Issue 25 2013-14

Newsletter Issue 25

Friday 21st March 2014

Dear Parent/Carer,

Well what an active day we have had. Well done to all of the children for entering into the spirit of our Sport Relief day so brilliantly. We will be able to report next week on how much was raised for both the British Heart Foundation through the non-uniform sportswear donations and Sport Relief through the purchase of wrist bands.

Robin Hood Rugby Union Squad

Congratulations to the Robin Hood Rugby Union Squad. For the past 8 weeks, boys from across Key Stage 2 have been taking part in some outstanding coaching sessions at a rugby school at Rodillian Academy. Of course our boys really impressed the coaches over the 8 weeks and the final session saw our superstars take part in a tag rugby tournament against other schools last Wednesday. The performance from our squad was breathtaking. Unfortunately the boys narrowly missed out in the final, but we would like to celebrate the raw talent and teamwork in school. My thanks to Mr Malley for facilitating the sessions and reporting back the successes.

Dates for your diary- summer term

Arts Award Discover week (KS1 and Y3) - week beginning 30^th June

Arts award showcase to parents 2:00p.m on 3^rd July

Training day- 4^th July (school closed to children)

Sports Day- 7^th July

Golden Day- 9^th July

Y6 Fish and Chip lunch- 10^th July

Year 6 prom (evening) 10^th July

Year 6 leaver’s assembly 2:00 p.m. - 11^th July

Transition day- Reception- Y5- July 14^th

Phase assembly dates- coming shortly

Clubs

Please note that next Thursday will be the last After School Club sessions for this term. There will be no clubs in the final week of term. Thanks.

Parent Coffee Morning

My sincere thanks to those who could attend the Parent Coffee Morning on Monday. Miss Thackeray reported back once more some very useful suggestions along with some positive responses to discussions. Attendance is improving at every meeting but it would be great to see even more of you there to help us gather your views on particular aspects of school life. It is always great to receive parent’s views by email too and I must reassure you that these are always taken into consideration.

The next meeting will take place on Monday 19^th May and the agendas for discussion will be:

• Website and blogs- how well used are they? How could we make them more engaging for the children? Do they help you to support your child in their learning?
• Successes at school this academic year

PTA News

We will be holding a meeting on 26th March at 8pm in the Gardeners Arms.  We would encourage as many people to attend as possible as we would like to discuss our future fundraising events and the more ideas we get the more money we can raise.  We look forward to seeing you all.

I would just like to chip in here as I know that it would be most appreciated by Kay, our new Chair to see a few more faces at meetings as everyone’s ideas and input is as important as the attendance at events. I am incredibly proud of what the PTA have achieved since September 2012 and really hope that the support can be there to continue what has been done so far.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Mrs Dale

 

Nursery newsletter

NEWS ROUND UP

Thank you for all your amazing home learning! We were really impressed with the imagination and creativity that you have discovered, and every week the children are really prepared for the learning that is coming up. This is having a really positive effect on their confidence, so THANK YOU all and please keep it up.  Don’t forget to check on our blog to see what we have been doing in Nursery and Reception this week!  http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/

THIS WEEK

We have been sharing the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The children loved playing with the home learning props in the Castle kitchen and we have observed some super imaginative role-play. In topic the children have been planting bean seeds with Mrs Chin and finding out all about the different things we need to grow our own beanstalk! Outside we have been painting and creating a giant beanstalk and indoors we have a ‘magic beanstalk’ that seems to be growing every time we leave nursery for the night…..

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will be learning about the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and it is assessment week – which means the children will be showing us how amazing they are.  We will be making a picture caption of the story and showing Mrs Steel how amazing our ‘writing’ is. In numeracy we will be practising our preposition skills by hiding the troll under the bridge or behind the bridge and giving our friends clues of how to find him. We will also be developing our bridge building skills – can they build a bridge for their friends to cross over? For home learning this week can you help your child to make a story map of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story? We can use this to support them in their writing task next week.

PLEASE NOTE the following diary dates: Nursery will be CLOSED on Wednesday 2^nd July 2014

HOW YOU CAN HELP US

·         Keep reading for 5 minutes every day if you possibly can.

·         Keep practising writing the first letter in your child’s name and beyond as soon as they are ready (some children are now writing their first name independently – which is amazing!)

·         Please complete the home learning task with your child (see above) and bring it in on their first day back.

Finally a quick reminder that our next Nursery class assemblies are on Wednesday 2^nd April at 11.00 am and Friday 4^th April at 2.30pm in the school hall. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy your weekend.

Mrs Steel, Mrs Chin, Miss Fox and Mrs Beckwith.

Reception newsletter

NEWS ROUND UP

Thank you for all your amazing home learning! We were really impressed with the imagination and creativity that you have discovered and every week the children are really prepared for the learning that is coming up. This is having a really positive effect on their confidence, so THANK YOU all and please keep it up.  We thoroughly enjoyed what super weekend activities you had stuck in your learning logs too. We have shared these amazing experiences with the other children and they will be celebrated in our Reception assembly. Don’t forget to check on our blog to see what we have been doing in Nursery and Reception this week!  http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/

THIS WEEK

We have been sharing the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The children loved playing with the home learning props in the Giant’s Castle and we have observed some super imaginative role-play. In literacy the children are becoming incredibly confident story tellers and writers! We are impressed! In numeracy the children went on an exciting shape hunt around school and then built the giant a new castle using the 3D shapes. In phonics we learnt to read the sounds; ear (hear), ure (pure), air (hair), er (ladder) and we learnt to read the tricky words; oh, their, people, Mr and Mrs. In topic the children planned how they were going to plant their magic bean seeds and then they planted them with Miss Abbey. They found out all about the different things we need to grow our own beanstalk! Outside we have been painting and creating a giant beanstalk and indoors we have a ‘magic beanstalk’ that seems to be growing every time we leave our Reception classroom for the night…..

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will be learning about the story of ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and it is assessment week – which means the children will be showing us how amazing they are.  We will be re writing the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff in literacy. In numeracy we will be practising our preposition skills by hiding the troll under the bridge or behind the bridge and using money to pay the troll so that he will let us cross the bridge. We will also be developing our bridge building skills – can they build a bridge for their friends to cross over? There are no sounds to learn in phonics next week as we will be recapping all the sounds and words we have learnt in reception so far. The key words that the children need to practise reading for next week are; could, asked, looked and called.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US

·        Please read with your child for 5 minutes every day.

·        Please help your child learn all the key words and sounds for our assessments next week.

Finally a quick reminder that our next Reception class assembly will be next Friday (28^th of March) at 2.30pm in the school hall. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy your weekend.

Miss Lambert, Miss Pyatt and the rest of the Reception team.

Key Stage 1

Home Learning: Thank you to all parents who are returning reading records FULL of information on a Monday Morning. It is lovely to see how much learning your children are doing at home! Please can you continue to ensure you are writing in any learning that has taken place at home. This can be spellings, reading, writing, numeracy or any other learning or achievements you are proud of your child achieving. This half term the children have spent time learning times tables and division facts. Please continue to practice reciting times tables and division facts for 2, 5 and 10. If you feel this is too easy then see if your child can use 3’s, 4’s and 6’s. A fantastic Numeracy website that we use in the classroom is: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/interactive.aspx?cat=13 Please feel free to explore this website and look at any other learning you would like with your child.

Sports Relief Day

What a fantastic day Sport relief has been! The children have enjoyed taking part in a dodge ball competition and walked or ran a mile. They have also learnt about what we eat that can make our heart healthy or unhealthy. The learning will be part of Robin Hood’s first ever PE and sport display! Well done to all the children for showing fantastic sportsmanship throughout the day. Not only were the winners modest whilst winning, the children whose teams didn’t win were extremely gracious in defeat. Well done.

Numeracy

This week the children have continued learning how to solve multiplication problems. The children have worked hard to understand the term ‘arrays’ and that a multiplication sentence can be shown in two different ways and still have the same answer. For example: You could ask your child to show you what 4 lots of 2 look like and what 2 lots of 4 look like. The bigger numbers you use the more difficult this will be to do. A starting point would be to use X2, X5 and X10. What does 6 lots of 5 look like? What does 8 lots of 10 look like? If you wanted to make this more difficult you could get them to investigate the opposite of the question. Is it easier to show 5 lots of 6? What does 10 lots of 8 look like? Your child could show you this by using objects or drawing it. If you wanted to make it really tricky you could also use X4, X6 and X8. If you feel you would like any more support on the strategies we are using in class please do not hesitate to ask one of the members of the Key Stage One team.

Literacy

This week the children have written their own recount of what it would feel like to be somebody who had caught the plague! The children have loved acting out the symptoms of the plague and using this in their writing. Each class has focused on how they could use verbs (doing words like sneezing), adverbs (how to describe a doing word; moved slowly) and adjectives (describing words like massive). The Year 2 children have also been learning about how they could use a simile to help describe how they are feeling. For example: I felt as sick as a parrot! Next week the children will be using all their learning from this half term to write a recount as a character from the fairy tale Cinderella. If you have time please feel free to discuss this story over the weekend.

Topic – Design and Technology

This week the children have been working in small groups to create a London backdrop full of movers, levers and sliders. The children have chosen different London Landmarks and decided how they could show these in an interesting way. This learning is being used next week to then create 3D clay letters of a London Landmark. We can’t wait to see the finished products!

Assessment Week

Next week the children will be taking part in a range of assessments in their reading, writing, phonics and Numeracy. We will speak to you about these most recent assessments during the parent consultations. We are extremely proud of all the children in the Key Stage and we are sure there will be lots to celebrate and positive information to share with you.

Uniform: A gentle reminder

We are still having to remind children in Key Stage One to either wear the correct school uniform or bring in their correct PE kit. Some children have been coming in to school with trainers on for the full day because they have PE later on that day. This is not acceptable and your child should be wearing school shoes and change them when it is PE. It is extremely important for your child to come to school dressed appropriately and wearing what is part of the Robin Hood uniform. PE kits should be brought in on a Monday and kept in school until Friday. If you wish to wash it over the weekend please make sure your child brings this back in on the following Monday.

Have a fantastic weekend

The Key Stage One team.

Lower Key Stage 2 Newsletter

Well, it’s been another fun-packed week in year 3/4 this week.  We all enjoyed our Sport Relief day on Friday, especially taking part in our very first inter-form dodge ball competition. The game has become a firm favourite across the phase and everybody gave it their all. We have also begun painting our Easter story canvases and practising our songs ready for the Easter service at the end of the half term.

Home Learning

We have been extremely impressed with the children’s response to the new home learning logs. We have seen all sorts of pieces from news articles, handwriting practise, stories, sketches, interviews and recounts. Many of these pieces will be photographed and saved onto the phase blog for all to see. Although we are no longer sending home photocopied resources for home learning, we have saved many resources onto the phase blog for you to download. These resources are related to our weekly learning and are entirely optional. Any links to games and websites that we have used will also be posted to the blog.  Paper copies of resources from in class are often available daily for the children to take home. We would also like the children to continue to read daily and ensure they are recording this in their reading records so we can reward their efforts with stickers! In addition to this, the children should be practising and learning their spellings and Times Tables as this was the key skill that has let many children down when trying to calculate multiplications, divisions and fractions this half term. The times table we will be testing next week is the 12 Times Table. We are really impressed with the children’s continued effort with learning their times tables and all the children who are getting 12 out of 12 are celebrated on our  blog ‘Wall of Fame’ on a weekly basis.

Numeracy

This week the children have been calculating fractions of numbers and quantities using their division and multiplication skills. Next week we will be carrying out our termly assessments where the children can put into practise all of their learning from the year so far.

Literacy

This week in literacy we have written a newspaper article detailing the experiences of a local man when flying over the Bermuda Triangle. The children have tried super hard to include compound and complex sentences, adjectives and adverbs to describe as well as quotes and facts to support their story. Next week we will be completing our assessed piece of writing where we will be looking for the children to be including all of these features in another newspaper article (Children will have to wait until next week to find out what the subject will be – another mystery perhaps?).

Spellings

These Spellings will be tested on Monday 24^rd March.

Group 1: born, fork, short, morning, forget, park, shark, yard, parcel, garden.

Group 2: quicker, quickest, colder, coldest, taller, tallest, closer, closest, bigger, biggest.

Topic

This week we have been delving into the world mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. The children have watched clips, listened to eye witness accounts and have produced their own fact file all about the Atlantic Ocean mystery.

Science

This week we have updated our observations of our investigation into the factors required for healthy plant growth. We have also studied how water is transported around plants by placing cut flowers into coloured water. The results are available to see on our blog. Next week we will be looking at the life cycle of a plant with a key focus on seed germination and the role that the flower plays.

RE

This week we have continued to write our own version of the Easter story and have begun to paint our very own canvasses showing key moments in the story. These canvases will be displayed during our Easter service on Friday 4^th April at 10:00 am at Lofthouse church. We look forward to seeing you there.

Reminders

·    Our last swimming for the half term will be on Friday the 28^th March.

·    Year 34 will be hosting this year’s Easter service on Friday 4^th April at 10:00 a.m. at Lofthouse church therefore there will be no showcase assembly this half term.

·    Please ensure your child has an art shirt in school at all times.

·    The current weather is very changeable and so we ask that your child brings a suitable coat to school every day.

·    Please ensure all of your child’s belongings (especially PE kits, hats and gloves and school jumpers) are clearly labelled with your child’s full name.

·    Remember the children have two PE units a week now, one indoor and one outdoor so please ensure they are bringing the correct kit each week.

·    Can all children please be provided with a named water bottle, especially on PE days?

Don’t forget to check out our blog where you will find lots more information about this week’s learning as well as important reminders and dates for forthcoming events. http://year34rhps.blogspot.co.uk/

Enjoy your weekend!  

Team 3/4

UKS2 Newsletter

Dates for your Diary:

Friday Celebration Assembly:

·    Our next phase assembly will be on Friday 25^th April.  We look forward to seeing you there to show off the amazing learning from this half term!

Year 6 – Rodillian.

·    There is a Year 6 information Evening on Thursday June 12^th 4:30p.m. -7:30p.m. which will provide parents with vital information to ensure a smooth transition and an opportunity to ask questions. Prior to this event, parents will receive a transition booklet that gives clear guidance of the transition programme with important dates and additional information. These booklets will be delivered to Robin Hood just after Easter and they will be passed on to the children straight away.

·    Year 6 induction has been extended this year so that Year 6 pupils will join Rodillian Academy on Monday 14^th July until Tuesday 22^nd July inclusive. This arrangement will allow pupils to gain a fuller experience of life at secondary school; take part in school-wide enrichment days and a sports day event; meet with the staff and to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings before their official start in September.

Additional dates regarding events at Rodillian are yet to be confirmed and we will keep you posted.

Child Line

·    Year 5/6 will be having a visit from ‘The Child Line Team’ On Wednesday 26^th March during the afternoon. Your child will have brought a letter home regarding this, if you have any concerns over this, please contact either Mrs Wathen or Mrs Cookson.

Parent Consultations

Parent consultations this time are for the Year 5 parents only, as the Year 6 parents were invited back in January.

Year 6 Numeracy Book

The children in Year 6 have been given a ‘study guide’ and a ‘question book’ to work through ahead of the SAT’s. Last week in Numeracy the children learnt about Time.  In order to develop their understanding, children can complete pages: 77 (time) and 79 (time tables).

Next week we will be learning about Multiplication (pages: 43, 44, 45, 46 and 48). If your child would like to complete these pages at home and bring the book back into school they will be rewarded for their hard work!

Although completing the pages is not compulsory, we are keen to reward your child’s effort.  You can support your child by marking the questions; you will find the answers in the back of the book.  Alternatively, your child can mark their own learning and make any amendments to their answers in pen so we can see the changes made.  Your child can also bring the ‘study guide’ book into school each day, and even use it to support them in their Numeracy session.

Sport Relief:

We would like to thank all the children for their superb efforts during our sports relief day. The day was a fantastic opportunity to be active and educate pupils on the importance of being active and keeping a healthy heart. We also would like to thank Mrs Calvert, who was kind enough to come in and share her expert knowledge of the heart with year 5/6.

A final thank you to all parents and carers who have helped contribute towards the day. The money raised has helped to support two fantastic causes - The British Heart Foundation and Sport Relief.

Core Subjects:

Numeracy:

This week in Numeracy the children have been learning about Time, which includes converting time from analogue to digital time, finding the difference between two times and reading timetables. We ask, please, if you could continue to support your child when using time outside of school as this is such a fundamental skill.

Literacy:

This week in literacy pupils have been brushing up on their grammar and punctuation knowledge. Earlier this week pupils have recapped on spotting grammar mistakes displayed in public, prepositions and comparative adjectives.

Next week pupils will be revisiting newspaper articles. Pupils will be contrasting tabloid and broadsheet newspaper examples and identifying their similarities and differences. After this pupils will edit and improve a short newspaper article, before researching a news topic of their choice for their own newspaper report.

SPELLINGS: Next week the spellings are: whenever, finally, despite, however, hence, meanwhile, although, consequently, additionally, nevertheless. Your child has received a copy of these spellings and will be tested on Friday 28^th March.