Mostly music!

The Prince of Wales Musical Soiree

If your child has been learning an instrument for a while (not a beginner) or is a member of choir then you should have received a letter to invite you to watch them and their peers perform in the annual school concert. This takes place on Weds 10^th June in the school hall at 6pm. We are allocating adult tickets, two per family. If you wish for an extra seat then please let the office know you wish for extra and we will hand out the week before the concert. Thanks!

 

Beginners – Assembly on Monday22nd June at 10.10am

If your child has begun learning an instrument this year then this assembly is for you! Again, hopefully you will have received a letter to invite you. No seat limitations!  These groups include Reception beginner recorder group, Mr Farrington’s Yr 1 recorder group, Miss Johnson’s recorder group, Mrs Thorpe’s beginner uke group and hopefully the Yr 4 children who have started to learn the clarinet this year.  Please join us if you can; will be lovely for the children to get the support from you and their class mates.

Relationships and Sex Education Parent Information Sessions

We are holding parent information sessions for each class to explain our approach to Relationships and Sex Education as follows:

Monday 1st June                              Reception
Tuesday 2nd June                            Year 1
Wednesday 3rd June                        Year 2
Thursday 4th June                            Year 4
Friday 5th June                                 Year 3

As usual these will be held in the school hall from 9.00 until 9.30.

These sessions are designed to explain how the Jigsaw scheme of work that we are using in common with most other DASP First schools introduces Relationships and Sex education in an age appropriate, progressive way in a short series of lessons within the unit of work called "Changing Me".

Information about this is coming home via a newsletter but we hope these extra parent information sessions will be helpful in explaining the school's approach which has been approved by the governing body.

POWSA Summer Fair Saturday 6th June

At POWSA Towers we've been working hard to prepare for the Summer Fair. On Saturday 6th June we have the annual inter - school football & netball tournaments and running alongside these the chance for you to all enjoy yourselves, have fun and support the school. There will be games to play, candyfloss, burgers and juices to keep you going as well as the chance to cheer on the teams from years 3 & 4. There will be competitions: colouring, scone baking and a Minecraft challenge!

We have already received some initial donations of crockery and will welcome any more donations that you can spare. Please don't donate anything that might make an appearance on Antiques Roadshow but if you have any plates or bowls that are old, chipped or just unloved we will put them to a smashing new use.

There is a sign up sheet at the schools reception, if you can spare some time to help us on the day, be it flipping burgers on the BBQ (we'll supply the apron) or running a game for an hour please let us know, your help and support is greatly appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you there, the football  & netball kick off at 11am

19.5.15- Collaborative learning

Today Year 1 were split in to groups of fives and set a collaborative learning challenge. Each group was given a variation of animal such as: mammal, reptile, insect, bird and fish. They had to work as part of a team to produce a poster showing different types of animals and the facts they have learnt.

We were so impressed with the posters and how well the children worked together!

Visitor to wildlife club

Today the children in Wildlife Club met a slow worm that had been found on the path outside the school. We learned that slow worms are lizards, not snakes. They have eyelids that blink and they can drop their tail as a defence when attacked. We saw the slow worm's tongue flicking in and out to sense its surroundings. We decided that the bug hotel would be a good place to release the slow worm where there will be lots of food!
We also spotted a mole trail across one of the paths and found the hole where it has burrowed underground!

12.5.15- Maths learning this week

This week in maths we are revisiting partitioning numbers. The children will be partitioning numbers in to Tens and Ones using arrow cards such as below and some will be moving on to Hundreds.

 

 

For example 89= 80 + 9, there are 8 lots of 10 in 89 and 9 ones.

 

12.5.15- Making bird feeders and beautiful butterflies!

This week the children will have the chance to work in small groups to read a set of instructions to make a bird feeder. The picture below shows the first bird feeder that was made this morning!

We are very excited to say that all but one butterfly has now emerged! They are fascinating to watch and the children have really enjoyed watching the life cycle of the butterfly. It has been lovely to hear the children talking about how the butterflies have formed and the different stages they have been through. Over the next couple of days we will be releasing them in to the wild.

7.5.15- What a brilliant trip!

Well what a fantastic day we have had! We started our day talking about where and how Watercress grow and also how they harvest it. The children got to stand in the water cress beds and feel the cool water beneath their feet.

After this we split in to groups. One group went to see what was in the river near by. Two experienced fishermen took a sample off the river bed for us to look at. It was amazing to see how many different species we could spot. The other group went in to the poly tunnel and cut and bunched their own watercress.

After lunch we got to hear how the Watercress company deal with pests such as pigeons feeding on the cress. Birds! We got to see a Falcon and a Harris Hawk. Year 1 were fascinated by these magnificent birds and how they scare away the other birds in the area.

Once we saw the birds we were then taken to look at the bats. We learnt about how bats are really important at the Watercress company as they eat the insects feeding on the watercress.

At the end of the day we went through the factory where the watercress is processed and through the chilly fridge!

We had an absolutely brilliant day. Thank you to all the Mums that came with us and a huge thank you to Tom, James and all of the people involved with our trip at the Watercress company today and for the watercress and salad leaves that they let us take home. The children have learnt so much today and had so many experiences that they will not forget.

5.5.15- Caterpillar update!

Well it is now 16 days after we received the caterpillars and they have been moved in to the net! We are all eagerly watching and waiting to see them appear.

 

Today we starting writing our own versions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Year 1 are so brilliant at story maps now and this really helps them to remember the sequence of the story and writing in more detail.