Weekly Newsletter
Friday 28th May 2021
This week in school
Here's the headlines
Sam's Safaris
New Class Name
Don't burst our bubble!
What a busy 'looking for sunshine' kind of week!
Our school is amazing. We get through the most difficult of times together. We power through everything that is thrown at us with the sheer determination that the children will come first.
Our wonderful children are ready for a break. They have worked so hard and have continued to follow the Covid restrictions to the letter, even if they are really missing whole school activities and socialisation.
Listening to the other Headteachers speak, it is clear that all children in all schools have found this half term particularly difficult. We are not sure why exactly - we haven't had time to worry about why - we've just tried to keep them steady, focused and remind them of our ethos and care.
Thankfully we are now in a position to push forward with organising some of the outdoor bubble activities we were hoping for, teachers are able to think about writing end of year reports and Senior Leaders can continue to plan for next year's classes and diary dates.
Without your support and understanding, we couldn't keep this all going. We are eternally grateful for the PTA support fund which allows us to provide the extras our children deserve - the Pandemic has obviously cost all schools an awful lot of money.
The children need a holiday. Please let them sleep in, let them run around outside and let them just play and relax and catch up with family - with safeguards in place of course!
I'd love the staff to do the same and I've told them so but if you take a peek in the car park over the next week, I'm sure you'll see that they have totally ignored me in this respect!
Whatever you get up to, please stay safe and have fun - look after yourselves.
Have a really lovely half term break and we will see you all back on Monday 7th June.
Mrs R - Proud (but ready for a few snoozes in the garden) Headteacher
Junior Park Run - please get involved!
Junior parkrun
Brayton Academy Junior parkrun launches on Sunday 6th June at 9am.
This free event will be held on the Academy playing fields every Sunday morning.
Junior parkrun is a 2km (1.6 miles) run/walk for all children between the ages of 4 to 14, although COVID regulations do currently limit the age range at present to 4 to 10 years old.
If you would like your child to take part in this free weekly event then please register them at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/braytonacademy-juniors/
Whole School Attendance
Oh dear - that's below target
However - a fantastic 329 children had 100% attendance this week.
This week in classrooms
Stars
The end of another half term! The weeks just seem to be flying by. Stars have enjoyed the theme ‘Once Upon a Time’ this week. We have looked at fairy tales and in particular Cinderella. The children have enjoyed decorating crowns with jewels and making their own shiny, glass slippers. In maths we have looked at subitising (recognising the number of objects in a small group without the need to count them). The children have also used tens frames to match jewels to numerals. In phonics we have recapped the sounds s,a,t,p,i,n and have used these sounds to make words. We have also looked at rhyme and matched the rhyming pairs.
FS/Y1
It’s been an emotional week, we’ve had to say our goodbyes!
We have had a lot of fun observing the caterpillars transform into beautiful butterflies. The children were fascinated as they eventually watched the butterflies emerge with bright, colourful wings and were all extremely excited to release them out into the lovely warm weather at long last!
All of the chicks are now displaying beautiful feathers and they’re making more noise than the children! The learning opportunities have been endless and Victoria has taken them back to her smallholding where she will keep them safe and watch them grow. We would like to thank the PTA for their enhancement fund contribution which has paid for this wonderful opportunity this year.
We have shared the story ‘Somebody swallowed Stanley’ a book about the problems a simple plastic bag can create in the oceans. We have highlighted words using the ed suffix in the story, created a story plan and included conjunctions and adjectives in our final story. In maths we have solved addition and subtraction problems focussing on strategies and number bonds. In Worship we have discussed What is justice? Injustice around the world and what can we do to make things fair around the world?
Year 2
What an 'animaltastic' week we have had! We have continued to share the book, 'The Clue is in the Poo' and learnt lots of interesting facts about mammals and birds. In Science we have investigated and created our own food chains before enjoying a surprise visit from Sam's Safari on Wednesday morning to take part in a 'habitats' workshop and interact with a range of animals. A huge thank you to the PTA for funding this visit. In History we have continued to find out about the Wright Brother's first flight and even made our own paper aeroplanes based on the 'bat' toy that inspired their plane - the Kitty Hawk. We are definitely ready for a half term break and look forward to seeing everyone on Monday 7th June.
Year 3
Year 4
After a testing week in Year 4, we are certainly ready for our half-term holiday.Yet again, the weather has kept us on our toes as we have dodged downpours, expertly adapting outdoor athletics to indoor events, like true Olympians. Our spirits have definitely not been dampened by a couple of wet playtimes- we know how to have fun with our friends.
In PSHCE, we have been learning how to keep ourselves safe crossing the road, riding a bike and going out in the sun (fingers crossed), so we feel fully prepared to have fun, relax and recharge our batteries before another busy summer half-term. Year 4 wish everyone a happy, safe and fun-filled week ahead.
Year 5/6
This week in year 5/6, the children have all worked incredibly hard on their assessments in Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling; Maths and Reading. It's never easy to have these kinds of weeks, but you have made us proud. On top of this, we have created persuasive infomercials for Camp Green Lake - would you send your children to the desert to dig holes for weeks on end? After hearing these adverts, you might! In maths we have consolidated our knowledge in an investigation day, covering all four operations. In topic, we have begun to compare locations, looking at York and Austin, Texas. Well done everyone, you have made it and deserve the week off!
Superstar Awards
Isla Byrnes, Abraham O’Flynn, Oscar Betteridge, Grace Short, Billy Carmody, Caiden Mahon, Jacob Whitby, Peter VIckers, Oscar Miller, Lucas Richardson, Leah Bird, Holly Wardle, Annie Croft
Honey Pot Prize Winners
Extra bee points
10 extra bee points go to:
Best attendance
Yellow - 98%
No red slips
Red Hive
This half term's bee point winners
Yellow = 38,855
Congratulations to the Yellow Hive - the tree will begin to turn yellow after half term. If you have any yellow items to hang on it, please feel free!
Pupil with the most bee points
So far this year:
4,304
Sam Rushby - Green Hive
Well done Sam!