Newsletter 17.03.2017

This morning the F2 children were invited to watch the TX performance of 'Shrek'.  We were spell bound, what talented students we have!  The costumes were amazing and the F2 children were in awe as they watched the performance and listened to the actors.

The children have enjoyed being story innovators this week.  Everyone has had the opportunity to make changes to The Very Hungry Caterpillar and retell their own new and improved version of the story.  There were some brilliant ideas!  I particularly enjoyed The Very Hungry Tiger can you believe in the end he turned into a beautiful dinosaur? It's so exciting to support these young learners and see their confidence, to become story tellers, develop.  Next week we are starting a new Talk 4 Writing book - Goldilocks.

In our creative area this week, children have been experimenting with making their own stickers.  At the start of the week the children enjoyed cutting paper to decorate the sticky wings of their butterflies.  As the week progressed, a variety of interesting window and door sticker decorations were produced. The children enjoyed also enjoyed doing a spot of threading, making their own caterpillars.  We wondered what sort of butterflies they might turn into...

We have continued to focus on number this week; counting (forwards and backwards) and matching numerals to quantities.  The children also enjoyed a size game, throwing the bean bags starting with small throws, then medium ones, big ones and finally humongous ones! We will continue to make size comparisons next week (reading about the Goldilocks and the 3 Bears).

We have introduced some more challenging puzzles to the class this week.  Puzzles encourage collaboration between children, help develop reasoning skills, problem solving and fine motor control.  Puzzles are a great way to help support your child at home too.  Try doing a puzzle together. Start by reminding your child of the strategies they will use; finding the straight edges pieces and building the frame first.  Looking at the picture and asking does this make sense? Encourage your child to turn the pieces to see where and how they fit together.  Remember to stay calm, let your child work at their own pace and give lots of praise and encouragement.  This will help your son or daughter to develop perseverance, an essential learning disposition.

The children love our weekly Wednesday Library sessions. These include sitting on the big carpet in the Library and sharing a story, this week we read The Meanies Party.  After the story the children choose and issue a book to take home.  Please return Library books to school on Tuesday and leave them in the basket outside.  Children who have not returned their book can not choose a new one, which they find very disappointing.

Koto and Oliver from ARC (Animal Rescue Center) came to talk to the children.  We learned how to take care of a dog, what to feed it, how to pick it up safely, how to brush it and play with it.  The class  did so well that Koto and Oliver thought we might to adopted a dog of our own!  Welcome to F2 Bobby!  It's great to see the children learning how to treat Bobby respectfully and with kindness.  The ARC will visit again next week, bringing the Vet to check up on Bobby.

Notices:

Clubs - After school clubs are now finished for Term 2. You will receive an email from Ms Emma about Term 3 clubs soon.

School photos - The last day to order photos is Tuesday 28th March.

Swimming - Please remember that all children are deemed fit for swimming if they are at school.  We require a doctors note if a child is to be exempt from swimming.

Bơi lội – Xin vui lòng nhớ rằng tất cả các bé đều phải bơi nếu quý phụ huynh đưa bé đến trường. Nếu bé không thể bơi, xin vui lòng trình giấy của bác sĩ.

Illness - There are some nasty flu bugs about, as per our school policy please note that ‘For the wellbeing of our school community, if your child is unwell or sick overnight or when they wake in the morning they should be kept at home until they are rested and symptom free for at least 24 hours (48 hours for Diarrhoea).’ (Page 14, Early Years and Primary Parent Handbook)

Vì môi trường lành mạnh cho học sinh của trường, nếu con của quý phụ huynh không khỏe, hoặc bị bệnh (sốt) vào đêm hôm trước hoặc khi thức dậy vào buổi sáng, các bé nên ở nhà nghỉ ngơi và theo dõi ít nhất trong vòng 24 giờ ( đối với bệnh tiêu chảy là 48 giờ). (Trích dẫn trang 14, sổ tay hướng dẫn về mầm non và tiểu học của phụ huynh)

Shoes - To support the children in developing their own 'self-care skills', we ask that shoes are either slip on or velcro.  If your child loves their lace up shoes, please swap the laces for something like elastic 'no tie' laces. 

Fire Drill - We had a fire drill practice this week.  The children were very sensible as we evacuated, not just the building but the school premises, meeting at our assembly point over the road.  The children's safety is paramount and we take these drills seriously. We encourage you to talk at home about what your family will do to stay safe in the event of a fire.