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Dear Families,
Another month has passed and I can scarcely believe it. We are always so busy in school that the time appears to fly by in a whirl. I am saddened that I have been here for over two months and still met so few of you face to face. The time will come, I know, when we can welcome you back into school and I will get to know you, and you me, but sadly it will not be before the summer holidays.
We had an engaging assembly last Friday, delivered virtually by an external company, all about growth mindset – an aspect of learning behaviour that is so important to foster and nurture. It’s the “I can’t do it yet” attitude which enables children (and adults) to embrace the idea of never giving up, encouraging others and doing their best. A growth mindset encourages mistakes as learning opportunities and urges children (and adults) not be afraid to make them. Many an ingenious invention has been created as the result of a “mistake”. Did you know that the Pacemaker came about because a scientist was trying to solve a problem relating to hypothermia? Are you aware that the microwave oven evolved from radar-related research but when the scientist’s chocolate bar in his pocket melted during the experiments he realised the additional potential? Post-it notes came into existence when a scientist was trying to make a very strong glue, in fact he made a much weaker one which a colleague smeared on paper to mark pages in a hymn book! Possibly the most famous one of all is the discovery of penicillin which was nearly thrown away by Alexander Fleming in 1928 as a contaminated dish with mould. Where would we be without some of these “mistakes”? That is why it is so important that children learn from them, rather than being disheartened by them. Learning is a messy business and can be frustrating, slow, exciting and liberating; all these stages need to be embraced for us to grow: both adults and children.
As we approach the end of June I hope you have enjoyed participating in 30 Days Wild. I have heard from some of the children the different projects they tried and the different activities that they completed. I have enjoyed seeing pictures of their encounters with wildlife and the awe and wonder this has stimulated. Thank you for encouraging them outside.
I am working with FOSS planning a project to improve access to our pond area and am pleased to say that we have been awarded a £1000 grant from Persimmon Homes to put towards our project – watch out for a local press release! There is more needed but plans are afoot…
Have a wonderful weekend.
With very best wishes,
Rowena Silk
Head of School
Hello from the Office!
Well, 'Freedom Day' came and went with the current COVID restrictions still in place. I'm sure you were as disappointed as we were (though perhaps not surprised?) that we have not quite finished with social distancing rules. Thank you for your continued support of our COVID safety measures - I think its more important than ever, particularly as cases in local schools seem to be rising again, that we all keep our guard up in these (hopefully) final weeks of restrictions. The Government seem to be reviewing the rules for September as I type - so here's hoping for a more normal school setup for the new Academic year!
As the rules on limits on the size of outdoor gatherings haven't changed, unfortunately we will not be able to accomodate parents, carers and other family members at our Sports Day this year. I know this will be a disappointment to some of you and to the children, but I will endeavour to get some photos in the next newsletter to give you a taste of the action. The 2021 COVID safe Sports Day will be held on Friday 16th July (weather permitting!).
Continuing the sporting theme, Miss Phillips (Teaching Assistant in Class 4 for those of you who haven't met her yet!) is running the Leamington Spa Half-Marathon on Sunday July 11th and is raising funds the Shakespeare Hospice. Please consider sponsoring her if you can:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charlotte-phillips99?newPage=True
We are hoping to complete some exciting renovation projects during the summer with new interactive whiteboards being installed in all classrooms; the Hall, Class 4 and Class One's outdoor area receiving a spruce up; and the trim trail at the bottom of the field being restored to full working order in time for September. Hopefully this is just phase one of the plans...
In other exciting news (I know! It's hard to catch your breath in this place sometimes!) the school will be launching a new website next month which has been developed in partnership with Schoolzine who supply the SZapp system. The site will sync closely with the App and make our communications even more effective - and it looks great too! As part of this I have sent out a consent e-form on the App that will allow us to re-confirm your consent to use any images of your children that are selected for the website. Please can you complete this ASAP!
And one final request... As we approach the end of term could I please ask that you check your Parent Pay accounts and settle any outstanding balances? It will be good to start next year with a tidy account book!
Thanks again for your continued support.
Stay Safe!
Mr Berry (aka Wayne)
Dinosaurs have been on the loose in Class One this month! Take a look at our budding paleontologists at work...
The children have also been hard at work on their numeracy skills. This month they have been looking at the concept of sharing (halving, etc).
Class Two have done some amazing weaving this month - check out these stupendous place mats!
As always, Class Three have been working super hard in all areas of the curriculum, but Art has taken centre stage this month! Check out these amazing still-life drawings of the inside of vegetables...
The children then used air-drying clay to model peppers - the results are enough to make Michaelangelo hang up his chisel!
Earlier this month Class Four took full advantage of the brief appearance of the British Summer and took thier learning outside - al fresco arithmetic + fresh-air fractions = maths fun in the sun!
The children's work in science has led them to experiments with homemade parachutes. (No children were harmed!) This culminated in last Friday's Parachute competition - won by Ben And Etien whose design took the longest to fall to Earth.