Junior School Newsletter - March 29 2019

JUNIOR SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

Friday 29th March 2019 Dear Parents I can’t help feeling something is supposed to be happening today…!

The glorious weather has continued to bathe Sibford in its warm glow and, as well as the resounding trumpets of the abundant daffodils, all sorts of seedlings are popping up in the bottle greenhouse. The seeds meticulously sowed by the children have successfully germinated and over the next month will be transferred to the raised beds. By the Summer or September, we hope for bumper crops of beans, courgette, potatoes, onions, carrots, beetroot and many other crops. In preparation the children have been carefully preparing the soil, including at the Dig for Victory bed, in the Living History area, and repairing bamboo frames and frost covers. Fingers-crossed for a mild spring and plenty of growth!

Today it has been more “wild spring” than “mild spring” as many of the children have chosen to support the School Council charity initiative for the WWF. There has been a veritable menagerie of feathers and fur on display, all for a good cause, made even yummier with the successful cake sale. Well done to Helen Arnold and the School Council team for putting on such a successful day.

On Wednesday we hosted the visit of Author Matt Dickinson. Matt has successfully climbed Mount Everest as well as written several books. Year 5 and 6 were thrilled to watch his presentation about the perils and preparations involved in climbing. Year 6 also had the opportunity to take part in a writer’s workshop with Matt, hopefully inspiring them to both write creatively and live adventurously.

When they haven’t been out at multi-skills sports events or looking after the fast-growing quails

(I wasn’t fibbing in last week’s newsletter!) KS1 have been preparing for their Celebration Meeting. Usually I have managed to grab the odd sneak preview, but on this occasion I am utterly in the dark other than a brief visit to me to ask me what my favourite fruit is! I am sure it will be hugely entertaining.

Next week, the last of a busy term, sees us taking part in more fixtures, Year 5 being Tudors for the day on Thursday, before the excitement of the last day of term. We will be in casuals to raise money for those suffering the recent disaster in Malawi and also have Awards Meeting and an Easter Egg hunt to get excited about – but while you’re charging round the grounds solving the clues to find the eggs, spare a thought for Becca Edwards, Nick Hadley, 13 of the children and me as we’ll likely be half way round the M25 on the way to the ski trip in Italy.

Congratulations to the children who received Celebration Certificates this week: Y1/2 Benjamin G Y3 Thea Y4MA Alex M Y4KS Susannah Y5 Niamh and Sophie Y6AP Imogen Y6NH Audrey and Toby I hope you have a wonderful weekend – don’t forget to put your clocks forward!

In friendship Edward Rossiter Head of Junior School Sibford School

Ps. In honour of our visiting author, did you know that Mount Everest grows by about a quarter of an inch every year?

Foundation and Reception

Run run as fast as you can! We have been making gingerbread and ‘Easter egg’ men this week. One child asked how the Gingerbread man came to life and another thought we could add magic dust to the chocolate to make it melt. As a teacher cooking is pretty magical. There are 7 connected areas of learning in Early Years and cooking pretty much ticks every box. Firstly, the children washed their hands (Personal, Social and Emotional Development - PSED). We used our sense of sight and smell to explore and identify the different ingredients (Understanding the World). It was then time to follow the instructions (English). Using teaspoons and tablespoons, we carefully measured out the ingredients (Maths). We rubbed the flour and butter together and kneaded the dough strengthening our fingers. We made balls and snakes squashing them and putting them together to make a head, body, arms and legs (Physical Development). It was then time to let an adult put them in the oven (PSED). We set a timer for 12 minutes (Maths). The children then decorated them, choosing what to use as eyes, buttons, mouths, hats, etc (Expressive Arts and Design). As soon as they were finished the children naturally

picked them up and bought them to life. They ‘spoke’ to each other and sang the phrase, “Run, Run as fast you can, you cannot catch me I am the Gingerbread Man” (Communication and Language). I could go on and on but I hope you have got the idea. So next time you let your child cook something with you, just think of all that wonderful learning that is taking place.

Don’t forget that photos and recipes are uploaded to the firefly weekly so take a look. If you are wondering about the Easter Egg men? You will have to check out next week’s newsletter for more information….

Year 1 and 2

Another week has flown by and it’s hard to keep track, especially with how quickly the quail are growing. Day by day, they grow new feathers and the children are noticing the changes some are now making, particularly when they are making it quite tricky for Becca Edwards to clean them out, as some are attempting to fly!

The week started with Becca Edwards challenging the children to complete certain tasks within a minute, as they began to understand the length of a minute (60 seconds) and the number of things which can or can’t be done within a certain time. Some of the children used this information to input into bar graphs, other children ventured to EYFS and Ed Rossiter to collect data about favourite fruit before creating colourful pictograms. Mark Higgins from the catering department kindly gave the class a variety of vibrant fruit and vegetables for their art lesson. Building on from their work based on Guiseppe Arcimboldo, they created temporary art only to be documented through media, captured by a photo before it was destroyed! They were able to choose from a selection of the food to create a self-portrait; have a look on the class firefly page for all the portraits, there are some very imaginative creations.

Knowing that food comes from all over the globe, in their Geography lesson, they visited Italy. Another opportunity to complete taste tests, ranking different pastas in order of most to least liked. Though obviously there was method in the madness, as they learnt about the process of pasta making and how it gets to their fork. Between all of this, they were busy using all their knowledge from the term’s topic to work on their celebration meeting which focused on the importance of a healthy balanced diet and ensuring they let everyone know about their daily sugar allowance.

Year 3

Year 3 have deepened their exploration into the world of Greek myths this week, by becoming a character and retelling a myth, in the first person, through the eyes of a character. As well as using this as an opportunity to show off their knowledge of powerful verbs and dialogue, Year 3 fully described the gory details of the slimy, rubbery texture of the grey sisters’ gruesome eye, and the sticky splattering of Medusa’s blood!

In Maths, Year 3 finished their topic of time (they might well be coming home asking for watches for their next birthday), and have been extending their understanding of place value.

In the Year 3 classroom, place value means lots of different activities, including games, investigations and whole-class challenges in order to really embed understanding of number.

Pupils have been ‘exploding’ numbers, making crocodiles eat the bigger number and have been subtracting numbers using ‘frog’!

Year 3 also continued with their archaeological dig, where they excitedly (yet carefully) uncovered a brick wall, (possibly) a fire place and a broken pot which they needed to piece together. They sifted through the layers of soil and brushed around the precious artefacts to try and work out what might have been here once upon a time.

From the past to the present. Year 3 have been engaging in a lesson taught, in part, by BBC Blue Planet’s team which, as well as presenting a window into breath-taking marine wildlife, highlighted some of the challenges that these ecosystems are facing today. Year 3 learned about the impact that our excessive use of plastic is having on wildlife, the impact of overfishing and how climate change is affecting our planet. Year 3 were shocked by what they saw and were moved to create posters informing people of the dangers of plastic waste and encouraging us all to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Speaking of wildlife, Year 3 have been preparing for our wonderful ‘Wild Animal Mask Day’ today, by baking some delicious coconut gluten and dairy-free biscuits, decorated with animal print. We have had a great time dressing up in our wild animal masks and buying/selling delicious treats, all in aid of WWF and The Lawrence Home Nursing Team: both of which, extremely worthwhile causes!

Year 4

4MA calmly started the week adding their finishing touches to their delicate watercolour Pink lilies. As the week progressed attention turned to finding the perfect location for their AngloSaxon settlement. The Roundhouse area and Forest School have now both been rejected – no fresh running water. However, their sketch plans of an Anglo-Saxon village are starting to take shape. Children are carefully including a list of necessities in their designs.

In 4MA (Science) children discovered they had expensive taste! Saffron is the costliest spice in the world because it must be harvested by hand when the flowers are fully opened. It takes many flowers to make just a few grams of spice. Styles with a stigma on the end are deep red in colour and when dried they make a wonderful spice. Children can confirm it is particularly tasty when added to rice.

4KS have been classifying fruits according to their similarities in Science, and asked questions about the variety of fruits. They have also had on their investigative hats looking at wind dispersal by setting up a fair test to compare the flight of different paper spinners.

4KS have thoroughly enjoyed reading the story of Beowulf in English this week as well as identifying the features of myths and legends. Blood, guts and gore aside they have changed parts of the story from third person to first person and looked in detail at the mythical monster Grendel. Imagining what he looks like through the powerful language used in the text, and using other mythical creatures from books to start to create one of their own – will they be good or will they be evil?

A reminder that half term projects are due next Monday, 1st April‌

Year 5 In English this week, Year 5 have been using drama and role play once again to learn all about Eyam, a village in Derbyshire whose inhabitants committed a remarkable and heroic act back in 1665. We have been listening to a BBC audio drama and taking part ourselves to get inside the mind-set of the villagers as they faced tough decisions. Their village was beset with the plague which had arrived in a parcel of cloth from London harbouring infected fleas which emerged to bite the tailor George Vicars when he hung it out. Soon he fell ill with a rosy red rash, fever and swellings before dying; this was shortly followed by neighbours who also caught the dreadful disease and died. After a few weeks and many more tragic deaths, the villagers decided they must act. To prevent the highly contagious disease from spreading further across the county, the brave people of Eyam decided to isolate themselves from other villages and began a self-imposed quarantine until the plague was over.

They set up a boundary stone where goods from outside the village could be exchanged for payment; coins were left in holes in the top of the stone filled with vinegar to help cleanse them. Although many of the villagers died, their selfless act of isolation undoubtedly saved many others across the country from a dreadful fate. We have used drama to help the children explore the issues; it has been good to see how role play has increased the children’s ability to think on their feet and form their opinions carefully so that they can create a strong argument to persuade their peers. We also learned about the meanings behind the words in the wellknown nursery rhyme “Ring-a Ring of Roses”.

Year 6

On Thursday Year 6 were treated to an author talk and workshop with Matt Dickinson, author, cameraman, and explorer. He kept the children spellbound with his tales from Everest and inspired them to write their own opening chapter for a story, entitled ‘Lost in a storm’. He spoke about how the theme of conflict can be used in narrative and introduced the terms protagonist and antagonist. He gave some top tips about what to include in an opening scene, including flashbacks, short sentences, dialogue, engaging the senses, and introducing an element of conflict or a cliff hanger. The children were extremely inspired and in a short space of time wrote some very powerful and exciting paragraphs. Here is Penelope’s…

Lost in a Storm

The mountain is towering over me, as I stop, right in my tracks. I don’t want to go on. Behind my mask, tears are racing down my face. The chill creeps up my back, stabbing at me like needles, prickling my frozen skin. Suddenly, my hands rapidly start shaking. I begin to lose grip of this rope … this rope, that’s got my life in its hands.

My vision crumbles as the blur from the tears obscures my eyes. For some reason I’m screaming “Why?” I’m crying, and nobody’s listening, and my team’s running away, and I reach my arms out and grab the thin air and… and inside the darkness, my family are waiting. They’re standing there, smiling. The only noise – silence. Warmth suddenly spirals into me as I step towards them.

But I’m shaking.

I’m alone.

I’m on mountain, alone, danger at every corner.

I check my radio. Nothing.

I blow my whistle. Nothing.

I collapse onto the floor, hands on my face, helplessly crying out to the world, “Help me!”

Sport Reports U9 Netball v St. John’s

Well done to all girls involved in the match against St. John’s last Friday afternoon. It was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to play a full match of quarters and there was some fantastic netball on display. The two teams were very evenly matched and it was really encouraging to see the girls’ confidence and individual skill develop throughout the afternoon. After a half time draw, the pressure mounted and both teams worked with determination and passion throughout the second half. Although Sibford had several more shots on goal, they were unable to make the most of the opportunities. St John’s managed to score a goal in each quarter of the second half to secure the win. The team should be very proud of their performance – they demonstrated real potential and great teamwork.

Player of the Match – Lotte U7 Multiskills Event at the Warriner

On Thursday morning all of Year 1/2 headed to Warriner School for a multi skill festival with nearly 100 other pupils from 6 local primary schools. The pupils completed 16 different stations working on their speed, agility and co-ordination. The pupil worked hard to challenge themselves and tried to improve on each station. The schools games value for the day was passion, all pupils showed this in abundance. At the end of the day the young leaders presented certificates to those who showed high levels of passion on the day, they were awarded to Eliza, Benjamin, Ella-Mae and Bertie. Well done to all pupils for their effort on the day.

Before/After School Clubs and Lunch Clubs

Please note there will be no before/after school or lunch clubs for the last or first week of term (with the exception of Lunch Time Dance Club which will run on Friday, 5th April). Clubs will recommence in the Summer term w/c 7th May 2019. Prep and After School Care will be available all term (Mon-Thurs).

You will shortly receive the Before and After School and Lunch Club booking forms for the Summer Term and if these could be completed and returned to Lynne Singer by Monday, 29th April 2019.

End of Term Awards Meeting – Friday, 5th April at 9.15am in the Main Hall

Our End of Term Awards meeting will take place on the last day of term and all parents are welcome to attend. Tea/Coffee/biscuits will be available from 8.45am prior to the start of the meeting in Small Dining Room (opposite Junior School car park).

Friday, 5th April – Casuals Day and PSFA Easter Egg Hunt (Change of Time)

A reminder that Friday, 5th April is Casuals Days, children can bring in a minimum donation of £1 to wear casuals in aid of our Friends in Malawi suffering from the flooding.

As you know we will also be running the PSFA Easter Egg Hunt. However, this will now start at 1.30pm (as part of their games lesson) parents are still welcome to join us and children can be collected from 3pm but must be signed out with their class teacher before leaving.

Years 5 and 6 who are not collected will attend Senior School Music Meeting and will be ready for collection at the normal time of 4.15pm. Year 4 and below will remain in Junior School and can be collected from their classrooms from 3pm onwards.

Saturday, 13th April – Charity Fundraiser by Eva and Rosie – Year 6

As part of their Discovery Award, Eva and Rosie are raising money for the WWF’s Adopt a polar bear scheme and will be selling cakes and creating hairstyles at the Cotswold Hair Company Salon, Unit 4, Woodlands Business Centre, Long Compton CV36 5JL on Saturday, 13th April from 9am to 12 noon. Girls, boys and all cake lovers are welcome!

Friday, 3rd May 2019 – Marathon Kids Challenge – 3pm-4pm

From 3pm children and their parents will be able to do laps of the normal Marathon route.

Children can wear a t-shirt in their house colours and both parents and children can gain tokens for every lap run towards their house points.