Newsletter 28 - New Horizons Children's Academy · 2019-04-26 · Newsletter Children First –...
Transcript of Newsletter 28 - New Horizons Children's Academy · 2019-04-26 · Newsletter Children First –...
Children First – Aspire – Challenge – Achieve
Newsletter 28
26th April 2019
IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS • Our uniform suppliers Simmonds have a fantastic offer on the New Horizons’ school coats by
over 50%. The coats are now down to £9.95 while stocks last. These are available online and
delivery is free at www.simmonds-ltd.com • A reminder that every Tuesday morning ‘Book Club’ is held for Years 1 – 6. Don’t forget to send
your child’s money into school in a clearly named envelope.
• Please ensure you have paid for your child’s club via ParentPay.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Well, what an action packed first week back we’ve had! It was wonderful to see the
children so enthusiastic on their first day back. We have spent a week looking at
the cultures represented within our school, starting on St George’s Day. Children
have had drumming workshops, cooking, art and craft activities. Yesterday we were
very lucky to have a performance of The Railway Children, an English classic which
was first published in 1905. The children thoroughly enjoyed it and their behaviour
was exemplary! We have been enjoying the sunnier weather and look forward to the
warmer days. Please make sure your child has full P.E kit with them in school,
including trainers. These are essential for P.E but should not be worn at any other
times of the day.
We are looking forward to another action packed week next week – have a restful
and enjoyable weekend.
Mrs J Murphy
Executive Headteacher
As we start getting into the warmer months please ensure that your child is wearing the correct
summer uniform in the correct colours. School uniform provides a sense of community and minimises
competition to be dressed in the latest fashion. We are very proud of our school uniform and there is
an expectation that all children wear it.
White blouse or shirt with tie
Grey Pinafore/skirt
White, black or grey socks
Grey tailored shorts (plain – no logos)
Navy blue check Summer dress
Proper school shoes, Black, flat and hardwearing
Nursery In Nursery this week we have had the
opportunity to create our own ‘Samba’
Music and watched a performance of
both Junk Percussion and African
Drumming. We learnt about St George’s
Day and why this is celebrated in
England. When learning about Italy we created our own flags and even made our own individual pizzas.
Reception We have had a busy week celebrating
Multicultural week! We participated in
Junk Percussion and were given the
opportunity to play ‘Samba’ music using
household objects. We have learnt
about St George’s Day and England, finding out about different traditions we have. We also looked at
the country Italy and created our own Leaning Tower of Pisa and even cooked our own pizzas! We
used a double bubble map to look at similarities and differences between the
two countries.
Year 1
Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed Multicultural
week this week and have been learning all about
India. They have watched and taken part in a
performance involving Indian dancing, learnt
about Indian cultures and even sampled some
delicious Indian food. They have created their own Mehndi designs and worked
together to make Rangoli patterns using coloured sand and rice whilst using mathematical language
when describing the symmetrical designs. This topic we will be learning all about London and have
enjoyed the role play areas set up in our classrooms.
Year 2 This week Year 2 have been exploring Kenya.
We've looked at the incredible wildlife, focusing
on lions, and wrote some fact files on this
amazing animal. In English we've been reading
Little Red and The Very Hungry Lion and
comparing it to Little Red Riding Hood using a double bubble map. In Art we
used our green hats to explore the patterns of African fabrics and their meanings. Then we made our
own patterns using what we had seen as inspiration. In PSHE we compared our own lives to the lives
of rural Kenyan school children. We discovered that they live very differently to us, but we still have
a lot in common! Year 2 also enjoyed an African drumming session on Tuesday in which the children
experimented with different drums, rhythms and traditional songs from all over the African
continent. We were also lucky enough to see a spectacular performance of The Railway Children on
Thursday, which was a great experience for everyone.
Year 3 This week, Year 3 have been looking at
African culture beginning with a dance
workshop at the start of the week.
Since then, we have thought about
what it means to have a culture and
debated issues surrounding this. In
Art, we have used silhouette to recreate an African sunset scene and
we used paints to replicate African tapestries.
Year 4 Year 4 have had a very enjoyable first week back. On Tuesday we
celebrated different cultures and focused closely on the cultures of
those from Africa. We particularly enjoyed a dance lesson teaching us
the journey of Africans through the ages. We have been able to taste
new foods with an African heritage as well as researching African artists and styles. We also had an
action packed English lesson as we are planning and writing diary entries about our exciting Easter
break. In Maths we are looking at feedback from our last assessments and this week have recapped
the four operations ready to tackle statistics and fractions in the weeks to come. We hope you have
a restful week ready for our adventures to Kingswood or Grange Farm next week!
Year 5
What an exciting week we have had in Year 5 as we
jumped into the world of Brazil. We have learnt some
great facts about this colourful country: geographical,
social and much, much, more. Do you know which
language they speak in Brazil? In English we have
begun writing a newspaper report about The Last Game – a hypothetical football
match where Originals play against Clones – I wonder who won? Brazil has enabled
us to get really involved in the incredible colours of their country – through the
creation of parrots, our own Christ the Redeemer statue (with a slight variation)
and carnival masks – both big and small. We have had a great time immersed in the music and joy of
this country whilst still working hard on our maths (especially during Samba time).
Year 6
Patrick and Summer here! This week we have been
learning about Peru for multicultural week. In year 6
we have created information posters . In art we will
be creating and designing our own masks inspired by
traditional Peruvian masks. Also, we learnt a dance
from Peru. In Miss Morgan’s group we have been
writing and planning our own ghost stories, we have
also been doing some reading so we can practise how
to answer 3 mark questions. In Miss Slattery’s
group, we had to write and plan an autobiography. We
have also been revising our maths ready for our SATs. In Miss Martin’s class we have been publishing
our story ending. This week and next week we will have extra SATs lessons before and after school
to make sure we are ready. These will be running Monday to Wednesday. The morning session will be
starting at 8am and the afternoon session will be from 3.15-4.15.
Well done to the following top 3 classes who gained the most units on Lexia last week:
Birch, Elder and Juniper
Next week’s Thunk is… Is it better to play well and lose or play bad and
win?
Buster’s Book Club The winner of the Buster Book Club trophy this week is Damson. They had the most
number of children reading at home on Wednesday and having their book mark signed.
A huge well done to Damson who were our clear winners! Also well done to Birch who
read for the most minutes!
Happy Reading!
Well done to everybody who read on Wednesday.
Thinking task of the week – Thinking task of the week- Each week we will focus on a different
key. This week is the Variations key.
How many different ways can you get to school? Which way is good for the environment?
We were very fortunate to have M and M Productions
visit again today. The children really enjoyed watching
their performance of The Railway Children - they even
had a moving steam train on stage! Thank you to those
parents who have already made the donation of £1.50 to
cover the cost of this. If you haven't done this yet,
there is still time to do so. It is an amazing experience
for the children to watch a live theatre performance and
we will be unable to book again for next year if we cannot
cover the costs for this year.
Dates for your Diary – Term 5
Wednesday 1st May – Friday 3rd May – Year 4 Residential Trip
Thursday 2nd May – Year 4 trip to Lower Grange Farm
Monday 6th May – Bank Holiday – School closed Friday 17th May – Year R – Kent Life Trip
Tuesday 21st May – Year 2 – Spruce class – Dockyard Trip
Wednesday 22nd May – Year 2 - Birch Class – Dockyard Trip
Friday 24th May – Year 2 – Pine Class - Dockyard Trip
Please see below a message we have received of notification of major gas works on and around the
Gerrard Avenue area of Rochester.
We are writing to make you aware of the upgrade to our gas network in the Gerrard Avenue area of
Rochester. Our project involves the essential replacement of old metal gas mains with new plastic pipe to
ensure we continue to provide a safe and reliable gas supply to the local area. Our contractor WCB
Utilities are undertaking this work on our behalf. In consultation with Kent County Council, we started
work to upgrade our network in January 2019. We have competed our network upgrades in Jackson
Avenue and Grafton Avenue. Over the coming three months our engineers will progress through the
following roads:
Argyle Close – started 17 January and lasting approximately seventeen weeks
Gerrard Avenue– started 03 April and lasting approximately six weeks
Wallace Road – starting 29 April for approximately five weeks
Haig Avenue – starting 13 May for approximately four weeks
Duval Drive – starting 20 May for approximately four weeks
Maidstone Road – starting 27 May for approximately one week
Wilson Avenue – starting 10 June for approximately seven weeks
Whilst working in Wallace Road and Duval Drive we will need to close the road around our work area, for
everyone’s safety. We will also need to close Wilson Avenue at its junction with Beatty Road. Signed
diversions will be in place for motorist. We will need to install temporary traffic lights around our work
area when we are working in Maidstone Road for everyone’s safety.