Weekly Round Up- 04 October 2024
Another week has now come to a close, but the children have really made the most of it! Throughout the week, we have been busy practising and then performing Old Town Farm’ as part of the Harvest Festival. I cannot praise the children enough for their efforts- they were incredible!
Year Six also enjoyed each other’s company and had the opportunity to share food and drink during Tuesday’s Harvest Breakfast. While the children have embraced the variety of experiences this week, they have also worked hard in the classroom to produce some excellent pieces of work.
In Maths, we continued gaining confidence and understanding of written methods. The children have tackled multi-step worded problems and multiplied large numbers to achieve an accurate answer. They have embraced and persevered especially when attempting challenges.
In English, we have continued our learning activities linking to the text, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’. During this week, I have raised the awareness of adding cohesion to extended writing to improve the overall flow and clarity of written work. Through their maturity, the children have responded well to this and are applying the skills needed to up level their writing.
In Science this week, the children completed an investigation observing shadows. It was excellent to see how well the children work together to ensure they were completing a fair test.
School lottery
Please see attached a flyer detailing the school lottery.
“A reminder of Your School Lottery works...
Costing only £1 a week to enter, you would be raising funds for our school while giving yourself the opportunity to WIN one of the following:
- The local cash prize. Every week a lottery ticket owner connected to the school will be a cash winner (value dependent on number of tickets, currently around £25)
- Various other amazing prizes (currently a £1000 Sainsbury's eGift card!)
- The £25000 JACKPOT!
A draw takes place every Saturday at 8pm. Don't miss out and please help us by sharing with family, friends and the wider community.
It would be hugely appreciated by the whole school community if you are able to spare around £4 a month.”
Enjoy your weekend.
Mr Newman
Weekly Round Up- 27th September 2024
The colder weather and darker evenings may be settling in but the children are continuing to face any challenge with positivity and enthusiasm this week!
In Maths, our place value unit has come to a close and our focus has now turned to written methods. Our main aim this week, was to improve efficiency when working out calculations. I was impressed as they all worked hard and made sure that they achieved an accurate answer.
We have continued reading the text, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ in our English sessions this week. The children have become very much invested in the text and have produced some wonderful descriptive pieces using dialogue and expanded noun phrases. The children have also developed their skills in looking back through their work to edit and improve. It is so important that the children increase independence this year in their writing and I am pleased to say they are on the right path to achieve this!
In History, the children explored the key events in Dunkirk during World War Two. It was wonderful to see how immersed they all were in the content provided and how they approached the task with great enthusiasm. On Tuesday, the children had the opportunity to further their learning of French led by Miss Snowden from Helsby High School. She said how fantastic, engaged and keen the children were- well done Year Six!
Another thank you this week for all the homework I have received on time. Please make sure that the children’s diaries have been signed and a little comment is provided on how they have got on. This really does benefit me as I can get a further insight into their understanding.
Couple of things to note:
Wellbeing day- Monday 30th September
On Monday, we will be celebrating a wellbeing day. ‘Take Notice’ will be our focus with children from Year Six welcome to bring in a pair of slippers to wear in the classroom for the day!
Harvest week
KS2 Harvest Breakfast- Tuesday 1st October
The children will be sharing a harvest breakfast on Tuesday. Each child has chosen what they would like to bring in and have written this on the Harvest letter sent out this week.
Harvest Festival- Friday 4th October
The Harvest Festival at St Paul’s Church will begin at 2.00 pm. Parents are very welcome to come and join in our celebrations.
Four Villages Half Marathon- T-shirt design competition
Children in Year Five and Six have been invited by Helsby Running Club to create a T-shirt design. Please see attached details (via email) of this competition. Please send in any designs by Friday 25th October.
Enjoy your weekend,
Mr Newman
Weekly Round Up – 20th September 2024
After returning back to school from our week away, the learning expectations of Year Six are now in full swing! The children have displayed the correct attitude and willingness leading to a successful first full week back at school.
We have continued our learning of place value in maths this week. The children have improved their knowledge of numbers up to ten million by using number lines. We have also had the opportunity to recap on ordering, comparing and rounding whole numbers and numbers including decimals! I was very impressed with how enthusiastic the children were to answer questions and use their whiteboards to display an understanding. Keep it up Year Six!!
In English, we have recapped on the rules of speech by including inverted commas in sentences. The children have also experienced writing a short story using all the skills learnt so far this year. Our class text, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ has also been introduced for the children to predict what the story will be about.
Whole class guided reading sessions have kicked off this week and Year Six have been introduced to Michael Morpurgo’s, ‘An Eagle in the Snow’. Their understanding of the text so far has been amazing. They have been very much invested in the story and were able to retain what has happened so far. The children have had the opportunity to answer a variety of questions linking to our class read and have started to effectively provide evidence to back up their understanding.
In History this week, the children have explored World War Two detailing major events on timelines. Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, The Blitz and D-Day were a few of several events covered. In PSHE, the children worked in small groups to find solutions to friendship problems and in Science, light has been our focus.
A huge thank you to the children who have handed in reading records and homework this week! Please keep it up!!
A couple of things to note
Book Fair
On the week beginning 30th September, the book fair is coming to Hillside! After school that week, the children can purchase some lovely new books to read. In preparation, Mrs Potts has made an emoji book quiz to complete (see attached on email). This does not need to be printed out- the children just need to write down the six book titles and their authors on a piece of paper with their name on. On Friday's assembly (27.09), five of the correct entries will be drawn out and those children will get a voucher to spend at the book fair.
If you have any questions, queries or matters regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am usually available before school and at the end of the day.
Have a great weekend!
Mr Newman 😊
Weekly round up- 13.09.24
What a week at Min y Don! I am so happy that the children have come back home with wonderful memories of their time away!
As their teacher, I cherished the opportunity to get to know each and every child this week and I feel we have now bonded as a team to take on the demands expected this year.
The activities gave the children an opportunity to experience something new and challenged them to step out of their comfort zone. Their determination and willingness to give everything a go was fantastic to see and their respect towards the staff at Min y Don could not be faulted. Year Six- you have made me incredibly proud and if you continue with the same attitude, this year will be a success!
If you would like to see what we have been up to, check out the school’s Twitter (X) page to see our awesome adventure. What an excellent way to start the year!
Best wishes,
Mr Newman
Weekly Round Up - 8th September 2023
Our 60th anniversary celebrations are very much in full swing! Year Six loved wearing 60s clothing, playing on the bouncy castle, joining the rest of the school in a street party for their lunch and visiting the exhibition held in the hall. It has been a day full of colour and happy faces- what a way to end the week!
It has also been an absolute privilege getting to know the children over the last four days and I feel they have really settled in as Year Six pupils. We have been busy getting to know the ropes and I am proud to share that they have all met the expectations set upon them.
In Maths, we have started to extend our learning of place value looking at numbers up to ten million! The children have read, written, ordered and compared a range of numbers and have been willing to attempt challenges to display their understanding!
This week in English, the children have been recapping on their grammatical understanding of expanded noun phrases, fronted adverbials, and subordinate clauses. The children have worked very hard on this, creating links in their sentences, and including some wonderful word choices to enhance their writing.
On Tuesday afternoon, we explored what a great classroom looks, feels, and sounds like. The children worked together to share their opinions, which allowed for excellent discussions. We also explored our school rules of what it is to be ready, respectful, and safe.
The children had a brilliant art session on Thursday afternoon with Mrs Williams introducing themselves to their new topic of working with 2D and 3D shapes and taking part in PE session with Mrs Moore this afternoon.
A couple of things to note
- The children have been very excited this week as they now have access to their lockers and each child has been given the responsibility of their own key. Just for your awareness, as children are trusted to look after their locker key, we kindly ask for a refundable deposit of £5.00 to be brought in to cover costs if keys become lost.
- Our visit to Min-y-Don is finally upon us! Children will need a disposable packed lunch as we will be stopping off to eat at Bala Lake on the way. This can be stored in a rucksack or bag separate to their main luggage.
If you have any questions, queries or matters regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am usually available before school and at the end of the day.
Mr Newman
Helsby Hillside Primary School
