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.
