#InspiredToLearn Half Term Holiday Design Challenge

#InspiredToLearn Half Term Holiday Design Challenge

“Lest We Forget”

This half term holiday we would like you to have a go at making your own single poppy, we will attach these to a wreath that we will be making in school.  The wreath will be placed at the town war memorial by some of our older children after half term as an act of remembrance for all those that gave their lives in conflict.

Design Specification:

- Your Poppy can be made of any material, clay, cardboard, felt, polymer clay, paper, recycled materials, etc.

- Your Poppy should be 3D, rather than flat.

- Your Poppy must be bigger than 5cm but smaller than 12cm in width.

- Your Poppy does not have to be red, in recent years we have used other colours to represent other groups of people who have given their lives in service of our country.  You could research these groups and decide what colour you would like to make.

- Your Poppy could have a loop or hook which will enable it to be attached easily to our wreath.

- Please write your name and year group neatly somewhere on your Poppy.

Please hand your Poppy in to your class teacher by Wednesday 4th November for its inclusion on our collaborative act of remembrance.

Hello everyone,

Hello Everyone,       

Can I start by thanking you for all your continued support. Please be assured that we will stand with you at this time. 

Last week we enjoyed sharing lots of Autumn and farm stories at group time. We enjoyed singing Old McDonald had a farm and on Wednesday morning we sang it next to the tractor. 

On Monday and Wednesday morning the other half of group enjoyed cooking their apple and raisin muffins and visiting the school orchard to collect the apples. 

On Tuesday morning we had PE with Mr Treble in the pre-school hall and we practiced our ball skills. We had a go at rolling the ball, throwing under arm and over arm. We also had the challenge of hitting the big ball with our ball by rolling and throwing the ball. In the afternoon we used our bubble painting from last week and used other media by painting a tree on it and adding autumn leaves to it. 

On Wednesday afternoon we had great fun conker rolling down large tubes and seeing which number they landed on. We did some great counting and recognising numerals. 

On Friday we made some salt dough hedgehogs inspired from the ones that Phoebe bought in to show. In afternoon we did some leaf printing using the leaves and paint.

Throughout the week we have been busy creating our Christmas cards to send of to the printers. We will finish these after half term. At group time we have enjoyed listening to rhyming stories and coming up with our own rhyming words. We have also talked about Reggie the Tortoise who keeps on trying. We have had great fun spotting Reggie around the classroom. We have also been using our fingers to represent numbers upto 5. We have been busy choosing books to bring home in our library bags. We have been busy sweeping the leaves up and taking them to the compost in the wheelbarrow. 

We have all enjoyed the challenge of using a spoon to put the marbles in different sized bottles. Some great fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. We are enjoying painting and using different tools to create different effects. In the number area we have been putting the correct number of pegs onto the hedgehogs and filling the numicon boards. We have enjoyed exploring the small world of pinecones, apples, pears, pumpkins, small woodland animals. 

In the next couple of days you will be receiving a delivery pack of activities you can continue with at home. We hope you enjoy this and if you would like to email any photos we would love to see them. My email is:   j.nineham@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk

If you need anything please do email/ring the main school office (01305 257120) and we will be able to help arrange whatever you need. 

I will be keeping in regular contact with you and I will speak to you all soon.

A couple of parents have asked about when the 14 days self isolation period ends. The last day is Wednesday 21st October. This means if well, pupils can return to usual activities on Thursday 22nd October. This is during half term and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday 2nd November.

Julia, Helen, Sharon, Karen and Colleen

Farming Fortnight

Hello everyone, 

Wow, what a weekend of rain. We hope you got outside to enjoy splashing in the puddles. 

Last week we had a great week learning about harvest, farming and Autumn. On Monday morning we went over to school to look a the big tractor. We used some fabulous language to describe the tractor. On Monday afternoon we went out and found the sycamore seeds and made them fly like helicopters. The children loved this. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning we visited the school orchard to harvest apples and pears. We used the apples in making some apple and raisin muffins to bring home. We did some great cutting of the apples with a knife and some great mixing with one handed tools. The ingredients we used were flour, butter, oil, eggs, apples and raisins. For children who have an egg allergy we have used an egg substitute. On Tuesday morning we had PE with Mr Treble and we played some parachute games. On Tuesday afternoon we did some bubble painting using autumn colours. On Thursday afternoon we made our own apple juice using the apple press. We washed all the apples and then cut the apples into small pieces. We then put them in the press and turned the handle till the juice came out. On Friday morning we had a visitor of Cooper the tortoise who belongs to Phoebe. We learnt all about tortoises and what they feel like. On Friday afternoon we did some conker rolling with a large tray and paints. We worked as a team to move the tray up and down so the conkers rolled. We watched how the colours mixed. In the afternoons we have also been doing some threadings with apple and pears shapes to develop our pincer grip. On Wednesday and Friday afternoon we did an obstacle course in the hall to develop different ways of moving, balancing and jumping.

We have been busy singing old McDonald farm ready for our harvest song. The children have started to bring school library books home which they have chosen, we will continue this week to enable all children to bring a school library book home. We have particular enjoyed playing with the corn and wheat in the messy area, the play dough with autumn objects, painting, Mark making in oats, small world farm and construction. 

In jigsaw time this week we have met Reggie the tortoise who is a resilient tortoise. Reggie came and talked about to be resilient, to keep trying, have a go etc. We have also met Jennie jigsaw this week. 

We have enjoyed sharing lots of harvest, farming and autumn stories this week. 

This week we are continuing with Farming, harvest and autumn. We will be doing lots more exploring and learning through a variety of activities.  We will be learning some new autumn songs and sharing some more stories. 

Home Learning

The children are really enjoying their name cards for snack. There is plenty of time to do one with your child if you would like to. 

It was lovely to see the children's home learning of Autumn and Harvest and we shared these at group time. The children are very welcome to bring these in to celebrate at group time.

This weeks challenge is to:- Can you collect an item or picture which reminds you of Autumn and bring it in to share at group time. 

Notices

Please bring any WOW's for our WOW board you have. If you would like some WOW slips, these can be found on the outside notice board in a wallet.

Primary school applications:- You can now apply for your child's place for Primary schools. The closing date for application is the 15th January 2021. Here is the link:-  https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/starting-school-for-the-first-time.aspx

The Prince of Wales School has a virtual open morning for September 2021 applicants on Wednesday 14th October @ 9.30am.

On Wednesday it is the POWSA AGM @7.30pm in the school hall. All welcome - please email powsa@hotmail.co.uk if you are planning to attend so that we can monitor numbers for social distancing.

Here to another amazing week full of adventures

Julia, Sharon, Colleen, Helen and Karen

Farming fortnight

 

Hello everyone,

We hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Last week we really enjoyed listening to the stories of Shark in the park on a windy day and Shark in the dark. These book are also written by Nick Sharratt. The children have been amazing at remembering who the author of these book are. Throughout the week the children have been accessing the collection of Shark in the park and  independently retelling the story to themselves or others using the pictures. During the week we have also be drawing our self portrait on our My Magical Achievements book and starting to stick in our gold stars, photos and speech bubbles.

On Monday afternoon we explored and experimented outside with planks, tubes and the slope which objects roll and which ones don't. we used cars, trucks, tyres, hoops, and objects that don't roll. We talked about why they roll or don't roll.  We also played a game with a skipping rope and practiced our jumping over the rope at different heights.

On Tuesday morning we had PE with Mr Treble and we went over to the school field. We played stuck in the mud, dodgeball and running to a given coloured cone. We also did some throwing and catching  balls.  

On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we went in the classroom and shut the curtains and explored with the torches. We made shadows and shark puppets. We used lots of vocabulary to talk about what was happening. 

On Wednesday and Thursday morning some groups of children made some shark biscuits to bring home. They looked very tasty. The children did all the pouring and mixing of ingredients and rolling the dough out. After rolling out the dough the children cut the sharks out using a cutter. 

On Thursday afternoon we made kites and we flew them outside. We also went out on a bike ride on the balance bikes around the school grounds. 

On Friday afternoon, we went in groups to the school field to fly an enormous kites. It was great fun. Also we went in small groups up to the guinea pigs and we stroked them on our laps. 

Throughout the week at group time we have been doing lots of singing and exploring musical instruments.  we have also been clapping out our names. We have been doing lots of number songs using our fingers. 

This week it is the first week of farming fortnight. We have got lots of exploring  adventures planned. We will be doing some cooking, visiting the school orchard, threading, bubble painting, tractors, scarecrows and lots more.

Home Learning

The children are really enjoying their name cards for snack. There is plenty of time to do one with your child if you would like to. 

It was lovely to see the children's home learning of torches and we shared these at group time.

This weeks home learning challenge: To develop our fine motor skills, can your child create a autumn/harvest picture using scissors in the process.

Notices

 It was great to catch up with you all via our virtual Zoom information session on Tuesday. If you were unable to log on then I am more than happy to talk through the presentation when it's convenient for you. Just let me know. Also if you have any other questions, please come and ask one of the team.

 Please bring any WOW's for our WOW board you have. If you would like some WOW slips, these can be found on the outside notice board in a wallet.

Primary school applications:- You can now apply for your child's place for Primary schools. The closing date for application is the 15th January 2021. Here is the link:-  https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/starting-school-for-the-first-time.aspx

The Prince of Wales School has an open morning for September 2021 applicants on Wednesday 14th October @ 9.30am.

I have spoken to the other schools in Dorchester about open morning and they will let us know dates.

On Friday 2nd October it is dress like a farmer day. Children can come into pre-school dressed as farmers.

If your child needs to have  medication given at pre- school, please speak to a member of staff  and they will give you a form to fill out. We are unable to give medicines that are not prescribed, for example calpol. Please keep us up to date with any changes in medical information including allergies. 

Here's to another amazing week of adventures.

Julia, Helen, Sharon, Karen, Colleen

Thought about becoming a parent governor? If you have the skills, interest and commitment for this rewarding role then we would love to hear from you!

                        10th September 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

PARENT GOVERNOR ELECTION

I am writing to invite you to stand for election as a parent governor, or nominate another parent to do so. In our school we have provision for 4 parent governors and there is currently 1 vacancy.

The governing body, with the headteacher, has overall responsibility for the running of the school. Governing bodies have three core strategic functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils and the performance management of staff

•  Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

No special qualifications are needed and the most important thing is to have a keen interest in the school and be prepared to play an active part in the governing body’s work. However, we would particularly welcome nominations from parents with experience of Human Resources and organisational leadership. Training is available for all governors and this governing body has an expectation that those new to being a governor attend free induction training.

The enclosed sheet summarises the circumstances under which someone cannot serve as a governor. In addition, parents/carers who have paid employment in the school for 500 or more hours per academic year or who are elected members of the Local Authority are not eligible to stand in these elections. Nominations must be from parents or carers with children at the school on the day that nominations close.

If you would like to stand for election please complete the enclosed nomination form and return it to the school no later than 25/09/2020 You may also include a short personal statement to support your nomination, which should be no longer than 250 words. Self-nominations will be accepted, but if you are nominating another parent please seek their prior consent.

If there are more nominations than vacancies the election will be by secret ballot. If that is necessary voting papers will be sent to all parents together with details of the ballot procedure.

Should you have any queries about the role of parent governor or wish to discuss it further, please email clerk@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk

Yours faithfully,

Mr Thomas Easterbrook

Clerk to the Governing Body 

Shark in the Park on a windy day and Shark in the dark

 

Hello everyone,

We hope you have all had a wonderful weekend enjoying the sunshine. Last week we shared the story of Shark in the Park at group time. By the end of the week the children were amazing at joining in with the repeated refrains and the actions. We also talked about who wrote the book and that they are called authors. We also talked about speech bubbles. 

Throughout the week we had great fun making our own telescopes with tubes and different coloured cellophane. We explored what happens when you look through the cellphone and how the objects changed colour. We took our telescopes on a walk around the school gardens recalling the story and using the positional language like up, down. We came across a shark in the school pond!! On Monday afternoon we painted a large shark on cardboard outside using large brushes. We cut out a mouth and then had great fun throwing beanbags, balls and hoops through his mouth throughout the week. Mr Spracklen also popped over to pre-school to find out our news, we took him up to the pond to see the shark. 

On Tuesday morning we had PE with Mr Treble and played some great games. In the afternoon we made some cheesy sharks and ate them for snack. They were very yummy. On Wednesday and Thursday we watched the shark aquarium on the computer and we founds this really interesting. On Wednesday afternoon we did cosmic kids yoga with an underwater theme. We did great listening and taking part. At the end we did the baby shark song which was great fun. 

On Friday we made sharks with sharp teeth and used the scissors to create these. In the afternoon we went blackberry picking around the school grounds. 

Throughout the week we have enjoyed playing with the small world underwater shark scene, helping with preparing snack, feeding the shark with shapes, creating shark pictures with different media and lots more. 

Here are some pictures of our displays in the classroom. 

This week we will be sharing the story of Shark in the park on a windy day and Shark in the dark which is also written by Nick Sharratt. We will be making kites, exploring torches, making shark biscuits, weather, what rolls and doesn't roll down slopes, shark shadow puppets and lots more. 

Home learning:-

A challenge this week with torches, can you make a shadow using your torch? Can you make a shark shadow using your fingers? How can you make your shadows bigger and smaller? We would love to hear about your exploring, so please feel in a WOW and/or take a photo. 

WOW, we have all enjoyed seeing your amazing home learning and have been using them for our snack time name cards. There's still plenty of time to make one if you would like to.

To help us recognise our own name we thought you and your child might like to create their name out of different materials. We would like to use these for our snack time name cards. If you would like to do one, please bring them in when you have finished. We would love to show everyone your amazing home learning.

Notices

This week the weather is looking lovely and sunny. Please could children be sun creamed before coming to pre-school and let a member of staff know. Also please return suncream letter slips from last week. 

If you are in Group A please come at 8.55 to the group A door and pick up from the group A door at the end of children's session at 12.00pm, 1.00pm or 3.30

If you are in Group B please come at 9.05 to the group B door and pick up from the group B door at the end of children's session at 12.00pm, 1.00pm or 3.20

We place all lunch boxes in the fridge, please label lunch boxes with your child's name. If you would like to order your child a hot lunch, please speak to a member of staff and Caroline will arrange a hot lunch code for you. 

We will be sending  photos to you via the Marvellous Me App of your child's adventures and achievements .  If you would like a password reminder, please let us know. 

It would great if pre-school t-shirts and jumpers can be named.

I will be doing an information session virtually using Zoom on Tuesday 22nd September @7.30pm about what we do in Year 2 e.g. book bags, changing bags, Keyworkers, Jennie Jigsaw, Sounds and Letters,EYFS, trips, swimming etc. Please look out for the letter and send back your email address so a link can be sent to you, as there will be lots of useful information to support your child. 

Please bring any WOW's for our WOW board you have. If you would like some WOW slips, these can be found on the outside notice board in a wallet.

If your child is staying for after school club till 4.30, they will not  necessarily need a snack as we have an afternoon snack time at 3.00pm everyday as part of our routine. Also after school club for pre-school will be in the pre-school hall so please come round to the hall door to collect your child.

Primary school applications:- You can now apply for your child's place for Primary schools. The closing date for application is the 15th January 2021. Here is the link:-  https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/starting-school-for-the-first-time.aspx

The Prince of Wales School has an open morning for September 2021 applicants on Wednesday 14th October @ 9.30am.

I have spoken to the other schools in Dorchester about open morning and they will let us know dates.

Here's to a great week back of fun and adventures. 

Thanks

Julia,Karen, Helen, Colleen and Sharon.

Shark in the park

 

Hello everyone,

We hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. Last week we had a great week continuing to settle in to pre-school and enjoying the outside space. Throughout the week we have been painting our self portraits for our classroom. When painting these we have been looking in the mirror and looking at what colour our eyes are and where about they are on our face. See below for a picture of our display.

On Monday afternoon we used chalk to draw around ourselves and each other. we enjoyed eating our snack outs. On Tuesday we had Mr Treble in the morning for PE. We played hide and seek around the garden and played a game where you roll a dice and do an action that many times. It was great fun. Throughout the week we have enjoyed using different materials including paint, tissue paper and pencils to recreate the beautiful sunflowers on the drawing table. See picture below.

On Wednesday afternoon we went on a stick hut and collected lots of different sized sticks. We then used the sticks to make an outline of our bodies. We then used natural objects for eyes, nose, mouth etc.On Thursday afternoon we made cheese on toast for snack. We also enjoyed going to the play on the play trail. On Friday we enjoyed playing with the enormous boxes and used our imagination. We used them to hide in, make an aeroplane and boat. On Friday afternoon we went to the garden and picked some Rhubarb to make some muffins for our snack and to bring home. They were delicious. We also used fabric, nuts, bolts, washers and wool to make people. See picture below. 

Throughout the week we have continued to enjoy listening stories and singing nursery rhymes at group time.

This week we will be sharing the story of Shark in the Park which is one of the children's favourite stories. We will also be sharing the different variations of the story including shark in the park on a windy day and shark in the dark. This is a great story with repeated refrains and lots of positional language. Throughout the week we will be doing lots of activities linked to the story including telescopes, shape hunts, cooking and drama along with lots more. If you would like to borrow the story, please speak to a member of staff.

Home learning:-

WOW, we have all enjoyed seeing your amazing home learning and have been using them for our snack time name cards. There's still plenty of time to make one if you would like to.

To help us recognise our own name we thought you and your child might like to create their name out of different materials. We would like to use these for our snack time name cards. If you would like to do one, please bring them in when you have finished. We would love to show everyone your amazing home learning.

If you have any empty kitchen roll and wrapping paper tubes please bring them into pre-school. We would like to make telescopes. When you bring your telescope home, can you use it to find an object of interest? Take a picture and bring it in to pre-school to show everyone. 

Notices

On Friday 18th September we are holding a non uniform day to say a big thank you to all the key workers. The money raised will be supporting Dorset County Hospital 

If you are in Group A please come at 8.55 to the group A door and pick up from the group A door at the end of children's session at 12.00pm, 1.00pm or 3.30

If you are in Group B please come at 9.05 to the group B door and pick up from the group B door at the end of children's session at 12.00pm, 1.00pm or 3.20

We place all lunch boxes in the fridge, please label lunch boxes with your child's name. If you would like to order your child a hot lunch, please speak to a member of staff and Caroline will arrange a hot lunch code for you. 

We will be sending  photos to you via the Marvellous Me App of your child's adventures and achievements .  If you would like a password reminder, please let us know. 

It would great if pre-school t-shirts and jumpers can be named.

I will be doing an information session virtually using Zoom on Tuesday 22nd September @7.30pm about what we do in Year 2 e.g. book bags, changing bags, Keyworkers, Jennie Jigsaw, Sounds and Letters,EYFS, trips, swimming etc. Please look out for the letter and send back your email address so a link can be sent to you, as there will be lots of useful information to support your child. 

Please bring any WOW's for our WOW board you have. If you would like some WOW slips, these can be found on the outside notice board in a wallet.

If your child is staying for after school club till 4.30, they will not  necessarily need a snack as we have an afternoon snack time at 3.00pm everyday as part of our routine. Also after school club for pre-school will be in the pre-school hall so please come round to the hall door to collect your child.

Primary school applications:- You can now apply for your child's place for Primary schools. The closing date for application is the 15th January 2021. Here is the link:-  https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/starting-school-for-the-first-time.aspx

The Prince of Wales School has an open morning for September 2021 applicants on Wednesday 14th October @ 9.30am.

I will find out the information about open mornings in other Dorchester school and will post this information on the blog.

Here's to a great second week back full of fun and adventures. 

Thanks

Julia, Colleen, Helen, Karen and Sharon.