Newsletter

As we reflect on the first half of the spring term, I am filled with pride in all that our children have accomplished since returning to school.

It has been an inspiring and positive start to the year, with children embracing their learning, engaging in new opportunities, and continuing to grow both academically and personally. The enthusiasm and dedication they have shown in their learning, as well as their contributions to the school community, have truly made this term a success so far.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring that our children have the best possible start to the year. Together, we are creating an environment where each child can thrive and reach their full potential.

As we head into the second half of the term, I am excited for all that lies ahead and look forward to celebrating further successes together.

Wishing you a peaceful and well-deserved break, and we look forward to welcoming the children back for the next stage of their journey.

 

This week, parents and carers of our dedicated Year 6 pupils had the opportunity to meet with their children's teachers to discuss their progress and outline the next steps as they prepare for the upcoming end of Key Stage 2 SATs.

 

Parents Evenings for the rest of the school will take place on 18th and 19th March.  Communication about how to book appointments will be sent out after half term. 

 

 

This half-term, our EYFS topic has been ‘Our Wonderful World’. We began by reading ‘Here We Are’ and learning about the different planets in our solar system. The children recalled the names of the planets and discussed their unique characteristics. We also explored books about habitats, including Grandad’s Island and The Snail and the Whale, sparking curiosity about different animals and where they live. As part of our learning, we had fun making our own snails out of clay, carefully shaping their shells and bodies. A highlight of the half-term was celebrating Lunar New Year, where we enjoyed reading The Great Race! We also took part in our own Lunar New Year celebrations, including traditional crafts, music, and a special feast.

   

  

 

This half-term Jay Class have been fascinated by the topic The Great Fire of London. In English we have written our own stories based on the fire and we have written a diary entry as Samuel Pepys. We shared our knowledge about the fire with firefighters and we were also very curious to find out more about it from them. We played a fun game during their visit where we were working in teams to pass a bucket of water down the line the quickest. This helped us think about how long it would have taken to collect water from the River Thames. In Art, we have created a silhouette painting based on the Great Fire of London. We had lots more fun this half-term such as our RE day, our Maths learning, our Science which was linked to animals including humans, and our library visit. We look forward to our learning next half-term. 

Melody from Jay class is really enjoying this topic - look at her writing she did at home.  

Melody's mum had this to say about it...

"I was astounded that Melody can recall so much of what she’s been told and is using words like dedicated and respected even if she struggles to spell them.  You’ve really inspired the children with this topic thank you!"

Dove class have had a very busy and fun-packed half term! We have loved learning all about The Great Fire of London- we really enjoyed the visit from the firefighters. We have done some incredible story retells, diary entries and art work based on our topic.

This half term, we have also welcomed our new class pets, the fish. We have been learning about how to take care of them and how to ensure they have everything that they need to thrive. 

During our RE day this week, we had some wonderful visitors in school who came to tell us all about three different stories of Jesus. We had the chance to retell our stories through drama and do some fantastic art work. 

We look forward to another fun-filled half term. It has been amazing watching Dove class learn and grow this half term. 

This half term has seen Magpie class become fully immersed in our topic looking at the History of the Great Fire of London. 

In English, this has seen us recreating the diary of Samuel Pepys to describe how we felt during the fire and we have used our story telling to create a tale of how our character started and survived the disaster. 

In the afternoons, the children have used a variety of different methods to become immersed in 1600's London and describe what it was like to be there. This has ranged from creating action scenes recreating the blaze and building houses to make our own miniature London. The children have then showcased their knowledge be creating their own information booklet and artwork.

We have had firefighters visit to compare the past and present of equipment to put out fires and have seen artifacts from the time to know what was used. 

For RE day this half term, the children enjoyed visitors coming in to describe different stories from Jesus in the Bible and using crafts to make puppets to reenact the stories and share what they have learned with others. They then used their art skills to create an image of what Jesus means to them. 

We looked forward to another busy half term where we will explore what it is like to live in Spain and building on our science knowledge of animals and humans.

In Siskin Class we have really enjoyed learning all about rivers, the water cycle and flooding. We have a fabulous understanding of vocabulary linked to rivers and suggest ideas for preventing flooding. We have completed this topic by designing and building bridges using different materials and testing their strength. Take a look at our suspension and beam bridges that we made.

 

This half term Super Swifts have been enjoying learning about the journey of a river as part of our geography topic. We really enjoyed practising our map skills by locating rivers in the UK, and have been acting out how a river meanders. We are really looking forward to sharing all our knowledge on our river dipping trip to Perlethorpe. This past week, Swift class have worked as teams (in construction companies) designing and building bridges that could be used to cross a river. 

 

Woodpecker Class has been diving into all things rivers! We’ve explored the water cycle, learned what causes flooding, and discovered the clever ways flood defences can protect us. Our budding engineers also took on the challenge of designing and building bridges strong enough to span a river—without collapsing! Future flood experts and bridge builders in the making! To top it off, we welcomed our local MP, Steve Yemm, who answered our thoughtful questions about how he plans to make Warsop even better.

 

This half-term has been an exciting one for The Nightingales. Following on from their success at The Young Voices concert, they continued to harness their musical talents in the UKS2 musical showcase. During their rendition of Mustang Sally and Funk-e, they performed with confidence, impressing parents and staff alike with their fantastic trumpet skills. Music has been a huge part of their learning this term, and this showcase was a perfect way to highlight how much they’ve grown.

But the creative journey doesn’t stop there - the Nightingales are now embarking on an exciting new project with Next Door Dance, composing an interpretative piece linked to their previous learning about evolution. It’s yet another chance for them to push their creativity and explore new ways of expressing themselves.

A huge well done to all of The Nightingales for their hard work and dedication - this half-term has truly been one to remember!

This half-term, we read a book called ‘Wonder’. It is about a boy who has severe facial anomalies and is home-schooled because of it. When he becomes 10, his parents decide to send him to Beecher Prep Middle School. He goes for a tour and Mr. Tushman (his head-teacher) brings three students to show Auggie around the school. These students are Charlotte, Jack and Julian. Charlotte is bossy, Jack is impatient and Julian is rude. Auggie starts off without friends, but slowly grows his friendships and becomes top of the Science class.

We watched the movie and it is less detailed. There is a girl called Summer in the book, who gets high mention, but in the movie there’s hardly any sight of Summer!

Though I recommend this book, it can be an emotional rollercoaster. The motto to this story is that everyone is unique in their own way.

Written by Alyssa Marriot from Kingfisher Class.

A group of Year 6 students attended a sports session at Meden School this week as a taster for what PE will be like at secondary school. Year 9 sports leaders organised a set of activities based on athletics, basketball and football that showed off our pupils' resilience and teamwork skills. A huge well done to the students in this group who impressed everyone at Meden; you represented Birklands with pride!