May 17 Parish News

Back to school after the Easter Break and it’s the start of the Summer Term!

We begin with Miss Ayres, our EYFS teacher sharing news from the end of the Spring Term:

Spring Term was very busy in Early Years as we had great fun learning through our topic on Animals. This included a trip to Mead Open Farm where we bottle fed lambs, milked a pretend cow and stroked rabbits. We also had a special delivery of some eggs in an incubator, which we watched hatch into chicks. Over two weeks we watched the chicks hatch and grow and received regular visits from other children (and adults!) in the school who wanted to see our special visitors.

As we return from the Easter break we will begin our new topic of Fairy tales, Castles and Dragons. This will include some hands-on fairy tale themed science investigations, lots of drama and role play and of course, developing our writing skills as we create our own fantastic fairy tales!

This year as Easter fell at the end of the school holidays the opportunity to celebrate Holy Week came during the first week of the summer term.

Mrs Jessop, our RE Co-ordinator did a fantastic job putting together activities for Holy Week and tying them to other aspects of the curriculum.

During their Forest School time the children throughout the school used natural materials that they had found around the church yard to make a wreath in the shape of a cross which was hung on the school gate to remind pupils about the importance of Holy Week.

On the first day back at school in April, all of the children re-enacted Palm Sunday by heralding the arrival of Jesus riding up and down the church path on a “donkey” (actually a pony called Minnie!). They wore head coverings and waved Palm Leaves which they had made, as one child from each class took the turn to play the role of “Jesus” and feedback to their peers what riding up high through a crowd of people was like.

The next day, the collective worship team, made up of boys and girls from all year groups worked brilliantly together to re-tell the story of the Last Supper during assembly. Being able to see the Last Supper acted out in front of the them provided food for thought to the pupils, as did the act of seeing one of their peers playing “Jesus” washing the feet of the disciples. The pupils agreed that this helped them to better understand the story of the Last Supper.

The children then rounded off Holy Week by watching animations featuring the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus, explaining why Christians celebrate Easter and why it is still relevant today. 

The children loved taking part in Holy Week activities. The visit from a real pony has been the talk of the school this month!!

April 17 Parish News

The second half of the Spring Term has been a hive of activity as always!

In addition to Ofsted, as a church school, we also have a SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspection every 3-5 years. Our SIAMS inspection took place at the end of February. The Inspector had a lovely day chatting with pupils, staff, parents and governors. We are pleased to say that we were graded as “Good” with Outstanding features. Some highlights of the report are listed below:

The commitment, drive and vision of the head teacher, staff and governors have energised the distinctive Christian character of the school. The impact on behaviour, attitudes to learning and pupils’ enjoyment of school is very strong”

“The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is outstanding at meeting the needs of all learners”

“Strong links with the church and church community have increased pupils’ understanding of the Anglican faith and practice.”

“Pupil behaviour remains ‘impeccable’ (Ofsted 2016).”

“Parents describe the positive impact of the school’s Christian character on their children at home and believe that this is due ‘to the staff going the extra mile’.”

“The school believes that the rise in pupil self-esteem, promoted by the school’s Christian values, contributes to the significant rise in attainment. Ofsted (March 2016) noted the school to be an ‘environment where pupils can thrive.”

As a school we continue to appreciate the support of the church and the community and the time and energy they devote to the school. We have some lovely village residents and church members who volunteer their time either as Governors, or by coming in to school to hear children read, or helping during class time. We always welcome more help if you feel that you could volunteer a little time each week.

We are grateful to the church for their input into our weekly assemblies, RE Lessons and for organising activities for the children to participate in throughout the year. In February, Gill and Heather from the church kindly organised a Shrove Tuesday themed activity after school. Children learnt about Lent and the significance of making pancakes on this day. There was also of course, then the opportunity to eat some pancakes! The children had a lovely afternoon and we appreciate Gill and Heather’s efforts!

Pupils participated in World Book Day, a much anticipated event each year. We had some fantastic costumes, with characters from Roald Dahl, David Walliams, JK Rowling and Julia Donaldson proving very popular! The children enjoyed some “Buddy Reading” where older pupils read to younger pupils. They also swapped a book from home with each other.

There has been much eggcitement in Nursery and Reception this month as they have welcomed some new additions to the class! The class has successfully hatched nine baby chicks from eggs in an incubator. The children across the whole school have been enjoying watching the eggs hatch, seeing the chicks grow and getting to know them! They have very much been the talk of the school!

This term, pupils have been linking Literacy, our focus for the year, to other topics such as Art, History, Geography and Drama.  Year’s One and Two have been focusing on their theme of “Jungle” this month. They had great fun creating freeze frames of “The Tiger who came to tea” in preparation for writing their own story based around a jungle animal. 

Year’s Three and Four have been reading “Kensuke’s Kingdom” by Michael Morpurgo and exploring the characters in the story whilst Years Five and Six have been learning about Monologues.

The end of term sees our now annual Talent Show “Great Gaddesden’s Got Talent”. All children are invited to audition for our able panel of Year 6 judges and then one child from each year participates in the final, hoping to be the coveted winner!

Our Easter egg-rolling and Egg Hunt were a fantastic way to finish the Spring term, and we look forward to the start of the Summer Term later this month.

March 17 Parish News

During the second half of the Spring Term we are looking forward to an Ancient Greek Workshop, exploring the story of the tiger who came to tea in literacy, creating art work around a trip to Harry Potter World and a very exciting egg-hatching project for our Early Years pupils. There are also a multitude of sporting events planned and Sharing Assemblies for each class to showcase their work to parents and carers, so it’s a busy month before Easter!

Improving writing and also handwriting is a focus across the school this academic year. In an era when writing a letter by hand is becoming a scarcity and tapping, typing and swiping seems to usurp most adults finding themselves with a pen in their hand nowadays, the school is keen to ensure that the art of beautiful handwriting is not lost! Our pupils begin writing without joining letters together, and then move on to learn how to write using cursive penmanship. Pupils work towards earning a coveted Pen Licence once a required standard of handwriting is met.

Additionally our focus on writing includes encouraging pupils to develop their creative writing. Each class has an opportunity for extended writing each week in “Big Writing” sessions, enabling pupils to let their imaginations flow for a longer period and produce writing which is more in-depth and of a wonderful quality. There were some excellent examples of stories based around Harry Potter which stemmed from a trip to Harry Potter world for years’ three and four last month.  The pupils imagined themselves being put into the sorting hat and had to decide what the sorting hat would say about them and which house they would be place in!

The children were all very excited to take part in a Scooter Workshop last month which was funded by our Sports Premium. We aim to provide options for activities and sports which differ from the norm to try and encourage all of our pupils to be active. Pupils learnt about how to ride their Scooter’s safely and how to do a few Scooter tricks across the playground. This was a very popular workshop and we hope to set up a Scooter Club for pupils to continue this skill.

Last half-term we also ran an After School Djembe Drumming Club, culminating in an end of term performance for parents. We have some fantastic drummers in our midst! The children have loved learning about the different rhythms they can create on the drums.

You may not be aware that Great Gaddesden offers morning sessions for Nursery-aged children. Our Nursery sessions are a fantastic way to prepare your child for school as well as providing a chance to learn and flourish in happy, safe and caring environment.

We are extending an open invitation to our Nursery Open Morning on Thursday 9th March to local parents and carers. Parents and children are welcome to join us at any time between 9:30am – 11:30am for a stay and play session and a chance to have a tour of the school hosted by our students. Please contact us to confirm your attendance. 

We regularly have parents looking for help with childcare, either as wrap-around care for our Nursery sessions, or after school for our Primary pupils. We are interested to hear from any Ofsted registered Childminders or Care Providers willing to offer childcare to pupils at Great Gaddesden School. Please get in touch with the school office if you can help.

The school is collecting Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers, so if you are a Sainsbury’s shopper and don’t have another worthy cause to donate your vouchers to, then please consider supporting us. We would be grateful to receive any vouchers at the school office.

The school bark area which is one of the areas that the children love using during break times received a replenishment of wood chippings recently courtesy of Roderick Wilson who is a fully qualified local tree surgeon and forestry contractor. Thanks to Roderick for your help and for supporting the school.

Feb 17 Parish News

Great Gaddesden CoE VA School

The Spring Term is now in full swing, with much going on and to look forward between now and Easter.

For the first time in recent years, the school is celebrating having a School Choir. Pupils practice weekly during lunchtime with our Music Teacher Miss Vineyard. We have some fantastic singers amongst our pupils and so we are very pleased that they are able to share their love of singing with each other. They have given two concerts in school in the last couple of months to pupils, staff, parents and carers and each time the audience has been so impressed with how brilliant they were!

Our Forest School sessions are going well, with each class spending time learning in the outdoors regularly. The children love the freedom of being in the outdoors, being able to get splash through muddy puddles and climb trees! They have also been learning how to build shelters and creating art work from natural materials.

Nursery and Reception learnt to tell the story of Noah’s Ark this month. They made a big Ark as a class, and made animals and a rainbow for the Ark.

Years One & Two have been learning how to do orienteering during their PE Lessons. In literacy they have been focusing on writing, and following instructions. This included a practical lesson where they wrote instructions for making Jam on Toast, and then followed the instructions to ensure that they worked! A popular lesson amongst the children!

Year 3 and 4 have been exploring the exciting world of Harry Potter; writing character descriptions, watching the film, reading the book all in preparation for an exciting trip to the Warner Studios. In addition, Year 3-4 are studying in RE the key events of Jesus’ life. The children will show their learning by creating his timeline, a passport and exploring some of the parables.

Years Five and Six had an exciting trip to the Science Museum this month to support their learning on Space. In Literacy they have been learning about how to create suspense and tension in their writing.

The deadline has now passed for Reception applications, but new Nursery applications can still be made directly to the school. The deadline for applying for a Nursery place is 17th March 2017. The school continues to have two in-takes for Nursery in September 2017 and January 2018. Please contact the school if you would be interested in a tour.