Newsletter
Friday 9th February 2024
DIARY DATES
SPRING TERM
Monday 12th to Friday 16th February
Half-Term
Monday 19th February
Children Return
Monday 19th to Friday 23rd February
Year 5 - Bikeability Course
Monday 19th to Thursday 29th February
Spring Term SEN Reviews
Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st February
Parent and Carer Teacher Consultations
Thursday 22nd February to Thursday 16th May
Year 4 - Swimming lessons (every Thursday)
Friday 1st March
Year 3 Class Assembly
Monday 4th to Friday 8th March
Year 5 - Bikeability Course
Wednesday 6th March
Drama Workshop for EYFS and KS1
Thursday 7th March
World Book Day
Friday 22nd March
Year 4 South Bank Trip
Year 2 Class Assembly - Brazil/Carnival Day
Thursday 28th March
Last day of term (early finish) - No Explorers
Friday 29th March to Friday 12th April
Easter break
Monday 15th April
Children Return
Reminders - Starting After Half-Term
Year 4 Swimming
Year 4 Swimming lessons will be held every Thursday starting on 22nd February until 16th May.
Year 5 Bikeability Course
Year 5 Bikeability Course will be held week beginning Monday 19th February
Year 3 Assembly
Friday 1 March, 9am. Tea and coffee will be served in the library and will be available after drop-off. We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate Year 3's wonderful learning.
World Book Day - Dress Up Day
Thursday 7th March is World Book Day with a dress-up theme of Traditional Tales and Nursery Rhymes.
ELLINGHAM SCHOOL NEWS
WoW Badge Competition- closing date Monday 19th February
Thank you to all who entered the competition. We have had some very creative designs. Any late entries need to be in school by Monday 19th February.
Calling Local Artists
If there are any parents or carers with a background in art who would like to come in and lead or support with a workshop in school, or to show some of their artwork to our children, please contact Mrs Corps (Art Co-ordinator) via the school office.
We are hoping to build some further opportunities to inspire our children.
World Book Day.pdfApply now for 15 or 30 hours childcare to start your place in April.
If your child turns two on or before 31st March and you are an eligible working parent in England, you can apply for up to 15 hours childcare or early education per week, over 38 weeks of the year. Read the Governments Education Hub blog to find out more about how to claim 15 hours childcare including how to get your code.
If your child turns three or four on or before 31st March and you are an eligible working parent in England, you can apply for up to 30 hours childcare or early education per week, over 38 weeks of the year.
The deadline to apply is 31st March. We recommend you do so by the end of February to get your childcare code in good time.
If you haven’t used a childcare provider before or want to change it, find the right one for you and check whether they offer 15 or 30 hours childcare.
Kingston-Wide Wrap-Around Care
Achieving for Children, Kingston's Educational Services team are hoping to capture parents' likely requirements for wraparound care to support their planning for September 2024. Please complete the survey on this link.
LEARNING TOGETHER
Respect and Mental Health Week - Your Voice Matters
Ellingham children always make us proud with their thoughtful and considerate approach to each other and this half-term was no exception. When the children are out or in workshops or when visitor comes to our school they always comment about their calm behaviour for learning and how respectful and polite they are in any interaction. We see the children around school and, even when they are celebrating a fun-themed day, they are wonderfully respectful to be with.
This week was Mental Health Week with a theme of Your Voice Matters. It linked really nicely to our value of RESPECT, which was being acknowledged and celebrated this week. The children had very good understanding of how important it is to listen to others and give them the opportunity to express themselves.
All children engaged in activities and some of the year groups told us what they did. Year 1 spent time talking about how to express their feelings in relation to children's mental health week. Year 2 discussed different emotions and when we might feel them and the children spoke about how every feeling is valid.
In Year 4, the children answered some of the open-ended questions from the 'Your Voice Matters' resources. They shared some beautiful ideas and thoughts that they wanted the adults in school to know.
NSPCC Number Day
To celebrate Number Day and raise awareness of the NSPCC, the children at Ellingham enjoyed a range of maths activities, games and challenges. From number bond bouquets to top trump cards, all children explored number and discussed how it is all around us in everyday life!
Pictured are Reception, who celebrated Number day practising writing their numerals correctly and in the right order, and Year 2 and 3 who really got into the swing of things.
Reception Celebrate First Signs of Spring
Reception were delighted see the results of their planting efforts from the Autumn Term. The first daffodils blooming. It really is science in action!
Nursery Celebrate National Hot Chocolate Day
Last week in Nursery, we celebrated National Hot chocolate day by making some hot chocolate together. First we looked at the ingredients we needed and then wrote out a recipe of how to make it. Then at snack time we used the recipe to make the hot chocolate and enjoyed a cup of it together.
Nursery find out about Chinese new year
This week in Nursery we have been learning about Chinese New Year. We watched a video about how they celebrate and made our own dragon, which we then danced with. We also read the story of the great animal race and used props to re tell the story. We also did some Chinese writing of numbers on lasagne sheets. We also made some lanterns and dragons because it is the year of the dragon.
Reception Act Out Three Little Pigs
Reception retold the story of the Three Little Pigs through the use of puppets. They remembered to use the story language they heard previously. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" "No, no, no, not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin" "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and blow your house down!"
Year 1 Authors Share Their Books
Year 1 took their wonderful Grandad Island books down to the Year 2 children so that they could share their hard work.
Year 2 Fitness Scientists
In science last week, Year 2 learnt about the importance of exercise and the effect it has on our bodies. We investigated if our heart rate would change from when we are resting to doing different exercises… we were all very tired afterwards!
Year 2 - Clean and Healthy Scientist
Year 2 also learnt about the importance of hygiene for humans. We discussed things that we do to help us stay clean and healthy. We predicted what the best way to remove bacteria (or flour!) from our hands would be and tested out each method. We discovered that warm water and soap was the best way to remove bacteria.
Year 3 Egyptian Necklaces
As part of Year 3's Ancient Egypt topic, the children have been researching, designing and making necklaces. We tried our best to replicate the Ancient Egyptian styles and colours, and have made some fantastic pieces!
3BR Musicians in action
3BR have continued with our ukelele lessons. Here we are playing and singing along to 'The Best Day of My Life' by American Authors. Doesn't it sound good!
IMG_1813.MOV
Year 3 /4 Football Stars
Well done to Ellingham girls' football team following their appearance at a recent Year 3/4 tournament. The girls' played well and got through to the quarter-finals.
Year 3 Science Experiment On Muscle Strength
Year 3 experimented with how far they could flick a ball of paper and examined whether the length of their index finger would be a factor in this. You can ask your child what they found out.
Year 4 Design Interactive Book Illustrations
Year 4 spent the day creating their final products for their D.T project.
Over the course of the term, the children have been exploring levers and linkages and were tasked with creating a product that would make a book illustration more interactive. After following their design brief and narrowing down their brilliant ideas to a final design they set to work. The children worked so hard and were able to overcome obstacles met by evaluating as they progressed and adapting where necessary. We are very proud of them and they are excited to share their products with someone aged 3-5, who were their target audience.
Year 5 Spices Up Maya Day
Year 5 celebrated Maya day, where we learnt more about this ancient civilisation. We made chocolate truffles using an ancient recipe, which were yummy. We then tasted some traditional hot chocolate with added chilli; we were surprised by how tasty it was! Using secondary sources, we created Maya masks to scare away ancient spirits! We then ended the day by playing Pok- Ta- Pok (an ancient version of basketball) but you could only use your elbows, knees and hips. A great day was had by all.
Year 6 Junior Citizens Event at Chessington World of Adventures
The Junior Citizenship trip was an amazing experience for all of us - we learnt how to stay safe in different situations, all the way to how drugs affect our bodies. Everyone got split into teams and there was a challenge to earn the most points. There were loads of scenarios such as: stranger danger, how to use the underground and bus, knives, fire safety, even what to do when someone is unconscious! My favourite part was when an undercover policeman tricked us into following him to the penguins- we all fell for the trick but learnt an important lesson. I think this was a really fun trip and every one received certificates for taking part. Akein - 6H
Year 6 Busy Week
Year 6 have had a very busy week and really demonstrated our values of determination and inspiration! Alongside their mock SATs, there have been plenty of fun, cross-curricular opportunities in the afternoons such as the Junior Citizenship Trip, writing non-chronological reports in English and printing in Art. Take a look at their amazing designs!
Help your child to read
We use the Sound-Write phonics programme in Reception to teach children to read and spell. Soundswrite have a free course for parents to help you support your child at home.
The course will show you how to:
help your child take their first steps in reading and spelling
understand how to help your child build, write and read simple cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words
understand how to correct your child when they make a mistake in their reading or writing simple words
have a basic understanding of how phonics works
https://www.udemy.com/course/help-your-child-to-read-and-write/
SAFEGUARDING, HEALTH AND SUPPORT
Tips for Families.pdfThis is the full safeguarding team in school. They are all trained to Level 3 and everyone in the school received the annual update of Safeguarding Level 2 training at INSET.
Contact details: 020 8397 3864 or email: office@elp.rbksch.org to request a safeguarding call back. For pupil support, contact 020 8397 3864 or email: pupilsupport@elp.rbksch.org
LOCAL EVENTS
ASD support group March 24.docFamily Health & Wellbeing event TCC.pdfBK2002 Nexus A5 South East leaflet.pdfSpring half term 2024 Typing's Cool course parent board flyer (002).pdfFIS Workshop 23 November 2022 (1).pdfSpring Half Term 2024_withlinks.pdf
Kingston Adult Education - Courses for parent and carers
Please click here for a brochure outlining some of the courses available at Kingston Adult Education, part of Kingston Council, during the Spring Term.
A number of these courses are free.
Courses take place at various times and locations across our borough, and include:
· Reducing anxiety and developing resilience in your child
· Help your child be a good friend
· Support your child through exam stress
· Assisting your child with their math's school work
They also offer a comprehensive range of vocational and creative courses to develop your skills, increase your earning potential and improve your wellbeing.
For further information, please contact Kingston Adult Education directly on 020 8547 6700 or at adult.education@kingston.gov.uk