September 14th, 2023

Welcome back everyone! It has been an absolute pleasure having all of the children back at school. What a joy it has been to see so many smiling faces each morning as the children come through the gates.

I would like to thank the Stockwell staff for their hard work in making sure that the beginning of the year has gone so smoothly.

This term, as always, there are plenty of opportunities for you to come into school. Please check the upcoming dates (here), and the school website calendar (here), to keep up to date with what is happening around the school.

Friday was the first of many whole school events, with the community coming together to celebrate the diversity that exists within our school. It was wonderful to see so many children staff and parents celebrating their heritages during the day. There was a definite buzz in the air, throughout the day and many children proudly showed me their traditional clothes, football kits and described the colours that they were wearing. There were quite a few exclamations of recognition between staff and parents as people came together to show off their clothes and share cultural similarities.

Children had been learning songs in different languages and making flags to show off their families' backgrounds and we used these to decorate the Play Zone. I thoroughly enjoyed the songs that the children sang.

International Day is a wonderful way to start off the year, bringing the community together beautifully.

Thank you to everyone who came along and took part. A huge thank you to those who contributed and helped out with setting up and clearing away.

You may have noticed me using Makaton to say 'Good morning' and 'Good afternoon' to the children when I am on the gates. I have been delighted to see so many children having a go at responding to me using Makaton.

This week, we are learning to say yes and no. Have a go at home.

Did you see our first BJS Federation of schools SEND newsletter?

Our new Federation Executive SENCO, has taken up her post - some of you may have seen her in the playground this morning. Mrs Congdon will be working with the school based Assistant Headteachers for Inclusion to secure consistent, high quality, inclusive practices in our schools.

Our value for the month of September is Ambition.

We explained to the children that 'If you have an ambition to do or achieve something, you want very much to do it or achieve it.'

Synonyms: goal, end, hope, design

Thank you for your support and cooperation with the One Way system at the beginning and end of the day.

The courtyard has been much less congested.

At present, there is no indication that RAAC has been used at Stockwell Primary School. I will keep you updated if the situation changes.

https://love.lambeth.gov.uk/lambeth-ensuring-school-safety/

• 19th September: Inclusion Coffee Morning
• 21st September: Secondary Transfer Meeting
• 22nd September: Jeans for Genes day
• 25th September: 4H Library Trip
• 27th September: Attendance Coffee Morning/ 4B Library Trip
• 28th September: Year 4 Residential Meeting
• 29th September: Macmillan Cake Sale (Wear Green or Purple)/ Year 5 library Trip
• 5th October: Parent Phonics Workshop
• 6th October: Year 2 Library Trip

Central to raising standards in all schools and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential, is the need for children to attend school regularly to benefit from their education.

There is a strong link between good learning, high achievement, rapid progress and developing good social skills with excellent attendance.

We want to take this opportunity to outline our expectations for school attendance this academic year.

If your child arrives at school from 9.01am they will be marked as LATE, if they arrive after 9.30am they will be classed as “late after the register is closed” and their attendance is classed as absent for the morning session. As the registers would have already been returned to the Department for Education.

Regular poor punctuality can also have a negative effect on your child’s attendance as well as their academic learning. Being 6 minutes late each day equals 30minutes of missed learning every week.

If your child’s attendance drops below 90%, we will need to share our concerns with the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer at Lambeth Council.

Well done to everyone who returned to school on time and has made every effort to attend each day since the beginning of term. We have made a good start to the year - let's see is we can increase our overall attendance next time.

We have an active PTA, called Friends of Stockwell, who do a brilliant job of fundraising for the school and bringing the community together. Last year, every child was given a £5 donation to reduce the cost of trips; the PTA contributed to class Christmas presents; they also raised money for vulnerable families at Christmas.

It is great to see new faces getting involved. Every parent is a Friend of Stockwell. I ask that everyone gets involved. If you can spare an hour per term (that's three hours per year), your contribution would make a huge difference.

Please email friendsofstockwell@gmail.com to get involved.

Can you help out around the school? Are you a keen gardener? Do you have skills or knowledge that the children would benefit from? Visit our Call to Action page to let us know how you can help.

If you have a concern, please see your child's class teacher in the first instance. If they are unable to resolve the problem, please speak to your child's phase leader.

If they are unable to help, please see one of the school's Assistant Headteachers. If you are still dissatisfied, please see the Acting Head of School.

We let space around the school.

You can hire the school hall, and grounds, on a regular basis or as a one off.

Need a space for a party?

Looking for a pitch for your team?

Contact the school office on:

clericalofficer2@stockwell-pri.lambeth.sch.uk

to make an enquiry.

Last week was the first week back for the Pre-School children, as well as the first week for the new starters. The children have all settled in well after the long summer break.

The new starters have separated well from the parents and are settling in confidently. They are still in learining how to follow the rules and routines and they are beginning to take part in table-top activities.

The children are exploring the indoor and outdoor activities and playing along side their peers. They are starting to build relationships with their key person.

This half term our topic is ‘Marvellous Me’ - everyone is unique and special.

In Literacy, we are going to be listening to the stories “There’s Only One You” and “Hello Friend”.

In Maths, we will be practising saying numbers and counting. We will do this by singing lots of counting songs – sometimes in these songs we count forwards and sometimes we count backwards.

In Understanding of the World, we will be talking about the people who live in our homes, our families and important people in our lives.

In Expressive Arts and Design, we will be thinking about what we and our friends look like in order to create images of ourselves, our family and our friends.

As part of our Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) we will learn about the routines and expectations of the Nursery. We will be meeting new people and, hopefully, making lots of new friends.

This week in Literacy, we are reading the book ‘So Much!’ Children will then retell the story through role play. They will be encouraged to use words from the story to support their retelling.

In Maths, the children will learn that collections of objects can be sorted into sets based on attributes such as colour, size or shape. They will be given lots of opportunities to find and match objects which are the same and play lots of matching games throughout the week.

In Understanding The World, the children are going to talk about members of their immediate families and why they are important to them. They will then all create a family portrait using a range of artistic methods.

In English, we continue to learn how to write useful labels and captions.

In Maths, we will be learning how to count on and back and find one more or less.

In Science, we will be learning about the key scientist – Louis Braille.

In Humanities, we will be walking around our local area.

In English, the children will be sequencing the story of 'Amazing Grace' in order to explore what it was like for Grace to learn that she could be whatever she wanted (including acting as Peter Pan in the school play).

In Maths, the children will be exploring place value. They will be looking at comparing amounts all the way to 100 and using their understanding to place value to solve problems.

In Science, the children will be focusing on what makes a healthy diet. They will be looking at what each food group does and how it effects them, for example carbohydrates helping to increase their energy.

In Art, the children will be experimenting with collage. They will be discovering the different techniques used to manipulate paper when collaging and coming up with what the technique can be used for.

In Geography, the children will be looking at how to use an atlas in order to find the different continents and the countries that are in them. For history, they will be exploring who Mary Kingsley and her explorations.

This week, in English, we will be exploring play scripts. We will be exploring the structure and punctuation of these, and converting traditional tales into play scripts.

In Maths, we will be continuing with place value and partitioning numbers to 1000. We will also be exploring number lines.

In Science, we will be using the ‘Mohs scale of mineral hardness’ to test and compare the scratch resistance of a range of rocks, in order to identify them.

In DT, we will be exploring and creating a range of flaps, levers and pivot mechanisms.

In History, we will be exploring the lives of the Ancient Egyptians and comparing those of the pharaoh and the villagers.

In Geography, we will be using atlases to locate Egypt, Greece and their capital cities.

In English, we will plan and write the Roman myth ‘Romulus and Remus’.

In Maths, we will continue with place value, representing and partitioning numbers to 10,000.

In Science, we will identify the simple functions of the parts of the human digestive system.

In Art, we will explore and sketch Roman Coins.

In History, we will explore the reasons for the Romans' successful empire, and create an information leaflet about the Roman Army.

This half term, we will be looking at the text 'Beowulf'. Following our topic of Time Travellers, we will be exploring various periods of time and using these to write some descriptive narratives and historical pieces. Last week, we used our drama skills to act out the story and support us in understanding the order of events.

We are focusing on Place Value in Year 5, this term. We will be using manipulatives, such as dienes, place value counters and grids, to help us to solidify our knowledge of Place Value.

This half term, we are learning about Living things and their Habitats. We will begin our Science learning by studying the life of the first Chief Midwifery Officer in England - Jacqueline Dunkley- Bent.

We have started our Art learning with a creative piece that represents our theme of time travelling. We will be starting an exciting project where we will be drawing and designing our very own Viking warriors.

We will be exploring various historical periods from the Stone Age to Mediaeval times. We have started our learning by mapping out a timeline of these different time periods.

In English, the children will revisit the features of non-chronological reports and write their own non-chronological report about The Ancient Kingdom of Benin.

In Maths, the children will continue with their ‘place value’ unit and practise rounding, comparing and ordering and interpreting negative numbers in context.

In Science, the children will look at how fossils are formed and analyse the similarities and differences between fossils and living things.

In Art, the children will experiment with patterns and draw inspiration from Laolu Senbanjos artwork.

In History, the children will research key events and create a chronological timeline of Benin’s history.