2 MB 30th Mar 2015 Newsletter No 12

Summercroft Primary School
‘Achieving through care, challenge and creativity’
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to the final newsletter of the Spring Term! In typical Summercroft Style it has been a busy fortnight. Thank
you to our whole school community for raising £555.20 on Red Nose Day. The combined bucket collection and cake
sale raised this worthy total. The cake decorating competition was very difficult to judge with such a stunning
collection of imaginative and funny designs. Mary, our wonderful cook, was kept very busy in making her final
decisions. The standard was so high that it was decided to award winners for each year group. So, from Nursery to
Year 6, congratulations go to: Amy Boswell, Zoe Hill, Daniel Gair, Liberty Gill, Oliver Wilding, Jesamine Scales,
Yasmin Vessey and Jessica Glover!
Have you had a close look at the Willow Dome recently? It has begun to show significant signs of growth already!
Please help us to continue to look after it by encouraging children to use the paths through the structure rather than
weave between the willow rods. Thank you.
The Year 6 choir performed at the Rhodes Centre on Wednesday evening and what an enjoyable event it was. It was
made even more special for the Summercroft pupils as the conductor for the extravaganza was Mr Smith! Our pupils
sang beautifully, spoke clearly and shared their moving poetry linked with the World War I and II projects. Speaking
with parents afterwards, I know how much you appreciate these opportunities and all the effort that goes into making
these memorable for the children. Thank you to Miss Lewis who has led the singing with Mrs Monk ably supported by
Mrs Terris and Mrs Dawson. A wonderful team!
Remember that school finishes at 2pm on Thursday 2nd April and I look forward to welcoming you all back on
Monday 20th April at 8.50. Do have a wonderful Easter break.
Warm wishes
Carole Hinstridge
Headteacher
Maths in Year 4
Year 4 have been looking at coordinates and capacity for maths over the last couple of weeks. They have taken a
practical approach to both, going outside to ‘plot people’ on a chair grid and to experiment using water with a
variety of containers. “ We learnt how to use millilitres and litres” said Eve.
The Golden Folder
Congratulations to the following children who have appeared in our Golden Folder recently: Hannah Riley, Katie
Ochiltree, Matthew Goodeve, Toby McCrae, Gardiner Mitchell, Brian Hormbrey, Florence Beint, Maddie DavenportHandley, Hayden Say, Ella Cracknell, Adea Gjoni, Jesamine Scales, Ruby Waller, Maya Gillham, Oliver Cleveland,
Olivia Rnjak, Evie Whitfield, Kaitlyn Dwyer, Jennifer Forey, Oscar Hormbrey, Malena Agathangelou, Harrison
Goodall, Olivia Cumber, Maggie Kellard, Daniel Harris, Erin McNally, Man-Kit Chen, Zoe Stimpson, Joshua Foxall, Joe
Christmas, Robert Clatworthy, Ella Winstanley, Matthew Goodeve, Hugo Hunt, Conor Sinnott, Natasha Allmark, Sam
Monk, Eleanor Gunkel, Niamh O’Connor, Lottie Winstanley, Connor Braddy, Joel Balestra-O’Dare, Hugo Marcos,
Amber Drabwell, Jessica Sword, Jimi Christmas, Eve Ombler, Sasha Phillips, Beech Class, Oliver Cleveland, Harry
Crichlow, Thomas Greenhill, Eva Hall, Euan Hardie, Oscar Gouldson.
Newsletter No. 12 – 27th March 2015
Newsletter No. 12 – 27th March 2015
Happily Ever After!
Year 1 had an amazing time on Thursday 19th March. From the moment
they arrived at school dressed as their favourite fairy-tale character, they
were greeted by the Sorceress from the fairy-tale Sleeping Beauty. She
had cast the spell to make everyone sleep for a hundred years when
Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on the spindle. All the children in role
as their different characters had to help prepare the castle ready for the
royal wedding. They were involved in a vast range of activities including perfume making, decorating cakes, making
potions, candle making, making gargoyles made out of clay to scare away any evil characters and creating garlands
to decorate the Great Hall. By the afternoon, preparation for the wedding and the grand feast were well underway.
The afternoon saw the
Royal Wedding where Cinderella (Emily Woodrow) got
married to Prince Charming
(Tyler Gormer). Following the
wedding, there was a grand
feast with lots of dancing and
music to accompany the food.
The children had a fantastic
time and all lived happily ever
after.
Year 3 visit Colchester Zoo
Year 3 had a wonderful day at
Colchester Zoo where they saw
first hand a large range of
animals from wild hunting dogs
from Africa to tigers. As part of
our Africa topic we visited the 'Out
of Africa' area and the children
were able to experience hands on
feeding of the elephants and
giraffes. The mob of meerkats
were very entertaining, watching
us, watching them.
Pirates in Reception
Everyone in Reception has been busy over the last weeks
with our learning about dinosaurs and, in the last two
weeks we have been enjoying our Pirate themed work,
with lots of activities both inside and outside in our
garden. We have been scrubbing the decks, drawing
and using maps to search out hidden treasure on the field
and in our mud pit and finding out which items are
magnetic. We have been using our large construction kits
to build Pirate ships, complete with our 'Jolly Roger' flag.
We’ve been sending messages in bottles and dancing to
the theme tune from "Captain Pugwash", buying items
from our Pirate Shop and reading some exciting books.
Our learning in Maths has been focused around
quantities and number recognition to 20 and beyond,
and using the language of time to sequence our day.
We want to say a big 'Thank-you' for the offers of help
we have had from people willing to hear children read
and help to prepare some resources for us to use in class.
If there is anyone else who is thinking of offering some of
their time, Ash Class in particular would be very grateful.
School Lunch Payments
Please would all parents/carers ensure that their child's
lunches are paid up to the end of term. You can see your
child’s balance on the School Gateway. Simply log in,
click ‘Payments’, click the ‘Lunch money’ button at the top
of the page and scroll down. You will then be able to see
your child’s balance. Click the ’Top up’ button to make a
payment to keep the balance in credit.
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Newsletter No. 12 – 27th March 2015
Year 6 Buddhism Day
Year 6 enjoyed a day of
Buddhism on Tuesday 17th
March. A Buddhist monk
visited Summercroft and
brought the religion alive.
Some children were able to
dress up in traditional
Buddhist clothing, including
beautiful jewellery and face
painting designs. They then acted out the story of
Siddhartha Gautama who became the enlightened
Buddha. The children learnt about traditions in the
Buddhist religion and were able to see artefacts that
Buddhists use in their worship and daily life. To show
their respect for Buddhist beliefs all the children took
their shoes off when they entered the ‘temple’ area.
How to solve a problem involving frogs
In Maths, Year 5 have been
developing their problem solving skills
… trying to move frogs from one side
of a pond to the other. It was a tricky
problem to solve, we worked hard and
despite wanting to give up on lots of
occasions, we persevered and
managed to solve it!
Our next problem was
to remember how we had done it and
find the best way to record our solution.
Then we added more frogs to see if our
solution worked or if we needed to find
a new one. Why not see if the children
can show you how the frogs move?
Arguments in Year 6
Unfortunately in Birch and Lime class we have been
arguing a lot recently! Luckily for Mrs Cruxon and Miss
Lewis it was all part of a literacy topic, and the children
have been writing balanced arguments for and against
zoos. The children spent time researching and gathering
facts and information about zoos and decided whether
there is still a place for them in our modern society.
Next the children watched a Yotube clip made by an
American child about zoos. They concluded that the
American child’s argument was not balanced, it was
biased and also the presentation left a lot to be desired.
Birch and Lime all knew they could do better, so, they
put together their own iMovies using the iPads and
created scripts from their balanced arguments. As a
finishing touch they added music. The end results really
impressed Mrs Cruxon and Miss Lewis and the children
really enjoyed completing their creations.
Green fingers in Holly
Holly have been very
busy in Science, learning
about plants. We went
outside to learn the name
for deciduous and
evergreen trees and
found out the similarities
and differences between
them. We then learnt the
names and purposes for
the different parts of a plant and have been carefully
watching our Amaryllis grow to see it changing. Last
week we began an investigation to see which liquid
would be the best to help a plant grow. We fed some
basil plants Coca Cola, lemonade, water or orange juice
and have been carefully monitoring their growth. This
week we are going to write conclusions as to which was
best and how we know.
More Year 2 news
What a busy couple of weeks we've had in Oak
class! The children have been working hard at improving
their understanding of fractions, and they really
impressed me by finding lots of ways of shading
one half or one quarter of a shape. Our dinosaur topic
work is carrying on apace too, and the children loved
writing explanations of how the dinosaurs became
extinct. There are some fantastic sketches of T. Rex up in
the classroom now, which is also part of our topic work.
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Newsletter No. 12 – 27th March 2015
Painting in Nursery
This week in Acorn class we have been continuing our work on texture by exploring
making textured paint. We have tried mixing paint and cornflour which according to
Rosie B made it feel "quite silky and soft". We have added glue that makes it feel "a
bit squidgy when you plop it on the paper" explained Bryony. Our favourite
ingredient that we have added to the paint is sawdust which Rosie C explained as
feeling "bumpy”.
SPORT AT SUMMERCROFT
Quick sticks hockey
Two teams competed in the BSP level 2 Quick sticks
hockey competition held at Birchwood High school on
Friday 20th March. Luckily the weather was sunny for
the games to take place on the astro pitches. Year 6
have been practising and refining their hockey skills and
team playing in P.E. lessons and it was difficult to narrow
the selection to 14 players. Both teams showed great
sportsmanship and skills resulting in a win for
Summercroft A team. They now go ahead to represent
the BSP at the Level 3 County Games on Thursday 25th
June.
Year 6 Athletics
March has been an active month for the sporting
members of Summercroft. On Tuesday 17th March the
Year 6 athletic squad represented the Birchwood School
Partnership (BSP) at the Level 3 Sports hall Athletics
finals at Wodson Park. Despite a few late injuries we
were able to send a squad of 16. The competition was
tough with teams from St Albans, Hertford and Ware
and Stevenage competing. All gave 100% in both track
and field events. Overall we came a commendable 8th
and 9th. A big thank you to those parents who
transported and supported the squad to the competition.
Cheerleading
Another win! The
Cheerleading Squad put in
two teams at the competition
at Birchwood on Friday. The
Level 2 team won.
They have worked extremely
hard on their routines during
the lunchtime club so a super
result! The trophy can be
seen in the library.
Virtual Speedstacking
Today, Speedstacking enthusiasts will have recorded
their quickest time for 3,3,3 3,6,3 and full cycle stacks.
These will be entered today as part of the Virtual
Speedstacking Competition.
Gymnastics
At the time of printing this newsletter Year 4 gymnasts
will have completed their floor routines and vaults. They
have worked extremely hard both during lessons and in
their lunch times. Look out for an update next time.
Celebrating Children’s Achievements Outside Of School!
Beavers’ Splash Night
On Saturday 21st March, it was the annual
Bishop’s Stortford Beavers Splash Night, a
swimming gala attended by most local beaver
colonies. The winning colony this year was
Ocean Colony from 1st Hockerill and Bishop’s
Stortford Scout Group, who retained the title for
the second year running. Summercroft pupils that
were part of the winning team were Jamie
Paramo, Alex Riley, Severin Fleet, Sam Watkins,
Oscar Gouldson and Sophie Smith.
Squash
Alex Banhidai in Year 4 plays Squash
as part of the Essex Junior Squash
Squad. He is currently ranked at 46 in
England Under 11. On 23rd March,
he had the unique opportunity to play
on an all-glass professional court at
Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands.
He met some of the best players in the
world and was able to watch 4
matches.
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