BIC Sa Porrassa Primary Weekly News (5/14/21)

Dear families,

Whenever I talk about our school, I always highlight how we are an inclusive school. This means that we welcome students of all abilities, and do not ask students to sit an entrance exam. This inclusivity is very much the hallmark of outstanding British schools, where all children, whatever their academic ability, will be supported, stretched and challenged, taught well by outstanding teachers, who have the highest of expectations for all, such that all students make the best progress they are capable of.

I am proud to work in an inclusive school, one that has a climate of warmth and welcome, and is dedicated to ensuring all students reach their potential, whatever that might be. We put no ceiling on success and what our young people can achieve. Students who may struggle will be expertly supported, both by their skilled class teachers and by the excellent support staff we have, in our fantastic team of Learning Support Assistants, led so ably by Ms Cull, who has a deep and detailed knowledge and understanding of barriers to learning that children might experience, and how teachers can help children to overcome them. Equally, we have many very bright and able young people in our school. Part of our mission here is to ensure students are really stretched, that they find work challenging, they find it hard, but through great teaching they feel the pride and satisfaction that comes through achieving great grades. Some of our children, especially in primary school, come with limited English. Through the expertise of teachers trained in how to support children for whom English is an additional language, these children make rapid and impressive progress, such that within months - even weeks - they are fully accessing our curriculum, and improving their spoken and written English.

An inclusive school is also about ensuring all children feel safe and welcome, that they feel nurtured and nourished, that they know who to turn to when they face difficulties, and know that they will be supported and guided. The caring, inclusive atmosphere in our school is one of its many strengths. Indeed, it is only through children feeling happy, enjoying school, and knowing they are cared for by their teachers that they will do well in the classroom.

Wishing you a happy and sunny weekend,

Alison Colwell

Principal

Dear parents

This week our team and I have enjoyed discussing the importance of families and relationships with students. Held on 15th May every year, the International Day of Families was established by the United Nations in 1993 as a way to raise awareness of issues faced by families throughout the world. The UN also uses the International Day of Families as a way to recognise that family structures have undergone many changes due to social, economical and demographic factors. The annual event provides a way to highlight the important role that families hold in communities and raises issues that may affect families.

As a British international school we continue to embrace both British, local and international celebrations and customs. We have the benefits of the structure of the gold standard British system and the flexibility of being part of an international group of schools.

As a school we consistently spend time reviewing, updating and adapting our curriculums. This year we are currently making changes to our PSHE (personal, social and emotional) programme and in addition changes in requirements for Early Years education.

These national changes for our youngest learners have been made to better support all young children’s learning and development. It is also the aim that the new framework will better prepare children for the transition into key stage 1.

The Early Years curriculum provides the foundation for all learning. In the Early Years Foundation Stage the emphasis is on the children learning through play. The professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child's unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.

In our Early Years department, although most of the curriculum will be similar to the one we teach now, there are some changes which include:

• more information on self-care and healthy eating.

• a greater focus on development from birth to reception and on the link between gross and fine motor skills.

• a stronger emphasis on literacy learning, and the links between language and reading and writing.

• more detail on the importance of shapes, awareness of space and measure and how children can foster a love of maths.

• wider experiences of understanding the world around them for children.

• a wider variety of ways children can develop their creative skills.

These changes will add to the solid curriculum which our Early Years children already experience.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Laura Hodgson

Acting Head of Primary

We all had great fun making very silly sentences, using the colourful semantics approach to sentence writing, to help us practise sentence writing.

The children had great fun learning how to make gingerbread and all went home with a Gingerbread Man to retell the fairy tale story we had been learning in class.

The children really challenged themselves this week making and adding equal groups in maths. Well done everyone!

As part of our science topic, Year 2 enjoyed a trip to Sa Porrassa Garden Centre. It was a wonderful experience and we were fascinated by the variety and beauty of the many plants and trees there. At the end of our visit we were all given a beautiful plant to take home. We would like to thank the team for their kindness and for our wonderful guide.

This week in art we started work on our papier mache vases. First, we pieced together cardboard shapes using masking tape before using a mixture of glue and water to stick newspaper to the vase. No-one had experienced using this media before, we all thought it felt very strange; it was very messy but great fun!

We are really enjoying finding out about explorers and adventurers in our topic lessons. This week in English, Mrs I’Anson’s group has been using non-fiction books and the internet to find out more information about two significant people in history, Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart. We have made notes and will use them to write biographies about them.

In science this week Year 3 have been classifying rocks into natural and man-made rocks, studying their properties and discussing what they are used for. We examined a range of images and identified the natural rocks we could see. We looked closely at the properties of the different rocks to help prepare us for our first rock experiment next week.

In humanities this week, 3X made Stone Age huts using the raw materials that the Stone Age people would have used.

3X learnt about the Folkton Drums and how some archeologists believe they were used as ancient tape measures for Stonehenge. Then we had fun outside playing the drums as a class.

The Folkton Drums are a unique set of three decorated chalk objects in the shape of drums or solid cylinders dating from the Neolithic period. They were found near the village of Folkton in northern England.

3W spent the beginning of the week researching what the Stone Age people would have worn and what materials they would have used. They then used this information to design their own Stone Age clothing.

In English, we have been identifying word classes. The children enjoyed using coloured pencils to identify the different types of words.

In art with Mrs Hatton, the children were learning how to draw 3D doughnut designs. They all looked so tasty and real!

Year 4 has worked extremely hard this week. They have had numerous assessment tasks to undergo for maths, English and also science, as we came to the end of our current science unit. To help us review what we have learned about sound, we created colourful mind maps. We have gained a lot of knowledge. Go on, ask us a question!

We've managed to keep assessment apprehensions at bay by diving into our more creative subjects of art and music, with great gusto. New skills were learned in our music lessons. The children (and teachers) are learning to play the ukulele! We practised 2 chords: C major and F major. We loved it! Imagine how good we will be by the end of term. Watch this space...

When the sun shone we took advantage of the warm spring weather to get outside and look in more detail at the natural world. We found a small natural object to examine and draw in detail. Who knew leaves and sticks had so much detail!

Growth mindset and a positive approach to thinking and learning has been the focus for Year 5 this week, especially appropriate as they go through their tests. The children were enthusiastic about using role play in the sunshine to try out how they might approach various situations, and language they might use. One of the most important things they all learned is to say,

“ I can’t do it……...YET!”

Year 6 has been using the alphabet to create colourful abstract designs. Initially they filled their square with all of the letters of the alphabet and then filled the closed spaces with vibrant patterns.

Join 6R as they whisk us away to India to explore towering mountains, fascinating culture, incredible animals and much more…

Our Early Years group enjoyed lots of funny parachute activities during their PE lesson.

Come along and sing for pleasure! Regardless of whether you think you have a good voice or not! If you think that you would like to sing, then sing! We sing purely for pleasure this term - it´s all about building up your confidence. We will be singing a range of music - from popular to classical. Singing is wonderful for stress, self esteem, self expression, making new friends, the heart and lungs!

Come along to L3 every Friday lunchtime (bring your lunch) from 1.15pm.

Senior Choir is led by Ms. Mayes, Ms. Tomlinson and Dr. Cruttenden