Newsletters

30 September 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

It's hard to believe it's only been a month since I arrived at Wooden Hill. Thanks to the warm welcome I have received from children, parents, staff and Governors alike it already feels like home and that I am part of the Wooden Hill family. 

It has been great to be able to talk to so many of you each morning or afternoon and I hope that if we haven't spoken yet we will be able to during parents evening which will be taking place in the last week of this half term- a specific letter will be out soon with more details of how to book an appointment. After the challenges of the last few years I feel it is vitally important that we build strong relationships throughout the school community and one of the best ways to achieve this is through face to face conversations- so we look forward to welcoming you into school for these meetings.

The aim of this meeting is to discuss how the children have settled in and re established learning routines and behaviours. For those children who have a recognised learning need and are on our SEN register we will be offering you an additional meeting shortly after half term for you to discuss your child's IEP with the class teacher so you know what specific areas of focus they are working on. 

It has been great to restart a programme of after school clubs again and we hope to grow this over the course of the year. There are still some places available so if your children are interested in joining please do sign them up. If you have suggestions of other clubs we could run, or source external providers to deliver, please let me know and I will see what we can do (no promises yet though!)

I loved my half a week away with Year 6 this week. By the time you read this they will have returned (and will probably be asleep) after an amazing week away. They all overcame fears, conquering challenges along the way whilst creating great memories with their friends!

A huge thanks to all the staff who attended - giving up their own time and time with their families to give the children this great opportunity.

Throughout this year we will be hosting a number of workshops and drop in sessions which you may wish to attend so see some lessons in action - keep your eyes peeled for more information soon.

Finally I am keen to engage formally with parents on a regular basis and therefore would like to start a parent forum who will meet with me once each half term as a group. If you are interested in being the representative for your class then please let the office know your name and the class your child is in. If we have a lot of interest the role could be shared. 

Kind regards

Mr Garner 

Parking 

We have received several complaints already from our neighbours. Please park considerately, do not block driveways, park on yellow lines or park on the grass verges. To maintain the air quality, it is recommended that engines are switched off while waiting. Please do not stop on the yellow lines outside the school or turnaround at the school gates.

The Beehive Half Term Holiday Clubs 24-28 October 2022

Nursery Roundup

We are so proud of the way that the children have settled into Nursery. It is amazing to see how well everyone has joined in with the routines, after a very short time. It has been wonderful to see all of the older children being so kind and welcoming to our new children. 

We have been talking about ourselves and learning about the senses. It was lovely to share the family photographs that the children brought in to Nursery. We have displayed them in the classroom and everyone enjoys looking at them and talking about who is in our families. 

The children have already been enjoying a wide range of activities, including painting, playing games, collage and exploring all of the toys and activities that are available in Nursery.

Click here to keep up with all the Nursery news.

Year 1 Roundup

The children had a great first week in year 1 and have been working very hard ever since. They have been looking at the feelings, happy, sad, fear, anger, love, calm and conducted a range of activities to link to these emotions.

They have been looking at themselves and sharing their favourite things, for example, colour, film, food, holiday and have enjoyed sharing information about themselves and has helped their teachers to get to know them more.

Lately the children have been focusing on maths, have had lots of fun with craft, tuff tray activities and as their topic this term is 'our favourite book' they have introduced the children to a different book each day.

Well done everyone, keep up the good work!

Click here to keep up with all the Year 1 news.

Year 2 Roundup

Year 2 have had a great start to the new term. We have been amazed by how brilliantly the Year Two children have returned to school and by the hugely positive attitude towards their learning. We are such lucky teachers.

The children began the term by looking at the key text 'Pumpkin Soup' by Helen Cooper. The children loved the book and it inspired them to be very innovative with their own writing and even got to have a soup tasting lesson where the children gathered exciting and powerful adjectives to describe the soup.

The children have also been writing letters to the residents of St Brendan's Care Home where former and well-loved staff member Mrs Caitlin now works. Mrs Caitlin informed us that the residents are very excited to receive letters from the Wooden Hill children and to write back to them. The children were filled with a huge sense of purpose and their excitement clearly came out in their letters.

We are hopeful that one day we will be able to give the opportunity for the children to meet their pen pals, so watch this space!

Miss Smart would like to say a huge well done to the children for being so caring and supportive to the elderly. 

Click here to keep up with all the Year 2 news.

Year 3 Roundup

In their Science topic on forces the children have had great fun using the newton meters to test the grip of shoes on different surfaces. They have also been investigating magnets, finding out what happens when they put two magnets together and how to use magnetic materials to pick up non-magnetic objects.

In Art, the children have been experimenting with sketching and shading techniques when using chalk, charcoal and graphite in order to plan a scene inspired by cave paintings which they have researched as part of their learning about the Stone Age.

In English, we read Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura which we used as inspiration for the children’s own adventure stories about travelling back in time to the Stone Age. This enabled the children to show what they had learned in History about the lives of people living in that time. 

In Maths, Year 3 have been building on their understanding of place value in numbers up to 1000 and are now applying this to the context of addition and subtraction.

The children are also having lots of fun learning French for the first time at school. They can now greet each other, ask and respond to the question “ca va?” (“how are you?”) and ask and respond to the question “comment tu t’appelle?” (“what is your name?”). Tres bien!

Click here to keep up with all the Year 3 news.

Year 4 Roundup

In Year 4, we have been enjoying our topics of The Ancient Greeks in history and Animals including Humans in science. 

This week, we looked at entertainment in Ancient Greeks and learnt that they would use comedy and tragedy masks to represent the characters. We then made our own. 

In science, we have learnt about food chains and different types of teeth. Our end of unit assessment involved eggs being left in different liquids over the weekend: ask your child/ren what happened to find out more!

Click here to keep up with all the Year 4 news.

Year 5 Roundup

In Year 5, we have been focussing on the big question, ‘what makes me, me?’. This has incorporated many different aspects of learning, including thinking about our emotions, our values and beliefs. Part of this has involved us thinking about how we would cope in a difficult situation which we are exploring through our class text, The Explorer. Last week the children all had the challenge of building miniature rafts, each taking on the role of a character from the story. While some rafts looked sturdier than others, all of them managed to float – at least for a short time! This activity resulted in the classes managing to gather some great vocabulary to use in their writing. 

As a part of our exploration of our beliefs and values, we have been learning about the history, beliefs and culture of Islam. This has tied together geography, history, RE and art. We have looked at geometric and symmetrical designs and where and how they are used, and will be looking at contemporary Islamic artists. The children have made and painted a clay tile using their knowledge.

Click here to keep up with all the Year 5 news.

Year 6 Roundup 

Year 6 have settled into the new year extremely well and are working hard in their learning. They have enjoyed learning about the industrial revolution and how this changed the manufacturing industry and transportation network in Great Britain. 

The children had an absolutely amazing time on their residential trip at Grittleton House. The children have pushed themselves to challenge their fears and overcome worries that have made themselves and us very proud. The children have also worked together to achieve team tasks and everyone managed to ‘Escape Grittleton’.  All the photos from the week have been loaded onto Google Classroom. 

Mr Biller's and Ms Harris are both looking forward to the children continuing with their positive approach to learning and working together over the coming year. 

Click here to keep up with all the Year 6 news.

Raring2go! Autumn Magazine

Here’s the copy of the Raring2go! Autumn magazine with lots of ideas to keep everyone busy during the Autumn months, no matter the weather. 

Raring2go Magazine - Autumn 2022 Edition

The British Dyslexia Association - Children Will Shine Workshops

The BDA runs Children Will Shine after school workshops offering specialist dyslexia intervention at an affordable price. They currently offer teaching for children with Dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) in the UK, the children do not have to have a diagnosis.  The workshops are run by Specialist Teachers, and Teaching Assistants to support literacy, numeracy, personal organisation, promote self-esteem and advise how to maximise positive dyslexic strengths. 

The aim of these workshops is for children to;

• access affordable specialist teaching programmes
• be taught in small groups
• access self-esteem support
• meet children with similar needs
• reach their potential.

Sessions run for 1.5 hours after school at a cost £10 per session per child. They will cover literacy, spelling, sequencing, touch typing and self-esteem.

Parents will also get to meet other like-minded parents to share information and ideas. The British Dyslexia Association positively encourages the support of dyslexic children with intervention programmes. Children Will Shine (CWS) works at grassroots level to enable children to reach their true potential.

Where are Children Will Shine workshops available?

Wildridings Primary School, Netherton, Bracknell, Berkshire 

Wednesday 4-5:30pm

To Find Out More ...

To register for a place on the Bracknell Children Will Shine, please contact Sally Leech sallycws@gmail.com

~ Dates for the Diary ~