Moulton CEVC Primary School Parent Portal

A longer-than-usual message from Mrs Shipp!

What a week! Anecdotally, the decision to close the school for a 'snow day' is most feared by headteachers, but I would now say that Sports Day decisions are worse! I am so sorry that our original plans did not work out - we would love to be able to control the weather! Next year, we will not plan a date for a reserve sports day - we can not predict the weather on a reserve day any more than we can on the original day, and next Wednesday is due to be wet. We are looking at options to hold Sports Day in the first part of the summer term, which will give greater flexibility to move the date, as secondary school transition days are in the second part of the term. Thank you for understanding the predicament in which we found ourselves.

Monday's assembly was about being safe in the sun, (we watched this video here) and different current temperatures around the world (Baghdad was 46 degrees celsius!) Thank you to Lily (Y4) who pointed out that Phoenix would be hot too - she was right: it was 45 degrees that day! Thank you also to Laurence (Y1), who estimated the temperature of the sun's surface when I mused out loud about it. We also talked about being hydrated, and that the colour of one's urine is an indicator of hydration levels. We looked at a scientific diagram. I was really impressed with the children's sensible approach to this conversation - they were very mature indeed.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Gilmore spoke with the children about Mercedes Benz, and how Karl Benz and his wife, Bertha showed commitment to innovation, overcoming hurdles, and working with others to achieve their goals - it is 138 years since he hit speeds of 10mph.

During Thursday's Celebration Assembly, we held our usual celebrations and said goodbye to Mr. Coldwell, our trainee teacher in Y5. We thanked Mr. Coldwell for all that he has given to our school, and wish him lots of luck in his new school!

Today, I spoke with the children about Jesus' disciples - their names, and how they came to know Jesus. I wonder if the children can remember the names of them all... We also talked briefly about the General Election result, and that we will have a new prime minister.

On Monday and Tuesday, we will welcome our new Reception children into school. Our current children will spend time in their new classrooms for approximately one hour on Monday and Tuesday afternoon. We have indicated this on our visual timetable in school, and we will speak with everyone on Monday morning.

Annual school reports will be sent home with your child on Tuesday. Please could you let us know if you require a second copy of the report for parents that live in a different home. We can email electronic copies of reports to parents if needed. You will have received an email about this year's report formats today. It was a pleasure to read and comment on every child's report.

It is the annual duck race and fun day in the village on Saturday - maybe I will see you there! I will be selling raffle tickets at the church stall.

A reminder: the autumn term starts on Tuesday 3rd September. (Monday 2nd September is a PD day, so no pupils in school). Please note the start-of-term dates for some of our siblings' schools:

Newmarket Academy: Tuesday 3rd September (The same as us)

St. Benedict's: Wednesday 4th September (Different to us)

County Upper: Tuesday 3rd September (The same as us)

King Edward: Wednesday 4th September (Different to us)

King's Ely: Tuesday 3rd September (The same as us)

Culford: Tuesday 3rd September (The same as us)

Soham Village College: Tuesday 3rd September for Y7; and Wednesday 4th September for other years

We cannot authorise absences if our pupils are off school, because their sibling is not at school. We had a large proportion of absent pupils after Easter this year, due to differing term dates between schools. As a Local Authority maintained school (not an academy), we cannot be flexible about our term dates.

In order to comply with the DfE's stipulated length of day, we need to tweak our start and end times. From September, gates will open at 8:40am, and all pupils will need to be in school at 8:45am. Reception pupils will finish school at 3:05pm, and all other year groups will finish school at 3:15pm. We are currently looking at how many pupils will be exiting from the front and back of the school, so that we can advise on which classes should collect from the drop-off zone, and how sibling pick-up will operate. (Further information to follow). The new times will not help with the parking situation, but we have limited flexibility on this. Please walk to school, or park in the village and walk if you possibly can. If you are in a hurry, and a busy car park will cause you stress, we urge you to drop off and collect at the quieter times, which tend to be just before the gates close in the morning, and at around 3:17pm after school.

Y6 pupils enjoyed a visitor from a member of the Newmarket Interfaith Group. Mr. Bourne gave the children lots of context about China, which will help with their class novel, Chinese Cinderella. The children enjoyed the photos of the pandas.

We wish our American families a joyful and patriotic Independence Day for yesterday! I hope that your day was, and weekend will be, filled with fun. Happy 4th of July!

Special mentions...

Thank you to Maisie (Y4), who made a wonderful junk model at home of Jesus and passover - thank you! Well done to Omya (Y6), who took part in a combined, South and West, Suffolk Youth Junior Orchestra performance, where she played the Flute. There were over 100 musicians in attendance, playing to an audience of 300 - wow! The kitchen team would like to highlight Erin (Y6) for kindness this week - well done! The breakfast club team would like to highlight Audley (Y1) for his wonderful manners - he held the door for every single child yesterday - well done! We are proud of one of our Y5 boys, who is now an official chorister at St. Edmundsbury Cathedral. (Photo below). Two of our Y3 girls did brilliantly at a ballet show this weekend, dancing confidently and with a smile - well done, girls! (Photo below). Thank you to Jay (Y4) who showed me his well-earned medal after running a Race For Life - what dedication, stamina and commitment - well done! Thank you to Chloe W (R) for beautiful manners and excellent lunchtime conversation this week. Well done to Jessie (Y5), who showed such tenacity when wrestling with a door and a heavy trolley this week - she was determined to get it through the door, and did so with as much grace as possible! Well done to Edward (Y5), for a mature attitude towards me and Mrs Manning this week. It was lovely that Harrison (Y1) created a fourth core value for us, complete with a symbol - it is currently on display in the office area - thank you. Well done to Yash (R), who has moved on to Stage 3 swimming - what an achievement for a Reception child! Amber (Y5) has passed grade 3 on the cello - amazing - testament to her commitment. Well done to all of our musicians who performed at Newmarket Academy yesterday. A member of staff emailed me to say that our pupils had been a credit to our school - super news!

Have a wonderful weekend - see you on Monday!

Year 3

The children have worked hard this week and are increasingly ready for the move to Year 4! On this note, the children will have hour-long transition sessions next Monday and Tuesday afternoons in the Year 4 classroom with Mrs Chittock and the Year 4 team. We know they are very excited and may have lots of questions, which they will have opportunities to ask on these days.

We have seen some super learning from the children this week. They have really impressed us with their methodical and accurate use of the expanded column addition and subtraction, with exchanging. In English, they have been busy finishing myth-writing, beginning an instructional text, completing a whole-school writing task AND their weekly grammar session!

Computing saw the children continue creating animation files, Art – adding detail to a Greek vase, RE – exploring what a true Guru is, PSHE – researching and designing an appealing, healthy cereal box and French – brilliantly recalling numbers and consolidating some of our learning from this term! We finished the week examining the fascinating ways in which Ancient Greek doctors learned their trade, from treating wounded soldiers in the Trojan Wars, to the beginnings of dissection, that have developed into some of the modern medicine practices we see today.

Next week will be busy, with transition sessions, sports day, the summer fair and the Year 5/6 performance all in the timetable. We are very much looking forward to it! Have a super weekend. The Year 3 team.

Year 4

This week, we’ve been looking at formal methods for division and multiplication. We have also completed a writing task demonstrating our superb independence and Year 5 readiness! We have also enjoyed our class story, ‘The Highland Falcon Thief’, and completed some writing work linked to it.

In Science, we conducted a whole class evaporation experiment, whilst in topic we considered a range of factors as to why passengers were more or less likely to survive. Our critical thinking skills have really improved. In PSHE, we once again looked at a range of scenarios where cooperation was key. This helped us to reflect on our own levels of team work and the ability to work with others.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend,

Thanks

Mr T

Year 5

We really are getting to the business end of the year!

This week, we said goodbye to Mr Coldwell. I am sure you will join me in wishing him all the best for his future teaching career. Maths this week has focused on area and perimeter. In English, the children have started looking at one of my favourite poems, The Highwayman. We will be continuing with this in the final few weeks. We've really ramped up our rehearsals this week.

The play is coming together. We've almost got the choreo down; we almost know when we need to come off and on and stand and sit; we're working on saying our lines loud enough and slowly enough so even people at the back of the hall can see! It will be a really good show - I hope lots of friends and family members are able to come and see it!

Next week is a BIG week:

- On Monday and Tuesday, children will visit their new teachers and classrooms;

- Wednesday is double performance day;

- Thursday is our evening performance; and

- Friday is our final swimming session AND Sports Day AND the Summer Fair!

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Rutter and Mrs Marsh

Year 6

It's been a busy week in Year 6 with LOTS of rehearsals.

Some children have been out on transition visits, and they all seemed to have a great time. We wish all children who are out on transition the very best of luck.

On Tuesday, the SATs results are out. I will share your child's results with them on Tuesday, and you will receive a copy of the results on Tuesday in the report. For those children who will be out on transition at Newmarket Academy on Tuesday, they will receive their results on Wednesday, along with parents. The results will not be shared by email or phone.

A gentle reminder that the children will need their costumes on Wednesday morning, if it is not already in school. We are performing twice on Wednesday. Please could we request that the children are back at school by 17:30 on Thursday. Parents will be admitted to the hall once we are ready.

In English, we finished our novel, Chinese Cinderella. In geography, we looked at the impact of fast fashion. Tuesday was a day of animating - they were fantastic. I really enjoyed watching them.

We have also started to prepare for the end of year assembly: please remember that this is on the last day of term. We aim to finish by about 10AM.

Just a reminder that leavers' lunch has been moved to Wednesday.

We look forward to seeing you on sports day!

Nuala Gilmore