Newsletters

George Spicer Newsletter - 17th November 2023

ARBOR PARENT APP - Thank you to all parents/carers who have logged in to the ARBOR App. Currently, only 65% have logged on and for those who have not yet logged on please check your email subject “ Welcome to ARBOR” and follow the instructions.  ARBOR App allows you to receive the latest messages from your child’s school, track attendance and update the information we hold about you and your child. IMPORTANT: Please allow notifications when installing the app. The notifications will alert you when you receive a message from the school.

Please ensure you communicate to the school via office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk and do not reply to ARBOR messages.  Please see at the bottom for help with setting up your app.

Attendance – you are now able to view your child’s attendance by logging into the Arbor App.  Please note that if your child’s attendance is below 90%, we will not authorise any absence without medical evidence (e.g., doctor’s certificate or letter, hospital appointment card, prescription or the prescribed medication, or text message appointment).

Parents’ Consultation evening meetings Monday 20^th November and Wednesday 22^nd November -  Please ensure you are available to start the meeting on time, if you log in early you will be held in a queue.  The link to join the meeting is at the bottom of the email confirmation you received when you booked the appointment.  A reminder email has also been sent out.

No dogs allowed - please be aware that no dogs are allowed on the school premises either on their lead or being carried.

Churchbury Photographs - Children’s photographs are now available to purchase online. Parents who have registered with Churchbury have received an email to notify them. You have until Thursday 23rd November to order online; you can choose either free delivery to school or direct home delivery for a small fee. If you need any help with your access code, please email office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk

Foodbank & Felix Project – Available to all our families struggling to make ends meet. Please come to the Sketty Road site every Wednesday from 2.30pm to 3pm.

BASC invoice - The BASC Autumn Term 2 invoice is now available in ParentPay. For any queries please email basc@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk

Residential trip payment reminder -

Y4 Cuffley Camp - £60 due 1^st December

Y6 Boreattan Park - £100 due by 30^th November

Cancellation of after-school clubs - please note there will be no clay club, football club, speed stacking club or art club next  Monday & Wednesday due to parent consultations. 

Important Dates for Diary

Monday 20^th November-Friday 24^th November - Road Safety Week 

Carol Service Dates:

Friday 1^st December - Y4 Enfield Baptist Church at 10am

Friday 8^th December - Y3 & Y6 St Andrew's Church at 10am

Friday 15^th December - Y5 St Andrew's Church at 10am

FoGS Dates - please see below in FOGS section for more info 

26th November - Winter Wonderland 

2nd February 2024 - Year 3 + 5 Glow Disco

9th February - Non-Uniform Day Fundraiser 

23rd March - Reception, Year 1 + 2 Glow Discos

7th June - Non-Uniform Day & Donations for Summer Fair

6th July - Summer Fun Day

Anti-Bullying week 

This week our assemblies focused on Anti-Bullying week, where the theme this year was "Make a Noise about Bullying" and the importance and power of “One Kind Word”. We encouraged our children to speak up and support others as well as themselves, as this is crucial in putting an end to bullying.

At Kimberley Gardens, we celebrated World Kindness Day on Monday by reading the heart-warming story, "Kind." This story taught our children the value of kindness and different ways we can be kind.  We discussed the importance of finding our own voice and being proud of who we are.

Meanwhile, at Sketty Road, we delved into the topic of when banter becomes unkind. We engaged in thoughtful discussions, helping them understand the fine line between playful banter and hurtful words. It is essential for our children to recognise the impact their words and actions can have on others.

Both assemblies were linked in with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as the topic of bullying covers many of the Rights. We focused on encouraging our children to embrace their unique qualities and be proud of their individuality.

Looking ahead, I would hope to see as many of you as possible at our upcoming Winter Wonderland event. This event aims to bring our school community together and celebrate the beginning of the festive season. It will be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to enjoy various activities.

By promoting the importance of speaking up, speaking out and supporting others, we are creating a kinder and more inclusive environment for our students. I urge you to continue these discussions at home and reinforce the values of kindness and empathy.

Road Safety Week

Next week is Road Safety Week! The children will take part in lessons focussing on different aspects of road safety.  They will learn that it is important to wear bright colours and reflective clothing on dark winter evenings or rainy days.

They will learn the importance of wearing a seatbelt and using a booster seat when travelling in a car.  Government guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

We would like to encourage all families who normally drive to park and stride from one of our convenient locations (attach link to document here)  

When dropping off or picking up children from BASC please try to avoid waiting on the zigzag yellow lines.  Pedestrian visibility is greatly reduced making it more dangerous for those families walking to school.

If your child scooters or cycles to school, please encourage them to wear a helmet.  Protect those precious brains!

Attendance week ending 17/11/2023

Overall school = 94.72% Lates =  68

Best attendance: 1^st Navajo 98.18% 2^nd Cheyenne 98.12% 3^rd Osiris 97.95%

Punctuality: Well done the heracles with 100% punctuality

Reception

Reception have been learning 'one more' for maths this week. We have been using a range of learning techniques  within our indoor and outdoor provision, for number and amounts by counting on, focusing on the vocabulary 'one more' and 'altogether'.

We have also been solving number problems within stories, involving more than a given amount. We have encouraged the children to use the vocabulary to show their understanding and thought process. 

It has been a very successful week. 

Year 1

This week, Year 1 have been learning about Mary Seacole and why she is such an important figure in history.  The children were excited to learn about how she travelled around the world to help sick soldiers, even though she was not paid to help and had to use her own money to treat those poorly and injured. The children enjoyed role playing as nurses and doctors, building boats and hospitals from Lego and sorting sentences about Mary's life. 

Year 2

In Year 2 this week, the pupils completed their writing about soldiers in the trenches as part of their World War I.  They used some amazing noun phrases to describe the conditions. In Reading sessions, they have been looking at a book called ‘Flood!’ The pupils practised using their retrieval and inference skills to answer comprehension questions based on the text.

Year 3 

As part of our Science topic ‘Rocks and Fossils’, this week the pupils in Year 3 have been learning about different types of soil.  They conducted experiments to help them recognise and compare the features of different types of soil (e.g. chalky, clay, sandy loam) by measuring how much water passes through them.  This allowed them to discuss what soil is best for different purposes, like building a wormery or growing plants. 

Year 5 

Another busy week this week for Year 5. At the end of last week, we were visited by artist Sianée Williams who held an assembly just for Year 5. Sianee brought in some of her amazing artwork for us to look at. She talked about when she started doing her art, her inspirations and thoughts for her future projects. We were lucky enough to name one of her paintings. Year 5 also enjoyed watching another amazing class assembly performance. This time Anubis treated us to their version of the Dracula story complete with a zombie dance. The children acted brilliantly and it was a great success. Well done Anubis. 

Year 6 

This week, Year 6 read the story Moth by Isabel Thomas. This story looks at how animals pass on their genetic strengths to their offspring in order to survive. It’s a great example of Darwin’s “Natural Selection” theory.

We used Zentangle designs to show the difference between a speckled moth and a charcoal one, exploring how they could adapt to the environment of the birch trees. 

We were then inspired by what happened to the peppered moths and used our new knowledge to create poems that contain rhyming couplets to share the story. We found this challenging but persevered and created some great poetry. 

The Foodbank and Felix Project