CoMPasS
You can follow us
In a rather hot assembly at the end of the first day I read the book ‘All Are Welcome’ by Alexandra Penfold to the children. It’s a wonderful book which exemplifies our aim to be an inclusive school where diversity in all forms is a key strength of our community. The book teaches the children that they must be proactive in being open to making new friends, making sure everyone can join in and sharing our unique selves in a place of care, respect for others and safety. It also reminds the children that we can learn from each other including the teachers learning from the children. This week I learnt the Balinese for Hello, Om Sawstaistu, thank you Lucas and Mrs Brunton! Every day truly is a learning day.
Year 3 the children are using The Iron Man by Ted Hughes as the inspiration for their learning.
A reminder that Parent Information Evenings take place next week. The purpose of these is to share with you an overview of our key priorities for the year and then to give you an opportunity to visit your child’s classroom..
1
Friday 8th September 2023
DIARY FOR WEEK COMMENCING
11th September 2023
School Council
Year 1 Cricket*
Year 1 Animals & The Environment
Year 2 IT
Year 2 & 3 Football*
Year 3 Cookery
Year 1 Lets Get Moving
Year 2 STEM
Year 2 Cricket*
Year 3 Swimming
Year 3 Tennis*
The priority for this first week of the year is always to reestablish our school community and make sure that everyone feels welcome, especially those who are new to St Peter’s. I’d like to extend a special welcome to our new staff Mrs Alexander, Reception teacher, Miss Crosbie, Year 2 teacher and Mrs Digby, Year 2 teaching assistant and to each and every one of our sixty one new starters and their families who joined our St Peter’s 2 -8 school community from Nursery to Year 3. We also welcome Mrs Nicholson who has also joined us from St Peter’s 13-18 to work in our office in the mornings alongside Mrs McCurrie and at the end of September we will have an additional member of staff who will join the admin team each afternoon.
As well as settling the children in and helping them to become familiar with our routines and expectations, learning and teaching has begun in earnest, and it’s been heartening to see children demonstrating their learning superpowers already. Learning at St Peter’s 2-8 combines excellence and high expectations with engagement and enjoyment and values the joy of childhood. In EYFS the children follow their own interests and learn through play. In Years 2, and 3 the children we use a thematic approach to capitalise on children's innate curiosity, allowing them to become immersed in the theme for the term. Year 1’s theme is based on the book The Bear and the Piano and is all about being bold, seeking adventure and friendship.
Year 2’s theme entitled Capture the Castle will dive into medieval worlds and in
A final thought to end the week. Children laugh around 300 times per day, considerably more than adults at around 18 times. Children’s laughter is spontaneous and infectious and is important as part of children’s healthy development. Studies have shown that laughter boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, and releases endorphins, which act as natural painkillers. Additionally, laughter fosters social connections, strengthens relationships, and reduces feelings of loneliness and anxiety. By embracing laughter, we open the door to improved physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Us adults have a lot to learn from children.
Year 2 & 3 Dance Club*
Year 1 Football Skills*
Year 1 Yoga*
Year 2 & 3 Choir
Year 1 Board Games
Year 1 Ball Skills
Year 2 Tennis*
Year 2 Art
Yeat 2 & 3 European Cultures
Year 3 Hockey
Year 3 STEM
Year 1 Lexia
I hope that you and your children share lots of laughter this weekend.
With best wishes,
Year 1 Street Dance*
Year 2 & 3 Lioness Football*
Year 2 & 3 Running Club
Year 2 & 3 Board Games
Year 3 Cricket*
No:
Newsletter
M O N D A Y
T U E S D A Y
W E D N E S D A Y
T H U R S D A Y
F R I D A Y
New Year, new shiny trainers and we have certainly put them to the test this week! It has been great to have the children back at St Peters 2-8. I have loved hearing about their holiday adventures, and I was delighted with the energy andenthusiasm they haveshown.
We are delighted to welcome the following new PE staff at 2-8 Mrs Williams (Assistant Director of Sport 2-11), Mr McTurk (Director of Sport 2-18), Mr Fradgley (Head of Rugby) and Sports Graduates; Miss Ball, Miss Gamble, Miss Mahon and Miss Gowdy who will be accompanying the PE/Games lessons this year at 2-8. The children have loved getting to know their new teachers working alongside them to motivate and support theirlearning.
Despite the scorching weather, the children have remained positive and demonstrated some great understanding and resilience. With a strong focus on running, I am pleased to say that the children have grasped the difference between a jog anda sprint.
From hockey in Year 3 to balance and coordination skills in Reception, the children have settled straight back into school life!
Here are a few photos of some of the skills that have been on display this week!
Music
We've had such a fabulous start in Music this week with everybody busy learning new songs to start off our term.
Year 3 welcomed The TrashBang Man into school on Friday for a noisy percussion workshop using everyday items. They enjoyed learning different rhythmic patterns and experimenting with different materials to explore how to make different sounds using junk!
Next week sees the start of our individual music lessons. If you were expecting your child to have an instrumental lesson you should have received a separate email from me. If you are unsure, please email me a.hayden@stpetersyork.org.uk
Young Voices 2024 - Wednesday 21st February - we are so excited to be once again joining the Young Voices choir at the Sheffield Arena. Even more exciting is that the latest guest artist to be announced is MC Grammar! Year 2 and 3 parents please look out for the email from school to sign your child up and to order t-shirts and tickets. We have a tight deadline to meet this year so would appreciate your responses in by next week. Year 2 have started working on the Matilda Medley and sound great already! If you would like to listen at home or in the car please search for Young Voices UK Music Pack 2024 in Spotify Young Voices Uk Music Pack 2024 - Album by The Young Voices Choir | Spotify
Reception
A very warm welcome to Reception from all of the team! It’s been a very busy and very hot week, but the children are settling in delightfully and finding their feet as they play in all our amazing spaces in the reception setting.
This week has been all about getting to know each other, making new friendships, spending time chatting and playing together and finding out about each other. We have also been exploring the various areas of our classroom environment and will spend the next few weeks investigating these in more detail.
Our junk modelling area has been a huge hit with the children, as well as our small world area and the painting table has been full every day! With such beautiful weather the outdoor area has been a hive of activity, with sandcastle building, water tunnels and interesting concoctions made in the mud kitchen.
Well done to all of the children, we are very proud of you! Have a lovely weekend!
Year 2 have had a fantastic start to the new year and have thrown themselves into learning about Knights, Ladies, castles and all things Medieval, in our new theme ‘Capture the Castle!’
It has been great to meet all the new children again and they have all settled well, with help from their friendly peer group!
We have been busy making full sized pictures of ourselves as Knights or Ladies out of collage
as well as listening to one of our key texts, ‘The Secret Diary of John Drawbridge’.
We found out that Pages began their training at the age of 6 and so we are raring to go with our own training!
The Year 2 team have planned an exciting term for the children and, now we have all settled in, work begins in earnest next week! Enjoy a happy and restful weekend in the sun everyone!
