Newsletters

Friday 17th January 

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Friday 17th January, 2025

Dear Parents & Carers

We seem to be accelerating through January and we’re firmly back into the swing of things. I’ve enjoyed seeing the learning in all areas of the curriculum these last couple of weeks and the enthusiasm in different lessons. Yesterday, I saw some excellent Year 6 discussion and writing about Romeo and Juliet. The children showed good recall and understanding of the story, showing empathy for the characters. 

One of the areas the teachers are particularly focusing on this term is the questioning techniques we use to ensure all children are listening and involved in whole class teaching. We use a range of strategies to involve every child. Independent thinking is important in every lesson to support children’s understanding and retention of information. This helps to build confidence in their own ability across different curriculum areas. 

Yesterday we had some children taking part in cross country at Taverham Hall. This is an enjoyable course and the children enjoyed the challenge, with some pleasing successes. Well done to everyone involved.

Below you will find some information about a Sleep Clinic at school this coming Tuesday. You'll also find details about Shakespeare Day on February 7th and the Norwich Science Festival which starts on February 15th. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards

Matt Walton, Headteacher 

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January 

Tue 21st - Sleep Workshop @ 9:30am

Wed 22nd - F1 club fundraising event (more information below)

Thu 30th Jan - F1 in Schools regional finals (Sprowston Community Academy)

February

w/c Mon 3rd - Children's Mental Health Week

Mon 3rd - Food Scientists to the Rescue - assembly

Fri 7th Feb - Shakespeare Day (see information)

Mon 11th Feb - Year 4 Maths Café (10:30am - 11:30am)

Fri 14th Feb - Half-term begins at 3:15pm 

Shakespeare Day (Friday 7th Feb)

On Friday 7th February, the year 6 Art/Shakespeare ambassadors will be hosting Sprowston Junior School's very first Shakespeare Day.

Children are invited to dress up as their favourite Shakespearean character whether that be one of Macbeth's witches, one of the Midsummer Night's Dream's fairies or a member of Hamlet or King Richard III's army.

Throughout the day there will be a variety of different Shakespearean activities happening across the school and in the afternoon year 5 and 6 will be watching an invite-only live screening of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' starring Horrible Histories Mathew Baynton (https://www.rsc.org.uk/a-midsummer-nights-dream/trailer). During that week, year 3 and 4 will also be watching a production of  'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in their classes. 

Engineering in Year 5 (and Year 6)

Jonathan May from Siemens Energy visited Salhouse today to talk about the exciting new project they will be starting this term. 'If you were an engineer what would you do?' Is a competition for students to design and create engineering solutions. As part of the competition, the children in Salhouse will get the chance to interview a local engineer, come up with an engineering idea and receive a graded certificate. If their ideas are selected, they may also have their ideas displayed in a public exhibition or even have their ideas developed into prototypes.

Salhouse were joined by the Year 6 members of the F1 Club to help get some top tips from Jonathan about engineering, aerodynamics and design.

The classroom was a hive of activity as everyone started discussing their initial design ideas.

A big thank you to Jonathan for coming to school. 

FREE STEM resources for teachers & parents - Leaders Award

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Water Bottles

We have a number of children in school without water bottles. It is an important that they do have a water bottle in school so they are able to get a drink when they need one. 

Please can you make sure your child has one and is bringing it to school regularly.  Water bottles should also be taken home each evening to be cleaned. 

Sleep Workshop

We are hosting a sleep workshop run by Bonny McDowall from Norfolk County Council's School and Community Team.

This will run on Tuesday 21st January from 9.30 - 11. The session will cover 

The importance of sleep

Reasons a child may struggle to sleep

Sleep Hygiene & Nutrition

Ways to support

Ongoing support in Norfolk

Reflection/Takeaways

Resources

If you would like to book a place, please contact Liz Clark (senco@sprowstonjunior.norfolk.sch.uk) or the school office. 

This workshop is open to parents from all schools in our cluster.

FREE Sleeping Half Moon Clipart | Pearly Arts

TTRS Club

Mrs Pearce is running a Times-tables Rockstars club during lunchtime on Thursday's for any children who'd like to go along and practise their times-tables at lunchtimes. This will be on every Thursday in the spring term. 

No need to sign up, just come along.

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F1 Club fundraising (Wed 22nd Jan)

A reminder that the children involved with this year's F1 in Schools competition will be holding a fundraising event on Wednesday 22nd January.

The team members of Lightning Divas, Screaming Chameleons, Wheel Sparkz and Virtual Falcons will be hosting activities at lunchtime for everyone to take part in. So far they plan to include throwing a wet sponge at the "drivers" (this may include some special guests!), guess the name of the F1 driver, a penalty shoot-out and a bake sale - but there may be more, so watch this space! Prices will range from 20p to 50p.

All money raised will be split between the four F1 Club teams and will go towards their entry into this year's competition as well as helping with items that they need to get ready for the regional finals at the end of this month. 

The teams are asking for any donations for the bake sale. If you would like to help, please bring in any bakes or cakes to the school office on the morning of Wednesday 22nd January. 

They are also asking for donations of any cuddly toys that are no longer wanted to be prizes for the 'guess the name of the driver' competition. If you have any, please bring them to the school office.

If you have any questions about how else you can help with the F1 Club, please contact Mr Arthur: deputy@sprowstonjunior.norfolk.sch.uk

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Go Go Giraffe update

We had some amazing entries in the design a giraffe competition. It was so hard to pick a winner, so we've decided to combine some of the very best ideas for the final design.

The lucky Giraffe-tists who will be bringing the design to life are: Maggie and Jacob from Salhouse, Ivy and Carrisa from Hickling, Amber and Ada from Lily. They'll be sharing updates with the children in school over the next few weeks, so watch this space!

Save the date! Saturday 15 – Saturday 22 February 2025.

An epic celebration of science and technology! We'll be showcasing the incredible research and innovation associated with the city, and offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to explore the many wonders of our world.

Get ready for exciting exhibitions, sensational shows and inspiring hands-on science for all ages and all levels of knowledge.

Head to the website to see what's on and book your tickets:

Norwich Science Festival