St Adrian's Catholic Primary School
To learn, to love, to live
Our fantastic Eco-leaders were busy last week, planting a tree as part of our school’s contribution to The Queen’s Canopy.
We will look forward to seeing our sapling shoot in the spring and its growth in years to come, as it adds to the beauty of our school grounds and becomes a home for a wealth of life in the eco-system of our school grounds.
First of all, a huge thank you for the support that our Year 6 parents gave to the cake sale before the half-term break. The parents raised a fantastic total which we have used to make a significant dent in our ’50 great books to read in Year 6′ wishlist. Next week, we will introduce a system for checking our ’50 books’ in and out of our class library, but I know that the children will love reading these new titles.
We have made an impressive dent in our wish list, but if you would like to help and contribute a book to our class library, you can find out about the titles still on our wishlist by following this link.
Next week, we are excited to be welcoming Isabel Thomas to our school. Isabel is an award-winning children’s author and science writer. Isabel will be sharing her experiences as a writer with us in assembly on Tuesday afternoon as well as ‘officially’ opening our new library. There will be a chance to purchase some of Isabel’s fantastic books and get them signed by the author. You can learn more about Isabel’s books and her work on her website: https://isabelthomas.co.uk/
We have been honing our skills as authors too. In English, our learning has centred on Nicola Davies’ book, ‘The Promise’. We have written our own sequels inspired by this uplifting story of redemption and renewal. I’d invite you to take a moment to follow the link to read Jayron’s story: It will brighten your day!
When I was a young man, I lived in a city that was glum and cruel and lost. Its streets were as horrible as socks that haven’t been washed, broken by human recklessness, and never blessed with clean rain. A grimy, disgusting wind constantly blew, sneaking around the buildings like a jaguar that is ready to pounce.
And then, just when the sun had fallen, I met an old man in a narrow alleyway. He was slow and feeble, the perfect prey. His bag was big and bulky, but when I tried to take it from him, he gripped it as if his life was on the line. Backwards and forwards we tugged at that bag until eventually, he exclaimed, ”If you promise to share them I will let go.”
What is he going on about? I didn’t understand nor did I want to understand, I just wanted whatever was in the bag, so I said, “Ok I promise.” He loosened his tight grip immediately and grinned at me. I sprinted away without looking back at the old man, thinking of all the lovely things in his bag.
But when I opened it – there was nothing but muffins. My eyes were drawn to them, so plump, so perfect and so many, immediately I realised the promise I had undertaken. I held the key to satisfaction, and my goals were changed. I pushed aside my own selfish thoughts of food and money. And for the first time in my life I felt blessed, more rich than I ever thought I could be. I slept with the muffins for my pillow, my head full of delicious dreams.
In the morning, I began to fulfil my promise. I shared my muffins with homeless and poor people, in flats, near buildings, markets and stores, by roads, street lights and train tracks, in galleries and houses, behind school buildings and parks, at bus stops, cafes, shops. I shunned the glum and cruel and lost and I shared and shared and shared.
Nothing altered at first. The grimy, disgusting wind still constantly blew, sneaking around the buildings. The people still stayed inside their homes. But gradually, gradually, gradually signs of kindness appeared. Satisfaction! First here and there, then everywhere. People came onto the streets to see. They smelled the muffins in wonder, and grinned. They ate muffins together in parks. They spoke and chuckled. And pretty soon they were sharing too. Muffins and cakes, donuts and bread in parks and gardens, on balconies and rooftops. Pastries spread through the city like a running trend, being shared between people, drawing people from their homes.
But by then I was already far away, sharing with another neglected and dull city… and another… and another… and another. And last night, down a dark street, a young robber fought me for my bag of muffins. I grinned and asked if he would undertake the promise, knowing how goals can change, knowing that my sharing will go on.
Next week, as we prepare to mark the start of Advent, we will be making decorations to get our classroom ready for Christmas. If you have any unwanted decorations that you are able to donate to our class, it will add a spark of Christmas cheer to the weeks ahead.
On top of all that has been happening this week, our fantastic school council organised a mufti-day and art competition in support of children in need. The children looked great and had a brilliant day. Well done, everyone!
Amongst the many exciting things that we have done this week, the children were delighted to head off to the new library and choose a book to take home.
Our new librarians were really efficient and helpful in scanning out our books. We have timetabled a session in the library every Friday, so this will be the day to make sure books are in school should you want to return a title and make a new selection.
As always, the children are very welcome an d encouraged to choose a book to read from our class library or from Year 5 & 6 selection outside our classrooms. It is lovely to see so many of the children enjoying reading and the new books in the library can only add to our enjoyment.
It is always good to wlecome the children safely back to school following the half-term break and as we begin the second half of the term, we also begin new topics across our curriculum.
Our English work for this half-term follows the theme of evolution and inheritence and we begin sharing the books, The Promise by Nicola Davies and Beetle Boy by M G Leonard. In maths, we are applying our arithmetic skills to fractions. In RE, we learn what it means to show commitment and especially the vocation of the priesthood. Science brings us to the study of living things and their habitats, whilst in Geography, we are learning about the challenges of the world’s growing population. We begin our design and technology for the year, employing our sewing and textile skills to make our own hanging Christmas decoration. Our learning in computing gives us the chance to combine our love of books and our web design skills to author our own websites using Google Sites. In music, we are looking forward to Christmas performances and to learning about jazz, whilst in PE, we hone our football and gymnastic skills.
We have a busy time ahead and I am looking forward to sharing our learning across the term with you.
Year 6 have had a busy start to the new school year and I have been proud of everyone who has put themselves forward to serve our school community through the many roles and responsibilities that Year 6 undertake.
It has also been great to celebrate the children’s learning through our classroom displays.
Welcome back, Year 6 – in both senses. It has been lovely to welcome our Year 6 children back to school for the start of a new school year and it has also been really lovely to see how the children have grown since I taught them in Year 4.
It was also great to see lots of parents in school again for our ‘Meet the teacher’ meeting. You can see a copy of my slides below. In this meeting, I shared some of the expectations and ‘house keeping’ for the year, along with information about our curriculum and home learning. You can download a copy of the information leaflet for parents using the link below. A further copy, along with our Home learning Grid is available for the children in the Google Classroom.
It has been a momentous start to the term: a new year, a new classroom (and new carpet!) along with more significant changes for our country, with a new Prime Minister and then a new King. As we prepare for the bank holiday to mark the day of the funeral, the children have worked together to write a prayer for the late Queen.
Prayer for Her Majesty the Queen
King of Kings,
Thank you for the life of Her Majesty the Queen.
Thank you for the Queen’s commitment to our country and the service she has given us.
We thank you for being by the Queen’s side and guiding her during her long reign.
We ask you to guide King Charles III in following his mother’s footsteps and to help the Royal family at this difficult time.
Help us to be like the Queen in her example of service to each another.
Grant to the Queen eternal rest.
We make our prayer through Jesus, your Son,
Amen
The children have been fantastic this week – it’s been such a busy week with demonstration assemblies by our wrap-around clubs, a concert by Rock-Steady Music School, the Year 6 production, the amazing choir sharing their performance with so many of our class taking part and finally, our school talent show. All this, whilst coping with the sweltering conditions – the children have been amazing, treating each other with kindness and patience throoughout the week.
Next week is due to be even hotter and we will do all we can to make the end of term calm and cool. Please help by remembering to send your child in to school with plenty to drink.
Have a lovely weekend and stay safe in the heat!
It has been another action-packed week for Year 4 and the children have been fantastic throughout.
In English, we have begun the last of the books that we will share together – Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky. This blend of real words and nonsense has really made us think about the clues we use when reading and how different word classes work.
The children have worked really hard all year and enjoyed getting our classroom ready this week to welcome our families to our open evening.
Our wonderful PTA organised a sponsored ‘Bounce’ for us too and we had a great time on Wednesday afternoon being put through our paces on the inflatables. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us and helped raise funds for our school.
Thursday brought our sports day and we all did our best, cheered on by our parents. We ended the day with a much-deserved ice lolly.
Everyone is welcome! Whether you are the parent of one of our lovely children, or you are thinking of sending your child to our wonderful school, come along to celebrate all of the learning that has taken place this year, meet the teachers and visit the classrooms.
Wednesday, 6th July 2022 from 4pm until 6pm.
Last week, we had a fabulous day at the Royla Botanic Gardens, Kew – It was our first school trip in ages and we reallyu enjoyed ourselves! Thanks to Mrs Coupland and Mrs Pickering for helping us to have a great time.
We also enjoyed learning about the Jewish faith as parts of our ‘Other Faith’ learning in RE. We learnt about the Jewish Holy text, The Torah.
