Livingstone Newsletter
January Week 1
Friday 13th January
Updated Summer Term Dates
The Summer Term now has two INSET Days as we have added the final one to our school term dates. An additional Bank Holiday has also been added for The King's Coronation. Please see below for these new dates and add them to your diaries/ calendars.
Summer Term 2023
Inset Days: Monday 26th June and Friday 21st July (school closed)
First Half: Monday 17th April – Friday 26th May
May Day: Monday 1st May (Bank Holiday) school closed for this day
Coronation Day: Monday 8th May school closed for this day
Half term: Monday 29th May – Friday 2nd June (Spring Bank Holiday 29th May)
Second Half: Monday 5th June – Friday 21st July (school closes 2 pm Thursday 20th July for Summer Holiday)
Attendance
Our overall whole school attendance for the first term of the school year is 92.7%. This is well below the expected minimum of 96%.
All children below 90% attendance are considered by the Department for Education to be 'persistent absentees'. As a school, we have a duty to address this. We work closely with our Education Welfare Officer in monitoring the attendance of every child. Letters will be sent home periodically to parents/carers of children whose attendance is of concern. Letters should not be ignored, if you need support with any attendance issues, please speak to us.
We must all work together to keep absences to a minimum to ensure that our children have the best education possible.
PTA News
The PTA Committee will be meeting today at about the same time this newsletter is sent out to everyone.
Over the course of the year, we have managed to raise about £10,000 thanks to the help and generosity of parents, carers, staff and supporters of the school. At this meeting we will plan the next lot of events and start making decisions on how this money can be used to enhance the experiences of the pupils at Livingstone. Unfortunately, due to other commitments there has not been the time to organise the Quiz Night, but we look forward to announcing the next events for the Spring and Summer Term. Please look out for the upcoming events in the newsletter and don't forget we are always looking for volunteers.
Nursery
This week in the Nursery we have been reading the wonderful story of 'The Gruffalo's Child' and have had lots of fun with the story led activities.
Murat worked really hard to draw this lovely picture of the Gruffalo's child playing in the snow!
Poppy has also drawn a fantastic Gruffalos Child! She said, "His eyes are like pools of terrible fire!"
Kingfisher Nursery
Another busy week in Kingfisher Nursery. The children have made the best of it despite the weather and have had a great week full of fun!
The book of the week was the Gruffalo's child, we have looked at this daily alongside old favourites as well as winter themed activities.
Reception
We are all snail mad in Reception! We have enjoyed learning facts about them by reading non-fiction books and we have read lots of snail stories. We have been lucky enough to borrow three Giant African Land snails for the classroom. Two are hibernating and we have been watching very carefully. The children have been so sensible when observing, drawing, touching and holding them. We have guessed their names, written questions about them and even made our own playdough snails, being careful to add the body parts that we can now name. Did you know that a snail has one foot and four tentacles?!
Achievement Awards!
Sienna - for great explanations this week. When asked what fragile means, she said 'it can break easily like it is very delicate' Wow Sienna!
Denat - for fantastic writing this week. You are getting great at pinching your sounds Denat.
Year 1
Year 1 are very enthusiastic about our Art topic: Bold, Bright and Beautiful. We are learning about Picasso's cubist portraits, Rizzi's cityscapes and having a go at replicating our own pictures in their styles.
We are focusing on place value to 20 in Maths and continuing to learn our Set 3 sounds in phonics. Please continue to review the sounds in their My Set 2 and 3 sound books as well read their Book Club and paper phonics books. We are also beginning whole class English lessons and the children have really impressed us with their alien descriptions.
Achievement Awards!
Achievement awards this week go to Arthur for his brilliant cubist portrait and Leo for his excellent work ethic in all subjects. Well done the two of you!
Year 2
In Maths, we have learnt what division means and used the sharing method to divide numbers by 2,5 and 10.
In English, we have read 'The Snail and the Whale' and created a story map. We are using this book as inspiration for our writing.
Our foundation subject for the next two weeks is Science, and our topic is 'Living Things and their Habitats'. We have identified and groups things which are alive, dead or had never been. We have explored different habitats and different living things that can be found in each.
Please don't forget that we are having a SATS meeting on Tuesday 17th at 8:50am in the dining hall.
Homework
Reading- Bees. pages 21 to 26.
Poem competition
If you would like to enter a poetry competition, complete the the senses poem to describe something of your choice.
Please give this back to us by Monday 13th February so we can submit this for you.
Achievement Awards!
This week's awards go to Oliver for his great math working learning new methods and Dilan for his good particiaption in class and discussions in science.
Kingfisher 1
This week in Kingfisher 1 we have explored both traditional and modern versions of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' the children produced some excellent writing as well as some excellent acting!
In Maths we looked at addition, with a focus on finding doubles and halves. The children used a variety of apparatus to assist their calculations and sang along to many songs.
This week's achievement award goes to Carter for excellent number work, well done!
Year 3
This week in Year 3 we have started to write our letters based on a video called 'The Present' from Literacy Shed. We planned our letters first and will be editing them when they are finished. In Maths, we have been learning about multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers and practising our 4 times table. In Science, we have been learning about friction. We carried out an experiment to see which surfaces create the least and most friction and how this changes the distance a toy car can travel.
CGP Pages:
English - pages 38 and 39 (capital letters and full stops).
No Maths pages this week but please practise your 4x table and use times tables rockstars. You can also revise your 2x, 5x, 10x and 3x table.
Achievement Awards!
The first achievement award goes to Skye for showing excellent knowledge and an eagerness to learn in Science. He has also been a great learning partner to others.
The second achievement award goes to Ryan for working very hard to improve his handwriting. He also always tries his best in all lessons and is a role model in Year 3!
Year 4
This week in Year 4, with have been using related multiplication and division facts to helps us solve more complex problems.
In English, we have been working on our metaphorical 'I'm not a volcano' poem to describe volcanoes. In Geography, we have been learning about the structure of the earth, tectonic plates, how volcanoes are formed, how they erupt, where they are located and the different types that can be found. It's fair to say that we have been completely captivated by the awe, wonder and destruction of these forces of nature.
This week's achievement award goes to Elijah and Ravi for their excellent work in Geography. Well done!
Year 5
This week in Maths, Year 5 have been learning how to divide 4- digit numbers by a 1-digit number; we're proud of their perseverance learning the method.
In English, they practised techniques for writing an interesting, descriptive narrative: describing emotions, writing descriptive sentences, punctuating direct speech and choosing impactful language. Their work has been very impressive and we're pleased to see that they're starting to use punctuation more independenty!
In Art, they planned and created their own pop art portraits inspired by Warhol, Lichtenstein and Kusama.
CGP Books
Maths: page 24 (multiplication)
English: pages 62-63 (punctuating speech)
Achievement Awards!
This week's awards go to Fatemah for interesting sentences, and to Bianca for trying her best even when work is challenging - well done!
Year 6
This week in Maths, Y6 have been looking at different methods to help with percentage calculations. This enables the children to choose a methods which works best for them.
In English, we have been practising using figurative language, cohesive devices and speech ready to include in their narratives based on Rose Blanche.
The children have begun to look at different artists (Stephen Wiltshire, Monet and Louise Fel) and London landscapes in Art so they can emulate a style when they create their own London landscape.
Please remember we have our trip to the RAF museum on Monday; the children will each need a packed lunch and will need to be on time as we are leaving promptly.
CGP Homework:
Maths - pages 42 and 43
English - pages 38 and 39
Achievement Awards!
This week's achievement awards go to Geethesri for her independent reading -we're so impressed with the amount you read at home, and Alyssa for her concentration and achievements in everything she does. Well done both of you!
Kingfisher 2
This week in Kingfisher 2 we have been looking at the story of Red Riding Hood in our English lessons. We have been roleplaying the story, hot-seating the characters and using ‘I wonder/I hope’ to write thought bubbles.
The boys have done a great job in Maths, adding using formal written methods and completing division calculations by sharing.
Achievement Awards!
This week, the achievement awards go to Jacob and Jack.
Both boys used great character voices to enhance their performances when role playing as the ‘Big Bad Wolf’ and ‘Red Riding Hood’ and even added their own ideas to the script.
Mixed League Football vs Northside
Sunshine or rain, Livingstone play!
Nothing could stop our team on Wednesday. They have been working incredibly hard at football club to work on attacking and defending skills and their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Our team had great control of the ball and worked fantastically as a team. It was a brilliant game that ended 4-1 to Livingstone.
Well done to Aidan, Albion, Qamazarda, Jack, Alex, Zachary, Matteo, Xander, Lois and Arbel.
JANUARY 2023
Tuesday 17th:
- Year 2 SATS Meeting for Parents/Carers at 9:00 am in Dining Hall
Wednesday 18th:
- Year 3 'Man on the Moon' Workshop - PM (in School)
Friday 20th:
- Reception Phonics IMPACT Meeting for Parents/Carers - 9:00 am
- POSTPONED - PTA Quiz Night (new date to be confirmed)
Monday 23rd:
- Pupil Voice Week
Wednesday 25th:
- Netball Match vs St. Andrews - 3:30 pm (HOME)
Thursday 26th:
- Mixed League Football at Friern Barnet - PM
- Paris Trip Meeting for parent/carers of Y5 and Y6 pupils who are signed-up - 3:15 pm
Friday 27th:
- Parent Rep Meeting 9:00 am - Head Teacher's office
Monday 30th:
- Year 3 begin Swimming at New Barnet Leisure Centre for two weeks (except Tues 31st)
- Year 5 School Journey to PGL Meeting for parents/carers in Year 6 classroom - 3:15 pm
FEBRUARY 2023
Thursday 2nd:
- Mixed League Football Match vs All Saints - 3:30 pm (HOME)
Monday 6th:
- Activity Clubs for Spring Term 2 go online for booking.
Tuesday 7th:
- Safer Internet Day
Wednesday 8th:
- Girls Football Match vs Woodridge - 3:30 pm (HOME)
Friday 10th:
- Activity Clubs for Spring Term 1 finish
- School finishes for Half Term at 3:15 pm (Cabin Club open)
HALF TERM: Monday 13th - Friday 17th February 2023 (School Closed)
Monday 20th:
- Start of Spring Term 2 - pupils return to school.
- Activity Clubs begin for Spring 2.