Sprowston Junior School Parent Portal

NEWSLETTER | May 2022

HEADTEACHER'S MESSAGE.

The summer term is in full flow and the staff are working hard to meet the current teaching and learning needs, but also reflecting on the content already taught as we start to make adjustments for the next academic year too. The whole curriculum has always been extremely important to us at SJS and I feel this has always shone through in the enjoyment of PE, art, music, RE etc that the children express. It is so important to keep reflecting on the taught curriculum and to keep adjusting plans and lessons to give the children the best lessons and content we possibly can.

My experiences during the week support the thoughts above. On Wednesday I loved seeing the Year 3's immersing themselves in the lives of the Ancient Egyptians. Days like these are invaluable experiences. I also introduced an exciting science lesson in Year 6 as they investigate electricity. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to the singing club and also led an assembly on climate change; some great thoughts were shared by the Year 5 & 6 children. I also looked at many wonderful art pieces created for a competition. All these experiences do reflect the wonderful mix of learning and curriculum being taught each week in the school.

We are all looking forward to inviting you into school for the Jubilee events straight after half-term. We now need to hope for lovely weather! A reminder that we are allowing siblings to join in with other year group events, if attending twice in one week will be difficult for you. Please inform the office if this is the case.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards

Matt Walton, Headteacher

Stationery Shop

Every Thursday, our Stationery shop staff (Year 6 children) open the shop to sell a range of products at cost prices. The children enjoy running the shop and hopefully it benefits all. Some of the children are very kind and give money to each other. Whilst we do not want to stop such generosity, it can become an issue and we would prefer it if the children kept their own money. If your child does being money for the shop, please can you chat to them about it.

Ice Creams

The School Council are on their way to Dragons Den with their Ice Cream franchise! They will be selling ice-creams every Friday for the summer term. Thank you for supporting the cause and apologies if anyone misses out. Any profits will be spent by the School Council on items for the school.

Poster Competition

The School Council are also launching a poster competition next week. They recognise the need to look after the equipment in school and will be running a competition to design a poster respecting all school equipment which will be displayed around the school

Diary Dates - May/June 2022

Wed 25th May - Year 6 - Crucial Crew (learning all about safety)

Friday 27th May - School closed

Mon May 30th - Fri June 3rd: Half - term

Tue 7th June - Yr 5 visiting Cley Marshes

Tue 7th June - Yr 3 Jubilee Celebration (10:30 - 12:45pm)

Wed 8th June - Yr 4 Jubilee Celebration (10:30 - 12:45pm)

Thur 9th June - Yr 5 Jubilee Celebration (10:30am - 12:45pm)

Fri 10th June -Yr 6 Jubilee Celebration (10:30am - 12:45pm)

Mon 13th June - Class photos

Wed 15th June - Yr 4 Multiplication Check

Fri 17th June - A Day of Welcome

Fri 17th June - Quiz & Chips (7pm)

Tue 21st June - Yr 2/Yr 5 - Buddy visit

Wed 22nd June - Fri 24th June: Yr 6 Residential @ Hilltop

Mon 27th June - City Sports (Field events)

Tue 28th June - City Sports (Heats)

Wed 29th June - Yr 6 at Royal Norfolk Show

Wed 29th June - Year 2 Parents' Evening - 6pm

Thur 30th June - 5B visiting Dragon Hall

Thur 30th June - City Sports Finals

Year 3 Ancient Egyptian Day

What did Year 3 get up to on Wednesday?

Emilia - We carved a soap with our name on it. We also made Egyptian canopic jars. I made a Griffin. It looked so precious but the head kept falling off!

Joey - We made bracelets out of sticky, grey clay.

Ivy - We had a scrumptious feast! I was a helpful servant. I gave the food to the Queen and the food taster. The food taster eats first to check the food isn't poisoned.

Sonny - We made a painting by putting modroc into water and we spread clay over it before painting it.

Livia - We all sat and watched the Queen sit on her throne. I was the Queen!! I didn't have to sit on the floor like the rest.

Focus on Computing:

Computing at Sprowston Junior School aims to inspire children to be creative and computational thinkers. Through the use of digital devices such as computers, laptops and tablets, alongside unplugged lessons in the classroom and around the school, children are taught the fundamental aims of the key stage 2 computing curriculum:

To understand and apply the concepts of computer science
To analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
To evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
To be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

There are numerous opportunities for cross-curricular links to computing across our curriculum. At regular points throughout the week, teachers are encouraged to use the computer suite or Chromebooks to inspire children in other areas of the curriculum, providing a skills-based cross-curricular curriculum.

We believe it is of huge importance for our children to have a deep understanding of the dangers of the internet. We aim to educate our learners to be competent, safe users.

We have a responsibility to ensure that pupils become digitally literate and capable users of technology to a level suitable for their future workplaces and as active participants in an ever-growing digital world. Being confident with a wide variety of hardware and software helps the children grow their skills and understanding.

The scheme of work for computing covers 5 key areas. These are: computing systems and networks, programming, creating media, data handling and online safety. The scheme revisits content from all 5 areas every year to ensure that we build upon learning and re-visit and re-cap on the skills being learnt.

Respect

The current 'value' we are looking out for across the school this half-term is 'Respect' and we celebrate this each week in assembly. We've celebrated so many lovely examples of respect over the half term. This week, the following children have been spotted showing 'respect':

Aaron & Lydia (3W) for showing respect during the Ancient Egypt day.

Ivy, Freddie & Hayleigh (3C) for showing respect during the Ancient Egypt day.

Olivia (5H) for respecting differences and showing support and kindness to others.

Annabel (6R) for consistent respectful behaviour towards everybody.

Trey & Alfie (6R) for support and kindness to others in PE.

Just One Norfolk

Just One Norfolk is an excellent website. It has helpful advice about a range of issues from healthy lifestyles to anxiety and worries. They also have a number that you can call if you'd like to speak further/seek advice about a particular concern. Take a look at the website by clicking on the link below:

Just One Norfolk

You can contact a member of the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.

Eco-team

One of the actions for the Eco-team this term is to have some healthy eating break-times. They will be talking to the children next week about having a healthy snack every other Wednesday after half-term. The Eco-team will be sending home some information about their 'Super-snack' days and we hope everyone will support them. This is part of the action plan to secure a new Eco-Schools award for the school.

The Eco-team will also be fundraising for 'Operation Ocelot' after half-term which will also go towards achieving the Eco-Schools award. Operation Ocelot is a collective response to saving habitats in an area of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.