Burnham-on-Crouch Primary School is OPEN today.  In the interests of the safety of all of our children and families, please do not drive into Dunkirk Road unless absolutely necessary.

Children are welcome to wear any warm clothes today along with boots or wellies.  Craig has worked hard all weekend to clear the school grounds so that the children can go outside and enjoy the weather!

Safer Journeys to School

The school run has long been cited as an example of what many see as an unnecessary car journey and one that adds hugely to pollution and traffic problems in towns and residential areas. At this school, the sheer volume of traffic in a narrow road, coupled with the small minority of parents who park dangerously or illegally seriously compromises the safety of our children and families. Whilst some parents would argue that the car is their only means of getting their children to school many parents around the country have formed an environmentally friendly alternative, a ‘Walking Bus’ This is a scheme that enables children to travel to school safely as part of a supervised group, whilst helping to cut down on the congestion and pollution problems caused by cars doing the same journey.

A Walking Bus is a group of children who meet at a pre-arranged point or are picked up en route and walk to school under the supervision of an appropriate number of adults.

We are investigating the possibility of setting up such a scheme at Burnham-on-Crouch Primary School but to do so we need to find out how many parents would be interested in using it. We also need to secure the commitment of a group of parents and carers who would be willing to run it with support and guidance from the school.

Could you please complete the slip sent home last week and return it to the school or email us at admin@burnham-on-crouch.essex.sch.uk by Friday 3rd February to indicate the level of need and support for this initiative.

Thank you.

Norfolk Class

I am writing to let you know that Mrs Southcombe will be retiring from Burnham-on-Crouch Primary School at the end of the Spring Term. It had been her intention to delay her retirement until the end of the academic year but she has now decided to bring those plans forward. Mrs Southcombe has been a teacher at this school for over 20 years and she will be greatly missed.

Mrs Champion will be returning from her secondment at Perryfields Infant School after the Easter holidays and will take over as Classteacher in Norfolk Class for the Summer Term.

I am sure that you will all join me in welcoming Mrs Champion back to Burnham-on-Crouch Primary School and wishing Mrs Southcombe a long, happy and relaxing retirement.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Nicky Tothill
Headteacher

This term looks to be very busy in the Foundation Stage with our two main topics being Winter and People Who Help Us.

Communication, Language and Literacy.

In this area, we will be learning how to retell stories in the correct sequence and using imaginative and descriptive words in our writing.

During our visits to the school library, we will be learning how to use a dictionary and enjoying non fiction books to help us research our topics.

Wordbooks are now coming home for the children to practise reading keywords. These words are individual to each child, and regular practice will help ensure they reach their full potential.

Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy.

As with phonics, writing and reading, numeracy is differentiated into four groups to cater for the children’s individual needs. This term, the children will be experiencing lots of practical activities to develop their understanding about measuring, position, 2D and 3D shapes and coin recognition.

We will be learning how to record a number sentence and writing our numbers correctly.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

Linking to our winter topic, we will be investigating ice and how and why it can change. For our People who help us topic, we have invited people from the local community to come and visit us.

We will be celebrating the festival of Chinese New Year with a visitor who will be sharing Chinese customs, dances and artefacts. This will be developed in the classroom by locating China on a map, making lanterns, lucky bags, masks and dragons alongside the opportunity to try a variety of Chinese food.

We will also continue to visit the ICT suite weekly to develop topic work, keyboard skills and mouse control.

Physical Development.

The children will continue to swim weekly, with two P.E sessions a week. This term, the children are concentrating on gymnastics and dance.

Creative Development

We will be making clay snowmen and using a variety of media to design collages. We are still very lucky to have Mrs Batchelor-Walsh, a specialist music teacher, to visit us once a week. The children will be learning a variety of songs from around the world.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

We will be thinking about what makes a good friend and why they are special to us. We will also be discussing our individual qualities and what makes us unique.

Welcome back to Middle school! Rumour has it the Aztecs are coming, and we are getting prepared! The children have began their work on this topic, and have enjoyed learning about who the Aztecs actually were, where they were from, and also some of the Aztec Gods. Over the rest of this half term, the children will be finding more out about them. 

Needless to say, Maths and Literacy will continue. For Maths, there is going to be an even bigger push on securing times table facts, so any help that can be given at home practising times tables and playing times table games will be greatly appreciated! In Literacy, presentation of work is a key area to be looked at, quality as well as quantity being addressed. 

In Science, we have begun to look at Friction and forces. The children will be experimenting with and experiencing different types of forces, how to measure force, and how friction can result in a greater force being required at times! 

As you are aware, middle school children are currently taking part in FA skills football sessions on Tuesdays outside, so trainers are a must.

Ormiston Rivers Academy )formally St Peter’s High School) is inviting all parents and community members to come along to their Open Evening to find out more about what the new academy has to offer.

The Open Evening is on Tuesday 27th September 2011 between 6.00pm and 9.00pm

Ms Costello, the Principal of the Academy, will be speaking between 7pm and 8pm. 

We hope that you will go along and see the changes for yourself even if you already have children at the school or have been to view the school before.  It really is a very different school and this years’ GCSE results were significantly improved with 52% pupils acheiving 5 A* to Cs including English and Maths.

http://www.ormistonriversacademy.co.uk/

In all of our literacy work this year we will be developing our understanding of sentence and text structures and we will continue to improve our handwriting, spelling and presentation skills. We will be beginning the year by focusing on journalistic writing.   We will look at newspaper articles, listen to radio broadcasts and watch news clips.  We will then become reporters and film our own news bulletin and produce our own written news reports.

In maths during the first half term we will focus on place value and using the four operations.  We will be rounding, estimating and solving problems.  We will be working with decimal numbers, negative numbers and brackets.  We will also be developing our mental maths skills.

This term, our topic will be Africa, with a particular focus on Ghana.  Children will develop their geographic skills, an understanding of human and physical properties, environmental changes and issues along with economic development.  

In Science we are developing our knowledge of interdependence and adaptation.  We will look at different habitats and animals that live in these different environments and how they co-exist.  We will also use keys and branching databases to classify animals and plants.

In all of our literacy work this year we will be developing our understanding of sentence and text structures and we will continue to improve our handwriting, spelling and presentation skills. We will be beginning the year by focusing on journalistic writing. We will look at newspaper articles, listen to radio broadcasts and watch news clips. We will then become reporters and film our own news bulletin and produce our own written news reports.

In maths during the first half term we will focus on place value and using the four operations. We will be rounding, estimating and solving problems. We will be working with decimal numbers, negative numbers and brackets. We will also be developing our mental maths skills.

This term, our topic will be Africa, with a particular focus on Ghana. Children will develop their geographic skills, an understanding of human and physical properties, environmental changes and issues along with economic development.

In Science we are developing our knowledge of interdependence and adaptation. We will look at different habitats and animals that live in these different environments and how they co-exist. We will also use keys and branching databases to classify animals and plants.

To help enable a smooth transition from Reception to Year One we would like to provide you with some useful information.

Parent Helpers:          We welcome help from parents/carers etc within the classroom. If you are able to come in and listen to readers or work in a small group then please let a member of the Year One team know. Any help is appreciated no matter how short the time period!

Swimming:                    This will take place every Tuesday Morning. Miss Woodhouse’s class (Stansted) will swim before break (9:00-10:30am) and Mrs Search’s class (Chelmsford) will swim after break (10:30am-12noon). Please let us know if you can help with swimming as it would be greatly appreciated. 

PE:                               This will take place on a Thursday afternoon. The children will need a pair of shorts, a T shirt and plimsolls, with track suits for when the weather gets colder. Please ensure that all items are clearly labelled in a named PE bag and kept in school at all times. Earrings should not be worn on PE days and long hair must be tied back.  

Homework:                   Homework will be set weekly on a Friday and is expected in by the following Thursday. Children will be given a named book to complete their homework in. The homework is set to consolidate/support their learning within the class; therefore it is important that they complete it as independently as possible. The children will be rewarded for completing their homework. In the homework book you will find a list of ‘Year One Key Words’. Where possible please encourage your child to read and write these words (perhaps focussing on a few a week). When you feel your child is secure please indicate in the book.

Reading:                       It is very important that your child reads regularly at home. We encourage the children to read as much as possible and discuss what they have read. Books will be changed on a Tuesday and Friday to enable the children to develop a secure understanding of what they have read (however please ensure that they have their reading record in school every day). The children will be rewarded if they read 3 times or more over the week so please make sure that you log in the reading record when you have listened to your child read. It is always useful if you include a short comment to say how your child has coped.

 If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Year One team.