Happy New Year and welcome back to all our families at Cypress. We have enjoyed seeing you all back in school this week and hearing about the exciting things you have been doing over the holidays.
At the Lower School, we have learning about the significance of New Year and how people use this as a time for people to set goals for things they would like to achieve. We looked at the story of ‘The Snowdrop’ by Hans Christian Andersen to help us. At the Upper School we have revisted personal goals and reflected on our journeys toward them so far. We also discussed how ‘New Year’s resolutions’ can sometimes be a problematic concept. We know that small steps are the key to greater and long lasting success. We also took time to consider how to show care toward others and how to be kind to ourselves. We discussed how these values impact our whole school. Through showing care for others we create a positive ethos, increasing our self-confidence and sense of belonging.
Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE at Cypress Primary
This morning we were visited by Steve Reed. He spoke to us about what it is like to be a Member of Parliament and explained how he became involved in politics, as well as inspiring us to change things that we feel passionate about in our local area. It was fantastic to talk with him – we had so many questions that we ran out of time! To read more, click here!
Gold Award
We ended last term with our Gold Award assembly. The focus was ‘Positive Behaviour’ and those pupils who consistently demonstrate this in all areas of school life. Well done to the following pupils who earned this award.
| Orange Class – Freddie and Amelia | Violet Class – Isaac and Daphne | Rowan Class – Suwaiba and Angel |
| Yellow Class – Sofia and Ralf | Turquoise Class – Violet and Jaydah | Sycamore Class – Sailor and Emilia |
| Red Class – Keira and Alfie | Birch Class – Eve and Maya | Hazel Class – David and Autumn |
| Blue Class – Kara and Oliver | Holly Class – Jinisha and Harish | Willow Class – Jessica and Beatrix |
| Green Class – Mason and Ruby | Cedar Class – Aggie and Leon | Beech Class – Maxwell and Amaya |
| Indigo Class – Rowan and Athena | Lime Class – Lily and Kobi | Oak Class – Tommy and Matilda |
| Ruby Class – Martin and Camila | Hawthorn Class – Eli and Dougie | Larch Class – Edward and Penny |
Reading Tree Assembly
Well done to all the children who read very day last term and earnt a special bookmark with a link to a story. These children were also had the chance to win a book and two children from each class went home with a book of their choice. At the Lower School, we also recognised those children who have been reading regularly using Bug Club. Well done to Blue Class and Ruby Class who had the most daily readers and have been rewarded with class pyjama party where they shared books. At the Upper School in Year 3, Favour, Rose and Bertie won a book prize from our termly Reading Tree raffle for reading consistently during the Autumn term. In Year 4, Daniel, Ari and Shen won the book prize, Year 5 Gilbert, Kerim and Jadiel and in Year 6, Maya, Jacob and Heela. Well done to all children who read consistently during the Autumn term. Special congratulations go to Holly Class, Hawthorn Class, Sycamore Class and Larch Class, who had the most daily readers in each year group and were rewarded with a Reading Cafe afternoon, where they shared new books and enjoyed a sweet treat!
Year 1 Toy Workshop
This week Year 1 started the new term with a toy workshop to start their new thematic topic ‘Toys’. They enjoyed learning about toys and play in different periods of history. Thank you Mrs Jenkins for sharing your knowledge and expertise with the children once again. To read more about this click here
Cypress Superstars
Well done to Clara, Mahbubat, Jacob, Sky, Zackary, Marcel and Rosie in Turquoise Class who came to share their wonderful Tudor portraits. They could explain the different stages of planning and complete their work and the types of brush and colours they had selected. Well done to Neveah and Alvin-Jace in Orange Class who came to share their independent work making number blocks to 5. They could explain their work so clearly. Well done to Beech Class, who worked hard to produce wonderful 3D pieces of art that will be hung to decorate the classroom – great use of mediums and recycled materials, Beech Class! Barney, Kenzie, Marley and Roseanne came to share their work on electricity. They had made a night light for a young child using their knowledge of series circuits! Basil and Giotto in Lime Class wowed me with their knowledge of Spanish Christmastime, which lasts until the 6th January. They shared the simularities and idfferences – we decided we’d like to adopt the tradition of the Three Kings’ parade (‘cabalgatas’) on the night of January 5th, where the Kings’ parade through the towns on floats and throw out sweets to children! Shyla and Aleena have been busy creating characters using recycled items at home and Aisha and Stella in Holly Class identified and labelled countries that had sent items to be showcased at the Great Exhibition, on a world map.
Ofsted at Cypress Primary
A huge thank you from all the Cypress team for all the support and encouragement you shared with us during our Ofsted inspection in the last week of term. We are very happy with the outcome and will share the report with you once it has been published. We genuinely appreciate the time and care people took to ask after us and share words of support during this time.
We wish all our children and families a relaxing weekend.
Ms Binks, Mrs Carpenter and the Cypress Team
