A Message from Miss Steele
What a super first half of the Autumn term it has been. Welcoming the new reception class into school and watching the rest of the children fill the classrooms once more with the sounds of fun, laughter and learning. There have of course been a few hurdles along the way and there may be more in the coming weeks, but I would just like to say thank you to all of you for your support and kindness, especially when difficult decisions are having to be made which aren’t always popular.
We also have some very exciting, but also sad staffing news to share with you. At the end of this Autumn Term, Miss Robinson in Year 1 will be leaving St Margaret’s. It has been wonderful to watch over the last 6 years as Miss Robinson has grown from a newly qualified teacher to an outstanding practitioner. She is however ready for the next stage of her career and teaching journey and will be moving to Dixie Grammar. I’m sure you will all want to wish her the very best and lots of luck. We are excited to be welcoming Miss Langford as the new Year 1 class teacher.
Finally, just a quick reminder of what will happen if there are any covid cases in your child's class. If there is a first new case in the class, the whole class will receive an email to notify them of a positive case. If your child is classed as a close contact (for example sitting next to or on the same table) you will receive an additional email advising you to take your child for a PCR test. The number of cases in school is monitored daily and advise sought if / when needed according to the risk management plan. At school we continue to focus on enhanced hygiene (hands, face and space) and also additional cleaning throughout the day and ensuring all the children are happy.
A few dates for the diary...
Wednesday 10th November: We are excited to welcome the author Laura Henry-Allain MBE for the day in school to complete workshops with the children.
Week commencing 15th November: Inter-faith week
Friday 19th November: Children in Need (watch this space for information and a just giving link)
Friday 10th December: Christmas Jumper Day (supporting 'Save the Children' watch out for a just giving link)
Wednesday 15th December: School Christmas Lunch day (Christmas jumpers can be worn on this day too!)
Over the summer, children across school enjoyed reading their whole class text in preparation for joining their new year group. The children have since produced some fabulous writing and it is proudly displayed in the activity area in KS1; demonstrating the exciting progression of reading and writing that happens at St. Margaret's.
Oracy
We’re all keen for our children to build their literacy skills, and become confident readers and fluent writers. However, developing a mastery of English isn’t just about reading and writing: it’s also about becoming a good speaker. Oracy is the ability to express yourself clearly and communicate with others effectively through spoken language. A key part of oracy is for children to think carefully about the language they’re using, and tailor it to their subject, purpose and audience.
It’s about having the vocabulary to say what you want to say, and the ability to structure your thoughts so that they make sense to others.
This year at St. Margaret's, we have a focus throughout our curriculum to promote oracy. Your children should be able to tell you how they are encouraged to be 'STAR listeners' and as part of this are taught how to 'respond as scholars'.
You can also help at home: try these techniques to help your child become a more confident communicator...
1. Read aloud to your child
Reading aloud to your child, well beyond the age they can read for themselves, combines the benefits of talking, listening and storytelling within one activity that helps children build their vocabulary, learn to express their thoughts, and understand the structure of language.
2. Record a video diary
Many children aspire to be vloggers or YouTube stars, so encourage them to start a video diary, either to chart their everyday life or to record special occasions like birthdays and holidays. For safety’s sake, keep these within the family rather than broadcasting them online.
3. Play word games
Games like 20 Questions, Guess Who? and I Spy are great for helping children use descriptive language and think critically about what they’re saying.
4. Talk about their day
Ask your child, ‘What did you do today?’ and they’ll often claim they can’t remember, so find different ways to talk about what they’ve been up to. Eating your evening meal as a family is a good way to encourage conversation, while older kids are often more chatty in the car, where they feel less like they’re being interrogated.
5. Phone a friend (or relative)
Encouraging them to speak to different family members on the phone or on a video call will build confidence in oracy skills.
6. Go on a nature walk
This is a great pre-phonics activity for young children, who can be encouraged to listen carefully to the sounds they hear – from traffic to birdsong – and describe them. They can also describe the natural sights they see, such as trees, animals and birds and the sky.
7. Sign them up for a club
Joining extra curricular clubs is a good opportunity for your child to converse with different people outside the home or school environment. Many of them also involve taking instructions (such as being coached in sporting techniques or to complete science or art projects), and introduce them to different vocabulary relating to their new hobby
Year 6 Geography
In the first half term of year 6, their geography topic created such fabulous passion and energy from our children to be positive global citizens. The topic, 'How is climate change affecting the world?' allowed the children to visit real places around the planet and find out how climate change is affecting real people's lives in these places such as The Gambia, Australia, Greenland and places within the UK. They learnt about how we are experiencing a global emergency and wrote letters to the Earth to reflect on their learning. Following the topic, Y6 then entered a competition in the first news newspaper and sent videos to world leaders with solutions and questions in preparation for COP26. We were incredibly proud of one of our year 6 pupils who was chosen to go to the climate change conference at Downing Street with the Prime Minister! Year 6 were so proud of their friend and now have lots of ideas for how they can make a difference to the climate emergency.
If any parents work for companies who would be keen to work with the children relating to reducing climate change, please do get in touch with school. This is something that the school and children are very passionate about.
Laura Henry-Allain Author Visit
On Wednesday 10th November, St Margaret’s will be delighted to welcome Laura Henry-Allain MBE into our school. Laura is an Early Years expert and children’s media creator (JoJo and Gran Gran – Cbeebies) She will be talking about race, racism and empowerment with our children. We are excited to hear about her best-selling book ‘My Skin Your Skin’ (Ladybird Books) which is a powerful book to help children and adults have meaningful discussions about race and anti-racism. Most importantly, the book empowers children to be the best versions of themselves; to have self-love, self-esteem and self-worth, irrespective of their skin colour.
This book was specifically written by Laura, to support parents, teachers and guardians to explain what racism is, why it is wrong, and what children can do if they see it or experience it. It also explores how important it is for children to celebrate their achievements and greatness.
Fully-illustrated throughout by talented illustrator Onyinye Iwu, My Skin, Your Skin is aimed at children aged four and above.
Containing explanations on key words and concepts written in child-friendly, accessible language, with relatable examples, this book supports children's understanding in building an anti-racist stance from an early age.
It is perfect to read at home, and in classrooms, to support your child's life-long learning journey. If you would like a copy signed by Laura on the day, your child will be welcome to bring in the book to school on the day. Watch out for a letter from Mrs Taylor in the next couple of days to see if any children would like to order a copy for Laura to sign.
In Year 4....
As part of their DT topic about American Foods, Year 4 have been learning about Mrs Abbey Fisher, who published the first ever African American cookbook. They learnt all about soul food and followed one of Mrs Fisher's recipes to create a traditional Peach Cobbler. They also learnt about food from all across America and the influence that different cultures have had on food today. They learnt about Tex Mex and made chicken fajitas!
It was brilliant to see children put new found confidence to the test when we had Mike Mullen, a former BMX World Champion, come to visit us in school.
Mike started off with an assembly for the whole school where he spoke to us about growth mindset and how to learn from getting things wrong. He even gave us a brilliant new word, ‘flearning’ - which means learning from fails and not giving up.
Mike then gave the whole school a super display of some of his tricks which even included jumping over 4 members of staff!
Sports News
We’ve had a super first half term with our school sports. Our first team event, on the 23rd September, was the Danone Cup football tournament. The players were absolutely brilliant and represented our school superbly, showing real determination despite some really tricky matches. Thank you boys for representing us so well and being great team mates: Robbie, Max, Archie P, Archie M, Kayden, Kian, Alex and Charlie.
Player of the match: Max
After that, we had the girls football tournament. Our girls have been playing really well lately and it showed at the tournament. They faced some tough opponents but they stood their ground, showed real perseverance and finished in a fabulous 3rd place in the Hinckley schools tournament. We are incredibly proud of them! Well done girls: Zoe, Ellie-Mae, Iris, Hannah, Savannah, Isla and Martha.
Player of the match: Hannah
Next up, on the 2nd of October, was the first cross country of the season. It was a chilly but super day and it was great to see our runners on top form. All of them came in the top 100 in the year group races, despite a large number of runners! Well done to all of them ~ there were some fabulous results!
The next cross country is Saturday 30th October. All of KS2 are welcome!
Handwriting
The children in Year 1 have transitioned beautifully from Reception class. Since starting in Year 1 they have been introduced to pre-cursive handwriting and we couldn't be prouder of the perseverance they have shown. All of the children have really enjoyed our daily handwriting sessions where they have learnt each individual letter with its entry and exit stroke.
This pre-cursive handwriting stage is essential for young learners to grasp the style and hand movements that they will use in the future. This will give them the foundations to move onto cursive writing in Year 2 when the children will also be encouraged to start joining their letters.
Take a look at some of their FABULOUS writing - well done Year 1!
Back in the Stone Age
Year 3 has had a very busy half term travelling back to The Stone Age. We are concentrating on how the Stone Age has impacted Britain that we know today. Our favourite element of this topic is when the children completed a research project based on an animal from this time in history and to say that we were blown away with the results, is an understatement! Our corridor is like a museum where children and adults spend much time reading and learning all about the animals. The children also developed their oracy skills by giving us a presentation on their findings. All of the children were brilliant, but 'SUPES the Chicken' was a superstar as we found out that chickens were seen as a rare species during this time in history.
In this term, we have combined our Stone Age learning with our Science topic and looking at rocks and fossils. This has been brilliant to see the children so enthused about the different stones and pebbles found in our playground, at home and even on holiday. We could actually create a garden rockery with the amount of stones the children have collected! We have also created Stone Age jewellery using clay completing our art unit. It has been a very busy half term and the children have been a credit settling so well into KS2.
This next half term, we will be looking at 'Forces and Magnets' in Science, creating wonderful poetry in English for Remembrance Day and we also design and sew our very own Christmas stocking. We will also be embarking on our Linking Schools Project where Year 3 will be partnering up with a school in Leicester and making new friends. An exciting half term lies ahead!
Collective Worship
Throughout our Collective Worships this term, we have had a focus initially on our expectations of children in school, but then we have also talked lots about our school vision and what this means. “The roots to grow and the wings to fly” (They will soar high on wings like eagles. Isaiah 40:31). Your child should be able to talk to you about this and especially how each of the roots link to our values.
We talk a lot about ‘forgiveness’ and this being one of the most important values / virtues. At St Margaret’s we have worked hard to develop a safe environment where we are allowed to make mistakes which we learn from. We recognise that everyone (both adults and children) make mistakes. Sometimes these are big mistakes, and sometimes small. We talk about how important it is that we learn through our mistakes, but also that we must learn to forgive each other as well.