What a busy and exciting start to 2023 we had!
It began with the wonderful news of Mrs Wright’s new baby daughter, followed by a visit from the very same! The children and staff were delighted to see mum and baby looking so well. It was lovely to see Mrs Wright, who is very much missed, and we look forward to her return later in the year.
Our Incredible Team
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight and thank the incredible staff team for their continued hard work and dedication. Every staff member plays a vital role in creating a calm, caring and nurturing environment where our children can learn and grow academically and personally. Our teaching assistants, Miss Byron, Miss Connolly, Miss Gannon and Mrs Phelan, provide constant support and guidance to our children and teachers. They work tirelessly to ensure that all children feel happy and confident at school. From greeting our children as they enter each morning, supporting them during lessons, supervising them at playtimes and managing our Twilight after-school club, they are integral to the well-being and happiness of each child.
Welcome Mr Phelan
We are delighted to welcome a new addition to the Lower School team. Mr Phelan has joined us from Edge Hill University and has instantly made a positive impression on the children. He looks forward to working with us again next term as he completes his final teaching placement in Year 2.
Special Events
World Book Day – This is an important and highly anticipated event in our school calendar, and this year did not disappoint. The children and staff looked incredible, dressed as an array of literary characters and lots of happy time was spent exploring and enjoying books. Our ‘Create-a-spoon-character’ competition proved to be highly successful, and we now have several wonderfully creative spoon puppets the children have enjoyed using to make their puppet shows.
Our winners on the day were:
- Best Spoon Characters – Ronnie, Adeline, Roberta, Niamh, Elsie, Sophie and Ruby
- Best World Book Day Costume – Eleanor, Willow, Fiyin, Felix, Arham, Elijah and Maisie
Cinema Trip – Following World Book Day, Years 3-6 enjoyed a trip to the cinema to watch Matilda while Pre-Prep and Year 2 watched some literary-inspired films in school.
Hot Cross Bun Workshop – Miss Deane kindly organised for the whole of Pre-Prep and Lower School to participate in a Hot Cross Bun workshop in the run-up to Easter. The children learned essential vocabulary and baking techniques and thoroughly enjoyed tasting their delicious creations.
Online Visitor – To tie in with our topic on The Great Fire of London, Years 2 and 3 were treated to an online visit from Thomas Farriner, the baker who allegedly started the fire. Thomas gave the children a trip back in time, describing life in London at the time of the fire and detailing the events of the fire. He also explained the Great Fire’s impact on the City of London and the wider country.
Class Assemblies – This term has seen the introduction of our class assemblies, where parents are invited into school to watch an assembly or performance by each class and spend some time with their children in school. The Year 4 and 5 children were incredibly excited to perform for their parents, and the feedback we have received has been highly positive. The remaining Pre-Prep and Lower School classes will host their class assemblies next term.
Easter Gala Day – This is another annual event on the calendar. The children have thoroughly enjoyed playing on our Easter bouncy village, completing various craft activities and participating in an Easter Egg Hunt through the grounds. We also had an Easter Bonnet Parade by the Pre-Prep children and a ‘decorate an Easter Egg’ competition for the Lower School. The bonnets and the Easter Eggs were wonderfully creative, and we have submitted the eggs to the ISA National Easter Egg competition, which will be judged next term.
Spelling Bee – As part of our Towering Above programme Miss Midgely has developed a Tower College Spelling Bee, which was introduced this term. In the initial stage of the competition, all children participated in a series of in-class spelling activities, with two winners from each class making it through the Spelling Bee Final, which will be held when we return in the Summer Term.
Our Spelling Bee finalists are:
- Year 2 – Charlotte and Emily
- Year 3 – Boris and Anaya
- Year 4 – Kavish and Rida
- Year 5 – Jaidenvir and Jasmyne
Class Overviews
Year 2
Another term completed, and so much achieved and enjoyed by all our Year 2 pupils.
Our topic on the Great Fire of London enthused and inspired the children, resulting in some fantastic writing pieces, unique artwork, extraordinary role-play and in-depth discussions.
We had a wonderful World Book Day in March, with creativity, costumes and characters a-plenty.
There was enthusiasm for enrichment activities, including Science with Mrs Miles and learning Welsh with Miss Midgley.
In our science lessons, we learnt all about materials, completed some investigations which involved an escape from the ice for some Lego characters and had some hands-on practical activities during British Science Week. Our computing lessons involved some unplugged tasks, which included following and creating algorithms for floor robots, and the children demonstrated excellent teamwork in all these activities.
We’ve been delighted with all the children who have achieved and contributed this term and are so proud of their efforts. We hope you enjoy your Easter break and look forward to our final term together in much warmer weather!
Mrs Boyd and Mrs Gibson
Year 3
Year 3 have had an exciting term full of learning.
The children have been learning about the Egyptians in our History lessons. They learnt what life was like in ancient Egypt and how it differs from our lives today. The children learnt how to mummify an object and asked Tutankhamun questions about his life.
In our geography lessons, the children looked at landmarks in Egypt and how culture has shaped the country.
In Science, the children learnt about rocks and soil, focusing on grouping rocks through experiments. The children also learnt about soil and how different soil can help other plants to grow. The children have also been learning about forces and how they impact the world around us. They have been conducting experiments to show this.
The children have been learning about ancient Egyptian art in Art and Design. The children made death masks to replicate Tutankhamun’s; they wrote their names in Hieroglyphics and designed and moulded scarab beetles and canopic jars using clay and salt dough.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter break. I cannot wait to welcome you back for our final term in Year 3!
Miss Deane
Year 4
We have had another fabulous term in Year 4. The children have impressed me with their creativity and have produced some outstanding work!
In Maths, the children have been challenging each other with games on Sumdog and playing Fraction Bingo! They are a very competitive bunch, especially when we use the buzzers!
They have written some super poems, menus, letters and newspaper reports in English.
They performed with super acting (and dancing!) skills in our Chinese Zodiac Play, and the sheer delight on the children’s faces during our class assembly was the highlight of my year so far.
In History, they have taken a great interest in the Normans and their Motte and Bailey Castle Projects were very impressive!
The classroom is filled with the children’s delightful artwork. They sketched Chinese dragons, created Willow designs and made tissue paper flowers and pop-up cards. They built a Great Wall of Friendship and spoke about their dreams for the future.
In their enrichment sessions, they made some fabulous circuits in Science Club, learned some groovy dance moves with Mrs Gibson and created some amazing origami designs with Miss Gannon.
They enjoyed a visit to the cinema and baked some delicious hot-cross buns in school. They celebrated World Book Day, dressed as a character from their favourite book, and rocked up in red for Comic Relief.
What a busy and brilliant term! Well done, Year 4. I’m so proud of you all!
Mrs Miles
Year 5
Year 5 have had a fantastic Spring Term and have made good progress across the curriculum.
In English, the children fully immersed themselves in our book study of ‘Matilda’, learning all about the contrasting characters and plot. The children produced some fabulous creative writing and enjoyed a trip to the cinema! We also celebrated our love for books by visiting our school library and dressing up for World Book Day!
In Maths, we have developed our multiplication and division skills, knowledge of perimeter and fractions, and consolidated our skills during our SUMDOG sessions.
During Enrichment, Miss Gannon has worked incredibly hard teaching origami. The children listened attentively and demonstrated determination throughout.
In Science, the children have learned about ‘Mrs Gren’ and the seven life processes. In History, the children enjoyed a walk-through time, exploring how Britain has changed since 1948.
We have improved our map skills by using atlases to locate places and have used keys to identify symbols on an OS map. Additionally, we received engaging RE lessons from Miss Mushet and recognised the importance of Easter and Lent.
We worked incredibly hard on our assessments and Mother’s Day assembly to conclude the term. We enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt, Spelling Bee competition and Hot Cross Bun workshop!
Well done, Year 5! I hope you have a lovely Easter break!
Miss Midgley
We hope you have an enjoyable and relaxing Easter break, and we look forward to seeing you again for our Summer term, which promises to be just as busy and exciting!
Mrs Gibson
Breaking News – Miss Midgley will be delighted as Febo is an ISA prizewinner.
