Rivers, Sausages and Electricity
Year 5 and 6
Year 5 and 6 took part in a school trip organised by Winchester College this week to explore their nature reserve and learn more about life in our local rivers. Activities included: lighting their own campfire, cooking sausages over the fire, learning how the chalk base of the river affects the purity of the water and identifying some of the many creatures that live in our local rivers.
The weather held out for all groups and everyone had a fantastic time. Some of the comments after the trip included:
“I loved that we were able to see dragonfly up close.”
“I never realised there were so many different animals living in the rivers and that fly larvae could look so different form each other.”
“The walks were beautiful and the sausages were delicious!”
Thanks go to Winchester College for allowing us into their nature reserve and leading the tasks and for Mrs Horkan for organising the trip.
Year 3 and 4
This week, Year 3 and 4 have been learning about electrical circuits. They explored the components of circuits and used this knowledge to look at images of circuits and predict if they would work or not. The children used a variety of bulbs, buzzers and motors to check their predictions. What a lot of bright sparks!
Year 1 and 2
We began to look at the artist Andy Goldsworthy this week in year 1/2. We researched him using the chrome books, drawing his sculptures and making notes about his life. Then we had a go at creating Andy Goldsworthy inspired art using natural objects we found in our outside area.
Juniper Class experiment with Skittles
In Juniper the children have had a week of exploring different ideas through science. We have attempted to make balloon powered cars, catapults from lolly sticks and have taken part in experiments with colour. Look below to see the result of our Skittles experiment.
Stanmore Post - 18 June 2021
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As you will be aware the Government have delayed the ending of the Lockdown restrictions. This will have some impact on our end of year events. The most significant impact is that children have to remain in their bubbles. All other control measures will remain in place, including all visitors wearing face coverings on site and maintaining the one way system.
Sports Day: This will be a children only event and will take place over 3 consecutive afternoons. Weather permitting, we will hold this in the week commencing 12th July. We will share photos on the website.
Hawaiian Disco: The Friends of the School are working hard to ensure that this can go ahead within current Government Guidance and will update you of any revisions to their risk assessment. Unfortunately, parents cannot gather on site to wait for children while the disco is on.
Transition Days: Regrettably Kings have had to cancel the Yea r6 Induction Days and Information Evening. Instead they will be hosting a virtual information evening for parents on the Kings YouTube channel. In addition there will be an opportunity for the children to access short videos of introduction from the different departments alongside a virtual tour of the school. In school we will provide opportunities for children to meet their new teachers with other children from their current bubble. We will leave the whole class transition days ‘Shuffle Up’ until the last week of term in anticipation of relaxation of the guidance on July 19th.
Year 6 Production and Year R Talent Show: These will be made available to parents online.
Leavers Service: This is planned for the 21st July. Please hold this date and we will make a decision about whether this can go ahead with an audience of 30 parents or carers, possibly outdoors, nearer the time.
While I am as disappointed as you are not to be able to return to ‘normal’ events just yet, I am pleased that we are still able to provide a full enrichment curriculum for the children. The school events this term have all been planned so that they could be adapted rather than cancelled. The children are now used to working within their bubbles and continue to adapt and adjust well to the circumstances. Unfortunately it is Parents, Grandparents and Carers who are still missing out on the audience participation experience which I know you will have been looking forward to.
We were able to hold Parents Evening this week and this included a mix of face to face and virtual appointments. Thank you to all Parents and Carers who attended. If you were unable to make your appointment and would like to talk through any concerns, please contact the school office to arrange a follow up telephone call with the teacher or with Mrs Taylor, Mrs Fenton or Mrs Atkins.
Children throughout the school have already benefited from a wonderful Enterprise Day. Oak and Elm are now preparing presentations for their preferred charity and will vote on where the money should go. This week we were able to invite the Young Shakespeare Company into school where they gave an outstanding performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to a reduced capacity audience of children in Year 4, 5 and 6. They engaged all of the children and it was a pleasure to see their faces as they were drawn into the production. Watching a live performance after so long was very powerful and we have booked for a return visit next year.
Children in Catkins have held an excellent performance of their own, in a wonderful Talent Show produced as a superb video by Sean Pruen. This will be shared on Tapestry before being published on the website, with the permission of the year R parents. The Reading Festival can go ahead as planned.
It seems that the new normal is still an unpredictable place to be. As a community we now have a proven track record of resilience. We are in a better situation than we were. Your children are having a wider range of experiences this term than they were this time last year. We need to remain positive and hopeful that better times continue to be ahead of us.
Best wishes
Sharon Taylor
A Midsummer Night's Dream
This week Year 4, 5 and 6 were treated to a performance by the fantastic Young Shakespeare Company. The actors cleverly intertwined Shakespeare and modern language and encouraged all the children to be involved. Everyone was thoroughly entertained and it was amazing to see children so young beginning to enjoy the work of such a famous play writer.
Well done to all the ‘actors’ and a huge well done for all the children and their active participation.
Stanmore Post - 11 June 2021
Dear Parents/ Carers,
The children have had an exciting start to the last half of the summer term. This week they celebrated Empathy day through a variety of exciting activities.The children discovered that empathy can be learnt and that reading is a key tool to building their emotional literacy. By identifying with book characters, they found out about how to see the world from other points of view. The children wore their empathy glasses to find shoes hidden in the school grounds with clues to characters they have encountered in the books they have read this year. They also drew kindness monsters and made empathy resolutions. There is a parent pack for family activities and you can find out more at: https://www.empathylab.uk/empathyday-2021
This week is Enterprise Week. Children in Year 5/6 have been aiming to ‘grow a pound.’ Year 5 and 6 children designed, produced, marketed and sold a range of items. These included fidget spinners, masks, bracelets, stress relief toys and refreshments. The children had to consider the quality of their products and their profit margins. The younger children exchanged money for tokens and had the fun of choosing something to buy. The children raised approximately £100 will go towards a charity that they will vote for. We intend to hold this Enterprise event annually to promote innovation through business enterprise. The children learned from the experience and the successes and improvements will shape next year’s plans. See more of the events here.
There are several other events to look out for. You will have had a text notification about Parents Evening next week. This is a blended offer of face to face on Tuesday 15th June from 3:30 – 7pm and virtual via Google Meets on Thursday 17th June from 3.30 – 6pm. The Parents Evening is an opportunity to share successes and challenges that your child has experienced this year. The teacher will be able to give an indication of any significant learning that your child has missed or is not yet secure in due to the period of restrictions to school attendance. Mrs Taylor and Mrs Fenton are also available for an appointment to answer any questions on how the school is addressing this learning loss and any specific additional support that parents could provide. Please sign up through Scopay. You will receive your child’s report later this term.
Next week we have The Young Shakespeare Company in school to perform ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to children in Year 4/5/6. This promises to be a memorable event and one that we intend to repeat on an annual basis.
Mrs Jones will be writing to you about the very exciting ‘Reading Festival’ planned for Monday 28th June. This is a lively outdoor reading experience based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Similar to outdoor learning day, the children will be off timetable exploring the events on the various ‘stages.’ Children can dress up on the day and the letter will give more detail about what they can wear that will give the day a fun festival feel.
The Friends of the School have been busy planning a Covid safe Hawaiian Disco which all of the children can look forward to. This year, they are offering a special Year 6 only leavers Disco in addition to the main discos, which I hope will be a great opportunity for the Year 6 children to celebrate their time together. Later this term we are planning a Year 6 production, a Leavers’ Service and Sports Day. At the moment, these events are being planned within the current Government guidelines which limits the way in which we can involve parents. However, we can adapt as rules allow and we will find ways to share some events virtually if necessary.
As they grow up through the school, we want all of our children to experience similar enrichment experiences. This shapes their sense of belonging, gives them events to look forward to in the year and a shared history of their time at Stanmore Primary School.
As we begin to plan transition for September I am able to share the class structure for 2021/22
YR Catkins: Miss Day
Y1/2 Maple: Miss Williamson
Y1/2 Rowan: Mr Read
Y3/4 Birch: Mrs Jones
Y3/4 Sycamore: Miss Evers
Y3/4 Willow: Mrs Haumann and Miss Hurley
Y5/6 Aspen: Mrs Atkins and Miss Kelly
Y5/6 Oak: Mrs Horkan
Y5/6 Elm: Mrs Kempson
This means that we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Laver and Miss Joyce. Mrs Laver started at Stanmore with me and has made a significant contribution to the school improvement journey. She is a very well-liked and respected colleague and we will miss her but wish her well with her future plans. Miss Joyce has been covering Miss Hurley’s maternity leave and has taught not only her own class but several combinations of bubbles during lockdown. The staff and children have really enjoyed working with her. She is moving to a new school in September and we wish her well. You will notice that Miss Kelly joins Aspen Class as a class teacher and we are delighted that she has been able to take the next step in her teaching career at Stanmore Primary School.
Best wishes
Sharon Taylor
Enterprise week
Grow a pound
This week our year 5 and 6’s were given the challenge of taking a pound and creating a product for others to buy . All the children have been working throughout the week to design / create their products ready to sell to the rest of the school this Friday. As you can see from the photos, they all worked incredibly hard and would like to thank everyone for all their support. We will let you know how much they raised when it has all been counted.
Empathy Day
The children at Stanmore School celebrated EMPATHY day through a variety of exciting activities.
Empathy is the ability to feel and understand other people’s emotions and perspective. Almost like you are stepping into their shoes. At the current time we have never needed empathy more than ever.
The children learnt that empathy can be learnt, reading is a key tool to building the emotional literacy of children and young people, by identifying with book characters, we can all learn to see the world from other points of view.
The children wore their empathy glasses to find shoes hidden in the school grounds with clues to characters they have encountered in the books they have read this year.
They also drew kindness monsters and made empathy resolutions.
Year 1 and 2
This week we began a new topic called "Gone for Good," and as part of it we went on an archaeological dig! The children were equipped with tools and spent some time discovering some lost artefacts. They made links between them and predicted what they might be. The children thought about what makes something a historical discovery or not and we are looking forward to exploring the mystery of history throughout this topic.
Stanmore Post - 28 May 2021
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As part of our ongoing assessment this year children in Year 6 have taken part in a SATs week. Although testing is not statutory this year, we wanted our children in Year 6 to have the opportunity to complete the usual process of SATs including the breakfast. I am incredibly proud to see how far they have all come. The whole Year 6 team have approached the week with a positive attitude and a determination to do their best. We celebrated their efforts this afternoon with a special pizza treat.
This half term it has been good to have all of the children back in school and working through the planned curriculum together. We have continued to prioritise reading, writing and maths with an expectation that every child can be successful. Read more about our curriculum intention at: https://www.stanmore.hants.sch.uk/the-stanmore-curriculum
In the wider curriculum children in Year 3 / 4 have been working on an exciting design project. They have all had the opportunity to dye fabric, and create patterns through weaving, finally creating a sewn quilt patch. In Year 1 / 2 children have been using Google websites to show what they have learned about the lives of significant individuals. Some children have shown innovation in selecting their own choice of individuals and reasons for comparing them. Children in Catkins are working on their Rainbow Challenges, finding ways to extend their thinking and create new ideas. You can see more of our work here.
Currently, we are still working within the Covid-19 guidance outlined as part of the Government road map and so we are still limited in what we can do. This will remain in place after half term and until the next announcement from the Government. Thank you for your ongoing support. The advice from the Local Authority remains:
Plan an event that can be cancelled
Plan a virtual event that can be revised and adapted in line with the guidance
Plan an event under the current restrictions
We are planning to limit the number of parents on site for the planned Parents Evening by introducing a blended model approach. Details of this will follow in a separate letter. The in person evening will be 15.6.21 and the virtual evening will be 17.6.21 We look forward to sharing your child’s successes this year with you and planning a smooth transition into next year for them. Children’s books will be sent home at the end of term. Next half term we have a number of exciting summer events planned. The plans that we have for the summer term take this advice and the Government Guidance into account. This enables us to work as safely as possible while still giving children enjoyable experiences.
I hope that you can enjoy a happy and sunny half term week. School opens again on Monday 7th June.
Best Wishes
Sharon Taylor
Happy half term
Well done year 6!
This week our Year 6’s have completed a mock SATS weeks to enable them to fully experience life at the top of the school and to allow staff to see how well they have progressed. All the pupils were impeccably behaved and to celebrate their achievements, the children were treated to pizza and a film on Friday afternoon. We are all extremely proud of them.
Year 3 and 4
As part of our Art and DT curriculums, the children have been learning to sew. After practising on a piece of card , they moved onto Binca to develop their running stitches. Some children learnt how to cross stich too! They tie-dyed a piece of fabric and will be using their sewing skills to create a quilt piece.
We also built our own looms and learn to weave, selecting different colours and textures of fabric and wool for effect. We think that they look fabulous!
This week in RE, Year 3 and 4 have been learning about Sacred Places, what it means for something to be 'sacred' and how this may make us or others feel. The children have thought about what they might put in a shrine within a sacred place and why.
We have also performed the play scripts that we had written based the opening scene of “The Tempest”. We needed to learn about how to write a play script, including the use of colons and brackets for stage directions.
Stanmore Post - 21 May 2021
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Outdoor learning day yesterday was successful and enjoyable. The children were able to be part of their house teams within their class bubbles. Thank you for your support in sending them dressed and prepared for the day. Fortunately it only got showery towards the end of the afternoon. Reflecting on the day, the children said that they enjoyed making the miniature village dens the most. However, there were many other activities that they enjoyed. The hanging art was popular because this was part of an inter-house team competition for the outdoor artist’s prize. It was a close call but Lark House were the winners with a beautiful display of carefully constructed hanging art. The outdoor art theme continued with chalk drawings and alphabetical letters made by collecting very small natural materials. In other areas around the school children created giant symmetrical bugs using wood and natural materials and they enjoyed the opportunity to make potions. I am sure you have noticed the fence weaving by the carpark, the colour is very striking. Hanging in the woodland trees are a number of bug hotels made using natural materials.
Stepping back from the activities, it was a pleasure to notice some other the other features of this positive event. Seeing the children work so well in teams was lovely. During the reflection at the end of the day the children commented on co-operation, one of our keys for success. This was the key that the children believed that they had most successfully demonstrated. The other one was ‘resilience’ as some children surprised themselves by being able to cope with the outdoors all day. We see this event linking into our residential activities – Minstead in December for Year 4 and Stubbington in September for Year 6. Building traditions that are part of the Stanmore Curriculum helps the children to develop a range of skills and emotional resilience. If your child is anxious about the residential it might help to remind them how well they coped with and enjoyed the outdoor learning day. If you have a child in Year 3 or Year 5 at the moment and you haven’t completed a form for our residential offers yet this can be done via SCOPAY. Please contact the school office if you have any queries.
Our wider curriculum is beginning to open up and we have a popular Dance Club, Intergr8 that runs after school on Wednesdays. We also have a KS2 girls’ football and Y5/6 boys’ football clubs. Children can still sign up for these chargeable clubs. On Monday you will receive a letter offering the remaining spaces and providing more details. We are also booking our music teachers for next year. On Monday, you will receive a letter asking you if you would like to sign your child up for music lessons with a Hampshire Music Teacher. We currently offer teaching in string instruments, brass instruments, piano or percussion. There is a cost involved, music lessons are £100/term and for that reason we offer a trial lesson before you commit to the term. If you have any questions about clubs or music lessons, please ask Mrs Taylor or contact the admin office.
Best Wishes
Sharon Taylor
Outdoor Learning Day
KS1
The whole school took part in a range of activities throughout the day, including building small den villages out of natural materials and creating hanging art. The children all had a wonderful time and even managed to avoid the rain long enough to eat lunch outside! Thank you to all the parents for ensuring that the children were dressed for any weather.
Year 3 and 4
The children in Year 3 and 4 thoroughly enjoyed the Outdoor Learning Day. The children decorated their initials using natural resources, created art with nature and adding extensions and new additions to the house ‘villages’. In the afternoon they were set the challenge of measuring an amount of water using different types of containers and everyone rose to the occasion. We all had a fantastic day!
Year 5 and 6
Year 5 and 6 came prepared for Outdoor Learning Day and had an amazing time working in different places of the schools grounds to create natural art and face challenges. The children created some fantastic water colours, as well as making the alphabet out of natural resources, creating their own animals and even measuring the whole field using only one 30cm ruler! the children especially enjoyed weaving different materials through the fences. It was a really great day!
Year 5 and 6 writers
Is this a dagger I see before me?
This week, Year 5/6 have been using drama to explore Shakespeare's well-known play, Macbeth. Focusing on Macbeth's speech in Act 2, the children were asked to define unknown words to help them understand what was being said. They were then given the tricky challenge of translating the speech and rewriting it themselves using modern-day vocabulary.
