News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 6th November
Welcome back everyone and we hope you all had a good half term.
HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) Camps at Kingsley School are now available for everyone, including fully funded spaces for eligible families and paid places for those who may also wish to attend. Families whose children are eligible for benefit-related free school meals, or who may be considered vulnerable, can access fully funded places. The camps provide a fun, engaging, and educational experience, along with a free hot meal each day. Activities include sports, arts, crafts, games, and much more. Please see here for paid places and here for fully funded places.
There is FREE after school board game fun on Wednesdays at Northam Library from 4pm to 5pm and all ages are welcome.
On Friday 13th of November children can wear home clothes for an optional donation to Children in Need – wear something spotty or stripy! Please note that due to banking restrictions we cannot accept coins under £1.
Dates for the diary:
- Friday 6th November 5-6pm Reception – Y2 Halloween Disco and 6.30-7.30pm Y3-6
- Individual school photos and photos with siblings at school will be on Friday the 20th of November. Siblings who are not at the school can come in from 8-9am.
- Friday 4th December School Christmas fair 3.30pm
- Friday 18th December Year 3-6 Christmas Celebration @2pm @ St Mary’s Church, Appledore
Wishing you all a good weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have been celebrating Firework Night. We found out who Guy Fawkes was and why he wanted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. We painted pictures of fireworks using a range of different medium. We made sparklers using breadsticks, chocolate and sprinkles. Today, we had some hot chocolate and watched fireworks on the whiteboard whilst waving sparklers that we made.
Sealions (year 1) have been very busy this week and have loved learning all about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. They have enjoyed getting creative by making their own posters and firework artwork throughout the week. The children have also been on the hunt for the cheeky Mr Tiddles, who has been leaving some very strange things around our school! They quickly got to work writing a recount to tell Mr Cooper all about what had happened, trying hard to remember to use the time connectives first, next and finally. In maths, we have been investigating the terms more, fewer and same. The children have really enjoyed exploring different numbers and comparing them.
Welcome back Year 2 after the half term break. They have started to read a new book in English called ‘Augustus and his smile’ which is all about a tiger who goes on an adventure. They thought about any questions they had about the book and then wrote some questions they could ask the main character. In Maths, they have been adding and subtracting using their number bonds to 10 to help them. They have started a new History topic about explorers and thought about what an explorer might wear and take with them on a journey.
Year 3 began a new unit on Hinduism in RE and to help them understand how Hindus believe in one god who has many different expressions, they listed all the different aspects of their identity be they pupil, son, footballer or artist. Year 4 looked at the properties of water in preparation for exploring Baptism. They were able to draw on their science knowledge as well as their religious understanding. Year 5 used their skills developed in literacy to finish their biographies of Gandhi. They saw how his religious beliefs ensured he used non violent methods to achieve his aims. Year 6 considered how they could express gratitude more frequently and how they could incorporate a period of reflection into their busy schedules as is done by Jewish families.
Year 3 has settled quickly back into routine after their week off. We have started several new texts in English. The writing sequence is based on the book, Escape from Pomepii and tells the story of how two young children survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. So far we have been writing sentences using noun phrases, prepositions and possessive apostrophes. Our shared reading book is ‘The magic and mystery of trees’ where we have been learning more about trees from around the world. We have completed the maths unit on addition and subtraction and moved onto multiplication and division. We have looked at equal and unequal groups and how arrays can help solve multiplication questions. The science topic this half term is based around rocks and soils and we’re excited to learn more about this over the next few weeks. We have started thinking about the Iron Age in history and written some amazing questions which we hope to find the answers to as we learn more.
What a lovely week back after half term we have had in Year 4 – packed with lots of learning. In English, we have started our new text called ‘A Walk in London’ and the class have explored the book and it’s features and enjoyed that, despite there being a storyline, there are lots of facts that they can learn from. In Maths, we have finished our work on the perimeter of shapes and will continue to practise adding up lots of numbers to help us with our arithmetic and fluency. In Science, we plotted and drew line graphs based on data that we collected around the rate of evaporation at different temperatures. In computing, we looked at what information is suitable to share and not share online. We looked at how AI is making this more challenging as what is posted online is starting to look more and more real. The main thing we took away was if we weren’t sure of something – always know to ask an adult. In History, we started our learning around the Roman Empire by thinking about ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘who’ as well as when the Roman Empire fits into the timeline around our previous learning. In Values, we started ‘friendship’ and considered what is a friend v an acquaintance and would we treat each of these differently. In PE, we started to learn about netball and how we land when we catch a ball.
It has been a busy week in Year 5 as the children have dived deep into their learning across all subjects. In English, the class has been busy writing detailed biographies, focusing heavily on using smooth linking paragraphs to connect their ideas together. I have really enjoyed reading their detailed biographies of Rosalind Franklin. In reading time, we have read a few more chapters of our class book, Holes, which is getting very exciting! Meanwhile, we kicked off a brand-new History unit on the Anglo-Saxons, and in Science, the children turned into young investigators to test whether they could successfully clean dirty water through sieving and filtering. In Mathematics, we have officially completed our addition and subtraction unit and are now ready to begin multiplication and division. Finally, we would like to congratulate the children on adapting so well to recent changes.
Year 6 have been busy writing a non-chronological report about the Atmosphere using their skills in Literacy. In maths we have looked at prime, squared and cubed numbers. In Science, they have been learning about the heart and circulatory system. In History, they have been finding out about events that lead to the start of the Second World War and locating countries involved on maps. They worked in tight team units in PE with benchball – great skills and passing from all teams. They have also enjoyed their art sessions this week – their creations will be seen shortly.
