Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had another jam-packed week.
It started with our whole school assembly around Down Syndrome Awareness, led by Dennis. World Down Syndrome Day was on the 21st March. Whilst late, we wanted to acknowledge this day and to inform children about Down Syndrome. Dennis spoke about how people with Down syndrome share some physical characteristics; everyone is unique with their own strengths and areas of difficulty, individual character and personality, each influenced, as we all are, by their families, friends and life.
There have been lots of educational visits:
- Year 3 went to Devonshire Nature Reserve to take part in a workshop in relation to their science topic of ‘Plants’. The children enjoyed exploring the meadow area and identifying flowers using spotter cards and trees based on their leaf shapes. They did a pond dipping activity where they were able to discover what animals live in the pond and the importance of plants. They tried wild garlic leaves and had a go at whittling sticks using potato peelers (which they all thoroughly enjoyed!).
Anastasia: I really liked going for the woodland walk and flower spotting.
Campbell: It was a nice place to be and it was very peaceful. I enjoyed the whittling.
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Year 5 Jana’s Class went to Deptford Creekside Discovery Centre as part of their learning around Rivers. With the amazing guidance of Paddy and Sunday, students enjoyed examining artefacts from the river and assorting them into the associated professions. Then it was time to become the explorers! The students were very excited to put on their wading boots and explore the river beneath their feet. The Year 5’s specifically enjoyed sighting swans and performing in the duck race, which was a great way to test the current speed of the river. Overall, it was a very fun and successful trip!
The year 5&6 girls' football team had their first match against Haseltine and the year 4&5's took part in a hockey tournament. I know Jane was very proud of all the children who took part. Do please read about how they did in the celebration section of the newsletter.
A huge thank you to all the parents who have helped support the visits and events. Without your support, it would be very challenging for us to enable them to go ahead.
If you are able to do any regular volunteering, do please complete the form. We could really do with some support listening to children read. Thank you.
The week was rounded off with a fantastic class assembly from Sarah C’s class. They shared poems they had written all about water and what it means to us. They then linked their learning about Kenya and how water is precious to the people in Kenya, sharing a traditional tale and a rain dance. It was so lovely to see their enjoyment and confidence. What a fabulous class assembly – well done.
Attendance:
If your child is absent from school when the register is taken, you will be sent a text message. We ask that you respond to this message so that we can accurately mark the attendance records. If we do not hear from you, then an ‘o’ code will be given, which means that it is classed as an unauthorised absence.
If your child wakes up feeling slightly unwell but livens up a bit later, you can still bring them into school (excluding vomiting and diarrhoea). This means they will receive an afternoon mark.
If you do need to take your child out of school for some reason, we ask that you complete the Pupil Absence Request form which can be found on our website. This will then be granted at the Headteacher’s discretion. Each application is looked at individually, taking different factors into consideration.
School Dinners:
Benita and I work closely with Chartwells and meet regularly where we feedback and discuss any changes moving forward. We and other staff also do regular spot checks on portion size, range of options on offer (especially towards the end of service) and get the children’s views on different meals. I can confirm the portion size is correct and there is always a good range, even for the last class to be served. However, I am aware that some meals are less popular than others, and we have agreed that the Health and Wellbeing committee will get the children’s views. They will then have the opportunity to meet with Chartwells to look at where the menu can be updated as we have done previously.
Tully Update:
Tully is settling into life at school and has been to visit most classes and will now be doing more to support the curriculum. This means there will be times during the school day when she will be in classes, giving more children the opportunity to work with her. We will of course, keep you updated and will be sharing her work via her own page on the school website.
Early Phase Garden Party.
This is a wonderful event for the children who are joining us in September to get a feel for our school community and for the younger children already here, to have an event totally tailored to them! However, as with all events, they take a lot of work to get organised - there will be lots to do the night before and morning of the Early Phase Garden Party. If you’re able to help out, please contact Friends of Kilmorie on: friendsofkilmorie@gmail.com
Book Sale next Friday 10th May after school in the community room until 4.30 pm and at the Early Years Garden Party the next day. Do please come along. There are lots of brilliant books.
Gardening Day Sunday 12th May – 10am – 12pm
If you fancy getting some fresh air and are able to help, do please come along. There will be planting in the Wild Garden along the fence extending the 'Kilmorie Rainforest'. However, Eva asks if you could please bring your own tools.
This will be the first step in spending some money from the grant and is an important milestone as we start our fence planting for our The Living Boundaries Project.
As I sign off this week’s newsletter, I can see a glimmer of blue sky – let's hope we see more of it over the weekend. Wishing everyone a lovely Bank Holiday and I look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday 7th May 2024.
Kind regards
Julie
