Term 2 Newsletter - December 2023

The school orchestra and the 'Young Voices Choir' performed at the KS2 Carol Concert at St Michael's Church Wilmington.  Young Voices Choir is made up of children from Y5 and Y6 who meet weekly to prepare for singing at the O2 in January as part of the 'Young Voices Singing Initiative ' that takes place every year. The choir is led by Jo Lewis (one of our TAs ) In the Carol Concert the choir sang a brilliant medley from the musical 'Matilda'. 

The school orchestra played 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' and 'Jolly Old St Nicholas' in the Carol Concert. The orchestra consists of pupils from Y4, Y5 and Y6 playing recorder, flute, clarinet, saxophone and guitar. In the Carol Concert we also had some children from Y6 reading Christmas poems. It was lovely to be able to share the Carol Concert with so many of our families and to have them sing the carols and songs with us! 

Reception class practised hard before singing songs to their parents and carers. They had all learned actions to accompany their songs including 'Jingle Bells’ ‘Rudolph the red Nosed Reindeer' and 'Wriggly Nativity'.

Y4 performed as a class at the Village Market held in the Memorial Hall in Wilmington. They worked really hard to learn all their words for this performance and were wonderful. 

Huge congratulations to Y1 and Y2 who performed a sensational upbeat Nativity called 'Lights, Camel, Action' which included song and dance numbers, 'Funky Camels' and 'Disco Stars'.  It was billed as 'Strictly meets the Nativity'.  We all got an opportunity to enjoy the show and were joined by senior staff from across our school Trust to join the fun!  All student cast members and narrators were (to paraphrase Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood) - A-Maze-Ing!

We ROCK at times table!  Across the school, we all dressed the part for our Times Tables Rock Stars day.  Every class took part in the programme that is designed to boost pupils’ fluency and recall in multiplication and division.  The sessions automatically adapt to each pupil’s learning needs and is designed to work in conjunction with our maths curriculum and lessons.

Children in Need.  Thank you to all our Pudsey Bear supporters sporting T-shirts, fluffy ears and other accessories to raise awareness and donations for this incredibly valuable children’s charity.  This year Children in Need celebrated the power of positive relationships and their impact on our children and young people – particularly with teachers and mentors at school.

Our pupils have a shared love of the arts creating beautiful artworks and creative writing pieces. Additionally, so many pupils are talented singers, performers, and musicians – as was evident from our recent Christmas festivities!  In addition to lessons during class time, private instrument lessons are available which are delivered by specialist teachers.  To find out the availability and associated cost, please contact our school reception.

Every school day, each member of staff reads a different Christmas story which is recorded and shared on the school dojo so all children can watch them at home .. perfect for an interactive bedtime festive story!

Year 1 pupils have been learning about communities and the different aspects of a village or town.  We all went for a walk around Wilmington, making notes of the different buildings and areas we saw.  In the pictures below, pupils went on to build their village from Lego, making sure they included a park, community hall, shops, the memorial, houses … and our school!

Year 5 Pupils have been researching cinematography skills, in particular, the different shots, such as close up and long range, as well as focusing and framing of the shot.  Pupils then put their new skills into practice by making a short film, with each group responsible for their own idea, script and recording. 

Our Reception pupils have loved learning about the story 'Stick Man' by Julia Donaldson. They all learnt repeated phrases and enjoyed acting out the story. As we can see from the photos everyone especially loved making our own Stick men and creating a snow scene using Instant Snow! Great teamwork was demonstrated!

Forthcoming Dates;

First Day of Term 3 – 4th January

Open afternoon for parents/carers to see children’s work 3.30 – 5.00pm - 10th January

Phonics & Early Reading talk 1.00pm (more information to follow) - 24th January

Vision & Hearing 9.00am (Reception children) - 29th January

Stay & Play 2.00pm (Reception parents/carers to attend) - 1st February

End of Term 3 - 9th February

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, and I hope that the elves and reindeer that visited our children with gifts will visit you all too!!

Charlotte Scott

Head Teacher