Twas the Week Before Christmas

Santa comes to visit the Gruffalos

How exciting!! Santa has just left the Burnaby building in his shiny sleigh; Rudolph replenished after a carrot gift from ES in Gruffalos.

First, we woke him up - so tired was he from busy Christmas preparations.

Next, we sang him a song 'Lift up your glasses'.

Then, we received some fantastic gifts.

After saying goodbye to Father Christmas we went back to class and, with Santa's permission, opened our gifts...

Thank you Santa!!

Spelling Contract examples

WOW

Look at how amazing we are in KS1!  Here are some examples of some amazing spelling contract homework from every class.

 Type Them - 10 points

Magazine Words - 20 points

ABC order 10 points

Adding Words - 20 points

Pyramid Writing 10 points

 Backwards Words 5 points

 Consonant Circle 20 points

 Surround Words - 10 points

Rainbow Words  5 points

Upper and Lower Case 5 points

Look, Cover, Write - 5 Points

Spelling Contracts

What is a spelling points contract?

Spelling contracts are a valuable tool to help motivate our children to learn their spelling words. A spelling contract gives children a sense of independence by allowing them to make decisions about how they would like to learn. Spelling contracts encourage children to commit to a certain amount of learning time, but they feature a variety of activities that children can choose to complete. A child who loves to write can make up a story with his or her spelling words, while an artistic child can choose to make a spelling word collage with pictures cut from his or her favourite magazines. If a child prefers the ‘read, write, cover, check’ approach to learning spellings then that is accepted too. The contract is also designed for pupils to take responsibility for their own academic success. This is a skill that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

How does it work?

Spellings will be given out on Monday evening. Each child will be given a spelling contract containing a list of activities that relate to a points system. They must choose activities to complete each week to practice their given words and reach their points target. To begin with, we will give children a target of 20 points. Children can achieve their 20 points by selecting activities from the contract. (For example, they could complete four of the 5 point activities, two of the 10 point activities, or one worth 10 points and two worth 5 points.)  Children should bring evidence of their activities into school every Friday morning and should be encouraged to try a variety of activities during the term.

What should I do if I lose my spelling contract or my word list?

The spelling contract will always be available to download on the school blog and there will also be spare copies in the classroom.

How much time should I spend completing spelling tasks?

The contract is designed so that you can spread activities over the week. This will break up the activities into smaller chunks and    revisiting spellings regularly is the best way to learn them. The contract will not have an impact if you rush the work the night before homework is due.

Rewards
The value of each activity must add up to the number of points needed for the week in order to receive a token for doing spelling homework. 

·       10 bronze tokens will earn a bronze certificate,

·       10 silver tokens leading to a silver certificate

·       10 gold tokens leading to a gold certificate

If you have any further questions please call in at the end of the day.

Key Stage One

Bonfire Night Art

Fireworks in the Gruffalo Class

As part of our Celebration work we looked at the story of the Gunpowder plot. The children produced some fabulous art work of their experiences of bonfire night.

Going to see CBeebies

Y2 trip to the theatre to see CBeebies 'A Christmas Carol'

Last week Y2 were invited to the Crucible Theatre to see the CBeebies Christmas pantomime 'A Christmas Carol'. Excitedly, we set off to catch the tram.

  
 



Next, we stepped onto the long, speedy tram.

Some of us even found time for a little light reading!

Soon we arrived at the Crucible and queued to get our green numbered wrist bands. This billboard gave us a clue as to who was in the panto!
















After lunch, we entered the theatre and found our seats. This is the view. When the lights went down it was really exciting but also a little bit scary.

The panto was brilliant! We'd love to tell you all about it but unfortunately we're sworn to secrecy. Once the panto had finished we decided to walk into Tudor Square. You won't believe what we saw; only some naughty, friendly elves and 2 furry reindeers!

What a super day! The children were beautifully behaved and everyone had lots of fun.

But now, we can't wait to see the panto on telly!

Walkley Playground Project

Parents! If you have a free half hour or so on Friday morning, or you're already joining us for the Golden Book assembly, please stay for a short presentation and discussion about our Walkley School Playground Project. 

Our outside provision for play is in real need of improvement and there are exciting plans underway to begin to transform the playground areas around the school. 

But ( there's always a but...), we need your ideas, inspiration, support and fundraising efforts.

 Mrs Hansbury and Mrs Jinkinson will be very happy for you to come along THIS FRIDAY 8TH NOVEMBER at 9.30am. 

All will be explained!