23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
Safeguarding Children As part of their curriculum, the children learn how to keep themselves safe. The following website has been set up by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to offer parents and schools advice on how to raise safeguarding awareness with children. There is a notable section called ‘The Underwear Rule’ which is of particular support and guidance to parents. The website also offers advice regarding ‘online safety’ and how to obtain support or advice regarding the safeguarding of children. www.nspcc.org.uk
Uniform Information & School Uniform Purchases The Primary uniform can be purchased through the Khalsa Schoolwear website or can be bought at Khalsa Schoolwear shop in Bethnal Green. To save on the cost of delivery charges, Khalsa Schoolwear does a school delivery once every month. You can find further details of the delivery dates on their website or you can ask the reception office staff. • • • • • • • • •
We expect every child to be in full uniform every day with their top button done up All coats must be plain black Shoes must be plain black – no trainers! If you are not sure about the types of shoes that are part of our uniform policy, please ask. Please label every item of clothing One pair of plain stud earrings can be worn Nail polish is not allowed Jewellery is not permitted Long hair for both boys and girls must be tied back. Hair decorations must be small and plain Please provide your child with a water bottle every day and make sure it is labelled with their name (water only, no fruit juice).
Important reminders •
School starts at 8.45am (8.35am for Year 3). It is important that your child arrives on time every day so that the teachers can start the lesson promptly. The school gate will be open from 8.25am and will close at 8.45am.
•
School finishes at 3.45pm (3.35pm for Year 3) every day other than Tuesday when we finish at 3.00pm (2.50pm for Year 3).
•
If any of your details have changed e.g. your address or phone number – please ensure you contact the office to inform us, so that we can update our records and contact you in case of an emergency.
•
Please ensure your child attends school every day and on time. If your child is sick then you must call the office to let us know by 8.15am. If your child has a medical appointment you must let us know in advance.
2 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
From Tam Broadway – Primary Headteacher It has been a busy week as you will see from the fantastic learning going on! Please make sure you check the key dates for upcoming events over the next week. A gentle reminder that the deadline for completing the parent questionnaire is Monday 26th March. Hopefully the online process has been easy to access and it should only take 5 minutes to complete. If you have had any problems accessing the questionnaire, or require a printed version, please contact the office staff or email surveys@isaacnewtonacademy.org and we will be happy to help. Thank you to those of you who were able to attend the Parent Coffee Evening, items discussed were the questionnaire, key events for the rest of the term and academic year and how you can get involved. Minutes of the discussion will be shared with all parents next week.
A Message from the Reception Team As part of your child’s learning and demonstrating a ‘good level of development’ for their age, they must be able to dress and undress themselves. This will also help them as they move up to Year 1 in September. Next term, on Fridays, the children are expected to come to school in their normal school uniform and will need to bring their PE kit with them to change in to for their afternoon lesson. They will remain in their PE kit for the rest of the day, bringing their school uniform home in their bag. Can you please ensure that every item of clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name. There is a lost property box in the main reception area for any items found around the school, or for you to drop off any items that your child may have taken home by mistake. In preparation for this transition we suggest that you start getting your child to practise getting dressed and undressed more independently, giving lots of practice to undoing buttons etc. If you have any big cardboard boxes, old wellies, pyjamas or dressing gowns please drop them into the Reception classes who will need them for their learning from the week after the break. Many thanks in advance!
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
3
A Message from Ms Chaggar Please let the school know in good time if you are sending someone else to collect your child from school. The staff will not send a child home with an adult who has not been authorised by the parents/carers. This is in the interests of safeguarding your children. Thank you for your cooperation.
Over the Easter break we are going to be working hard on developing a new garden area at INA. To do this we need a group of enthusiastic supporters to help set up some garden furniture. This will take place on Tuesday 10th April, 10:00am-3:00pm and Wednesday 11th April, same time. If you are interested in joining the team, please choose a day that you can help and sign up on one of the sign-up sheets either outside Fitzgerald Class or in the reception office. We will allocate places on a first come, first-served basis and be in touch to confirm arrangements by the 28th March. With many thanks for any help you can give and warm well wishes. Ms Willcox
4 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Easter Egg Hunt & Easter Bonnet Parade The Easter Egg Hunts will take place during the last week of the term during learning time. Every child will make a small basket and will receive some mini eggs to take home with them. The Easter Bonnet Parade will take place straight after school in the dining hall at 4.00pm on Wednesday 28th March. Every child is invited to make an Easter Bonnet to enter into the competition. The children will need to be able to wear their bonnet for a short time to show off to our panel of judges. 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes will be given for the most inventive and creative bonnets from each year group. If you are struggling with ideas, there are plenty of inspirational designs on google images. You are welcome to bring and leave your child’s bonnet in a safe place at school for the day and to collect at 4pm. If you are leaving it, please make sure it is labelled. Alternatively you may want to bring it into school at 4pm. If you would like your child to enter, we ask for a £3 contribution. The money raised will help to buy the mini eggs for the Easter Egg Hunts. You will need to sign up to say that your child will be entering on one of the sheets in the playground or front reception office by Friday 23rd March. We will then issue you with spectator tickets on Monday 26th March; we will be able to allocate either one or two tickets for your child, depending on the number of entrants we receive. So it is really important that you sign up on time so that we can work out the number of spectators and ensure we have the correct capacity.
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
5
Celebration and Awards Assemblies
At the end of every term the children enjoy the opportunity to share and celebrate some of their learning and achievements with you. Each teacher chooses two children from their class to receive a certificate in the Celebration and Awards Assembly, one in recognition of a child who has demonstrated the habits of all the seven BRIDGES throughout the term, and the other in recognition of a pupil’s outstanding academic effort and achievement. The assemblies start at the following times and dates in the Primary dining hall:
Monday 26th March • 9.15-9.45am – Year 2 (All Year 2 parents are invited to attend)
Thursday 29th March • 8.45-9.15am – Year 3 (All Year 3 parents are invited to attend) • 9.30-10.00am – Reception (All Reception parents are invited to attend) • 10.15-10.45am – Year 1 (All Year 1 parents are invited to attend) The spring term Pupil Progress Reports and Parent Progress Meetings will take place after the Easter break. The Pupil Progress Reports will be sent out to you on Friday 20th April and the Parent Progress Meetings will take place on Tuesday 24th April; school will finish at 12.15pm on this day.
6 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Spring Celebration next week! The Spring Celebration will take place on Wednesday 28th March at 6:30pm. It promises to be a fantastic festival of music making, with over 300 students from Year 1 up to Year 12 performing pieces they have been rehearsing this term. The students have worked incredibly hard and the standard promises to be higher than ever! There will be music from all over the world, sung and played on different instruments. We also have an exciting cameo in store for you.
Tickets for the event will be £1 for adults and 50p for children under 18.
Spring
Tickets will be available at Secondary KS3 Reception and at Primary Reception. Performers will have first priority and tickets will go on sale for the whole school community from Monday 26th March. Please contact the school with any queries around costs of tickets and potential group discounts at info@isaacnewtonacademy.org.
BACKGROUND
The performance will run until approximately 8:30pm, although owing to the unpredictable nature of a large-scale event like this I’m sure you will understand that this time is only an estimation! If your child is performing, they should wear all black with a splash of red. We really hope you are looking forward to this event and can make the time to come and support our students.
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
7
Spring Spectacular The primary pupils did a fantastic job this week at displaying both their dance and gymnastics skills during the Spring Spectacular. Pupils from Reception to Year 3 showed off their learning after weeks of practice. Well done all the pupils and a huge thank you to the PE department and Secondary Student Leaders for their support and time in helping the pupils to prepare their routines.
8 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
9
Exciting Learning In mathematics this week the children have been learning about length. On Tuesday they learned about non-standards unit of measure and enjoyed using their hands and feet to measure the playground and its features!
This week the children have been working hard on designing and making their 3D wheeled vehicle project during DT lessons. The children enjoyed building their vehicles using boxes and covering them with papier mache.
10 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
The Reception children have been enjoying watching their hungry caterpillars grow larger by the day. Hopefully they will see them transition into butterflies before the break next week.
Ms Willcox has been using her ‘green fingers’ this week to help the Reception children plant some seeds.
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
11
Praise and Recognition Every week each teacher chooses two children from their class to receive a certificate in assembly; one is in recognition of a child demonstrating our BRIDGES habit of the week, and the other in recognition of a pupil’s academic effort throughout the week. Well done to the following children, who have been recognised this week:
Curie Class:
• Annika Taheem – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for being independent in doing the right thing even when no one is looking and checking). • Adrian Kvaraciejus – Scholar of the Week (for being a fantastic partner when reading in phonics).
Maxwell Class:
• Jaskaran Dhiman – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for always being kind to his peers and teachers). • Hamza Dakri – Scholar of the Week (for doubling a number within 10).
Newton Class:
• Aisha Ali – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for using her integrity by sharing resources fairly). • Szymon Plaskiewicz –Scholar of the Week (for trying to write a sentence about Jack and the Beanstalk).
Britten Class: • Alisha Ali – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for being fair by always taking turns during partner learning). • Holly Carless – Scholar of the Week (for using papier mache really well to create a wheeled vehicle during the Design & Technology lesson).
Fitzgerald Class:
• Eric Vasile – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for always doing his best to see that things are fair both in class and at playtimes). • Keyaan Alam – Scholar of the Week (for a very thoughtful, well considered plan of his wheeled vehicle during the Design & Technology lesson).
12 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Glennie Class:
• Anna Kiseleva – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for always being a kind and fair friend). • Jashandeep Singh Mehmi – Scholar of the Week (for improved focus and attention).
Al-Kashi Class:
• Miriam Mirza – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for consistently telling the truth and always trying to treat others fairly). • Rohan Sharma – Scholar of the Week (for consistently trying his best).
Fibonacci Class:
• Maya Kimborowicz – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for being humble regarding her swimming achievements). • Kamiah Reid – Scholar of the Week (for an excellent recount of the museum trip).
Pythagoras Class:
• Hanad Ali – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for always making good choices and showing role model behaviour even when no one is looking. Also for always being honest and fair to others). • Ekam Bains – Scholar of the Week (for demonstrating good progress in reading and reading with expression and intonation this week).
Ellington Class:
• Fahmid Ahmedabadi – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for showing integrity and fairness towards his peers). • Kaysha Reid – Scholar of the Week (for continuing to improve her attitude towards her learning).
Nicks Class:
• Mariam Chowdury – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for promoting fairness and encouraging her peers in class). • Zairah Ali – Scholar of the Week (for writing a wonderful letter to Laszlo to persuade him not to be afraid of the dark). Shankar Class: • Kuljit Aytan – Headteacher’s Habits Award (for demonstrating an excellent understanding of what integrity is – particularly fairness when in lessons). • Ava-Lily Pemberton-Mardenborough – Scholar of the Week (for creating a wonderful persuasive writing piece during her English lesson). 23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
13
Breakfast & After School Club Every parent has Wisepay details and a password, which will enable you to book a place for ‘Breakfast Club’ or ‘After School Club’. Payments must be made in advance. If you experience any problems, please contact Ms Chaggar who will be happy to help. Breakfast is available each day from 7.45am and costs just £2.50 per day. The children enjoy a range of cereals, toast and different topping, juice or milk and fruit. Any child attending must be brought to the main reception area by 8.20am at the latest. After School Club runs from 3.45pm – 6.00pm (3.00pm – 6.00pm on Tuesdays) and costs just £5.50 per hour. The children enjoy a range of snacks each evening and a variety of games and activities
14 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Merits The following pupils have received 50 merits since September for making good choices and moving up to gold on the class ‘good choice chart’ – this is fantastic achievement. A special ‘silver’ certificate will be presented during the Celebration and Awards Assembly. Anna Kiseleva Charan Chaggar Raisha Islam Alisha Ali The following pupils have received 25 merits since September for making good choices and moving up to gold on the class ‘good choice chart’ – this is fantastic achievement. A special ‘bronze’ certificate will be presented during the Celebration and Awards Assembly. Nobin Chowdhury Yanis Benjamin Rohan Taheem Adrian Kvaraciejus
Anya Mirza Ishaq Rahman Jiya Gill Elis Richardson
Amrit Kaur Saad Bhutawala Imaan Javed Aamina Akram
Headteacher’s Lunch Well done to the following pupils who have been nominated for the Headteacher’s Lunch on Friday 20th April the week after the Easter break. An invitation will be given to the children during our Celebration and Awards Assembly:
Annika Taheem - Curie Hong Yip - Curie Anya Mirza - Maxwell Bilal Hussain - Newton Rajan Mann - Britten Saara Anna Jilani - Fitzgerald Rida Alam - Glennie
23 March 2018
Kallum Bihal - Al-Kashi Ryan ABraham - Al-Kashi Marwa Benaziza - Fibonacci Gulle Jannat Zahir - Pythagoras Tay'Shawn Holland - Ellington Arsal Anjum - Nicks Ronak Chatha - Shankar
Primary Newsletter
15
BRIDGES in the Primary Phase “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.� Isaac Newton BRIDGES are habits of mind or learning characteristics that develop a pupil's character and learning power and enable him/her to grow into a well-rounded individual and resilient learner. There are seven BRIDGES habits that we will be working on, which will rotate on a weekly cycle throughout the year. The BRIDGES habit of the week will always be introduced at the beginning of the week during the Monday assembly and reinforced throughout the week across the curriculum. Each class teacher will award a certificate to a pupil that they feel has demonstrated the BRIDGES focus for the week. Each week we will update you on the BRIDGES habit that will be introduced in the coming week and offer some top tips on how to reinforce the habit at home too. Please also refer to the Primary BRIDGES wheel below.
16 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Week commencing 26th March 2018
Discovery Discovery comprises seven dispositions: Energy Enthusiasm
Noticing Open-Mindedness Curiosity
Imagining Creativity
At School • •
•
•
We make our lessons fun and interactive every day so that every child loves learning and has a sense of enthusiasm with everything they do. Our lessons are very hands on and we ask the children to share their learning with the ‘talk partners’. We talk to the children about looking out for the details on things around them, to look closely at the bugs and the leaves in the playground and what happens to everything as the seasons change. We encourage the children to check their work and try to spot any errors they may have made. Through our topic approach we engender a sense of curiosity and wonder in the children where they are keen to go home and find out more. We talk about human characteristics and traits and what makes us all the same but equally what makes us different. We stress that it is good to have differences and to appreciate them with an open mind. Every area of the curriculum helps the children to become more creative –either through role-play, stories, music and PE – helping the children to use their imaginations.
At Home
Encourage your child to use their imagination by making up stories together, or suggesting ways in which they could change parts of a story they know well e.g. by change of the gender of the characters or having them go on a different adventure. Pupils love to role play different characters and it is often even more fun when the adults join in too. Play along and have fun! Play games with your child like ‘I spy’ where you can see how many things they can notice beginning with a certain sound or letter they may already know or ask your child to think about an object and describe it using powerful adjectives. Ask questions like ‘I wonder what would happen if…?’ or ‘What do you think might happen if?’ or ‘Why do you think…? These types of deeper questions will encourage the children to use their creativity and imagination more fully. Either independently or with help, encourage your child to read or research more information around the topics they have been studying in class. The children could also spend time researching our current composer.
23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
17
Composer of the Fortnight Anne Dudley
For the next fortnight we will be listening to and learning about Anne Dudley as our Composer of the Fortnight. As a suggested activity to support at home, you could gather some facts about Dudley in preparation for the coming weeks. You can find out some facts and hear some of her music on the following links. http://www.annedudley.co.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Dudley
18 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018
Attendance Regular attendance is a crucial factor in students’ educational development and ability to achieve their full potential. At Isaac Newton Academy every student is set the target of 100% attendance. The class with the highest attendance at the end of every week is awarded the attendance trophy during Friday’s Award & Recognition assembly.
Lower School Curie
94.2%
Britten
96%
Maxwell
94.6%
Fitzgerald
98.3%
Newton
84.1%
Glennie
98.7%
Well done and congratulations to Glennie class who are the winners this week with 98.7%.
Upper School Al-Kashi
98.3%
Ellington
95.8%
Fibonacci
96.7%
Nicks
94.2%
Pythagoras
91.7%
Shankar
100%
Well done and congratulations to Shankar who are the winners this week with 100%!
Overall Attendance: 95.2% The attendance figures across the school are still disappointingly low this half term. Please be reminded that requests for absence will not be authorised in school term time and may result in a penalty notice or losing your child’s school place. National average attendance for primary schools is 97.1%. It is important that the children attend school every day and do not miss any learning. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child is at school every day. We always strive for 100%. 23 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
19
Key Dates Spring Term Dates: 5th January 2018 - 29th March 2018 Wednesday 28th March
Music Spring Concert
Wednesday 28th March
Easter Bonnet Parade
Thursday 29th March
End of Term Awards Assemblies – pupils finish at 12.15pm
Summer Term Dates: 16th April 2018 - 20th July 2018 Monday 16th April
Pupils return to school
Friday 20th April
Pupil Progress Reports Sent Home
Tuesday 24th April
Parent Progress Meeting – School Finishes at 12.15pm
Monday 30th April
Wonderful Handwriting Week
Friday 4th May
Year 1 Visit to Colchester Zoo
Monday 7th May
Bank Holiday – No School
Thursday 10th May
Coffee Morning 9am
Monday 14th May
Home and Family Week (No enrichment clubs)
Friday 19th May
Fibonacci Class Assembly – Year 2 - 9.00 – 9.20am
Friday 19th May
Maxwell Class Assembly – Year R – 10.25 – 10.45am
Thursday 24th May
Movie Evening – 4.00-5.30pm (Further Information to follow)
Friday 25th May
Half Term Monday 28th – Friday 1st June
HALF TERM
Monday 4th June
Pupils return to school
Thursday 21st June
Year 2 visit to Southend
Friday 22nd June
Staff Inset Day – no school for students
Wednesday 27th June
Reception Visit to Barleylands
Friday 29th June
Pythagoras Class Assembly – Year 2 - 9.00 – 9.20am
Friday 29th June
Curie Class Assembly – Year R – 10.25 – 10.45am
Monday 2nd July
Wonderful Handwriting Week
Tuesday 3rd July
Coffee Morning 9.00am
Tuesday 3rd & Thursday 9th July
Year 1 visit to the Ragged School Museum
Thursday 5th July
Primary Sports Day
Friday 6th July
Staff Inset Day - no school for students
Friday 13th July
Pupil Progress Reports Sent Home
Tuesday 17th July
Parent Progress Meetings – School Finishes at 12.15pm
Wednesday 18th July
Summer Fayre 4.00pm
Friday 20th July
End of Term Awards Assemblies - Term Ends at 12.15pm
Tuesday 24th July
Primary Uniform Sales
20 Primary Newsletter
23 March 2018