Author: Mr Nash

Reading Records and Library Books

This week, your child has brought home a new reading record and a library book. Log-in details for NumBots are Collins Hub are on the back of reading records. Please let me know if you are having access issues.

Reading Records

Please return a signed reading record by Thursday each week ready to be sent home again on Friday. Each week, please write a short comment about your child’s reading (something that’s gone well, something they’ve enjoyed, something you’d like more support with). This is a valuable stream of communication. I’ll set a target for your child each week which can help to give your home learning a focus.

Library Books

Your child has (almost!) free rein of our school library. We have a huge variety of books for you to enjoy at home. We’ll help steer your child towards something that is age-appropriate and will encourage them to engage with something they’re passionate about. Enjoying library books at home is a brilliant way of learning ‘book behaviour’.

  • Exploring books physically – turning pages, engaging in conversation about pictures, some independent reading
  • Preference – help your child to develop likes/dislikes in genre, illustration, repetition and rhyme, relatable characters
  • Impact – vocabulary, listening skills, developing fluency, link reading to being fun (not just school!), bonding through shared reading

Year 1 will visit the library to return books (and select a new one) every Monday. Please return library books to school by the end of the week – this helps us to smooth out the returns process and makes more time for loving books!

Living and Learning – I Follow the School Rules

Every week, we have a Living and Learning statement (you can find them on the calendar).

To start the school year, our statement is:

I follow the school rules.

We’ve been talking about what it means to follow the school rules. A rule is something that we all agree to follow so that everyone can feel happy and healthy. Rules help us to know what to do and how to behave at school, at home and in the community.

At St James’ CE Primary, we have three school rules.

  • We’re respectful
  • We’re ready
  • We’re safe

The children shared some ideas about how these rules might look around school.

We’re respectful

  • we show kindness
  • we use good manners
  • we listen carefully
  • we take care of our belongings
  • we look after each other
  • we put our hands up to speak

We’re ready

  • we come to school ready to learn
  • we have silent voices
  • we have empty hands
  • we have eyes on the speaker

We’re safe

  • we make sensible choices
  • we walk around school
  • we use equipment properly
  • we ask for help when we need

When these rules are followed, it helps our school to be a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe. They help us to feel cared for and included.

Help at home by discussing the school rules with your child. Do you have any rules at home? Can you think of any places in the community with their own special rules (perhaps a swimming pool or the library?).

Back With a Bang (and a Few Lost Jumpers)

What a wonderful start to the new school year! Year 1 have amazed me with how ready and eager they’ve been to learn. It’s been lovely to see friends back together, sharing smiles and settling back into school life.

The classroom may look a little bit different this year but the children have embraced the changes brilliantly (even though some of the adults around school are still adjusting). They’ve worked so hard learning new routines: classroom transitions, tidying up, lining up, which way round to put on a jumper after PE…

I’m especially proud of the way the children have taken so much pride in their learning. If week 1 is anything to go by, I’m very excited for the next 38!

Well done, Year 1! You’ve certainly helped to make my first week back a happy and healthy one.

A few reminders:

  • Reading books
    We will continue to use the Collins Hub e-book platform though the children have new log-ins. We are currently experiencing some access issues which we’re working to fix as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience!
  • NumBots
    NumBots is a valuable resource and a fantastic way of keeping home learning fun. If you need any technical support (or a reminder of login details), please be in touch and I’ll try my best to help.
  • PE days
    Our PE days are Tuesday and Thursday.
  • Water bottles
    Please make sure your child comes to school with a clean, labelled water bottle every day. Water bottles must go home every day.
  • Uniform
    All the children have looked so smart to start this year and uniform compliance has been fantastic. We have, of course, had a great deal of jumper/cardigan admin to contend with! Please label your child’s clothes – it helps us and you. Thank you.

If you need any additional support, you can email me on [email protected]

Help at home by celebrating a fantastic start to Year 1. What has your child learnt this week? What’s different about Year 1? Has anything stayed the same?

Thanks,

Mr Nash

Being Healthy – Dental Hygiene

This week, it’s Being Healthy Week. We’ve been learning about dental hygiene. Here are some of the top takeaways from our learning:

Brush your teeth morning and night. – Poppy

Floss your teeth. – Daisy

Don’t eat sweets after you’ve brushed your teeth. – Esme

Go to the dentist if your teeth are hurting. – Arthur

Eat a balanced diet. – Kupa

Help at home by reviewing this learning with your child. Does their learning reflect your dental hygiene routines?

Being Healthy – Archery and Golf

This week, it’s Being Healthy Week. Today, we welcomed a PE coach to school who taught the children about archery and golf. The children really enjoyed the activities and made fantastic progress in learning some new skills. We had some sharp shooters on the archery range and some impressive feats of strength in the long drive competition!

Help at home by encouraging your child to take up a sport. Perhaps you could try something new over the summer break?

Being Healthy – Physical Activity

This week, it’s Being Healthy Week. We’ve been learning about what happens to our body when we exercise. It is recommended that children have 60 minutes of physical exercise each day. We came up with a huge list of activities that we could do to make up our 60 minutes ranging walking to school to gymnastics.

We learnt about the changes in our body when we exercise, including an increased heart rate. It was really interesting to see how our heart rate (pulse) increased even after just a few seconds of exercise!

We concluded our learning by considering how and when to find support if we’re worried about our health.

Help at home by keeping a physical activity diary. Are there any missed opportunities for physical exercise in your day?

 

Living and Learning – Body Image

In Living and Learning, we’ve been learning about body image. Our weekly statements have been:

  • “I can say one good thing about myself.”
  • “I know that people I see in the media don’t always reflect real life.”

We begun our learning by thinking about identity and the things that make us unique,  especially the way we look. We thought about some words we can describe a face:

  • smiley
  • freckly
  • round
  • blue eyes
  • shiny
  • long
  • frowny
  • long hair
  • cheeky
  • surprised
  • kind
  • big grin

Using mirrors, we looked closely at our appearance, considering facial features in detail. Then, we had some fun by drawing self portraits and celebrating the features that make us unique!

We enjoyed reading Embrace Your Body by Taryn Brumfitt. It’s a fantastic book that helps us to appreciate who we are. We felt empowered to embrace our uniqueness and find something special in everyone.

I was impressed by how much the children understand and appreciate how interesting it is to have such a wide variety of people in the world.

Help at home by discussing body image with your child. Perhaps you could use this sentence starter to share some thoughts: Something I like about the way I look is…

Help at home by watching and discussing this video about real beauty.

Reading assembly

A brief but huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Ready to Read assembly today. The children embraced the opportunity to show what they’ve been learning this year and it was fantastic to celebrate their progress together.

I’m proud of how far they’ve come and grateful for all your support at home – it plays such an important part in your child’s reading journey.

Help at home by keeping up the great work in year 3!