We have had a fantastic start in Dragonflies! The children have been working hard and thinking deeply about how we can all be the best learners. One of the key focuses has been on learning how to follow the speaker, which helps us listen attentively and engage more effectively in lessons. 

We’ve loved diving into our new book Cosmic, which links perfectly with our Earth and Space science topic. The children have been incredibly creative, coming up with mnemonics to help remember the order of the planets. 

In English, we are focusing on the basics of good presentation and working on joining our handwriting. We've also been identifying and using different types of nouns, which has enabled them to showcase their presentation. 

In maths, we’ve been exploring the value of digits in numbers up to six digits. The class had a lot of fun using dice to generate the biggest number possible! 

While I apologise for the lack of photos in this newsletter, now that we have our iPad, I’ll definitely include more in the next update. 

Overall, I am exceptionally proud of our team and how we are working together to SHINE as a class.

Red Kites (Year 6) have had a great start to the year. We have jumped straight in with our new learning and have risen to the challenges we have faced so far.

In maths we have reviewed and extended our understanding of place value and are now working with numerals up to and including 10,000,000. With this work under our belt we will be looking to apply this understanding to the rest of our year when dealing with large numbers.

Our first English unit this year is based on a book called "Rose Blanche" and we will be using this to write an emotive diary entry. The book is based in Germany during World War 2 and this has linked brilliantly with our class book - Once by Morris Gleitzman - and our topic of World War 2 and its impact on children in Britian. The class have been asking lots of questions about this area of our learning and we have learnt that wars, regardless of when they happen, are no laughing matter.

The class have enjoyed their first Forest school session with Mrs Copland and have explored their creative sides with Miss Martin during their art classes.

Great start Red Kites, let's keep it up!

Year 6 - Secondary School Application

The West Northamptonshire Council website contains information about how to apply for a secondary school. If you live in West Northamptonshire your application must be made on the council’s website or by post, please see their website for more information.

The closing date for application is 31st October 2024.

We have exciting news…

Our new changing area has arrived! We now have an additional space for children to change into their Forest School suits and wellies. A huge thank you to Waitrose and the PTA for their very generous donations and to all our parents who have supported PTA events last year.

We will continue to raise funds over the coming months as we would also like to install electricity and water. This will really help in the winter months and hopefully, keep the mud where it belongs!

Our school is bidding for a cash boost from the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme. 

Stronger Starts provides grant awards of up to £1,500 to local community projects, with a particular focus on children and young people. 

Three groups in every community have been shortlisted to receive grant awards and Tesco customers can vote for the group they think should take away the top award in their local Tesco store.

We are one of the groups on the shortlist in Daventry.

Please vote for us to help provide much needed resources to continue the Forest School at Monksmoor Park CE Primary School, enabling children to spend time outside in nature to benefit their wellbeing.

Voting is open in all Tesco stores from October to mid-January 2025. Customers will cast their vote using a blue token given to them at the check-out each time they shop.

Tesco’s Stronger Starts – previously known as Tesco Community Grants - has already provided over £110 million to more than 60,000 projects across Britain. 

This £5m Stronger Starts grant programme, delivered in partnership with Groundwork UK, helps schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and sports equipment for after school clubs.

Claire de Silva, Tesco UK Head of Communities and Local Media, said: “Helping schools and children’s groups access the food and resources they need is vitally important in getting children a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration, and ultimately achieve more too."

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said: “As a community charity, we have seen first-hand how schools and other groups supporting young people have been playing a much bigger role in ensuring children are getting a healthy start to the day and getting access to spaces and services to support physical activity and mental health. Family budgets are tight and school budgets are tight, but it’s so important that children stay fed, fit and focused, so we’re delighted to be able to prioritise these activities alongside Tesco with the Stronger Starts programme.”

'Understanding Christianity' art installation

Thank you to everyone who supported the PTA events last year.

We are really pleased with the installation of the ‘Understanding Christianity’ freeze on the playground.  The children love spending time looking at the art and spotting all the symbolism.

Reception - Year 6 Annual Flu Vaccination

An email was sent to all parents/carers of children in years Reception to Year 6, on behalf of the NHS schools immunisation team. Please refer to this for more information about the vaccine, the choices available for your child's vaccination and details of how to book. Multi-language leaflets are also available, please find links to these on the leaflets attached to the email.