Suffah Primary School

End of Autumn Term One Newsletter 2017

Important Dates for your Diary

Mon 30th Oct 2017 – 1st Day Autumn 2

Fri 3rd Nov – International Day

Mon 6th & Wed 8th Nov – Parent

Teacher meetings

Mon 13th Nov – Anti-Bullying Week

Mon 18th Dec – NHS Flu Nasal Spray

Wed 20th Dec – Last day of Autumn 2

After School Clubs Autumn Term

Clubs Letter for Autumn Term 2 are

attached.

Kindly ensure you return the form by

Monday 30th October Insha’Allah. You

will receive a text message with details

of payments, if your child is allocated a

place.

Autumn Term 2 Dinner Menu

As you may be aware, the Masjid have

recruited a new caterer for the Masjid

and School earlier this week. We have

done surveys with the children on the

food they have been eating over the

past few terms and have prepared a

new menu on this basis for the coming

half term.

Please see attached for the new menu.

Message from the Head Teacher

Assalamu Alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, we have come to the end of our first half term. September is always very hectic and the new children are wonderful and challenging at the same time. No two days are the same. We thank Allah for his blessings.

Attendance and Punctuality

I am starting on a sore note. If attendance and punctuality of a school is below 96% OFSTED categorise the school as inadequate! We are at 92% overall. This is totally unacceptable and has to move in only one direction! Those who are regularly on time, I thank them for making the effort and planning their evenings and mornings effectively and managing their children. I implore all other parents to get their children to school by 7.45am and without missing any days. State schools are contemplating the introduction of fines for lack of punctuality. I hope we don’t have to go down the same route. I’m sure you can understand my frustration in this matter.

We are based in a Masjid which is a public place. With Fajr salah being so late there are worshippers still in the building who aren’t DBS checked. I stand to welcome the pupils and parents from around 7.35 till 7.50 every day. My standing there is to ensure the safety of the pupils. If you arrive any later than that you must bring the child upstairs to the school for safety reasons and also to sign the pupils in as you would have to do in any other primary school. With these two rants over, now we can move to the positives.

Pupils

Alhamdulillah the school has grown and insha Allah with your support will continue to do so. The following are the current class numbers: EY 27, Rec 20, Y1 24, Y2 23, Y3 18, Y4 22, Y5 18, Y6 12 = 164. We have a healthy number of pupils starting in EY in January 2018 but we would like our places to be absolutely full. Please continue to spread the good word.

I would like to thank the parents for their support in parking their cars properly and for coming up to the school building to collect their children at home time. We practiced a few different methods and have found one that works for all the classes. The current method is difficult for some parents and we do recognise that; however, it is the safest for the children.

A new School Council has been elected and they are very keen in carrying out their duties. Insha Allah we will be meeting every half term and we have already made changes to the menu through their input.

School Lunches

We had a shaky start with our new chef. He has now been replaced by someone whose food is more appreciated by the children. We pray that with time and experience he will only get better. Again, I would like to thank the parents for their patience with school lunches.

We will be tweaking the menu for the next half term so the children feel more appetised insha Allah.

Teaching Staff

Br Daoud is has decided to move onto pastures afresh. We thank him for his dedication and hard work over the past 7 years. His rapport with the children was very good Masha Allah. He will be missed. His last day will be 31st of October 2017. We pray that he finds success wherever he goes. I will be taking the Islamic Studies classes for all the classes and Br Bilal will be taking over the Quran for the whole school.

Br Haroon joined us this September. He was a very loved and thoroughly engaged member of staff. Unfortunately for us, he has been offered a job at a University which he has accepted. Today is his last day with us. We pray for his success in the future and for his new born baby girl.

He has been succeeded by Sr Aamina Khan who is not only a qualified teacher but a former Suffah pupil! This is the first time we have completed a full circle where a former pupil is now a teacher. We are very proud of her and welcome her back home! She will be taking the helm of Year 5 after the half term holidays insha Allah.

Curriculum and Resources

Alhamdulillah, the have invested in additional resources this year and have already purchased new PE schemes of work, more Maths books and totally new Arabic course books. This is all on top of the Parent Pay and School Pod software which we started on last term. I would like to thank the PTA for supporting us with 60% of the purchase of most classroom resources. Without them we would have struggled. A great big thank you to the PTA team!

CPD

Alhamdulillah, we are investing in our staff and ensuring that all of our staff continue in their professional development. We have arranged for many face to face and online courses for all of our staff. Insha Allah their training will filter through the school and will result in positive changes for all.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for choosing Suffah Primary School as your choice to educate your children. This really gives us real joy knowing that you trust us with your beloved children. With continued support from all we will insha Allah take the school from strength to strength.

If you have any questions about what I have mentioned above or regarding any other topic please don’t hesitate in contacting me on asif.ali@suffahschool.hounslow.sch.uk. May Allah keep you all in His eternal protection.

Kind regards

Asif Ali Head Teacher

Message from the Deputy Head Teacher

Assalamualaikum,

As usual it has been a busy term at Suffah. MashAllah the children are making good progress including the children who joined Suffah in September.

This term, Year 2 have been learning about ‘Food’and have had the opportunity to try their hands at pizza making at Pizza Express. Year 4 had a day out exploring their topic related activities at KidZania. Alhamdulilah both the trips were thoroughly enjoyed by the children and I’m sure they have learnt about many new things. More trips are being planned for Autumn 2 in addition to other events like the International Day and The Anti Bullying Week.

‘We participated in ‘Jeans for Genes’ earlier this term. It helped children raise their awareness about genetic disorders and empathy for those who have lifelong conditions. Alhamdulilah children raised £140.51 for the charity.

We at Suffah are always trying to help our children achieve their goals and we cannot do so without parents’ help. Hence, a big thank you for all your support in terms of volunteering, interest in our activities and feedback.

Jazakallah, Ustadah Soofia

Assalamu’alaikum wa Rahmatullah, We sent out Emergency Contact and Medical forms earlier this term and we request that all parents kindly ensure

these are updated with any new contact details and/or medical changes and returned to the office as soon as

possible. Please provide all medicines required for the duration of the school day in a clearly labelled bag and

complete a Healthcare Plan, which can be taken from the School Office. Please note we will not be able to accept

or administer any medciation that is not prescribed by your GP (i.e. not labelled).

Our staff have already been busy preparing fun and challenging learning activities for our children, for the coming

term. Insha’Allah we have another exciting term coming ahead of us. Please come forward and help Suffah in

its efforts to provide excellent education and tarbiyah to our future generation

Jazzak Allah Khayre

Sister Shammi

Administration Manager

Message from the Administration Team

What’s been happening in our classes this term . . .

This half term in Year 1 we were learning about how to identify features of fairy tales in English, reading and sequencing events in the story of ‘Red Riding Hood’ as well as sequencing and writing a recount of stories with familiar setting: ‘Kakadu Jack’, starting to pay attention to grammar in terms of using capital letters at the start of sentences, for names, places and for the names of days along with spacing words. Children were also introduced to the non-fiction genre and attempted to write their first samples of information texts, using the features and non-fiction such as the ‘Did you know box?’ In Maths we were learning about number and place value, focusing on number bonds to 5, 6 and 10. We were aiming to recognise numbers without counting our fingers, counting on from any number, and finding 1 less and 1 more than any number as well as recognising 2D shapes properties and identifying symmetrical lines in shapes. In science children were learning about body parts, labelling the human body, playing ‘Simon Says’ excitedly and chanting the body parts in French with more confidence! They were also able to look at the five senses and identify the organs responsible for each sense, enjoying our experiment of the class favourite crisps using the sense of taste: Cheese and onion. They were also keen to find out about the organs inside the human body and identifying their function such as lungs, the heart, the stomach, the liver, big and small intestines. Our topic this half term is Our Selves. Children were able to share with others their likes and dislikes and created fantastic timelines which covered a range of information around their families and past experiences with the help of their parents, which we tend to thank tremendously. The children were able to express their views on having pets and learnt how to care for them in terms of food and hygiene. They were very excited to read the story of The Three Friends Together and they explored what makes a good friend and how to ensure that their best friends’ feelings are well looked after.

In Year One

English: We have read Yum Yuck by Julia Durango and The Magic finger by Roald Dahl. The children wrote their

own versions of the Yum Yuck story. They also wrote a letter, a diary entry and a story.

Maths: Year 2 have been learning number bonds to 20. Children wrote their own stories for bonds to 10 and 20.

They are beginning to compare and order numbers on a number line. Year 2 have also been sorting 2D shapes

using Venn and Carroll diagrams.

Topic: We have been learning about food this half term. Year 2 went on a trip to Pizza Express. They learnt how

to make pizza and even had a chance to make their own pizzas at the restaurant.

Art: Year 2 enjoyed designing their own healthy drinks in art. They created a recipe for a smoothie which we

used to make smoothies together as a class.

In Year Two

In English, we read The Twits by Roald Dahl and Gregory Cool by Caroline Binch. The children had the chance to write a character description, a story and a diary entry based on these texts. In grammar, children were introduced to fronted adverbials to make their sentences more interesting. Year 3 can now use the thesaurus confidently and we would greatly recommend having one at home to use. In Maths, we have been using our multiplication and division facts for the 5, 10, 2, 4 and 3 times-tables to solve number problems. Next term, we will be focusing on division so it is important that children are confident in their times-tables. Children are now able to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes on an analogue and digital clock. Please encourage your child to tell the time at home too. Note to parents: Please ensure you listen to your child read regularly. In Science, the children have been learning about Healthy Eating, the Food Pyramid and Food Groups. We enjoyed ourselves planning healthy meals together and they also became dietitians for one day! We made nice healthy smoothies and the children realized how a smoothie may be tasty with just few ingredients! In R.E. we had lots of fun learning about Judaism and its similarities with Islam. The children were particularly fascinated by the names of traditional Jewish objects like mezuzah, kippah and the traditional Jewish bread Matzah, which we tasted! We also made a virtual tour of a Synagogue! It was amazing listening to the Torah recited in Hebrew.

In Year Three

Here we are at the end of first half of Autumn term! The time has flown by but the children have achieved many targets, both in their learning and social/emotional skills. As always, all the children continue to be such a credit to Suffah School in whatever they do. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting children at home and working with us as a team.

English

We have been reading 'Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters' during which children used drama and debates to resolve emotional dilemmas. Children have written diary entries, descriptive text and play scripts. This has enhanced their vocabulary and writing style. Children are now confidently using emotive language and adventurous adjectives in their writing. Here is a short extract from 'Journey through the Enchanted Forest' by Hadee:

As soon as I entered the damp, gloomy forest, I saw twisty trees towering above my head. The beaming moonlight poked through the shadowy trees. Suddenly, I heard the howl of a hungry wolf. Just as the wolf howled, wispy clouds covered the moon and a spine-chilling breeze struck my body. Now the forest was in complete darkness. As dark as an abandoned tunnel under the sea bed. As I strolled along getting deeper into the forest, it got creepier and creepier. The wind whistled round the forest and trees whispered to each other.

Maths

In Maths, we have learned different strategies for addition, subtraction and multiplication. Fluency in recalling multiplication and division facts for 3, 6, and 9 times tables was the top priority. I would encourage children to keep practising these skills. Children have used concrete methods to understand unit and non-unit fractions. Afterwards, we moved to pictorial representation. Children were introduced to 'Bar Model Method' for addition and multiplication. However, this is at a very early stage and we will be learning more about this approach as we progress this year.

I must acknowledge the fact that children have tried their best to work independently in Maths lesson. Well done to Hassan Maqbool for working hard and showing a great level of independence throughout this term. Keep it up Hassan!

Science

In Science, our focus was 'States of Matter'. We compared and grouped items in the three categories and we also discussed tricky items such as foam, jelly and toothpaste. Discussions on reversible and non-reversible reactions were particularly interesting as each group had their own reasoning behind it. This indicates that children are beginning to use scientific reasoning to agree or disagree.

Topic

During our topic sessions, we have explored: the history of chocolate; how it is made; countries producing cocoa beans; African continent and fair trade. Our assembly was based on the work researched and produced by the children.

We really enjoyed the presentations by Zain and Amna J. Keep up with your creativity children!

Art

In Art lesson, children have learned about warm and cool colours. We also experimented with mixed media painting where we used acrylics, oil pastels, graphite, markers, felt tip and colouring pencils. Our 'Hot Chocolate Cups' display outside Year 4 classroom is the final product of our hard work. As you may have noticed, every piece is great in its own right.

In Year Four

This has been an interesting half term for year 5 across the curriculum. Our topic for the last six weeks has been

WWII. Students were given the opportunity to step into the shoes of a child during the war and experience how it

may have felt like to have lived experienced bombing, evacuation, rationing as well as life in general.

Students were able to build on this in their English lessons where they read the book ‘Friend or Foe’ by Michael

Morpurgo where two school boys have to evacuate London during the blitz. The students then sharpened up their

creative writing skills to write their very own story about life as child evacuee during WWII.

In science we have been learning all about forces and how they affect us in our day to day life. Students discovered

that gravity causes objects to fall at the same speed regardless of their weight as long as there is no air resistance.

Which will fall faster the bowling ball or the feather???

Art allowed students to explore the use of charcoal as a drawing tool. Students experimented with shading by

smearing and smudging the charcoal to create some wonderful pictures of fruits and landscapes.

In Year Five

Trip to KidZania

Our trip to KidZania was such a great success! We (children only!) got to try our hands at many different jobs; firemen,

policemen, doctors, nurses, pilots, chefs, fashion stylists and much more. The children had to get themselves jobs to

earn money. It was great to see the children being independent learners, acting responsibly and managing their time

so well.

Infact we were helping others too! Faatih explaining about the KidZania cash machine to another visitor.

Well done Year 4, I am looking forward to Kidzania helping our recount writing unit and enabling us to look closer at life outside of school.

JazakAllah Khair to Year 4 parents for making this trip possible. Special thanks to Sister Sadia (Muhsin's mum) and Sister Misbah (Tayyab's mum) for helping us on the trip.

Welcome to year 6! Year 6 has been successfully settling in, getting used to routines and expectations and considering

their targets for the year ahead. They have been enjoying all their topics and participating enthusiastically in lessons.

Here are a few of things that have been going on in the year 6 classroom:

In English, we have been reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry linked to our topic on slavery and civil rights. Inspired by the book, Y6 wrote, personification poems about autumn. We also looked at “Cloud Tea Monkeys” by Mal Peet and studied the beautiful descriptive passages. Inspired by his writing, we wrote our own successful and rich descriptive passages of setting. This is along with our usual Reading Comprehension and grammar practice and learning

In art Y6 have been sketching. We sketched some still life arrangements and then went on to sketch and paint some vibrant settings, which linked in perfectly with our English work.

During science lessons, we looked at the circulatory system, healthy eating and a balanced diet. Children participated in a drama activity where they enacted the journey of a blood cell around the body. They also used the Chrome books to investigate the components of blood and took part in a fun activity where they had to “make blood” for blood bank- making sure that they got the ratios of each component correct. Children learned how to make informed choices and the negative effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs. They have also been studying food labels so that they can differentiate between unhealthy and healthy foods; and examining the diet and exercise regimes of athletes.

We have begun our topic on slavery and civil rights. Children have been looking at how and why slaves were transported to Africa, they have written a report on the middle passage using historical sources and discussed how slavery was justified. We have begun writing biographies about influential and famous Black British men and women.

Our geography topic is on Climate Change, we have been reflecting on our responsibility towards our planet and the animals that live on it, how the earth is an amaanah to us and we will be asked about our role in taking care of it. We have looked at the Carbon cycle and the Greenhouse Effect and have also been thinking about renewable and non-renewable energy.

In R.E., Y6 have been thinking of the question: Why are some books sacred? Children have learned about the Torah, The Bible and the Guru Granth Sahib. They have been comparing these sacred texts to their own experience with the Qur’an. We have also looked at stories from the Bible and considered the important lessons we learn from them and how they hold importance for Christians.

Children have been producing some wonderful writing in both English lessons and writing journals.

Here are some short extracts from their writing:

Description of an urban setting by Ibrahim Y:

I loved everything about the city; from bakeries giving out a plume as the city stirs, awakened by this tantalisingly

beautiful fragrance and glorifying its insides filled with muffins and pastries that ooze jam; the towering metal and

concrete giants a hundred storeys high…

Description of a winter setting my Ramla H:

I can hear the howling, adventurous young wolves scampering about; the chirruping of a first-born fledgling; the

sounds of the crackling wood that my dad accurately throws into the fire; and the sound of the whistling wind as it

blows out the fire.

If anger were an exhibit in a zoo, the sign would say by Marwan P:

This is anger. A vicious animal that attacks and stares at you with fierce, fiery eyes. Oh the eyes of hatred at the sight

of its prey! The trail of destruction it gives when we meet. It has no mercy for those who made it.

Be aware this is anger, prepare yourself for danger, it might attack at any time

In Year Six

Year Six Gallery

Have a lovely Half-Term Break and we look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 30th October 2017