School News February 2018 v2 - reigate-parish.org.ukreigate-parish.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/School-News... · It was clear that everyone had pulled together to create a funny

Reigate Parish Church Primary School

Blackborough Road, Reigate, RH2 7DB, Tel: 01737 244476 Email: [email protected]

School News

The Termly Newsletter Celebrating the

Wonderful Learning in our School, Spring 1 2018

Art week

Huge thanks to Mr and Mrs Humphrey for giving Art Week a flying start! The children loved meeting

two real pilots in our Monday assembly who took us to our art week destinations. From rainforest

dioramas, colourful masks and carnival in Brazil, to origami and manga drawings in Japan, across

to the aboriginal art and boomerangs of Australia and the safari animals of Kenya, not forgetting

the teepees, feathers and totem poles of Native America..... we have been around the world!

We are so grateful to the PTA for funding the week, especially for providing the resources for our

colourful tie dye t-shirts! Our happy travellers have been stars!

KS2: Harlequins Rugby club

On Friday the 26th of January, a coach from the Harlequins Rugby Club came into our school to

run rugby sessions across our KS2. The sessions were really good. The children were enthusiastic

and all seemed to really enjoy the skills and games that they were taught. School staff said “all the

classes very much enjoyed the sessions. Adrian was very good with them, getting everyone



involved, especially those who would normally be less confident in team sports.” Another staff

member said “The children responded well to him and I'd be keen to have him return.”

KS2: District Gymnastics Competition

A massive congratulations to our Year 3 and 4

gymnastic team who came home

proudly with silver medals around their neck

on Wednesday 31st January.

They finished in second place (out of eight

schools), just behind St Mathews at the District

Gymnastics Competition on Wednesday (last

year we came fourth out of six schools). Our

gymnasts have put in lots of time and effort

practising and refining their routines over the

last couple of months. I am so incredibly

proud of their hard work and their

accomplishment.

A special mention to Elodie Heath who also

won an individual bronze medal for her

performance in the body management discipline. Thank you to all the volunteers and parents

who no doubt helped / encouraged their child to practise at home. A huge thank you and

congratulations to everyone involved!

ioCross Country Run, Priory Park, 6.2.18

Mrs Seddon-Hall and the year 3 and 4

teachers after school on Tuesday 6th February,

accompanied the 42 of our KS2 children to

the annual cross country practice run in

Reigate Priory Park. From Mrs Seddon-Hall “A

huge congratulations to all the year 3 and 4

pupils who participated in yesterday’s Cross

Country Open event. 42 of our students

competed in the run. This event was all about

taking part and having fun but for some it

was about achieving their personal best. Whatever the reason for their participation in the event

we are very proud of each and every one of them. I would also like to say thank you to all the

parents that volunteered for this event. Without your support we could never bring such a large

squad. Well done to everyone. “



From a mum “I just wanted to write to you to say that I was so impressed with Parish's efforts today

in the cross country running. They did absolutely brilliantly and Mrs Seddon-Hall was fantastic in

every way!”

From another mum “Thank you so much for your hard work this afternoon. My daughter had an

amazing time and is on cloud nine after finishing. I would like to add that the school’s dedication

and enthusiasm to PE and external PE events doesn't go unnoticed.”

Whole School Safer Internet Day

On Tuesday 30th January, the children had Internet safety day.

They were involved in activities that linked to the ‘Create,

Connect and share respect’ theme. The children learnt about

the dangers of the internet, and how to respond to them. In

Reception children were learning what to do if something

unusual happens on their computer, and how the best thing to

do is to tell an adult. In KS1 they were looking at a story of

someone sending an unkind photo to their friends. Children

talked about the importance of being kind online.

In Year 3, pupils were looking at how to stay safe online, using the

acronym, SMART (be Safe, never Meet up, not Accepting pop-

ups or add-ins, checking if it is Reliable information and always

Telling an adult). They then had a discussion about their digital

footprint. In Year 4, children had an online safety quiz and used

this to discuss the various apps that are available and the

dangers that can follow if they are not set up and used correctly.

Year 4 DT Day 1st February 2018

The children had a great day planning and constructing their bold bridges. The brief was set out in

our previous DT lessons: “People from the same village are having a tiresome and long drive to

access the local shop and local primary school which at the moment are on two sides of a wide

river. You have to build a bridge which enables cars to cross, pedestrians to walk and allow small

fishing boats to pass.”

In the morning the children worked in small groups to culminate all their ideas into one final

design. After some negotiating with each other, they then thought long and hard about the

materials they would need to build their bridges. After using their mental maths skills, and adding

up the total they would spend on their materials, the children were invited to ‘buy’ these with their

ten pounds, at the Bridge Shop. Throughout the day, the children were peer and self-evaluating

how their designs were shaping up.

By the afternoon session, the children had a further 45 minutes to finalise their builds. Then, it was

time for sharing each group’s amazing attempts! The children were extremely excited to see what



their peers had created. We displayed their designs and tested each bridge’s sturdiness. The

children then evaluated their bridge and commented on what went well and what they could

improve next time. Overall, it was a fantastic day had by all!

Thank you for all your cardboard donations.

Year 4 Partnership Work with St Bede’s

On Wednesday 31st January, Year 4 had the privilege of attending the production ‘The Addams

Family’ perfectly performed by the cast, crew and band of St Bede’s. Their performance was so

professional all the way through the show, which lasted about two and a half hours. “It’s like we’re

at a real show!” exclaimed some of our children, as they arrived into the main hall to see the split-

level set design and the band already in position.

During the interval, the children were all buzzing about the show so far, “I want to be able to stay

in character just like Morticia!” wished one child. “They have amazing voices,” said another.

At the end of the show, the children found Uncle Fester hilarious when he fell in love with the

moon and had built a rocket backpack to take him there.

The show was an inspiration to our children, showing them just what they could achieve in their

future performances. It was clear that everyone had pulled together to create a funny and

enthralling production.

Thank you so much to all the staff and children at St Bede’s for a magical morning!

See below photos from the performance of the characters.



Also, read the attached document sent to St Bede’s about Year 4 visiting to watch the

performance of ‘The Addams Family’.

In their reply to us St Bede’s wrote:

“Thank you so much for your lovely comments. It was fabulous that you could come and see the

show - it is our last night tonight so I think we are going to be really sad. I have shared your thank

you PDF with the team here: it is wonderful - thank you. I must say that all the students from

Reigate Parish were absolutely delightful, so appreciative and very polite. Please pass on our

thanks to them for being such a good audience - we were so impressed with them and they did

your school proud.”

Next half term St Bede’s are continuing our partnership work by joining the children in their French

topic. More details next half term!

The PTA funded a mini bus to transport some children back to school and then onto the

gymnastics competition that was held at Donyings.

Year 3 Wi tness The Great Fire of London

Year 3 travelled back in time to

Sunday 2nd of September 1666,

and the day the Great Fire of

London started. The children

came in character and began

the day sweeping chimneys,

splatting rats, cleaning houses

and attending school. Then

they planned and designed

their own house before

constructing it, in preparation

for the Great Fire. With huge

excitement, and some

trepidation, the children bravely

carried their houses outside

where Jose setup the City of

London. Watching from afar,

the children gazed in

amazement as Jose set fire to

the bakery. The fire took off, the

wind blew and the flames

spread throughout the city

against the backdrop of

entranced faces and tuneful



notes to “London’s Burning”. It took great courage to watch their treasured possession be

destroyed, proving to be a poignant and powerful experience ahead of diary writing.

Year 2’s Animal Visitor – hens and guinea pigs visit the school

Linked to the Year 2 topic on animals, we had a fantastic visit from some hens and guinea pigs!

We learnt lots about their life cycle, what they eat and what they need to keep them happy and

healthy. Then, the best part, we got to stroke and hold the animals too!

World War One Day for Year 1

The children had so much fun on World War One Day when Grasshoppers and Caterpillars learnt

how to bandage up wounded teddies, designed and made The Victoria Cross medals and

constructed Biplanes that flew in the war! The children even experienced what it was like to be a

soldier in a trench by eating Pease Pudding and ‘Bully Beef’ – there were lots of mixed reviews on

those! This day truly captured the children’s imagination to understand what life was like during

WW1.



Reception learning about Dinosaurs, visiting St Mary’s Church and Chinese New Year

This half term the children have enjoyed learning about dinosaurs. We launched our topic with a

dinosaur workshop, where children explored fossils and learnt what a Palaeontologist does. The

children discovered a dinosaur egg in the classroom and this inspired them to write which

dinosaur they thought came from the egg. The children have enjoyed the dinosaur role-

play museum both inside and outside the classroom. They identified different dinosaurs, acted out

being a tour guide and sold tickets to enter the museum.

We had our first visit to St. Mary's church and enjoyed a Godly play session about the story of 'The

Lost Sheep’. We also had a tour of the church and learnt about key features of the church.

The children have learnt lots of interesting facts about Chinese New Year. They have developed

their fine motor skills by cutting and sticking Chinese money envelopes, dragons, and lanterns. We

finished off our learning with an exciting Chinese dance workshop and loved dancing with the

dragon.

The PTA funded Reception’s Chinese New Year Visitor.



Reception’s Dinosaur Da y

These are photos from the dinosaur workshop. The dinosaur workshop was an exciting launch for

teaching the children our new topic. The children enjoyed being Paleontologists and discovering

fossils in the sand. The children were excited to talk about their discoveries and were inspired to

write in class

The PTA funded the visitor to come and lead this discovering dinosaur day for our Reception

children.

SIAMS Monitoring Visit

We welcomed the Assistant Director from Southwark Diocese Board of Education into school at

the end of January, to undertake a thorough monitoring visit of our Christian leadership, RE lessons

and Collective Worship. He observed RE lessons, talked to the faith group (made up of three

governors), undertook a learning walk round school, looked at school, went out at playtime and

talked to children. He said “Evidence was seen during observations of the care, love and support

shown to the school community through pupil and staff welfare and the detailed training and

scaffolding all staff participate in at different stages of the school year.”

“Observations of the school’s sharp focussed work and interviews with the pupils concerned show

that they feel valued and that they believe the school’s vision is enabling them to ‘be better’.”

“High levels of progress and support seen in RE work.”

Schools with a religious character must receive a section 48 inspection every five years called the

“Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools”. Reigate Parish was last inspected in

June 2013 and we were judged outstanding.



Collective Worship

Our collective worship this half term has focused on our value caring. All our assemblies whether

led by Mrs Davis on Mondays, local clergy on Tuesdays, teachers on Wednesdays and singing

assembly on Thursday have been about the value of caring and understanding how much God

loves people. This is encapsulated in the bible reference from John chapter 3 verse 16 “For God so

loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish

but have eternal life.”

Year 3 Lead Collective Worship

This half term, thirteen year 3 children have met with Mrs Davis to discuss, plan, practise and

perform a whole school assembly on the value of Generosity.

Their assembly involved a short play with one character thinking about whether they liked

birthdays or Christmas more because of the number of presents the character thought they would

receive. The friends of the character in the play reminded the central character about the value

of being generous and giving to others…that is was better to give than to receive.

All the children have worked very hard and spoke very clearly in front of the school delivering their

message of it being good to be generous.

Sharing our Excellent Practice with other Schools

We know that we have a very good creative curriculum that produces solid attainment and

progress for all our children. We are keen to share this with other schools and have accepted

invitations to share our good practice elsewhere:

• After half term we are leading a two hour lecture, for the second year running at Kingston

University to their 100 PCGE students. We will be presenting how to securely plan a creative

curriculum moving from the annual long-term objectives through to the half-termly

medium-term planning which goes into more detail to ensure the assessment criteria is met

and then onto the weekly individual lesson plans.

• We have been asked to write an article on our collective worship for the Diocese’s

magazine “The Bridge”.

• Last term, we presented at a local private school (primary) on how to plan a creative

curriculum. We have been invited back, this term, to deliver a staff meeting on creative

writing.



School Council

The new school councillors are very active and

have updated the school council board with their

new photos.

They helped Mrs Andrew on Monday in her special

Art assembly launching our art week of “Art around

the World” by holding the special tickets that each

year group had to tell them where they were

“flying” off to: Year 4 to Japan, Year 3 to Native

America, Year 2 to Brazil, Year 1 to Australia and

Reception to Kenya.

This spring term the school council is focusing on how to keep the school environment maintained

and cared for. They are asking their classes for feedback on any areas that need attention in the

school. The school council will make posters encouraging children how to keep the environment

clean and safe e.g. ensuring the toilets and cloakrooms are used correctly.

They have discussed where bulbs can be planted to make our school beautiful and next half term

will plant some spring flowers in the school grounds.

The Bike It Crew

The new Bike It crew have been very active this half term, including:

• taking fortnightly bike counts

• creating a poster of how to cycle and scoot safely to school

• discussing with a parent how the crew could get involved in asking

the Council to assess the speed on Blackborough Road

Next half term they are going to plan activities, resources and craft for a

Bike It discovery afternoon at the end of Spring 2.

Attendance

Our attendance statistics for this academic

year

From 11th September to 2nd February

Attendance target for 2017-2018 All children are expected to attend 100% of the

time unless the absence is authorised by the

Headteacher

Attendance to date 97.45%



Authorised absences 2.14%.

This is the same as 551 days

Unauthorised absences 0.42%.

This is the same as 157.5 days

Number of lates 259

The continued expectation at Reigate Parish is that all pupils have a 100% attendance record

unless there is a genuine reason for absence, approved by the headteacher. Holidays are not a

genuine reason for children not to be in school.

..and finally

It has been an incredibly enjoyable year at Reigate Parish with all the learning, activities, playing

and trips. We hope you and your child have enjoyed it as much as the staff and governors have.

Enjoy your February half-term holiday with all the plans, activities and adventures you will have!

We will welcome the children back to school on Monday 19th February for another half-term full of

fun and learning.

Documents

School News February 2018 v2 - reigate-parish.org.ukreigate-parish.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/School-News... · It was clear that everyone had pulled together to create a funny