Year 2 Meet The Wizard Lizard
Year 2 had a special Google Meet with the villainous "Wizard Lizard" from the story we are reading and learning from this term, ‘Superworm’. The children had some carefully thought out questions for him, such as, why he captured Superworm, what made him so bad and how did he get to know his sidekick the servant crow. We think that maybe the Wizard Lizard was a bit of a misunderstood character who needs to have friends to help him become a better person. Maybe Superworm could help him.
Mrs Meg (Y2 Leader)
Foundation Stage 1 and 2 Enjoy Their House Physical Fun Day
Foundation Stage 1 and 2 students had a fantastic time at their House Physical Fun Day on Friday. The day was started by doing some animal yoga led by Miss Donna, which helped the children and their parents stretch and prepare their bodies for the activities ahead. Ms Anna then led them through four different fun stations where they climbed through tunnels carried water and kicked footballs. After all this they had a Zumba session led by Miss Kim and Miss Desi. Thank you to all the parents for your support and also to the teachers that organised the event and helped the students during the activities.
STA Celebrates The Lunar New Year
Also on Friday the school enjoyed the Lunar New Year celebrations by inviting a troupe of traditional lion dancers into school to entertain the students at break time. They did two, very noisy, entertaining dances to the KS1 and KS2 students and then went over to the Foundation Stage to show off their wonderful costumes. All the students wore red on Friday also to help celebrate this fun occasion.
STA Harvests Their Own Rice
Over the last few months Miss Kyomi and some of her students have been planting and harvesting rice to support our Green Flag award. A project that the school is currently working toward achieving through its sustainable practices. This project started in February 2022 when the rice was planted and then it was harvested later in the year in November.
The children became aware of the importance of soil conservation through this project as they understood the important nutrients the rice needs from the soil. This also tied in with the celebration of ‘World Soil Day’ in December. Supported and run by ‘The United Nations’, it is a campaign to teach about Soils: Where food begins. It “aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.”
The students have now planted and repotted some more rice for the growing cycle to happen again. Thank you to Miss Kiyomi and our gardening staff for working hard on this project over the past year.
Gardening Club put up Bird Boxes
Last week Mr Ewen’s break time gardening club helped Khun Lem, the carpenter, put up some bird boxes in the secret garden. They chose a place for the boxes to be put to hopefully attract birds to nest in them. If you look around the two gardens you will see certain places in the trees where these boxes have been put. There is hope that some of the boxes will also attract bats that will help the school with its delicate ecosystem.
EYFS and Primary MATHS DAY Is back!
Maths day will take place on Friday 3rd February 2023. An enjoyable day in which the children have lots of fun taking part in many Maths-related activities across EYFS and Primary.
The theme for this year’s Maths day is Maths Hats and linking with Primary STEAM. We would appreciate it if you would help your child or children create their Maths Hat at home, ready for the fun.
Come to school with your Maths hat on – ready to join in all the fun!
You could decorate an existing hat, or you could make your own.
Which Maths concepts will your hat show?
House points to everyone wearing a maths hat.
Certificates for class winners and prizes to be won.
*** Please make the hats sustainable ***
FOBISIA Short Story Writing Competition - the results are in for STA!
At the end of last term, KS2 students were sent information about this year's FOBISIA Short Story Writing Competition. The theme for Years 3 & 4 was 'Magic' and for Years 5 & 6, they were asked to write about 'Dreams.' Both categories had a limit of 800 words. Being asked to write a short story with a word limit is a very challenging task, so I was very impressed with the level of work handed in by the students who took part - they really worked hard to showcase their wonderful writing skills.
Everyone received house points for sending in entries, and the top three from each year received extra house points, as well as a certificate and badge. First place in each year also received a book voucher.
Only two entries from each category could be sent to be judged against other FOBISIA schools. This was a difficult decision, as all the writing was so good, but here are the names of the children whose writing was picked:
Years 3&4 category: Mishi S and Toh
Years 5&6 category: Emma L and Lily L
Well done to all students who took part in the competition - they should be very proud of their effort. Good luck to all the students whose writing was sent to the main FOBISIA competition.
Mrs Leanne English Coordinator
Book Week 2023
This year, the much-loved Book Week will take place during the week beginning Monday 27th February. This will coincide with World Book Day, which takes place on Thursday 2nd March. Book Week is a wonderful week in which the children have lots of fun taking part in an abundance of book-related activities. There will also be events and competitions that the children can join in with and earn themselves LOTS of house points!
Theme
The theme for this year’s Book Week is St Andrews Mr Men and Little Miss! The reason for this theme is we are wanting to celebrate just over 50 years of this wonderful series of books written by the late Roger Hargreaves. Throughout the week, the children will complete some activities relating to the books.
Book Character Parades
On the last day of Book Week, we have one of the highlights of the week - our Book Character Parades. Staff and children come to school dressed as chosen book characters. As our theme this year is St Andrews Mr Men and Little Miss, it would be fantastic if everyone came dressed as a Little Men or Little Miss character - this could be their favourite existing character, or the children could design a new character. The chosen character could be related to the child’s personality, e.g. if they love sport, they could be Little Miss Sporty or Mr Sporty. We would appreciate it if you would help your child or children to create their book character costume at home, ready for the fun on Friday 3rd March.
Visiting Poet
We will be welcoming a poet from the UK during Book Week this year. Simon Mole will be in school from Wednesday to Friday. He will host presentations for each year group, and he will run some writing workshops for some year groups - focusing on writing poems. Children will be able to buy a signed copy of the books Simon brings to school. More information about Simon can be found on his website.
Shuttle Bus Priority Pass
Some of our students and their parents have been issued with a Priority Pass for the Shuttle Bus service. Please be mindful, that if a student has a Priority Pass such as this, they are allowed to come to the front of the queue, and to get on the Shuttle Bus first. This is because some children with sensory disabilities such as Autism find busy crowds, noise, too much sudden movement, or waiting in line very difficult.
There are clearly marked spaces on the benches in the waiting and queuing area showing the Priority Pass symbol, and please remember, some disabilities are not obvious. If a parent is displaying this pass, please be kind, supportive, and model such behaviour for your children. Thank you for showing continued kindness and understanding.
If you would like to learn more about disabilities such as Autism or ADHD, please contact Ms Catherine, Whole School director for Learning Support, for more information.
Ms Catherine - Head of Whole School Learning Support
MAKATON SIGN of the WEEK
