Spring Term 26 February, 2021
Artwork
Headmistress' Letter Dear Parents, It is lovely to see the girls back after half-term. They have obviously recharged their batteries and are ready for the next few weeks. I am sure that the majority of us welcome the news about the full reopening of schools on the 8th March, whilst at the same time perhaps feeling a little anxious about a variety of matters. I hope that we can reassure you that all of our safety measures remain in place and will be renewed and refreshed. If your son or daughter has particular anxieties please do get in touch with Miss Smart, Mrs Gillet, Mrs Rycroft or Mrs Reynolds. We are happy to talk these anxieties through and to reassure.
Although there is less that is unknown now, I have greatly admired the girls’ tenacity and creativity that they have consistently applied to their studies and learning this term. The potato book characters and the Egyptian clad Form I pupils appearing in assembly this morning, being just two examples of this. In our coffee morning events we have been pleased to reassure parents that almost without exception we feel that the pupils have not suffered academically which gives us the luxury of being able to focus on fun, friendships and, dare I say it, perhaps even some much longed for frivolities, in amongst the continued learning that will take place, over the remainder of this academic year. As the sun shines and we look forward to the final week of virtual school I wish you all a happy and relaxing weekend.
In assembly on Monday I spoke about the need for perseverance and ingenuity- comparing the weeks ahead with the Mars Mission!
Annabel P-W Lucy B Olivia D Gigi M
Accelerated Reader Honours Readers - Michelle M & Aryana T Reader of the Week - Xanthe G Sports Stars Annabel P-W Olivia D Luella D Lottie D
Elodie K Anaiah E Olivia I Annabel I
Friday Badge Zsofia J Sofia W Emilia H Music Alexandra L Annabella E Camilla S Claire L Darbey P Eleanor B Ella M Elodie W India B
Isabella S Jasmine A Katya E Millie W Rose G Scout C Seraphine M Vivian Z Zara O
Typing We hope you enjoy watching our Spring concert. We are so proud of our young musicians who perform with confidence and poise. It is especially impressive how brilliantly they all perform considering they have been learning their instruments remotely for a year.
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Eleanor E - Beginner Assessment Lydia M - Beginner Assessment Annabella E - Intermediate Assessment Adline S - Intermediate Assessment Alice G - Advanced Assessment
School House Shield Pankhurst
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Claire Gillett, Head of Lodge , Hannah Smart, Head of Nursery We hope that everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing half term holiday. This week Nursery have started a two week topic of 'Books'. The children have enjoyed looking at some of our favourite books in different areas of the curriculum. We have been counting extra stripes for The Tiger Who Came to Tea and crafting milk bottle Elmer's. This week we have also baked Gingerbread mice from The Gruffalo, which was great fun and they tasted delicious! It was really interesting to learn about everybody's favourite book choice too. Our sound of the week in Nursery was 'u' and the children made incredible umbrella's and unicorns. In Beginners, we have started our new topic for this half term of Growth and Change. This week we have been enjoying a story called Jasper's Beanstalk, and we have even planted our very own beans. We are going to be more patient than Jasper while we are waiting for our beanstalks to grow! We have also been using beanstalks to inspire our Maths learning this week, talking about measuring length and using lots of comparative language like tallest and shortest. I wonder how tall our beanstalks will grow? We can't wait to find out!
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This half term, Kindergarten will be learning all about Space and this week, they have been focussing on the Solar System. The children have learned about the Sun and the eight planets, and have started to put everything they have discovered into their very own book. In Maths, the children have made a great start on numbers up to 50 and have been getting to grips with odd and even numbers, as well as counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. In Literacy, they enjoyed writing postcards to the friendly alien from the book The Way Back Home, and even received a reply! They rounded off the week by making a space-rocket.... blast off!
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Transition have been enjoying their new Maths topic of 2D shape this week, exploring properties of shapes, identifying lines of symmetry and creating their own shape pictures. In Literacy, we have had a focus on cats and dogs, looking at stories and information about these popular pets. This theme has continued in Art, where we have been practising our drawing skills, learning to draw and colour different breeds of cats and dogs. We have been very impressed with the work that has been produced. We are really looking forward to World Book Day next Thursday, when Lodge children can dress up as a book character, whether they are at home or school. Thank you to FOG who have been organising some wonderful competitions to celebrate World Book Day, and we look forward to seeing the entries.
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Please keep your potato book character photos coming in to Mrs Evans. You have until the end of Sunday 28th to enter and the winners will be announced next week. Thank you to FOG for kindly donating our prizes. The World Book Day £1 Book Tokens will be given out in school when we return. For those who would like to spend theirs before that, here is a link to an online version. Next week, as part of our World Book Day celebrations, we will be taking part in the Bournville BookFest. Read more here!
Lodge children are encouraged to dress up as a book character on Thursday 4th March, and full details are on the email from Mrs Gillett sent on 3rd February. FOG will also be running a World Book Day competition for any Lodge children who would like to take part. There will be a prize per class and it’s very easy to enter. Click here for full information.!
While we are not currently offering onsite visits due to COVID restrictions, we have made a 360° tour of our site and some of our amazing facilities. If you know a family interested in looking at Godstowe for their child/ren please do share the link.
This week’s challenge focuses on our oceans. Despite their immensity covering 71% of our planet - they are struggling with the impacts of climate change, as well as overfishing and pollution. Global warming of 1.5oC is predicted to reduce coral reefs by around 80%, and 2oC of warming could see more than 99% wiped out. (IPCC report 2019).
‘Human beings are the greatest problemsolvers our planet has ever known’
Sir David Attenborough, Davos 2019
‘Phytoplankton is our greatest ally in combating climate change’. The Perfect Planet - Oceans
Our oceans, however, also offer many solutions – it is estimated that they have already absorbed 90% of the heat caused by climate change since the 1970s, and annually absorb a quarter of global carbon emissions. Young Climate Warriors are encouraged to learn about various pioneering projects that are hoping to harness our magnificent oceans to help us further in our efforts to combat climate change – in particular in relation to seaweed and ‘blue carbon’. They are challenged to take at least one action to help combat climate change and to reduce the impact on our oceans. Please remind your children to HIT THE RED BUTTON on the Young Climate Warriors website when they have completed the challenge.
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#VirtualGodstowe Showcase Thank you so much for sending in your photos and videos, we love seeing what Godstowe pupils have been getting up to as part of their remote learning! Please keep sending in your photos to marketing@godstowe.org, or tweet using the hashtag #VirtualGodstowe
Anna (FI) built this impressive lego roller coaster over half term. It took 2 weeks and was meant for over 16 year olds, so quite an achievement!
Olivia (FI) Demonstrating 'PE with dogs'!
Georgie (LIII) Half Term Baking!
Lucy (UIII), doing a filtration experiment for Uppers' science
Isabelle (MIII) with the fantastic car she made in Design Tech.
Alice (MIII) attending her online lesson with a canine companion!
Some of Miss Cox's Form I girls dressed up in costume for Ancient Egyptian Activities Day this week!
Eloise (Kg) with the rocket she made this week as part of her space project.
Elissia (Tr) loving her recorder lesson with Mrs Lake
Kokoro (IV) snow boarding during Half Term
Bella (LIII) with her new pony 'Little Hazlenut', who she is currently teaching to go into canter correctly and jump!
Izzy (FI) ready for Mrs Moore's class on Ancient Egyptian Day!
Poppy (MIII) holding the plank long enough for her dog to get comfortable! Natasha (LIII) feeding a Shetland pony Mair (LIII) practising her rugby skills in the garden this week!
Hikari (FII) on a Half Term outing to Universal Studios in Japan
Ellie (Bg) planted her own beanstalk this week as part of the Beginner’s work on a story called Jasper’s Beanstalk
Hattie (FI) with a rather furry personal trainer!
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