Newsletter - 7th June 2024
|
|
|
Our value in Collective Worship at the moment is
Forgiveness
|
|
Today we welcomed the Road Safety Instructor into school. He spent the day teaching pupils about road safety, including walking groups of pupils down to the church so they could learn how to walk without footpaths and how to cross the road in front of the school gate safely. Children have been taught to wait for cars to pass before crossing and not to walk in front of stationary cars which have stopped and are waving children on to cross. Please ask your child to share with you what they have learnt in school today as these are vital life skills.
![](/_site/data/files/images/auto_upload/C2179E27B52C648CD24A4041FCF0745E.png)
Next week we have lots of exciting events in school. On Monday as part of our studies on British Values, Judith Hulland (a Barrister) is talking to Year 5&6 about how Parliament works. Year 4 are heading off for adventures on their residential to Folly Farm. Year 6 are paddling down the River Severn bell boating.
This term we are teaching the 'Changing Me' PSHE unit which includes our relationships and sex education. In line with recent guidance from the government, we have looked at our curriculum and made some changes. Puberty is now taught from Year 5. The correct scientific body part names, life cycles of animals and humans is taught throughout school. These lessons are compulsory as they are part of the National Curriculum for Science and Relationships Education. In Year 6 we teach one lesson 'Having a Baby' where parents do have the option to 'opt out' of this lesson if they wish. We held a parent consultation meeting a couple of years ago and parents decided they wanted to include this lesson in the school curriculum. If you wish for your child to opt out of this lesson then please email the school office by Friday 21st June (Year 6 pupils only). If parents wish to look at any of the materials we use for our PSHE lessons then please come ask me and I can show them to you.
Claire Shelley, Headteacher
|
|
|
Attendance
Merlins - 99 %
Kestrels - 99 %
Kingfishers - 90%
Skylarks - 93%
Wrens - 87%
Overall school attendance - 94%
|
Top tip Red Arrows
The Red Arrows are due to fly over our area on Saturday 8th June between 11:18am and 11:22am. More information is available here https://www.military-airshows.co.uk/press24/redarrowsschedule2024.htm
|
|
|
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/280/square-IMG5934.jpeg) |
06 Jun 2024
Our butterflies hatched!
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/279/square-IMG6330.JPG) |
06 Jun 2024
Transformation of our Early Years' Outdoor Area.
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/278/square-IMG5720.jpeg) |
25 May 2024
There were some fantastic performances in our House Cross Country on Friday afternoon. The sun shone and the rain stayed away for a great afternoon of competition. Running in year groups the children demonstrated our Abberley values of courage and perseverance to complete the course around the...
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/277/square-IMG2757.jpeg) |
24 May 2024
Today we celebrated pupils who have demonstrated our Abberley values, pupils who have been awarded a headteachers award, pupils who have reached their reading target and pupils who have been selected by the lunchtime staff for being amazing 'happy lunchtime ambassadors.' Well done everyone...
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/276/square-IMG6476.jpeg) |
24 May 2024
Y6 have had a brilliant week of environment mornings where they have been working hard to make our school look fantastic. This week, the children have painted our fences and hand rails, swept and cleaned our ramp and playground area, weeded the school grounds, topped our flower beds with bark a...
|
![](/_site/data/images/news/274/square-IMG5556.jpeg) |
10 May 2024
Key Stage 2 children participate in The Chantry Cluster cross country races.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It has been lovely to see all the Wrens back refreshed after our half term holiday and goodness what an exciting week we have had. Firstly, we noticed some big changes to our outdoor area this week. Over the half term holiday and this week, the area has been transformed so we now have a builders construction area complete with maths station, a lovely new playhouse (which is currently an ice cream parlour) and a new stage which is fantastic for singing and dancing. It has been wonderful to see the children enjoying these new resources and observing the imagination they are using in their play. Thank you to all the parents and staff who worked hard to create this wonderful new area.
There was also great excitement on Monday morning when we discovered our butterflies had hatched out of their cocoons over the holiday. We kept them in class for a couple of days so we could observe them (we had to feed them fruit and sugar water) before setting them free. Maybe you will see them flying around school.
On Tuesday we had our first football session. This will be a 6-week programme and we are very lucky to have a coach from Kidderminster Harriers to work with the children. We should be up to speed on our skills in time for the Euros just in case Gareth Southgate needs a few extra players! Please can you ensure all children have their PE kits in school on Tuesdays for this activity.
We have also started a new initiative called Drawing Club which the children have been very enthusiastic about. This week we have been focussing on Jack and the Beanstalk and the children have been coming up with some very creative ideas when drawing the giant, the giant's kitchen and a trap to catch the giant. They have also been exploring lots of new vocabulary along the way.
In maths we have been looking at grouping and sharing objects and calculating whether the groups are equal or unequal. Next week we will be exploring how this learning links with our previous work on doubles and odds and evens.
Look out for our new topic next week - we think it is going to be "Roarsome!"
|
|
Homework
Phonics sheet in the green book and sharing their celebration reading book with a family member.
|
Timetable
Thursday & Friday: PE kits
Friday: Reading books, library books and green phonics books
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This week, we spent Thursday morning rehearsing our summer production 'Pirates of the Curry Bean'. Given this is the children's first rehearsal, myself and Mrs Gregory were astounded at how brilliant the children were. Their performances were already so refined and all were almost script-less! It is a testament to the work they have all been putting in at breaktimes and the time spent learning lines over half term. It should be noted that the backstage crew have also worked hard this week, creating some brilliantly creative scenery for the show.
In geography, we began our new topic 'Where does our energy come from?'. This week, we began by exploring the significance of energy in our lives. We explored the different forms of renewable and non-renewable energy and then we looked at the correlation between energy use and population growth and discussed the many reasons for this link. The children then used atlases and blank maps of the world to mark the various links around the world where energy is traded.
In music this week, we have started our final project for the year, Oceans. We used Call and Response to learn a warm up song and discussed what the difference is between a verse and a chorus. We started to learn a song about the oceans of the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Homework
Year 1: Weekly phonics practise sheets are sent home on a Friday in a red phonics book. Information is on the front page of the red book to explain the weekly homework. Your child should 'celebrate' their reading and enjoy 'showing off' how well they can read their Little Wandle book to you. Please read this a few times while it is at home. The library 'sharing' book should be enjoyed and read together as it will contain words with graphemes which have not been taught in school yet
Year 2: 1 page of mental arithmetic maths book set on a Friday to be completed for the following Wednesday. 15 minutes of TTRS (TTrockstars) 'Garage' set on a Friday to be completed for the following Wednesday. Spellings go home on a Friday to learn before the test the following Friday. There are 10 games on Spelling Shed set to help the children learn these
|
Timetable
Monday: Little Wandle book and library book to be returned to school. New library 'sharing' book will come home tonight
Wednesday: Year 2 TTRS and mental arithmetic homework book due in
Thursday: PE kit in school
Friday: PE kit in school. Spellings sent home for test the following Friday. Mental arithmetic book sent home. TTRS homework set. Little Wandle celebration reading book sent home
|
|
|
In English the children have been working towards writing a character description of one of the main characters in our new book which is the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In maths, we have completed our work on time and the children are beginning to get to grips with angles and rotation.
|
|
Homework
15 mins on TTRockstars
Spelling assignments on EdShed
Mental arithmetic books
Reading as much as possible at home to an adult
|
Timetable
Tuesday: Swimming in the afternoon. Please can you make sure your children have their swimming costumes.
Wednesday: Maths homework due in
Friday: Spelling test and maths homework books will go out to be completed by the following Wednesday
|
|
|
Our topic for geography this half-term is "Where does our food come from?" The children used their geographical knowledge to identify different biomes and where in the world these are. We discussed food miles and the advantages and disadvantages of importing food. Don't be surprised if your child/ren are looking more closely at where their fruit and vegetables come from as we are gathering data about foods we import. We want to see just how much of our world map we can cover!
In science, the children conducted a fantastic experiment on the differing rates of tooth decay in different liquids.
In RE, we have changed from studying the Gospels and we are now looking at the importance of festivals throughout the year in the Jewish faith.
|
|
|
In English, we are reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The children have created character sheets for the main characters, drawing them and finding description from the text. The children have highlighted what they think are the most important parts of the book, ready to write a precis next week.
In maths, we have been continuing with our statistics topic. We have looked at how to draw line graphs, looking at scale and labelling the axes. The children then moved on to interpreting data in a line graph.
|
|
Homework
15 min on TTRockstars to be completed by Wednesday
One page of Mental Arithmetic book to be completed and handed in by Wednesday
10 games on Spelling Shed should be completed by the following Friday in preparation for the weekly spelling test
|
Timetable
Every day: Reading book and records
Tuesday: Swimming kit for Y4
Wednesday: PE kit for Y4
Wednesday & Thursday: PE kit for Y5
Friday: Weekly spellings given out
|
|
|
This week in Merlins class, we began the week by hearing the beginning of the story of Macbeth, the famous Shakespearian play. This week, we were introduced to the main character, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis. We learnt that soon after defeating the Norwegians and the Scottish rebels, King Duncan names Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and his heir after his two sons, as the three witches on the battlefield prophesised. We made predictions about how we thought the story might progress. We delved into Macbeth's thoughts, feelings, desires and fears before writing sentences using figurative language which provides further inside into his thoughts and feelings. Next week, the children will be using their learning to write soliloquys.
In maths, we learnt to interpret line graphs before moving onto drawing line graphs of our own, given a set(s) of data. Later in the week, we learnt to read and interpret pie charts. Next week, we will learn to draw pie charts using numerical data.
|
|
Homework
15 min on TTRockstars to be completed by Wednesday
One page of Mental Arithmetic book to be completed and handed in by Wednesday
10 games on Spelling Shed should be completed by the following Friday in preparation for the weekly spelling test
|
Timetable
Every day: Reading books and reading records
Tuesday & Thursday: PE kit
|
|
|
Our focus this half-term in science is investigations based on topics covered this year. This will give the children the opportunity to revisit and embed their learning to ensure they are secure with their knowledge. This week, the children were investigating how to change the size of shadows. We discussed how they could carry this out and what results they would record. The children then used their maths skills to present their findings in a line graph.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please see below information within the community but independent of the school
|
|
|
|
|
|