubs and in recent years cookery equipment.
Without the collecting of the vouchers the children would not be able to access the great quality and variety of items that the school is able to build up through the voucher collection.
Please support the school in collecting Sainsbury’s vouchers and ask friends and family members to donate any vouchers that they collect. The collection box can be found at the office reception area
Thanks to all children who have enjoyed our theme days we put on. It is an ideal opportunity to sit down together with all their friends to eat and be social
Winners
At our latest themed lunch, the children imagined they were in an American Diner as they tucked into their Drive Thru food.The surprise was that in some of our dining bags there was a lucky ticket! The children who were lucky enough to select a winning bag then received a corresponding prize
Please feel free to knock at the kitchen door if you require any inform on school meals
• Ella Reception Colouring pencil• Jasmine Reception Sleepover set• Kaydon Yr 1 £10 Argos
voucher • Zeb Yr 1 Robot puzzle• Joseph Yr 2 Robot pencils • Izaak Yr 2 3D model• Zainab Yr 2 £1 Voucher• Zac Yr 3 £1 Voucher• Valerija Yr 3 Minnie Mouse
felt tips• Paige Yr 4 3D Model
• Trinity Yr 4 Chain set kit• Joey Yr 5 £10 Argos
voucher• Jason Yr 6 Felt tip pens
Polite reminder Please could all dinner money be paid in an envelope with the child’s name and class on
Thank You
KITCHEN
BURTON ALBION HEALTHY FAMILIES
Shobnall Primary School, has once again been in partnership with the Burton Albion Community Trust to offer places for our families to join them for their fantastic Healthy Families Project. This project is designed to promote a healthy family lifestyle and includes a variety of fun sessions where our families will be offered advice and support to help the families. The sessions have included physical activity and also interactive information on food, budgeting and cooking. These lifestyle sessions are open to the whole family and our parents and guardians, and even siblings, and join in the fun too.
The programme has been running since 16th January each week and will culminate in a presentation to the families during the half term week. The presentation will take place at Burton Albion’s home ground, The Pirelli Stadium.
The third Healthy Families Partnership project will commence after the half term holidays.
PARENTS EVENINGS
DIARY DATES
School closes on Friday 13th February 2015 and re-opens to pupils on Tuesday 24th February 2015 at 8.45am
School closed Monday 23rd February – Inset Day
On behalf of all the staff at Shobnall Primary School may I take this
opportunity to wish you all a safe and happy half term break
CHOIRThis half term our wonderful school choir have been practicing songs from Abba in preparation for their next Music Share Event.
They sound brilliant during Choir Club as Mr Mansfield has them belting out songs like Mamma Mia, Super Trouper and Chiquitita (or Chicken Tikka as they now jokingly call it!)
It is always a pleasure to welcome parents into school to share the achievements and progress made by pupils. We hope that all our parents found the meetings constructive in that we were able to give you the strengths of your child’s abilities in addition to areas where we feel they could improve. Many parents have commented on the quality of the teacher’s marking, which clearly identifies successes in the children’s work. All these comments motivate the pupils to work even harder.
Well done to all the children for their ongoing enthusiasm and commitment.
Our eagerly awaited extra-curricular clubs will restart after the half term break, week commencing Monday 2nd March with the exception of hockey which starts on Wednesday 25th February. Once again we are delighted to offer an extensive range of clubs including sporting activities as well as a selection of non-sporting activities as requested by some parents. Grateful thanks to staff who give voluntarily of their time for the benefit of the children.
