Newsletters

We have had a lovely week in Wrens enjoying the sunshine with lots of outdoor play.  We have also had a very healthy week!  On Monday, Reception learnt some new skills with Mrs Postlethwaite in DT.  We learnt how to handle a kitchen knife safely and use it to chop fruit.  The fruit kebabs we made were delicious!  On Thursday we used the PE skills we have learnt this term in relation to travelling with control to use the large apparatus.  It was lots of fun.   In Topic this week we learnt all about bees and why they are so important to our world.  We found out some amazing facts and used our phonics skills to write some independent sentences.  Did you know that only female bees can sting, and a bee's favourite colour is purple because purple flowers have more nectar?

Year 1 have been working hard in English to write an alternative ending to Jack and the Beanstalk.  It was lovely to see most of the children decided that Jack and the Giant should become friends and help each other.  We really enjoyed reading their stories and it was great to see the children challenging themselves to use adjectives and similes in their writing.  In maths, we have now completed our topic on multiplication and division.  The children have worked very hard to grasp the concept of counting in groups and recall the mathematical language associated with this topic.  Please continue to help your child to practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s at home as this will help to consolidate this learning.

There will not be a new phonics homework sheet in the children's red books this week as next week is consolidation week.  Please use this time to revisit the previous learning in your child's red book as we will be carrying out phonics assessments next week.

Please could you also check at home if you have any stray school reading books.  We are missing just one copy from quite a few of our reading book sets and this means we do not have enough books for the next reading group.  Thank you.

What a busy week in Skylarks. We have spent the mornings completing our KS1 SATS in maths and reading. Over the next few weeks we need to show our best writing in all of our English lessons so we can assess levels in writing, ready to report to all parents in July. All Skylarks showed resilience and confidence when completing their special booklets this week.

We have had fun afternoons enjoying the sunshine outside. Skylarks and Wrens demonstrated great collaboration by creating a safe and fun obstacle course which had to raise pupil’s heartbeat. The pupils were able to consolidate all the learning they had learnt during their fitness topic. 

In the classroom we used our DT skills to make a freestanding chair so baby bear could sit down safely. Pupils used rolled up card and joining skills to make their chair.  By the end of the afternoon, baby bear had a choice of many chairs to sit on. 

In science, we planted some seeds and learnt how seeds germinate.  We have left some seeds in a dark room to observe how they will grow and are looking forward to the results.

In English this week, the children finished their diary entries as Jim about his journey. They also ordered events from the book chronologically before adding an additional two events themselves. Towards the end of the week, the children began exploring biographies. They were given a biography to explore in groups. They had to decide what biographies are, what they include and why they were written. The children then wrote a short biographical paragraph about Marie Curie in preparation for next week.

In maths, Year 3s measured and compared different capacities. They also had some practise adding and subtracting capacity. Year 4s continued to look at rounding decimals to one and two decimal places. They have also spent time identifying equivalent decimal fractions to quarters and halves. Both year groups have also had a revision of pounds and pence as our new topic is money. 

In PE this week, the children have been practising their athletic ability with relay races with batons. They had to figure out the most effective and efficient way of passing the baton to their teammates. We have also done yoga this week. The children tried a wide variety of different yoga poses and moves and were able to identify their favourite few.

In science, the children had a go at producing some series circuits. They were able to identify how these were different to simple circuits. They investigated the effects of adding additional cells and bulbs to their circuits and explained why these changes occurred.

In English, we have been writing a recount based on a chapter from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The children worked in groups to read the chapter and then create a timeline of what they felt were the main events. They then used these as the basis for their recount, focussing on using a variety of adverbials to start their paragraphs. 

In maths this week, we have been using our knowledge of coordinates from last week, to reflect different shapes. The children were able to describe whether the shapes were being reflected in the x or y axis based on the change in coordinates of the reflection.

In athletics, the children were throwing the javelin this week. They practised using the correct technique and soon realised that the javelin did not go as far if it looped up in the air. We look forward to them showing off their improved distances thrown at Sports Day.

In music, the children learned about country music and the singer Dolly Parton. We looked at her life and her many achievements and listened to some of her songs.  It is fascinating to hear about the range of music that the children know and listen to.

The children (and staff) are all very excited about our residential next week. The weather forecast for Cardiff is looking very sunny. With that in mind, please can you send your child with a hat and suncream if the forecast doesn't change before Monday. 

The children need to arrive at school at the usual time and leave their cases by the hall wall. If you would like to stay and wave your child off at 9am, we ask that you wait outside the school in order for us to lock the gate at 8:50am.

Merlins have continued to work hard this week after what was an intense week of assessment. We have jumped straight back into our class book: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We each chose a magical item or weapon which Percy and his friends have encountered throughout the story so far. We have spent this week writing an exciting double page non-chronological report on this magical item, detailing its appearance, origins, how it operates and any safety considerations. We have explored every item from Hades' Helm of Darkness to Percy's sword, Riptide. 

In maths, we have been calculating missing angles. We began the week by focusing on the angles on a straight line and around a point and finished the week by calculating any missing angle in any polygon with up to 10 sides. 

In PE, we had the opportunity to play some games of cricket, where children had the opportunity to redefine their bowling and batting technique. Later in the week, we practised our javelin throwing and worked hard as a team to develop this throw for maximum distance.

Great Witley Pre-School

 Village Hall, Worcester Road, Great Witley, WR6 6HR

We have a vacancy for maternity cover for an Early Years Practitioner ideally qualified to a minimum Level 3 or above in childcare and education starting as soon as possible.  Should children’s numbers continue to increase this may well lead to a permanent position.   Consideration will be give to applicants who are committed to obtaining a full and relevant early years qualification, if one is not currently held.

Please note this is a term time only post working at a pack away setting.  Applicants would need to be flexible to work the 4 days we are currently open. Our opening hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 8.00am and 3.30pm.

You will be required to have a full understanding of the EYFS and a passion for caring for children and developing their learning.  The ability to operate as part of a team is essential.

We are committed to safeguarding children and expect all practitioners to share this commitment.  All successful applicants are subject to a full enhanced DBS Certificate.

If you think you may be interested in working for our lovely and outstanding rural Pre-School then please contact me at managergtwitleyps@btinternet.com for more information. Alternatively, please call Mandy on 07581 881241 for an informal chat. Applicants will also need to complete an Application Form and submit it with a handwritten covering letter.    Closing date for applications is 12 noon on 16^th June 2023.