Primary Newsletter

In partnership with Highgate Primary School

29th March 2018 Third Edition

Dear Parents and Carers, Thank you to everyone who attended the recent coffee morning which was focused on Maths. The next coffee morning is on 24th April which I hope you will be able to attend too. The school is very fortunate to be able to be involved in a research study adapting autism assessments for Deaf children and young people. A letter about the project and an information booklet was sent home earlier in the week and it would be wonderful if all pupils at Blanche Nevile School Primary Department and their families could be involved.

As we approach the forthcoming holiday I hope you will take the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors to look for signs of Spring! If you prefer, there are details regarding the Remark playscheme in the newsletter together with details for 'The Silent Child' which will be on BBC1 at 7.40pm. Have a safe, happy holiday! Best wishes,

Geraldine Santiago

Headteacher

Emily’s Class

EYFS have been learning all about Safari animals. We have also been reading ‘Dear Zoo’ and acting out the story with animals masks and painted cardboard boxes.

We even went to London Zoo to see the animals!! We saw the grumpy camel, the tall giraffe, the naughty monkey and the fierce lion. In class we’ve been learning about sizes, height and weights in our play.

EYFS also went to Topsy Turvy to celebrate the end of the Spring Term. It was great fun!

Lauren’s Class

What a busy term it has been for the Year 1 pupils! We read two fairy-tale

stories, the three little pigs and Hansel and Gretel. We did lots of acting and

retelling the stories. We wrote a book of the three little pigs and took it home. In

Science, we have been learning about the names and properties of different

materials; plastic, metal, fabric, wood, glass and rubber. In maths, we did a lot of

work around time, days of the week, months of the year and knowing how to

tell o’clock and half past times.

Sharon’s Class

In Sharon's class we have been having great fun creating our role play area. We're off on an African safari, driving in our jeep and spotting the animals using our binoculars. At night we sleep in our tent and cook over the camp fire! In Literacy we have been performing the story 'Going on a Lion Hunt' by David Axtell. We studied different African settings: savannah, rivers, swamps and caves and made a collage of each, describing them with lots of great adjectives. Would you like come with us through the squelchy, muddy smelly swamp and the vast, tall, tickly grass?

Ruth’s Class In Year 3/4 we have been learning about life in Greece and have been focussing on the food Ancient Greeks ate. Did you know that they used honey to sweeten their food because they believed the Greek God Zeus was fed milk and honey as a baby? We have been writing menus, researching recipes for our Greek Feast at the end of term and practising making them. Look at us chopping, cutting and mixing to make a Greek salad. In Literacy we have been learning about imperative verbs, "bossy words", and using them to write instructions. We then wrote instructions about how to make a Greek salad, so come and ask us to have a look if you'd like to make some Greek salad. It is delicious!

Ben’s Class We have been finishing off our flashback stories based on Jeanie Baker's 'Window' in English as well as starting a short unit on news reporting. In maths, some of us enjoyed surveying the school on their favourite fruits and colours in order to create pictograms while others of us have been focusing on methods for division and finding area and perimeter. Making a burglar alarmed box including a switch, buzzer and bulb to scare away chocolate biscuit thieves has been the focus of one of our recent science investigations! In PE, we are enjoying joining our mainstream partner class for gymnastics, tennis and tag-rugby sessions. Next on the agenda this term is our ice skating trip to Alexandra Palace which we are really excited about!

WONDERFUL WORK ASSEMBLY

February winners!

March Winners!

SHINING STAR ASSEMBLY

February Winners!

March Winners!

Coffee Morning Our Primary Coffee Morning last week was a huge success. The children all performed work relating to their current topics to a rapt audience of parents and carers. The rest of the morning had a maths focus and parents learnt about the different methods and strategies we use when teaching addition. A tour of all the classes was greatly enjoyed by the parents, followed by coffee and a chance to catch up. Thank you to all the children who worked so hard on their wonderful performances.

Mayor’s Event and “What makes you Happy” Artwork Competition.

Kathryn and Klaudia were lucky enough to be invited to the Mayor’s Event last week, please see Kathryn’s report below regarding their experience!

I hope you are well! I thought I'd send you some information and pictures following our visit to the Mayor's parlour on Friday. I took Klaudia and her mother as Klaudia's picture was the best entry from our school for his 'What makes you happy' competition. When we arrived the Mayoress had explained that we would be heading up to the parlour where the Mayor would join us shortly. I explained to her that I would be providing signed support for Klaudia as she was deaf. When we entered the parlour we sat at the front so Klaudia had a good view of the Mayor and myself. As the Mayor was about to enter I saw the Mayoress explaining about us but could see the Mayor already knew (Probably because he had visited our school a few months ago). When he entered the parlour he went straight up to Klaudia and signed to her 'Hello, nice to meet you again.' Well.....it made my heart melt! He made her feel so special. She was so delighted as was her mother! He asked if Klaudia remembered him visiting our school, which of course she did. He then spoke to some of the other children before taking his seat on the podium. I stood nearby signing for Klaudia. Towards the end of his speech he then announced that “I have been using BSL”. He explained that we had a child there who was deaf and it was important that all members of the community were included. He explained about the importance of BSL and then said that in BSL we do not clap our hands to congratulate each other. Instead, it is celebrated differently. He then asked Klaudia to come up and show everyone how we 'clap' in BSL and she did! Everyone then joined in. The Mayor explained that for the rest of the afternoon we would not clap our hands but instead wave them to congratulate each other and include everyone! I was so impressed!! Afterwards, we spoke again to the Mayor and he said how he'd love to learn more sign language and how he enjoyed his previous visit to our school. Of course, I encouraged him to visit again and said he is always more than welcome. He then asked if we are attending the event on Friday afternoon which I confirmed we are. He asked Klaudia how to sign 'see you next Friday' which he practised and signed back. I thanked him for his kind words and for sharing awareness and I told him how it tied in perfectly with Sign Language week! He was such a nice man and a lovely visit for Klaudia and her mother to be part of. The following week all of the pupils then joined the Mayor for his community event at Lordship Lane Recreation Ground. We had a lovely time. Best wishes,

Kathryn

Important dates Thursday 29th March – School closing at 12.30pm Friday 30th March – Good Friday – School closed Monday 2nd April – Easter Holidays Monday 16th April – INSET day (School closed for pupils) Tuesday 17th April – Start of the Summer term – School open for pupils and staff Tuesday 24th April – TATE Modern Museum trip for Ruth’s class Tuesday 24th April – Coffee Morning for Parents – 10am – 12pm on E-safety (NSPCC to lead) Friday 25th May – Last day of Summer Term 1 Monday 28th May – Half Term – School Closed Monday 4th June – Start of Summer Term 2 Friday 20th July – End of Summer Term 2

Silent Child will be on BBC1 at

7.40pm on Friday 30th March 2018.

If you are interested please contact Steven on the email address

below:

Steven.wynne@remark.uk.com

Dear Parents,

I cannot believe we have now finished the end of our second term. As

always, it has been very busy with lots of events, trips and learning

opportunities.

Thank you to all of those who attended the parent consultations and

recent Coffee Morning.

We will be in touch after the holiday about the next Coffee Morning

and other events that we have planned.

I hope you and your families have an enjoyable holiday. As always,

thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Kathryn McCarthy

Acting Assistant Headteacher.