GISBURN PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Wednesday, 21st October 2015 www.gisburn.lancsngfl.ac.uk

Yrs 5 & 6 Trip to Borwick Hall Yrs. 5 & 6 have had an exciting start to the autumn term with an action packed three day visit to Borwick Hall. All children had a fantastic time taking part in the following activities: canoeing, night walk up Warton Crag, Ghyll Scramble at Stickle Ghyll in Langdale, orienteering, tree climbing, indoor caving, archery and rope course.

Christmas Pantomime

We are all looking forward to seeing ‘Aladdin’ at King George’s Hall, Blackburn on Thursday, 17th December (Oh yes we are!)

School Choir is Performing at Young Voices Concert, 2016!

On Tuesday, 1st March 2016, members of the school choir will be performing in the Young Voices Concert, thousands of children, at the MEN Arena - The children will be working hard over the next few months to familiarize themselves with all the new songs! Last year they had an amazing time!

RECEPTION PARENT TO LUNCH

On Wednesday, 14th October parents/grandparents of Reception children joined us at lunch time and had a school meal with their child(ren)!

IN CLASS….

Robins have settled into school life extremely well and are all keen to learn

through play.

In the first few weeks they have already extended 'stories with familiar settings', by building an airport outside and enjoying a few more days in the sun! They also prepared a birthday party for Miss Alexandra – enjoying activities from making invites to cooking magic cupcakes!

Robins also received a letter from 'Zump the Alien' asking for our help in teaching him about human characteristics, and to help him compare the differences between himself and his friends the children suggested we drew pictures and added labels. So that is what they did! They are adding more labels as they think of new parts.

Signs of Autumn are being creatively displayed in school and used across the curriculum; from developing different art techniques to counting, ordering size, sorting etc. in mathematics to name a few!

Kingfishers have been busy, busy

this half term. They began by doing a mini project all about Kingfishers, finding out facts and information and creating their own individual booklets which have been displayed in the corridor. As a result of their findings, they also created Kingfisher collages and drew and coloured pictures of the beautiful Kingfisher bird.

In Numeracy, they have focussed on number and place value, counting on and back, finding one more and one less. They have also looked at Capacity, having fun in the sand, water and stones to discover non-standard units of measure. They are moving on now to counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s and recognising larger numbers.

Their Literacy unit has been ‘Stories with familiar settings’ and these settings have included the beach, a tent in a camping field, places in and around the home, the park and a leisure centre! Therefore, our role play area began as a travel agents and the children enjoyed booking their holidays both locally and far away! Now,

the role play area is a leisure centre and the children are being encouraged to look into new hobbies that may be available. Their grammar focus has been to use capital letters, full stops and finger spaces and they are beginning also to include sentence connectives and adjectives.

In Science, they have been learning about the human body and looking at our 5 senses. They have been on a sound walk and recorded the sounds that they heard. They discussed what it would be like to only hear muffled sounds or only hearing through one ear. They have looked closely at the structure of the ear too.

They have also looked at the new season of autumn and they are observing seasonal change daily.

Music lessons have been a combination of learning ‘new routine songs’ and also linking to our topics – the body, our senses, harvest and autumn.

In History, Kingfishers have looked closely at their own lives, who they are related to and they have enjoyed looking at family photographs in order to create a family tree. They have discussed families and why they are special and important to us. This lead them in to our next topic which is to focus on Lowry.

In R.E. the children have focussed on CELEBRATIONS – they have enjoyed celebrating the births of new sisters and brothers born to children in the class. They have discussed birthdays, christenings and looked at the Muslim pilgrimage to Mekkah and why this is celebrated. The 27th of September saw the Chinese Festival of the Moon. Kingfishers discussed the story of Hou Yi and Chang E and they created artwork to depict the story.

Kingfishers, and indeed Mrs Longton thoroughly enjoyed DANCE with Katie Alcott on Friday mornings. Katie used the topic of ‘ourselves’ to create movement based on the ‘Mr Men and Little Miss’ stories. The children used their bodies to create ‘Mr Bounce,’ ‘Mr Tall and Mr Small.’ and ‘Mr Jelly’ to name just a few!!

Owls have read stories with familiar settings and looked at character

profiles and story sequences. One of the stories they read was Elmer, the Patchwork Elephant. Later, they moved onto non-chronological reports, identifying features and working towards writing about autumn.

In numeracy, they have been revising number bonds and using these in both additions and subtractions. Most recently, they have investigated what symmetrical means using practical ways of identifying which shapes are symmetrical. They will be looking at properties of 2D shapes, right angles and tessellation too.

Science work is about rocks, looking carefully at how they are different and finding out how some are made. They made a layer pudding from syrup, crushed biscuits and chocolate mousse to represent the different layers of the Earth. The best bit was eating the pudding!

In topic, they have already learned quite a lot about the Tudors. Henry 7th was the first Tudor King who joined together the house of York and Lancaster, thereby creating the red and white Tudor rose. His eldest son Arthur should have succeeded him as king but when Arthur died at a young age, Henry 7th's second son, another Henry became King. He became King Henry 8th, one of the most famous Tudors. Owls have started finding out about his six wives and even begun to learn a song to help us remember what happened to them all! There is still so much to learn about these terrible Tudors!

As part of RE, Owls have looked at how fruit, vegetables and cereals are grown and then transported to shops. They looked at wheat and the process of turning it into flour. They have made corn dollies and thanks to help from parents and grandparents we have all been able to make bread.

Owls have enjoyed dance lessons with Katie Alcott on Fridays, as well as practicing ball skills and team games during other PE lessons.

Finally, they have enjoyed making Tudor roses and painting self-portraits in art and D.T. They will be creating tessellating patterns to link with numeracy as well as painting autumnal pictures

Doves have been covering a variety of topics in numeracy such as: number

and place value; mental addition and subtraction; written methods to add/subtract; shape measurement; multiplication/division and fractions.

To link in with their 'All Things Tudor' topic, they will be reading and analysing stories with a Tudor setting and characters. They will also be exploring the Tudors through information texts, writing chronological reports and performing poetry.

In Science Doves have been exploring light and shadow, which culminated in the children making and performing with shadow puppets. After half term, their science topic will be 'Forces and Magnets'.

Much of the rest of the curriculum (Art/DT, Music, Dance, History, and Geography) will be linked to their 'All Things Tudor' topic.... The children will explore Tudor medicine; make pomanders, Tudor roses and Tudor buildings. They will also be involved in researching - using the internet and learning Tudor songs to be sung as 'a round' into two and four parts.

After half term, they are hoping to visit 'Turton Tower' for a real 'hands on' Tudor experience! The term will culminate in a 'Tudor performance' which parents will be invited to.

Eagles have used atlases to look at the location of African countries in

relation to the equator and tropics and exploring the effect this has on the countries’ climates and vegetation belts. The children have learnt about Africa’s natural resources and the main products which are exported from different regions. In particular, they have studied cocoa producing countries, focussing on life for farmers in villages (compared to their own lives) and follow the journey of the cocoa pod ‘from bean to bar’.

After half term, Eagles will focus on the history of Benin and study the impact of the Europeans (Portuguese and British) upon African tribes’ people.

Their artwork will be inspired by African tribal masks and Benin bronze plaques as well as developing a Christmas product to sell at FOGS Christmas market.

In science, they are learning about classifying vertebrates and invertebrates; the children will create their own keys to sort African plants and animals. The children will investigate how micro-organisms grow and understand that they can be helpful or harmful. They will also research the work of Charles Darwin and explore his theory of evolution as well as looking at how plants and animals are interdependent, how they have adapted to their environments and how some species are under threat.

Literacy work includes: newspaper writing about our trip to Borwick Hall; African stories; poetry (linked to bonfire night and anti-bullying week); Shakespeare; magazine articles and a novel (Oranges in No Man’s Land) which explores the lives of refugee families- a theme we will be addressing in PHSE lessons.

In ICT, the children will re-visit e-safety and develop efficient and accurate research techniques whilst improving their use of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to format text, include images and hyperlinks.

Sports competitions this term have included football, cross country and indoor athletics and in PE, the children have been developing football and athletic skills as well as learning rainforest tribal dances taught by Katie Alcott (dance coach).

JOB VACANCY – Relief Crossing Patrol at Gisburn Primary School, Please contact Mr Neil Crawshaw on 07831309599 if you would like to apply.

Thank you.

New Food Plan

As part of the School Food Plan, the new food based standards have now taken effect. These standards are intended to ensure that children get the nutrition they need across the whole day.

The main principles are:-

At least 3 different fruits and 3 different vegetables each week

A dessert containing at least 50% fruit 2 or more times a week.

No more than 2 pastry items a week.

No more than 2 days a week when a carbohydrate cooked in oil or fat is served (garlic bread, roast potatoes, chips, diced potatoes, hash brown & Yorkshire pudding).

Oily fish once or more every 3 weeks.

No more than 2 portions of food that has been deep-fried, batter-coated or breadcrumb-coated each week. This includes non-fried bread crumbed items.

SPORT

Dance Lessons This half term all children in school have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in dance lessons every Friday with Katie Alcott. In addition to this, Katie has also run an after school dance club on a Friday as part of Gisburn Gorillas.

Yrs. 5 & 6 Football Friday, 25th September the Yrs. 5 & 6 football team played in a 7 -a-side football tournament at Ribblesdale, Clitheroe. They won 1, drew 1 and lost 1. Well done to all who took part!

Yrs. 3 & 4 Football

On Friday, 16th October the Yrs. 3 & 4 football team also enjoyed taking part in a 7 – a-side football tournament at Ribblesdale, Clitheroe. Well done!

Yrs. 5 & 6 Cross Country On Thursday, 8th October the Yrs. 5 & 6 Cross Country team had a fantastic time taking part in a Hyndburn & Ribble Valley competition at Wilson's Playing Fields. Well done to all who took part!

CHARITIES

We raised a fantastic total of £315 for ‘Farm Africa’ at our Harvest Festival, which was held on Thursday 1st October! Thank you.

On Friday, 18th September pupils and staff wore their jeans/non-uniform for the day and raised £84.00 for this year’s Jeans for Genes Appeal. This will go to five charities that fund research into

childhood genetic disorders and provide advice and support services for families. Thank you.

Children In Need Appeal 2015 On Friday, 13th November, we will be holding a ‘Spotty Cake and Bun Sale’ for the children, to raise money for Children in Need. On the day, please could you provide slices of cake or some buns for the children to sell (chocolate crispies are a favourite too!) The children may buy as many cakes and buns as they wish (25p each). You may send a labelled container if you would like cakes home for tea! To enter into the spirit, we would like the children to wear non-uniform/super hero style. Last year we raised an incredible £180 selling cakes for Children in Need!

ADMISSIONS 2016

A reminder that: Primary/Secondary School applications can be completed on-line at www.lancashire.gov.uk/schools – closing dates: 31st October 2015 (Secondary School) & 15th January 2016 (Primary School)

Attainment & Progress 2014/15 We would like to share with you the excellent achievements of our children over the last year; we are very proud of them and thank you for your support in their successes. EYFS ‘At Least Expected in Prime Areas’ 85% - this is well above the Lancashire average of 74%. 82% Yr. 1 pupils met expected standards on Phonic decoding (69% nationally).

% KS1 Reading % KS1 Writing % KS1 Maths Science

2+

2B+ 3+ Pts 2+ 2B+ 3+ Pts 2+ 2B+ 3+ Pts 2+ 3+

School

100.0 100.0 46.0 18.5 100 91.0 16.0 15.0 100 82.0 23.0 17.0 100 32.0

Lancs

90.0 80.0 29.0 16.4 87.0 67.0 16.0 15.0 93.0 81.0 23.0 16.0 91.0 24.0

KS1-KS2

Conversion Results 2014/15, below show that 100% pupils achieved

expected progress in Reading, Writing & Maths and the percentage of

pupils who achieved ‘more than expected progress’ in Reading, Writing

and Maths far exceeds those in Lancashire and England.

% Expected Progress % More Than Expected Progress

Reading Writing Maths Reading Writing Maths

School 100 100 100 75.0 50.0 58.0

Lancs 92.4 94.7 91.3 35.0 38.0 35.0

SCHOOL WEBSITE –www.gisburn.lancs.sch.uk

If you have access to the internet, you can access up to date information for parents on the school website; Class news & photographs, holiday dates, FOGS events, After School Club news, copies of any recent letters/newsletters etc. It’s worth a visit!

F OGS &

Thank you to FOGS for holding a fantastic Pumpkin Party this Monday, the children had a fabulous time! Congratulations to the winners of the Autumn/Halloween decorated Paper Plate competition: Olive Tattersall, Hannah Jackson, Clarice Porter, Ally Holmes and Holly Falshaw. Well done to all who entered!

Date for you diary….Bags 2 School are collecting again on Friday, 4th December. FOGS will also be holding a Christmas Fair in the school hall between 3:00pm & 4:00pm on this day.

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If you are shopping on line for this Christmas……. please remember; FOGS have joined ‘TheGivingMachine’, a not for profit online fundraising website that will enable you to give cash donations to FOGS, for free, when you shop on line through it. ( e.g. Amazon, Tesco, ToysRus, Argos, John Lewis, B & Q, Apple, Asda, ebay, play.com, Staples, PC World, ELC, Halfords, Next, Dell, Disneyland, Currys, Wallis & Vodaphone) You will buy the same products, at the same prices on the same shopping websites as if you went direct but the difference is; by shopping via TheGivingMachine you generate free cash donations at no extra cost to you personally. Please use the link above to access the website. Thank you for your support.

Gisburn Gorillas Before & After School Club 7:45am – 8:45am

3:30pm - 5:20pm/5:45pm Daily/Term Time

As always, this half term has been lots of fun! Children attending the after school club have been very busy; making pizzas, baking, art & crafts, developing ICT skills and taking part in Dance with Katie Alcott’.

Children attending on Tuesday, 3rd November will be making a ‘Guy’ for the bonfire at Ribblesdale Park, which is being held on 5th November. If you are able to donate any old clothes, straw etc for this, we would be very grateful. Many thanks.

Sessions run from 3:30pm to 5:20pm/5:45pm, 5 days a week at a cost of £6.00/£7.00 per pupil (including snack). Any regular or adhoc bookings are to be made via the school. Payments to be made upon receipt of invoice at the end of the month. Also, a reminder that: Breakfast Club is available from 7:45am, daily at a cost of £4.00 per pupil per session, including a wholesome meal.

HALF TERM

School will re-open on Monday, 2nd November.

Thank you for all your support. ENJOY THE HALF TERM BREAK!

Catherine Grimshaw (Mrs.)

Headteacher