Dear Parents and Carers,

Remembrance Day

This week, we came together as a school to both pay our respects and to learn about why, as a country, we mark this important occasion. In our assemblies we have talked about the history of WW1 and how the war came to end, but perhaps most importantly about the symbol of the poppy as new life and hope that can grow from the sadness of war and conflict. I would like to share with you how immensely proud we were, during those assemblies, of the children’s immaculate behaviour and respectfulness in observing a two-minute silence.

Odd Socks and Children in Need Days

Thank you for supporting these two events and for helping to make them a fun day at Christ Church. It has been lovely to see the children dressed up in the various themes that they have chosen today and our whole school celebration assembly this morning was awash with colour and smiles. You have raised a fantastic £551 so far and this will make a real difference to others less fortunate than ourselves.

Christmas Fair

On Friday 22^nd November we are holding a non-uniform day for all children and are politely asking for our families to contribute a bottle of something that would make a lovely gift or a ‘lucky jar’ containing sweets and treats (no nuts please). These will then be sold at our Christmas Fair on the following Sunday.

Multi Academy Trust

As you will know, Christ Church School have committed to an intention to join a Multi Academy Trust in the future. Our hard-working Governing body and school leaders have been working towards this aim for some time and in the past few days and weeks we have held several meetings and activities to explore in depth a robust due diligence process as part of this aim. I will of course keep you fully informed of any further steps taken in the coming weeks.

Parent Governor Election

Thank you to those parents who have offered to become new Governors - we are delighted to have received 4 nominations for the 2 vacancies and you will have received an email with a google form to fill in for the election which will close on Weds 27th November - Parent Governor Election form.

Notices

Unfortunately, the educational landscape has created significant pressures on staff and as we experience a decline in funding, our days seems to become busier and busier. Therefore, I would ask politely for your support in our opening and closing procedures.

Our school day begins at 08:45 for all children and we strongly encourage you to arrive at this time enabling children to settle quickly into their morning learning activity, gain additional learning time and to begin the day positively. Whilst we appreciate that on rare occasions, circumstances arise that cause lateness, but daily habits of early arrival are both hugely beneficial for children and enable the staff team to work effectively and efficiently. We will be closing the school gates at 08:55 promptly and arrival after this time will be recorded as a late mark on registers. I would respectfully appeal to all parents to try to please avoid lengthy conversations with teachers at the classroom doors that then delay the start of the day for the whole class. We are always available to hold longer conversations by appointment.

Equally, we have wrap around care at Christ Church School and Shine require the playground space on a daily basis from no later than 3:30pm and this means that gates need to be locked to safeguard children from that point. Please discourage your children from playing on the equipment after school as this is causing difficulties with closing school on time.

Dogs on Site – we ask respectfully that parents avoid bringing dogs to school and if absolutely necessary, tie them up outside of the school gates, not inside as this is not permitted.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead and thank you for your support in all matters.

Kind Regards

Mark Oldfield

Headteacher

Inset and Academy days for the rest of the year (these are days when school staff are in training involved in other school oepration - children are not in school on these days):

• Monday 6th January - Inset day
• Friday 23rd May - Academy day
• Monday 21st July - Inset day
• Tuesday 22nd July - Inset day

It has been another jam-packed week of learning in Reception. On Monday it was the 11^th of November so we learnt about Remembrance Day and why we mark this day every year. We talked about why we wear poppies and listened to the story ‘Where the Poppies Now Grow’ by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey. We enjoyed making our own poppies and using the loose parts to make poppy pictures.  

It was Anti-bullying week in school and the children really enjoyed listening to the story ‘Brian The Lion Who Learned’ by Frances Stickley. The story made them think about how they like to be treated by others and helped them understand how to treat everybody with respect. 

On Thursday we learnt a very important lesson with the help of the NSPCC’s Pantosaurus! We used the acrostic ‘PANTS’ to learn the rules that keep us safe. We loved the Pantosaurus story and song that helped us to remember the rules. You can find more information on this learning on the NSPCC’s website.

The phonics focus for this week was v, w, x and y – look out for the correct pronunciation of the phoneme ‘y’ on Google classroom as it is a bit tricky!! We are so proud of how hard the children are using their phonemes to blend for reading – keep on practising!

The children were practising finding 4 and 5 and then trying to represent it using loose parts, Numicon tiles and counters on five and ten frames. Sharing stories in the provision with pictures of 4 and 5 for counting, subitising and grouping encouraged 1:1 correspondence and totalling.

This week, Year 1 has been busy exploring our topic about Animals in Winter. We learned about the incredible journeys some animals make to find warmer weather and food as the seasons change. The children were fascinated to discover that animals such as swallows and certain butterflies travel all the way to Africa during the colder months. Year 1  impressed us with their writing about these migrating animals – they did a fantastic job sharing their newfound knowledge!

In celebration of Odd Socks Day, Year 1 focused on the theme of Respect. We read the story Brian the Lion Who Learned, which sparked thoughtful discussions about how we can show respect for one another. We were truly impressed by the kindness shown in the children’s ideas about respecting each other.

This week in Year 2, the children have been working hard on a descriptive piece of writing about the giant in our Literacy book, Grandad's Secret Giant. The children have been focusing on using vivid adjectives and sensory details to bring the giant to life, describing everything from his enormous hands to his kind eyes and gentle smile. The class has loved diving into this character, discovering that describing him is no tall order! 

In Maths, the children have been exploring the exciting world of shapes - looking at both 2D and 3D properties. They've been learning how to describe the sides, vertices and faces of various shapes, from circles and squares, to cubes and spheres. It's safe to say that their understanding of geometry is really shaping up!

We have continued to learn about the Great Fire of London and in history we sequenced the events that occurred at the time.  The children then looked at evidence from the time and discussed what it told us as historians about the event.

Year 3 have been doing further research on Volcanoes this week ready for our first piece of Non Fiction writing. The children have gained so much knowledge and we have really enjoyed sharing what we have learnt. We have finally completed our addition and subtraction maths module! We are SO proud of how far the children have come and have how confidently they are using the column method to solve problems. We will continue practicing throughout the year however its now time to move on to multiplying and dividing…

Thank you for all the generous donations towards Children in Need, the children looked fantastic and ready for some crazy dancing in the hall to raise awareness for such a brilliant cause.

This week, Year 4 has been bursting with creativity and thoughtful reflection. In art, the children channelled the vibrant spirit of the rainforest to create stunning Batik pieces, showcasing their talent and flair for detail. Meanwhile, in honour of Anti-Bullying Week, they designed their own unique odd socks, celebrating the message that it’s okay to stand out and be different. From art to awareness, Year 4 has proven that they can stitch creativity and kindness seamlessly together!

This week has seen us diving into our History topic of the Vikings. With some fantastic research homework, we have planned and started writing non-chronological reports about life in Viking Britain. We have also looked at how recent historical evidence has helped to give us a much more accurate understanding of who the Vikings were. 

In DT we have been learning about gears and how they are used. Using our learning from last week, we had another go at making some gears which were much more successful and will help us as we begin our designing project. 

This week Year 6 had a fantastic learning experience with a First Aid workshop run by the Red Cross.  Gaining confidence about how everyday items like a drink (not necessarily water) can help with a burn, if water is not to hand; how a bag of peas could be used to help as an ice pack; or a jumper to support an arm. They practised essential first-aid skills, including putting someone in the recovery position—a key technique that can help save lives. They engaged eagerly with the hands-on practice and came away with newfound confidence in handling basic emergencies. Did you know the app ‘What3words’ divides the entire world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares, assigning each square a unique combination of three words? This makes it easy to pinpoint exact locations, often used for navigation, emergency services, and precise directions in places with no traditional addresses.  Several children have already downloaded this app to their phones or encouraged their families to do so.

In history, we’ve been delving into the fascinating world of the Vikings. We learned about how the Vikings came from Scandinavia on longboats and plundered coastal monasteries and settlements. We traced the Viking timeline, tracing their clashes with the Anglo-Saxons eventually settling in large parts of northern and eastern England, known as the Danelaw. We enjoyed creating comic strips that capture these key moments

In PSHE, we continued our focus on anti-bullying, concentrating on the importance of respect. Through class discussions, we explored what respect means in our everyday lives and how it shapes positive relationships. They then each wrote an acrostic poem using the word:  RESPECT highlighting ways to treat others with kindness and understanding.

It’s been a busy, engaging week for Year 6, we are so proud of their enthusiasm and thoughtful contributions!