This week at the Upper School we have been thinking about staying safe and acting responsibly online. We know that we follow the ‘SMART’ rules when using the internet on any device. We received reminders on being mindful not to share personal information online, not meeting with people who try and contact you online, being careful abut opening emails, pop-up messages or texts from people we do not know, understanding that not everything we see and read online is reliable and to tell an adult if we something we have seen or read online has made us worried or uncomfortable. We also know that the school has filtering systems that monitor our use to support us to make good choices online. We discussed scenarios and what choices we should make if we were in that situation. We also saw and read through the Pegasus Academy Trust Acceptable Use Pupil agreement reinforcing all of the smart rules above.
The Pegasus Academy Acceptable Use Agreement will be sent out to all children next week via Studybugs. Please read it through with your child. If your child is in Year 5 or 6, a paper copy will be sent. Please send it back to the teacher – your child should sign their name at the bottom to show that they understand the agreement and will abide by the rules to help keep themselves safe online.
Harvest Time!
We have enjoyed the harvest celebrations this week, culminating in a very moving Harvest assembly from Year 4! Miss Binks, who watched the performance this morning was almost moved to tears. At the time of writing this, I am eagerly anticipating the afternoon performance. They have been practising very hard to put on a magnificent performance. Well done to all of our very talented Year 4 children and a big thank you to all of the adults who have made this possible: Ms Stewart, Mr Shipley, Ms Marshall, Mrs Joshi, Ms Isaacs and Mrs Gould.
At the Lower School we all enjoyed Turquoise class assembly this morning. We had a great audience of Parents and Carers, so thank you to all those who attended. We learnt all about Harvest and why it is celebrated at this time of the year. Turquoise class treated us to some amazing singing, complete with actions! We are so proud of you all!
This year we are collecting donations which will be sent to The Salvation Army, supporting vulnerable families in our local community. The Salvation Army have requested donations of non-perishable goods such as:
- Tins of food (baked beans, soup, vegetables/fruit, sardines, tuna, corned beef, chilli con carne etc)
- Pasta and rice
- Cereals
- Long-life milk
- Nappies and wipes
- Toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant, body wash etc.)
Any donation, however small will be greatly appreciated so please add a few items to your shopping list this week if you are able to. It’s not too late to send donations to the Lower or Upper school office. We will be arranging the delivery of these items to the Salvation Army over half term.
Cypress Superstars
In line with our new behaviour policy, each classroom has a ‘recognition board’ where we celebrate children’s successes and achievements. Each week, we (Mrs Sorensen and Mrs Carpenter) also have children coming to us to share their work and achievements and we love sharing this in our weekly news story.
At the Lower School we have been very proud of fantastic thematic work from George, Jamie, Aleksy, Harrison and Rose, inspired by their Tudor topic in Year 2. We loved seeing your shields and crowns! In Forest School this week, Red and Yellow class have all hammered a nail into a wooden trunk developing their hand/eye coordination, concentration, fine motor and learning a new skill. Great perseverance everyone! Well done to Amari who has shown great resilience completing some independent maths calculations this week, adding two 2-digit numbers. Malaika, Phoebe-Rose, Joey and Zahan have painted clouds and then described them using adjectives. Year 1 have visited Upper Norwood library and we’re so proud of their excellent behaviour when representing our school in the local community. Our celebrations for National Poetry Day last week have inspired Aisha and Maddie in Violet class to write poems at home. Aisha has written a wonderful poem about her cat Nino and Maddie has been busy writing three poems with her Dad. Mrs Sorensen was particularly impressed with one of Maddie’s poems and wanted to share it with you all:
Making mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes that much I can confirm,
You can view them as a problem or instead a chance to learn.
For every great success that comes is built upon the rubble,
Of accidents and failed attempts and countless hours of trouble.
At the Upper School, Freddie in Holly Class, has created a wonderfully informative video all about Crystal Palace Museum ~(relating to Year 3’s ongoing study of Crystal Palace this year) with some assistance from his Uncle John, who works there. Freddie, you spoke with such confidence and shared so many interesting facts, that I wanted to share it with everyone! Please click the video below to watch it. Great job, Freddie!
Shen and Milena came to see me to show me the wonderful handkerchief design they had made in forest school from flowers! They had created beautifully vivid colours by crushing and pressing the flowers to fabric. What fantastic creative skills!
Ilyas came to the office for a well-written and thoughtful description of Lizard Street, for which he received a rainbow certificate! Well done, Ilyas. Scarlett and Holly came to show me their Spanish books, Mrs Sa Walmsley had sent them as they are always focused in sessions, their work is beautifully presented and they give 100% effort to all tasks in sessions – what great role models!
Malaika created an amazing simile using the word ‘yacht’. Impressive writing skills, Malaika. Nyiah Rae produced an almost life size viking boat! It took her hours to make with her parents. It is spectacular! Well done! Berry in Willow won the Word Wizard rosette this week, using the word ‘steep’ in an ambitious sentence. Well done, Berry!
Well done also to the Eco-Committee 2022-23 who planted and nurtured the harvest for October and this year’s Eco-Squad, who harvested it. Check out our pictures to see what was grown. The food will go to the kitchens for all of our children to enjoy with their school dinners!
Parent reading sessions
Last week at the Upper School, we had our first set of parent and child reading sessions in the library for this academic year. Parents joined children in Year 3 and looked through the books and sat and read together. The children were very excited and thoroughly enjoyed sharing books with their parents. Thank you to all the parents who attended. Special thanks to Ms Stewart, who organised the reading events.
SEND Coffee Morning
Thank you to those of you who were able to attend our SEND Coffee Morning this week. We will publish a news story soon with the resources we shared and hope you’ll join us at our next event. Class teachers, Mrs Ebrahim and members of the Leadership Team are always happy to meet with families if they have any queries about provision for their child, so please just ask for an appointment via the school office.
Polite reminder – Lower School
Our classroom doors open at 8.45am and then registration is at 9am. If you need to speak to your child’s class teacher briefly, then please do so during this time. The playground gates are closed promptly at 9am every morning and after this time, children need to be registered via the school office, as they are late. From 9am our teachers need to start the day, register their classes and begin teaching their lessons. If you need longer to speak to a member of staff then please make a separate appointment. Thank you for your support.
Celebrating Black History
Next week is Black History Week across the Pegasus Schools. We will be diving into Black culture and history and listening to stories from the African diaspora. Please do ask your children about what they’ve been learning each day.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs Carpenter, Mrs Sorensen and the Cypress team
