November Newsletter

Riversidenews
I S S U E 35 - November 2015
Dear Families,
What better way to start the run in to the
Christmas period than by celebrating the success
of our Christmas Fair. Thank you to the record
number of families and staff that attended the
Fair on Saturday and, as you can see from the
photos on page 4, it was a wonderful occasion.
For us, events such as these provide an
opportunity for the school community to come together and it was great to see so many current pupils, from all
phases, as well as a number of ex-pupils that returned to join in the fun. We also raised a record
amount, approximately £2,700, and I would like to thank everyone involved in making this year's Fair such a
success.
Family engagement and involvement is extremely important to us on so many different levels and we are
seeing a real growth in attendance at our different seasonal events, at Riverside Connect, at our Performing
Arts open sessions and at show sessions such as Physibods. We are wholly committed to working in close
partnership with you in order for your child to Be All That They Can Be at Riverside School and following the
very successful family/teacher discussions that took place just before half term, you will have just received
your child's brand new Personal Learning Plan. We hope that you like this new format and, as always, please
feel free to give us any feedback.
As we move into December, our incredible pupils will ensure that our Christmas Shows will be as memorable as
ever and I am sure you will already have the following dates in your diaries: the Beckenham Show is
on Tuesday 8th December at Riverside Beckenham; the Primary Christmas Show is on Wednesday 9th
December at Riverside SPC and the Secondary Show is on Thursday 10th December at Riverside SPC. All
shows will start promptly at 10:30am and we very much look forward to seeing you there. We can promise
that they will be an unforgettable end to the year.
This year, due to the logistical issues around transporting the whole school to St. Barnabas Church, we will be
holding our Riverside SPC Carol Service at school on the morning of 17th December. This event will be for
pupils and staff. We are holding our Riverside Beckenham Carol Service at St. George's Church, Beckenham, at
2pm on 17th December and this event is open to all families.
With very best wishes,
Steve Solomons
Hadteacher
Be All That You Can Be
1
This half-term, one of our topics is ’Celebrations’ and here is a selection of wonderful activities we have used as
part of this topic which you might like to try at home too:

Venus have been doing some lovely work for our Celebrations topic. One of our favourite things to do has
been craft activities; we have made masks for our Carnival sensory story and Rangoli
patterns to explore Diwali. We’ve really enjoyed getting our hands into the different
messy textures, glitter and paint!

This term in Earth class we had a Thanksgiving dinner and shared all the things we
were thankful for in our lives. The pupils had a great discussion and shared some lovely
thoughts including they are thankful for clean water, their home and friends and family.

In Neptune class we wrote our own shaped Firework poem. By watching fireworks
displays we learnt what adjectives and verbs are. We then used these words to create
our poems in the shape of a firework.

In Hippos this half-term, we have been enjoying lots of different celebrations including Diwali, Christmas,
Bonfire night and Mexican fiestas! During our Mexican fiestas we have worn sombreros, danced to mariachi
music and had lots of Piñata based fun. If you want to continue the Mexico theme, you could fill a balloon
with something exciting like water or feathers and then pop them after ready, steady, go!

In Jupiter class, we have had a lot fun making mini birthday cakes using muffin paper cases, shaving foam
and glitter and had even more fun counting and splatting them! Why not try a version using spray cream and
smarties - yummy!

In Leopards class, we have loved having a Mexican celebration! We all wore sombreros and made our own
papier mache maracas by filling balloons with rice and then decorating them. We had so much fun shaking
our maracas when we had finished making them! Perhaps your child could make some papier mache
maracas at home using balloons, rice and newspaper? The Leopards team would love to hear if you have
tried this fun activity!

Crocodiles had so much fun learning about fireworks. Our favourite activity was our sensory story where we
LOVED hearing the fireworks go "BANG" by popping a balloon.

In Koalas, we have been making lots of cakes for Christmas. We made biscuits and decorated them using
edible glitter which can be made by using casting sugar and one tea spoon of food colouring. Cook for 10
minutes at 200 degrees. Looks sparkly and magical!

In Elephants class we love decorating pictures! An activity we love to do is 'Party Paint'. To do this you need
to:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Find or draw an exciting black and white picture.
Put a small amount of paint in a few Party Poppers.
Cover your surface with newspaper (it gets very messy!)
Put your picture of the newspaper
Point the party popper towards the picture and...
PULL THE STRING!
The Zebras have loved learning about celebrations! One of our
favourite celebrations has been FIREWORK NIGHT. We made
firework pictures using paint on black paper. We blew through a
straw to make a firework effect!
2
Celebrations Activities

In Giraffes class, we have been making Fireworks for Diwali by putting paint and glitter in balloons and
popping them over black paper.

Mars class have loved learning about different celebrations. Our favourite was fireworks night. An activity we
all loved was painting our own fireworks pictures on black paper using lots of colourful paints and glitter.

Recently in Pandas class, we have been exploring carnivals as part of our Celebrations topic. This has
involved us dressing to impress by finding our favourite sparkly clothes and accessories in a box, putting
them on and looking at our reflection in the mirror. Can you find your favourite fancy clothes at home to
dress up for a carnival?
 As part of our Celebra on topic, in Discovery class we looked at how we celebrate our birthdays. We then played with birthday party food in messy play; our favourites were wibbly, wobbly Jelly and yummy angel delight! Discovery Class loved ge ng s cky and messy. We also loved that we could eat as we played!  As part of our Celebration topic, Challenger Class learnt
about Diwali. We held a Diwali day and invited our friends for a
yummy curry. Sonali's mum, Arpita, came and taught us about
Henna. The staff all had Henna tattoos done. They looked
beautiful.

Grasshoppers class have had an great me learning about fireworks and different colours. We have seen real sparklers and find these fascina ng to watch and we will say, sign, gesture or vocalise for ‘more’. In Art, we have made our own firework pictures by choosing different coloured paints and adding gli er to them. Why don’t you try this at home, it will really brighten up the place! Makaton Symbol for
‘Celebrate’
Lots of families are now paying for school meals and other activities
online using SIMS Agora.
Earlier this half-term we sent home another activation code after SIMS AGORA our online payments system. We
do hope you have already signed up but please contact the school office if you need a new code.
SIMS Agora is very easy-to-use and will offer you the flexibility to make online payments whenever and
wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week safe in the knowledge that payments are secure and use the
highest level of card security and that funds will reach the school safely. It will also significantly reduce the
amount of administration time in school. For further information or advice, please contact the school office.
Congratulations!
To Daniella
Costanza and
Nick on the birth
of Ethan
To Holly Wheatley
and Joe on the
birth of Florence
3
Christmas Fair 2015
Thank You For Your Support
4
Further details for any specific events will follow
Thank you to families who joined us at
Riverside Connect on 10th November. Our
next event is on 15th December with a
focus on Sharing Attention.
We do hope you can join us.
02/12/15—E-Safety Parents Information Evening
08/12/15—Riverside Beckenham Christmas Concert
09/12/15—Primary (SPC) Christmas Concert
10/12/15—Secondary/6th Form Christmas Concert
14/12/15—Sibling Christmas Party (Primary SPC)
15/12/15—Riverside Connect
16/12/15—Beckenham Christmas Party
17/12/15—Christmas Carol Service
18/12/15—Last day of Autumn Term
Do you know if your children are safe on-line?
A reminder that our Parents E-safety talk with national E-safety adviser Alan Mackenzie is on
Wednesday 2nd December at 6:30pm at Riverside St Paul’s Cray.
You can find further helpful information by clicking the following link:
http://www.esafety-adviser.com/latest-newsletter
Recipe of the Month
Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch dried chilli flakes
2 tblsp olive oil
500g grated carrots
1 large onion, chopped
140g split red lentils
1l hot vegetable stock
125ml milk
plain yogurt
Naan bread, to serve
Method
1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump
around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside.
2. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the
lentils have swollen and softened.
3. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer).
4. Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with
warmed naan breads.
Be All That You Can Be
5