29 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.
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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).
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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.
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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
29 March 2018
From Tam Broadway – Primary Headteacher As always, the children and staff have worked incredibly hard to make this term a wonderful one. On behalf of all the Primary staff we would like to thank you for your tremendous support this term and take this opportunity to wish you all a restful break and a Happy Easter. I am sure you will also want to join me in wishing Ms Macfarlane the very best of luck and success in her new role and hope to see her visit us all again very soon. The deadline for completing parent questionnaires has been extended to Monday 2nd April. Please email surveys@isaacnewtonacademy.org if you have any difficulties in completing the survey. The children return to school on Monday 16th April at the usual time. 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.
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!
29 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
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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
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29 March 2018
Dear Parents, As you know, this is my last week at INA and the final opportunity I shall have to send you a newsletter message. It was a very difficult decision to leave INA. However I have been a Headteacher for 16 years and it feels like the right time to move on to do something slightly different with my career. I am often telling the children to be brave, to step out of their comfort zone and to take risks and push themselves but I was not necessarily role modelling that myself! And also I know that I leave INA Primary in fantastic shape. My direct involvement in the leadership and management of the primary school has reduced each year as Ms Broadway and her senior team have taken on more and more responsibility and led the school with skill and vision. These days I take great pleasure in all the fantastic learning I see but I cannot take much credit for it! We all know from the amazing results and the ethos around the building how fantastically the pupils are progressing. This is thanks to the hard work and commitment of the entire primary team. I shall always feel a strong emotional attachment to INA, to its children and its parents. I shall take away very fond memories. The students have made me immensely proud. I shall track their education closely over the coming years and look forward to hearing of their achievements at the primary and secondary phases of INA and perhaps celebrating some of them with you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your belief in us. If it were not for you taking a leap of faith, opting for this new school and supporting us at a whole range of school events, we would not have the amazing primary school that we do today. I wish you all every success and every happiness. Thank you. Rachel Macfarlane.
29 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
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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
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29 March 2018
Easter Egg Hunt The ever-popular Easter Egg Hunt had pupils scavenging and foraging to find the hidden Easter Eggs this week! Lots of chocolate fun was had by all!
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Primary Newsletter
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Exciting Learning Last week, Year 3 students went on a school trip to the Science museum. They had a wonderful day consolidating all of their science learning from this past term. The children particularly enjoyed participating in a ‘Feel the Force’ workshop where they learned all about magnets and forces – and they even got to learn all about Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion! After this, they spent time looking around the Science museum, as well as visiting the ‘Wonderlab’ where they use their ‘experimentation’ skills whilst trying out a variety of Scientific experiments. It was an excellent day filled with lots of fun learning!
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29 March 2018
Author Kiran Lall visited Year 1 pupils to share some of her books and characters with the children as part of our Literature Week. After reading and discussing her story, the pupils had fun thinking about their own stories.
This term during their Science lessons, the Year 1 children have been exploring different materials and their properties. They carried out a Science investigation to find out which material would make the best patch in a torn umbrella. The children enjoyed using their discovery skills to find out which materials are waterproof and not!
29 March 2018
Primary Newsletter
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Exciting Learning Tuesday was DT day for Year 3! Over the past two weeks, the pupils have been learning about magnetism. This week, they had the opportunity to design and create their own magnetic game and learn more about how magnetism helps our everyday lives by completing a carousel across three classes. In Ms Short, Ms Howard, Ms Elmaz and Ms Peer’s class, they learned how to measure and saw wood and were then able to glue gun their pieces together to make a border. In Ms Ajrullah’s class, pupils designed their own mazes and added individual themes to make them engaging and interactive. In Ms Knox’s class, the students completed their own research to determine how magnetism is used in everyday appliances such as ATM machines.
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29 March 2018
Year 1 pupils are proud to show off their fabulous 3D wheeled vehicles which they have worked hard to build as part of their DT lessons this half term.
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Composer of the Fortnight
Ravi Shankar
For the fortnight after the break we will be listening to and learning about Ravi Shankar as our Composer of the Fortnight. As a suggested activity to support at home, you could gather some facts about Shankar in preparation for the coming weeks. You can find out some facts and hear some of his music on the following links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Shankar http://www.ravishankar.org/
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29 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. Tyler Fraser Clarke Medina Islam Annika Taheem
Avni Kamothi Alishba Zahoor
Alia Malik Naniyah Owusu
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. Hamza Chand Alisha Ali
Leja Kolyciute Zoya Butt
Ghiyas Elahi
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
29 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
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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.
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29 March 2018
Week commencing 16th April 2018
GRIT Grit comprises six dispositions: Perseverance Managing Distractions
Resilience Patience
Concentration Determination
At School • At part of our 6 pillars we continuously stress the importance of managing distractions and concentrating during learning time. • It is essential that from Reception upwards the children become better at managing distractions and demonstrate that they can work on a task for a sustained period of time. • We always encourage a ‘can do,’ resilient attitude and talk to the children about the importance of not giving up on a task too easily, even when it presents as a challenge, learning that ‘practice makes perfect’. • We discuss that having patience and trying something again, even though we may find it difficult, will lead to success. We also explain that patience can also mean not having what we want instantly and that sometimes we have to wait our turn.
At Home Encourage your child to try and complete things more independently – when they say they can’t do something, tell them to have a go and to try a little harder. If then they are still completely stuck with a task, offer a small amount of help to get them started. Offer encouragement and praise your child’s effort. Talk to your child about how you learned to do things and how hard some things were for you too but that, through not giving up, being determined and practising, you got better.
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Primary Newsletter
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Key Dates 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
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29 March 2018