October Newsletter (1) 2016
Dear Parents
Last Monday in assembly we bid farewell to Fr. Marius as he leaves us to take up
his new position as vicar of Holy Trinity, East Finchley. We wish him every success
in his new post and thank him for his marvellous contribution to the school in the time
he has been with us.
The week before last, Y5 went to a Buddhist Temple in East London. When they
returned to school their follow up work included some origami. Some of their efforts
were rather good. Although not necessarily the most advanced piece of paper
folding, I thought you might appreciate the message that accompanied it! ‘Out of the
mouth of babes; as they say!
Year groups 3 and 5 enjoyed Shakespearian workshops on Wednesday. This is an
annual event in the junior calendar; each year the children have the opportunity to
learn lines and act out key sections of a play with a professional actor from the
Young Shakespeare Theatre Company. The workshops are followed by a trip to the
theatre to see a specially written child friendly version of the play. This year it is the
Tempest. Year groups 4 and 5 have their workshops this Thursday and the juniors
are off to the theatre on the first and second of November to for a performance of the
play (some children from each school will be invited on to the stage for a cameo
performance!) – it really is quite an experience.
Thank you so much for supporting our creative curriculum programme. Your
termly donation enables us to offer the children so much more. Without your
voluntary donations, none of this would be possible at a time when school budgets
are diminishing in real terms and it is becoming harder and harder to maintain
spending at current levels. As you know, we are totally committed to offering your
children the very best learning experiences possible. So much learning takes place
through the Creative Curriculum and this very important aspect of provision is
supported and enriched by the outings and school based workshops we offer. As I
have written before, we think our offer is unique among primary schools in both its
scope and provision. This represents our unswerving commitment to a broad and
balanced learning experience for the children at a time when the curriculum is
becoming ever more demanding, intense, potentially narrow and certainly
challenging. Do check the diary regularly to see the wide range of events we offer; I
hope you will agree that it really is fantastic!
This week a group from Y6 visited Bletchley Park to learn about the famous
Enigma Machine and the work of codebreakers in WW1 and WW2. Normally our
trips are for the whole class but we are trying something different this year for our Y6
children. As well as a full class programme of trips and workshops for the entire
class, we are experimenting with several outings for small groups. Such outings do
change the learning experience; these trips can be tailored to the specific interests of
particular children and offer the chance for ‘intensive and deep learning’ (‘greater
depth’ learning, to use National Curriculum terminology) to take place as the ratio of
adults to pupils is so favourable (1:3). The children spent time with Bletchley Park
staff learning about the history of codebreaking, its contribution to the shortening of
WW2, the construction of Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer and the
work and life of Alan Turing. They also met the wife of the computer scientist who
reconstructed Colossus in the 1990’s and learned first-hand about this wonderful and
‘mind-boggling’ machine! I hope you agree that we really do try to go ‘the extra mile’
to help children engage with and see purpose in their learning!
Continuing the theme of making learning exciting, Y4 went to Sea Life on the
Southbank on Friday. Needless to say they had a lovely time and as you can see
from the photos, learning really is fun! I look forward to sharing more information with
you about how we seek to make learning enjoyable and meaningful for the children.
This is something I will write about in future newsletters.
And still the week wasn’t over, thanks to the PTFA, who organised a children’s
Disco on Friday. It was really well attended and lots of fun. My thanks to everyone
who worked hard to make this such an enjoyable event.
The week commencing Monday 10th October promises to be busy and rewarding
too. This is Y5 ‘Bikeability Week.’ The children will learn how to look after
themselves and their bikes, working with road safety experts from the local authority.
The training takes place both on and off site. If your child is taking part, please
ensure that you provide a lock to keep bikes safe at school overnight. This
programme builds upon the skills developed when the children were in Y4 and they
took part in a beginner’s cycling course.
On Tuesday, Reception class (half of the class, the remainder go next week) are off
to ‘Pets at Home’ (Friern Barnet Retail Park); on Wednesday we will be cooking for
the homeless, in support of Night Shelter and on Friday Y2 are off to Hampton
Court. And Wednesday is Safeguarding Day at school. The children will be
attending St. Paul’s Primary School throughout the day to join the children there in
learning about keeping safe and the perils of the internet. This is an annual event
(last year we welcomed St. Paul’s to St. John’s). The day culminates in a special
safeguarding evening workshop for parents at St. Paul’s. Commencing at 7 pm,
we hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend.
Graham Gunn
Head Teacher
09.10.2016