Livingstone Newsletter
September Week 3
Friday 20th September
PTA AGM Meeting
Thank you to all the parents who gave up their time and were able to join us for the AGM on Wednesday evening. Also, thank you to the parents/carers who have shown their interest in helping and running upcoming school fundraising events.
In the next couple of weeks, the PTA will start adding event dates to the school calendar and when the accounts have been completed, they will share how much has been raised in the past year and how much has been spent on improving the education experiences of the pupils.
Thank you!
Thank you to Gemma Reynolds for her incredible support! Gemma, whose son Jack attended our Kingfisher provision, completed a Tough Mudder and raised an amazing £800 for the Kingfisher Provision. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to her for this generous contribution and we will ensure we will spend the donation on something special..
Parent Rep Meeting - Agenda
9 am - 18.9.24
Giovanna Phelan Head Teacher - present
Vacancy -Nursery
Georgina Mace Reception- present
Sid Visuanathan Year 1- present
Jackie Scott Year 2 - present
Laura Blackaller Year 3 - apologies
Charlotte Gosling Year 4 - present
Melisa Gosling Year 5- apologies
Kate Figgis- Year 6- present
YEAR 1
Q1. Can breakfast club start 15 minutes earlier?
A. The government and local authority ask that schools provide extended day care between 8am and 6pm and Livingstone are working within these times.
To ask the staff who run breakfast club to arrive earlier than the allocated time impacts on their morning as some have to travel a long way to get to work. It also makes it difficult to replace members of staff at these times if they are off work.
If an earlier start time is needed by a family, there are a small number of staff who arrive early in school or parents who live very close to the school and a private arrangement could be made for the extra 15 mins before Cabin begins.
Q2. There were a lot of events at the end of last term, which was quite overwhelming for some children. Could the school be a bit more mindful about spreading things out a bit?
A. The school is aware the end of term could have been overwhelming for some of our pupils, and we apologise for this. Unfortunately, this is the nature of the end of term in school.
Q3. Do children in key stage one still get a break mid- afternoon? It appears from the timetable they don’t but this might not be accurate. I have just heard a lot about schools reducing play times, so I just wanted to check.
The pupils in key stage one and key stage two have never had a playtime in the afternoon, as it is only one and a half hours of lesson time from the end of lunch time to home time.
Reception have a more structured morning and then a free flow afternoon, allowing for indoor or outdoor activities combined with breaks. Nursery have activities structured through play, so there are timetabled breaks morning and afternoon.
Q4. Do the children need PE kits for multi sports and if so can a change of clothes be kept in the PE bag at school?
Children do need their PE kits for multi sports and will need to bring and take home their PE kits on the day, ready for Wednesday, when they should come into school wearing kit for Creative Curriculum.
Reception uniform list: As from next year, the school will provide parents with clearer information on the uniform list for reception children as they have a slightly different uniform to the rest of the school.
The school are aware and apologise if there has been confusion this year.
The reception children wear black cuffed tracksuit bottoms, white polo shirts and school jumpers with plain black trainers.
For PE they wear the same and only in summer will they need to wear blue PE shorts for PE lessons.
YEAR 2
Q5. Are there consequences for not doing homework? I’m guessing they can earn house points or dojos or something if they do homework? To encourage them.
A. If a child doesn’t do their weekly homework, they will have to do it in school at homework club with Mr. Madle or Mrs. Phelan. If they have a good reason not to do it, such as not understanding the work, the parent/carer should talk to the class teacher.
With Brain Boosters homework – there is no pressure to do these, they do receive bronze, silver or gold certificates depending on how many they do.
Q6. The parent Reps had a discussion on the school events related to question number 2. As a school we rely heavily on our PTA and volunteers to help with these events and sadly we never get enough help to run them as we would like or over a time period that would be suitable. The school will be mindful of this in future. More help is much needed to run these events with ease. Anyone wishing to help out please contact the school to signpost you to our PTA.
Finally, the general vibe from all year groups represented at the meeting is, what a great start to the year.
Well done Livingstone!
Nursery and Kingfisher Nursery
Another fun-filled week in Nursery. We have met even more new friends this week and we are getting busy! We have been learning all about nocturnal animals and we have been reading the story ‘Owl Babies’ that the children have loved. They have been using puppets to act out the story and used different material to create a big ‘Owl Babies’ front cover. They had fun with food, creating owls from rice cakes and fruit and have been discussing their favourite fruit during snack time.
Please remember to bring your book bags in on Tuesdays from now on so that the children can choose a story to take home. We would also like to remind you to label all items your child brings into Nursery; water bottles, bag with spare change of clothes, wellies, coats, cardigans, etc. If you have not brought a bag of spare clothes yet, please bring one in next week.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the last two days of summer!
Reception
Reception have had a great first full week! We are learning the rules and routines and are beginning to understand how important it is to work as a team. We all have our star picture on the wall, ready to be a star of the day and we have even earned our first class marble in the jar for a fantastic first lesson in phonics!
We have discovered new learning and spaces at school, including the pond area which we visit each week on a Thursday - please can all children bring in a pair of labelled wellington boots to stay at school for the soon expected rainy weather.
Next week we will be beginning to discuss our families and homes, please can your child bring in a photograph of your family or email it to the office (FAO Mrs Mills) ready for our 'family wall' in the classroom.
A 'meet the teacher' meeting will be held in the classroom from 8.50 on Wednesday morning where you will find out more about the class, routines and expectations in Reception as well as have the opportunity to ask any questions.
Year 1
Year 1 are settling into their new routines and working hard. In our Maths lessons we explored identifying and representing numbers to 10 using objects and drawings. We learnt more special friends in our phonics lessons and practised spelling words with those sounds.
Please look in their reading diaries for the books and sounds they are reading. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day for our local area walk and mapped at our route using Digimap. The children were able to discuss the human and physical geographical features we found on our route. We look forward to art in our afternoon lessons next week.
Achievement awards go to Gina and Khloe for their positive attitudes to learning; well done for always trying your best.
Year 2
In Maths, we have partitioned two-digit numbers using part whole models in two different ways and writing the expanded form. We are also continuing to draw dienes to represent the numbers. In English, we have been completing Read Write Inc comprehensions and built our own sentences. We have finished learning about materials in Science. We took part in a science investigation to find out which material is suitable for making an umbrella. We are now learning about the Great Fire of London in History. On Tuesday, the children took part in a fantastic, interactive workshop which helped introduce the topic. Everyone is very enthusiastic and can recall key facts.
Homework
Reading- Page 7.
Maths- Pages 7 and 8. 9 is optional.
This week's achievements go to Dajjen who has just started Year 2 and has been a fantastic pupil and Jeshuran for being a good friend and helping Dajjen settle in.
Kingfisher 1
We have had a lovely week in Kingfisher 1. In maths we have been learning all about addition using numicons. The children have been finding number bonds with numicon shapes. Reception children have been learning to recognise numbers and match them to corresponding numicons.
In English we have started our new topic The shopping basket. The children have been retelling the story using colourful semantics. Reception children are matching initial sounds to corresponding words.
We have introduced Read Write Inc sessions for our reception children. Parents can access RWI programme on the VLE in the Reception folder .
This weeks award goes to King for his brilliant phonics blending.
Well done King!
Year 3
Do you know there are different ways to partition a number? We have been exploring this in maths and refreshing our knowledge of number bonds.
In English, we were reporters. We interviewed the bear to find out how he felt becoming famous due to his magnificent piano playing. We are getting really good at asking questions to deepen our understanding of the text and widen our vocabulary.
This week in science we learned that muscles work in pairs. We made a model of the arm and used the scientific vocabulary to explain what our bicep and triceps muscles are doing when we lift and straighten our arm.
Homework pages:
Maths practice Journal pages 7 and 8 (If you would like to conduct a fun maths investigation, you can complete page 6)
CGP Punctuation Book- pages 18-19
Reading: Children should be reading 20 – 30 minutes every day. Adults, please support your children by listening and asking them questions about they’re reading
Year 3 Achievement Certificates this week go to:
Billy- Demonstrating our school value of friendship inside and outside of the classroom.
Toby – For always showing excellent listening skills and independently using al the tools around him in the classroom to complete his work successfully.
Well done!
Year 4
It has been a busy week in Year 4. In Maths, the children have continued with place value and have been looking at flexible partitioning and number lines. In English, we have read 'Gorilla' by Anthony Browne and the children will be using this as a stimulus for their first two long writes - the first being a linear narrative.
We have finished Science and are now doing D&T, learning about levers and linkages.
Homework pages - please only complete the pages below
Maths - pages 7 and 8
English SPaG - pages 6 and 7
Reading comprehension homework will be next week as we are waiting for some books to arrive.
This week's achievement awards go to Michelle for being a supportive learning partner and her excellent work, and Ellis for his positive attitude to learning and always trying his best even when the work is tricky. Well done to you both.
Year 5
This week in Maths, the children read, wrote and partitioned 6-digit numbers. They are a lot more confident with this than before.
In English, we read 'Leina and the Lord of the Toadstools' - the story we're using to inspire some descriptive story writing. They enjoyed doing drama in role as the characters and analysing our WAGOLL.
In Science, they continued learning about insulators and conductors. They partook in an experiment involving electrical resistance and different metals.
Homework due by Weds 25th
Maths: pages 7 and 8 (place value)
Reading: pages 14 and 15 (Aesop's Fable challenges 1 and 2)
This week's achievement awards go to Holly for excellent work presentation and Alya for improved effort in her work.
Year 6
This week in maths, we've explored Roman numerals, negative numbers, and the column method for addition and subtraction. In English, we read The Island by Armin Greder, which will serve as inspiration for our upcoming writing. We've engaged in debates, drama activities, and sentence work to deepen our understanding of the text. We also concluded our study of the Victorians, where the children answered the big question: "How have they impacted our lives today?"
Homework:
Maths: pages 8 and 9
Reading: pages 4,5,6 and 7
This week's achievement awards go to Charlotte for her excellent work with word problems in maths, and Sotirio for his positive and hard-working attitude in all subjects. Well done!
Kingfisher 2
This week in Maths we have been learning about place value. We have used Numicon and Dienes to help us to demonstrate our understanding.
In English, we have been writing letters all about ourselves and have really impressed our teachers.
This week's award goes to Daniel for an excellent letter all about him. Well done Daniel!
SEPTEMBER 2024
Tuesday 24th:
- Year 6 Shakespeare Workshop
Wednesday 25th:
- Reception Meet the Teacher meeting for parents/carers, 8:50 - 9:15am in the classroom.
Thursday 26th:
- KF1 Shopping Trip to Sainsburys - AM
- No Guitar Lessons
- Year 6 final PGL meeting for parents/carers in Y6 classroom 3:15 - 3:45pm
Monday 30th:
- Black History Month
OCTOBER 2024
Monday 7th:
- INSET Day - School closed to pupils
Tuesday 8th:
- KS2 Cross Country Competition (small group of pupils)
Wednesday 9th:
- Flu Nasal Spray for Rec - Y6 pupils
- KS1 Parent Consultations - AM (more information to follow)
- KS2 Parent Consultations - PM (more information to follow)
Thursday 10th:
- Nursery and Reception Parent Consultations - Afternoon and Evening (more information to follow)
- KS1 and KS2 Parent Consultations - Evening (more information to follow)
Friday 11th:
- Parent Champion Coffee Morning, 9-10 am in The Cabin - All parents/carers invited
Use this link to visit our School Calendar 24/25 for further dates this term.