Henderson Green Primary Academy Newsletter - 15th December 2023

Attendance this week

93.8%

HALF TERM HIGHLIGHTS

We have had such a busy Autumn term, we have implemented our new curriculum, built links within our wider community and lots of classes have had extracurricular opportunities inside and out of school. Below are highlights written by the class teachers. The children have worked incredibly hard this half term and Mrs Gribble and Miss Coley are extremely proud of everyone. Next half term, Year 4 will begin swimming, Year 1 will start Bushcraft and Year 6 will begin Karate. Please note this will mean, there will be changes to PE days.

Class newsletters will be circulated on the first day of term, so you will have all the information needed.

Rocket

This term Rocket class have been looking at different ways people celebrate. We firstly looked at Diwali which is the festival of lights, we used playdough to make playdough diya lamps. We found out Miss Aliyah celebrated Diwali and she brought in some diya lamps for us to look at and talk about during show and tell. We talked about all the colours we could see and we asked lots of questions; like who gave it to you? What is it made from? We then looked at Hanukkah, which was a Jewish celebration. We noticed they also had a lamp that looked a bit similar to the diya lamp, we found out it was also called the festival of lights! Lastly, we have been learning all about Christmas and have our Christmas wrapping station and Christmas writing corner.

Reception

Reception has had a fantastic first term settling into the routines of school. We have been so busy, from learning to read all our phonic sounds, to making new friends, to getting creative and messy during our craft sessions and enjoying time outdoors during Forest School sessions. We certainly enjoyed learning our songs for Harvest and performing to the parents, it was a great introduction to performing ahead of our Christmas performance. One of our highlights was our trip out the The Playhouse Theatre were we were completely mesmerized by the performance of The gruffalo's Child. We came back and have been reading lots of Julia Donaldson books! The children have made such amazing progress and I wish them all the best as they continue their journey through school - Mrs Leggett

Year 1

This half term Mr Diprose really enjoyed his mornings when many different children would bring in learning from home. This included lots of leaves from deciduous trees (see if your child can tell you what an evergreen tree is) and many examples of writing, maths and handwriting that children have done at home. It makes me very happy to see children excited about learning and exploring things that interest them in their own time. 

Year 2

This half term year 2 have had the opportunity to attend Brush craft sessions once a week. We learnt how to safely start a fire using a flint and steel, as well as partake in some ambitious archery and how to successfully create a shelter using some tarp. We have also had the pleasure of having our parents come along and read with us once a week. We were able to share our love for reading with them and hear some great storytelling. Year 2 have also been making outstanding progress with their phonics. Every child has attended their phonics session with a positive mind frame and they have been trying their best at applying their knowledge in their Reading or Writing sessions. As the

term ends, we have been filling the school with our harmonious singing in preparation for our KS1 Nativity show. We hope you will all be able to attend to watch our masterful performance.

Year 3

Cromer Class have had a great half term! Our highlights have been learning Karate and our recent trip to Norwich Castle. We have also enjoyed delving into the reading buddy texts and have earned LOTS of house points for all the 80% and above quizzes we have been doing. We have enjoyed earning badges on Reading buddy too and have enjoyed reading to Mr Arthur who has been volunteering twice a week to read with us. 

Year 4

This term, Year 4 have worked very hard and have been incredibly focused in lessons. We were lucky enough to to have the opportunity to work with the UEA on a maths project. I was proud when they told us that the class were very well behaved and were a clever bunch! We also went to the Ivy House Old People's Home.to sing carols and readings.

This term, we have really focussed on our reading and times table ready for the timestable checks next year.

Year 5

This half term, Year 5 has been busy learning to sew for a purpose - making a high-vis safety belt to wear in the dark. Our Year 5 Play Leaders have been excellent role models and set up some brilliant games for the other children to join in with at Break Times and Lunchtimes. We enjoyed sharing how we read in Year 5 with our families and I think they learnt lots too. Swimming has been great fun and everyone has made progress in the pool. We joined Year 4 and had a lovely time singing Christmas Songs at the Ivy Care Home. A fantastic time was had at the farm, with something for everyone to enjoy - including jumping in puddles, honey tasting, a trailer ride, wreath making and learning all about bees, chickens and cows.

Year 6

Year 6 have had such an amazing first term. We have hit the ground running with our different topics and worked hard to access our new curriculum. We have loved reading the exhilarating story of Sophie leaping across the buildings of Paris in ‘Rooftoppers’ and the unbelievable story of Cameron and his life-altering journey in ‘Pig-Heart Boy’. We have also developed our writing by exploring persuasive speech, stories with morals and poetry. We have worked hard to improve our four operations in maths and are really getting our heads round fractions in Maths. A highlight of our term was our trip to Gressenhall Workhouse, which really solidified our understanding of World War 2 and the impact it had on people’s lives. We are so proud of ourselves for the 2 mock SATs we have done this term. It has been a challenge but we have tried our best.