Newsletters

Welcome back!  We hope you have enjoyed the sunshine over half-term and had a restful break.  It was lovely to see the children back in school and it is hard to believe it is the last half-term of the school year.  Looking back at some of the photos in the children's learning journeys from earlier in the year we can see how much they have all grown.

On Wednesday, Year 1 and Year 2 had a wonderful day out at Witley Court.  The weather was perfect, and we had lots of fun being history detectives and looking for clues of what life used to be like at Witley Court before it became a ruin.  I am really looking forward to finding out more about the house's past in our history lessons.

Year 1 have also started a new topic in maths on fractions.  This week we learnt that when something is halved it is split into 2 equal pieces or groups.  We found lots of different practical ways of exploring this - maybe you can see if you can find any example of halves at home.

Meanwhile, Reception have been practising the skill of adding 2 numbers by counting on, and we put our knowledge to the test by playing lots of games.  There were some very close competitions!  Next week we will be investigating subtraction.

In PE, we have started a new unit of work on Games which involves putting lots of the movement and coordination skills we have learnt this year into practice.  We learnt that to be a good sportsman you have to play by the rules and always be honest.

In RE, we have started learning "Which places are special and why?"  We enjoyed hearing about the children's favourite special places and how spending time there made them feel.

We had an amazing day out to Witley Court on Wednesday. All the pupils were well behaved and demonstrated excellent manners. We learnt some interesting facts about Witley Court and are looking forward to learning more as we continue with our research linked to this local derelict building. 

In English, we have been learning how to write a recount so we can write about our visit to Witley Court. We understand about using time connectives so our writing is chronological. We know it has already happened so we need to write in the past tense. To make it more interesting we need to include emotive language and end with a closing statement.

In PE, we improved our running skills so we can sprint faster. We practised 'pocket to mouth' with our arms and made sure we lifted our knees high and took big strides. PE will continue on a Thursday for this term.

In science, we learnt how to write predictions so we could write about what we think will happen to seeds planted without one of the following: soil, light or water. We planted tomato plants so we can observe how they grow and which part of the plant will become the edible tomato.

This week in English we started our new book 'The Boy at the Back of the Class.' This is a story about a group of friends who have a new boy join their class. As the story progresses they learn that Ahmet, the new boy, is a refugee from Syria and had to flee due to war. The children were able to empathise with Ahmet and express how he might have been feeling. We talked about how if they were new to Abberley, what would they want to know such as where things are in school and what uniform to wear. Over the next couple of weeks, the children will be producing an informative poster about our school aiming to reassure a new person joining. This week they brainstormed ideas and began to plan their posters.

In maths, we have been finishing off our module of 'Money'. We started the week with some problem solving involving adding and subtracting money. The children had to think carefully about what the question was actually asking them to do and which bits were relevant to finding a solution. Our other focus this week has been calculating change. This is something that they could be practising and developing their knowledge on when you go shopping. 

In history, we began our new topic of Ancient Greece. The children began by collating their existing knowledge of the Ancient Greeks such as myths and the Olympics. We then moved on to focus on the chronology of Ancient Greece and where this era lay in relation to other areas of history that we have studied, such as the Romans and the Georgians. After, we read the myth Jason and the Golden Fleece. Using this myth, the children had to produce inferences about what the Ancient Greeks may have been like. 

In science, we continued with the topic of electricity. The children learnt about conductors and insulators. In groups they tested a variety of materials to determine whether the objects were conductors or insulators. They then produced a conclusion regarding the types of materials that were conductors and insulators. 

It has been a pleasure to welcome Merlins back into the classroom after a restful half-term. This week, we have begun reading our new class story, Wild Boy. This is a fantastically dark story of friendship and murder mystery, and the children are thoroughly enjoying it so far. This week, we have been describing our main character, Wild Boy and the showman, Augustus Finch. We have ended the week by creating a descriptive wanted poster for Finch. 

In maths, we have been using tiles, protractors, and a pair of compasses to draw 2D shapes accurately given only some of a shapes measurements. Later, we were investigating the features of 3D shapes, many of which were new to us. We identified the number of faces, vertices and edges each shape had. We ended the week with consolidating our knowledge of coordinates to translate shapes across x and y axis. 

In PSHE this week, we discussed how we spent our time and money and what this told us about our self-image. We looked at the external factors and pressures that influence our idea of 'perfection' and thought deeply about how they risk damaging our self-esteem and what we can do to overcome this. 

In history, we are exploring the early Islamic Civilisation. This week we learnt about how many early maps tell us a lot about the people who made them. We went on to learn about the prophet Mohammed and his influence in the early Islamic era approximately 800 years ago.

Great Witley Pre-School

 Village Hall, Worcester Road, Great Witley, WR6 6HR

We have a vacancy for maternity cover for an Early Years Practitioner ideally qualified to a minimum Level 3 or above in childcare and education starting as soon as possible.  Should children’s numbers continue to increase this may well lead to a permanent position.   Consideration will be give to applicants who are committed to obtaining a full and relevant early years qualification, if one is not currently held.

Please note this is a term time only post working at a pack away setting.  Applicants would need to be flexible to work the 4 days we are currently open. Our opening hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 8.00am and 3.30pm.

You will be required to have a full understanding of the EYFS and a passion for caring for children and developing their learning.  The ability to operate as part of a team is essential.

We are committed to safeguarding children and expect all practitioners to share this commitment.  All successful applicants are subject to a full enhanced DBS Certificate.

If you think you may be interested in working for our lovely and outstanding rural Pre-School then please contact me at managergtwitleyps@btinternet.com for more information. Alternatively, please call Mandy on 07581 881241 for an informal chat. Applicants will also need to complete an Application Form and submit it with a handwritten covering letter.    Closing date for applications is 12 noon on 16^th June 2023.