Ferncumbe Friday

Friday 15th February 2019

sensational shakespeare!

Our whole school topic on Shakespeare comes to an end this week but what a fantastic half term of learning it has been! We were blown away on Monday when the children brought their Shakespeare shoebox theatre projects into school. The amount of hard work, effort, creativity, imagination and enjoyment that has gone into the projects is inspiring - thank you for all your support at home to complete these this half term.

To support the learning of the story and themes in Romeo and Juliet, each class has enthusiastically participated in various drama activities and this is something that the children at Ferncumbe have said they've really enjoyed. Some of our younger pupils in Year 1 and 2 said, "Next year, we want to learn about Macbeth and Richard III, we've really enjoyed Shakespeare!"

Rowington Class have been especially lucky and had the opportunity this week to perform Romeo and Juliet alongside four other Warwickshire schools. The day involved creating scenes from the play using lego, writing our own Shakespearean insults and then finally, the performance! It really was fantastic and Rowington did an amazing job on stage, overcoming nerves, taking on roles last minute due to absence and performing with pride. Well done Rowington - you really did shine!

Mrs Foss

World Book Day - Thursday 7th March 2019

We have decided to celebrate this national event by asking children to come into school with a quote from their favourite book, written out, decorated and pinned to their uniform. Children also need to bring their favourite book into school on that day to share.

Eco Club’s new logo

ECO-CLUB OFF THE GROUND

This term, Mrs Grier has begun monthly meetings with the 16 Ferncumbe Eco-Representatives, who were elected by their classmates last term. So far, we have discussed what our role should be around school and then fed this back in the classroom, creating a poster to display this as reminder to the whole class. We have also 'reused' the Ferncumbe wren in our new Eco-Logo.

In preparation for the Big Schools Birdwatch, we have been topping up the bird feeders, with the last of our kindly donated food, in the hope that we can attract as many local residents as possible so we can count them on the day.

The younger members of the Eco-Group (and Year 5!) spent some time during the meeting, and after, making Lego bird feeders to place outside Year 3 classroom.

As part of our plan towards making Ferncumbe a 'No Idling Zone', we have also contacted the bus companies we use, to request that they do not leave their engines running outside school. We have already had a very positive response from one company, which is great news. We discussed the health of our bodies and the air around us during the meeting and hope that all parents and visitors to the school will support us with this campaign.

We finished our meeting, with the news that Miss Morris will let us have a non-uniform day as part of an Earth Day, just before Easter. So there's much planning to be done there, and news to look out for!

RSPB Birdwatch!

Shrewley Class taking part in their birdwatch

Year 4 took part in the Big Schools Birdwatch on Friday 1st Feb. We worked on eyepiece distance and focusing during a practice 'watch', using photos of birds across the field. The new track has been invaluable! Then, on that bitterly cold morning, we headed out and carefully counted all the birds we saw. We were especially keen to see so many house sparrows still milling around the roof tops of Wren's House. We spotted many species, including jackdaws, wood pigeons, redwings, robins, blue tits, chaffinches and wrens. Some lapwings flew over, which was wonderful to see, but sadly they didn't land, so we couldn't count them! Year 4 did a fantastic job.

Mrs Grier

Internet safety

Last week, we celebrated Safer Internet Day and used this time to focus on our lives online and how we can become respectful, digital citizens. In each year group, we studied the ways that we can be in control of what information we put onto the internet. I have attached the newsletter that was sent home and do hope you find this information helpful.

E-Safety Newsletter

Miss Forbes

singtastic concert

You will know from the class pages on the website that all children in school have been having singing lessons this term, led by a vocal specialist from the Warwickshire Music team. The children are extremely enthusiastic about their singing and would love to share the songs they have learnt with you. We will therefore be hosting a ‘Singtastic’ concert on Thursday 28th March 2019.

Reception and KS1 (Years 1-2) parents are invited from 9 - 9.20am, and KS2 (Years 3-6) parents from 9.30 - 9.50am.

The concert will take place in the school hall. We look forward to seeing you there!

our school vision in action

Honiley Class (Year 2) wrote their own prayers this week in response to a Class Worship led by Mrs Cross. I thought you may like to read them.

protective behaviours

Next half- term the whole school will once again be following the Taking Care scheme , the aim of which is to improve the safety and well-being of children in Warwickshire by teaching them to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. Protective Behaviours is a practical, down to earth approach to personal safety and is a process that encourages self-empowerment, alongside the skills to raise self-esteem and to help avoid being victimised. This is achieved by helping individuals to recognise and trust their intuitive feelings (Early Warning Signs) and develop strategies for self-protection.

brilliant book lists

During parents’ evening many of you asked us to recommend reading books and authors that your child may enjoy. At the bottom of each class page, there is now a link to a document that recommends a variety of books for each age group. If you’re stuck for ideas, or want to suggest to your child books they may like to read, head to the bottom of their class page for the link. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but provides some ideas about extending the range of genres and authors your child might enjoy.

With very best wishes for a happy (and sunny!) half-term,

Tracey Webb, Deputy Headteacher

Newsletter Issue 11