Newsletters

George Spicer newsletter - Thursday 7th October 2021

Attendance and punctuality. This week, we sent an email to all Kimberley Gardens families to remind them of the importance of good punctuality and attendance. Setting high standards early on maintains good learning and if children arrive late, this can disrupt the whole class and their learning. Please ensure that you follow the Attendance Policy if your child is going to be absent which can be found on our website https://www.georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk/attendance

Reporting absences. If your child is unwell or will be absent from school please leave a short message on the answer machine clearly stating your child's name, class and nature of the illness.  Please advise exactly what is wrong rather than 'feeling unwell'.  Absences must be reported by 9am, either by phone or email. 

Reporting covid cases. If your child takes a lateral flow or PCR test, can you please email the evidence of the outcome as soon as possible so we can protect the school community.

Sketty Road cameras update. Cameras will be in operation on Sketty Road soon, we don’t have a confirmed date, but we will continue to warn you to avoid receiving a fine. The best option would be not to drive on Sketty Road to drop off your children.

Glass water bottles cannot be brought into school. We had a bottle smash in class this week that we were unaware of and it was a serious Health & Safefy issue for the children and staff concerned. Plastic bottles only please.

Year 1 hearing tests are taking place next week. Please see the calendar below for dates and times.

Headlice - we have reports of headlice at Sketty Road site. Please keep an eye on your child's hair and treat accordingly.

Attendance week ending 07/10/2021

Overall school = 92.97%   Lates = 90

Best attendance: 1st Apache & Sioux 100%, 2nd Willow 97.24%, 3rd Elm 97.14%

Punctuality: 1st Defiants & Sioux 100%, 2nd Spitfires 99.67%, 3rd Owl & Lancasters 99.66%

Reception 

Reception have had another busy week this week. We have had our first P.E lesson with Miss Marchant and played lots of games where we chose different ways to move. We practised lining up, hopping, jumping and moving around in the style of our favourite animals. We will be advising you of your house colours very soon- if your child is a sibling, they will be the same colour as their sibling. We will ask you to send your child in wearing their P.E kit from Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd November as these are our P.E days. 

Year 1

Year 1 have been busy learning about British mammals, in particular, about hedgehogs. They began writing their fact file and are super excited to complete their booklet. Did you know that hedgehogs have 7000 spines on their back? We learnt words such as nocturnal and hibernate and have learnt about features of non-fiction texts.

We also read a book called ‘Herbie’s Big Adventure.’

We look forward to sharing our booklets with you!

Year 2

This week in Year 2, we have been learning about our final explorer of the half term – Yossi Ghinsberg! He was a man who was looking for the adventure of a lifetime and the Tacana Tribe in the Amazon rainforest. We have been writing diary entries from the perspective of Yossi, documenting some of the difficulties he faced during his journey! Please read one of our entries about Yossi becoming separated from his friend Kevin on the rough river after their raft crashed.

Year 3 

This week Year 3 have been learning all about friction and how it impacts the movement of objects. We learned that a rough surface creates more friction on a moving object, meaning it will travel slower than one on a smooth surface. We all rubbed our hands on the floor to feel the friction create heat!

We then conducted an experiment and recorded our results in a table. We gently pushed a car across three different surfaces and measured how far it would travel. This informed us of the different levels of friction being created. 

We have loved being scientists and discovering all about different forces!

Year 5 

This week in Year 5, we started our new topic, The Realm of The Khan! We started by researching Genghis Khan and considering what events in his life contributed to him becoming such a fierce, fearsome, violent and respected warrior and leader. Whilst researching Khan's life, we also looked at the UNCRC rights and discussed how these could be applied to Khan's own upbringing and later adult life. We thought how Khan's family life related to Article 9 - (Keeping families together) and how Khan was so loyal to his wife, Borte, that he started a battle in order to be reunited with her when she was taken by another tribe. We also discussed Article 19 - (Protection from violence) and believe that Khan's fearsome warrior tactics were due to the trauma he suffered at 9 years old, when his father was poisoned! We learnt that subsequently the tribe abandoned he and his entire family! We discussed how these events quite possibly helped Khan develop resilience to move up the ranks and become a dominant warrior that many both feared and respected. 

Year 5 used their research to support them in writing a third person narrative, focusing on dialogue between Khan and his blood brother. The children have thoroughly impressed us with their enthusiasm for the topic and the extra research that many children completed at home has helped support their learning in these lessons! Keep up the excellent work Year 5! 

Well done also to Anubis class, who are now in their third week of swimming lessons! We are so proud of how you have shown resilience and determination in your lessons and for being excellent role models for our school . Keep up the excellent work. Ra, Thoth and Osiris all look forward totaking part in their swimming lessons in the coming months.

Year 6 

This week, as a part of our Macbeth writing, the children in Year 6 had a drama lesson. In pairs, the children created a short drama piece, showing the conversation between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, when she convinces him to kill King Duncan. The children paid particular attention to their tone of voice to help them capture their character’s voice. At the end of this lesson, the children performed their drama piece to their classes. 

Bug/Bee Hotels

Last week the Learning Mentors made some bug/bee hotels for the sensory garden with some of the children.  

Celebrating black authors

Each week, in October, we will have a recommendation of both an EYFS/KS1 and KS2 book from the teachers. The teachers will choose a book they love that is written by a black author. By doing this, we hope to celebrate diversity within our reading choices.

Please read below, for our first teacher recommendations:

EYFS/KS1:

CLEAN UP! By Nathan Bryon

Reviewed by Mr Roberts

CLEAN UP! is a book that sheds light on a very real problem going on right now on our planet! Rocket can’t wait to go and visit her grandparents on their beautiful island As soon as she arrives, she has lots of fun exploring the island, building sand castles and even surfing with her Grandma! However, her eyes are opened to the devastation plastic pollution can cause when she finds a turtle tangled in plastic. It is ruining the beaches and endangering sea creatures all over the island but Rocket wants to make a change.

Rocket’s inspirational story shows us that we all have a responsibility to take care of our environment and that we can all make a difference, however young or old.

KS2:
When Life gives you Mangoes by Kereen Getten
Reviewed by Miss Anyanwu

When I first heard about this book I was intrigued by the title ‘When Life gives you mangoes’ I had been familiar with the famous proverb ‘when life gives you lemons.’ I instantly knew this story would involve the characters transforming bad situations into good, this encouraged me to read this amazing story!

The narrator uses the main character Clara to explore the disappointment in losing a friend. Clara revisits her past in the story as she has lost her memory and become afraid of surfing in the sea. The narrator cleverly takes both the reader and Clara on a journey of self-discovery.

Clara lives in a small village called Sycamore in Jamaica. She enjoys eating ripe mangoes and playing in the rain with her best friend Gaynah. Things suddenly change when a new girl Rudy arrives from England. This causes trouble for Clara and Gaynah’s friendship as Clara starts to feel left out and disregarded by Gaynah. In a turn of events, both Clara and Rudy become friends and start exploring the hidden secrets on Sycamore Island.

The reader has the opportunity to explore the island of Sycamore through Clara’s eyes with the use of vivid descriptions about the beautiful island and the juicy, delicious mangoes that Clara enjoys picking.

This book is jam-packed with themes about family, friendship and loss. I would highly recommend this book as the character Clara is relatable, inspiring and fun.

Enfield Carers Centre - World Mental Health Day