Week 30

At Kilmorie this week…  Our Year 6 children visited to the London Eye; an end of SATs treat as well as an extra dimension to their literacy learning as they are reading ‘A London Eye Mystery’.  Year 1 visited London Zoo on Tuesday and, as part of their topic on the Tudors, Year 5 went to The Golden Hinde and The Globe Theatre.  Fantastic days out were had by all!  It is great to see so many of our classes benefiting from all that our amazing capital city has to offer.  The attendance and welfare officer came in for a visit and was pleased to see an improvement in our attendance percentages. Nursery held a fundraising cake sale to raise funds to help enrich the learning experiences for our youngest children. Kilmorie football team played St Michaels and beat them 4-0.  The Pupil Parliament held a special meeting and children in Years 2 – 5 were invited to a special assembly to officially launch Mathletics across the school.  We all look forward to watching the progress as children begin to compete against each other on the maths challenges.  This week we also said goodbye to Ruth, our cook, as she begins the long and wonderful journey that will be her retirement.  She will be greatly missed and we wish her well.

We had a lovely start to the week at Haseltine with our affirmation: I am polite and show manners.  We began our Maths Week with a focus on money.  Yet again we had a parent tour (which is becoming a weekly event as Haseltine becomes the school of choice). All the parents were so impressed with the learners and their learning.  1N had a visit to Chislehurst Caves - they didn't find a bear this time though… unlike last week, when they went on a Bear Hunt in their fantastic Assembly! We also welcomed parents to our Maths Open Morning on Wednesday.  The children enjoyed their parents being learners with them in lesson and then we all met together to talk about how we have developed Maths across the school.  Maths Week continued with the Year 1 children using money to buy things from the Year 2’s and with Year 5 selling their projects to Year 4.  What a productive Maths Week we have had! Next Half Term, everyone from Year 1 to Year 6 will be visiting the Bank of England Museum.  Thursday was a special day with 1B showcasing their reading skills in their Assembly.  Parents were impressed to see so many of them reading chapter books already.  Very well done to them!  Our clarinet players performed at a concert at Conisborough College on Thursday evening - they were fantastic musicians.  Friday saw a very wet visit to London Zoo for our Year 3 children where they looked for animals they might find in a Rainforest.  For everyone else, the Passport Trip became a DVD with popcorn… as the rain stopped us from going to the park.

Our week at Fairlawn began with a Whole School Assembly during which the children got a taste (no pun intended!!) of exactly how much food does go to waste in our school daily and how throwing food on the floor at lunchtime impacts on everyone.  Mr Carter held a Year 1 Parents Phonics Information Workshop, covering the up-coming Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.  Mrs Clarke introduced the Fantastic Fairlawn Helpers - Restaurant Staff, Assembly Assistants, Playground Pals, Good to be Green Gang, Dinner DJ’s, and many, many more to come.  These children have key responsibilities around the school.  It is their job to make our school run more effectively, with more children at the heart of how it runs.  They get to wear cool badges, award Golden Tickets and more.  We look forward to the impact that these roles will have in school.  On Friday, Year 2 children dressed in their favourite costumes as part of their Rainforest Topic.  We saw some amazing animal creations.  During the day, they made tropical fruit juices, plasticine animals and had a truly tropical day.  A fantastic Half Term at Fairlawn ended with a spectacular Year 5 School Journey and Home School Journey Assembly.  The children performed brilliantly and our Hall was bustling with proud parents.

Have a lovely half term,

Mark Wilson

Executive Head teacher 

Week 29

Dear Parent/ Carer,

A super week at Fairlawn began with our Year 5 children going on their School Journey and our Year 6 children ready to go for their SATs Week.  On Tuesday, Ms Ryans led a tour for new and prospective parents.  The parents were very impressed and very positive about the school.  Our lunchtimes continue to grow in popuality and in numbers, with teachers now joining the children to eat lunch together.  On Friday, our Year 4 classes visited Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon as part of their RE educational studies.   The Buddhapadipa was first Buddhist temple in the United Kingdom.  Year 5 Home School Journey children have had a fantastic week with visits to The London Eye, a River Cruise, Bowling and much more and our Year 5 School Journey children returned on Friday from their week away at Arethusa in Kent exhausted and excitied to tell of their adventures.  Class 2G held a fantastic assembly on Friday to demonstrate their learning from their Rainforest topic.  All the children performed wonderfully well.

 

 

The week started at Haseltine with the whole of Year 6 arriving at 8am for a special breakfast ready for their SATs Week. A big, special well done to them for all their hard work. What clever learners they are.  Our affirmation for this week, I don't display bad behaviour, was shared and discussed in our assemblies.  On Wednesday Mrs Bernard met with our Year 1 parents to talk about the phonics test.  Parents now have a better understanding of the expectations in the test.  I know those children will shine too when they take the test the week beginning the 17th June.  Our morning Nursery children went to the farm on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, it was a very wet day so they were back early.  Our afternoon children had a much sunnier day on Thursday.  All the children had a great time learning about farm animals.  The week was appropriately finished off with a fantastic Assembly from Year 1 in which they shared their learning from this term.

 

At Kilmorie this week the Year 6 children arrived at school early to eat a hearty breakfast before their SATs tests.   The children were positive and good humoured throughout the week.  A particular well done to the children that took the Level 6 papers which involved six extra tests. The whole school applauded Year 6 in Assembly on Friday for their attitude and hard work.  Year 2 made the long journey to Kew Gardens on Tuesday to learn more about their topic.  They enjoyed a 'Rain Forest Experience' workshop in the tropical palm house followed by a tree top walk up into the canopy of the trees. They then had a brief roam around the rest of the gardens. Staff at Kew commented on how knowledgeable the children were about the Rain Forest.  On Friday Year 3 visited the British Museum to find out more about the Egyptians.  They had a fantastic time learning about, and looking at, the huge collection of artefacts.  They were fascinated by the mummies and sarcophagi and the visit  brought their topic to life.  In Celebration Assembly we said goodbye to Paula, the speech and language therapist, and wished her good luck in her new post.  On Friday the Friends of Kilmorie had a coffee morning to plan the up and coming fund raising events.  This weekend more willing parents are coming into school to continue their wonderful work on the school gardens.

 

Week 28

Dear Parent/ Carer,

Everyone enjoyed a lovely hot bank holiday weekend at Haseltine and we were all raring to go on the Tuesday with our affirmation for the week 'We Take Turns'.  Year 5 worked very hard this week with their tests for the secondary school bandings - well done to them for staying relaxed and doing their very best.  1B had a fabulous trip to Chislehurst caves on Wednesday where the children bravely walked through some of the cave without any light to experience what it was like for some of the families who used the cave as a shelter during World War 2.  Thursday was a day of excitement as we had our class photos taken plus some very special family pictures. Haseltine children certainly are good posers!   Friday was Year 4s turn for a trip - they visited the Horniman Museum to develop their understanding of habitats in Rainforests.

Kilmorie have again had a busy and productive week. On Tuesday, KS2 were entertained at a the music concert by a fantastic string quartet called the The Sacconi string quartet, these concerts are offered free by the company ‘Cavatina’ and children were not only an enthusiastic audience but it was a fabulous learning opportunity as children were invited to participate. We now have 2 young conductors in the making! Wednesday’s class assembly this week was by Funmi’s Y4 children who wrote and performed their own script to share their learning about WW2.  Also on Wednesday, we held two parents meetings to explain our new approach to Homework.  We are piloting a new approach that will support parents in home learning and should make homework more hands on. We had a very strong turn out at these meetings and look forward to the impact of these changes.  Y5s have worked incredibly hard on their Secondary transfer tests and we have been very proud of their attitude to these important tests. Just as we are of our Y6 children as they look forward to their SATs next week.  Look out for next week’s blog to find out how they got on!

At Fairlawn,  Year 5 children were treated to a visit from Josh our Basketball coach, who worked with the children on 'Hoops for Health'.  He spoke of the importance of healthy eating, regular exercise and the harmful effects of smoking.  The children played a fun basketball game at the end of the talk.   On Friday, Year 3 children displayed their singing and dancing and exceptional acting skills in assembly, based on their school journey to Rippledown House.  Our Home School Journey children also shared their experiences from the week.

Have a fantastic weekend,
Mark Wilson
Executive Head teacher

Week 27

Dear Parent/ Carer,

A brilliant week at Haseltine began with Ms Brumby conducting prospective new parents on a Parent Tour.  Haseltine is continuing to expand in pupil numbers as the word spreads about our fantastic school.  We have agreed again to take an extra ‘bulge’ class for Lewisham this year to help meet the local demand for Primary School places.  The parents who took the tour were very positive, one parent even called back later in the day to say that she had never seen such enthusiasm from teachers and that some of the learning she had seen hadn't even been taught at her Secondary School!  It was wonderful that this parent recognised that high expectations, expert teaching and a culture of celebration are key to the successes were are achieving at Haseltine. 

Once again teachers across the partnership met to look at how we develop our pedagogical knowledge and skill. This is having a huge impact at Haseltine.  Ms Incoom will soon be sharing the results of their research to the rest of the learning community.  The quality of teaching can clearly be seen in classrooms where there is a high level of reciprocal learning… children leading the learning with their peers in order to deepen everyone’s understanding.

All the staff at Haseltine developed their scientific understanding of the impact of being positive with children to improve learning behaviours through training this week - this training was led by the wonderful Mrs Bernard.

We spent two days interviewing for new teachers for our growing school.  We made some exceptional and exciting appointments that include Music and PE specialist teachers.

Finally 2B did the most fabulous performance for their Class Assembly. The Hall was full of proud parents as the children sang, danced, acted and shared the most amazing writing I have ever seen from Year 2 pupils.

At Fairlawn, our week began by waving off our Year 3 children who went on their school journey to Rippledown House in Kent.  The children who were unable to go on the trip instead had an exciting time this week on their Home School Journey, visiting Howletts Zoo, The London Aquarium, picnicking in Peckham Rye Park and finishing the week off with a movie and popcorn.

We had a visit from The London Fire Brigade, who gave Year 5 and Year 2 a Fire Safety talk.  They watched slides and stories on how to stay safe and avoid the dangers of fires. Fairlawn's week ended with 1N's fantastic Assembly on Hansel and Gretel.  The Year 1 children did us proud with their exceptional acting and performing. 

Our new and improved lunchtime experience launch was a huge success.  Some children even commented that lunch in the School Lunch Hall was even better than being in a restaurant.  That is what we want to achieve and what we feel our children deserve.  We will continue to work to enhance the experience even further.

We made some fantastic staff appointments this week… appointing Ms Hania Ryans as Head of School and Mrs Kim Clark as Deputy Head Teacher.  I am very excited about the energy and dynamism that this new leadership team will bring to Fairlawn.

At Kilmorie this week, the Assembly theme this week was Love.  On Monday the children listened attentively to  'The Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein – a very thought provoking story.  Pete Bulley and Clare Tooth were invited to Assembly to thank them for all their hard work and commitment to the school in their roles as Chair and Treasurer of The Friends of Kilmorie. They are stepping down after several years but will continue to be involved in events. The events that they have organised over the years have provided funds for resources and equipment across the school and have also provided wonderful social occasions. Jessica Ormerod and Jane Toussaint will be taking over their roles in The Friends of Kilmorie.

On Monday afternoon all the children with 100% attendance since September were invited by Liz and Emma to a Tea Party to celebrate their achievement. It was a fun event and the children really enjoyed it. The children who attended are all really determined to achieve 100% for the whole school year… a very creditable aim.  We discussed future ideas to reward and encourage fantastic attendance.

On Wednesday Marina's Year 3 Class Assembly shared in a most entertaining way all that they had learnt about the Egyptians.  All children contributed enthusiastically and a highlight was the sketch that gave practical advice about the process of mummification!

In the Key Stage Two Assembly on Thursday the children learned about the history of Kilmorie.  This was inspired by a collection of photos from 1989 when the Primary School first opened.  On Friday, Year 4 enjoyed a talk from a grandparent about the Second World War.

In Friday's Celebration Assembly the children and staff said goodbye to Roz Amat, Children's Centre leader. 

Have a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend,
Mark Wilson
Executive Head teacher