10 February 2023

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been a busy week as ever and the children have all been working hard and focused on all their activities.

We were delighted yesterday morning to be entertained by Year 5 with a 'taster' of songs for Monday's Emmaus Mac Pyramid Concert. They were fabulous and the staff are all looking forward to enjoying watching the children perform at Symphony Hall on Monday. If you are a parent or carer accompanying the children then you will have received a letter with final details. I must stress sending the children with plenty of drinks, still not fizzy, is so important.  We cannot wait Year 5, good luck from everyone!

 

Although we will be on half term break on Pancake day we know how much the children love this day. Our Community of St Wulstan's will be selling pancakes with a choice of toppings at breaktime on Friday 17 February at a cost of £1 per child. If you would like your child to have a pancake next Friday please send them with a £1. They can choose their topping on the day. Thank you to our mums who are organizing this event for the children.

Spring Parents Evening will be held on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March. On Tuesday 28 February, there will be face to face meetings in school between 4:00 and 7:00pm. On Wednesday 1 March there will be face to face meetings in school from 4:30-5:30pm followed by virtual meetings from 6:00-7:00pm. From parent feedback continuing this hybrid system should address everyone's choices . For this to run smoothly and equitably it is essential that all parents adhere to the 10 minute allocated time slot. The signing up system is now live and an instruction guide on how to access it and book your appointments can be found below. SchoolCloud - St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School

A reminder that next year's term dates are now published on the school website as we are aware families will be booking holidays. Please also note that after Easter we will be entering the period of Statutory Assessment when all children sitting these tests must be in school. The Department of Education set these dates and cannot be altered by schools.

Year 6 KS2 SATs will take place week commencing 8 May. Monday is a Bank Holiday so tests are on Tuesday , Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of that week.

Year 1 Phonics Screening will take place week commencing 12 June 2023

Year 4 Multiplication Tests will take place week commencing 5 June and week commencing 16 June

Year 2 will also undertake teacher led assessments during May and June 2023

It is crucial that all children in Year 1, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 are in school for these dates.

We have been contacted by a casting researcher and asked to highlight the following:

My name is Hannah and I’m a Casting Researcher at Love Productions; the company behind The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throw Down. We are delighted to say, that we have recently opened applications for the 9th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain. With this in mind, we are contacting schools in the hope that you can help us spread the word regarding this exciting opportunity. We are looking for young budding bakers between 9-12 years old. Filming would take place from July 2023, but our applications close on Sunday 12th March 2023.Interested bakers can apply online atwww.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk

Reception and Year 1 have been working hard this half term on their gymnastics skills. We have been practicing patch and point balances as well as looking at how we transition and move between balances. The children were very excited to get to balance on different equipment and could demonstrate how to use the equipment safely. The children were brilliant at trialling and coming up with new balances. Lots of our sporting values were present as children persevered and helped each other, well done children!

Every day the children in Reception Class look forward to ‘Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle’. This fun activity uses neurological and physiological movements to create marks. The children perform a variety of movements to music and then they re-create these movements using pen and paper. Next half term this programme will be developed further with ‘Squiggle Me into a Writer’ which will help to further develop letter formation. This is such a highlight of the day in Reception Class!

Year 2 have had a wonderful trip to the Commandery  today. The children have learnt all about life in the Stuart times and have explored the Great Hall.

This week Year 3 have enjoyed using a Newton meter in their science lesson to measure how much force was used to pull a weight across different surfaces. They thought about what was necessary to make it a fair test and then tested five different surfaces in their group. During IT, the children have continued working on coding, and this week they have begun to use a timer command to run a block of commands after a timed delay. They particularly enjoyed using the magician program, where they could make the rabbit disappear and reappear again. Well done Year 3!

Year 4 completed their final lesson on 'Electricity' this afternoon. The children explored different types of electrical switches and were amazed that there are at least eight different types. They really enjoyed making some of their own switches from some simple materials and investigated if they worked in a simple electrical circuit. 

This week, we celebrated Safer Internet Week, an annual  campaign to raise awareness of the importance of staying safe online. The children had the opportunity to celebrate all the great things that come with being part of our technological age but they also learnt about how to stay safe whilst using the Internet.
 

It has been a week of preparation for Year 5 as we get ever closer to our pyramid concert performance! We are more than ready and very excited for our Symphony Hall visit next week. As well as preparing for our concert, we have also been further developing our superhero dance. This week we polished and refined our opening and unison section, and began to work on our own motifs. Within our individual motif, we had to create three moments of stillness that represented our 3 chosen superpowers. We then performed these to a partner and had to guess what superpowers we had chosen. Our partners then helped us uplevel our movements and we added this new section to our dance! We are hoping to eventually perform our dance for our Year 2 Faith Friends.

Year 6 have been analysing artwork by the Victorian artist William Morris. He was a textile designer, poet, socialist and writer who is particularly remembered for his wallpaper and textile designs. Morris was the founder of a new movement of art called the Arts and Crafts movement. The children had a go at designing their own wallpaper, inspired by William Morris. Have a look at some of their beautiful designs.

Can I again remind parents and carers to either phone or email the school office by 9.00am if your child is absent.  Mrs Brown spends a large part of the morning phoning parents of absent children. This again is part of our statutory safeguarding procedure in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. Thank you for your support in keeping your children safe.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding your child’s academic, social or emotional needs please do not hesitate to contact me or their class teacher. Many thanks for your continued support and enjoy a lovely weekend with your families.

KE Savage

Principal

Emmaus CMAC
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