Reaching Higher Than I Dreamed, Becoming the Person That I Want to Be

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Moreland Primary School

Reaching higher than I dreamed, becoming the person that I want to be,

doing the best I can for the world and for me.

12thJune 2017

Executive head teacher news:

I hope you had a good half term break. We have a busy time coming up as we complete final assessments and testing to show the children’s attainment and progress ready for the end of year reports which you will receive towards the end of term. Amongst lots of other events, years 6 are busy rehearsing ‘Bugsy’ which is our end of year show. Year 5 will be supporting with singing. In the next newsletter I will be able to let you know who your child’s teacher and TA will be in September- we are just finalising arrangements.

Trips and our lock down procedure:

As some of you know, we have postponed most trips due to recent terrorist incidents in London and Manchester. I am unsure as to whether these trips will go ahead in the next few weeks- this will depend on advice from the police and local authority. We will make sure we have full parental permission before we take children out of school, as we usually do. On Friday we received notification of an incident in a park in Highbury. We straight away exercised lock down procedure which is to literally lock ourselves in, with every external door locked. We are also able to exercise lock down inside the building in the unlikely event that an intruder was to get into the building as all rooms and the hall have locks. There are two potential entrances during the school day- the front entrance in Moreland Street and the children’s centre. The staff are always on full alert as to who to allow in. The most vulnerable times are at the beginning and end of the day when the gate in Gard Street is open. This is why we have additional staff around. I ask that we all keep alert at these times and that you tell us if you are suspicious about someone.

Questionnaire results May 2017

Here are the results of the questionnaires that children and parent’s recently completed for the governors and me. We really value these as we do any suggestions you offer at any other time. We have spoken to the children who ticked the ‘No’ boxes because ultimately we want every child to be happy and safe. Some children interpreted the questions quite literally e.g. No because builders were still finishing the playground.

Pupil questionnaire results May 2017

YES / SOMETIMES / NO
Do you like coming to Moreland? / 104 / 14
Do you feel safe at Moreland? / 104 / 10 / 4
Do you feel happy at Moreland most of the time? / 95 / 19 / 2
Do you think people care about you at Moreland and help you? / 94 / 20 / 3
Do other children help you when you need help? / 93 / 17 / 6
Is there an adult you feel comfortable talking to if you feel angry or upset? / 93 / 19 / 1
Do you follow the Moreland Way? / 94 / 21 / 1
Do you enjoy what you are learning at Moreland? / 104 / 2 / 1
Do you have friends at Moreland? / 99 / 7
Do you work hard at Moreland? / 104 / 4
Do you think adults work hard at Moreland? / 111 / 2
Does Moreland teach you how to lead a healthy lifestyle? / 101 / 12 / 1
Why do you like Moreland?

Because it is fun
It’s amazing
I have lots of friends
The best school in London
I like learning new things
It’s near my house
Teachers work hard
I feel safe
The people are kind and helpful
The displays are nice
Moreland is the best school
Because we have great teachers
It is nice and new
Teachers are supportive
After school clubs
The teachers pushing me to work hard
Everyone is friendly
School trips
I like the Moreland Way
Never want to leave Moreland
Lovely place to learn
Teachers are funny
Because it is beautiful
Learn interesting things
Teachers are strict so you learn and work hard
We have the best Maths
The school security is amazing
We help each other out
Moreland is perfect don’t change anything

Do you enjoy Playtime? Yes or No?

Majority said yes ( 1 child said sometimes & 2 children said no)
Yes - I can play with my friends
Being outside
The games
Because I play football
Meeting children from other classes
Yes because I get to share my ideas
I like running around
Playing with friends not in my class
Chance to run around and get fresh air
Not enough games
Not a lot to do but we will have a new playground soon

/ Can we make Moreland better? How?

A lot of children said we don’t need to do anything
Have more children
A slide & swings in our playground
More games
More equipment
Working hard
No fighting or arguing
More playtime
Lots of trips
Bigger classrooms so children can cartwheel
Have better attendance
Not sure it is already amazing

What would make playtime better?

More toys
Longer playtime
Skipping ropes
Football every day
Bikes
Everyone to be nice to each other
Trampolines
Ice-Cream
Swimming pool
Reading area
Cookies
Tree house
Loads of different fruit to eat
Tennis Balls
Monkey bars
Scooters
Hurdles for jumping
Snacks from home
More equipment for the sky garden

Moreland parent /carers questionnaire results:

Strongly Agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly Disagree
1 / My child enjoys school / 33 / 6 / 0 / 0
2 / The school keeps my child safe / 34 / 5 / 0 / 0
3 / The school informs me about my child’s progress / 22 / 16 / 0 / 0
4 / My child is making enough progress at this school / 24 / 15 / 0 / 0
5 / The teaching is good at this school / 27 / 12 / 0 / 0
6 / The school helps me to support my child’s learning / 23 / 15 / 1 / 0
7 / The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle / 23 / 14 / 1 / 0
8 / The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example, changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school) / 22 / 17 / 2 / 0
9 / The school meets my child’s particular needs / 20 / 13 / 1 / 0
10 / The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour / 25 / 13 / 0 / 0
11 / The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns / 22 / 13 / 1 / 0
12 / The school is led and managed effectively / 19 / 16 / 0 / 0
13 / Overall I am happy with my child’s experience at this school / 31 / 8 / 0 / 0
14 / “I couldn’t be happier with the progress my children have made whilst being at Moreland.”
“Moreland really helps with my brother’s healthy eating.”
“My child is new to Moreland and feels he has been welcomed by both the teachers and the children”
“There is potential for bullying… the school plays this down.”

Thank you those of you who were able to complete these questionnaires. We really try hard to do the best we can for the children and are always open to new ideas. I would be grateful if the parent who wrote the comment about bullying arranged to see either myself or Miss Young. There is potential for bullying in every school which is why we train staff to be alert to any signs. We also respond to what children tell us. The children and staff know what bullying is and we follow the anti-bullying policy. Ultimately we sort it out.

Thank you:

We had a lovely coffee morning for GOSH- Great Ormond Street Hospital- we will let you know how much we raised in the next newsletter. Thanks to all children, families, PTA and staff that did the baking, the judging and those of you that gave your child money to buy the cakes. Thanks also to Jo- Rachel and Louise’s mum for getting us the GOSH pack.

New school and playground:

You will have seen by now that the new playgrounds are almost finished- at least we are using the non-grass areas. We have been told to keep off the grass beds until September to give the grass time to establish. The children of years 4 and 5 and I wrote to every member of the Royal family to ask them to open our new school. It is possible that Prince Andrew will do this honour but the most recent terrorist attacks will influence who we get and when. Either way, we will have our official opening by December 2017. We will definitely have a party this term though- an unofficial opening- date to be confirmed!

Ann Dwulit

Dear parents/carers,

Please make sure your child attends school every day. See below the attendance figures we ask parents to aim for, if you have any problems regarding attendance or punctuality please come and see me.Please remember the school does not authorise any leave in term time. All holidays should be taken in the school holidays.

Mo Akinde - Attendance Officer

The attendance figures below are Government guidelines that we have to follow:

Attendance for May 2017

CLASS / ATTENDANCE
Rec - Pear
Rec -Beech / 97%
94%
Year 1 / 97%
Year 2 / 94%
Year 3 / 97%
Year 4 / 98% /
Year 5 / 94%
Year 6 / 96%

Sculpture in the City Workshop - Year 6

Head of School Notice Board-important dates

*Remember to check this board as we may add or cancel certain events.

You can also check our website for up to date information!

JUNE
28TH/29TH / New Nursery children for September welcome morning 9.30 am
JULY
Wed 5th / Sports Day
Thurs 6th / New Reception class for September welcome morning 10.00am
Thurs 13th / Year 6 show Bugsy Malone 6pm – more details to follow
Fri 14th / Moreland Has Got Talent
Reports go out to parents
Mon 17th / Drop in parents evening 4-6pm
Wed 19th / Certificate assembly 9.15am please come along
Thurs 20th / Attendance and Punctuality assembly 9.15am parents welcome
Fri 21st / Break up for summer holidays at 2pm. NO PLAYCENTRE
SEPTEMBER
Mon 4th / Inset Day school closed to children
Tues 5th / Inset Day school closed to children
Wed 6th / Children return to school
MAY / POWER OF THE LETTER
/ HEADTEACHERS AWARD / STAR OF THE WEEK

NURSERY – WILLOW
NURSERY - LILAC / Kaitlyn, Kareem
Alexia, Kacesen, J’ennae
RECEPTION – BEECH
RECEPTION – PEAR / Chase / Ali, Nisa, Nisa,Sara
Milan, Treyvon, Gad, Maisha
YEAR 1 / Ethan / Mohamed, Maryama, Rayhana, Armaan
YEAR 2 / Ace / Esther, Noah, Sheriff, Ezel
YEAR 3 / Shada / Zhanae / Anderson, Tavante, Adam,Israa
YEAR 4 / Sydney / Liyaana, Sabirah, Eni
YEAR 5 / Fajer / Eliana, Fahmid / Ahlam O, Christopher, Ahlam M
YEAR 6 / Corey L / Whole class / Alex, Whole class,Emilia

Some lovely things have been happening in our class recently…………..

Nursery / Nursery have enjoyed learning about the local area and really liked going to visit the different shops and playing in Kings Square. We are becoming familiar with some letter sounds and are getting much better at writing the letters from our names. In maths we have been focusing on number recognition, counting and learning to describe different shapes.
Reception / In Reception we have been encouraging the children to become more independent with their writing. We have continued our 'about town' topic and have enjoyed using our imagination in the post office and doctors' surgery role play areas. We have all loved playing in our brand new playground, especially in the MUGA with the footballs!
Year 1 / In Literacy, Maple class have been learning to research facts and write facts about insects. This was linked to our topic of plants and insects. In maths, we are learning to continue a number pattern counting forwards or backwards in jumps of 1 or 2. Challenge them to try it at home! In science, we have been learning about plants and we have looked at what makes plants different and naming the parts of a plant. In art, we have been making pop art pictures to get ready for our art exhibition next week.
Year 2 / We are loving learning all about Pirates in Year 2. In Literacy we are just finishing our pirate adventure stories based on the tale of 'The Night Pirates'. In Maths we are learning how to tell the time on an analogue clock. In Science we are being apprentice gardeners and finding out all about seeds and plants.
Year 3 / In maths we were focussing on multiplying numbers. Now we are working on dividing 3 digit numbers using long division method. In literacy we have focused on improving our descriptive language and linked our work to our Topic Gateway to the world; we have described Phileas Fogg from around the world in eighty days. In addition we have written a detailed recount of his journey around the world. In science we have been testing different magnets to find out which magnet is the strongest.
Year 4 / In Year 4, we learnt all about the novel story Pig-Heart Boy. We linked this to ICT and recorded a persuasive advert to convince people to donate money. In Maths, our focus has been on decimals and converting them into fractions. The class are very excited and are working on a display to show how decimals and fractions are used outside of school. In Science, we learnt all about 'How the Human Body Work' and the class made some very creative, art contributions with their unhomework. Years 4 has since become a choir and are currently rehearsing for a Music concert in June.
Year 5 / Welcome back from half - term. I hope everybody had a relaxing time! Last month, we finished off our persuasive writing literacy topic by writing convincing letters to the Emperor of Lilliput to set Gulliver free! In maths, we have learnt all about mean and percentages. In science, we tested the force it takes to pull shoes across different surfaces and took part in a workshop by the Transport Museum to design the best boat. For P.e, we have concentrated on improving our athletics skills. These included running, relays, long jump and javelin throwing!
Year 6 / Year 6 has been very busy preparing for our End Of Year show, which will be Bugsy Malone this year. We have also taken part in several really exciting and interesting workshops over the last few weeks. As part of the Sculptures In the City workshop we visited an office that overlooks the Gherkin and drew sketches of the London skyline. Then we were lucky enough to work with professional engineers, designing and building chairs as part of Clerkenwell Design Week. Finally, we were visited by a forensic scientist who explained her grizzly job and had the opportunity to look at the remains of various animals and human skulls and to use our new found skills to try and work out how they had died.

Work hard, Follow your dreams and you can achieve your dream job

Dreamcatcher assemblies are a key strand of Learning for Life at Moreland. Every week speakers from all walks of life come in to answer children’s questions and inspire their own dreams.