Alexandra Primary School

Newsletter 5

1stth November 2019

Denbigh Road, Hounslow, TW3 4DU

Tel: 020 8570 6826

Email:office@alexandra.hounslow.sch.uk www.alexandra.hounslow.sch.uk

Thought for the Day:

“Don’t worry about yesterday or last month.

Today is a new day, so renew your mind this

morning. Be positive and start fresh.”

Question of the Week:

Is it worse to fail at something or never attempt it in the first place?

Dear Parents and Carers,

This half term has started well with the children eager to return and carry on with their learning. Opportunities for parents to speak with

class teachers are happening this week. There will also be an opportunity to complete our annual parents survey. The questions have

been adapted this year as we have a new inspection framework. We are continuing to update the school website. In the learning

section we have added some information on reading. You can find this at www.alexandra.hounslow.sch.uk. Thank you to everyone who

has been busy with the beat the street initiative. Children have enjoyed participating in this and being healthy.

Reception: The children have happily returned to school after half term and settled back into the routines. This week we have been looking

at our environment and the changes all around us whilst learning about Autumn. We have looked carefully at the changing leaves - at their

beautiful colours, conkers and acorns. We have learnt about the harvesting of apples and have tried different types of apple in a tasting

activity and then chose our favourite variety. In Maths the focus has been on learning about number 5, finding ways to make 5p and

representing 5 in different ways. In Phonics we have been learning the digraph ck and the phonemes e,u,r and practising blending to read

and write words and captions.

Year 1: The children have been focusing on a new text called 'What the ladybird heard on Holiday'. The children have been exploring the

past tense vocabulary in this and using it to support them when writing a recount of their half term holiday. The children have been

building on their experiences and linking this to build sentences. For Maths this week the children have consolidated their understanding of

more/greater and less than. They have then applied it to comparing numbers/objects and groups of objects. The children continued to

build on their understanding of senses for Science and focused on touch/feel and worked in groups to discuss and describe a range of

different objects using a range of vocabulary.

Year 2: We hope you all had a restful half-term holiday. This week the children have been thrown straight into the turmoil of the Great Fire

of London, as we start our new topic. They were enthralled by our special guest on Wednesday 30th October, who had come all the way

from 1666 and Samuel Pepys house. Please ask your children all about this exciting event!

Year 3: We had an amazing Stone Age day before half term. We looked at clothing, how to make a fire, cave paintings, tools and much, much more. Thank you for all your efforts with the children’s costumes. Before half term, became authors by writing our own adventure story, based on the story ‘Stone Age Boy’. We designed our own front covers to complete our stories. We are excited to show our completed work off at Parents Evening. This week, Year 3 have written some spooktacular Halloween- based descriptive writing. In Maths, we have been learning and practising methods to add and subtract 3dgit numbers and tens. We are enjoying using our new skills to help us solve and investigate problems. In Science, we have continued our learning about rocks and we have conducted an experiment to investigate the permeability of different soils.

Year 3 – Stone Age Day

Nursery: This week we are continuing to focus on the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. The children will have lots of opportunities to

add actions and play instruments to bring the story to life. We will be adding a range of real vegetables to our home corner so that the

children can explore weight, size and texture in a real context. The children will help to sort these by their features. The children are

continuing to learn how to pedal their trikes and how to take turns and share fairly.

Year 4: In Maths, we have been using our number and place value knowledge from the first term to add and subtract using mental and

written methods. We have been exploring features of poetry in English, such a figurative language and rhyme. The Year 4 children are now

used to filling in our pupil planners every time we read and most children have an adult listen to them read aloud at home during the week.

4H performed their class assembly about Diwali and enjoyed sharing their knowledge about this festival, as well as singing and dancing in

front of the school audience!

Year 6: After a week-deserved break, Year 6 students have come back ready and raring to learn. This week we assessed students on their

knowledge and understanding of grammar, reading comprehension and maths. Children have made some great progress and we have identified

areas for further learning. There was a big focus on grammar this week; looking into nouns and verb tenses. In Science, children learnt more about

the theory of evolution and how animals use their adaptations to survive in their environment. Students had the opportunity to take part in a

workshop from Dog’s Trust, where they learnt valuable life lessons about how to interact with dogs. The children were also visited by the

Hounslow police to talk to them about the dangers of knife crime, alcohol and drugs.

Notices: We have added some information about Speech and Language and Communication to the bottom of this newsletter. There is also a top tip to use to develop children’s communication skills.

Please find the new amended Terms Dates and Calendar attached.

School Attendance:

Current whole school attendance is 96.91%. Congratulations to 3F, 4H and 6C for 100% attendance recently.

Please remember that term time leave will be unauthorised.

Key Dates for the term:

28th October Police Visit - Year 6 15th- 20th November BookFair

29th October HYPE Talk - Year 4 18-22nd Hearing Clinic - Reception

30th October Dogs Trust - Year 5 20th November Year 4 - Latern Workshop

31st October Dogs Trust - Year 6 21st November Year 5 Fire Brigade visit in school

1st November 4H Class assembly 29th November 4C Class assembly

4th to 8th November Parliament Week 3rd December Year 6 Parliament trip

5th & 7th November Parents Evenings – Nursery Closed 5th December London Burning Workshop Year 2

7th November APS Parliament Day 6th December 5F Class assembly

8th November 6NC Class assembly 10th December KS2 Pantomime

11th November Individual Photos 12th December School Closed - Polling Day

12th November Year 5 & 6 - Sports at Cranford 13th December Year 2 Nativity

14th November Year 6 heights and weights 17th December Christmas Dinner / Nursery Sing Along

15th November 6K Class assembly 19th December Last day of the Autumn Term/ School closes at 1.30pm

20th December - 3rd January Christmas Break The Spring Term begins on Monday 6th January 2020

Year 5: 38 children returned from an action-packed three-day residential trip to Sayers Croft in the heart of the Surrey countryside. On arrival, we

were met by our leader, Kate, who showed us our ‘home’ for the next three days – ‘Holmbury.’ After making up beds and unpacking, we had a

fire-drill and a chance to look around our surroundings before heading off for lunch. The afternoon’s activities were varied and challenging in

different ways – caving (in a fibreglass tunnel network), archery and nature art. Despite some worries about crawling through dark tunnels,

everyone gave it a go and came out with a fantastic sense of achievement, having had a lot of fun! In the evening, we set off for a guided walk

through the grounds, listening to the sounds of the night in the countryside and admiring the stars before heading back to the dormitories for hot

chocolate and bed-time. The next day dawned grey and cloudy but, thankfully, the rain held off and we were able to complete all of our outdoor

activities. Children again rose to new challenges when bouldering and on the ropes course. Their pride in their achievements was clear in their

faces – and in those of their teachers! They also learnt how to use a compass and used this new skill to successfully find their way around the

woods without getting lost! Following dinner, we set off for a campfire where the children kept us all entertained with their jokes, stories and

singing. The last day came around all too quickly. The morning was spent pond-dipping – who could believe the incredible variety of creatures

found in the water? A final activity showed excellent team skills as children competed to build a giant catapult and shoot their sponges the

furthest. Then, back to the dorm for a quick lunch and on to the coach for the journey home with lots of stories to tell!

Some of the children’s comments about Sayers Croft:

“It was quite an adventure” “It gets you out of your comfort zone.” “You learn to be more independent and keep yourself safe.” “It gets you out more.”

“I like the food.” “It makes you overcome your fears.” “It lets you be yourself.” “I like the bunk beds.” “Kate was very helpful and very nice.”

Why is it important for us to talk about communication skills?

Communication is….

*Image Courtesy of slc.cambridgeshire.nhs.uk

Children need effective communication skills to be able to:

Join in and play

Build relationships

Understand questions and instructions

Access learning in class

Share their thoughts and ideas

Understand and talk about their feelings

Solve problems

Get their message across

Learn to read and write

Did you know…?

“Out of the EYFSP areas of development, communication, language and literacy

is the best predictor of later attainment in KS1, not only in literacy, but also in

maths (Better Communication Research Programme 2011)”

This week’s Top Tip for Talking:

Take 5 minutes every day to play with your child, with no TV or screens on. Let

them choose a toy and join in with their play. Have fun!

Please ensure you make a note of the above dates, as holidays when school is open are

NOT allowed.

*POLLING DAY ADDED – SCHOOL CLOSED.

Alexandra Primary School Term and Holiday Dates

2019-2020

AUTUMN TERM 2019

Inset Day 1 Monday 2nd September Closed

First Day of Term Tuesday 3rd September Open

Half Term Break Monday 21st October to Friday 25th October Closed

Return to School Monday 28th October Open

Polling Day Thursday 12th December Closed

Last Day of Term Thursday 19th December - school closes at 1.30pm Open

Christmas Break – Friday 20th December to Friday 3rd January Closed

SPRING TERM 2020

First Day of Term Monday 6th January Open

Inset Day 2 Friday 14th February Closed

Half Term Break Monday 17th February to Friday 21st February Closed

Return to School Monday 24th February Open

Last Day of Term Friday 3rd April - school closes 1.30pm Open

Spring Holiday Break – Monday 6th April to Friday 17th April Closed

SUMMER TERM 2020

First Day of Term Monday 20th April Open

Inset Day 3/Polling Day Thursday 7th May Closed

*May Day Friday 8th May Closed

Half Term Break Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May Closed

Return to School Monday 1st June Open

Last Day of Term Friday 17th July - school closes at 1.30pm Open

Inset Day 4 Monday 20th July Closed

Inset Day 5 Tuesday 21st July Closed There is no Extended Day Care in the afternoon on the last day of each term when school closes at 1.30pm

September October November December

T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su

1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 21 22 23 24 25 26 27* 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31

January February March April M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 1 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 24 25 26 27 28 29 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 29 30

30 31

May June July August M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su M T W Th F S Su 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 1 2

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 29 30 27 28 29 30 31 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

5 INSET Days Year 6 SATs Year 6 School Journey Y6 End of Year Concert

Holidays Parents Meetings Y2 Nativity Y6 Graduation

Public Holidays School Photos Winter Disco * Clocks Change back

Summer Fayre Year 5 School Journey Y6 Secondary Transfer Day Clocks change forwards

Diwali – begins / ends Ramadan – begins (approx.) Eid – (approx.) Chinese New Year

Christian Orthodox Christmas Christmas Jumper / lunch day Rosh Hashanah Holi

Alexandra Primary School Planner 2019-2020