Weekly Newsflash! 26th January 2024
Coming up next week…
| Monday | – Chinese students visiting Askrigg – Eco Warrior Meeting |
| Tuesday | – Y3 & Y4 Swimming Please can children come into school with their swimming gear underneath their uniform, along with a towel, water bottle and goggles if they wish. Children are also welcome to bring a piece of fruit with them 🙂 |
| Wednesday | – Y3 Dodgeball @ Richmond School – After School Sports @ Askrigg |
| Thursday | – Y6 Dodgeball @ Richmond School |
| Friday | – Celebration Assembly – Science Club @ Askrigg |
Calendar
Headteacher’s Update
Dear families,
Thank you for the messages of congratulations I have received since the letter from our Chair of Governors was sent out on Wednesday evening. I am thrilled to be asked to lead such a wonderful group of schools and I feel honoured to have been chosen to succeed Miss Harper. I would very much like to start my new role by listening to your views; please look out for a parent survey in the near future. You are, of course, welcome to email me or phone if you would like to get in touch directly. Our admin team are very good at passing on any emails but you can also contact me on [email protected].
Wensleydale Tournament of Song
Singing practice sessions have begun for this historic tournament. The children at West Burton are already sounding very professional under the expert tutelage of Sally Stone and we had a super ‘taster’ session at Askrigg with Debbie Allenby.
We had intended to take a choir of children from Askrigg but we have received an extremely kind offer of additional help with the singing practice from Sally Stone. This help means Year 4 will be able to be part of a singing group with Years 2 and 3, with Sally teaching the same songs to all of them. Thank you so much Sally for this wonderful offer, which entails additional time and travel for you.
Year 5 and 6 will be form a second group, with Debbie Allenby teaching them their songs. Our heartfelt thanks to Debbie too for her willingness to help our children prepare.
Nursery Taster Afternoon
Supporting Your Child with Y6 Maths SATs
Robins
We have embraced the colder weather and combined this with the children’s interests to enhance learning in Robins this week. The children have loved exploring the ice again. We froze ice into different shaped moulds which the children enjoyed taking into our mud kitchen area to add to their “magic potions”. They were asked to investigate how they could make the ice melt faster to get to whatever is in the middle, eg. Sprinkling mud onto it, pouring warmer water onto it- rather than just stamping on it!
We have also started learning about the Arctic ( the North Pole) and Antarctic (the South Pole). The children are learning about the different animals that live in the Arctic and the Antarctic. They know that Penguins and Polar Bears would not normally meet and live in the same place. We explored where the Arctic and Antarctic are on a map and globe and the children enjoyed playing with and sorting the animals into different groups in the tuff tray, with the ‘snow’ that they have made themselves.
The children have been practising writing numbers to 5 this week. Writing numbers in the sand and in glitter has engaged lots of children.
It has been lovely seeing lots of our children choosing to read their school reading/sound books when they arrive at school. Seeing them enthusiastic about reading and keen to share books with their friends is wonderful to see. Many thanks for your support with this at home too.
Owls
In maths the Owls have been enjoying our unit on Place Value, comparing and ordering numbers by looking at the number of tens and ones.
In science we have been exploring different animal types and asking and answering scientific questions such as “can all birds fly?” “How do we know it is a mammal?” “How do fish breathe underwater?” Some great scientific vocabulary used to explain their choices when putting the animals into categories, well done owls!
Some wonderful reading from the owls too, all taking their ‘partner practice’ element of Read Write Inc. work very seriously.
Swallows
This week the Swallows donned their aprons and made some gingerbread biscuits as part of their phonics lesson. They’ve been reading ‘The Gingerbread Man’ and decided to bring the character to life! The staff also got to enjoy some gingerbread with a cup of tea – what a bonus!
Kingfishers
The Kingfishers have once again been honing their dodgeball skills in time for the tournament next week! We’re pretty sure they’re well on their way to becoming expert dodgers!
Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles have continued their work on Ancient Egyptian beliefs by looking at the mummification process. They have put this into practice by mummifying tomatoes. If anyone wants to continue this learning at home, the natron is made by mixing equal parts salt and bicarbonate of soda.
In science the Golden Eagles have investigated pitch and how to change it by plucking and stretching elastic bands.
In our Power of Reading book, Varjak Paw, Varjak was faced with the dilemma of whether he should stop and help Elder Paw fight or leave him behind and go and find help. The Golden Eagles set up a conscience alley to discuss this and are desperate to find out what happens next in the story!
Herons
There are so many wonderful photos that we could have taken this week in Herons: amazing acting out of playscripts; wonderful collages and watercolour seascapes; fabulously complicated gymnastic poses.
As it is, we have been so busy learning that we forgot to take any photos! Here are a couple of photos of the lovely Herons out at playtime and we will endeavour to take more photos next week.
Merlins
The Merlins worked in groups to create a Venn diagram to group statements they were given and deemed them a Luftwaffe advantage, RAF advantage or both. We had some great, detailed discussions explaining our reasoning. We explored the ‘Battle of Britain’ and the significance event that took place in the four phases of ‘Operation Sea Lion’.
This Week’s Awards:
| Pupil of the week | |||||
| Robins (Reception) | Jay for listening and joining in so well during our assembly with Rev Dave. Jay made a real effort to sit smartly and enjoyed learning a new song- well done Jay! | ||||
| Owls (Y1) | Lexi for her effort in maths, demonstrating good understanding of place value. | ||||
| Swallows (Y2) | Rocco for good leadership: in school and on the bus. | ||||
| Kingfishers (Y3) | Sammy for great sportsmanship and being a fair umpire in PE. | ||||
| Golden Eagles (Y4) | Elsie for taking responsibility for her friend’s wellbeing. | ||||
| Herons (Y5) | James for fabulous work on multiplication and choosing to take extra work home. | ||||
| Merlins (Y6) | Fred for his increased efforts in maths. Fred has been focused and working extremely hard during maths sessions – this had led to improving his confidence and independence when tackling tricky maths questions. Keep up the good work Fred, I am incredibly proud, and you should be too |
| Headteacher’s Awards | |
| Bainbridge | Faye for demonstrating a love of reading at a really early age; choosing a book to read during independent learning. |
| Askrigg | Jack for his boundless enthusiasm for school life – it is truly infectious! |
| West Burton | Anna as she can always be relied upon to follow the RESPECT code. |
| Good Samaritan Awards | For courage, care, compassion (for the children, from the children). | Nominated by |
| Owls | Rosie for helping to find more multilink cubes in maths. | Zoey |
| Seth for helping him with the heavy door. | James | |
| Kingfishers | Lizzy for tidying the classroom. | Martha |
| Golden Eagles | Sylvi and Matilda for cheering her up when she was sad. | Isla |
| Anna for making her feel better when she fell over. | Sylvi | |
| Herons | Hugo for helping him out in maths. | Callum |
| Other | |
| Tidiest Classroom | Robins |
| Best School Library | Askrigg |
| House Point Winning Team | Dormice |
| Best Class Attendance | Kingfishers – 98% |
