A belated
Happy New Year from all at Great Gaddesden School. It has been a busy start to
2016 with lots planned for the Spring Term.
Alongside
academic learning, children are looking forward to experiencing Drama
Workshops, Theatre Trips, Martial Arts and Football and Netball Matches against
other local schools.
We are
currently in the process of training our Year Five and Six pupils as “Play
Leaders”. Our play-leaders will work in teams of three and take one lunch-time
a week to provide an activity/game for younger children. This peer support will
help to improve play provision across the school and help to ensure pupils are
getting the most out of their lunchtime breaks.
The school has not yet received our anticipated Ofsted Visit
which was due in November 2015. We now expect to be visited by Ofsted this
term.
We had some
good news back in December regarding our academic attainment. We were delighted to discover that in the
Department for Education's recently published School League Tables for 2015,
the school placed 20th out of over five hundred schools in the whole
of Hertfordshire for academic attainment, which also puts us within the top
three schools in Dacorum for attainment! Our success was noted by a small mention
in the Daily Telegraph.
Smaller than
average pupil cohort numbers mean attainment can vary year-on-year much more
than it does in a larger school, but
this result is a testament to the hard work of the pupils and staff at the
school and we are very proud of our
achievements!
Last term
Years One & Two learnt about the Great Fire of London. Their teacher Miss
Groves has recounted their learning of a topic which captured many of their
imaginations.
Years Three
& Four wrote some fantastic Haikus based on celebrating the New Year, which
are also featured in the newsletter this month. As a reminder in a Haiku, lines
are 5, 7 and 5 syllables long!
The deadline
has now passed for Reception applications, but new Nursery applications can still
be made directly to the school. The dead-line for nursery is 18th March 2016.
The school continues to have two in-takes for Nursery in September 2016 and
January 2017. Please contact the school if you would be interested in a tour.
Learning
in Year One and Two – from Miss Groves
Last term in year one and
two we learnt all about The Great Fire of London. We learnt all about how the
fire started in Pudding Lane and spread through the city of London. We read
extracts from Samuel Pepys diary to find out exactly what it was like in London
in 1666.
Did you know that he buried
his cheese and wine in his garden so the fire didn’t destroy it?!
We created a class timeline
and placed the events of the 4 days in chronological order, before discussing
what life was like back in 1666.
We also discussed the
positives that came from The Great Fire of London (there are a few!) The fire
brigade was set up to help those in need.
Laws were passed to make safer houses built from brick and stone and the
streets of London were cleaned on a more regular basis to help combat the
spread of fire.
We also linked our art topic
of ‘Light’ to our learning of The Great Fire of London by creating our own fire
pictures using chalks and other materials.
We also learnt about fire
safety in the present day. We talked about what to do and who to call in a fire
emergency. We role played calling the emergency services and discussed how we
can keep ourselves safe at home and school.
Haikus from Years Three and Four
Fenella:
The cheerful school
smiles
The school shares forever
now
I love school its
cool!
Easters coming soon!
Flowers start to grow
and bloom
Eggs are hidden now
Olivia:
The new lambs are
here
So are the cute
butterflies
I can’t wait for more
The plants start to
grow
The ducklings start
to waddle
Horses prance and
dance
Fish swim about now
Exciting things are
outside
Roses bloom and grow
Finley:
Spring is coming
Blossoms have
bloomed, lambs are born
Sunshine comes,
hooray!
Hot sun and flowers
Happiness throughout
summer
Moon shines bright at
night
Sun shines everywhere
Moon sparkles on the
ocean
Celebrations spread
Eleanor:
New Year
New people coming
They are born into
the world
We can celebrate
Spring
Daffodils have
bloomed
Cherry blossom on the
trees
Spring is in the air
Immy:
Big celebrations
Growing animals, ripe
fruit
Happiness around!
Birds fly in the air
Cherry blossom is
coming
Easter eggs are
found!
Evangeline:
Easter is coming
Chocolate eggs and
piñatas
Daffodils have
bloomed
Birds fly all around
Happy people can
party
Animals come out
.
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