Friday, 19th October 2018

Headteacher: Mr Darren Jones

No. 1

Headteacher Message I hope you have all had a great start to the new academic year; this half term seems to have flown by. It is always a wonderful time of the year to see the children settle into new year groups and get to know their teachers. Both our Nursery and Reception children have settled extremely well into Grove Park life. As we look back and reflect on the half term we have as always crammed much learning, excitement and joy into school. Last week children enjoyed Discovery Week where History and Geography were the order of the day! A palpable buzz was found around the school as children were involved in orienteering, using maps and making artefacts linked to their history topics. This exciting week culminated with the exhibition in the hall; it was great to see so many of you there.

As part of our inspiring and cutting edge curriculum offer, this year we are focusing on the following areas as part of our School Development Plan to further enrich children’s enjoyment and learning:

1. Community of Readers: Reading for Pleasure 2. Mathematical Fluency, Mastery and Enrichment 3. The Scientific World 4. A Personal Growth Model of Teaching: PSHE, Citizenship and Empathy 5. History and Geography Discovery

Also, to showcase our excellent Science and Geography teaching and learning we are aiming for accreditation to receive the National Geography Award, a prestigious award by the Geography Association and the Science Quality Award for outstanding science across the school.

I was delighted to attend Hampton School for Boys this week along with 4 members of Year 5 to take part in a Writers’ Workshop with Richmond schools. The children produced some stunning stories and were awarded a certificate for their work.

Ruth Cadbury MP visited the School Council this week and listened carefully to the ideas put forward by the team. She was impressed with the political prowess of our pupils and the depth of their knowledge and understanding of current affairs!

Our wonderful Year 6 children had a super time at PGL this term and had many exciting stories to tell about their adventures. All staff commented on their exceptional behaviour and they were a real credit to Grove Park. We are thrilled also to announce our Head Boy and Girl for this part of the year are Max Smedley-Wild and Ellinor Davis, they showed great commitment for the role through a demanding application and interview process and I know they will serve the school well.

I am so proud of our children and families who participated in the GOSH Family Fun Run – an amazing charity and to raise over £1,500 is spectacular – a big well done to all!

I wish you a happy and peaceful half term ahead!

Tuesday, 30th October Halloween Disco (EY&KS1: 3:30pm and KS2: 4:45pm

Monday, 5th November Parent Teacher Meetings 3:30- 5:30

Thursday, 8th November Parent Teacher Meetings 4:00- 7:00

Friday, 9th November

INSET DAY (SCHOOL CLOSED)

Wednesday, 31st October

Secondary School Applications Deadline!

Joseph Coelho Poet Visit on Tuesday, 30th October

About Joseph Coelho

Growing up just outside London, Joseph’s earliest memory of poetry writing was for a school competition when he was in Year 8. Since then, he has dabbled in several careers (such as archeology, gym instructor, a film extra, and a transport planner), but continued to write whenever he could. After writing and sharing some poems for a performance poetry course, Joseph continued to write poems, this time with the hope of publishing them. His poems have been included in various poetry anthologies, and in 2014 his very own poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules, was published. His latest collection is Overheard in a Tow-er Block, and his first picture book, Luna Loves Library Day, was published last year.

On Tuesday 30th October, we will host a visit from popular children’s author Joseph Coelho. Joseph will lead a school assembly for Year 1-6 followed by workshops with Year 4 and 5 pupils throughout the day. If your child would like to purchase a book and have it signed by Joseph, please ensure that they bring money in with them on the day.

Books available to buy

Werewolf Club Rules! and Other Poems £8.00 paperback

Do not talk about Werewolf Club! You can howl about it But never talk. Do not walk to Werewolf Club! You can bound to it in moonlight But never walk. Find out the mysterious rules of Werewolf Club, how to look like a rainbow, what happens when puppies fall in love - and how to fold up your gran!

Overheard in a Tower Block £7.00 paperback

Gazing at the stars from five storeys up,smelling the bins from five storeys below. Overheard arguments,overheard laughter. A disappearing father and a Mermaid-Queen mother; statues that sing for flesh and blood; bullies who kick you under the table; perfect red trainers - and the things that lurk in the library....

Luna Loves Library Day £7.00 paperback

Luna loves library day: that's the day she spends with her dad. Exploring the shelves they find magic, mystery and even start to mend their own history. An inspiring story from one of the UK's greatest up-and-coming poets for children, captured in all its flights of fancy by newcomer Fiona Lumbers.

Books were purchased from the The Alligator’s Mouth our local Richmond children’s bookshop.

For more information about Joseph please visit:

http://www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com/

Mr Charlesworth - KS2 Leader & Literacy Coordinator

Year 2

Today we were lucky enough to take part in a Poppies and Poetry workshop. We learnt lots of new information about WWI and took part in some fun drama and poetry activities. We learnt all about the Christmas Truce and what this meant for the soldiers in the war. We split into ‘The Allies’ and ‘Germany’ and acted out the Christmas Truce. We also learnt and performed a poem all about WWI and created some impressive freeze frames.

Miss Barton & Miss Taylor - Year 2 Class Teachers

Year 1

As part of our History and Geography Discovery Week, Year 1 went on a Teddy Bear’s Picnic to Chiswick House and Gardens. We used a map of our local area to plan our route there and sketched some local landmarks. We brought our favourite teddy bear as an introduction to our history topic ‘Toys’. We had a lovely day out and so did the teddies!

Miss Alderson & Miss Fane - Year 1 Class Teachers

Year 3

As part of History and Geography week, Year 3 had a super exciting Roman’s Day! The whole year group, including the teachers, dressed up as Romans and we had a Roman feast, learning all about the triclinium and what Roman’s ate such as roasted dormice (we ate sugar mice), sea urchins (fruit laces) and snails! We then designed and made our own mosaics using real tiles and grout to seal them in. We all had a brilliant day and can’t wait to learn more about the Roman’s next term!

Ms Gallagher & Mr Hibbert - Year 3 Class Teachers

Year 5

Year 5 had an amazing History and Geography week. We discovered more about the Tudor rose and how the emblem came to symbolise the unity of the Houses of Lancaster and York. We made clay roses, sculpting each part carefully before painting. We learnt glass painting skills and have been busy painting them this week; they will adorn the front covers of our topic books. The classes loved orienteering (learning about OS maps and using navigational skills to find markers). They then applied this knowledge to create their own maps which focused on what the world would have looked like in Tudor times. Finally, we became newspaper reporters and reported on the Battle of Bosworth - interviewing key figures and describing the events as they happened.

Mr. Holmes Reed & Mr. Charlesworth - Year 5 Class Teachers

Year 4

Year 4 consolidated our maths learning this half term with a trip to Budgens! We used rounding to make sure we didn’t go over budget, addition to work out how much we spent and subtraction to find out the change we were owed.

In the shop, we spotted some amazing special offers and deals. We discovered that you could buy 18 Jaffa Cakes for the same price as 10. What a bargain! We were all allowed to spend £1 on something we wanted to buy. We shared our food in the class and had a great feast!

During History and Geography Discovery week, Year 4 designed and made our own Victorian Peg Dolls. The tradition of making peg dolls out of wooden clothes pegs comes from a time when people had little money to spend on toys. The dolls were known as 'toy babies' until the 18th century when the word 'doll' - short for Dorothy - first came into use. They were fiddly to make but we were all so happy with the result which we displayed at the school exhibition.

Miss Leatherland & Mrs Willis - Year 4 Class Teachers

Year 6

Year 6 have had an action packed half term, from visiting the Kew Archives in September to History & Geography exhibitions and WWII day last week - all whilst juggling the demands of being at the top of the school!

Albeit, the most exciting and eventful of Year 6 goings-on, has been the trip to PGL Liddington (1-5th October 2018) in which Oak and Elder Class were given the opportunity to take part in a wide range of outdoor activities.

A typical day at PGL consisted of 5 adrenaline filled activities ranging from abseiling and zip lining to survival in the wild and quad biking. All Year 6 children took to the activities with enthusiasm and rigour and relished in the challenge of confronting their fears of heights or their concerns about being away from home for a week. Group leaders and Grove Park members of staff were so impressed by the overwhelmingly positive attitude adopted by all children and their consistent good behaviour was that of a true Grove Park cohort!

It was a fantastically enjoyable week for both children and staff alike and it was possible to hear the children saying ‘best week of my life’ or ‘can we stay for another week please?’ for many days after our return.

Miss Irwin & Miss Arnaouti - Year 6 Class Teachers

History & Geography Discovery Week

Last week was our History & Geography Week and we all thoroughly enjoyed taking part in very creative and cross-curricular lessons. Each class from Year 1 to Year 6 took part in an engaging and hands on orienteering workshop on our very own school playground. We put on our outdoor clothes, grabbed a compass and a map of our playground to hunt down the hidden flags- we had so much fun and developed our basic geographical fieldwork skills.

In Nursery the children used the wonderful picture book of Handa’s Surprise to learn about Kenya and took part in some observational drawings of delicious fruits from the story. Reception used the picture book, Eliza’s Moonchild to create their own moonscape pictures using natural materials found outside. Year 1 developed their map skills and planned their route from school to Chiswick House Gardens for their teddy bear’s picnic. Year 2 embarked on a World War 1 adventure with a Poppies and Poetry Drama Workshop. Year 3 became Romans and enjoyed dressing up for a Roman Feast. Year 4 cooked a delicious Victoria sponge cake and made Victorian peg dolls. Year 5 participated in lots of art activities including making their own Tudor roses from clay and Year 6 created some Blitz artwork and studied the map of invasion for World War 2.

The week ended with a very successful exhibition where each year group showcased their fantastic learning to parents and friends. A very enjoyable week was had by all!

Mrs McGregor - Middle Leader

Congratulations

A huge congratulations to the eight Year 6 boys that attended the 6 a side football competition on Monday. They played in a tournament with 12 schools and managed to qualify for the borough finals. They did not only qualify for the finals, but managed to do this by winning every game they played without letting in a single goal. This is a massive achievement and we are very proud of them as a team and want to wish them the best of luck for the finals on the 22nd November. Come on Grove Park!

Mr Rick - PE Teacher

Safeguarding at Grove Park

The children’s safety and well-being drives all that we do at Grove Park and so we have taken time at the start of the new school year to make sure that all of our safeguarding procedures are in place and known by everyone. The staff have had reminders about how to support children who have any worries or concerns and all of the children have been reminded about how to use the Bubble Boxes in their classrooms. These are a quick and confidential way of the children letting someone know they have a worry. In assembly we have also used the story ‘Big Bag of Worries’ to remind us of the importance of speaking out and sharing our problems. The NSPCC has some great links to advice and support for parents to help them keep their children safe:

Online safety: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/

Minecraft: A Parent’s Guide: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/minecraft-a-parents-guide/

Staying safe away from home: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/staying-safe-away-from-home/

Baby and toddler safety: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/baby-toddler-safety/

It was also great to welcome the NSPCC to Grove Park in September. The NSPCC delivered assemblies and workshops with the help of their ‘Speak out Stay Safe’ mascot, Buddy the speech bubble. Pupils were taught in a lively, memorable and child-friendly way and the assemblies and workshops were a great success.

Miss Davies - Deputy Head/SENCO/Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

Thank you...

A huge thank you to all the families for your amazing generosity for the Hounslow FoodBox. Our Head Boy and Head Girl will be visiting the Foodbank on Tuesday, 13th November, with Mr Jones, to find out how the organisation works and how they help people in more ways than just with food.

Mrs Jo Lovatt - Parent Support Advisor

Important reminder!

Please be reminded that because of children's severe allergies, this school is a Nut, Kiwi and Pineapple free zone. This includes in your child’s lunchbox, boxes of chocolates, tropical juice and birthday cake brought in. Please check ingredients.

Grove Park Primary School

Calendar of Events—Autumn Term 2018

Mon 22nd Oct HALF TERM – SCHOOL CLOSED

Tuesday, 30th October Halloween Disco (EY&KS1: 3:30pm and KS2: 4:45pm)

Wednesday, 31st October Year 3 trip to the Science Museum

Friday, 2nd November Parent Workshop - Handwriting @9:30

Monday, 5th November Parent Teacher Meetings 3:30 – 5:30

Wednesday, 7th November Year 4 Road Safety Training

Thursday, 8th November Parent Teacher Meetings 4:00 – 7:00

Friday, 9th November INSET day (School Closed)

Monday 12th November Year 5 to Houses of Parliament Odd Socks Day for Anti-Bullying

Tuesday, 13th November Year 6 Oak to Churchill War Rooms

Friday, 16th November Year 6 Elder to Churchill War Rooms Assembly Year 3 Hazel Parent Workshop: Mindfulness Techniques

Friday, 23rd November Assembly Year 3 Aspen

Friday, 30th November Parents’ Surgery @9:30-11:00 (Appointments only) Christmas Fair @3:30 pm

Monday, 3rd December Charities week

Tuesday, 4th December Nativity – Nursery & Reception (9:15 am) Year 5 trip to Hampton Court

Thursday, 6th December Elderly Neighbour Christmas Tea Party

Friday, 7th December Charity Sale @ 3:30 pm

Tuesday, 11th December Nativity – Year 1 Parents (9:15 am) Year 6 trip to Bletchley Park

Wednesday, 12th December Nativity – Year 2 Parents (9:15 am)

Thursday, 13th December Year 3 – Year 5 Carol Singing & Mulled Wine 3:30pm

Friday, 14th December Flu vaccinations

Monday, 17th December Panto in for EYFS and KS1

Wednesday, 19th December Key Stage 2 to Richmond Theatre Year 6 Elder Christmas Show @ 6:00 pm

Thursday, 20th December Year 6 Oak Christmas Show @ 6:00 pm

Friday, 21st December Last day of term – Toy Day – Finish at 1:30pm

Term Dates 2018/2019

Autumn Term 2018

TERM DATES Monday, 3rd September – Friday, 21st December 2018

HALF TERM Monday, 22nd October – Friday, 26th October 2018

* Inset Day Monday, 3rd September 2018

* Inset Day Tuesday, 4th September 2018

* Inset Day Friday, 9th November 2018

Spring Term 2019

TERM DATES Monday, 7th January – Friday, 5th April 2019

HALF TERM Monday, 18th February – Friday, 22nd February 2019

Summer Term 2019

TERM DATES Tuesday, 23rd April - Tuesday, 23rd July 2019

HALF TERM Monday, 27th May – Friday, 31st May 2019

* Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May 2019

* Inset Day Monday, 22nd July 2019

* Inset Day Tuesday, 23rd July 2019

*children do not attend school