Spring Term Issue 21: 28th February 2025
Flourishing in the love of God, love of life, love of learning
Dear Families,
It has been lovely to welcome everyone back to the second half of the Spring term! A big thank you to all who attended parents’ evenings – it’s always so valuable to work together and celebrate the wonderful achievements of your children.
This morning, we hosted a parent cafe on Emotional Regulation. A huge thank you to The Nest for such a helpful session, and to all who attended and shared so openly. It’s clear that we all support each other in this journey – parenting isn’t easy!
This half term, our school value focus is KINDNESS. I am always so impressed by the kindness shown throughout our community, and we’re excited to continue developing this in our children. Shonibare class have already made an amazing start, setting kindness challenges for themselves to complete by the end of the term – and they've already ticked a few off on day one!
Just a reminder that World Book Day is next week. Any costume is welcome – no need to stress about creating a masterpiece, it’s all about fun and celebrating books!
Wishing you all a lovely weekend ahead.
Best wishes,
Alli
Upcoming Diary Dates
Reception
This week we have been reading Super Worm by Julia Donaldson for ‘Drawing Club’- the children have loved learning new words with actions - Calamity, Alter Indestructible! They have done some amazing, labelled pictures using their knowledge to help them. We had fun making super-worms with playdough and threading wool through wormholes in card which is great for helping our fine motor control.
In RE, we learned about the story in the Bible of Palm Sunday. This is an important story for Christians when everyone realised that Jesus was a King, as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We talked about everyone must have felt on that special day, then held our own ‘Palm Parade’ and got to walk down a ‘path’ we had decorated with palm leaves while everyone cheered!
Dates for your diary: Forest School- Himid Class: Thurs 20th March, Stik Class: Fri 21st March. Volunteers welcomed.
Year 1
In Geography this week we have started learning about the United Kingdom. We have looked at different maps and learnt about what a city is. We’ve started to learn the capital cities for each country and are recognising the shapes of the countries. In RE, we’ve looked at Noah’s Ark and discussed the symbolism of the rainbow and dove and what it means to Christians. We linked our learning to last half term when we were discussing Judaism, finding some similarities.
Year 2
At the end of last term, we planted cress seeds and the children were able to see how much they grew over the half term break. Unfortunately, some of the seeds didn’t grow but luckily there were some that did. The students looked closely at the cress and were able to label and write about the functions of roots, stems and leaves. They have had so much exploring plants during this unit.
Year 3
In Year 3, the children have been learning about The Beatitudes and have looked at these within the New Testament. We unpicked the meaning behind them for Christians and explored how they believe Jesus shared these with his disciples.
Year 4
In science this week, the children have been introduced to their new topic of electricity and we have talked through the new related vocabulary.
The children had time to reflect on what they already know, think they know, and would like to know, and we gathered the information to help us over the term.
We then started thinking about what appliances use electricity and if this is through the mains, batteries or both.
Year 5
This week, Year 5 have been building on their oracy and performance skills through debate and acting. We were debating whether AI should replace human jobs or not… thankfully, the majority voted against this and we were acting out scenes from our text Robot Girl using body language to convey feelings.
Year 6
Year 6 embarked on a creative journey to celebrate what truly matters to them by designing their very own Personality Islands! Inspired by the movie Inside Out, each student crafted an island that represents their unique personality traits, passions and values. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of Food Islands! From islands dedicated to family and friendship to those inspired by creativity, sports, and learning, our students explored what makes them who they are.
Music this week…
his week, Year 5 were completing their music maps which have been sent off to The London Sinfonietta as part of their composition challenge. We have already had positive feedback and if any of our maps are chosen, a professional orchestra will look at the images and interpret how the music should sound, performing the piece at The Southbank. The structure was that section one would be an ostinato, section two would be a call and response and section three would be a solo motif.
This week in the art studio Year 6 completed their Immersive Environments, inspired by designer Yinka IIlore. Using a variety of reflective and see through marterials, the children created worlds inside a shoe box. Different shaped holes were cut into the boxes to let light in. The interiors were lit with torches, lights and glow sticks and photographed through the ‘windows’. The photographs show what bold , bright and immersive enviromnents the children created.
Art Studio
OPAL Playtimes
OPAL stands for Outdoor Play and Learning.
We believe that in order for our children to FLOURISH their personal development is as important as their academic development. Play times play a huge part in a child’s social development, sense of well being and positive mental health. Our play provides opportunities for all of this, as well as creativity, problem solving and learning new skills such as gardening and woodwork. Above all, play time at SJSC is fun!
Even more exciting times are coming…The big sandpit is being constructed next weekend, then the sand delivered in two trucks the following week! We can’t wait! Months of research and planning by Sally and Mrs Davies, your Opal Play Coordinator and Opal Curriculum Lead, and fundraising by our wonderful PTFA, plus the construction will be carried out by some of our wonderful skilled parent volunteers.
We know from our visits to other Opal schools, that the sandpit is often the heart of the playground, so we know the children from all the year groups are going to love it.
We need your help now to provide us with some buckets and spades, hard hats, as well as toy diggers and other sand pit equipment. We are putting a big black bucket close to the gate for your donations. Thank you in advance.
ECO TEAM
After our successful battery recycling campaign last half term we will now be focusing on recycling clothing through The Salvation Army recycling scheme.
Your child will come home with a bag and all you need to do is fill it with unwanted clothing and shoes and bring it back to school in time for our collection day on April 3rd.
Textiles are the UK's fastest growing household waste stream. Therefore it's important to recycle your old clothes and shoes and you will be helping to divert clothes from landfill giving them a new lease of life. You will also be raising money for The Salvation Army, which does such important work in communities throughout the UK. The scheme is collaborating with The National Forest who will be planting trees as part of the project.
We will look forward to receiving your bags over the next few weeks. There will of course be a prize for the class bringing in the most bags!
Join the recycling textile drive at SJSC
World Book day
Exciting News: World Book Day Competition!
World Book Day is fast approaching on Thursday 6th March! To celebrate this special occasion, we are running a Book in a Jar or Box competition.
We invite all children to get creative and create a representation of their favourite book in either a jar or box. Whether it's a favourite story, character, or scene, the possibilities are endless!
Competition Details:
Children should bring their completed Book in a Jar or Box to school by Tuesday 4th March for judging.
Please ensure the jar or box is clearly labelled with your child’s name, class, and the book it represents.
The entries will be displayed and judged, with prizes awarded to the most imaginative and thoughtful creations.
We can’t wait to see all the wonderful creations and celebrate the joy of reading together!
Don’t forget your World Book Day costumes on Thursday 6th March!
SJSC Stars
Stars are celebrated because they have demonstrated the school values, or gone above and beyond.
Well done to all our stars this week …
Friends of SJSC
Please save the date for the:
*SJSC Quiz Night - Friday 28th March*
More details to follow soon, but in the meantime please make a note in your diaries. It will be held in the evening, at the school, adults only, brains optional, sense of humour essential!
See you next week!