Parents’ Evenings / Written reports
In light of the current restrictions, we will not be holding our usual Autumn term Parents’ Evenings. Instead, the class teachers will write a brief report for each child that will provide information regarding their attainment prior to school closures and their most recent assessment outcomes. We intend to give parents an honest account of where the children are in their learning; it would be senseless to think school closure would not impact on progress. However, we are fully confident that with our interventions, increased support and the continued effort you give to working with your child on their homework and home learning, we will close any gaps in their development.
If we do have any particular concerns about an individual pupil, we will be inviting parents in to school for a meeting. In most cases, children should catch up lost learning but, where we anticipate any exception to this, we will contact you.
When we return from the half term break, you will receive a communication via Parent Mail which will provide information about our assessment system and a form that will enable you to feedback any comments or concerns regarding your child’s learning and progress. You will then receive your child’s report from their class teacher. After reading the report, you should complete the form with your comments.
Nursery
We have now completed our first half term with a Nursery class and we absolutely love having these younger children in school. Their curiosity, boundless energy and gorgeous smiles make school a brighter place. We now have 9 nursery pupils on roll, with another 2 registered to start in January. If you know any families with children approaching 3 years of age and they are looking for a Nursery place, we are happy to conduct socially distanced visits to the school when the building is less populated.
Curriculum Enrichment
I would like to thank the staff for their efforts in planning and delivering some exciting activities this term. Helvellyn Class (Y3/4) enjoyed an amazing Anglo-Saxon Day which including forging swords, crafting jewelry and loom weaving. Blencathra Class (Y2) baked their own Anglo Saxon feast with Mrs Brettle and Cat Bells (N/R/1) have been learning about Harvest and making scarecrows. They have also recorded their own Harvest assembly which has been shared with parents. Yesterday and today I have worked with Scafell Class (Y5/6) on a STEM project provided by BAE Systems. We used special pens with conductive ink to draw circuits and investigate different materials and whether they were insulators or conductors. This morning we built our own drones and then attempted to program and fly them in the hall! We have definitely developed our ability to problem solve, some more successfully than others! More importantly, it has been wonderful to watch the children working as a team, helping and supporting each other and enjoying their learning. We are very grateful to BAE Systems for providing this opportunity, together with the Fairy Tales STEM project that KS1 have completed. The children (and adults) have thoroughly enjoyed their activities.
Halloween Hampers
For the last two weeks, the children have been working doubly hard to try and earn raffle tickets to increase their chances of winning a Halloween hamper. A hamper of sweets for each class has been donated by Mr and Mrs Brettle (Lexie’s grandparents) and, unsurprisingly, they have been a great motivator! It is a shame every child cannot be a winner because they have all worked so hard over the half term and all deserve a treat!
The winners are as follows:
Cat Bells: Bow Yates
Blencathra: Milo Morgan
Helvellyn: Joel Ashburner
Scafell Pike: Kara Lingard