I hope that you all enjoyed the wonderful weather over the Bank Holiday weekend and were able to make the most of it. Our whole school attendance last week was 94.6%, which is below our whole school target of 97%. Well done to Mr Causon’s class who had a fantastic 99.6% attendance. We are having a high number of holiday requests coming in. Just a reminder that term time holidays are not authorised unless in unavoidable and exceptional cases.

We have had a very busy week in school this week.

Mini Meteorites have been exploring the season of Spring, talking about the changes we can see outside; blossom on the trees, beautiful flowers and seeing the sunshine (some days!). We have also loved creating our own blossom artwork and making potions and soups with natural resources.

Early Years have been learning about bees and writing facts about them. We've also been sharing equal amounts in maths and continued our learning about odd and even numbers. In the Creative Area, we have been planning the models we want to make and then chosen the resources we need. We've talked about painting models and adding extra detail – super Creative Chameleons!

Key Stage 1 have been continuing to work on our model text in English. We have talked about the words ‘habitat’, ‘diet’ and ‘appearance’ for various animals to help us write reports next week. In the afternoons, we have labelled body parts of animals and explained how they help that animal. We have also started a dance unit in PE which was very exciting! In maths, year 2 have been working on their mental arithmetic whilst year 1 have started learning arrays.

Lower Juniors have continued their new Topic unit, ‘Flow’. This week, we have further developed our learning about rivers by looking at some of the word rivers – can the children remember any of these at home and any of their key facts? In English, we have had a vocabulary focused week, considering our words choices to make them really specific.

Upper Juniors have been comparing life cycles of different animal groups; insect/amphibian/bird. We are really excited to begin our next Topic unit next week – Stargazers – where we will learn all about Space. In English, we have been learning new text, 'The Old Mill', and have been creating our own text maps for the narrative. Year 6 have also explored arpeggios in music and had a go at playing them on the glockenspiel!

Next week, our year 6 pupils will sit their SATs tests. All of the children and staff have been working incredibly hard to prepare for these and I would like to pass on my thanks to everyone involved. I just wanted to share this with you all -

REMEMBER, SATS ONLY TEST TWO SUBJECTS…
At the moment, you’re doing a lot of English and Maths, but you’ve got lots of other skills. Unfortunately, SATs don’t test these. They don’t test whether you’re a creative person, good at I.T. or brilliant with animals. They don’t test your speaking skills or whether you’re fantastic at mending things. They don’t measure whether you’re arty or sporty, a musician or someone who really cares for other people. Although subjects like Maths and English are important, never forget you’ve been given talents in plenty of other areas too.

Thursday 26th May will be a Jubilee celebration day.
Children can come to school wearing red, white and blue for a £1 donation and after school there will be a Jubilee ball (disco!).

Details about the disco will be sent out at the end of the week but if any parents/carers are able to offer to help supervise the children (infants 3-3:45, lower juniors 4-4:45 or upper juniors 5-5:45) we would be grateful if you could contact the office. Thank you

Dear Parents and Carers,

A warm welcome back to school for the Summer term. I’m not quite sure where the week has gone – it seems to have flown by. The children have settled really well back into school routine and it has been lovely to hear about their Easter adventures. Lots of chocolate was consumed all round!

We have welcomed a new member of staff to the team this term. Mr Satchell has joined as our new Sports Coach and has started covering each class for one of their PE sessions this week. We will hopefully be able to offer a wider range of sports clubs to you in the near future so watch this space.

Early Years have had so much fun over the Easter holidays keeping an eye on the tadpole development. Hiding amongst the tadpoles we also discovered what we think is a dragon fly nymph; how exciting! In school this week, we have started to learn all about mini-beasts and our caterpillars have arrived. We are looking forward to watching them turn into butterflies over the next couple of weeks. In Maths we have been learning about doubling – can you help with this at home? Socks are useful!

Key Stage 1 this week have had an animal themed week, too, through their new topic, Wriggle and Crawl. We have been learning all about the different animal groups; birds, reptiles, fish, mammals, amphibians and insects. How many can they remember at home? In English, we have started to learn our new model text, ‘All about Lions’, which is an information page. Look out for the text maps on Dojo for the children to share with you at home.

Lower Juniors have started their new Topic unit, ‘Flow’, which is a Geography focused theme about rivers. This week, they have learnt about the rivers and seas of the UK and next week will build on this to world rivers. Can they remember any at home? In English, we have been learning the model text, ‘The Abandoned House’, and have written warning posters which are up around school. In Maths, we are continuing with our tricky fractions learning, too.

Upper Juniors have been learning about classification keys as a way to group animals. In English, they have started a new unit – suspense narrative writing – and have completed their Cold Writes. There was some amazing use of language and I am sure their final pieces will be spine-tingling! With SATs approaching, there has been lots of focus on final preparations for the tests. All of the children are working really hard and we are sure they will do their very best.

Just a reminder, next Monday – 2nd May – is a Bank Holiday so schools will be closed. We look forward to seeing you all back in school on Tuesday 3rd.

Dear Parents and Carers,
As you may be aware, the Covid guidance changed on Friday 1st April.
Please read the following for specific guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19

The key points of the guidance are summarised below:

What to do if your child has symptoms
Your child should stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:
· have a high temperature
· do not feel well enough to go to school, college or childcare, or do their normal activities

They can go back to school, college or childcare when they feel better or do not have a high temperature.
If your child has mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or mild cough, and they feel well enough, they can go to school, college or childcare.

Children and young people aged 18 years and under who have a positive test result:
If a child or young person has a positive COVID-19 test result, they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.

Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.

Dear Parents and Carers,
Well the weather has certainly kept us all on our toes this week; no one is quite sure whether to wear flip-flops or snow boots!

Our whole school attendance for last week was 90.1%, which is well below our whole school target of 97%, however we are aware Covid has impacted on this. Well done to Mrs McEntee’s class, who had the highest attendance last week with 96.4%. Just a reminder that our gates are open between 8:40am and 8:50am and collection time is 3:05pm.

Mini Meteorites have been exploring and talking about how the frog spawn is changing into tadpoles. They have also loved our new story resources, re-enacting their favourite ones with their friends. Can they retell their favourite story at home?

Early Years have had an exciting week, even getting caught in a snowstorm during Forest School! The children have enjoyed looking after the tadpoles, painting Spring pictures and innovating stories in Talk for Writing. They have even been adding in Maths – what a busy week!

Key Stage 1 this week have had a great week of Maths learning. Year 1 have learnt about capacity and completed lots of measuring tasks, using water to learn about full and empty. Year 2 have completed more learning about fractions. We can now make 1/2, 1/4 and 1/3 of an amount. In Topic, we have learnt all about the artist Salvador Dali and drew pictures of animals in his style.

Lower Juniors have been writing their Hot Write ‘Conquer the Monster’ stories this week. I have seen some amazing writing and lots of use of turquoise editing pens, where children have self-corrected their first drafts; well done! In Topic, children have been finding out more about life in the Roman army and how brutal it could be. Can they remember any details at home?

Upper Juniors have had an exciting week. Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their trip into Leicester to visit The Warning Zone. The children explored many real-life scenarios and thought about how to keep themselves safe. Year 5 have been working hard practising Steel Pans, ready to perform to parents at the Easter assembly. I have been lucky enough to see a rehearsal a few weeks ago; you will be blown away!

We are looking forward to welcoming you into school next week for our Easter assemblies. It has been such a long time! The children are very excited and have been working hard on their songs and poems to share with you.

Just a reminder, school will close next Friday – 8th April – for the Easter break.

I am very excited to confirm that our Easter assemblies are able take place next week.

In order to minimise risks, we are going to run these as phases, with parents invited to specific slots. We are also needing to limit numbers to a maximum of 2 people per child please.

The planned dates/times are as follows:

Monday 4th April - 9.00 Rainbow parents
Monday 4th April - 2.30 Sunshine parents
Tuesday 5th April - 9.00 Year 6 parents
Tuesday 5th April - 2.30 Year 5 parents
Wednesday 6th April – 9.00 Year 4 parents
Wednesday 6th April - 2.30 Year 3 parents
Thursday 7th April - 9.00 Year 2 parents
Thursday 7th April - 2.30 Year 1 parents


When you arrive for the assembly, please line up at the gate where you would normally wait at home time.
(If you are attending a 9.00 assembly, we ask that you drop off children as normal and go around the one-way system back to the gate)

If you are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19, please do not attend.

Miss Norris

What an exciting week of Science we have had this week! Our whole school attendance for last week was 91.3%, which is below our whole school target of 97%, however we are aware Covid has impacted on this. Well done to Mr Lathan’s class, who had the highest attendance for the second week in a row last week, with a great 98.5%! Just a reminder that our gates are open between 8:40am and 8:50am and collection time is 3:05pm.

Mini Meteorites have really enjoyed going on a bear hunt this week. They have read the story ‘We’re Going on Bear Hunt’ and have explored the different settings in the tuff spot – the flour ‘snow’ was a real hit! The children loved exploring Forest School again this week, where they were super excited to discover newts!

Early Years have been learning all about Spring this week. The children have been looking for signs of Spring and have done some beautiful observational drawings of daffodils. Our PSHE learning has been linked to changes in our bodies since we were babies. In Phonics, we have been recapped all of our sounds.

Key Stage 1 really enjoyed making their straw and paper rockets this week as part of Science week. They talked about ‘forces’ and started to think about gravity. They paper folding involved lots of teamwork to ensure they were rolled and folded correctly – great work being Teamwork Turtles Key Stage 1!

Lower Juniors have been growing rainbows this week as part of their exciting Science. The children explored how the dye moves upwards into the paper towel through capillary action to create an amazing rainbow. In addition, some of the children have explored non-Newtonian liquids using cornflour and water – are they a solid or a liquid? In Topic, children have explored the significant emperors of Rome, including Julius Caesar.

Upper Juniors have made exploding fruit volcanoes this week. The children loved seeing how the citric acid reacted with bicarbonate of soda to form a volcanic eruption. We have also been carving soap as part of our artwork linked to Inuit art. The children used a range of carving techniques to produce some amazing designs.

We are looking forward to seeing lots of the children in red this morning in support of Comic Relief. Please get in touch if we can support you in any way or if you feel you can support our learning in school. Thank you for your continued support.

From Thursday 17th March, there will be no vehicular access to the site via the front gates into the disabled parking bay area between 8:35-8:50 and 3:00-3:15. The gates will be locked between these times.

If you require access to a disabled parking space, you will still be able to access this before 8:35am and 3:00pm, however, the gates will be locked until 8:50 and 3:15. You are welcome to park and remain on site until these times.

The pedestrian gates at the front of the school will still be open for children and parents/carers to walk through and drop off/collect.

This decision has been taken to ensure the safety of all pedestrians on site during busier drop off and collection times.

Thank you for your understanding.

Children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals have the opportunity to join a free creative camp hosted by Total Insight Theatre during the Easter Holidays. This will be based in Hinckley.
More information can be found at

http://www.totalinsighttheatre.com/leicestershire-creative-camps

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On Friday 18th March we will be supporting Comic Relief by inviting everyone to come to school wearing red. A suggested donation of £1 can be made at ParentPay, please follow this link to donate:
https://app.parentpay.com/ParentPayShop/Foc/Default.aspx?shopid=6372

In an assembly next week your child will learn more about Comic Relief and how the money raised will make a difference to the lives of millions of people across the UK and around the world.
You can learn more about what the money is used for here:
https://www.comicrelief.com/what-your-money-does

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