Girton Glebe Newsletter

Girton Glebe NewsletterIssue 9Friday 12 February 2021We are so proud of the work that our pupils have completedthis half term and, during the last fortnight, teachers havecontinued to be amazed by the output that has been sharedwith them, both via remote learning and in school.Please read on for a roundup of recent news Parent & Pupil SurveysMany thanks to all who completed the ELA remote learningsurvey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and yourresponses are being reviewed by the school’s seniorleadership team alongside leadership from ELA. Yourfeedback and comments assist us in revising our currentprovision and affect changes to the remote learning we havein place.Today, an additional link was circulated inviting parents totake part in a survey reviewing regular, whole-schoolprovision. The deadline for completion is February 21 and Ithank you in advance for your feedback.Achievement Certificatesproduced some excellent writing clues for their ‘Guess Who’animal game (the correct answer is a cat!). They alsoenjoyed learning about subtraction in mathematics, with thePete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons story! The Bubble1 children have also enjoyed researching their favouriteanimals for the ‘Guess Who’ game, as well as creating theirown Pete the Cat groovy button in finger gym. Well done toall of you!This week, Ash Class have all been working so hard at home,focusing on kindness/mindfulness and reflecting on differentthings they love, such as family, friends and personalinterests. They have also been learning about Chinese NewYear, writing their name using the Chinese alphabet andcreating lucky money purses in finger gym! Happy ChineseNew Year! We wish you all a well-deserved break.The following children have been awarded achievementcertificates by their class teachers for the excellent workthey have produced this week. Certificates have beenuploaded to Class Dojo, and this week we saycongratulations to:Ash Class: Nico & UnaMaple Class: Ben & MiaBirch Class: Theo & KikkiLime Class: Flo & MarcellCherry Class: Reuben & FreyaWillow Class: Yoni, Sofia & JaydenOak Class: Rufus & LucasAsh ClassAn Ash update from Miss King:Ash Class continue to impress us all with their fantasticlearning around our Amazing Animals theme, producingsome wonderful work. Last week, the remote learnersMaple ClassMaple news from Mrs Cawley and Mrs Daw:An enormous well done to Maple Class for their fantasticlearning at home this half term. I know it has definitely hadits challenges but we are so impressed with the quality andquantity of learning that children in Maple class have beendoing. They have really thrown themselves into their topic“Memory Box” and have shared some memories from whenthey were babies. Bethany researched and put together her

family tree and a family timeline, which was fascinating tolearn about.In Maths, we have been doing place value to 50 and Mapleclass have tackled and conquered these tasks with ease.Wonderful writing skills have been showcased in English. Wehave been focusing on some great stories such as The OldToy Room and Adventures are the Pits which have led tosome impressive writing, using extended sentences withconjunctions. This week, we have been focusing on kindnessand it has been wonderful to see the children helping out athome to spread some joy. They have also been writing aboutwhat they are grateful for which we think is so important toremember during these times.During this half term, Maple Class have also been enjoyingthe snow. They sent us lots of videos and photos of their funsnow adventures, which we have enjoyed.Birch ClassBirch news from Miss Evans:At home and in school, Birch Class children have beencompleting some wonderful work all about space – ourproject is called ‘Moon Zoom’. This week, we have beenwriting letters to astronauts at the UK Space Agency. We willbe posting these and waiting eagerly for a reply.We have also learned about what astronauts eat in spaceand used our new knowledge to design a menu for Tim Peaketo enjoy while living at the International Space Station. BirchClass children have shown amazing creativity too. You cansee some alien cookies and a Lego model of the solar systembelow! Well done, everyone – keep up the good work!In school, Bubble 1 Critical Worker children have beenfollowing the same schemes of learning as their classmatesat home. They have acquitted themselves very well indeed,engaging with enthusiasm in all of the activities detailedabove.We hope that everyone has a wonderful, restful half termand we can’t wait to start our new topic “Childhood” inSpring 2.Lime ClassLime news from Mrs Barber and Mrs Knowler:Lime class have had a very productive few weeks. There hasbeen a lot of self-motivated research on the Romans themecontinuing and we have finally managed to use small mosaictesserae to create our own tile designs showing lots ofimagination in the final product; everything from bowls ofcarrots to swords and asymmetrical patterns. We have alsohad fun doing some art work in the style of Mark Hearld, an

artist who uses coloured collage to create images based innature.Cherry ClassCherry news courtesy of Miss Pyle:All children in Cherry Class, both at home and in school, havewowed me with their work over the past couple of weeks! InEnglish, we continue to enjoy Kensuke’s Kingdom and thechildren have written some outstanding pieces of writingdescribing a dramatic ‘man over board’ scene, the tropicalisland and the diminutive Kensuke. Their wonderfuldescriptions, and pictures of the island, have transported methere! I could not be prouder.The children are really showing enthusiasm at following thework set on Dojo and completing some fantastic maths workon division and money, showing good sound understanding.In English we have studied poems on a variety of themesincluding; the Girton Goose railings, Michael Rosen’s ‘Don’t’and those inspired by nature and mood weather poetry withsome outstanding results.We have also thought about ways to improve our overallwell-being and have time to do things that just make ushappy whatever that may be. It was really lovely to spend alonger time on our class virtual picnic and have a good chatabout things we have been doing, we do really miss you allat home!In maths, we have tackled division and shown how our speedand fluency of our times tables have allowed us to beefficient and apply this to a host of problem solving activities.Project has seen us gaining an understanding of the featuresof mountains (using clay to create and demonstrate them)and how cool and warm colours can create atmosphere inpictures. Some very dramatic scenes were created!

Willow ClassWillow news from Miss Jolly:Last week, all of Willow class celebrated Wellbeing Week ina range of different ways; in school, our bubble did lots ofmindfulness and relaxation activities such as colouring,outdoor exercise and listening to music. At home, thechildren also focused on their wellbeing through painting,creating “Wellbeing spaces” and lots of walks and cuddleswith pets! Here’s what we got up to:I must say a huge well done to all of Willow Class for theircontinued enthusiasm and hard work. You impress me everyday! I hope you all have a well-earned break over half-termand find lots of time to enjoy yourselves.Oak ClassOak news from Mr Austin:As part of wellbeing week, Willow Class children also wrotesome incredibly persuasive (and funny!) letters to MrSpencer, requesting that we get a class pet to improve ourmental wellbeing when we return to school. I was blownaway by the quality of all of these letters and am keepingeverything crossed that Mr Spencer agrees to allowing us tohave at least one of the following: a dog, a cat, a rabbit, analligator, an axolotl or a unicorn!Here’s a snippet of Neve’s wonderful letter:A pet would be a fantastic way of giving everyone themotivation to get outside for a lovely refreshing breath offresh air, a moment to clear their heads whilst talking tosomeone who will listen and not interrupt or repeat what issaid, and to stretch their limbs and get some exercise. If youthink about the school’s core values, I think if you were toget a school pet you would be demonstrating Excellenceand would be given a lot of Respect for an outstanding andmarvellous decision. A pet would also give everyone theopportunity to demonstrate Responsibility.We have also been working hard in Maths, learning aboutarea and perimeter, and the children have continued toproduce lots of excellent project work on their ongoingNormans topic. Take a look at just some of their awesomecreations at home:The children in Oak Class have continued in the vein in whichthey started the current period of lockdown. In spite of theobvious difficulties and pressures that working from homecreates, they have remained focused, keen and incrediblyproductive. I have also been delighted to hear about (and,in many cases, to see) the myriad ways in which the childrenhave been looking after their wellbeing by running,sketching, painting, sewing, fabricating guinea pigaccessories, engaging in startling feats of tobogganingprowess, Lego-modelling, reading, dog-stroking, chickencuddling and piano playing, to name but a few. It’s soimportant that we look after ourselves by doing the thingsthat we love to do from time to time, away from screens andwork concerns, and the children in Oak Class are certainlydoing so.As ever, I have been delighted and frequently flabbergastedby the sheer quality of the work that the children haveproduced. They have proved themselves both capable andexperimentative in their maths, transforming shapesthrough reflection and enlargement, calculating the valuesof missing angles in 2-D shapes, and in various otherconfigurations, and completing times tables grids withsometimes quite astonishing alacrity.The children have also proved themselves wonderfullyinventive and engaged in our topic work. Over the lastcouple of weeks they have been studying the Battle ofHastings in quite some detail and answering the question asto why William of Normandy was victorious. Some childrenhave written reports, some have represented their answers

in cartoon form and others have sent me some quiteextraordinary videos of themselves explaining their deepunderstanding using a variety of props and aids. TheNorman army and castle below, for example, were used towonderful effect to explain the strategic thinking that led toWilliam’s victory.In English, too, the children have excelled themselves. I havereceived wonderful persuasive letters on the subject of classpets, shortly to be forwarded on to Mr Spencer for hisconsideration. In addition, the children have, it seems,thoroughly enjoyed scaring both themselves and me withghostly tales of disappearances on remote Scottish islands!As always, Bubble 3 Key Worker children have been engagedin the same learning as the children at home. Once again, Ihave been very impressed by their diligence andcommitment in everything that they have done.Half-Term Contact TracingTo reiterate the message circulated this morning, For thosechildren currently accessing key worker provision, it isimportant that parents still engage with the contact tracingprogramme over the half-term period.All communications regarding testing and Covid symptomsshould come direct to 07585 216354 for the periodFebruary 12 - 17. From Thursday 18, please sendcommunications to office@girtonglebe.cambs.sch.ukI wish you all a safe and relaxing half-term break and thankyou for your continued support.Mr Andrew SpencerHeadteacher

certificates by their class teachers for the excellent work they have produced this week. Certificates have been uploaded to Class Dojo, and this week we say congratulations to: Ash Class: Nico & Una Maple Class: Ben & Mia Birch Class: Theo & Kikki Lime Class: Flo & Marcell Cherry Class