Spring term Issue 18: 26th January 2024
Dear Parents,
It’s been a busy week and feels like spring is beginning to be sprung.
Year 5 and 6 have enjoyed Diversity and Inclusion Workshops; Year 4 voyaged to Dulwich College to visit the James Caird- the lifeboat that Shackleton and his men sailed on from Elephant Island to South Georgia and today there was a pop up sale from the Eco-Team- thank you to everyone who came along to support them..
Next week we have online safety workshops for the whole school preparing us for Safer Internet Day on 6th February and it’s Number Day on Friday - get your rock star costumes ready - details at the end of the newsletter. We’re also getting ready for Arts Fest and our Olympic Athlete visit - good luck with the sponsorship forms.
Have a great weekend.
Alli and Joe
Upcoming Diary Dates
Reception
This week Reception have been listening to lots of traditional tales and retelling them. Our main focus has been the Three Little Pigs, so we have been building houses out of bricks, sticks and straw. Outside we have been working scientifically to finding out what material would be good for a roof or a wall… and talking about the properties of materials including everyone’s favourite Floating and Sinking! Why not have a go at home and see if you can build a model of one of the pig’s houses and send us a picture, we would love to see!
In maths we have been looking at the staircase patterns you get as you keep adding one more.
In Phonics we have learned two more digraphs and a trighaph! Please do use the little flash cards we give you each week to help build words: t-ur-n h-ow-l j-oi-n h-ear
In our RE lessons we found out that Jesus is important to Christians, in circle time we were delighted to talk about who is important to us, and then drew and wrote about our special people. Thank you for sending in all the photos.
Year 1
This week, as historians, Year 1 have been thinking about how we can learn about toys from the past and compare them to toys of today. As a result, the children asked parents and grandparents if they could ‘show and tell’ their toys to the class alongside the children’s favourite toys. It was so interesting looking at the similarities as well as differences between the toys played with by different generations. Next week, we’ll be looking more carefully at the differences in how they were made and what they were made of. Thank you for your support with this!
Year 2
In Year 2 we have really been focusing on our fitness this week. With the upcoming sponsored run next week and the visit from our Athlete the following, we have been running around the playground as well as the halls in order to build stamina. We have also been practicing our exercises for the athlete! Children have really pushed themselves, so well done everyone. Keep it up!
Year 3
Gormley class had an amazing forest school/Stone Age experience up in Peckham Rye Park. On this frosty morning, the children got to experience making bows and arrows, tools, swings, dens and fire! The children also explored and found flint, challenged themselves by crossing the stream on a very thin bridge and cleaned and explored the stream. Obviously, we had to have hot chocolate and biscuits as well! A huge thank you to Sally for organising the morning.
Year 4
This week, Year 4 voyaged to Dulwich College to visit the James Caird- the lifeboat that Shackleton and his men sailed on from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Following our courageous leaders Mrs. Hare and Mr. Knight, we managed to brave the cold conditions. Whilst on the expedition, we learned an abundance of interesting facts, one being that Shackleton would take his crewmate’s watches, when they napped, and he would set the time ahead 2.5 hours so that they wouldn’t sleep for too long and catch hypothermia.
Year 5
In Physical Education this half term, our Yr 5 students have been learning the skills of mini tennis. This week, the students learnt how to rally consistently with a group while applying our skills learnt in previous lessons. The aim was to throw and hit the ball into space to win a point.
Year 6
Year 6 are absolutely loving our new guided reading book ‘Politics for Beginners’. Whilst enhancing our reading skills we are also learning about different types of governments by looking at examples through history. In groups, we have analysed the text and discussed the pros and cons of different governments and political systems. It’s given us a broader understanding of the world around us and we can’t wait to find out more!
News from the Art Studio…
This week in the Art Studio, we are finishing our final pieces and preparing for our Art & Music festival.
Axel, Pavlo and Gabrielle have painted the frame we will use to hang the Year 3 collaborative sculpture. They’ve done a great job; we can’t wait to see the end result.
Don’t forget to save the date for the Art & Music festival 2024 –
Tuesday 6th February 1.40 -3.10 Years 1, 3 & 5
Wednesday 7th February 1.40 – 3.10 years 2, 4 & 6
The Art & Music Festival is a great way for us to celebrate and share the creativity we all enjoy at SJSC, we hope you can join us.
Music this week…
Year 1 have been learning about the brass section of the orchestra where you will find trumpets, trombones, French horns and tubas. They have also been perfecting how to march in time to the beat like the elephants in Colonel Hathi’s March.
Year 2 were putting actions to Grandma’s Rap as well as using “Pitch pencils” to demonstrate whether the notes are high or low
Year 5 were learning about 3 parts of a drum kit; the snare, the kick drum and the high hat. They were using their bodies to imitate the rhythm and sound played by each of the 3 drums and put the sounds together to create a “groove”.
School council
School council have decided on a list of priorities to make lunchtimes even better at SJSC. Some common suggestions include having calming music in the dining hall, a wider variety of puddings and more burger days! Thank you, school councillors!
Sport Update
Sponsored Run and Athlete visit.
Next week, each class will participate in a sponsored run around the school’s playground during their PE sessions. The children have been practicing during P.E sessions over the past few weeks and there is a noticeable increase in their stamina and enthusiasm. As well as this, each class have been completing four exercises, these being spotty dogs, star jumps, leg drives and push ups.
On Monday 5th February, James Vogel, a GB rowing athlete will come to school and support each child with their performance. He will then lead an assembly based around the importance of training, enthusiasm, resilience and physical fitness.
Any sponsorship will go partly towards the athlete and his time, and then the remainder will be for SJSC to spend on whatever they wish. We are excited about this and look forward to working together as a team, supporting one another, and getting physically active!
Sponsorship money must be paid in full by Wednesday 31st January via Parent mail.
Stars of the week
Stars are celebrated because they have demonstrated the school values, or gone above and beyond.
Well done to all our stars this week …
NSPCC number day has linked up with TTRS to create NSPCC Rocks!
DRESS AS YOUR ROCK STAR AVATAR!
LET’S ROCK OUT TO HELP THE NSPCC!
As part of our commitment to make maths exciting and high profile in our school, we are taking part in a friendly competition involving schools in the United Kingdom for NSPCC Number Day. The competition runs from 07:30 to 19:30 GMT on Friday 2nd February. It's all done online via play.ttrockstars.com.
Children can play in any game mode with every correct answer to a multiplication or division question, earning themselves, their class and the school a point. The Times Tables Rock Stars platform will calculate the class average (the number of correct answers per pupil in the class who play during the competition hours, subject to a 60-minute limit (see below)). Winning classes in the school and in the competition as a whole will be the ones with the highest average.
To support player well-being, there is a daily time limit of 60 minutes per player. Once the player goes beyond 60 minutes of play on that day, they will still earn coins but will no longer earn points towards the competition.
In the spirit of the competition, please don't play on their behalf but by all means, encourage and support them to the extent that it doesn't cause high stress levels or impact on family plans.
PTFA UPDATE
BAKE SALE and UNIFORM SWAP
Friday 2 February after school
School playground
BAKE SALE
Cakes needed:
Please bring baked or bought cakes, muffins and cookies (no nuts) to school at 8.45am or 3.15pm on the 2 February
Volunteers Please!
Please get in touch with Jessica on 07834 604807 if you can help with:
- 8.45-9am: 2 volunteers at the school gates to collect bakes.
- 2.45-4pm: 6 volunteers to set up, run the sale, and clean up (timing flexible)
UNIFORM STALL
We have some great new stock, all clean. Please come and grab what you need for the term ahead.
Have a wonderful weekend - see you next week!