Junior School Newsletter - May 3 2019

JUNIOR SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

Friday 3rd May 2019 Dear Parents

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday and it has been great to see you all on our return this week. I’m pleased to report that, for the most part (sorry Lara!), the ski trip was a great success and it was excellent to watch the children’s skills developing so dramatically. We had a great time and the staff attending had numerous reports from the instructors, coach drivers and hotel staff about the fantastic behaviour on the trip.

The summer term began with a Meeting for Worship where we focused on the new theme of the term – Inspiration. I shared the life story of F1 racing driver Alex Zanardi who lost both legs in an accident and came back to race again, before excelling for Italy in a wheelchair and hand bike at two Paralympics. This included winning a gold medal at Brands Hatch – a track that Alex had previously raced on in a car. As this wasn’t enough, he has now turned his focus to Ironman triathlons smashing the world record for his category five times in a row. When asked about it Zanardi simply said, “I want to do something with this life of mine. I want to take this life of mine as an opportunity that I can’t waste.”

On Wednesday we congregated in the newly-refurbished Ensemble Room (do pop up and have a look!) for a special Meeting for Worship. I had been a little lazy and not finished my homework!

So I asked the children to see whether they could continue a story that I had begun, describing a scene through a magical doorway. While the teachers will be using the stories to moderate writing across the Junior School, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing where the children have chosen to take the story.

Today we began by welcoming a number of visitors for our Open Morning. A big thank you to the children who gave speeches, performed musical pieces or carried out show rounds. They all did themselves proud.

We are all gearing up for this afternoon’s Kids Marathon Challenge. Over the year the children have been doing their laps to gain their bands. Several children have already completed their first marathon and may well be able to finish a second by the end of term. We are looking forward to seeing the children representing their House (as well as their parents!) and it looks like being a hotly contested event.

The short, but busy, term carries on apace next week with Year 4 going on their Bath residential as well as Sibford hosting our cross-country tournament.

Congratulations to the following children who received Head of Junior School awards: Y1/2 Florence and Wilfred Y3 Thea and Bertie M Y4 Mani Y5 Erin and Logan

Y6 Max I hope you all have a very enjoyable Bank Holiday weekend and, invoking my inner Skywalker, May the Fourth be with you!

In friendship Edward Rossiter Head of Junior School Sibford School

Ps. Did you know that though the phrase has long been known from the Star Wars films, it is only used three times in the original three films, and never by Obi-Wan or Yoda who are most associated with The Force?!

Foundation and Reception

What a difference 3 weeks can make. Early years went on a walk to explore all the exciting changes that have been happening around Sibford. They loved smelling the blossom and looking at all the leaves sprouting from trees.

Feeling inspired from a meeting they had had about spiders, from Nick Hadley that morning, they also wanted to explore mini beasts, so we lifted up logs and found plenty of exciting things to look at. When we were not looking under logs, we were climbing over them. It was lovely to see how the children were supporting and guiding each other.

We have also had an exciting delivery this week in the form of a pot of caterpillars. The children love watching them – they are certain that they can see them growing. Unfortunately, we could not spot the tadpoles in the pond as they have got very good at hiding but Jason assures us, they are there. Did you know when a tadpole has grown its legs but is not quite a frog it is called a frogpole?

In Maths we have been collecting sticks and using these to make numbers, with some children putting them into bunches of 10 to help them make some of the bigger numbers.

Year 1 and 2

You could say it’s a been a whirlwind of a week, particularly with KS1’s new topic being ‘Wonderful Weather and Splendid Skies’. Once again, Becca Edwards banned them from entering the classroom should they see their Weather Station role play and twig the topic immediately! Eventually once allowed in after meeting, they were given clues to determine how changes can be observed across the year through the seasons. Learning that there are four seasons in the year, the children made links between the months of the year and the types of weather they might experience during these months/seasons. Their completed season wheels can be seen as you enter the Year 1 and 2 classroom.

Linking to weather, they found out that a particularly nasty character in a traditional tale was responsible for destroying homes rather than strong winds. They focused on the character traits of the Big Bad Wolf, which then allowed them to think about the different personalities of the Three Little Pigs. Although not a mean character they discovered that Andy Warhol was quite a revolutionary individual, being the artist responsible for the Pop Art movement. Using ideas from the seasons, they thought of colours which are typically associated with them. A rather chaotic but successful art lesson resulted in each child completing four different paintings, embracing their inner pop artist and the idea of repeated images; a bright and colourful addition to the classroom.

Coincidentally, a change in the weather was a perfect introduction ‘Natural Disasters’. They looked at the impact of too much rain and how floods can be dangerous but also impact on the lives of many people, especially that of Storm Desmond in 2015. As if they couldn’t fit any more in, in their Geography, they built on their existing knowledge of map skills and focused a little closer to home, locating countries, cities and seas of the United Kingdom.

Year 3

Year 3 have sprung into the summer term with their new geography and science topics of farming and plants. They have been finding out about some of the UK’s most widely grown crops, including barley, rapeseed and potatoes. Did you know that barley was first cultivated as early as 10,000 years ago?

They have also been busy sowing crops of lettuces, beetroot and carrots in their miniature farm (otherwise known as their raised bed). In Science, Year 3 have been looking carefully at flowering plants and have been learning about the functions of each part, not only through drawing and labelling plants in their books, but also through actions accompanied by interesting sound effects and of course by studying the plants themselves.

Year 3 have used the round house for many activities this year so far, including Stone Age cave painting, and for a re-enactment of discovering Tutankhamun’s tomb, but with the introduction of The Celts, Year 3 are now looking forward to using it for its intended purpose this term. They began with a trip back to the time of the Iron Age Celts with the help of a time machine. Here, they had a tour of a working Celtic roundhouse, including the activities that would have surrounded the home, and also a crash course in how to build a Celtic roundhouse. They needed to very quickly become experts on Celtic Roundhouses, as Helen Arnold asked them to write step by step instructions on how to build a Celtic Roundhouse, remembering to use their bossy verbs.

Year 4

Year 4 had fun this week in science thinking about bubbles. They designed and set up experiments to test how to use washing up liquid to create the ‘best’ bubble. 4MA looked at how different brands of washing up liquid affected the bubbles whereas 4KS looked at the concentration of the washing up liquid used. Hopefully by the time you read this article the children will be able to tell you which solution is best for blowing bubbles. However, we will have no idea which option is best for washing the dishes (perhaps children can wash dishes over the weekend to find out!).

In between conversations about our up and coming trip to Bath (8th May 9th May) the children in 4MA also managed to fit in some exciting pottery - creating their very own pot by combining different skills learned.

4KS started to look at the water cycle in geography, creating their very own water cycle using basic household items – fingers crossed for no precipitation in Bath!

Year 5

Year 5 have been having such fun in Geography this week!

We are continuing with our Landforms topic, this time looking at how our coast is both created and eroded.

Gathering a few simple materials such as plastic trays, rulers, pebbles, sand and water, we were able to explore the effects of the sea on the land. With a little modern technology in the classroom and the help of Steve Backshall we found out how beaches are formed from the gradual wearing away of rocks from the land which are pounded by successive waves making them shrink ever smaller until they become tiny grains. We also learned that in some parts of Britain, where the waves are particularly destructive, houses and other buildings on the very edges of our coastline are in danger of falling into the sea. Coastal defences are sometimes constructed to help slow down this problem and protect the coast so we tried to copy this in our investigation by using rulers as sea walls and groynes in the “tray coasts” that we made.

We also finished presenting our half term Landform projects this week and had time spare to play the two amazing games that Erin and Logan had made. I love it when the children are so excited by their topics - they learn so much but don’t even realise how hard they been working!

Year 6

Year 6 have been writing a variety of stories this week – exciting adventures, classical myths and spine-tingling spooky tales (don’t have nightmares Year 6). They have been experimenting with sentence structure and thinking about how punctuation and repetition can add to the suspense and impact of a narrative.

In Maths, 6AP have been translating and reflecting polygons across 4 quadrants, while 6NH have been working with negative numbers, adding and subtracting decimals, and calculating mean averages.

In Geography we have been studying the road atlases and planning our route north to the Lake District. Will we go clockwise or anticlockwise around Birmingham? We have also been learning where the counties of England are, and there is a link on our Firefly page to a game to help with this.

Science this week was electrifying – not just because of our new teacher, but by the batteries

that were made using lemons!

In History we have been thinking about what ‘history’ actually is and how we can be time detectives by using a number of different sources to learn about the past. All this, alongside football matches, inter-house cross country competitions, pottery, ICT, design, swimming, gardening and making scones, and we’ve only been back 4 days!

Sport Reports Pony Club Raceday at Cheltenham Race Course – Good Friday

Tom H, Year 6 has added to his sporting achievements by riding a winner at Cheltenham Racecourse at the Pony Club Raceday on Good Friday. We are extremely proud of him – Well done Tom! Windrush Valley 6-a-side Tournament – Wednesday, 1st May 2019

On Wednesday three teams took part in the Windrush Valley 6-a-side tournament, two U11 and one U9.

I am delighted to report that Sibford romped home to victory in both of the competitions and, despite the wet weather, came away with grins almost as wide as the silverware they won! All of the children involved performed fantastically and Dave Brassett, Richard Ferley and I were impressed with the teamwork, camaraderie and efforts involved and the manner in which high standards of sportsmanship was shown. Particular well done to Lotte for her performances in goal for the U9 and to Finnley for his hattrick for the U11s in the final (from now on I’m calling him Sir Geoff!)

Wednesday/Thursday 8th and 9th May 2019 – Y4 Residential Trip to Bath – Departure Details Reminder

We will be leaving school as close to 8.45am on Wednesday, 8th May as possible, travelling on 1 coach. Please meet at the Junior School at 8.30 am. If you have had a long journey to school, please allow time to visit the toilets. Packed lunches will be provided. We shall be back at school on Thursday, 9th May at around 3.30pm depending upon the traffic.

While we are away we will be using the Sibford School Communicator App as a way of keeping in touch with parents, especially when it comes to keeping you up to date with our return journey. The app is available for computers, tablets and internet enabled mobile phones and can be downloaded on as many devices as you wish. Visit the Sibford School website and click on the app button to download. You then need to ensure you select YEAR 4 in the personalisation menu. The app can also be downloaded from: http://www.schoolcommunicator.co.uk/download.php SAVE THE DATE – ANNUAL OPEN DAY ON SATURDAY, 15TH JUNE!

Please save the date for our annual open day on Saturday, 15th June. This is a compulsory school day for all pupils and families are encouraged to join and experience the wide array of presentations and displays put on by pupils, staff and parents. More details to follow.

Saturday, 29th June 2019 – 2pm to 6pm – PSFA Summer Fun in the Sun – Family Day A note for your diaries that the PSFA Summer Fun in the Sun Family day will take place on Saturday, 29th June from 2pm to 6pm. Entry is £3 for Adults and £2 for children. Refreshments will be available, have fun in the music tent, join in the art and crafts and enter a team in the “Sibford Challenge”. If you would like to help please email PSFASibfordSchool@outlook.com.

Wild Animal Mask and Cake Sale Day – Friday, 29th March 2019

The School Council are pleased to report that with your help and support they raised £117.45.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed. They decided to split the money raised between WWF and the Lawrence Home Nursing Team.

Sibford Junior School has so much to sing about and share that it now has its own dedicated Twitter page. Give @SibfordJS a follow on Twitter and keep up to date with all the Junior School news and daily activities. https://twitter.com/SibfordJS’