This week our Year 1 children have taken their phonics screening check. Phonics is the early stage of reading and is a vital early skill for children to master. The year 1 team and the senior leadership team who observed the testing are all so impressed with the children and what they demonstrated and although we don't know the results until they release the grade boundaries, we are predicting that they have achieved very well. A huge congratulations to them all and to those Year 2 children who took the assessment again because they did not pass in Year 1.
Key Stage One enjoyed their Perform Workshop this week, which was themed around the jungle. These events are key to building children's confidence and social skills. There is a free app you can download and the link is on Class Dojo.
Year 6 had a fantastic time at the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday, once again representing our school perfectly in the gallery and on their journey. Many of their new secondary school teachers have visited this week to meet the children and their current teachers. This is all to support their transition to secondary education.
The School Improvement Partner made her third and final visit of the school year this week. The focus was on mathematics and once again, I am delighted with what she saw from the staff - she was very impressed too. Mrs Hopper and Miss McIllmurray have introduced a new way of teaching mathematics this year called Maths Mastery, which is all about children recovering prior learning so it is in their long-term memory. The Mathletics app you have access to at home is also fantastic at this, so the more the children can do at home in addition to school, will improve their retention. There is a clear link between the number of activities completed on Mathletics and final mathematical outcomes, so the more the child does, the higher the scores they will achieve.
It continues to be very warm so please ensure your child has their water bottle in school and some form of sun cap. Suncream should be applied before your child comes to school. Next week we have our sports days, which you are welcome to attend. It follows the same pattern as previous years. Please enter and leave via the EYFS entrance. Buddy and myself will be there to greet you. You are welcome to bring your own chairs or a blanket. There are viewing areas and you will be able to move the chairs around the school field to see your child perform. For EYFS and Year 1, you can arrive from 9am on Tuesday, Year 2 and 3 can arrive from 1:20 on Tuesday and Years 4,5,6 can arrive at 9am on Wednesday. Orchard children will know which event they are joining in with.
I wish you all a lovely weekend and hopefully the sun will stay shining for us all.
