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It was lovely to hear all about the children's half term adventures when they returned to school on Monday, but I was even more impressed by the way they got straight back into learning and the routines of school as if they’d never been away. The second half of the Spring term is always a significant moment, marking the halfway point in the school year. The staff often reflect that this is a time when the children make a lot of progress, develop resilience and confidence in accepting challenge and persisting.
Learning can be a messy business; it is not a smooth trajectory but rather a series of accelerated steps of progress followed often by a period of what appears to be a flatline or even a regression, but in fact this can be a time of great importance, as repeated practise of a skill or of content knowledge is required to embed it in our long term memory, creating schemas that we can draw on for future learning. Cognitive Load Theory is valuable in explaining how the brain processes and stores information. This theory, designed by John Sweller, divides memory into working memory and long-term memory. Working memory describes the amount of information that our memory can hold and process at any one time. Each of us has a cognitive load and it is important that we take account of this when teaching children and giving information or
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instructions. You will know that if you ask your child to perform multiple tasks, they may only do the first one or two, as they haven’t been able to retain and process all the instructions.
In the Tuesday email I let you know that Mrs Hall has decided to
Newsletter No: 19
Friday 23 February 2024
DIARY FOR WEEK COMMENCING
26 February 2024
Year 1 & 2 Fascinating Facts
Learning takes place when content knowledge and understanding is committed to our long -term memory, effectively when something has stuck! It’s important to chunk information or instructions for children and allow them time to process and understand. It’s also critical to consider distractions and the environment and to seek to simplify new or complex content and to ensure children fully understand.
Cognitive Load Theory: A teacher's guide (structurallearning.com)
On Wednesday it was our annual and much anticipated trip to Young Voices. Children in Year 2 and 3 travelled to Sheffield to take part in the largest children’s choir in the country comprised of over 4,000 children from primary schools accompanied by professional musicians and dancers. As ever, it was a wonderful occasion and a very memorable one for the children and the parents who came to watch the concert in the evening. Many thanks to Mrs Hayden for the meticulous organisation and for preparing the children to sing with such joy and enthusiasm. A big thank you to the staff who attended and to the parents for your support.
leave St Peter’s 2-8 as a class teacher at the end of the summer term. Mrs Hall has a long association with the school having been a boarding house parent as well as a class teacher. We will celebrate all of her achievements and say a fond farewell next term.
I am delighted to announce that Miss Hopper will be the class teacher for 2P from next term covering for Miss Platts who will be going on maternity leave. Miss Hopper (firstly joined) St Peter’s as a sports graduate and then last year she completed her teacher training with us.
We are looking forward to celebrating the United Nations World Wildlife Day (WWD) next week on Friday 1 March. This annual event celebrates wild animals and aims to promote the unique roles and contributions of wildlife to people and the planet. As part of this day’s celebration, each child will create a piece of artwork that will be displayed in a school art exhibition on Tuesday 5 March and Wednesday 6 March.
After a busy week I hope that you have a relaxing weekend.
Year 1 Cricket*
Year 2 & 3 Football*
Year 3 Virtual Reality
Year 1 Lets Get Moving
Year 1 Wellbeing
Year 2 STEM
Year 2 & 3 French
Year 3 Swimming
Year 3 Tennis*
Year 2 & 3 Dance Club*
Year 1 Football Skills*
Year 1 Yoga*
Year 2 & 3 Choir
School Council
Year 1 Board Games
Year 1 Outdoor Games
Year 2 Tennis*
Year 2 Art
Year 2 & 3 European Cultures
Year 3 Netball
Year 3 Cookery
Year 3 Sewing
Year 1 Lexia
Year 1 Street Dance*
Year 2 Quiz
Year 2 & 3 Lioness Football*
Year 2 & 3 Running Club
Year 2 & 3 Cricket*
Year 3 STEM
