Newsletter Issue 11
Ferncumbe Friday
Friday 3rd march 2023
World Book Day
This Thursday, we celebrated World Book Day at Ferncumbe. The staff and children wore PJs, inspired by the theme of ‘bedtime stories’. We are all so very grateful to Mrs Newbold for giving up her own time to organise such an array of exciting activities. Have a look below to see some of the things we got up to.
Haseley and Honiley Class
The children in Haseley and Honiley class got to spend a lot of the morning together sharing books. We took part in a reading cafe and looked at a range of genres, and filled in a ‘reading menu’ to show what we thought of each genre. We also got to share the books we brought in from home with a partner in the other class. It was such a lovely morning, and Miss Forbes and Miss Constable were so impressed with the caring nature and sharing happening in the classroom.
Sharing a story
Lots of stories were being shared throughout school today. Haseley and Honiley class enjoyed listening to Miss Constable read ‘Bear Shaped’ by Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden. We gave it a 5/5!
Lowsonford Class
Year 6 pupils enjoyed their book cafe experience this morning. They moved around the room in groups to explore different genres and rate the books. They also enjoyed taking part in the staff character quiz. Some of them were very challenging, but we had a great time testing our own knowledge of the most popular books.
Mrs White
Shrewley Class
Year 4 had a super World Book Day! We loved sharing some of our favourite stories with Years 3 and 5, had a great time exploring and ‘tasting’ new books in the ‘book cafe’ and very much enjoyed finding the clues for the character quiz around school. It was lovely to see which books the children had chosen as their favourites to share and there was a real buzz for our morning filled with a variety of reading-related activities!
Miss Reid
Honiley Class
This week in Year 2, we’ve started reading our new class text “Pattan’s Pumpkin”. We wrote some amazing descriptive poems to describe the setting in the story. Well done Year 2!
Miss Constable
Shrewley Class
On Tuesday, Year 4 enjoyed a Roman workshop at St John’s Museum in Warwick. We learnt how to be archaeologists, handled a variety of genuine Roman artefacts as well as learning about Roman food, clothing, jewellery and mosaics!
Miss Reid
A Maths App to help at home (1-minute maths)
As you are probably aware, we use the White Rose Maths scheme in school to support us to teach the mathematics curriculum. White Rose have an app that I think would be beneficial for all children to use in school. It is free to download and is suitable for all children. It practises a range of skills including subitising (the method of instantly recognising items in a group without counting), addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Within each topic area, there are a range of levels. Some of the easier levels will be useful to some Key Stage two children to ensure they have rapid recall of known facts.
It is designed by Maths experts to help children become more fluent and to gain confidence at number using a method they can enjoy. As the title suggests, it only takes one minute! The children can try and beat their previous score on each topic area and quickly see how they are improving.
How does it work?
Each 1-minute task gives children engaging and targeted practise in basic number. The app covers a range of arithmetic topics that are useful for all children. It generates questions randomly the children never see the same one in a sequence. This means they are learning the concept and not a sequence of answers. The children receive instant feedback, it is simple to use and lots of FUN!
Finally, there is no log in needed, or internet, they just download and play. It is available to download on Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
I have attached a record sheet, if you would like to use it, to record your child’s improvements.
Thank you,
Mrs White
Maths Coordinator
Daffodil dissection
In Wroxall class we have been learning about the life cycle of a flowering plant and pollination in our science lessons. To deepen our learning further, we dissected a daffodil so we could explore the parts of the plant responsible for pollination and fertilisation. Such brilliant focus and curiosity, well done!
Sporting ferncumbe
Year 5 and 6 have been busy representing the school at sporting events this month.
ARCHERY
What a wonderful event! The boys were on an adventure throughout the afternoon to become Royal Knights. Due to their impressive bow and arrow skills the leaders of the event promoted the boys to Knights of Ferncumbe C of E Primary School.
LEAMINGTON FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
We were lucky enough to be invited to this exciting opportunity at Leamington Football Club and both the boys and girls teams were amazing and gave it their all! They showed determination to succeed and played so well as a team. Even though they didn’t win the tournament, they put on a wonderful performance and made us very proud.
SPORTS HALL ATHLETICS
What a fantastic performance from Year 5. The children took part in a variety of track and field events, trying their best to compete against many other local schools. They all encouraged each other throughout the event, demonstrated a brilliant attitude towards the event and Everyone enjoyed every second. Well done Wroxall class!
A big thank you…
Everyone at The Ferncumbe would like to thank the parents who have given us ten new football kits! The children were so excited to see them and can’t wait to wear them at the next football event. It will allow us to really look the part as a team and show The Ferncumbe off at it’s best. Thank you so very much!
Mrs Eaves - PE Lead
With very best wishes for a lovely weekend,
Tracey Webb, Head of School